Heartbreak. That is what the Pomona-Pitzer women’s softball team felt twice this weekend. The Hens lost their first match-up against Whittier 9-8 in nine innings. Then, in the second game of the doubleheader, they succumbed 5-4 to the Poets in ten. Suffice it to say that a sense of heaviness, of opportunities missed—and bases untouched—permeated South Campus Saturday afternoon.
With the Hens leading 6-4 going into the seventh inning of game one, all was well in Claremont. The skies were blue, the sun shining, the palms waving ever so slightly in the breeze and Senior Day had thus far proceeded as if straight out of a Hollywood script.
Let us backtrack. After three innings, the Sagehens were trailing 4-0. Whittier took control early, tallying three runs in the first inning and one in the second, and it appeared as if the Sagehens’ best bet was to put the game behind them and focus on the second match-up of the doubleheader. “Not so fast,” said the Hens in unison. They scored four runs in the fourth, thanks to an RBI from Jessica Liu PO ’15, Emily Buika PZ ’12 and Kathryn Rabak PO ’13, and added two more in the sixth.
But the Poets answered back. They tied the game up in the seventh inning and used a three-run ninth inning to carry them to glory. Bri Marcantoni PZ ’12 hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough: the Whitter Poets finished the game with nine runs while the P-P Sagehens managed just eight.
Game two was a similar story. It commenced as a storyline worthy of the cinema and then ended in defeat. The Sagehens found themselves down 4-2 in the final inning. Again, victory seemed a far-fetched proposition. Buika had other ideas.
Putting all her strength into the bat, Buika laced a deep drive that seemed to never come down. Until it did—only on the other side of the wall.
Unfortunately, the Poets had a different sort of movie in mind. Not a love story, but a tragedy for the Hens. A Denisse Martinez RBI clinched the game for the Poets.
The Poets improve to 18-14 overall and 9-11 in SCIAC play. The Sagehens drop to 18-15 overall and 11-7 in the SCIAC. They currently sit in third place.