THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The bats came to life as the Chapman University softball team captured a pair of wins to take the series from Cal Lutheran. Chapman (2-3, 2-0 SCIAC) pounded 25 hits to score 21 runs over the doubleheader, winning 9-7 and 13-0.

Juniors Rani Lauwers and Tracie Okumura led the offensive assault as each had five hits on the day. Senior Mykala Tokunaga drove in five runs and hit her first home run of the season. Freshman Simi Lauwers tossed five shutout innings in the second game.

GAME 1 – W, 9-7

The frustrations of stranded runners from the first game of the series quickly became a distant memory as the Panthers immediately lit up the scoreboard for seven runs over the first two frames. Tokunaga opened the flood gates when her single plated Okumura for the game's first run.

Two more runs came in to score in the first, followed by four in the second. Junior Julia Muniz had an RBI-single in the first and a two-RBI single in the second to cap the scoring in both innings. She went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the game.

Cal Lutheran chipped its way back in and trailed just 7-5 after a three-run fourth. Junior Jessica Kim hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Tokunaga hit her homer in the sixth to answer and give Chapman the deciding margin.

GAME 2 – W, 13-0

Simi Lauwers was dominant in the circle and the offense put up huge numbers in the fifth and sixth to take the rubber match of the series. Lauwers allowed just four hits and struck out a pair without issuing a walk to get her first collegiate win. Her older sister, Rani Lauwers, went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored to support the strong pitching effort. Okumura had a four-hit game, driving in two and scoring twice more.

After a silent first and second, the Panthers put up two runs in the third on singles from freshmen Summer Lake and Emily Hayes. Another run in the fourth made it 3-0 before the onslaught began. Four runs came across on five hits, including four consecutive RBI hits, to make it 7-0 in the fourth.

Four hits and three errors led to a parade of six runs crossing the plate in the fifth to seal off the victory early for the Panthers. Freshman Katie Carder tossed a 1-2-3 inning to close it out in the bottom of the sixth,

Chapman takes a break from SCIAC play next week to visit Azusa Pacific for a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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