REDLANDS, Calif. — Softball begins the SCIAC tournament on Friday, May 10, in Redlands, Calif. The Panthers will face Claremont-M-S in the first round of the double-elimination tournament, with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m. 

The Field

No. 1 Seed – Redlands Bulldogs

No. 2 Seed – Chapman Panthers

No. 3 Seed – Claremont-M-S Athenas

No. 4 Seed – Cal Lutheran Regals

The Matchup

The Panthers are 2-1 against the Athenas this season, winning the series last weekend with victories in games one and three. Chapman's Rose Malen who earned SCIAC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second straight week, pitched 13 innings, surrendering only two runs, picking up a victory and a save.

Final Scores

Game 1 – W, 2-1

Game 2 – L, 12-2

Game 3 – W, 7-3

The victories helped the Panthers clinch the second seed in the tournament and a three-way split of the SCIAC Regular Season title. 

Players to Watch

Chapman earned five All-SCIAC selections on Thursday, May 9, headlined by Malen and Miranda Murphy on the first team. Malen was second in the SCIAC in ERA and third in the conference in strikeouts.

Murphy was a force at the plate, hitting .467 in SCIAC contests. Her prowess at the dish left her with the second-highest OPS in the conference.

Jillian Kelly, Ilianna Serna, and Jordan Westerfield earned Second Team All-SCIAC honors. Kelly spun three complete-game shutouts in SCIAC play and earned a 1.75 ERA through the conference slate. Westerfield hit over .400 in SCIAC contests, while Serna launched a pair of homers on the season, hitting at a .351 clip.

The Outlook

With a win, the Panthers will face the Redlands Cal Lutheran matchup winner and earn a spot in the SCIAC semi-finals. Conversely, a loss would result in an elimination game between the loser of the same contest. Follow the action live on sciacnetwork.com and the live stats link here.