ORANGE, Calif. – The University of Redlands Softball team (15-10, 5-4 SCIAC) lost their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) series opener with Chapman University Friday afternoon as they were unable to overcome a 6-0 deficit as they fell 9-5.
It was a slow start offensively for the Maroon and Grey not pushing across a run until the fifth when they had allowed the Panthers to score four times in the third and twice in the fourth with three of the six runs being unearned.
The Bulldogs made a comeback attempt, in the top half of the fifth when Layla Mendoza (Salinas, CA) drew a leadoff walk followed by Adyson Kim (Millbrae, CA) and Isabella Culp (Hanford, CA) who added a base hit and a walk to load the bases with one out.
Brooklyn Bard (Garden Grove, CA) was able to break the scoring drought with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Mendoza. The next two batters, Natalie Horton (Palmdale, CA) and Avery Duran (Corona, CA) added a two-run triple and a ball on the infield that made it a two-run deficit, 6-4. Annabelle Gutierrez (Gilroy, CA) doubled to right and brought up the tying run, but a groundout to first ended the inning.
Chapman scored three times in the bottom half of the fifth to extend their lead to five, 9-4.
Redlands picked up their fifth and final run on a fielder's choice from Gutierrez in the seventh as they were unable to further cash in on two Panther errors in the inning as they fell 9-5 on the road.
Offensively Horton led the team with two RBI's, while Duran and Kim each reached base multiple times with Kim matching her career high with three hits. Bard, Horton, and Paige Messenlehner (Easton, CA) all stole a base as well.
Redlands will host Chapman for a doubleheader as part of their Strikeout Cancer games and their partnership with the Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern California at The Field of Dreams tomorrow, Saturday, April 8 with games set for 12:00pm and 2:00pm. Shirts supporting the foundation will be sold for $20 and all donations will be accepted.