CLAREMONT, Calif.— Sienna Perez pitched a complete game, Ariana Mendoza smashed a three-run homerun and Cal Lutheran softball defeated Pomona-Pitzer, 5-3, in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
The Sagehens won the second game 14-4 and took the series. The Regals dropped to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in conference. The Sagehens got above .500 and are 5-4 and 2-1.
Game One
The Regals started off the top of the first strong with two hits and a walk that would load the bases. Natalie Winokur got the Regals on the board first, as the Regals took an early lead. Defensively in the bottom of the first the Regals were stout allowing them to maintain the lead at 1-0 going into the second inning.
The Sagehens would flip the script in the second, shutting the Regals out in the top of the second, while adding a run in the bottom and the score was tied. The teams went scoreless over the next two innings as Perez and the Sagehens' pitcher kept the opposing offenses in check.
In the fifth inning, the Regals would start the inning off with a walk. Which caused the Sagehens to seek a change at pitcher. They would get another walk after the following batter was hit by a pitch, leaving runners on first and second with no outs. Mendoza then brought out the heavy metal, hitting a 3-run home run, giving the Regals the lead. The inning would conclude and the score would remain 4-1.
The Sagehens looked to respond and started the inning off with a single. She would advance to second off a sacrifice bunt and be in scoring position. Three singles in total allowed the Sagehens to push across two runs in the inning as the lead was cut to 4-3
Celeste Ekman and the Regals looked to get those runs back in the sixth, as she led off with a double. She advanced to third off of a sacrifice bunt by Rilee Grau, and Natalie Luna singled to increase the lead to 5-3.The Seghens were unable to answer keeping the score 5-3 going into the seventh.
Perez shut down Pomona-Pitzer the rest of the way. She recorded perfect innings in the sixth and seventh as Cal Lutheran took the game 5-3, earning their first conference win of the season.
Game Two
The Regals started the first inning rather slow and were unable to make anything out of their first at bats. The Sagehens on the other hand, would start off the second game with a bang as they took an early lead off of a homerun. PP added two more runs in the inning and took a 3-0 lead to the second.
In the top of the third, the Regals put runners on second and third with one out. Luna got the Regals on the scoreboard as a sacrifice fly drove in Ekman bringing the score to 3-1. The Sagehens were looking to answer, and did so as a run pushed the lead back to three.
The Regals came out strong in the top of the fourth as they were able to load the bases with no outs. A run was brought in as Lauren Salvati had a line out to left field, making it 4-2.The bases would again be loaded, but this time there was an error from the short stop's throw to first which allowed two runners to score for the Regals. The game was tied going into the bottom of the fourth.
The Seghens would put forth their best inning as they answered with six runs in the fourth. It was a daunting task for the Regals to come back and the Sagehens finished it off with four runs in the fifth and the game ended 14-4 after five innings.
The Regals continue the season with conference play as Cal Lutheran host La Verne on Friday for a game at 2 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 5, PP 3; PP 14, CLU 4
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director; Antonio Welch, Sports Information Assistant
