REDLANDS, Calif. – It has been 22 days since the University of Redlands Softball team has played a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game and Friday afternoon they took to the diamond beginning a big three-game series with Whittier College.
Behind a 13-hit day and a complete game from Katlyn Gandara (Whittier, CA) at the Field of Dreams the Bulldogs came away with the 7-2 victory improving to 12-7, 2-1 SCIAC.
Kalyn Kershner (Ewa Beach, CA) led the offense for the Maroon and Grey missing out on a cycle by a triple. She finished 3-for-4 with a single, double and a homerun.
The Poets struck first on an RBI fielder's choice in their opening at-bats capitalizing on a pair of singles to start the inning. This would be their only run scored until the fifth inning.
After being held scoreless across the first two innings the Bulldogs found their offense in the third bringing across two runs on four hits. Adyson Kim (Millbrae, CA) started off the inning with a base hit to center and she was followed by Natalie Horton (Palmdale, CA) who drove one to left and Alexis Campos (Lake Forest, CA) who went opposite field to right. Two batters later with a runner in scoring position Kershner doubled down the right field line putting UR on top 2-1.
Each team was held off the board in the fourth before the Poets tied the game at two in the top half of the fifth on a single into right center. The Bulldogs quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning plating three runs on three hits. Campos started the surge with a single on the infield, Avery Duran (Corona, CA) followed with a triple to right field, which scored Campos, and due to an errant throw home was able to touch all the bases putting Redlands on top by two, 4-2. But the rally didn't end there as Kershner kept her red-hot bat going blasting a solo shot to left field, pushing the lead to three. It was her second homerun of the season and brought her RBI total to a team-leading 24.
The lead was extended in the sixth with two outs when the Bulldogs scored on another Poet error. Annabelle Gutierrez (Gilroy, CA) came in as a pinch hitter and doubled to right center, Campos reached on an error allowing one run to come in and Duran brought in the seventh run with a hit into left center scoring Horton to move the score to 7-2.
The Bulldogs received hits from nine different players, including multi-hit games from Campos, Duran, and Kershner. Horton and Kim each scored twice and Duran and Kershner each had two RBI's. In the circle Gandara threw her fifth complete game on the season throwing only 74 pitches as she picked up win number five of her first season donning the Maroon and Grey.
Redlands will now make a trip to Whittier, CA for games two and three of the series tomorrow, Saturday, March 25 with first pitches set for 12:00pm and 2:00pm.
