The University of Redlands baseball team inched one step closer to securing a spot in the 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament by blowing past the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags in an 18-7 rout in seven innings on Friday. After celebrating the senior quartet of center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA), designated hitter Max Hardman (Encinitas, CA), pitcher Ross Orman (Corvallis, OR), and catcher Joe Bell (Bakersfield, CA) in a short pregame ceremony at the Yard, the Bulldogs piled on the runs while reaching the 20-hit mark for the third time this season.
Although the Stags initiated the scoring in the first inning with an unearned run, the Maroon and Gray quickly answered with a two-run shot by junior outfielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA). Hardman then put the Bulldogs ahead by a score of 3-1 when he plated junior first baseman/catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) and Scheiwe with a long single to left field.
Despite giving up a three-spot in the subsequent frame, Redlands responded with its own trio of runs, with Hancock belting a bases-clearing triple to highlight the rally.
However, the difference-maker came in the third frame when the Bulldogs fired off five hits for five runs to take an 11-5 lead. During this outburst, McMillan, junior short stop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA), Hardman, and sophomore third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) all registered RBI for the Maroon and Gray.
Redlands tacked on seven more runs over the next three innings, with Bell blasting a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the fifth to cap off yet another multi-run stanza for the Bulldogs.
Freshman Hayden Haight (Redlands, CA) tossed six solid innings from the mound, earning his fourth win of the campaign. While making just his eighth appearance of the season, sophomore Kevin Stevens (Highland, CA) closed the door on the Stags in one inning of relief, preserving the shortened victory for the Maroon and Gray.
Scheiwe finished the day with four runs scored to tie Hancock for the team-lead, while McMillan and Tumlinson rattled off four hits each. Finally, Dresner and Hardman led the Maroon and Gray with four RBI apiece.
Redlands (14-21, 13-12 SCIAC) currently sits in fourth place but has played one more game than the rest of the conference. The Bulldogs finish off their home stand of the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they face off against the first-place Kingsmen of ninth-ranked Cal Lutheran University at the Yard. Fans may follow the action via live stats and web-streaming at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/redlands.portal#
