LA VERNE, Calif. — Melissa Garcia hit a three-run shot to cap off a five-run sixth inning and the University of La Verne softball team rallied to beat the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas 5-3 in their SCIAC home opener Saturday at Campus West.
With the Leopards trailing by three in the bottom of the sixth inning, La Verne loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning after a pair of singles by Rachel Ogata and Michelle Deguzman and a walk by Carly Condon.
Shortstop Shelby Tevis took advantage of the juiced bases singling through the left side to bring in Ogata and get the Leopards on the board. Angelica DeAngelo got the Leopards to within one run with a sacrifice fly to right, bringing up Garcia with two outs.
Garcia crushed her pitch clear over the left field wall for a three-run homer, putting her squad up 5-3. The designated player finished 2-3 at the plate.
Jiana Rojo pitched one and two-thirds innings of relief, earning her first win of the season. Elisa Ponce had a solid start for La Verne, going five and a third innings with four strikeouts.
Katheryn Navarro nearly added her fourth home run of the season, hitting a shot to the warning track in the fourth, but was robbed by the Athenas' centerfielder.
Anna Gurr went six innings for the Athenas, taking the loss.
Game Two: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, La Verne 0
The Leopards fell behind 3-0 in the first inning of game two of the doubleheader and couldn't recover falling to the Athenas.
Garcia hit a double and Tevis added a hit. Condon walked twice.
Chloe Amarilla earned the win for the Athenas.
Season Impact: The Leopards move to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in SCIAC play. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps now sit at 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Next Game: The Leopards face Lewis and Clark in a nonconference game tomorrow at noon.