THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— Junior Olivia Serrano pitched a complete outing in the first game while fellow classmates Kendall Marinesi and Celeste Ekman both hit a home run in the second game and the Regals swept the Hiram Terriers with scores of 5-1 and 16-10.
In a non-conference clash, the Regals got their first wins of the season as they moved to 2-4 on the young season. Hiram dropped to 0-3-1.
The heroics came from all over the lineup, on offense and defense. Serrano faced 29 batters, while only giving up one run and six hits during the first game. Marinesi hit her first home run of the year and junior Catherine Slabaugh came up with two clutch hits both resulting in a RBI. The defense from Marinesi at third base and junior Danielle Chatman at shortstop, including more Regals, helped Serrano get her first win of the year.
The Regals had a rough start in the second game before they caught fire and completed an epic comeback. Marinesi recorded seven RBIs as she smashed a grand slam for her second home run of the day. Ekman tallied an inside-the-park home run, and junior Lauren Salvati went 3-for-4, as they both recorded three RBIs in the win.
Game One
After giving up the lone run in the first inning, Serrano then retired 18 of the next 24 batters. She found her stride as the offense took it from there. CLU answered quickly in the bottom of the second as Marinesi homered. A few batters later, Slabaugh laced a RBI single to right field to give Cal Lutheran its first lead of the game.
The Regals added three more runs to give themselves the cushion they needed. A RBI single in the third from Ekman and then a RBI from Salvati in the fourth game put CLU up for good. Defense took care of the rest as Cal Lutheran won the first game 5-1.
Game Two
CLU had a huge deficit to overcome as Hiram took a 9-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third. The Regals got some of the runs back as Marinesi, Ekman and junior Sienna Vannoy both tallied one RBI.
Cal Lutheran kept the points coming and put up a sixth-spot in the bottom of the fourth. The inning featured Marinesi's grand slam and the inside-the-park home run from Ekman. Chatman also drew a walk for the one of the six RBIs.
The Regals continued their comeback in the bottom of the fifth and had their first lead after scoring three runs. As CLU took the lead, sophomore Meghan Henry took the mound as she tried to keep their first lead of the game.
Henry pitched 3.2 innings, only giving up three hits, as she recorded one strikeout and zero runs to get her first win of the season. The Regals then added four runs in the bottom of the sixth for good measure as they claimed the second game 16-10 and swept the Terriers.
The Regals jump right back in to conference play. Cal Lutheran will host Whittier on Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m.
Interview with Olivia Serrano and Kendall Marinesi:
Box Score: CLU 5, HC 1; CLU 16, HC 10
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director