By Michelle gardner
Staff Writer
After a long day on the diamond, the University of La Verne softball team headed home to pack. SCIAC rival Redlands went to wait by the phone.
The Leopards gained the SCIAC’s automatic bid beating the Bulldogs 5-4 Saturday in the title game of the first SCIAC tournament. Next up is the Division III West Regional which starts Thursday at University of Texas-Tyler.
The Leos (27-17), under first-year coach Julie Smith, have won 11 of their last 12 games. They were the No. 3 seed in the four-team tournament, but upended No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (10-0) and No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer (4-1) on Friday.
“We’re peaking at the right time. I used the old marathon analogy,” said Smith, a member of the United States’ gold-medal Olympic team in 1996. “With about seven miles to go we were running sixth and I told them we still had time to make a move but we had to move together.”
Smith chalked part of the team’s slow start this season up to the late arrival of three players who came out after basketball. The Leos made the playoffs in that sport, so the trio of freshman shortstop Ashley Paul, senior outfielder Jenny Strycula and freshman reserve Mayra Duenas didn’t join the team until the middle of March.
“We had more bodies, more depth and we were able to start practicing much more efficiently,” she said. “Then we had to get used to playing together.”
Top-seeded Redlands (34-10) had to come through the loser’s bracket after dropping its opener to Pitzer 4-1 on Friday. It defeated CMS 6-0 later Friday, then avenged the loss to Pitzer, 6-5, Saturday morning.
Shortstop Melanie Hamlin led the effort, going 3-for-4 with a double, triple, home run and three RBI, with three RBI, falling a single short of the cycle.
Senior pitcher Katie Brnca logged 17 innings of the 21 the Bulldogs played Saturday. She pitched five in the opener, then went the distance in the first game against La Verne, surrendering just four hits. The Bulldogs’ offense racked up 11 hits, led by Nicky Neumann’s three.
But Redlands trailed from the start in the deciding game, committing two errors on the first three hitters and twice failing to handle bunts, allowing La Verne an early 2-0 lead.
A two-run single by junior Kari Granger in the third made it 4-0.
La Verne was up 5-1 before Redlands scored three in the fifth.
But that inning could have produced more, as Redlands had two runners thrown out at the plate, the last with some controversy. Kayla Peterson tried to score from first after a hit by Hamlin, but catcher Melissa Carlson made the tag on a toss from pitcher Delaney Baylor-Dick.\
Redlands wanted, but didn’t get, an obstruction call on Carlson for blocking the plate without the ball.
The two plays at the plate and four errors proved costly, but coach Laurie Nevarez refused to blame fatigue.
“I hate to blame any one thing or one person,” Nevarez said. “For every thing someone didn’t do right I can think of five things they did do right.”
The Bulldogs, who won their fourth straight regular season title, are hoping for an at-large bid — which is possible given their strength of schedule and No. 12 national ranking, despite the SCIAC’s dubious history of advancing second-place teams.
“A lot of people have told me we have a good shot but you never know,” Nevarez said. “I hope we get a shot because I think we’re deserving but we didn’t do what we needed to do here.”
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