CMS Softball Sweeps Vanguard in Non-Conference Doubleheader

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team broke a 5-5 tie with four runs in the sixth in a 9-5 win in the opener and then took a 6-2 win in the nightcap as it defeated Vanguard twice on Friday afternoon at Athena Field.

With the wins, CMS moves to 15-5 overall on the season, while Vanguard sees its record slip to 14-15 with the two defeats. 

In the opener, CMS fell behind 4-1 in the top of the second, but came back with two runs in the bottom half on Jacqueline Solomon RBI double and an Emma Suh sacrifice fly. 

An Ari Livi RBI single put CMS ahead 5-4 in the fifth, but Vanguard came back and tied the score in the sixth before CMS broke it open. A pair of walks and an error set the table, and with one out, Abby Thompson's RBI single put CMS ahead to stay. Rachel Sapirstein and Paige Zimmerman had RBI groundouts to extend the lead, and Hannah Adams finished off a complete game with a 1-2-3 seventh.

Thompson finished 2-for-4 in the opener, while six other Athenas had one hit apiece. 

In the nightcap, CMS took the early lead and didn't relinquish it, taking a 6-2 win to complete the sweep. Sapirstein broke the ice with an RBI double in the first, and Destiny Garcia had an RBI single in the second to score Ellie Novogradac, who doubled to set the table. 

After the Lions cut it to 3-2, Novogradac had a squeeze bunt to make it 4-2, and a Suh RBI double capped a three-run third to make it 6-2.

The CMS pitching staff closed the door from there with Jade Johnson throwing four innings to get the win, Alexis Gero throwing two innings of hitless relief, and Maya Loper finishing it off by leaving runners on second and third in the seventh. 

Suh and Garcia were both 2-for-4 with an RBI in the nightcap, while Novogradac and Aqui were 1-for-1. 

CMS will be back in action tomorrow for a home doubleheader with Occidental, before completing the three-game series at Occidental on Sunday.