After a one-year absence, the University of La Verne softball team returns to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. The double-elimination tourney will be held Friday and Saturday (April 26-27) at the University of Redlands.
La Verne (24-14) is the No. 4 seed and will open action Friday against the top seed and tournament host Redlands (32-8) in a 9:00 am start. The winner will face the winner of Game 2, featuring No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (29-11) and No. 3 seed Chapman (24-14), in a 4:30 pm start. The losers of Games 1 and 2 will meet in an elimination matchup scheduled for 2:00 pm.
The Leopards face a formidable foe in the Bulldogs, ranked No. 8 in the latest NFCA Division III Poll, despite taking three of the four games this season. La Verne and Redlands split a doubleheader back on March 3 in Redlands with the Leos earning a doubleheader sweep of the Bulldogs at Wheeler Park on March 23.
Offensively, the Leopards are led by the trio of junior Raven Freret, sophomore Danielle Vela and freshman Katherine Kibbe.
Freret ranks second in the conference in batting average at .466 and has hit five homers on the season to tie for fourth overall in the league. She also has registered a conference-best 16 doubles. Vela is also hitting above .400 with a .403 average to rank seventh among SCIAC leaders. Her 32 runs scored tops the Leopard squad. Kibbe has belted a team high six homers, good for third among SCIAC leaders, and is batting .350 on the year.
Kibbe has also posted a team-high 10 victories as a pitcher, sporting an overall record of 10-2 with a 3.10 earned run average.
The Leos, which earned a No. 25 national ranking in early April, enter tournament play having won five of their last six games to secure a fourth place finish in the league standings.
La Verne is making its fifth appearance to the tournament, now in its sixth season. The Leopards won the inaugural SCIAC Postseason Tournament in 2008 and claimed a second tourney title in 2010.
