REDLANDS, Calif. – Top-ranked Linfield looked undaunted against No. 6 Redlands, spanking the host Bulldogs twice, 6-0 and 8-2, Sunday at the Field of Dreams.

Linfield (15-2) snapped Redlands’ 16-game winning streak, dealing the perennial Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contenders consecutive losses. The Bulldogs dropped to 21-3.

GAME 1
Claire Velaski tossed a two-hitter and three Linfield sluggers had multi-hit games as Linfield blanked Redlands in the opener.

The Wildcats broke the ice in the first inning, scoring on an RBI single from Emilee Lepp down the left-field line that scored Jaydee Baxter.

A solo home run by Emily Keagbine, her sixth of the season, made it 2-0 in the second inning.

Linfield bunched together three runs in the third, as Lepp, Keagbine and Karleigh Prestianni (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.) took turns driving in runs.

The game remained 5-0 in favor of the Wildcats until the seventh, when Baxter capitalized on a throwing error to score from third base.

Lepp went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, Keagbine was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Staci Doucette had a couple of hits also for the Wildcats, who outhit the Bulldogs 10-2.

Velaski, now 8-1, pitched the full seven innings, striking out five including the final two batters she faced.

Bulldogs starter Kayla Uphold took the loss to fall to 10-2 for the season, giving up all 10 hits over the game’s first five innings.

GAME 2
The Wildcats called on their bread-and-butter play – the home run – to surge past the Bulldogs in the nightcap.

Redlands took the early lead, getting a two-out sacrifice RBI by Amanda Clark that scored Rikki Scates in the second inning.

The Wildcats answered with back-to-back home runs by Doucette and Keagbine in the fourth. The Bulldogs tied the game at 2 in the fifth, notching an unearned run when Janelle Carrasco scored on a fielding error, one of three by the Wildcats in the game.

Prestianni struck another blow to Redlands’ hopes of pulling off the upset, crushing a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs put runners at first and second with two outs, but Karina Paavola (Jr., Kelso, Wash.) got Kirsten Millner to ground out to get the Wildcats off the hook.

Needing some additional breathing room, the Wildcats put five more runs on the board in the seventh inning to win going away. Two-run homers by Lepp and Keagbine iced the victory.

Gabrielle Sciuto took the loss in the circle to drop to 6-2. She pitched six innings, striking out five Wildcats while giving up 11 hits.

Pitching the game’s first five innings, Wildcats starter Lauren Harvey earned the victory to improve to 5-0. Paavola closed out the Bulldogs, allowing two hits over the final six outs.

Prestianni went 3-for-4 while Keagbine, Lepp, Doucette and Sami Keim all had two hits. The Wildcats outhit the Bulldogs 13-6.

COMING UP: The Wildcats will enjoy an idle day Monday before heading to Thousand Oaks to battle Cal Lutheran in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The spring break trip wraps up Tuesday with a pair of games at Whittier.