The University of La Verne softball squad earned a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament by registering a doubleheader sweep of Pomona-Pitzer by scores of 6-1 and 3-2 in conference action Friday afternoon at Wheeler Park.
Coupled with Whittier's split against Occidental on Friday, the Leopards (24-14, 16-12 SCIAC) clinched fourth place in the league standings for the right to play in next weekend's conference tournament.
GAME 1: La Verne 6, Pomona-Pitzer 1
Raven Freret got the Leopards on the board with a two-run homer over the rightfield fence in the bottom of the to stake the home team to a 2-0 lead.
The Sagehens got their lone run in the top of the second when Meagan Tokunaga hit a run-scoring single to slice the deficit in half at 2-1.
La Verne stretched its lead to 5-1 on the strength of three hits and a Sagehen error in the bottom of the third. Danielle Vela scored from third when Katherine Kibbe reached on a miscue by the second basemen. A sacrifice bunt from Jackie Duran plated Freret from third, and Candice Nunez followed with a single through the right side to score Kibbe.
Freret, who finished 3-4 at the dish, closed the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Vela from second base.
Both Vela and Mackenzie Dutton each went 2-4.
Kibbe went the distance for the Leopards to earn the complete game victory, scattering five hits in seven innings to notch her 10th victory.
GAME 2: La Verne 3, Pomona-Pitzer 2
Tied at 2 in the bottom the sixth, La Verne went ahead to stay when Vega drew a bases loaded walk for a 3-2 lead.
The Sagehens (11-24, 5-21 SCIAC) threatened in the top of the seventh when Paige Oliver smacked a one-out double to reach second base. Leopard pitcher Rachel Hong would end the threat when she struck out Stephanie Boden before inducing a fly out from Tokunaga to end the game.
Pomona-Pitzer in the top of took an early 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of singles from Ashley Morello and Lauren Boden. The Leos struck back in the bottom half by taking advantage of four wild pitches to knot the contest.
The game would remain scoreless over the next four innings before the Leos broke through in the bottom of the sixth.
Rachel Hong pitched the second complete game win of the day for La Verne, yielding six hits in her seven innings of work.
Prior to the contest, the Leopards honored their lone senior Amanda Copas, as part of the Senior Day festivities.
By virtue of its fourth place finish, La Verne joins Redlands, Chapman and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in next weekend's SCIAC Postseason Tournament, to be held April 26-27.
