REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands softball team (5-3) bounced back against Lewis & Clark College on Sunday with an 8-0 win in five innings and then an 8-2 win in game two.
Game 1 (W, 8-0)
The Bulldogs got on the board early thanks to a Natalie Lowthers (Wrightwood, CA) RBI-single that plated Brooklyn Bard (Long Beach, CA) in the first.
The big inning was the third when Avery Provenzano (San Jose, CA) started the scoring with a solo home run to right center. Maya Holshoe (Redlands, CA) followed late in the inning with an RBI on a fielder's choice before an RBI-triple by Adyson Kim (Millbrae, CA). Natalie Lopez (Long Beach, CA) added a single down the right field line that scored Kim for a 5-0 U of R lead.
A River Otter error in the fourth allowed pinch runner Kayla Jackson (Bishop, CA) to score the Bulldogs' sixth run. Jenay Scott (Merced, CA) followed with a ground-ball single to make it 7-0 after four innings.
The game-ending hit came from starting pitcher Katlyn Gandara (Whittier, CA) who found grass in right field driving in Bard that made it a run-rule victory.
Bard, Lowthers, Scott, and Lopez all had two hits. As a team they had five stolen bases with Bard and Jackson tallying two each. Gandara got her third win on the season after five shutout innings.
Game 2 (W, 8-2)
After failing to score in the opening two frames, the Bulldogs got a two-run single from Lowthers in the third as Mo Bassett (Portland, OR) and Provenzano each crossed the plate.
Two innings later Bard and Provenzano were able to advance and score on a fielding error at second base.
The River Otters, though, got back into the game in the next half inning as they brought home two on a single to left center.
Emi Connell (Bellevue, WA) responded for the Bulldogs, hitting a double into right center, which plated Jackson. An RBI single from Provenzano, a wild pitch, and an RBI-single for Scott made it 8-2 Redlands after six innings.
In the seventh Brianna Garcia (Riverside, CA) worked around a two out walk to secure the victory and her first save of the season.
The Bulldogs continue with non-conference play tomorrow morning, Monday, March 2 as they host Bridgewater College for a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.
