The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team (4-2, 2-2 SCIAC) played its second conference doubleheader this past Saturday, and split with Whittier College (5-4-1, 1-1 SCIAC).
The Athenas won their first game by run-ruling the Poets 9-0 in five innings, as Anna Gurr CM ’18 pitched a shutout. In the second game, Chloe Amarilla CM ’19 delivered a solid performance on the mound, but CMS couldn’t pull ahead and ended up losing 2-1 in eight innings.
In the first game, the Athenas jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They tacked on three runs in the bottom of the first, and later added six more in the fourth.
Gurr notched five strikeouts in her third win of the season.
“Our team came out really hard on Saturday and put up runs early,” third baseman Kylie Hetzel HM ’19 said. “In the first game, we were able to string together a lot of hits and played solid defense behind Anna, who pitched a great game as always.”
However, the second game was a different story. The bats fell silent for CMS — the Athenas could only push across a single run on a double steal in the bottom of the fifth.
That tied the game at one, but as the teams headed into extras in the eighth, the Poets finally pushed ahead. The Athenas failed to even the score, and dropped the second game of the afternoon.
“While the second game didn’t go our way, our defense was still solid and [Amarilla] pitched an awesome game,” Hetzel said. “Our hits just didn’t fall when they needed to.”
First baseman Molly Spaniac CM ’21 agreed with Hetzel’s assessment of the doubleheader.
“The team played really well,” she said. “The first game showcased our potential when we string hits together, but unfortunately, the ball didn’t find holes the second game.”
The Athenas hope to be the top team in the SCIAC this season.
“We have a pretty small roster this year but … we have great team chemistry and enjoy being together, which I think will go a long way in how successful we’ll be,” Hetzel said. “Of course, our ultimate goal is to be in the national championships in Oklahoma City, but we are taking things one game at a time. Winning SCIAC is our focus right now and I think we have a really good chance of accomplishing that this year.”
The Athenas play Chapman University next weekend in another conference doubleheader, and are also looking forward to the 2018 Leadoff Classic in Tucson, Arizona at the beginning of March, where they will have a chance to compete against several other top teams from across the country.