The University of Redlands softball team took to the "Field of Dreams" for the first time in 2016, squaring off against in-region foe Trinity University (TX) in a non-conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon. While coming from behind in both contests, the Bulldogs prevailed over the Tigers by scores of 10-6 and 3-2, with multiple new faces making impressive collegiate debuts.
In the opening game, Trinity put up one run on the first inning, before the Maroon and Gray answered with a four-spot in the third. Redlands worked some small-ball offense with a pair of bunts to eventually load the bases. Freshman left-fielder Jennifer Ng (Pleasanton, CA) answered the call by stroking a long single to right field, which plated sophomore pinch runner Bev Valerio (Monrovia, CA) to tie up the game. With two outs, senior second baseman Vicki King (Thousand Oaks, CA) showed her veteran leadership by blasting a triple into the left-center gap to clear the bases for the Bulldogs' 4-1 lead.
Although Trinity trimmed the deficit to one run over the next two frames, King stepped up once again by bringing home sophomore short stop Shannon Skrzynski (Pomona, CA), who led off the bottom half with a triple.
Redlands put this one away with a six-spot in the sixth by primarily taking advantage of multiple Trinity miscues. Sophomore pinch hitter Lauren Hernandez (Littleton, CO) capped off the productive inning by crushing an RBI-single up the middle with two outs.
Although the Tigers rallied for two runs in the seventh, freshman pitcher Mika Imoto (Vista, CA) looked to her defense to quiet the comeback with two textbook plays to end the inning.
Overall, the top of the Bulldogs' order accounted for six of their 10 hits, with senior center-fielder AJ Carrasco (Whittier, CA) notching a 2-for-4 day with two runs scored and one RBI. King recorded one lucrative hit for four RBI.
Imoto registered her first win in a Bulldog uniform by throwing a complete game with three strikeouts.
The night cap proved to be a pitchers' duel, with freshman Lindsey Misfud (Belmont, CA) representing the Bulldogs well in her collegiate debut.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the sixth, Redlands stepped up with a well-executed offense that began with Skrzynski's lead-off double and King's subsequent single. With the momentum on their side, the Bulldogs looked to Hernandez once again to come up with a big play. She rocketed a high fly-ball to deep, left field, allowing Skrzynski to cross home plate for the tying run. Senior catcher Dani Santos (West Covina, CA) followed suit with a perfectly-placed double to right-center, which plated junior pinch runner Marissa Romero (Manteca, CA) for the go-ahead run.
However, the Bulldogs needed to close out the game with stellar defense and smart pitching in the top of the seventh. Trinity took advantage of a pair of Bulldog errors to move a runner to third base with one out. Santos made it two outs on a high foul ball behind the plate, before Mifsud took care of business from the circle by snagging a line-drive for the final out.
The team tallied only five hits in the win, with each coming from a different player.
Mifsud recorded her first Bulldog win after tossing seven innings and fanning four batters.
Redlands (2-0) jumps right into Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action with a doubleheader against Chapman University on Saturday, February 20, at 12 noon in Orange.
