ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University softball team fell 5-0 and 6-1 to No. 10 Williams College in a non-conference doubleheader at El Camino Real Park. The Panthers have played eight of their last 10 games against ranked opponents, including six games against teams in the top-10.

Game 1 – L, 5-0

Junior Michaela Foisy led off with a bunt single and senior Samantha Whalen was 2-for-3 but that was all the offense the Panther lineup produced in the 5-0 loss. Whalen and Foisy have been leading the Panthers' lineup in the month of March, hitting .349 and .395, respectively. In the last ten games, Foisy has returned to form with a .414 batting average and 12 runs scored.

Foisy reached second in the first and Whalen did the same in the fourth after singling up the middle. In the seventh, Whalen led off with a double over the third base bag and took third on a passed ball.

Rebecca Duncan went six innings for Williams and Kirstin Mapes finished the final frame for the shutout victory. Duncan allowed just two hits, struck out four and walked one. Mapes allowed the double and struck out a batter.

The Ephs put a run on the board in the second with a double steal. Two more came across on four hits and an error in the fourth. An RBI-groundout and an RBI-single in the sixth added two more insurance runs.

Game 2 – L, 4-1

The Panthers outhit the Ephs 7-6 in the second game but couldn't turn the hits into runs in the loss. Junior Sarah Sumida and senior Elizabeth Runge each went 2-for-3. Sumida had the Panthers' only RBI of the day with a single up the middle in the first to score Foisy.

The Ephs scored on an error in the first and took the lead again in the second when Casey Pelz hooked a home around the left field foul pole. The Panthers threatened in the third when Runge's double put runners on second and third with two outs but a backhanded stop at first base prevented the runs from scoring and ended the inning.

Williams took advantage with another run in the fourth. Pelz delivered another big hit with runners on first and second to score the run on a ground rule double. An error brought another run home in the seventh.

Freshman Ayanna Sanchez pitched five strong innings for the Panthers, scattering six hits. She allowed just one earned run although three runs crossed the plate. Junior Sarah Hartmann took over in the sixth and did not allow a hit in two innings. A walk, a passed ball and an error allowed a run to come home in the seventh.

The Panthers continue a busy March schedule with another non-conference doubleheader tomorrow at noon. Chapman hosts Cortland in its final non-conference doubleheader of the season.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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