The University of Redlands softball team jumped into Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition in only its second outing of the season during Sunday's doubleheader at Whittier College. In the opening game, the Bulldogs responded to an early one-run deficit with 10 runs over the next three innings en route to a dominating 10-1, five-inning victory. During the night cap, the Bulldogs gave up an uncharacteristic six runs in the bottom of the sixth but then answered with a seven-run explosion to garner a 12-7 win and the sweep of the Poets.
Whittier initiated the scoring the bottom of the first with a one-out home run by Denisse Martinez.
Redlands' sophomore pitcher Kayla Uphold (Fontana, CA) settled down for the next three innings, fanning three of the 17 batters she faced while giving up just one more hit.
The Bulldog offense quickly took over with an equalizing run in the top of the second as freshman right fielder Amanda Lievanos (Anaheim, CA) answered the Poets' earlier score with a home run of her own. She went on to lead the Maroon and Gray with three RBI on a 2-for-3 showing in the first game.
Redlands really came alive in the top of the third, unleashing three shots over the fence for a total of five runs. After freshman short stop Amanda Clark (Riverside, CA) doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball, sophomore center fielder Sarah Beeman (Corona, CA) recorded her first dinger of her collegiate career, scoring Clark in the process. Senior first baseman Lizett Casillas (Pomona, CA) kept the momentum going for the Bulldogs as she nailed her second home run of her career. Following a Poet pitching change and a walk for junior designated player Rikki Scates (Redlands, CA), Lievanos knocked one out of the park for her second on the day.
Whittier remained quiet in the subsequent inning, with its only opportunity coming on a hit-by-pitch. But Uphold took care of the rest, sitting down three batters.
The fifth inning saw four more runs for the Bulldogs with junior second baseman Molly Duran's (Corona, CA) two-run triple highlighting the offense. In addition, Beeman, Scates, and Uphold all recorded hits in this inning.
Freshman hurler Rachael Hachadorian (San Diego, CA) closed out the game, retiring the side.
During the second game, Redlands garnered a 2-0 lead after four innings and then broke it open in the fifth. Scates continued with the Bulldogs' recent trend by connecting on a home run as the lead-off batter, which ignited a three-run outburst for Redlands. In addition, junior catcher Kai Masutani (Honolulu, HI) and senior third baseman Aleisha Martinez (Escondido, CA) each recorded RBI-singles for the Maroon and Gray.
However, Whittier rallied back with seven runs over the next two innings to garner a 7-5 lead after six. A stretch of quality hits and a costly Bulldog error allowed the Poets to get on the board in a hurry.
Nonetheless, the six-time SCIAC champions responded with a seven-run explosion in the top of the seventh en route to the victory. With aggressive base-running, the Bulldogs took advantage of every opportunity, scoring seven on five hits and one Poet error.
Scates led the game with four RBI on a 4-for-5 performance, while Masutani brought in three on four hits.
Despite giving up 10 hits, freshman pitcher Gabrielle Sciuto (Poway, CA) hung in there for six innings and earned seven strikeouts for the Bulldogs. Hachadorian finished out the game by taking care of business in the final inning, forcing two pop-ups and fanning one batter.
Redlands (4-0, 2-0 SCIAC) looks forward to its home opener on Saturday, Feb. 19, when it hosts Cal State San Marcos in a non-conference doubleheader, beginning at 12 noon at the Softball "Field of Dreams."