The University of Redlands softball team fought through the wind and cold on Friday and came up with a resounding 17-0 victory over La Sierra University in the first game of a doubleheader.

Redlands scored runs in four consecutive innings before the game ended in the fifth due to the sizeable lead that the Bulldogs had amassed.

Junior outfielder Kayla Peterson (San Jose, CA) extended a three-run lead in the bottom of the first with a two-out triple, and an erroneous throw allowed her to cross the plate. As a result of the triple and her own subsequent run, she drove home two of her teammates and brought the score to 6-0 in favor of the Maroon and Gray.

With two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth, freshman catcher/third baseman Lindsay Henry (Lake Elsinore, CA) blasted a shot into left field, and the ball clanked off of the foul pole, giving the first-year player her first-ever collegiate home run. That three-run blast proved to be the final runs that were scored.

Battling the conditions, the Bulldogs scored 17 runs on 13 hits and made it through the game without committing an error.

Sophomore outfielder/first baseman Lizett Casillas (Pomona, CA) started at first base and batted a perfect 4-for-4, nabbing three RBI and a double. Earning the win for Redlands was junior pitcher Olivia Ellis (Colfax, CA) who held the Golden Eagles scoreless through two innings. Junior pitcher/designated player Amanda Doeppel (Monrovia, CA) picked up where Ellis left off and struck out six in just three innings of work.

Due to inclement weather during the beginning of the second game, the coaches and umpires agreed to postpone the game until a later date. The makeup game will continue at the point of stoppage, which was in the bottom of the second inning. At the time that the game was called, Redlands held a 4-0 advantage with the bases loaded.

Redlands (2-1) opens up its conference season with a doubleheader against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday, Feb. 21, at home on the Softball “Field of Dreams.” The first pitch of game one is scheduled to be thrown at 12 noon.