REDLANDS, Calif. – Natalie Lowthers (Wrightwood, CA) hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the University of Redlands softball team (27-4, 12-1 SCIAC) edge Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS), 6-3, in game one Friday afternoon.
The Athenas plated the first run of the game in the second before Maya Holshoe (Redlands, CA) tied things up on a single to right that scored Jenay Scott (Merced, CA) in the bottom half of the inning.
Leila Gomez (San Bernardino, CA) gave Redlands their first lead in the third on a double to right field plating Brooklyn Bard (Long Beach, CA) to make it 2-1 Bulldogs. The very next inning Holshoe added her second RBI on the day with a solo shot to right.
CMS, though, responded an inning and a half later in the sixth with a two-run shot to even the game at three.
Caitlynn Griffith (Pala, CA), who came on to end a scoring threat by the Athenas in the sixth, worked around a two-out single, which gave the Bulldogs a chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh.
Bard had a single and stole second with one out. Following a ground out and a walk to Katlyn Gandara (Whittier, CA), Lowthers hit a 2-1 pitch out to left to secure the series-opening win.
Bard had a hit, a walk, and two runs scored from her leadoff position. Gomez had two hits and an RBI and Holshoe had two hits and two RBI's.
In the circle Gandara went 5.2 innings with two earned runs in the no decision. Griffith got the win with three strikeouts over the final 1.1 innings.
Redlands heads to Claremont for a doubleheader Saturday, April 11 beginning at 12:00 p.m. (noon).
