Tartans Close California Trip With Sweep at La Verne

(LA VERNE, Calif.) - The Carnegie Mellon University softball team closed its spring trip to California with a doubleheader sweep of the University of La Verne, twice scoring the winning run in the top of the seventh inning to advance to 7-6 for the year. The Tartans won the first game 7-1 while putting together a rally late in the second game to win 3-2. 

Game 1 - W, 7-1

Sophomore Amanda Smith (New Cumberland, Pa. / Trinity) pitched her second gem of the week with a seven-inning two-hit game to lead the Tartans to a 7-1 victory. After giving up La Verne's lone run in the first inning, Smith retired the side in three of the final six innings and only surrendered one other hit, as the Tartans scored six runs in the top of the seventh to earn the road win.

Senior Audrey Pederson (Bedford, N.H. / Bedford) hit her first home run of the season and the team's sixth of the year to tie the score at 1-1 in the second inning.

La Verne's Rachel Rubio, who was 8-1 in the circle entering the game, scattered five hits through the first 6.1 innings of work before the Tartans chased her from the game with four hits and four runs in the seventh. Sophomore Kiera Boucher (Ridgewood, N.J. / Ridgewood) and junior Emily Finger (Aurora, Ill. / Metea Valley) each recorded RBIs with Boucher's coming off a double which plated the winning run. Senior Emily Song (Mount Arlington, N.J. / Roxbury) also doubled in the inning, scoring two runners.

Senior Megan Hu (Katy, Texas / Seven Lakes) collected her first triple of the season that scored Song before junior Piper Johnson (Riverside, Calif. / Martin Luther King) singled in Hu for the final run of the inning.

Game 2 - W, 3-2

Freshman Maya Goodwin (Camden, N.J. / Leap Academy) earned her second win of the season while senior Amanda Schwartz (Fairfield, N.J. / West Essex Regional) pitched the seventh inning for her first career save after striking out the final batter with runners at first and second. Goodwin finished her six innings of work by scattering six hits with two strikeouts.

Freshman Libby Eichberger (Aurora, Ill. / Metea Valley) extended her hitting streak to 11 games with three hits in the game including an RBI single in the fifth inning to give the Tartans a 1-0 lead.

After La Verne took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tartans rallied in their last at-bat for the second straight game with Eichberger extending the inning with a hit with two outs. After a pitching change, Hu singled in Boucher, who reached via a hit by pitch before Eichberger's single, with Eichberger scoring on a throwing error by the center fielder.

The Tartans are set to return home for their first home games of the season scheduled for Saturday, March 19, at 1:00 p.m. against Oberlin College.