Less than 48 hours after meeting on Saturday, the University of La Verne and Cal Lutheran University softball teams renewed acquaintences for their second doubleheader in three days.
This time around, the two squads battled to a doubleheader split as the Leopards took on the opener 5-3 while the Regals earned a 5-3 triumph in the nightcap Monday in Thousand Oaks.
In the first game, La Verne was propelled by the arm and bat of freshman Katherine Kibbe, who pitched a complete game victory on the mound while also belting a two-run homer at the plate.
The Leos got on the board in the top of the second on an RBI single from Melisa Sponholz to score Candice Nunez for an early 1-0 lead.
CLU knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Kelly Lockwood tripled to right field to score Brittany Labbe from first base.
In the top of the sixth, Raven Freret led off by reaching base on a Regal error. Kibbe followed by blasting a pitch over the right centerfield wall to give the Leopards a 3-1 lead. Nunez would later single to center, and Makenzie Dutton would drive Nunez in with an RBI double to boost the Leopard advantage to 4-1.
La Verne padded its lead in the top of the seventh when Freret blasted a solo homer to put the Green and Orange on top 5-1.
Cal Lutheran did not go quietly, as singles by Tracy Beachum and Katelyn Downing set up a two-out, two-run double by Shannon Tinsley to close the gap to 5-3. However, the uprising would be contained as Kibbe recorded the final out to preserve the Leopard victory.
In the second game, CLU reversed fortunes and pulled out a 5-3 triumph over the Leopards.
After a Nunez RBI single in the top of the first put La Verne up 1-0, CLU answered with two Tinsley belted a two-run homer to left field to give the Regals a 2-1 lead.
Cal Lutheran went ahead 3-1 an inning later when Shonna Christianson hit a run-scoring triple to plate Liz Mertel for a two-run Regal advantage through two innings.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the fifth when Kibbe struck again, delivering a two-run blast to centerfield to knot the game at 3-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, CLU reclaimed the lead for good, when three walks and a single help push across a run as a bases-loaded walk to Danika Green brought home Taylor Beachem from third. The Leopards yielded yet another pass to Tinsley, whose walk scored Kendra Varney to put the Regals ahead 5-3.
Downing retired the Leopards in order in the top of the seventh to secure CLU's first win of the season.
With the result, a couple of streaks were halted as the Leopards dropped their first contest of the season after winning its first seven games while the Regals snapped a seven-game losing skid to open the 2013 campaign.
La Verne pounded out 10 hits including two apiece from Freret, Kibbe and Sponholz. Tinsley led the Regals with three runs batted in.
The Leopards will next visit Chapman University for a doubleheader on Saturday, February 23 in a 12:00 pm start.
