The University of Redlands softball team battled it out with the No. 25 Ithaca College (NY) Bombers on Monday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader at the Field of Dreams. Despite a late-game push in the first contest, the Bulldogs fell short in a 4-7 defeat. After Redlands rallied to tie it up in the second game, the Bombers came up with the winning run in the top of the seventh to hand the Maroon and Gray a heartbreaking 5-6 loss.
During the opener, Ithaca came out firing to muster back-to-back, two-spots for an early 4-0 lead. The Bombers tacked on three more through four frames before Redlands jumped on the board with a solo shot over the left-field fence by sophomore right-fielder Jennifer Ng (Pleasanton, CA).
After a tough go in the circle, sophomore pitcher Lindsey Mifsud (Belmont, CA) was lifted by senior pitcher Casey Maltz (Palo Alto, CA) in the top of the fourth. After giving up two runs, Maltz settled in to shut down the Bombers for the remainder of the game.
Redlands orchestrated opportunities to score on more than one occasion and it finally came together in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, the Bulldogs loaded the bases off of a walk and back-to-back bunt-singles. Senior third baseman Summer Smith (Redlands, CA) blasted a triple down the right-field line to plate all three for the Maroon and Gray.
Unfortunately, the late-game rally ended there, as Ithaca answered with consecutive outs to finish out the game.
Senior centerfielder Amanda Ang (Santa Cruz, CA) went 3-for-4 in the first contest, while Romero and junior shortstop Ursyla Baumgarten (Penngrove, CA) each recorded two hits.
During the nightcap, freshman pitcher Nicole Stanzione (San Marcos, CA) impressed from the circle by retiring the side to start the game before sitting down three of four batters in the second.
However, the Bombers strung together a few hits to score five runs over the next 1.2 innings, before sophomore pitcher Mika Imoto (Vista, CA) entered the game to close out the final out of the fourth.
Redlands kept pushing to create scoring chances, as Smith blasted a double and made her way to third on an error in the bottom of the fourth. Finally, in the fifth, the Bulldogs rattled off three-straight hits with two outs to push across three runs. With runners on first and second, Ang initiated the rally with a double to left center to plate junior catcher Olivia Vierra (Burlingame, CA). Senior left-fielder Marissa Romero (Manteca, CA) sent a blooper over the shortstop for another RBI, while Smith crushed a single down the left side to cap off the solid inning.
After a solid defensive inning, Redlands came right back to score two more runs to tie it up at five apiece. Following a walk and a single, the runners moved over on a passed ball to set up Imoto at the plate with no outs. She answered the call with a double to the left-field fence to send home sophomore second baseman Hayley Romo (Port Orchard, WA) and Baumgarten.
Unfortunately for the home team, Ithaca mustered the winning run in the top of the seventh. Although Redlands worked to put runners on first and second in the bottom half of the inning, the squad was unsuccessful in its second, comeback effort of the game.
Imoto and Smith each notched two hits, while Imoto was credited with two RBI.
Redlands (4-12, 2-6 SCIAC) returns to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday, March 18, when it hosts Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for a doubleheader beginning at 12 noon.
