LA VERNE, Calif. — Alexis Schiff went yard three times to power the La Verne softball team to a doubleheader sweep of St. Katherine on Wednesday at Campus West softball field. La Verne claimed the first game 10-0 in five innings and won the nightcap 13-4 in six.
Schiff got her first homer out of the way early, knocking one out of the park in the first inning of the first game. She hit two more in the nightcap and the second one was a two-run walkoff that sealed a run-rule win.
Newcomer Haley Gomez also hit a homer in the first game and Hayley Jaquess pitched a shutout.
Carly Condon opened the 2017 scoring with an RBI single to center in the first inning and Schiff slammed a no-doubter over center field wall in the next at-bat to give the Leopards a 3-0 lead.
La Verne added a run in the fourth inning on an RBI groundout by Angelica DeAngelo and the floodgates opened in the bottom of the fourth inning. Samantha Morales reached on an error to lead off and came all the way home on three wild pitches by St. Katherine's Maria Aguirre. Aguirre retired the next two batters but couldn't hold off La Verne's bats. Schiff drew a walk, DeAngelo singled and Michelle Deguzman singled to right to give the Leopards a 7-0 lead. Gomez then launched her first La Verne homer over the left center field wall to put La Verne up 10-0.
Jaquess, who will assume the role of staff ace following the graduation of the 2016 SCIAC Athlete of the Year Katherine Kibbe, looked more than up to the task. She scattered three hits and two walks over five innings while striking out two.
Gomez and Condon both went 2-for-3 and five other Leopards notched a hit.
La Verne's defense looked solid as well. The Leopards turned two double plays, including one in the top of the fifth inning that preserved the run rule win, and did not commit a single error. Gomez manned the hot corner without any mistakes and freshman shortstop Shelby Tevis showed a sure glove as well.
In the second game, the Leopards exploded for 11 runs in the final two innings. With the game tied at 2-2, freshman Justice Borden hit her first career home run to lead of the bottom of the fifth inning and that turned out to be the catalyst. Schiff hit her second homer of the night and Deguzman capped off the inning with a solo shot of her own to give the Leopards a 8-2 lead.
St. Katherine stopped the bleeding in the next half inning with a two-run shot by Tabitha Hannon but it was too late to stop La Verne's offense. In the bottom of the sixth, Borden and Morales led off with back-to-back singles and Rachel Ogata brought Borden home with a single. Morales scored on a sacrifice fly by Shelby Tevis, Carly Condon brought Ogata home with a triple and Schiff launched her walkoff to the right center.
Alexis Schiff is on �� �� ��! This is her third homer of the day!!! pic.twitter.com/HXDujGiAiN
— La Verne Leopards (@ULVAthletics) January 26, 2017
Ogata finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs and Borden was also perfect, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs. Schiff was 2-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored.
Ashley Caro and Elisa Ponce split pitching duties, pitching three innings each. Ponce picked up up the win with her two runs allowed coming off ther homer by Hannon.
The Leopards are back in action on Friday against Whitworth.
Postgame Quotes
La Verne Head Coach Julie Smith
On her first impression of the team: "I came in really not knowing what to expect because we have so many new faces. I was very pleasantly surprised with what 'gamers' some of these players are. We've had limited practice because of the rain so we've done a lot of hitting work so I felt confident in our hitting and this was a great first game for us."
On her pitchers: "It was nice to see how all three pitchers pitch. They have different styles, not just pitches-wise but mentally, too. Just to see what they do in different situations and their ability to get out of trouble was nice. Hayley had an awesome game and I'm happy with how she came out."