Chapman Softball Takes Series Opener from CMS 5-1

ORANGE, Calif. - The 20th-ranked Chapman softball team scored twice in the first inning to give starting pitcher Jillian Kelly all the offense she would need as the Panthers took a 5-1 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the first game of a three-game series on Friday afternoon.

With the win, Chapman improves to 22-6 overall and moves to 10-3 in the SCIAC. CMS slips to 17-16 overall and 10-6 in league play with the loss. 

The Panthers used a pair of singles and a pair of bunts to take a 2-0 lead in the first. The Athenas were able to get one of those runs back in the top of the third, when Kristin LeBlanc led off the inning with a triple and came home on a two-out RBI single from Paige Zimmerman. 

Those were both of the hits that Kelly allowed, though, and Chapman was able to get the run back in the bottom of the third on a two-out error, and then tack on two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kelly retired the side in order in the seventh to finish off the win and improve to 11-3 on the year. 

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow at Athena Field at 12 noon for a doubleheader to complete the three-game set.