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Leopards split with Pomona-Pitzer

La Verne junior third baseman Mackenzie Dutton misses the tag on Pomona-Pitzer senior center fielder Ashley Morello, who slid safely into third at the bottom of the fifth inning Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer in game two of the doubleheader. The Leopards pulled through in the end to win the game, 5-2. The team dropped game one to the Sagehens, 6-3. / photo by Celene Vargas
La Verne junior third baseman Mackenzie Dutton misses the tag on Pomona-Pitzer senior center fielder Ashley Morello, who slid safely into third at the bottom of the fifth inning Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer in game two of the doubleheader. The Leopards pulled through in the end to win the game, 5-2. The team dropped game one to the Sagehens, 6-3. / photo by Celene Vargas

Chris McMahan
Staff Writer

The Leopards split their series against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens Saturday at the Rains Center, losing game one 6-3 and winning game two, 5-2.

“That’s the one thing I think we do really well is you never think we’re going to lose even until that last out,” head coach Julie Smith said.

In game one, La Verne scored in the top of the first inning when sophomore first baseman Alexis Shiff’s groundout led to an error by Pomona-Pitzer sophomore shortstop Quinn Sheehy allowing senior second baseman Dani Vela to score.

Pomona-Pitzer answered back in the bottom of the first, when freshman designated hitter Kelsey Buchanan hit a three-run home run, scoring junior right fielder Susanne Boden and senior center fielder Ashley Morello, putting the Sagehens in the lead, 3-1.

The Sagehens extended their lead in the bottom of the second, after Morello singled to center field, scoring senior second baseman Megan Tokunga, making it, 4-1.

La Verne started to claw its way back in the top of the third, when another error by Sheehy led to Schiff reaching first and Vela scoring once again from third, cutting the Sagehens lead, 4-2.

The Leopards swapped pitchers in the bottom of the third inning, when junior Lyndsay Godwin came in to take over for sophomore Hayley Jaquess.

After the change, La Verne allowed only three hits and two runs in the final five innings. Smith said the bullpen helped give the team a great pitching performance in game one.

“I thought our relief pitcher did a good job coming in,” Smith said.

The scoring did not get started again until Pomona-Pitzer broke the drought in the bottom of the sixth, when Boden singled into left field, scoring Sheehy and Morello.

Heading into the final inning, La Verne found themselves in a big hole with the Sagehens now leading , 6-2.

It looked like the Leopards were about to start a rally, kicked off by freshman catcher Angelica Deangelo’s solo home run, but the offense cooled off. Pomona-Pitzer took game one, 6-3.

“They just hit the ball a lot cleaner than us in the gaps, but I thought we had the fight at the end, which was pretty good for us,” Deangelo said.

Game two seemed like it was going to go the same way that it did in game one for La Verne, but their bats caught fire.

Pomona-Pitzer struck first, when Boden hit a two-run home run, scoring Sheehy in the bottom of the first.

That homer would be the only big mistake for junior Katy Kibbe, who allowed two earned runs and seven hits through seven innings.

La Verne’s offense also kicked off in game two.

In the top the third, Vela singled to right center, scoring senior right fielder Katie Cunningham, making the score, 2-1.

In the top of the sixth, Kibbe hit a two run home run, scoring junior third baseman Mackenzie Dutton, giving the Leopards a lead they would never relinquish.

The Leopards took game two, 5-2.

With the win, La Verne is now 16-16 on the season with a Southern California Intercol­legiate Athletic Conference record of 11-9.

“Right now, I feel like we’re just in a position that if we can hold tight, we can really secure going to SCIAC tournament,” Vela said.

The Leopards next take on the Whitter Poets at 4 p.m. Friday at Campus West.

The team then travels to Chapman to face the Panthers at noon Saturday at El Camino Real Park.

Chris McMahan can be reached at christopher.mcmahan@laverne.edu.

Chris McMahan, Staff Writer
Chris McMahan
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