CMS Softball Falls to Whittier in Opening Round of Double-Elimination SCIAC Tournament

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team will have to win four games in two days in order to repeat as SCIAC Champions, after it dropped an 8-3 decision to Whittier in the opening round of the 2019 SCIAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at Athena Field.

The loss drops CMS to 30-10 on the year and forces it into the loser's bracket, where it will meet third-seeded Chapman on Saturday at 11 a.m. in an elimination game, after the Panthers fell to Pomona-Pitzer 6-2. The winner of that game will stay alive and play again at 4 p.m. against the loser of the 1:30 p.m. contest between 1-0 Pomona-Pitzer and Whittier. 

The Athenas got off to a strong start, as senior pitcher Chloe Amarilla retired the side in order on three groundouts in the first, and freshman shortstop Lauren Richards went opposite field for a two-run triple in the bottom of the first, scoring sophomore Molly Spaniac and senior Maddie Valdez, who both singled. However, the Poets responded with seven runs in the top of the second to flip the script and take control of the game with a 7-2 lead. 

Freshman Lexi Singh had a quality effort out of the bullpen to keep CMS in it, allowing just one run over 5.1 innings, but the Athenas were unable to put together a big inning to start a comeback. Valdez hit a two-out RBI double in the third to get one run back to close to within 7-3, but Whittier strung together three singles off Singh in the top of the fourth to get that run back on the third RBI from Sanchez, and the final three innings saw both teams match zeroes as the Poets took the win.

Valdez was 2-for-3 with her RBI double at the plate, while Amarilla was 2-for-4 with two sharp lineouts. Brittany Attaway was 3-for-4 for Whittier, while Sanchez was 2-for-4 with three RBI to support a complete-game pitching effort from Jannelle Ha. In a statistical oddity, neither team struck out once in the entire contest.   

CMS will try to get its momentum back in the morning against Chapman, which it went 4-0 against in the regular season, winning 4-1 and 3-1 at home, and 12-7 and 7-4 on the road. 


Tournament Schedule - Double Elimination
(times subject to change based on length of earlier games)

Friday, May 3
Game 1: No. 4 Whittier 8, No. 1 CMS 3
Game 2: No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer 6, No. 3 Chapman, 2

Saturday, May 4
Game 3: Chapman vs. CMS, 11 a.m. (elimination game)
Game 4: Pomona-Pitzer vs. Whittier, 1:30 p.m. (winner's bracket)
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m. (elimination game)

Sunday, May 5 (Championship Round)
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 7: Same 2 teams (if necessary), 30 minutes after game 6

General admission to SCIAC Championships:
Adults: $10
Military personnel and senior citizens: $5
Free for children under 12 or SCIAC students, faculty and staff with school ID