The University of Redlands softball team, which recently moved up to No. 13 in the national rankings, split a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader with Whittier College on Saturday.  Amidst a pitchers' duel, senior ace Kayla Uphold (Fontana, CA) threw a one-hitter in the opener, leading the Bulldogs' to a 4-0 victory.  However, the Poets' bats woke up in the night cap, as Redlands gave up an early lead and suffered a 7-9 loss.

During the first game, the Bulldogs initiated the scoring in the opening frame, as sophomore designated player Nikoli Sharp (Lincoln, CA) laced a single to right field with runners on first and third.  After leading off the inning with a walk and then moving over on a pair of sacrifice plays, junior second baseman Amanda Clark (Riverside, CA) came home on the hit for the Bulldogs' first run.  Senior center fielder Sarah Beeman (Corona, CA) also crossed the dish by utilizing her speed to take advantage of an error by the Poet right-fielder on Sharp's hit.

Uphold had a no-hitter going until the fifth inning, when Whittier's Xzandra Miranda-Castro singled to left field.  However, there was no harm in the hit as Uphold forced a ground-out on the ensuing batter for the third out.

Redlands tacked on two more scores in the seventh stanza, with junior right-fielder Janelle Carrasco (Whittier, CA) connecting on an RBI-single before crossing home plate herself on a squeeze play by Beeman.

Uphold went the distance from the circle, striking out four and walking none in the complete-game shutout to improve to 8-2 on the season.

Although Redlands only mustered four hits, it made the most of four Poet miscues.

The second contest saw two totally different teams, as the Poet bats fired off 10 hits and scored nine runs, while the Bulldogs came up with eight hits and seven runs.  The defenses combined for five errors in a less-than-stellar showing.

Once again, the Maroon and Gray got ahead early, as freshman short stop Vicki King (Thousand Oaks, CA) fired off a three-run homer in the top of the first inning.

However, Whittier answered right back with a four-spot in the bottom of the frame, with Samantha Mellano and Jordan Learn recording RBI for the Poets.

But the Bulldogs came storming back with a four-run effort in the third to take a 7-4 lead.  Beeman catapulted a two-run shot over the left-field fence to initiate the comeback, while freshman first baseman Tori Santos (West Covina, CA) and freshman third baseman Addie Oeleis (Temecula, CA) recorded RBI for the Maroon and Gray.

The Poets refused to go away and slowly chipped away at the Bulldogs' lead with five runs over the next four innings, eventually leading to the 9-7 tally. 

Redlands' sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Hooper (Riverside, CA) left the circle after four innings with a 7-5 lead, giving up only two earned runs while fanning two.  However, Whittier rattled off five hits and four runs in the final two frames when facing familiar pitcher Uphold.

The Bulldogs created their best scoring chances in the fifth and seventh innings, leaving four runners stranded in the process.  During the fifth, Poet pitcher Heather Salisbury walked two before earning the final two outs.  Redlands rallied in the seventh to place runners on second and third after a lead-off walk and then a double by freshman catcher Dani Santos (West Covina, CA).  But Whittier's Anna Cade took over the circle and sat down the next three batters for the save.

Redlands (12-4, 8-2 SCIAC) looks to get back on track with a non-conference doubleheader against Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) on Friday at 2 p.m. at the "Field of Dreams."