The University of Redlands softball team utilized a total-team effort that saw all healthy players make a contribution in the Bulldogs' sweep of visiting Grinnell College (IA) on Tuesday afternoon at the Field of Dreams. With power-hitting that included 12 multi-bag knocks, the Maroon and Gray cruised to a 12-3 victory in five innings during the opener and took care of business by a score of 11-5 in the nightcap.
After Grinnell notched the first run of game one, the Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the third frame with a four-spot. Junior outfielder AJ Carrasco (Whittier, CA) came all the way around on a costly infield error that also pushed across junior designated player Grace Rose (Villa Park, CA) and freshman third baseman Lauren Hernandez (Littleton, CO). Freshman second baseman Haley Farr (Chino, CA) continued the rally with her RBI-double that plated junior first baseman Vicki King (Thousand Oaks, CA), who fired off a single up the middle earlier in the inning.
Redlands tacked on eight more runs in the fourth to set up the shortened contest by the mercy rule. Highlighting the inning, freshman shortstop Shannon Skrzynski (Pomona, CA) led off the stanza with the second homerun of her young Bulldog career, while Rose uncorked a pair of doubles for three RBI. Furthermore, graduate student outfielder Amanda Lievanos (Anaheim, CA) blasted her 37th-career long ball and plated sophomore outfielder Marissa Romero (Manteca, CA), who had tripled to right-center field.
The sophomore pitching combination of Courtney Ludlow (Petaluma, CA) and Lauren Salazar (Colton, CA) took care of business to close out the Maroon and Gray victory. Ludlow fanned four batters in four innings of work, earning her third win of the season in the process.
Rose was 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI, while Romero tallied a 2-for-3 performance for two RBI.
During the second game, Lievanos set the tone early with her two-RBI triple to center field. The Bulldogs continued to put up runs with big hits while making the most of Grinnell's errant defense.
Leading 7-1, Redlands watched as its lead was squandered to two with an impressive offensive outing by the Pioneers in the top of the fifth.
Nonetheless, the Maroon and Gray quickly responded with a four-spot of its own, as Skrzynski headlined the frame with her double down the left-field line for an RBI.
Junior pitcher Lauren Henson (Highland, CA) collected the win after four scoreless innings of work. She dispersed two hits and struck out one batter.
Leading the offense, Lievanos finished the game with a 2-for-3 showing with five RBI.
After the non-conference sweep, Head Coach Dani Spaulding shared her thoughts on the team's growth thus far.
"We still have a lot of work to do. But I think [after] practicing all of those little things, now we've been able to transfer them into the games. Our leaders are helping out the younger players and setting the tone for the team. They are huge impact players but also great teammates for us," she commented.
Redlands (10-10, 4-8 SCIAC) returns to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday, March 21, when it travels to the University of La Verne for a 12 noon doubleheader against the Leopards.
