The University of Redlands baseball squad took to the diamond for the first time this season by facing off against the NAIA's No. 22 Vanguard University on Tuesday afternoon in Costa Mesa. Despite allowing four runs in the opening half-inning of the contest, the Bulldogs stepped up on the mound and at the dish to come back and haul in a 6-5 victory.
Trailing by four early in the game, the Bulldogs bounced back in the top of the second inning by plating two runs. Senior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) forced a throwing error by the Lion's third baseman to promptly advance to second to start off the frame. He later came around to score on a wild pitch. With two outs in the same inning, freshman shortstop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA) drew a walk and later crossed home plate on the second pass ball of the inning, trimming the Maroon and Gray's deficit to 2-4.
The Bulldogs began to settle on the mound, as senior starter Michael Collins (Upland, CA) blanked Vanguard in the second inning. Over the next two innings, sophomore hurler Felix Minjarez (Riverside, CA) set the tone with a flawless showing that included two strikeouts. Sophomore reliever Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) entered in the fifth inning and tossed up a zero in one inning of action to remain within two runs after five innings of play.
The Bulldogs snagged the lead in the top of the sixth inning while capitalizing off crucial defensive miscues from Vanguard and barreling clutch hits. After reaching on a walk, junior first baseman John Keane (Clayton, CA) came around to score on an errant throw following a ground ball to the shortstop off the bat of junior catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA). Sophomore pinch-runner Nick Ono (Yorba Linda, CA) later touched home on a wild pitch. Senior right-fielder Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA) capped off the inning by smacking a two-RBI double down the right-field line, plating senior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) and junior center-fielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) for the Bulldogs' 6-4 advantage.
Senior reliever Kevin Stevens (Highland, CA), sophomore pitcher Noah Jones (San Bernardino, CA), and sophomore closer John White (Burbank, CA) worked as a unit to seal the deal in the final three frames en route to the 6-5 victory.
Stevens earned his first win of the season after tossing 1.2 innings and fanning one batter. White notched his first save of the season after cruising through two innings of work without a hit and fanning a game-high four batters.
Gurrola went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while six different players scored for the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Aaron Holley was satisfied with his team's resilience after the first game of the season.
"Besides the four-spot in the first, we pitched really well," said Holley. "Offensively, we didn't have a hit until the sixth inning, but we ran the bases well and had a clutch-hit by Gurrola to plate some runs."
The Bulldogs (1-0) travel to Tucson, AZ, for a four-game stint, beginning with a contest against the Linfield College (OR) Wildcats on Friday, February 12 at 1 p.m. MT.