Athenas Set to Take the Field at SCIAC Tournament
LA VERNE, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team begins their journey in the SCIAC Tournament today at 2 p.m. against the hosting La Verne Leopards in a rematch of last year's SCIAC Championship game. The Athenas finished fourth in the SCIAC with a record of 17-11 and took three of four games against La Verne this season.
CMS will take on the top-seeded Leopards at 2 p.m. in La Verne. In the second game of the day, No. 2 Whittier will take on No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer at 4 p.m.
See below for a quick preview of the SCIAC Playoff Field:
No. 1 La Verne Leopards – 26-12 (Overall), 21-7 (SCIAC)
Top-seeded La Verne takes the field led by Katheryn Navarro who is hitting .342 for the season with 40 hits, 26 runs scored, five doubles, 10 home runs and 24 RBI. Justice Borden has collected 28 hits, including nine doubles, two triples, a pair of homers, and 13 RBI en route to a .301 batting average this season, while Carly Condon follows with a .298 clip keyed by 36 hits, 24 runs scored, seven doubles and 19 RBI. In the circle, Elisa Ponce has been solid with a 9-4 record and seven complete-game efforts in 106.0 innings of work. She struck out 73 batters and logged a 2.51 ERA. Jiana Rojo earned the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year title after recording the second best ERA in the SCIAC at 2.14.
No. 2 Whittier Poets – 25-14-1 (Overall), 18-10 (SCIAC)
The Poets of Whittier are led by Brittany Attaway who is hitting a SCIAC-best .505 on the season with 56 hits, 13 doubles, three triples, a home run and 35 RBI. Kacey Whitney follows with a .426 batting average on the strength of 46 hits, 12 doubles in addition to 16 RBI. Sam Casanas has been the Poets leader in the circle with 40 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA in 109.2 frames pitched in 2018.
No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer – 26-14 (Overall), 17-11 (SCIAC)
Izzy Deatherage leads Pomona-Pitzer with a .419 batting average, including a team-best 54 hits, 16 doubles, eight homers, and a share of the team lead in RBI with 37. Liz Rodarte, the 2018 SCIAC Athlete of the Year, has had a strong junior campaign with a .389 average fueled by 51 hits, eight doubles, 10 home runs, and 37 runs batted in. Rodarte has also been stellar in the circle for the Sagehens, logging a 15-6 record with three saves and 16 complete games in 146.2 innings of work. She has struck out 143 hitters this season and has a 2.29 ERA. Olivia Campion has also been solid at the plate, collecting 49 hits, six doubles, a triple, four homers, and 21 RBI to help stake a .360 batting average.
No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – 28-12 (Overall), 17-11 (SCIAC)
CMS enters the 2018 SCIAC Tournament led by three-time SCIAC Pitcher of the Year Anna Gurr (CMC). Gurr leads the SCIAC in ERA on the season at 1.60 and is tied for the lead in wins at 15. She has logged 95 strikeouts this season and is now the winningest pitcher in CMS history with 67 career wins. She is the career leader in shutouts (28) and innings pitched (663.0), as well. Chloe Amarilla (CMC) also garnered First Team All-SCIAC honors this year for the first time in her career. The junior leads the Athenas batting at a clip of .440. She leads CMS with 59 hits including a team best 12 doubles. Freshmen Kawai Scanlan (SC), Molly Spaniac (CMC), and Maddie Valdez (CMC) were all named Second Team All-SCIAC and have provided much of the Athena's offense in the 2018 season. The three fall second, third and fourth in batting average for CMS, with Scanlan batting .418, Spaniac at .364, and Valdez hitting at a .364 clip. Scanlan is tied for the SCIAC lead with five triples and Valdez leads the team with 35 RBI.
*Please not that portions of this article are borrowed from the SCIAC Softball Tournament Preview Article.