With perhaps the most decorated senior class in program history, the 2010 Redlands softball team propelled its way to a sixth consecutive NCAA appearance with an overall record of 32-14. In addition, the Bulldogs fought through adversity to capture a share of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship with an impressive 21-3 mark. This made it six-in-a-row for the Maroon and Gray and the program's seventh overall conference crown.
The Bulldogs opened the 2010 campaign with doubleheaders against NAIA opponents Azusa Pacific University and Cal State San Marcos, which tested the team's abilities and led to a 1-3 showing. However, two of those losses came by just one run in extra innings, showing promise for the future of the team.
Regardless of the rough start, Redlands remained steadfast in its goals of defending the conference title and thus rattled off 10 consecutive SCIAC wins through March 20.
During the third conference series, the Maroon and Gray posted a 12-1 victory over Whittier College, which was highlighted by senior outfielder Kayla Peterson's (San Jose, CA) grand slam during the second inning.
Senior designated player/pitcher Amanda Doeppel (Monrovia, CA) repeated this effort against Occidental just one week later, propelling Redlands to victory in six innings by a score of 12-1.
After rallying back from a one-run deficit, the Bulldogs forced extra innings against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on March 20. Freshman outfielder Sarah Beeman (Corona, CA) provided the RBI-single to tie up the game at four runs apiece. However, Peterson and sophomore third baseman Lindsay Henry contributed the game-winning heroics in the eighth inning by launching back-to-back home runs. In addition, senior pitcher Olivia Ellis (Colfax, CA) recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts in just five innings of shutout ball.
During this part of the season, the Bulldogs also split games with Hope International University in a non-conference twin bill and garnered a two-game sweep over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX). During the nightcap against UMHB, sophomore pitcher Breanna Ruelas (Brawley, CA) threw her first complete game for Redlands, allowing five hits while striking out three en route to her fourth win of the season.
Beginning on March 21, Redlands hit a bit of a rough stretch, dropping two games to regional rival Linfield College (OR) before suffering its first SCIAC loss of the season in a 3-5 decision to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Despite the disappointment, the Bulldogs rallied back in the second game of the doubleheader to secure a 5-3 victory over the Athenas en route to Head Coach Laurie Nevarez' 200th career win at Redlands.
During this challenging week, the Maroon and Gray mustered another bright spot with a 6-1 victory over Tufts University (MA) in a non-conference tilt.
Following a 2-1 combined showing against Pacific Lutheran University (WA) and the University of St. Thomas (MN), Redlands held Cal Lutheran University scoreless in their second doubleheader sweep of the Regals, including an 8-0 shutout in six innings.
On April 9, the Maroon and Gray headed to the University of La Verne in an important perennial matchup. In the opener, sophomore second baseman Molly Duran (Corona, CA) connected on a two-run dinger to help Redlands secure the 8-4 win over the Leopards. The Bulldogs gave up five runs against the Leopards but rallied for two victories to remain in first place with a 22-8 overall record.
The following day Redlands hosted CMS in a SCIAC twin bill at the Redlands Softball "Field of Dreams". After splitting their previous doubleheader with the Athenas, the Bulldogs fought to avenge that defeat and maintain their spot at the top of the conference standings. However, CMS had different plans and handed Redlands back-to-back conference losses for the first time since April 20, 2008, forcing the Bulldogs out of first place.
With six games remaining in the SCIAC season, Redlands needed to take care of business as well as hope for someone else to defeat CMS.
After capturing two non-conference wins over regional rival Chapman University, Redlands rattled off an additional six victories while outscoring opponents by an impressive margin of 56 to 10, which included three games with double-digit performances. Ellis also posted two one-hitter complete games from the circle during this span.
Against Whittier College on April 16, the Bulldogs pounded out 27 hits and put up 25 runs to garner wins of 10-3 and 15-2. Senior catcher Nicky Neumann (Fremont, CA) notched her second dinger of the day, and her seventh of the season, with a 3-for-3 showing that included three runs scored and three RBI during the second game alone.
One day later, Redlands piled on six doubles with three of them coming during the second game's fourth inning in which it scored four runs. Henry led the team's outburst with two doubles to go along with three RBI and one run scored.
In addition to taking care of their own business, the Bulldogs received some help from La Verne as the Leopards prevailed over the Athenas on April 17 by a score of 8-2, eventually forcing a first-place tie between CMS and Redlands.
After honoring Peterson, Neumann, Doeppel, and Ellis in a pregame "Senior Day" ceremony, Redlands captured the program's sixth consecutive conference title with a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on April 25.
Following a short-lived celebration, Redlands faced the sobering reality that it was seeded second in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. With a 3-1 advantage, CMS gained the top seed and served as the host of the event.
Despite being grateful for their opponents' accomplishment, Redlands held nothing back against La Verne and cruised past the Leopards in the first round of the tournament by a score of 6-3. With two outs in the first inning, Henry knocked one out of the park to put the Bulldogs on the board. She crossed the plate for the team's second run on a sacrifice fly by sophomore outfielder Kirstie Bender (Lakewood, CA). The Bulldogs tacked on four more runs to hold a 6-0 advantage going into the top of the sixth. Despite La Verne's final efforts, it only mustered three runs, resulting in the 6-3 decision in favor of the Maroon and Gray.
This pitted the Bulldogs against the Athenas for the fifth time during the 2010 season. In a semifinal matchup that Redlands clearly needed to win, the team truly stepped up their game and polished off CMS in an 8-0 rout in just five innings. After scoring two and three runs in the second and third innings, respectively, the Bulldogs looked to Neumann for her eighth blast of the season, scoring three runs for the five-inning victory.
In a surprise championship showdown, the Bulldogs took on La Verne, which had stunned the Athenas in a 4-0 victory during the elimination game of the tournament. After defeating the Leopards on five occasions during the 2010 season, Redlands sat in prime contention to do it one more time en route to win the tournament title.
But, in an incredible pitchers' duel, the Bulldog offense struggled against a prime La Verne battery, succumbing in back-to-back games by tallies of 1-2 and 0-1.
Now the Maroon and Gray entered unfamiliar territory for the NCAA playoffs. Following Redlands' at-large bid in 2009, it had clearly been possible for two or three schools from the SCIAC to advance. But with La Verne, which had finished third in the regular season, garnering the automatic bid, no one knew what to expect for the co-champions.
Nearly two weeks later, the Bulldogs learned that their season wasn't quite over as La Verne, CMS and Redlands all earned a spot in the playoffs for the second year in a row. Remarkably, each team headed to a different site, splitting up the SCIAC contenders for the NCAA Championships. The Bulldogs made the trek to the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, while CMS flew to Simpson College (IA) and La Verne traveled to Louisiana College.
Unfortunately, Redlands suffered a heart-wrenching, one-hitter loss to Augustana College (IL) by a 3-4 final and then came up short against the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in a 1-4 decision, making an early exit from the tournament. Against Augustana, junior first baseman Lizett Casillas (Pomona, CA) went 3-for-4, accounting for all three of the Bulldogs' runs on a base-clearing double. For her efforts during the playoffs, Casillas landed on the NCAA First Round All-Tournament Team.
In addition, the Bulldogs cleaned up with seven First-Team All-SCIAC awards to go along with freshman short stop/outfielder Kirsten Milliner (Torrance, CA) as the SCIAC Rookie of the Year honor. Besides the four seniors, Casillas, Henry and Ruelas also garnered First-Team All-SCIAC awards.
Ellis rounded out her stellar career with her fourth overall All-Conference nod and second spot on the First Team. This season, she served as the team's work horse from the circle, recording an overall mark of 19-6 and an 11-1 showing in SCIAC. She held opponents to a .198 average while striking out 128 batters. For her career, Ellis ranks first among the Bulldogs' record books for six categories, including strikeouts (463), innings pitched (592.0), and wins (65).
Starting in all but one game this season, Neumann led the Bulldogs with a .379 batting average, which was highlighted by 55 hits and 40 RBI. She contributed eight home runs to bring her career total to 20, establishing a new program record at Redlands. She also sits among the Bulldogs' best for nearly every offensive category and owns the standard for career at-bats (566), career doubles (41), and career total bases (338). This was her third First-Team nod, including the 2008 SCIAC Player of the Year honor.
With this year's recognition, Peterson notched back-to-back First-Team accolades. In 2010, she posted a batting average of .359 while starting 44 games. Predominately serving as the leadoff hitter, she provided 52 hits, including eight doubles, four triples and four home runs. Peterson also crossed home plate 38 times and supplied 18 RBI.
Doeppel garnered her third First-Team award in her third and final season with the Bulldogs. As the designated player, she batted .284 with 29 hits, 14 runs, and 25 RBI during 41 games. She supplied six doubles and four home runs. Doeppel also made 12 appearances as a pitcher, earning two wins and one save in 30.1 innings pitched.
Casillas added to the list of accolades with a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District First Team.
Although the team obviously loses great contributors in its senior class, the Bulldog softball team possesses impressive talent and leadership in the returnees, all of whom boast incredible experience from this year's SCIAC Postseason Tournament and the NCAA playoffs. Under the tutelage of Head Coach Laurie Nevarez, the expectations remain high for a repeat conference performance as well as another trip to the NCAA tournament with hopes of advancement in their seventh showing during the 2011 campaign.