Softball Splits a Pair With East Bay

Whittier College continued their season with a non-conference match up with visiting California State University, East Bay on February 10.  The teams each came away with a win in the doubleheader; East Bay won 3-1 in the first game and the Poets took the nightcap by a score of 2-1.  Whittier is now 4-2 this season.

Game one was a pitcher's duel between Whittier's Deena Arenas '08 and East Bay's Jesse Peterson.  The Poets were the first to get on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, when Amanda Brown '09 drove in Sheryl Fukuda '08 for the go-ahead run.  Later that inning with two outs and two on, Brown was called for a controversial runner's interference that stymied the Poet rally.  The following inning, three errors by the Whittier defense scored three unearned runs that decided the game.  They were the only three runs allowed by Arenas (1-2), who pitched a gem, scattering six hits in seven innings and striking out five batters.  Brown had two of Whittier's four hits in the game.

The Poets got their payback in game two, thanks to a game-winning, RBI-double from Kellie Canida '11 in the bottom of the sixth inning.  She was 2-for-3 in the game.  Molly Yriate '11 had the other RBI for the Poets in the first inning.  Vicky Ovieda '09 (1-0) had a great outing on the mound, allowing just three hits and one earned run in seven innings.

The Poets begin SCIAC play on February 16, when they travel to California Lutheran University for a 12pm doubleheader.