CMS Softball Drops Two to Undefeated Linfield

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team tested undefeated and No. 3-ranked Linfield for most of the afternoon, but ended up falling 3-0 in the opener and 9-0 in the nightcap on Friday at Athena Field.

Linfield moves to 20-0 on the season with the two wins, while CMS, which came in with an eight-game win streak, slips to 12-6 on the year with the losses. 

Maya Weigel-Murphy kept CMS in it in the opener, matching Tayah Kelley (12-0, 0.96 ERA coming in) zero for zero over the first four innings. Linfield had a leadoff single in the fifth, and then after showing bunt on the first pitch, Ashley Sutton doubled over the third base bag past a drawn-in infield to score the game's first run. 

CMS put pressure on the Wildcats in the sixth, trailing 2-0, when Kaili Aqui led off with a single and stole second, but was left stranded on third base. Down 3-0 in the seventh, CMS put two on with nobody out after Sarah Loper led off with her second single of the game, but Kelley was able to get the last three outs to preserve her shutout win. 

In the nightcap, Linfield pushed a run across in the top of the third, and CMS again threatened, with Emma Suh reaching on a bunt single and stealing second, and Aqui reaching on a bunt single to put runners on first and third with one out. Aqui was caught trying to steal for the second out, and Linfield was able to escape the damage, before then opening it up with a five-run fourth. 

Jacqueline Solomon was 2-for-2 in the nightcap for CMS, while Tyler McNeley threw a four-hit shutout for Linfield to move to 7-0 on the season, and Kaili Saathoff was 3-for-3 with three RBI for the Wildcats

The Athenas will be back in action on Thursday when it completes its SCIAC series with La Verne. The second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Leopards was suspended in the bottom of the first, with the score 0-0 and nobody on and two out.