WHITTIER, Calif.— The Cal Lutheran softball team dropped two Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) games to the Whittier Poets on Saturday afternoon as Whittier stole the first game, 11-10, in eight innings and took the second game, 11-2.
Kendall Marinesi drilled her 10th homerun and is tied for third in program history for a single season. She is tied for the most homeruns in the conference after hitting one in back-to-back games.
Rachel Barker hit her first home run at Cal Lutheran and is now the fifth Regal to hit a homer this year. The firsts kept on coming as Rilee Grau connected on a triple in the second game of the doubleheader.
The offense came from all over the lineup as Barker, Marinesi and Celeste Ekman tallied two RBIs each in the doubleheader and Marissa Alfaia and Lexie Findley each added one.
Game One
Marinesi started the game with a bang as she hit a leadoff home run. With two outs and a runner on first, CLU wanted more. Ekman doubled and Barker advanced to third. Barker tallied the second run of the game after an error from Whittier allowed her to score.
The Poets added their own home run in the bottom half of the inning and tied the game. The Regals took the lead right back as Marinesi tallied her second RBI as she grounded out to second base, scoring Findley.
Brittany Workman was on the mound and pitched 5.1 innings. She kept the Poets scoreless in the second, third and fourth innings. Throughout those three innings, she only allowed one hit and struck out one batter.
The Regals opened up their lead in the fourth as Barker and Ekman each tallied a RBI. CLU added one more via an error from the Poets and had an 8-2 lead going to the fifth inning.
Whittier got one run back in the fifth and scored five runs in the sixth and tied the game. The game went to extra innings after neither team could score in the seventh.
After the Regals scored two runs in the eighth, due to an error by the Poets and a sac fly from Findley, it was Whittier's turn in the bottom of the inning. The Poets answered with a 2-run homer and then singled in the final run for a walk off.
Meghan Henry pitched the final two innings. She was not able to calm Whittier's bats as she took the loss and dropped to 2-6. She gave up five hits and three earned runs in the two innings.
Second Game
Game two started exactly like the first as CLU put up two runs in the first inning. Ekman hit a sacrifice fly for the first run and Barker hit a solo home run for the second.
Olivia Serrano took to the mound for the Regals as CLU went for the split of the doubleheader. After she kept Whittier scoreless in the second inning, they added five more runs in the third and took a 9-2 lead.
After 3.1 innings and one more run, Sammy Edmonds replaced Serrano on the mound. Edmonds got out of the inning with only allowing one more run as Whittier took an 11-2 lead to the fifth. The Poets sat the Regals down in order and took the second game, due to mercy rule, with a final score of 11-2.
The Regals continue the season on the road. Cal Lutheran is at Redlands next Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m.
Box Score: WC 11, CLU 10; WC 11, CLU 2
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
