REDLANDS, Calif. - The fourth-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team scored five times in the top of the seventh, and got out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the bottom half, to stun top-seeded Redlands 7-6 in the opening game of the SCIAC Tournament on Friday.

Kaili Aqui was 3-for-4 at the plate and made an over-the-shoulder catch at the warning track in left for the final out to get the win for Perri Derian, who struck out SCIAC Player of the Year Paige Messenlehner for the second out of the seventh.

CMS improves to 21-14 on the year and advances into the winner's bracket to face Chapman tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., while Redlands will face Pomona-Pitzer in an elimination game at 11 a.m.

Trailing 6-2 going into the seventh, Delanie Stevens was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Aqui singled to third for her third hit of the game. Emma Suh then singled to center field to bring the tying run to the plate and after a pitching change, Madison Gonzalez lined an RBI single to center to get the Athenas within 6-3. 

Alex Wedemeyer then came through with a big two-run double to close the gap to 6-5, and after a wild pitch tied it, CMS took the lead on an RBI single from Rachel Sapirstein.

Redlands scored three unearned runs in the first and added two more in the third for a 5-0 lead. The Athenas scored twice in the fifth to close the gap to 5-2, with Stevens and Aqui tallying singles, Gonzalez drawing a walk, and Wedemeyer bringing home two when her grounder was mishandled for an error. 

Wedemeyer finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Athenas. Derian got the win with two innings of shutout relief, allowing two hits, to improve to 5-2 on the year. 

CMS and Chapman just met on the final weekend of the regular season, with the Panthers taking two of three, although the Athenas took the finale 8-1 behind a four-hitter from Maya Weigel-Murphy, who earned the SCIAC Pitcher of the Week for her performance.