2/21/10 - Thomson and Uphold Lead Royals To Split

By Tim Gooszen

Redlands, CA- Down 1-0 heading into the sixth inning, the Royals responded with two runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh to take Game 1 of Sunday’s makeup doubleheader with Redlands 3-1.   The Bulldogs broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the sixth inning of Game 2 to earn a 4-1 win.  Freshman Danielle Thomson was 3-5 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a run driven in for the day.

Through the first five innings of Game 1, the Royals (2-2) could not solve the pitching of Amanda Doeppel as they did not have a hit and only had three base runners.  Meanwhile, the run manufactured by the Bulldogs (6-4) in the fourth inning looked like it might stand up for the win.

But then that all changed when the Royals came to bat in the sixth.  Freshman Kayla Uphold reached on an error and Thomson, pictured, recorded the first hit of the game for the Royals on a double to right center that scored Uphold from first base.  Senior Lindsay Robillard singled, followed by Sophomore Bree Briones reaching on a catcher’s interference to load the bases.  Freshman Janelle Medor took one for the team as she was hit by a pitch to drive in the Royals’ second run.

The seventh saw Uphold reach on an error again.  After Uphold stole second Thomson walked.  Junior Caitlin Angel singled back up the middle to score Uphold from second and give the Royals a 3-1 lead.

When she was not scoring runs, Uphold was busy earning the win in the circle.  Though she only had one 1-2-3 inning, she managed to wiggle out of trouble when needed especially in the sixth and seventh.  She left two Bulldogs on the base paths in the last two innings while improving to 2-0 on the season.

In the second game, the Bulldogs took advantage of a Hope International error to push across a run in the first inning.

The first ten batters went down in order for the Royals.  Finally, with one out in the fourth, Thomson doubled to left to pick up the Royals first hit.  Angel followed with a double of her own to left to plate Thomson and tie the game at 1-1.  After stealing third, Angel was left stranded.

Thomson would record the only other hit of the day for the Royals with a single in the sixth.

In the circle, Sophomore Alexis Alonzo found her rhythm after giving up the run in the first and only allowed one hit in the second through fifth innings.

Unfortunately, Redlands solved Alonzo in the sixth with a single, and then one out later, three consecutive extra base hits scored three runs and gave the Bulldogs the win.  Alonzo fell to 0-2 on the season.

Next up for the Royals is a Northern California and Oregon road trip starting with a stop at Menlo College in Atherton, CA, on Wednesday.  First pitch with the Oaks is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

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