CMS Softball Takes Series From Cal Lutheran with Doubleheader Split

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Jade Johnson took a perfect game into the seventh inning before settling for a combined shutout with Hannah Adams as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team won the first game of a doubleheader with Cal Lutheran 5-0 on Saturday at Athena Field. The Regals bounced back to take the nightcap 8-1.

With the split, CMS moves to 15-7 on the season and suffers its first SCIAC defeat, while staying in first place at 6-1 in conference play. Cal Lutheran moves to 8-9 overall and 5-2 in conference play with the split. 

Johnson retired the first 18 batters in order, with an even distribution of nine ground outs and nine air outs, before Nadia Collins led off the seventh with a single to break it up for the Regals. Adams came on to get the final three outs, including two by strikeout to end the game with the Athenas on top 5-0. 

CMS got all the offense it would need in the first inning, as Kaili Aqui walked, Giselle Lai singled, and Rachel Sapirstein singled in Lai from second. In the second inning, Emma Suh and Aqui both singled and stole second, and Lai singled them both home to make it 3-0. Madison Gonzalez added an RBI single in the fifth and Sapirstein tacked on her second RBI single in the sixth to make it a 5-0 final. 

Aqui finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored, Lai was 3-for-4 with two RBI, Gonzalez was 2-for-3, and Sapirstein was 2-for-4 with two RBI. 

In the nightcap, CMS trailed 1-0 before Gonzalez tripled and Sarah Loper hit a sacrifice fly to score Sophia Nguyen, who pinch ran. However, Cal Lutheran scored twice in the sixth to break the tie, and then had a five-run seventh to prevent any comeback thoughts, after the Athenas tied the series opener in the seventh and won 3-2 in nine innings yesterday. 

CMS will be back in action tomorrow when it plays a doubleheader at Occidental in a reschedule of last weekend's rainout.