The California Lutheran University Regals (18-12, 9-8) delivered a 3-2 walk-off victory in extra innings over the No. 22 Chapman Panthers (25-7, 13-5) Friday afternoon at Hutton Field.
This was a huge win for the Regals, who were in a tight race with the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens to make the postseason, and with only the two top teams left to play, according to Head Coach Kecia Davis.
Down 2-0, the Regals tied the game in the sixth inning when sophomore first baseman Jessica Waters delivered a two-run home run, her ninth home run of the season.ย
According to Waters, pulling off this kind of clutch moment requires a combination of luck and skill.
โMy coach gives me a good luck โknuckโ and we do our ritual, so I always get good luck from them, and that always helps me hit a home run,โ Waters said.
Neither team scored in the seventh inning, forcing the game into an eighth inning. After a scoreless top of the inning for the Panthers, sophomore left fielder Reyna Perez hit a triple to left center field in the bottom of the inning for the Regals.
Perez said positive self-talk in the batterโs box is key in a high-pressure situation such as this one.
โJust thinking, all the work that I put in, and it’s just like, โYou can in this moment. This is what you work for,โโ Perez said.
After a pair of intentional walks issued by the Panthers, sophomore designated hitter Danielle โDaniโ Diaz singled to third base to bring Perez home and win the game.
โGoing into that at-bat, I was honestly a little nervous, going 0-3 beforehand, but I just told myself, โSee ball, hit ball, just keep it simple,โ because I know I have teammates behind me that have my back, always,โ Diaz said.
Waters and Diaz have both been top hitters for the Regals this season. Currently, Waters leads the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in home runs and slugging percentage.
According to Davis, knowing Watersโ hitting capability, Chapmanโs pitcher was not giving her good pitches to hit, but she stayed patient in her at-bat.
โShe [Waters] stayed back and she hit it, and she’s so powerful it goes over, so, you know, she’s one of those players, she and Dani [Diaz], you know, one pitch, can change the outcome of the game and they did today,โ Davis said.
Senior Ashlyn Flinchum pitched the entire game, recording her seventh win of the 2025 season. Flinchum said this was a long game for her, but that she remained confident throughout.
โI just had to stay confident and persist through it and just, like, trust in our hitting that it was gonna come around. You know, always working the same in the mound, no matter what the outcome is,โ Flinchum said.
Davis said Flinchum is a relentless competitor and an all-around leader, on the mound and in the dugout.ย
โShe [Flinchum] battles all the time, and when she gets [in] a pressure situation, she pitches even better,โ Davis said.
Following their series against the Panthers, the Regals are set to close out their regular season as they face the No. 1 in SCIAC Redlands Bulldogs in a series beginning away on Friday, May 2.
Davis said it is crucial that the Regals win as many of these final games as possible in order to fulfill the teamโs goal of making the SCIAC tournament. According to Davis, while Fridayโs game was a huge win, the teamโs focus is on the future.
โWe have a saying that you close the door on the past and you keep moving forward. So this door is closed. You know, we won this game, it’s great, I’m excited, it’s really great; close the door and now we move forward,โ Davis said.
The following day, the Regals played Chapman on the road for a doubleheader and dropped both of those games (3-1 and 4-2). With three games left in the season, the Regals will face the No. 9 University of Redlands on Friday, May 2, at Redlands at 3 p.m.
