Photo by Katie Pyne
LA VERNE, Calif. — Carly Condon went 5-for-7 with two homers on the day and the La Verne softball team split a doubleheader with George Fox on Friday at Campus West. The Leopards dropped the first game 7-5 before bouncing back with a 6-1 win in the nightcap.
The bats exploded in the win as the Leopards went 15-for-31 as a team at the plate. Condon went 3-for-4 in the game and came a triple shy of the cycle. Alexis Schiff was a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run.
Katheryn Navarro, who was a late addition to the team, was excellent in the circle. The freshman tossed struck out five while giving up just one run in 5.1 innings to pick up her first career win.
Elisa Ponce earned her first save of the season, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings to close the game.
The Leopards got going almost immediately. Rachel Ogata and Condon led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles and Schiff promptly smacked a double to score Ogata while Condon was thrown out at home trying to score from first. Sienna Kendricks then singled up the middle to score Schiff, giving the Leopards a 2-0 lead.
Alyssa Gonzalez answered for George Fox with a solo shot in the top of the second but Condon had a response of her own. With two outs and one on in the bottom of the second, Condon blasted one to straightaway center to stake La Verne out to a 4-1 lead.
Schiff hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth and Justice Borden knocked in a run with an RBI single in the sixth inning for La Verne.
The Leopards started slow in the first game and couldn't recover.
George Fox's Tia Uyehara opened the scoring with a leadoff home run in the top of the third and the Bruins added a run later in the inning with an RBI groundout.
La Verne took one back in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice bunt by Borden that scored Condon but George Fox responded with three more runs in the fifth to create a cushion.
Condon and Schiff hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-3 but the Bruins once again had an answer, pushing across two runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win.
Madison Sorenson picked up the win, scattering four hits while striking out seven in six innings.
The Leopards are back in action next Friday against Antelope Valley.