The University of Redlands softball team traveled to Whittier College to take on the Poets in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs came away with a split against the defending conference champions, losing the opener in a 1-11 decision, before prevailing by a score of 9-7 in the night cap.
After pushing a run across to start the game, Redlands gave up 10 runs in the bottom half of the first inning, with only one run being earned due to a costly error with two outs.
After senior pitcher Lauren Henson (Highland, CA) took over the circle, the Bulldogs settled down and began to chip away at the deficit. She and the Redlands defense kept the Poets off the board for four of the next five frames. She dispersed three hits, while the infield recorded a double play in the bottom of the third.
Offensively, the Maroon and Gray put up a four-spot with two outs in the fifth, as highlighted by senior second baseman Vicki King's (Thousand Oaks, CA) two-run bomb. Sophomore shortstop Shannon Skrzynski (Pomona, CA) and senior catcher Dani Santos (West Covina, CA) accounted for the additional RBI.
Sophomore third baseman Summer Smith (Redlands, CA) scored the Bulldogs' final run of the game on a heads-up, base-running play after reaching on a walk.
Freshman pitcher Lindsey Mifsud (Belmont, CA) took the loss for Redlands.
In game two, Redlands jumped on the board early with three runs in each of the first two frames. In the first inning, junior right-fielder Amanda Ang (Santa Cruz, CA) and King blasted off consecutive hits to set up Skrzynski's two-out single through the right side for two runs. Sophomore first baseman Ursyla Baumgarten (Penngrove, CA) kept things rolling with a single up the middle to plate Skrzynski for Redlands' 3-0 lead.
After Whittier answered with a run in the bottom of the first, the Bulldogs kept pouring on the offense with another two-out rally. After senior center-fielder AJ Carrasco (Whittier, CA) blasted a triple, Ang brought her home on a two-bagger, before King stepped up with another home run to put Redlands up by a score of 6-1.
Although Whittier kept chipping away at the deficit, Redlands maintained the lead through the final out. Carrasco came up clutch with a pair of sacrifice flies, while Santos went yard for an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Redlands relied on a pitching committee to get the job done in the night cap. Freshman pitcher Mika Imoto (Vista, CA) earned the win from the circle after pitching effectively for three frames. Freshman Jessica Doss (San Mateo, CA) stepped in for one solid inning, before Henson closed the door on Whittier to grab the save.
Overall, King led the offense with a 5-for-8 day that included three runs scored and four RBI.
Redlands (6-2, 3-1 SCIAC) heads to the University of La Verne on Monday, February 29, for a 3 p.m. doubleheader against the Leopards.
