The 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Softball Postseason Tournament wrapped up on Saturday, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges taking the coveted title in an 11-0 triumph in five innings over the University of Redlands during the second championship game.
By winning the SCIAC Postseason Tournament title, the Athenas (28-13) earn the conference's automatic berth the NCAA Division III Championships. Redlands (30-13) now must hope for an at-large bid, with the full field being announced on Monday at 7 a.m. To watch the 2014 NCAA Division III Softball Championships Selection show, please click here.
In what was the second championship game due to the double-elimination format, the Athenas earned the 11-run win over the Bulldogs after jumping on top in the first two innings. After notching one run in the first and then six more in the second, the Athenas forced the Bulldogs to go to their pitching relief early and never looked back in the win.
The Redlands bats never got going in its third game of the day, stranding numerous runners throughout the course of the contest, ultimately resulting in the loss for the regular-season conference champions.
For CMS, eight players registered at least one hit in the postseason-tournament clinching win. Janelle Shiozaki and Tara Robinson led the way with three hits apiece, while Brooklyn Robinson, Carlene Roberts, and Melanie Carlson all notched two hits.
Haley Shultz earned the win in the circle for CMS, throwing all five innings while dispersing just five hits and allowing no runs.
The U of R forced that second championship game in the double elimination tournament via two exciting wins earlier in the day, with the second coming over the Athenas in a 1-0 pitcher's duel.
Redlands battled it out with the Athenas in the defensive-minded clash between familiar foes who had competed just a day earlier. The only score of the game came in the bottom of the first after the Bulldogs loaded the bases on a double by AJ Carrasco, an Athena error, and a walk. Amanda Clark then walked in the eventual winning run, which held up through the remainder of the game due to fantastic pitching and great defense from the Bulldogs.
Both teams stepped up with key double plays, with Redlands collecting one in the third and CMS answering in the fifth.
The Athenas garnered a runner on third in the sixth when Brooklyn Robinson led off with a double and then moved over on a ground-out. But the Bulldogs forced another routine defensive play to end the potential rally.
From the circle for the Maroon and Gray, Lauren Henson thrived in the must-win situation, registering her second complete-game performance of the season. She scattered seven hits and fanned three Athenas in the shutout victory to improve to 8-3 on the season.
In another elimination game during the day's opener between Whittier College and Redlands, the Bulldogs rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth to capture a hard-fought 7-4 win to advance to the championship contests against CMS.
Kristen Hooper led off the ninth inning with a double to left field, creating just enough spark in the offense to get things rolling. After Amanda Lievanos ripped a single, Vicki King stepped up once again with a clutch-hit, bringing home two runs on a long single to center. Grace Rose and Janelle Carrasco also pushed across insurance runs for the Bulldogs, with Rose capping off a 4-for-5 performance.
The Maroon and Gray started the game with a run in the top of the first inning, with AJ Carrasco belting a triple to the left-field fence to set up King's RBI-single.
However, the Poets (27-16), playing as the home team, answered with a two-spot in the bottom of the second. Whittier's first four batters connected on hits, with Courtney DeLano knocking in the first RBI on a single. The Poets also took an advantage of an uncharacteristic wild pitch by Redlands' pitcher Kaitlyn Hooper. But she quickly settled down, forcing three routine defensive plays to end the inning.
Down 1-2, the Maroon and Gray responded in the fourth with a two-out rally to push across two runs. With the bases loaded, AJ Carrasco found the gap in right-center field for a long single for the Bulldogs' 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Whittier tied it up with a solo shot by Emi Shimamoto, continuing the back-and-forth nature of the contest.
With the score still knotted at three apiece, the game headed to extra innings to determine the tournament finalist. In the top of the eighth, the Poets escaped a bases-loaded jam via a diving catch by Alyse Gutierrez to rob Carrasco of the winning RBI-hit.
However, the Bulldogs took care of business defensively, with a fly-out and a textbook double-play between Amanda Clark, King, and Nikoli Sharp.
Kaitlyn Hooper earned her 20th win of the season after the full-game, nine-inning performance.