ORANGE, Calif. — The bats came alive for the University of La Verne softball team as the Leopards swept Chapman on Saturday afternoon at El Camino Real Park.
La Verne improves to 17-9 overall and 13-3 in SCIAC play. Chapman falls to 9-13 and 3-9.
The Leopards exploded for 10 runs on nine hits to beat Chapman, 10-0, in five innings in the first game.
The Leopards did most of the damage in the third inning, when they broke out for eight runs. La Verne sent 14 batters to the plate and compiled five hits to go along with three walks and a hit batter. Alexis Schiff opened the scoring with an RBI double. Michelle Deguzman, Carly Condon and Victoria Baltzar each smacked run-scoring hits as well.
The Leopards added two more runs in the top of the fifth aided by two errors. Baltazar singled up the middle, Mackenzie Dutton got on an error and Alexis Schiff plated Baltazar with a single through the left side. Dutton came home on an error by the first baseman.
Katherine Kibbe got the pitching assignment and was virtually unhittable. The senior gave up just three hits and pitched a shutout while striking out three.
Kibbe improves to 9-4 on the season.
Amy Serven scratched the lone Chapman hit off Kibbe in the second inning.
Condon, Baltazar and Schiff had two hits apiece to lead La Verne's attack.
The second game played out nearly identically as the Leopards put together one big offensive inning and received an excellent performance in the circle from Hayley Jaquess in a 8-0 run-rule win.
The Leopards broke the scoring cap in the top of the third inning. After Condon drew a one-out walk, Dutton doubled her in and Schiff followed with a single to bring home Dutton, giving the Leopards a 2-0 lead.
Then the floodgates opened in the fourth. With two on and one out, Rachel Ogata, Condon and Baltazar came up three straight hits to score four runs to put the Leopards up, 6-0. Then the Panthers helped La Verne's cause as the Leopards scored on a wild pitch and a defensive error.
Jaquess scattered five hits and struck out two in the five-inning shutout to improve to 7-3 on the season.
Dutton, Schiff and Ogata had two hits each for La Verne.
The Leopards are back in next Saturday when they host first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. First game starts at noon.
