Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

REDLANDS, Calif. – For the second time during the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Post Season Tournament the Whittier College softball team dropped a 7-4 decision to the University of Redlands dropping out of contention for the SCIAC Championship Title.

Whittier wraps up their 2014 campaign with the second most wins in the program's history going 27-16, 16-12 SCIAC.

In an elimination game during the day's opener, the Bulldogs rallied for four runs in the ninth to capture a hard fought 7-4 victory advancing to the SCIAC Championship Game against Claremont-M-S.

The Bulldogs struck for a run in the top half of the first inning with a triple to left field from Vicki King but saw the Purple & Gold come away with two in the bottom half of the second. Whittier's first four batters connected on hits, with Courtney DeLano knocking in the first RBI on a single.  The Poets also took advantage of an uncharacteristic wild pitch by Redlands' pitcher Kaitlyn Hooper.

Trailing by one, UR responded in the fourth with a two-out rally to push across two runs.  With the bases loaded, AJ Carrasco found the gap in right-center field for a long single for the Bulldogs' 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Whittier tied it up with a solo shot by Emi Shimamoto, continuing the back-and-forth nature of the contest.

With the score still knotted at three apiece, the game headed to extra innings to determine the tournament finalist.  In the top of the eighth, the Poets escaped a bases-loaded jam via a diving catch by Alyse Gutierrez in right to rob AJ Carrasco of the winning RBI-hit.      

But in the ninth inning, Redlands would find the plate as Kristen Hooper doubled to left field, creating just enough spark in the offense to get things rolling.  After Amanda Lievanos ripped a single, King stepped up once again with a clutch-hit, bringing home two runs on a long single to center.  Grace Rose and Janelle Carrasco also pushed across insurance runs for the Bulldogs.

DeLano threw 8.0 Innings giving up five runs on 11 hits, while striking out three.  Anna Cade was tagged with her first loss of the season going 1.0 inning giving up two runs on two hits.

Mickala Gonzales finished the game 3-5 with a run scored.  Samantha Mellano was 2-5 with a run batted in, while DeLano was 3-3 at the plate with an RBI.