The Chapman University softball team’s seniors gave themselves their own parting gifts.

Chapman (16-20) ended the disappointing 2010 season on a high note, sweeping the University of Dallas Crusaders in a two-game set, Chapman won both games 9-1 Saturday afternoon.

The wins highlighted Senior Day for the Panthers, which honored the five senior players: Vanessa Goncalves, Ally Waffle, Danielle Brown, Stevi Jo Lockwood and Melanie Villarroel.

The graduating players went out in style, earning the pair of wins because of pitching. Both senior pitchers – Goncalves and Waffle – threw complete games in their final performances on the mound.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better end to the season and to our careers,” Villarroel said. “Maybe the season didn’t go the way we had hoped, but today, everything kind of came full circle.”

Every aspect of Chapman’s game seemed to click for the team. Starting pitching dominated on the mound, while the Panthers’ bats put an exclamation point on the afternoon.

As both starting pitchers turned in complete game victories, the offense exploded for nine runs in each game of the two-game set, pounding out a total of 20 hits that afternoon.

“Our pitchers were awesome, they definitely highlighted the day for us,” Lockwood said. “But our offense was just as strong. We were having a lot of fun out there.”

Goncalves led the Panthers to a 9-1 victory in game one. In six innings of work, the righty allowed just one earned run on four hits while striking out 11.

The Crusaders scored their only run of the game on an RBI single by freshman Sandra Gallegos that plated sophomore Jessica Mollner. Their lead did not last long, as Villarroel scored in the bottom half of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Brown.

A pitcher’s duel between Goncalves and Dallas senior Whitney Thomas ensued through four and a half innings, as the game remained tied at one. But the Panthers’ bats sparked in the fifth. After a walk and an RBI single from sophomore Michelle Pitts, two Crusader errors led to two unearned Panther runs. Senior Jayme Jarvis then slapped the first ever home-run hit at El Camino Real Park to put the Panthers up 6-1.

The Panthers then scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth off another Pitts single and a bases loaded walk.

Game two of the afternoon was just as exciting as the first.

Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, Chapman rallied for a pair of runs and then broke it wide open with a seven-run fourth inning. Sophomore Jojo Wakabayashi tied the game with an inside-the-park home run. Pitts followed three batters later with an RBI single and Chapman stepped ahead of Dallas 2-1.

Looking for runs to pad the lead in the fourth, the Panthers loaded the bases with one out singles from Goncalves, Lockwood and junior Laura Alexander. Wakabayashi’s single scored a run and then sophomore Andrena Calix drew a run-scoring walk. Chapman then capitalized on a pair of Dallas errors to score five more unearned runs. Brown singled to center, driving in two of those runs to end the scoring to give the Panthers a 9-1 lead.

Villarroel thrived at the plate that day, as she went 4-for-7 with four runs and boosted her batting average to a team-leading .362.

“Mel [Villarroel] has really been our most consistent hitter lately,” Goncalves said. “She’s given us the extra boost when we needed it.”

Even with a disappointing 2010 season, the seniors have something positive to take with them when they go out in the real world.

“When we reflect on our senior year and the end of our softball careers, this sweep will stick out in our minds,” Villarroel said. “We just had a lot of fun out there, and we came out with two wins. We couldn’t really have asked for a better end to this season.”


Contact this reporter: casey.hull@thepantheronline.com