Regals Drop Pair of One-Run Games

Recap, photo courtesy of California Lutheran

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The California Lutheran softball team lost a pair of one-run games to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent Chapman, 2-1 and 4-3 (8 innings), Friday afternoon at Hutton Field.

Kendall Marinesi led the Regals with three RBIs as she single-handedly kept CLU in the second game. She went 3-for-3 in the game and hit her second home run of the season. Marinesi is the hardest batter to strikeout in Division III, according to NCAA stats, and leads the nation with zero strikeouts.

The Regals pitching was on point in both games as Brittany Workman and Olivia Serrano threw complete games.

Workman pitched all seven innings of the first game. She only gave up five hits and struck out two batters. Workman had a RBI single, but the Regals had no more offense as CLU lost 2-1. Workman took the loss and dropped to 2-4.

Game two went into extra innings. Serrano pitched 8.0 innings and threw 111 pitches. She gave up 11 hits, but good defense saw the Panthers strand six runners. Chapman scored four runs off Serrano, including two in the top of the eighth, and CLU lost 4-3. Serrano moved to 3-6 on the year.

In the first game, each team scored a run in the first inning. Good pitching and great defense was on display for the next five innings and the score was tied heading to the sixth. CU scored a run in the top of the sixth, held off the Regals the rest of the way and took the win.

The second game continued the trend of low scoring. With the score tied at 1-1 in bottom of the fourth, Marinesi gave CLU the lead as she connected on a home run. The Panthers scored in the top of the sixth, just like they did in the first game, but this run tied up the game. Chapman took the lead in the top of the eighth and scored two runs. The Regals threatened, but could only score one run in the bottom of the inning, and lost 4-3.