In only his second-career start, freshman pitcher Hayden Haight (Redlands, CA) threw a complete-game shutout as the University of Redlands baseball team downed Whittier College on Friday afternoon at The Yard, 6-0. In the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) triumph, the Bulldogs put together a complete performance as a team and used timely hitting and clutch defensive plays to secure the important victory.
Through the first five innings of the contest, both teams' starting pitchers were throwing a great variety of pitches and keeping the opposing batters on their heels. It was not until the sixth frame when the Bulldogs finally broke the deadlock with a pair of runs.
Freshman Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) led off the pivotal inning with a single to center field, and freshman second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) added to his team-leading mark in hits with another single, this one going to left field. Scalisi eventually came around to score, and senior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA) came in to cross the plate as well when junior catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) ripped an RBI single to center field, putting the Bulldogs up 2-0.
Haight continued to roll, retiring the Poets in order in the seventh. Then, in the eighth frame with one runner on for Whittier and two outs, a blooper was hit into center field, but Scheiwe got a good read on the ball off the bat and ran to make a diving catch, keeping the Poets off the board.
The U of R bats then erupted in the bottom half of the eighth frame, and Scalisi got things started with another single up the middle for the Bulldogs. Following a sacrifice bunt, Scheiwe turned his great defensive play in the previous half-inning into a positive play at the plate, ripping an RBI single to center field, scoring Scalisi from second base. After McMillan walked, junior shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) came up with a big hit to score Scheiwe. Two batters later, sophomore third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) sealed the deal for Redlands, notching a two-RBI single to right field, extending the advantage to six runs.
In the top of the ninth, Haight finished what he started and sat the Poet batters down 1-2-3 with a trio of groundouts, securing the victory. For the game, Haight scattered six hits and struck out four Poet batters en route to handing the Poets (11-7, 9-1 SCIAC) their first loss of the conference campaign.
Scalisi led the way with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate and two runs scored for Redlands, while Dresner and Tumlinson also tallied two hits apiece. In addition, Tumlinson registered a team-best two RBI.
After the game, Haight talked about the important win for the team, as well as his impressive performance on the mound in a post-game interview.
Redlands (7-13, 7-6 SCIAC) returns to the diamond tomorrow when it travels to Whittier for a doubleheader with the Poets. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
