ORANGE, Calif. – It was a Senior Day sweep for the Chapman University softball team, defeating Cal Lutheran 3-1 and 4-2 to take the SCIAC series and stay in second place in the standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Although the seniors took center stage before the games, Rose Malen had two dominant performances to pick up the win in both games in the circle.
Game 1 – W, 3-1
Malen spun another complete game gem to even the series after Friday's walk-off loss. She outdueled Cal Lutheran's Ashlyn Flinchum,allowing just one run on five hits while striking out four with no walks. She retired 14 of the last 16 batters in the game while the Panthers pulled ahead on the offensive end of the inning.
Ilianna Serna gave Chapman the initial lead with a run-scoring single in the first inning. After Cal Lutheran tied it up in the second, Mia Reyes' single in the fourth inning brought in pinch runner Ava Fagin for a 2-1 lead.
Pinch hitting Aleena Helms added some insurance in sixth with an RBI-triple after Jojo Westerfield's leadoff single. Chapman had six hits in the game from six different players, including seniors Miranda Murphy and Morgan Lastinger.
Game 2- W, 4-2
Senior Ashley Hester started the game in the circle but Malen entered the game in the fourth with the game tied 2-2. Cal Lutheran had two on with no outs after a walk and a bunt single. A shallow pop up, a grounder to the right side and pop up into center retired the Regals with no runs across to keep the game tied.
Malen went on to retire 12 of the 14 batters she faced, giving up just one single and issuing an intentional walk. In total, Malen tossed four shutout innings to pick up the win. She allowed just one run in 11 innings on Saturday to improve to 11-4 on the year.
A senior-laden lineup on Senior Day featured a surprise star for the Panthers as Lily Rasmussen went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Rasmussen, Murphy, Serna and Samantha Kennedy all had multi-hit games to close out their Senior Day.
Westerfield knocked in Murphy in the first with a single and Murphy drove in Rasmussen in the second for a 2-0 lead. A two-run homer from Jessica Waters tied the game up in the third.
After Malen escaped the fourth inning jam, Rasmussen lined a two-double into left center for her first hit of the season. A few pitches later, she scored on Kennedy's single into center to give Chapman a 3-2 lead. Rasmussen went on to single in the sixth as well but the Panthers added their insurance run on a wild pitch in the fifth.
The Panthers trail Redlands by two games heading into the final series of the season but also lead CMS and Pomona-Pitzer by two games. The latter two face off in a doubleheader tomorrow. Chapman clinches a spot in the SCIAC Tournament if either team sweeps the doubleheader and clinches second place with at least one win over CMS next week.
Chapman opens its series with CMS at home on Friday at 3 p.m.
