CLAREMONT, Calif. – Whitworth closed out its weekend trip to California by sweeping Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a non-conference softball doubleheader on Monday at Athena Field.
The Pirates (12-9) held on to win the opener 4-3 then scored two runs in the seventh inning to grab the nightcap 3-1. Whitworth won five of six games over the weekend and ended an eight-game winning streak by CMS (13-5).
The Bucs will return to Northwest Conference play with a makeup doubleheader against Pacific Lutheran on Thursday at Diana Marks Field. Those will be the first home games of the season for the Pirates.
Game 1 – Whitworth 4, CMS 3
Heather Menzer homered and Mattea Nelson went 3-4 with an RBI to back the complete-game pitching effort by Corinne Vassiloff.
Menzer got the Pirates on the board with her sixth home run of the season in the second inning, a solo shot to deep left field.
Whitworth scored three more runs in the top of the fourth. Haley Montoya tripled in the first run, then scored on Nelson's single to center field. Julia Dillon followed with a triple to right field that drove in Nelson.
The Athena's got an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth when Jacqueline Solomon tripled with two outs and scored when the throw from shortstop got away.
CMS had its only true rally of the game in the fifth, getting three straight hits to pull within a run. Destiny Garcia and Abby Thompson had back-to-back doubles in the rally. But Vasiloff settled down and retired three straight batters with the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first, starting with a 6-4-3 double play.
After the Athenas got a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, Vasiloff (8-4) got a ground out, a strike out and a ground out to Nelson at third to end the game. She allowed two earned runs on eight hits and three walks, with three strikeouts. Vasiloff went 3-0 on the trip to California.
Heather Shipley (5-3) started in the circle for CMS and allowed four runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings. Maya Loper finished up without allowing another run.
In addition to Nelson's three hits, Jazz Johnson went 3-4 and Montoya finished 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Game 2 – Whitworth 3, CMS 1
Momi Lyman pitched a four-hitter and got the win after Montoya singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning.
Johnson scored the game's first run, coming home on Jessica Rusconi's sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning.
The Athenas tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on Paige Zimmerman's two-out, RBI single. But the inning ended as Zimmerman was tagged at second after a strong throw in by Rusconi in left field.
The game remained scoreless until the Pirates' rally in the seventh. Kelly Hruza led off with a single to center and Shayla Shea pinch ran. After a sacrifice bunt and a fly out to left, Montoya singled through the left side to drive in Shea. Montoya went to second on the throw home, and that paid off when Nelson beat out a single to shortstop. The throw to get Nelson was dropped at first base and Montoya never stopped after rounding third and scored against a surprised CMS defense.
Lyman gave up a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh and then hit the next batter. But she struck out Madison Gonzales to end the game.
Lyman (4-4) scattered four hits to go along with two walks. She struck out four batters in her first back-to-back pitching wins of the season.
Hannah Adams (1-1) went the distance for the Athenas and allowed three runs on eight hits with one strikeout and one walk.
Montoya, Nelson and Hruza all had two hits in the game for Whitworth.
