The University of Redlands softball team has won its first-ever national championship after yet another late-inning rally to defeat defending champion Trine University, 

Box Score

The national title is the first in the sport by a SCIAC member, with Chapman University having won as an independent in 1995. It also marks the 10th national championship won this academic year by a SCIAC team or individual across all sports.

True to form as they had been all tournament, the Thunder bats did the bulk of their work early as Trine put up four runs in the first inning. Redlands scored twice in the second and halved the deficit in the fourth before Trine tacked on two more via their second long ball of the game, but the Bulldogs continued to get runners on base, showcasing arguably their top strength with heads-up baserunning to tie the game in the sixth with Natalie Lowthers delivering another clutch hit in the form of a two-RBI double. Avery Provenzano brought home Maya Holshoe for the go-ahead run and Brianna Garcia finished the job  started two innings prior, retiring the Trine side in order to record 2.1 hitless innings pitched with the help of a spectacular diving catch by Jenay Scott.

Scott went 2-for-3 with a walk, triple, run scored, one RBI and a stolen base to finish the series 5-for-6 with a pair of walks, accumulating a postseason total of 21 hits in 39 at-bats (.538) with eight multi-hit games including four extra-base hits, five stolen bases and six walks (.600 on-base percentage). Fellow outfielder and classmate Leila Gomez ended the 12-game playoffs with a .568 batting average (25-for-44) and Lowthers batted .349 with a team-high 14 RBI. Gandara hit .421 (16-for-38) with six XBH and tossed 47.2 IP over eight starts in nine appearances across the memorable run to conclude an historic career.