The University of Redlands baseball team welcomed the Red Devils of Dickinson College (PA) to The Yard for a mid-week, non-conference game. The Bulldogs muscled 17 hits in a dominating performance for a 23-2 final.
Redlands put up a crooked number in the bottom of the first on four hits and two Red Devil blunders. Senior second baseman Will Hall (Seattle, WA) and senior third baseman Brendan Gardiner (Mission Viejo, CA) led things off with back-to-back base hits. After Hall stole second, he made his way all the way around the bases for Redlands' first run. The Bulldogs added more runs on singles from junior shortstop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA) and junior catcher Bart In den Kleef (Oosterhout, Netherlands). In addition to the base hits, the Bulldogs drew a walk and knocked a sacrifice fly to send first-year pitcher Chris Fousek Jr. (San Diego, CA) back to the mound with a solid 5-0 lead.
Fousek impressed in the second inning by going three up, three down, to send out the Bulldogs' offense.
In déjavu fashion, the Bulldogs matched their first inning score with another five spot, all initiated by a Hall single. After two runs had already scored, the bases were still loaded for first-year left fielder Cal Bridges (Fremont, CA), who subsequently sent a two-RBI single to center field for a 9-0 Bulldog advantage. The home team tacked on one more before heading into the third.
After Gardiner scored a run on a Singh double in the third, Dickinson hopped on the board in the top of the fourth inning on three hits. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs answered right back with six runs in the bottom of that frame. Redlands subbed in some fresh bats, as first-year center fielder Jon Pacheco (Moreno Valley, CA) led off with a single up the middle. Gardiner, senior designated hitter Joey Warner (Indio, CA), and senior left fielder Nick Ono (Yorba Linda, CA) accounted for three hits in that inning. The Maroon and Gray held a 17-1 lead after four.
The scoring didn't stop there as In den Kleef and sophomore third baseman Austin Williams (Redlands, CA) recorded hits for an RBI each, with the home team stretching the advantage to 22-1 through five innings.
First-year pitcher Jake Stewart (El Cajon, CA) took over duties on the bump in the sixth and struck out the first batter he faced, while his defense took care of the rest.
More Redlands rookies impressed in the late innings, as first-year first baseman Brennen Carr (Chino Hills, CA) led off with a triple down the right-field line. After an out, first-year right fielder Dana Sullivan (Boulder, CO) sent Carr home on a deep sacrifice fly to center.
Later, first-year pitcher Parker Sand (Everett, WA) also gained quality experience on the mound in the seventh inning. Although he gave up one run on two hits, he recorded one strikeout and pitched for the ground ball for the third out and ultimately the shortened, seven-inning, 23-2 victory.
In den Kleef and Singh both impressed with two hits for a team-high four RBI each. Gardiner led the team with five runs scored.
Redlands (15-4) hosts two teams for a doubleheader on Friday, March 16. The Bulldogs take on Ithaca College (NY) at 11 a.m. before squaring off against Rutgers University-Newark (NJ) at approximately 2:30 p.m.