The University of Redlands baseball team faced off against the Rutgers University-Newark Scarlett Raiders (NJ) in non-conference action on Monday evening at The Yard. The Bulldogs strung together multiple two-out rallies in the contest while feeding off strong pitching en route to an 8-5 win.
Sophomore pitcher Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) climbed the hill for the start and got into a groove directly out of the gate by retiring the Scarlett Raiders' offense in order in the top of the first inning, which included one punch-out.
The Bulldogs worked off Stead's solid opening inning and plated the first run of the ball game, compliments of a bloop-single to center field off the bat of senior right-fielder Christina Gurrola (Torrance, CA), allowing senior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) to score for the early 1-0 lead.
After Rutgers-Newark responded with three runs in the following two frames, the Bulldogs answered with a two-spot of their own in the bottom half of the third inning. Senior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) allowed senior designated hitter John Keane (Clayton, CA) to touch home after launching a sacrifice fly out to right field. Senior first baseman Ryan Franklin (Manhattan Beach, CA) put his hard hat on and did a job by notching a sacrifice groundout to the first baseman, scoring junior second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) to tie the ball game at three apiece.
Sophomore reliever Noah Jones (San Bernardino, CA) took over the pitching duties in the top of the fourth inning and got two quick outs. Unfortunately, a two-out rally from Rutgers-Newark brought home two runs, putting the Bulldogs behind by a score of 3-5.
However, the Bulldogs responded with a two-out rally of their own in the ensuing half-inning that started with a double to left-center field by Scalisi, scoring senior center-fielder Nathan Bowker (Edmonds, OK). Gurrola continued the inning by lacing a full-count single through the right side, followed by an RBI-knock off the bat of Tumlinson to score Scalisi and tie the game at 5-5.
Jones began to settle in on the mound by tossing up two-consecutive zeros that included two strikeouts.
Sophomore shortstop Brendan Gardiner (Mission Viejo, CA) got in on the action in the bottom of the sixth inning and pieced a double down the right-field line to score Gurrola and for the Bulldogs' 7-5 advantage. Redlands padded its lead with two more runs in the game, with Scalisi notching his second RBI-knock in the bottom of the seventh and Tumlinson scoring via wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning en route to the 8-5 victory.
Sophomore reliever Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) was dominant in his three innings of work after taking over the pitching duties in the top of the seventh inning. He struck out four batters and earned his first-career save.
Jones earned the victory after tossing three innings and fanning two batters.
Scalisi helmed the offense by going 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Samson punched in a 2-for-4 mark with a double and two runs scored. Gurrola barreled three hits on the day.
The Bulldogs (12-6) face off against Ithaca College (NY) on Friday, March 18, at home at The Yard. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.