CMS Softball Stays Atop SCIAC with 3-1 Win over Whittier

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team held on to first place in the SCIAC in a tight three-way battle with Redlands and Chapman, taking a 3-1 home win over Whittier on Friday at Athena Field.

With the win, CMS moves to 19-9 on the season and 10-3 in the SCIAC, remaining percentage points ahead of Redlands (12-4) and staying in front of Chapman (8-3), both of which won their Friday games as well. Whittier slips to 12-14 overall and 3-8 in the SCIAC with the loss. 

Jade Johnson threw 4.2 innings to get the win, while Ella Yerkes closed out with 2.1 innings of relief for her first collegiate save. Ellie Novogradac was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, with a hit by pitch, while Destiny Garcia was 2-for-3 with a triple. 

CMS got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, when Kaili Aqui singled and stole second. Garcia was then able to break the tie with a single the other way to left, moving into second on the throw home, and Rachel Sapirstein followed with a double down the left field line to make it 2-0. 

CMS added a run in the fourth as Novogradac singled with one out, and Sophia Nguyen followed with a bunt single, with Novogradac moving to third on an error. Emma Suh then drove home in insurance run with an RBI groundout to second. 

Whittier got a run back in the fifth, and then had runners on second and third in the sixth with a chance to tie, but Yerkes was able to get a routine grounder to Suh at second base to end it. 

The two teams will complete their three-game series tomorrow with a doubleheader at Whittier, starting at 12 p.m.