Santa Clara softball won both games of a doubleheader against LMU on Saturday, taking a 5-4 victory in the opener and a 7-5 win in the second contest. The outcomes kept Santa Clara in first place in the West Coast Conference standings.
In the first game, LMU took an early 2-0 lead in the third inning. Justine Lambert scored after singling and advancing on a wild pitch. Jasmine Sofowora drove in Sofowora on a hit, and Mika Chong's second hit of the game allowed Sofowora to score again after a Santa Clara error.
Santa Clara responded immediately, tying the game in the bottom of the third with a two-run single by Hope Alley and a throwing error by LMU. The Broncos added three more runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run triple from Cairah Curran, to take a 5-2 lead.
LMU scored two runs in the fifth inning, with Justine Lambert and Arianna Jaurequi reaching on errors. Hits from Jasmine Sofowora and Izzy Jamgotchian set up Mika Chong, who singled to drive in two runs and narrow the deficit to one. A double play ended the threat.
Jessica Hubbard pitched scoreless relief for LMU in the final innings of game one. For Santa Clara, Cari Ferguson earned the win, pitching four innings and allowing one earned run. Hannah Edwards recorded the save, retiring the final six LMU batters.
Game two saw LMU strike first again in the opening inning when Justine Lambert scored on a sacrifice fly by Jasmine Sofowora. After Santa Clara tied it, Emma Gutierrez hit a double in the second to bring in Analiah Lummus, giving LMU a 2-1 lead.
Santa Clara tied game two with a solo home run from Abigail Charpentier in the second inning. Mika Chong hit a solo home run for LMU in the fourth, putting the Lions back ahead 3-2.
Santa Clara answered in the bottom of the fourth with a five-run inning, aided by three LMU errors. Rebecca Rubio and Kyla Acres had hits driving in runs during the rally. Four of the five runs were unearned.
LMU attempted a comeback in the seventh inning, loading the bases against Santa Clara reliever Alaina Valdez. Sakora Harvell singled to drive in two runs, bringing the tying run to the plate. However, the final out came on a baserunning mistake.
Hazyl Gray was the pitcher of record for Santa Clara, earning her 11th win. Jessica Hubbard took the loss for LMU in game two.
With the two wins, Santa Clara improved to 30-18 overall and 9-2 in the WCC, maintaining a one-game lead over Saint Mary's. The win total ties the Santa Clara program record for wins in a season. Cairah Curran's two hits in game one gave her 74 hits for the season, breaking a Santa Clara single-season record previously set in 2007. LMU's record dropped to 20-28 overall and 5-5 in conference play, according to an LMU report here.
The series concludes on Sunday with the third game scheduled for noon in Santa Clara.
