The University of Redlands softball team welcomed non-conference competitor, Brandeis University (MA), to the Field of Dreams on Friday afternoon for a doubleheader. The team grabbed a pair of wins by final scores of 8-7 and 6-0.

In the opener, Brandeis scored four runs in its first chance at the plate, but the Bulldogs responded in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore shortstop Natalie Horton (Palmdale, CA) led the frame off with a single and junior first baseman Abigail Bates (Moreno Valley, CA) gave her the green light to come home.

The Judges found two outs, but a rogue pitch to first-year catcher Megan Watkins (Beaumont, CA) loaded the bases and sparked a two-out rally. An error kept the inning going and scored Bates before another Bulldog got hit by a pitch to send another run in. First-year center fielder Kalyn Kershner (Ewa Beach, HI) knocked a ball just inside the left-field line to score the tying and go-ahead runs, 5-4.

Brandeis took back the lead with two runs in the second and another in the third, 7-5, but the Bulldogs weren't done on their end.

In the bottom of the fourth, junior second baseman Desiree Moran (Bakersfield, CA) turned on a pitch and put it over the fence in left-center, before Watkins drilled a similar homer with a runner on to put Redlands back on top, 8-7.

It was an offensive explosion in the first game as the teams combined for 21 hits, but the scoring stopped there for both teams to give the Maroon and Gray the 8-7 victory.

Redlands used that offensive momentum in the nightcap and locked down defensively to shutout Brandeis.

The Bulldogs capitalized on the Judges' mistakes in the bottom of the second to take an early 1-0 lead and tacked on two more runs in the third. With bases loaded and two outs, Moran doubled down the right-field line to send two Bulldogs home, 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Redlands took advantage of more Brandeis miscues, scoring off a passed ball and loading the bases with one out. Sophomore first baseman Tyesen Gordon (Lathrop, CA) then sent a hit right up the middle for an RBI single, before Bates sacrificed a fly ball to allow Horton to tag up from third to cap the scoring, 6-0.

The Bulldogs threatened to end the game early, but the Judges got out of the jams. First-year pitcher Madeline Gonzalez (Colton, CA) wouldn't surrender any runs in the victory, throwing four strikeouts in seven full innings in the circle.

Redlands (7-2) hosts the University of Puget Sound (WA) for a doubleheader on Saturday, with first pitch set for 11 a.m.