CMC75 Moments: 2018 Softball Takes SCIAC Title as Fourth Seed

As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.

Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
2018 Softball: Athenas Win SCIAC Title as Fourth Seed

The CMS Softball team entered the 2018 SCIAC championship as an underdog, ending the year in fourth place with a 17-11 league mark. CMS did have two things in its favor, though. Despite finishing four games behind regular season champion La Verne during the year, CMS did win three of four head-to-head against the Leopards. The other was that CMS had Anna Gurr.

The Athenas' senior pitcher led the league in both wins (19) and earned run average (1.61), and was determined to not have her career end without a fight. The result was one of the most dominant postseason performances in CMS athletics history, as Gurr threw 21 innings without allowing an earned run, shutting out La Verne 2-0 twice, around a 2-1 win over Pomona-Pitzer.

Gurr allowed five hits and struck out four in the opening round win over La Verne, with a bases-loaded walk from Molly Spaniac breaking a 0-0 tie in the fifth. She then had a three-hitter against Pomona-Pitzer, with Maddie Valdez breaking a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer after the Sagehens tied the score with an unearned run in the top half. In the finals, she threw another three-hitter, shutting out La Verne 2-0 as Brianna Halle and Kawai Scanalan had RBI singles in the first to give her all the offense she would need. A walk in the seventh (her only one of the game) brought the tying run to the plate, but Chloe Amarilla handled the final two grounders at third to end the contest and send the Athenas through to the NCAA Tournament.

CMS kept the run going with a 6-3 victory over No. 12 George Fox in the first round of the NCAA's, highlighted by Carly Roleder's school-record 18th career homer, but the Athenas would bow out after a great postseason run with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to No. 7 Linfield.  

Amarilla earned third-team All-America honors for the Athenas, while Gurr (second team) and Scanlan (third team) were also All-West Region selections. In the SCIAC, Gurr earned Pitcher of the Year honors, while Valdez and Molly Spaniac were also second-team All-SCIAC. Briana Halle earned Academic All-America honors as well, to add to the CMS awards haul. 

Maddie Valdez:

Coming in as the fourth seed in the tournament, I'm sure spectators and onlookers doubted us from from the beginning. Yet, there was not a morsel of doubt or speculation amongst the players, coaching staff, and CMS fans that we would come out on top. As a freshman, the thought of competing in my first conference tournament was daunting, but the leadership from the senior players on our team made the world of difference in calming the nerves and raising the confidence.

We were matched up against La Verne for our first game, as they were the first seed coming into the tournament. We had faired pretty well against them in regular season play, which we carried over into the first postseason game. They had some pretty good hitters, but they were no match against Anna Gurr (very few players were). She held them scoreless and we did what we did best - passed the bat. Our 2018 squad scored the majority of our runs by doing the simple things, getting clutch hits, and passing the bat to the next teammate to come hit us in. Every single player on that team had a job and executed it every time, it was certainly something special. And that's exactly what we did this game to beat the Leopards and advance in the winners bracket. 

After leaving the La Verne players and fans in shock by sending the No. 1 team into the losers bracket, we faced our long-time rivals, the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. They had the better of us in regular season, but we knew we were more than prepared to take them on in post-season play. Anna Gurr and I served as the battery for this game and shut them out through six. We set ourselves up nicely by scoring in the bottom of the third when the top of our line-up came up clutch by moving runners around the bases with a sac bunt and sac fly.

The Sagehens came back to score in the top of the sixth and that's when my post-season inexperience started to get the best of me. It was all tied up, and the nerves started to re-emerge. Lucky for me, I had the best view on the field from behind the dish, and got to see the unwavering faces of the very experienced infield. Anna Gurr was cool as a cucumber on the mound, showing no ounce of hesitation. Chloe Amarilla at third was just as chatty and encouraging as ever, making sure everyone knew what they were doing. Carly Roleder at short was the silent and stoic personality that could calm anyone's nerves. Reeve Groebecker and Bri Halle were holding down the right side with their great communication and confidence. Seeing those faces staring back at me awaiting my sign for the pitch sent a wave of calm through me, giving me the encouragement I need to stay stay collected behind the dish. This reassurance carried over to my next at bat where I took an inside pitch from the pitcher to deep left-center field. As I rounded third base, I had a huge smile on my face when I saw my teammates huddled around home plate awaiting my arrival. That ended up being the go-ahead run and we beat our Sixth Street rivals 2-1 to boost us into the championship game.  

Of course, La Verne was back for revenge in the championship game. Because they were in the loser's bracket, they needed to beat us twice in order to advance to regionals, but we only needed one game to secure our spot in regionals. We came out firing on all cylinders and scored two runs in the first inning. With out lock-down defense, these two runs got us through the rest of the game.

The feeling after the last out will never be matched. The innies all rushed to the mound to meet each other with large hugs and huge smiles, followed not long after by our amazing outfield who joined the embrace. When the rest of the team rushed out of the dugout to meet us, emotions were high and excitement levels were through the roof. Every single player on that team played a pivotal role in the 2018 conference win. That moment and that team will forever have a special place in my heart. 

2018 Softball Roster
Head Coach: Gina Oaks Garcia
Assistant Coaches: Bob Oaks, Krista Jensen, Stevie Knapp
Chloe Amarilla (Jr., P/UT, CMC)
Mackenzie Bradford (Jr., C, CMC)
Jessica Fox (Fr., UT, CMC)
Savannah Green (So., C, CMC)
Reeve Grobecker (Jr., 2B, CMC)
Anna Gurr (Sr., LHP, CMC)
Briana Halle (Sr., 1B, CMC)
Kylie Hetzel (So., UT, HMC)
Megan Mendez (Jr., OF, CMC)
Rachel Perley (Jr., OF, HMC)
Megan Perron (Fr., UT, CMC)
Carly Roleder (Sr., SS, CMC)
Kawai Scanlan (Fr., OF, Scripps)
Molly Spaniac (Fr., OF, CMC)
Maddie Valdez (Fr., C, CMC)