The University of Redlands baseball team traveled to Pasadena on Saturday, and with impressive offensive displays, the Bulldogs pushed past Caltech in both games to earn the series sweep over the Beavers. Redlands jumped in front early in the opener en route to taking the first game of the day, 17-6, while in the nightcap, the Bulldogs used solid pitching and timely hitting on the way to a 13-1 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) triumph in seven innings.
The Maroon and Gray tallied four runs through the first three frames while only allowing one run to take the early lead. The Bulldogs then used a big fourth inning to extend the advantage to 10-1.
In that explosive fourth frame for Redlands, junior shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) registered a two-RBI single to get things rolling. Sophomore third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) notched an RBI single not long after, while freshman catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA), freshman first baseman Spencer Hogger (Bainbridge Island, WA), and junior right-fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) all tallied RBI in the big inning as well.
The Beavers did pull five runs back in the sixth inning, but the U of R offense continued to click, eventually racking up a season-high 17 runs on season-bests of 21 hits and 16 RBI as a team.
Individually, Wallau led the way at the plate with a phenomenal 4-for-4 performance that included four RBI and two runs scored. Dresner complemented that effort with three hits, four RBI, and two runs scored. Additionally, sophomore left-fielder Nathan Bowker (Edmond, OK) notched three hits for the game while crossing the plate on a couple of occasions.
Sophomore pitcher Michael Collins (Upland, CA) earned the victory for Redlands, throwing four innings while not allowing a hit and giving up just one run. In relief, both freshman Andrew Senk (Indio, CA) and senior Ross Orman (Corvallis, OR) recorded solid outings, with Senk going two innings and surrendering just one hit, while Orman tallied one inning from the hill and allowed just one hit as well. Neither gave up any runs.
In the nightcap and final game of the three-game series with Caltech, freshman pitcher Nate Richards (Seattle, WA) took the mound and hurled four scoreless innings, dispersing three hits and striking out one Beaver batter while earning the victory.
At the plate, the Maroon and Gray bats tallied only a pair of runs through the first three innings, but then Redlands tacked on a five-run fourth-frame to make it a 7-0 advantage. Junior designated hitter Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA), sophomore first baseman Ryan Franklin (Manhattan Beach, CA), freshman third baseman Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA), and Bowker also provided Redlands with RBI in the inning.
With the Bulldog pitchers cruising through the Caltech lineup and the Bulldog bats continuing their success at the plate, the game finished in seven innings via the 12-run margin of victory.
Hancock went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI and team-high four runs scored. Franklin also tallied three hits on the day while notching two RBI and two runs scored. Finally, McMillan went 1-for-1 at the plate with four RBI and three sacrifice-flys.
Freshman Max Winkelhake (Seattle, WA) and Tumlinson provided solid relief for Richards, with Tumlinson tallying a perfect seventh inning with a couple of strikeouts.
With the series sweep, Redlands (4-7, 4-2 SCIAC) looks forward to traveling to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (3-7, 2-4 SCIAC) on Friday, February 28 for another important SCIAC contest. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
