Softball splits with Oxy
Campus Times
April 11, 1997
Spring break was no time to rest for the University of La Verne softball
team which beat a highly-rated Coe College, March 23 and 24 in San Antonio,
Texas.
In the first game the Leopards went into extra innings to pull off their
first victory of the tournament.
The bottom of the eighth inning started with two quick outs, but senior
shortstop Laurie Grey hit a single which gave sophomore centerfielder Angel
Mejico a chance to win the game. Mejico took advantage of the opportunity
with a double and an RBI which brought the Leopards to a victory, 9-8.
In the same game, junior third baseman Liz Lomeli unfortunately ended
her season with a ankle injury and was rushed off to the hospital, which
caused a delay in the game. The loss of Lomeli forced the Leopards to make
adjustments to their defense.
"We got really creative with our defense," said assistant
coach Lisa Scott.
Junior rightfielder Jaime Anderson said the team is missing Lomeli's
good baserunning, hitting, and especially her positive attitude, which helps
the other players on the team.
"We miss her on the field," Mejico said.
In the second game the Leopards shut the Kohawks down, 7-0. Michelle
Geiger, freshmen pitcher, led the way by giving up only three hits in six
innings.
"We beat one of the top teams," Scott said.
The Leopards continued to play without Lomeli and split with Occidental
last Friday in conference play.
The first game the Leopards were defeated, 4-3.
The Tigers came up with all four runs in the fifth inning which gave
Occidental their first victory of the year.
"We kind of overlooked them in the first game," senior first
basemen Katie Miner said.
The Leopards ended with 11 stranded base runners.
"We left too many people on base, we just could not score,"
Anderson said.
Senior Kelly Perkins, who played catcher, ended with four hits, but
only scored once.
In the second game the Leopards looked for revenge after the defeat
of game one. The attack was lead by Grey.
Grey came up with three big hits and two RBI's, which helped the Leopards
beat the Tigers 6-4. The Leopards overall record is 13-9, and 6-6 in SCIAC.
Today, the Leopards will face for the first time this season, the second
place team in SCIAC, Claremont-Scripps at home at 3 p.m.
According to Scott, the Stags have one of the top pitchers, who is one
of the hardest throwers in SCIAC.