The California Lutheran University Regals softball team celebrated Alumni Appreciation Day during its doubleheader against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens on Saturday, April 19 at Hutton Field.
Before the game, alumni in attendance were provided free meals and an opportunity to catch up with each other; some had not seen each other in decades, according to Assistant Coach Courtney Todd ‘14. Todd credited the turnout to Head Coach Kecia Davis and her veteran experience, citing her previous stint as the Regals’ head coach.
“A lot of [Davis’] girls were able to come out, some of the girls I played with that I haven’t seen in eight, 10 years, like, that’s just a really awesome thing,” Todd said.
The Regals were shut out 5-0 in the first game and recorded four hits, two coming in the ninth inning. The Sagehens came out of the gate hot, scoring two runs on four hits in the top half of the second inning. A double in the fifth inning drove home another pair and a home run in the sixth would round out the scoring for Pomona-Pitzer.
After the first game’s conclusion, an announcement was made over the loudspeaker requesting that all alumni in attendance make their way to the field.
According to Davis, 18 former Regals softball players, with graduation years ranging from the mid-1990s to 2024, were in attendance; many of whom Davis coached.
“I love seeing the girls that I coached back in the ‘90s and I had quite a few of them here today,” Davis said.
Davis is in the first year of her second stint with Regals softball, having previously been the head coach from 1994-1998. Davis said when she was reoffered the job last offseason, her first priority was implementing an alumni appreciation game.
“As soon as I said I was gonna take the job, the first thing that came to my mind was doing an alumni appreciation game,” Davis said. “Because it’s just important. It’s important for the culture of our team, it’s important for the program, it’s important for fundraising.”
Davis said it is paramount to keep alumni relations at the forefront. Davis said she is very grateful for the turnout this year and that it is something the program can continue to do going forward.
“I’ve been planning it, you know, for seven months. And so to have that many people come and hopefully something that we can continue to do in the future,” Davis said.
The second game started like the first, with the Sagehens jumping on top 2-0 in the top of the first, but the Regals’ offense immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning, evening the score 2-2. An RBI groundout and two-run double off the wall helped the Sagehens recapture the lead, a lead the Regals were unable to overcome. Cal Lutheran pulled within one run after a pair of hits down the third base line courtesy of senior third baseman Olivia Vargas and sophomore designated player Danielle Diaz, but the six runners the Regals left on base throughout the game ultimately proved costly as they lost 8-7.
Todd said her favorite part of the day was being able to feel recognized along with former alumni for their contributions to the program, and that she hopes the turnout will increase as the years go on.
“We haven’t always had alumni days, and so being able to be recognized and for people to say, ‘Hey, we played,’ like, ‘This was our game, this is our field,’ like, get that feel, it’s really awesome and I’m, I loved how today went and I was really happy,” Todd said. “That community is so strong and I love seeing it grow.”
The Regals’ record now sits at 17-10 overall and 8-6 in conference play, putting them in fourth place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. With two series left in the season, one against the Chapman Panthers on April 25 and 26, and the second against the Redlands Bulldogs on May 2 and 3, the Regals will look to clinch a spot in their third consecutive SCIAC tournament.
