The No. 9 University of Redlands softball team battled it out with Whittier College in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader on Sunday, competing in a make-up series from Saturday, March 17. After capturing their 13th shortened victory and 19th consecutive win of the season, the Bulldogs suffered their first loss since February 5, which came in a 0-2 decision against the Poets at the "Field of Dreams."

The Maroon and Gray fired off 10 hits en route to a 9-0 triumph after five innings. Redlands pushed across two runs in each of the opening innings by taking advantage of errors and well-timed singles.

The Bulldogs opened it up in the bottom of the fourth frame as senior first baseman Rikki Scates (Redlands, CA) and senior catcher Kai Masutani (Honolulu, HI) posted RBI-singles before senior third baseman Molly Duran (Corona, CA) ripped off a two-run homer to cap off the inning.

While junior pitcher Kayla Uphold (Fontana, CA) scattered four hits in the game, the Poets never found a way to score, leading to Uphold's 11th victory of the 2012 campaign.

During the nightcap, the teams struggled to push across any runs through five stanzas, as they each eventually tallied just six hits but left eight runners on base.

However, the difference came in the top of the sixth when the Poets capitalized on the only Bulldog error and hit by pitch of the game. Whittier also gained a timely RBI from senior pinch hitter Denisse Martinez (Chula Vista, CA), who roped a single to right center.

Although the Bulldogs had two more innings to recover, they struggled to string hits together for the score.

Scates provided the only multi-hit performance of the second game.

Despite senior pitcher Breanna Ruelas' (Brawley, CA) valiant effort through six innings, she suffered her third loss of the season.

Redlands (19-5, 13-1 SCIAC) remains alone at the top of the SCIAC standings, holding a three-game lead over second-place Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. The Bulldogs look forward to competing again on Tuesday when they face top-ranked Linfield College (OR) in a regional showdown at the "Field of Dreams" at 2 p.m.