Sophomore designated hitter Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) belted three homeruns in two games on Saturday, helping the University of Redlands baseball team to capture crucial victories over Occidental College, 4-3, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, 10-4. With the wins, the Bulldogs moved past Occidental in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings, securing the No. 3 seed and a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
During Senior Day at The Yard, senior second baseman Jason Henning (Redlands, CA), senior pitcher/first baseman Eliot Smith (West Linn, OR), senior first baseman Petter Overton-Harris (Beaverton, OR), senior pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) and senior pitcher Paul Dippel (East Granby, CT) were honored in a pregame ceremony for their accomplishments during their time with the program.
Against Occidental, Redlands surrendered two early runs to the Tigers in Saturday's opener, allowing three hits and two scores during the first frame.
The Bulldogs responded in the second inning and took the lead with three runs of their own. Junior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA) led off the frame with a sharp single to right field. Smith followed that up with an RBI-double to right field, scoring Scheiwe from first base. Two batters later, Hancock blasted a two-out, two-run shot over the right-center field wall to give the Maroon and Gray the one-run advantage.
Hart settled down after giving up the two early runs, throwing three-straight scoreless frames. The Tigers pulled one run back, however, tying the score at 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning.
The decisive frame turned out to be the seventh, during which Redlands scored the winning run. Junior left-fielder Max Hardman (Encinitas, CA) ripped a one-out single to center field and advanced to second with two outs when sophomore shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) laced a single to right field. Henning stepped up to the plate next and gave the Bulldogs the clutch hit they were looking for, lining a single to right field. Hardman came in to score on the play, just sliding in safe at home plate under the tag.
Redlands sophomore pitcher Josh Makler (Portland, OR) came out of the bullpen for the Maroon and Gray and threw the final two innings for the save. In the ninth, Makler successfuly got out of a jam, thanks in part by a couple of great defensive plays en route to preserving the lead and the crucial victory.
Hart earned the win fromt the mound, throwing seven innings for Redlands while dispersing ten hits and allowing three runs, only two of which were earned.
At the dish, Henning went 3-for-4 with the all-important RBI, while four other Bulldogs tallied two hits apiece.
With other results occurring around the league during the day, the Bulldogs found out that they were in control of their own destiny, and with a win against CMS, could clinch a spot in the first-ever conference postseason tournament.
Smith took to the hill for the U of R in the all-important game and shut down the Stags in each of the first two innings, not allowing a run.
The Bulldogs took the lead on an RBI-single from freshman catcher Christian Heideger (Shoreline, WA) in the bottom of the second, scoring sophomore right fielder Nathaniel Acosta (Chino Hills, CA) from second base.
Despite giving up two runs in the third inning, Redlands responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to regain the lead. Freshman third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Topeka, KS) had the big hit of the frame for the Maroon and Gray, ripping an RBI-single through the left side to score Hardman for the Bulldogs' 3-2 advantage.
Watch Tumlinson's RBI-single here.
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Hancock struck again, this time belting a three-run homerun over the right-field wall, pushing Redlands' lead to 6-2.
Watch Hancock's three-run blast here.
In the sixth frame, with Redlands now up 8-2, Hancock stepped up to the dish with Scheiwe on second base and launched a two-run shot over the right-field fence, virtually sealing the triumph for the U of R. Hancock finished the game against CMS with two hits, five RBI and two runs scored.
The Stags did pull two runs back late in the contest, but Redlands remained in control with a comfortable six-run win to secure its spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
Smith earned the win, going six innings and allowing five hits and two unearned runs, while also striking out four.
Additionally, Scheiwe performed well at the plate, going 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Seeded No. 3 in the tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker with Occidental, Redlands (21-16, 17-11 SCIAC) returns to action on Friday, May 3, when it travels to No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for the first game of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament at 3 p.m.
