The University of Redlands softball team remains alone in first
place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (SCIAC) standings by taking two games from Cal Lutheran
University in Saturday's doubleheader in Thousand Oaks. The Bulldog
battery combined to allow just six hits while striking out 10 in
back-to-back shutouts. The Maroon and Gray won the first game in
six innings by a score of 8-0 and then posted a 3-0 victory in the
nightcap.
In game one, senior designated player Amanda Doeppel (Monrovia,
CA) crushed a two-run homer out of the park to put Redlands on the
board in the top of the second inning.
The Bulldogs piled on five runs in the fifth when they took
advantage of a costly Cal Lutheran error. After sophomore second
baseman Molly Duran (Corona, CA) reached on an error and then
advanced on a sacrifice bunt, senior center fielder Kayla Peterson
(San Jose, CA) connected on a RBI-double to bring her home.
Sophomore third baseman Lindsay Henry (Lake Elsinore, CA) and
junior first baseman Lizett Casillas (Pomona, CA) kept it rolling
for Redlands by providing well-timed RBI-singles. Sophomore right
fielder Breanna Ruelas (Brawley, CA) topped off the inning with a
double to right center, plating Peterson and senior catcher Nicky
Neumann (Fremont, CA), who was walked.
With a runner on third, freshman short stop Kirsten Milliner
(Torrance, CA) got on with a fielder's choice but the Regal defense
failed to make the play, allowing sophomore left fielder Kirstie
Bender (Lakewood, CA) to score the eighth run in the top of the
sixth. After senior pitcher Olivia Ellis (Colfax, CA) retired the
side in the bottom of the inning, Redlands gained the 8-0 victory.
Ellis earned her 12th win of the season from the circle,
striking out five Regals and scattering two hits in six innings of
work.
During the nightcap, Redlands scored in the second inning as
Duran singled up the middle with two outs and a runner on third
base. Peterson reached on an error, plating Duran, who had moved to
second when Bender was hit by the pitch.
In the top of the fifth, Neumann doubled down the left field
line with two outs. Casillas stepped up with another RBI-single,
bringing Neumann home for the team's third run of the game.
With Ruelas holding Cal Lutheran to just four hits against an
errorless defense, the Bulldogs shut down their opponents by a
score of 3-0. Ruelas gained her sixth win of the season by fanning
five batters and giving up no walks on the day.
Redlands (20-8, 13-1 SCIAC) heads to the University of La Verne
on Friday for a 2 p.m. SCIAC doubleheader against the Leopards.
