CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands Softball team (26-13) moved to 2-0 at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament Saturday afternoon as they beat No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) 5-0 behind a complete game shutout from first-year pitcher Katlyn Gandara (Whittier, CA) and four players with two hits apiece.
Just like Friday the Bulldog offense picked up a run in their opening at-bats as Avery Duran (Corona, CA) singled through the left side scoring Natalie Horton (Palmdale, CA) who led off the game with a single of her own.
Still holding onto a slim 1-0 lead, the offense gave Gandara some breathing room in the fifth as Layla Mendoza (Salinas, CA) hit a two-run single into center to make it 3-0. Kalyn Kershner (Ewa Beach, HI) who had singled to start the inning and Duran who walked each scored.
Kershner and Kassidy Long (Hemet, CA) both received an RBI in the sixth as they extended the Maroon and Grey lead to 5-0. Kershner drove in Alexis Campos (Lake Forest, CA) on a double into left center. Duran and Brooklyn Bard (Garden Grove, CA) walked and singled and after a strikeout, Long walked with the bases loaded.
Gandara finished off her three-hit shutout with a one-two-three seventh inning. She picked up her 15th win of the season and lowered her earned run average (ERA) down to 1.63, the sixth lowest in single-season history. This was her fifth shutout of the season, which ties her for sixth most in the record books.
On offense the Top-3 in the order consisting of Horton, Campos, and Kershner combined to go 6-for-11 with four runs, and an RBI. Duran and Long each reached base three times with one hit and two walks. Bard was 2-for-4 out of the five-hole.
The Bulldogs will take on No. 2 Chapman University who beat No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer 4-1 in an elimination game tomorrow, Sunday, May 14 on Championship Sunday beginning at 12:00pm. Chapman will have to win two-straight as Redlands needs only one win to secure the SCIAC Tournament Title and the AQ into the NCAA Division III National Championships. These two teams matched-up on Friday where Redlands came away with the 10-4 victory.
