The University of Redlands softball team traveled to Chapman University for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown on Friday afternoon. In a bizarre tale of two games, the Bulldogs uncorked 24 hits and 20 runs to win the opener before coming up short in a 2-5 decision during the nightcap.
After a back-and-forth start to the first game, the Maroon and Gray opened things up in the top of the fourth by scoring 10 runs on nine hits and two Panther miscues in an impressive offensive explosion. Redlands batted around twice during the inning, with sophomore designated player Marissa Romero (Manteca, CA), graduate student right-fielder Amanda Lievanos (Anaheim, CA), junior left-fielder Grace Rose (Villa Park, CA), and junior catcher Dani Santos (West Covina, CA) connecting on both opportunities at the plate. Romero's second single plated a pair of runs as the most lucrative hit of the stanza.
Redlands tacked on six more runs in the fifth to help insure the shortened win. Junior first baseman Vicki King (Thousand Oaks, CA) highlighted the inning with a bases-clearing double to right-center field, while freshman second baseman Haley Farr (Chino, CA) blasted a two-RBI triple to left field.
Overall, Lievanos went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, scoring four times and providing two RBI, while King and Santos both provided a 4-for-5 showing. King led all Bulldogs with five RBI.
Junior pitcher Lauren Henson (Highland, CA) collected her 13th win of the season after tossing five solid innings, dispersing seven hits, and giving up three earned runs.
Unfortunately for the Maroon and Gray, the bats went a little cold in the second game, which led to 2-5 loss.
Both of the Bulldogs' runs came off of sacrifice fly-outs, as Lievanos and Rose both executed well for the score.
In addition, junior center-fielder AJ Carrasco (Whittier, CA) and freshman shortstop Shannon Skrzynski (Pomona, A) each notched two-baggers for Redlands.
After 3.2 tough innings, sophomore hurler Courtney Ludlow (Petaluma, CA) suffered the loss from the circle.
Redlands (16-18, 10-12 SCIAC) strives to immediately bounce back on Saturday, April 11, when it hosts conference-leading Whittier College (20-10, 14-4 SCIAC) in a SCIAC doubleheader at the Field of Dreams. First pitch is set for 12 noon. In addition, the two teams are joining forces for Strikeout for Cancer in an effort to raise awareness and money for a young cancer patient named Annalise Fischer.
