REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands softball team won their sixth consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular season title, which gave them the No. 1 overall seed and hosting rights for the SCIAC Tournament Friday-Sunday, May 8-10.
In Head Coach Jose Ortega's career, he is 12-5 with three tournament titles.
Tournament Format
The Bulldogs will be joined by No. 2 Chapman University, No. 3 University of La Verne, and No. 4 Whittier College. The Bulldogs face Whittier at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, while Chapman and La Verne play open play at 1:00 p.m. All games will take place at the Field of Dreams.
The losers of each game will play at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 9 followed by the winners match-up at 1:30 p.m. The winner of the 11:00 a.m. elimination game will play the loser of the winner's game at 4:00 p.m. to end Saturday competition. The winner of the winner's game will advance to Sunday at 2-0, needing only one win to claim the 2026 SCIAC Tournament title and SCIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Championships.
The winner of the 4:00 p.m. game on Saturday advances to Sunday, while the loser is eliminated. The Championship game one is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Sunday between the 2-0 and 2-1 team. If the undefeated team wins, they will be the tournament champions. But if the 2-1 team wins, they will play a winner-takes-all second game 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one to determine the tournament champion.
No. 1 Redlands (20-1)
The Bulldogs had the SCIAC Athlete of the Year in Katlyn Gandara, SCIAC Newcomer of the Year in Caitlynn Griffith, and SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year Jose Ortega. Their seven All-SCIAC selections were the most with Gandara, Adyson Kim, Brooklyn Bard, Leila Gomez, and Jenay Scott landing on the 1st Team and Natalie Lowthers and Avery Provenzano earning 2nd Team recognition.
SCIAC Stat Rankings
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Offense
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Pitching
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Fielding
|
|
Average
|
.382 (1st)
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ERA
|
2.01 (1st)
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Percentage
|
.962 (2nd)
|
|
Runs
|
164 (1st)
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Shutouts
|
5 (1st)
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DPs
|
10 (1st)
|
|
Doubles
|
44 (1st)
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Saves
|
3 (1st)
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SB Allowed
|
13 (1st)
|
|
Triples
|
12 (1st)
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Strikeouts
|
63 (2nd)
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|
|
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HR
|
7 (2nd)
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OPP BA
|
.274 (3rd)
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|
|
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No. 2 Chapman (12-9)
The Panthers feature SCIAC Pitcher of the Year Rose Malen along with three All-SCIAC members, two on the 1st Team (Malen, Shea Higa) and one on the 2nd Team (Kloe Lobato).
|
Offense
|
Pitching
|
Fielding
|
|
Average
|
.276 (5th)
|
ERA
|
2.95 (3rd)
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Percentage
|
.945 (7th)
|
|
Runs
|
69 (7th)
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Shutouts
|
3 (2nd)
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DPs
|
6 (5th)
|
|
Doubles
|
13 (7th)
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Saves
|
1 (3rd)
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SB Allowed
|
33 (7th)
|
|
Triples
|
7 (3rd)
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Strikeouts
|
98 (1st)
|
|
|
|
HR
|
0 (6th)
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OPP BA
|
.245 (1st)
|
|
|
No. 3 La Verne (11-10)
The Leopards had three All-SCIAC members, one on the 1st Team (Briana Vasquez) and two on the 2nd Team (Allie Colenzo and Kylee Knight).
|
Offense
|
Pitching
|
Fielding
|
|
Average
|
.268 (6th)
|
ERA
|
3.48 (4th)
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Percentage
|
.936 (8th)
|
|
Runs
|
89 (5th)
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Shutouts
|
0 (7th)
|
DPs
|
10 (2nd)
|
|
Doubles
|
26 (4th)
|
Saves
|
0 (5th)
|
SB Allowed
|
19 (3rd)
|
|
Triples
|
6 (4th)
|
Strikeouts
|
55 (4th)
|
|
|
|
HR
|
4 (6th)
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OPP BA
|
.280 (4th)
|
|
|
No. 4 Whittier (11-10)
Despite finishing fourth, the Poets had the second-most All-SCIAC selections with five, three on the 1st Team (Mariah Rodriguez, Kelly Nutter, and Maya Torres) and two on the 2nd Team (Bella Peinado and Tiaira Richardson).
|
Offense
|
Pitching
|
Fielding
|
|
Average
|
.326 (2nd)
|
ERA
|
4.83 (6th)
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Percentage
|
.954
|
|
Runs
|
122 (2nd)
|
Shutouts
|
2 (5th)
|
DPs
|
9 (3rd)
|
|
Doubles
|
34 (3rd)
|
Saves
|
0 (5th)
|
SB Allowed
|
19 (3rd)
|
|
Triples
|
6 (4th)
|
Strikeouts
|
40 (6th)
|
|
|
|
HR
|
7 (2nd)
|
OPP BA
|
.342 (7th)
|
|
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