FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHAPMAN REBOUNDS TO EARN SPLIT WITH LA VERNE

ORANGE, Calif. –  The Chapman University softball team shook off the heartbreak of another seventh-inning defeat to beat the visiting University of La Verne 8-1 in the second game of a doubleheader split at Hart Park on Saturday afternoon. La Verne scored three unearned runs in the seventh inning to beat Chapman 6-4 in Game 1 of the twin bill. The Panthers slugged 10 hits in each game, out-hitting the Leopards in both.

Game 1: La Verne 6, Chapman 4
Senior RHP Jennifer Winford was the tough-luck loser despite allowing just three earned runs and striking out nine La Verne hitters. Winford was also 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI for Chapman (2-2) which suffered its second consecutive loss on a seventh-inning rally by its opponent.

One half-inning earlier, the Panthers snapped a 3-3 tie on an RBI single by sophomore IF Melanie Villarroel, plating sophomore OF Vanessa Goncalves with the go-ahead run. Villarroel led Chapman with a 3-for-4 performance and a run scored.

For La Verne (1-3), senior IF Jodi Lindsay hit a two-run first inning homer and went 3-for-4 with three RBI to help give Leopards head coach Julie Smith her first career victory.

Game 2: Chapman 8, La Verne 1
The Panthers received a strong performance from RHP Katie Finley who scattered five hits and allowed just one unearned run while striking out nine Leopards. Finley’s complete game was the second of her career and she improved to 1-1 this season. The sophomore also starred at the plate for Chapman, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Finley’s two-run single capped a four-run fifth and gave her and the Panthers an 8-1 cushion.

Junior C Kandy Francis drove in a pair of runs with a single in the second inning to put Chapman ahead 2-0; a lead it would not relinquish. Senior IF Catherine Hall was 3-for-3 with a run scored to lead the Panthers offensively.

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Game stats available online:
/athletics/07-08/softball/ulv-cu1.htm
/athletics/07-08/softball/ulv-cu2.htm