The University of Redlands softball team embarked upon the 2014 season with a non-conference doubleheader against NAIA eighth-ranked Cal State San Marcos on Saturday. While facing off against former Bulldog head coach Laurie Nevarez's new squad, the Bulldogs came up a bit short in both outings, falling 1-2 in the opener and then losing 5-8 in the night cap.
During the opener, the teams entered a pitchers' duel, with both hurlers taking care of business with the help of their respective defenses behind them.
In the bottom of the third, CSUSM broke through on a sacrifice run scored from second base.
However, the Bulldogs answered right back in the top of the fourth. After sophomore short stop Vicki King (Thousand Oaks, CA) led off the frame with a double to center and then made it to third, sophomore first baseman Tori Santos (West Covina, CA) crushed a fly-out sacrifice to left field to bring her teammate home.
Unfortunately, the Cougars' Brenna Parker homered to start the bottom of the inning, which proved to be the difference in the tight contest.
A late-game rally by the Maroon and Gray provided new hope, as sophomore catcher Dani Santos (West Covina, CA) was walked as the lead-off hitter in the top of the seventh inning. T. Santos then moved freshman pinch-runner Marissa Romero (Manteca, CA) to second on a single to left field. But that was the end of the opportunity, as CSUSM's defense converted the necessary outs.
Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Hooper (Riverside, CA) took the loss in the first game, going four innings while striking out one.
The Bulldogs' bats woke up on game two, but scoring five runs was not enough to overcome the Cougars' eight-run performance.
After junior third baseman Nikoli Sharp (Lincoln, CA) reached on an error to lead off the game, she later crossed home plate for the Bulldogs' first run. Senior second baseman Amanda Clark (Riverside, CA) moved her over on a hard-hit single to third before the duo advanced a bag on an infield out. Finally, King singled to right field, scoring Sharp for the early lead.
But the Cougars answered in the bottom of the second with a pair of runs on back-to-back doubles.
However, Redlands responded to recover the lead when senior right-fielder Amanda Lievanos (Anaheim, CA) rocketed a triple to left-center to plate Clark from first base. Before the end of the frame, D. Santos unleashed a long sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Lievanos to come home to make it 3-2.
The back-and-forth affair continued with pair of runs by the Cougars in the bottom of the fourth.
And once again, the Bulldogs evened the score by taking advantage of a pair of miscues in the top of the sixth inning, making it four apiece.
Nonetheless, CSUSM found one more gear, pushing four across in the bottom of the stanza, taking a lead it would not relinquish.
An additional bright spot for the Maroon and Gray came in the top of the seventh, when Lievanos fired off a home run to open the final frame.
Freshman pitcher Courtney Ludlow (Petaluma, CA) suffered her first loss with a four-inning, three-strikeout performance.
Clark led the Bulldog offense with three hits for a .600 average. D. Santos, King, and Lievanos each registered two knocks, with Lievanos topping the squad with two RBI.
Redlands (0-2) continues its early-season schedule by hosting a doubleheader against La Sierra on Sunday at 12 noon. Live stats will be available at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/redlands.portal#.