The University of Redlands softball team completed the three-game sweep over Pomona-Pitzer Saturday afternoon with two wins. The Bulldogs won the first game 4-2 and then followed with a 9-7 victory in the nightcap.
The Sagehens scored the first two runs in the opener, plating two runs in the top of the third, but the Bulldogs tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth.
With one out and runners in scoring position at second and third, first baseman Abigail Bates (Moreno Valley, CA) sacrificed a fly ball to score one, before junior right fielder Sam Rivas (Whittier, CA) doubled to send another runner home, 2-2.
The Bulldogs put together a two-out rally in the fifth to take the lead and never looked back. Junior second baseman Desiree Moran (Bakersfield, CA) got things going with a single to right center, before junior left fielder Tsianina Flores (Corona, CA) doubled to the other side of center field to put runners in scoring position. First year catcher Megan Watkins (Beaumont, CA) stepped into the batter's box and knocked a base hit up the middle, giving both runners the green light to come home, 4-2.
First year pitcher Madeline Gonzalez (Colton, CA) threw seven innings, only allowing two runs to secure the victory for the Bulldogs.
In the nightcap, the Bulldogs had to overcome a 6-0 hole after the Sagehens scored three runs in both the first and second innings.
Redlands came up big in the bottom of the second, scoring six runs to tie the game. First year third baseman Madison Alves (Kingsburg, CA) started things of with a single down the right field line and sophomore catcher/designated player Jaeden Ells (Yelm, WA) joined her on base with a base hit of her own. Sophomore shortstop Natalie Horton (Palmdale, CA) drove Alves in with a single up the middle, before Moran walked to load up the bases.
An error kept the inning going, scoring Ells from third, and Watkins drilled an RBI single to score Horton. Bates kept the hit train running with an RBI single up the middle and Rivas walked in another run, before Alves hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, 6-6.
Pomona-Pitzer scored again in the fourth, but Redlands wouldn't let the visitors have the lead very long, scoring two runs in the bottom half of the inning. With Flores on base, Watkins doubled to left center to send her home and then scored on a Bates base hit, 8-7.
The Bulldogs added some insurance in the sixth as Alves hit an RBI double, but it wasn't needed as Redlands held on for the 9-7 victory.
First year pitcher Kalyn Kershner (Ewa Beach, HI) grabbed the win with two strikeouts in four innings, while Gonzalez picked up the save with three innings in the circle.
Redlands improves to 11-4 overall, 7-2 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. Pomona-Pitzer drops to 4-7 on the season, 2-4 in conference.
The Bulldogs take a break from SCIAC action, hosting WPI for a doubleheader on Thursday with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.