The University of Redlands baseball team continued non-conference action on Saturday afternoon against the Spalding University (KY) Golden Eagles on a sunny day at the Yard. After digging themselves into an early ditch with numerous fielding blunders, the Bulldogs rallied back to even the tally at seven apiece but ultimately fell by a score of 9-14.
With the Bulldogs down by seven going into the bottom of the third, the offense worked to chip away at the deficit. In the bottom of the inning, junior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) and senior catcher Sean McMillan (Lakewood City, CA) each recorded RBI-groundouts in consecutive at-bats to trim the deficit to five runs.
Redlands repeated a strong inning in the fourth stanza, starting with an RBI-groundout from sophomore third baseman Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA), scoring junior right-fielder Tyler Shreve (Redlands, CA) after he was issued a free pass. Sophomore second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) followed with a screaming double down the left field line, plating freshman designated hitter Joey Warner (Indio, CA). Scalisi touched home plate shortly after his RBI-knock, as Samson poked a seeing-eye single through the left side of the infield, trimming the score to 5-7.
The Maroon and Gray tied up the score due in part to smart, situational hitting over the next two frames. Senior center-fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) plated freshman pinch-runner Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA) via groundout. Scalisi followed the next inning with a deep RBI-sacrifice fly to score Warner, knotting the game at seven apiece.
Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles rallied to grab a combined seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take the lead back at 7-14.
Sophomore catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA) cut the deficit down to five after scorching a line-drive triple over the centerfielder's head, plating Scalisi and Conci.
The Bulldogs' efforts were not enough in the later innings, resulting in the 9-14 loss.
Freshman starter Matthew Acosta (San Bernardino, CA) picked up the loss after tossing 6.1 innings while giving up nine runs, seven of which were earned. In addition, he had some success by fanning a career-high nine batters.
Freshman reliever Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) chucked a solid ninth inning while striking out one batter.
Scalisi finished the day going 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Warner had a quality outing at the dish, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk, while Conci continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 line with a double, RBI, and two runs scored.
The Bulldogs (12-6) face off against the Rutgers University – Newark Scarlet Raiders (0-3) for the second time in three days when they take the field on Sunday, March 15. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. at the Yard.