Softball Sweeps Williams, Stretches Win Streak to Five

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Starting pitchers Heather Shipley and Hannah Adams both allowed just one run in five innings of work as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team defeated Williams in both ends of a doubleheader, taking the opener 7-3 and the nightcap 5-1 on Sunday at Athena Field.

Destiny Garcia was 4-for-6 in the doubleheader for CMS, which extends its winning streak to five games and moves to 10-3 on the year, while Williams opens its season at 0-2. Adams allowed no earned runs and six hits over five innings, and Shipley allowed just three hits over her five innings of work. 

After exiting the game with a 3-1 lead after the fifth, Shipley took a no-decision after Williams tied the score in the top of the sixth at 3-3 on a steal of home on a first-and-third play, but the Athenas responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the 7-3 win.  

Emily Nutting led off the sixth with a walk, and then Paige Zimmerman put down a bunt that had enough speed to push it past the pitcher and into territory where no fielders were, allowing pinch-runner Megan Kho to move all the way to the third. Ari Livi then put down a successful sacrifice squeeze that resulted in an error, breaking the 3-3 tie, and Jacqueline Solomon reached base on another sacrifice that resulted in an another error. 

After Emma Suh hit a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-3, Garcia drove home another run with an RBI single, and a throwing error pushed it to 7-3. 

In the nightcap, Sarah Loper had an RBI single to start things off in the first and Solomon walked with the bases loaded to make it 2-0. After a 45-minute rain delay, Williams cut it to 2-1 in the third when another first-and-third situation resulted in a CMS error, but Loper responded in the bottom of the third with an RBI double. 

Abby Thompson then helped put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out, two-run double down the left field line. 

Sahar Loper finished 2-for-2 with two RBI, and Maya Loper, her twin sister, threw the seventh inning to finish off the win. Alexis Gero also threw a 1-2-3 sixth after Adams gave way to the bullpen after her strong five-inning effort. Sun was 2-for-3 in the nightcap for the Athenas. 

CMS will be back in action when it opens SCIAC play this weekend with a three-game series with Cal Lutheran, beginning with a single game at home on Friday at 3 p.m.