LOS ANGELES, Calif. (April 25, 2009) – On the final day of
the season, in the final game of the spring, the Occidental College
Tigers' softball team held off the University of La Verne to
win 6-4 and split with the second place Leopards.
For 145 consecutive games, Rebecca Nashleanas
started for the black and orange. Today, in her final game on Bell
Field, the senior was 1-for-3 with a walk as she made the first out
of the seventh inning in right field for her only putout of the
day.
Occidental bounced back from an 8-0, five inning, loss in the
first game of the day to claim their 14th victory of the
season, the most any Tigers' team has recorded in a decade.
Sophomore centerfielder Olympia Powell got
things started with a leadoff double and came around to score when
Tasha Serna-Gallegos followed suit with a
two-bagger of her own, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.
They doubled that lead in the third inning when Alyssa
Escalante drew a leadoff walk, her second of the game,
before moving to second on an Alyssa Smith
sacrifice bunt. Nashleanas and Nicole Hannasch
connected for back-to-back singles to left with the latter driving
in Escalante.
La Verne used a pair of hits and a couple of Oxy errors to knot
the game at 2-2 after three and a half innings of action.
The Tigers quickly made up for the unearned runs, sending eight
men to the plate and scoring three times, to re-take the lead in
the bottom of the fourth inning.
Powell singled for her second hit of the game and was quickly
sacrificed over to second by Gabriela Chavez who
also layed down a sac bunt in the first inning. Escalante promptly
singled to center, driving in Powell. Serna-Gallegos also recorded
her second hit of the game in the inning, with a base knock to
center, driving in Escalante to again tie the game. A ULV error,
which allowed Nashleanas to reach, also allowed Smith, who had
walked, to score the ultimate winning run.
The Leos made a push to get back into the game with two more
runs in the sixth, pulling the game to 5-4 in favor of the Tigers.
Oxy tacked on their sixth and final run in the sixth inning when
Serna-Gallegos crossed the plate after reaching on a
fielder's choice.
All nine starters reached base safely today. Chavez collected
the only Oxy hit in game one when she singled to left-center in the
fourth inning. Senior left fielder Britt Karp was
1-for-2 and had one putout in the outfield during her final
appearance. Lindsay Gross, the Tigers'
designated hitter, got a hit and walked.
Shanna Yackel tossed a complete game,
scattering seven hits allowing four runs, two earned, while
striking out three. She forced 10 ground ball outs and six fly
balls as she finished the season with a 9-16 overall record.
Occidental completed the 2009 season with a 14-23 overall record
and a 3-21 SCIAC mark.
