WHITTIER, Calif. – The University of Redlands Softball team (20-8, 6-3 SCIAC) came back to beat Whittier College 8-6 in eight innings Friday afternoon as they overcame an early 4-0 deficit.
Heading into the top half of the third the Bulldogs found themselves down 4-0, but they managed to rally picking up a run on an error in center as Isabella Culp (Bayliss, CA) scored before Paige Messenlehner (Fresno, CA) was hit by a pitch bringing in another run with the bases loaded as Natalie Horton (Palmdale, CA) scored to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
In the fourth Culp and Horton doubled and singled to tie the game at four as Adyson Kim (Millbrae, CA) and Culp came around to score.
Whittier would score for the first time since the second as they reclaimed the lead, 5-4, with a single up the middle in the bottom half of the frame.
Sophia Magcale (Cerritos, CA) led off the sixth with a single before being pinch run for by Kayla Jackson (Bishop, CA). Jackson would advance to second on a ground ball ahead of Culp who continued her great game with a game-tying RBI-double down the left field line.
In a game-winning situation in the seventh, the Bulldogs stranded a pair of runners, and the Poets left the winning run at second.
Culp reached on an error at third to start the eighth inning before Horton doubled her home to put the U of R on top. The game-winning hit came from Katlyn Gandara (Whittier, CA) who singled to left center.
Kassidy Long (Hemet, CA) followed putting two runners on base with Redlands' third hit of the inning. Then with two on and two out, Messenlehner singled home Gandara for an 8-5 lead, which they would take into the bottom of the inning.
The Poets started the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to pull within two, but Gandara earned a flyout before a pair of ground outs ended the game.
Horton, Gandara, Long, Messenlehner, and Culp all had two hits. Gandara finished the complete game victory with five earned runs on 14 hits but needed only 87 pitches to throw eight innings picking up her eleventh win on the season in comparison to the Poet starter who threw 143.
Redlands hosts Whittier for a doubleheader, Saturday, April 6 beginning at noon (12:00pm) at The Field of Dreams.
