The University of Redlands baseball team came out firing on all cylinders in Friday's opening game of a three-game Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) series against the Occidental College Tigers. The Bulldogs clicked on every level with a full offensive attack and another lights-out performance from freshman hurler Felix Minjarez (Riverside, CA) in a 12-2 seven-inning victory.
Although the Tigers jumped on the board in the top of the first inning with a two-out RBI-single, Redlands' sophomore second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) quickly erased the deficit with a solo round-tripper. The first homerun of his Bulldog career cleared the left-field wall to start off the inning and tie the contest at one apiece.
Minjarez dominated the Tigers' line-up from that moment on by holding the opponents' scoreless for the following five innings while fanning three batters in the process.
Junior right-fielder Tyler Shreve (Redlands, CA) led off the bottom of the second inning by waiting back on a curveball and lacing it into the left-center gap for a two-bagger. Senior designated hitter Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA), junior first baseman John Keane (Clayton, CA), and Shreve all came around to score on a three-RBI, stand-up triple by left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) for the Bulldogs' 4-1 lead.
The Maroon and Gray loaded up the bases once again in the bottom of the fifth frame with walks to junior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) and senior center fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA), and a double to right center by senior catcher Sean McMillan (Lakewood City, CA). Shreve, Gurrola, and Keane all followed with back-to-back-to-back RBI-hits to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 8-1.
Redlands combined for four more runs in the following two innings, as Tumlinson and Shreve scored in the bottom of the sixth and Keane and Samson touched home in the bottom of the seventh to mercy Occidental by the score of 12-2 after seven innings.
Minjarez (5-0) had everything working for him today on the bump, as he tossed seven strong innings while giving up only two runs, scattering eight hits, and striking out five.
Keane took advantage of his first start of the year by notching a 2-for-4 day with an RBI and two runs scored. Shreve finished the day on a 2-for-4 note with two runs scored and two RBI.
Following the solid outing by the Bulldogs, Shreve and Minjarez commented on the win.
The Bulldogs (9-4, 6-4 SCIAC) travel to Eagle Rock on Saturday to complete the three-game series against Occidental (10-3 8-2 SCIAC) with a doubleheader, beginning at 11 a.m.