Priscilla Segura
Staff Writer

With three out of four games won this past weekend, the softball team seems to be batting towards the right direction.

The softball team played Occidental and Redlands over the weekend.

Oxy’s game was played on Saturday, while the Redlands game was held on Sunday.

The first Saturday afternoon game against the Tigers was a total success.

The Leopards didn’t make any room for the opposing team to score.

The Leopards won over the Tigers with a final score of 14-1 in game one and 12-1 in the second game.

The winning streak for the Leopards continued up to their first game on Sunday afternoon against Redlands.

During the first game, the Leopards left the Bulldogs barking with a score of 1-0.

The first two innings of the first game were pretty intense as both teams fought to take the lead.

But despite their efforts, the game remained scoreless until the third inning.

Leopards starting pitcher Mary Olson had her fastball going as she struck out several Bulldogs.

But when Redlands did get an opportunity at their at bats, the Leopard defense didn’t give them a chance as fly balls and grounders were all caught.

During the third inning, the Leos’ determination to score began to show.
Bulldogs’ Kayla Peterson was the closest Redlands to score, making it to third base.

Tensions rose when Bulldog Nicky Neumann tried to send Peterson home when she hit a fly ball, but Leopards sophomore outfielder Melissa Carlson caught what almost seemed like a home run ball.

The Leopards then made their efforts to win definitive when senior Debbie Bugarin hit a successful ball to first base.

Carlson got anther successful hit allowing Bugarin to run to advance to second base.

Yet it was Morgan Dobis’ RBI single that scored Bugarin.

The ball hit Bulldogs pitcher Olivia Ellis’, so Ellis helped the of cause of Burgarin scoring.

With Bugarin home, the Leopards roared. The score was now 1-0 in favor of the home team.

The Leopards made one last attempt to score but failed.

Although both teams made efforts to score, the game ended with that lone run.

The score remained the same through the remaining four innings.

“We were really prepared for this game. We played different positions but it went well,” said third baseman Trish McCormick.

Different substitutions were made because the team needed more communication.

“We needed more vocals out on the field…the positions worked well, we’re learning how to adjust and we’re coming through,” said McCormick. “We’re a lot stronger.”

“The game was really intense…we were all into it,” said third baseman Jessica Smith.

Although McCormick felt her team was a lot stronger, the outcome of the second game did not reflect that. The Leopards lost the second game against Redlands with a score of 3-4.

“It would have been great if we won both games,” said head coach Anna Ferrara.

Although the Leopards kept their defensive lineup the same, the offense was not able to score in game two.

“We had the same defense but we didn’t make it definitive,” Ferrara said. “Different teams come through at different times…we still have a chance for the conference.”

The Leopards next game will be home Saturday at noon against the Whittier Poets.

Priscilla Segura can be reached at psegura@ulv.edu.