The 12th-ranked University of Redlands softball team survived another day at the NCAA Championships with two exciting wins during Saturday's action in Tyler, Texas. The Bulldogs bounced back from Friday's heartbreaking defeat in 15 innings with a 7-4 victory over Mississippi College, which earlier upset top-seeded East Texas Baptist University. Redlands then came up with a thrilling finish to take down familiar foe and 15th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges by a score of 4-3.
In Saturday's opener, the Maroon and Gray initiated the scoring when freshman right fielder Amanda Lievanos (Anaheim, CA) crushed her 10th home run of the season.
Redlands eventually made it 7-0 with back-to-back three-spots midway through the game. Sophomore center fielder Sarah Beeman (Corona, CA) continued her recent hot streak with a two-RBI single down the left-field line and sophomore pitcher Kayla Uphold (Fontana, CA) drilled a run-scoring triple in the third inning. The highlight of the fourth frame came when senior third baseman Aleisha Martinez (Escondido, CA) attacked the pitch for a two-run, lining shot over the fence.
However, the Choctaws made a valiant comeback with three runs in the bottom of the fourth while capitalizing on a Bulldog error and a hit by junior Valerie McAllister.
After allowing a run in the sixth, Uphold quieted her opponents to close out the 7-4 victory.
Redlands then faced CMS in its second match-up of the day. After the Athenas had ousted ETBU in Friday's final game, this promised to be a battle between equal and familiar opponents.
The teams traded runs through the opening four stanzas, resulting in a 2-2 stalemate.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldogs moved a walked batter around the bases and then sophomore left fielder Kirsten Milliner (Torrance, CA) came up with a run-scoring single through the left side to give Redlands the 3-2 lead.
In the seventh, CMS sat just one strike away from ending its season, but senior Gizelle Pera had other plans, as she uncorked a solo dinger over the center-field fence to tie it up.
Redlands recovered by loading the bases on back-to-back singles from Uphold and senior first baseman Lizett Casillas (Pomona, CA), followed by a base-on-balls for junior second baseman Molly Duran (Corona, CA). Next up for the Bulldogs was Martinez, who had walked, reached on an error and provided a sacrifice bunt so far in the game. Fittingly, she won the game on a hit-by-pitch to bring home Uphold for the deciding run.
Freshman pitcher Gabrielle Scuito (Poway, CA) recorded the win from the circle after throwing the final two innings. She gave up one run on one hit and fanned three batters. Uphold provided a solid performance in the opening five frames, scattering six hits for one earned run with five strikeouts.
The Bulldogs look forward to a rematch with the 14th-ranked University of Texas at Tyler in Sunday's 10:30 a.m. showdown. The Patriots defeated No. 13 Louisiana College by a score of 6-4 in Saturday's second game.
