by Ramzi Rabadi
Staff Writer
Spring break was no time to rest for the University of La Verne softball team which beat a highly-rated Coe College, March 23 and 24 in San Antonio, Texas.
In the first game the Leopards went into extra innings to pull off their first victory of the tournament.
The bottom of the eighth inning started with two quick outs, but senior shortstop Laurie Grey hit a single which gave sophomore centerfielder Angel Mejico a chance to win the game. Mejico took advantage of the opportunity with a double and an RBI which brought the Leopards to a victory, 9-8.
In the same game, junior third baseman Liz Lomeli unfortunately ended her season with a ankle injury and was rushed off to the hospital, which caused a delay in the game. The loss of Lomeli forced the Leopards to make adjustments to their defense.
“We got really creative with our defense,” said assistant coach Lisa Scott.
Junior rightfielder Jaime Anderson said the team is missing Lomeli’s good baserunning, hitting, and especially her positive attitude, which helps the other players on the team.
“We miss her on the field,” Mejico said.
In the second game the Leopards shut the Kohawks down, 7-0. Michelle Geiger, freshmen pitcher, led the way by giving up only three hits in six innings.
“We beat one of the top teams,” Scott said.
The Leopards continued to play without Lomeli and split with Occidental last Friday in conference play.
The first game the Leopards were defeated, 4-3.
The Tigers came up with all four runs in the fifth inning which gave Occidental their first victory of the year.
“We kind of overlooked them in the first game,” senior first basemen Katie Miner said.
The Leopards ended with 11 stranded base runners.
“We left too many people on base, we just could not score,” Anderson said.
Senior Kelly Perkins, who played catcher, ended with four hits, but only scored once.
In the second game the Leopards looked for revenge after the defeat of game one. The attack was lead by Grey.
Grey came up with three big hits and two RBIs, which helped the Leopards beat the Tigers 6-4. The Leopards overall record is 13-9, and 6-6 in SCIAC.
Today, the Leopards will face for the first time this season, the second place team in SCIAC, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at home at 3 p.m.
According to Scott, the Stags have one of the top pitchers, who is one of the hardest throwers in SCIAC.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.