While benefitting from a few big innings, the University of Redlands baseball team knocked off a pair of ranked foes on Wednesday in a two-team doubleheader at the Yard. The Bulldogs fired off a four-run seventh to earn a 4-1 win over No. 18 Bridgewater College (VA) in the opener and then rallied to take the lead for a third and final time with another four-spot against No. 8 Kean University (NJ) en route to the 11-8 triumph.
With neither team notching a run through the first five innings of an apparent pitchers' duel, the Bridgewater Eagles pushed one home on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
However, Redlands quickly responded in the seventh by capitalizing on three hits and two Bridgewater miscues for four runs. After sophomore right-fielder Nathaniel Acosta (Chino Hills, CA) singled to lead off the frame, senior first baseman Eliot Smith (West Linn, OR) plated him with a double to right field. This opened the floodgates, as the Bulldogs loaded the bases on the subsequent three batters. Smith came home on an error and then senior left-fielder Jason Henning (Redlands, CA) connected on a double for two RBI, resulting in the 4-1 lead, which held up through the final pitch.
Freshman pitcher Jake Hirshman (Scottsdale, AZ) and sophomore pitcher Josh Makler (Portland, OR) shut the door on the Eagles' hopes of a comeback by combining for 3.2 innings of no-hitter ball. Hirshman collected the first win of his young Bulldog career, while Makler earned the save.
The Bulldogs knocked off their second ranked foe of the day in a wild 11-8 victory over Kean. In a back-and-forth battle, Redlands took the lead three times and finally stayed ahead after a four-spot in the fourth inning. Henning and Smith once again stepped up for the Maroon and Gray, this time providing big RBI-triples. After sophomore second baseman Matt Barnes (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) led off the inning with a three-bagger, Henning followed suit to bring him home, making it 6-5. Junior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA) fired off an RBI-single to plate Henning, before Smith roped the third triple of the stanza, scoring two runs for the Bulldogs' 9-5 lead.
Although Kean made a late push by scoring three in the eighth, the Bulldogs took care of business through the final plays, with Makler earning his second save of the day. In addition to the Bulldogs' solid late-game pitching, the Redlands defense stepped up with two double plays in the final two innings.
Junior pitcher Ross Orman (Corvallis, OR) nabbed the win after three shutout innings that included five strikeouts during the middle portion of the game.
Scheiwe, Henning, Smith and sophomore catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) recorded two hits apiece, with Smith leading the crew with three RBI.
Redlands (9-9) resumes Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Friday when it travels to Whittier College to take on the Poets in a 3 p.m. bout. Fans may follow the action through live stats and video.