A complete team effort allowed the University of Redlands
baseball team to overwhelm Caltech on Saturday in Redlands as the
Bulldogs took the front end, 11-1, before capturing the second
contest, 18-4.
Faced with the prospect of inclement weather early on, the two
teams went to battle under drizzly conditions at the start of the
first game before the skies opened up for the second billing.
Game one featured a quick start by the Beavers before Redlands
extinguished the rally with 11 unanswered runs.
Caltech scored in the top of the first as a result of two
consecutive doubles by Eric Schropp and Brendan Sheehan.
The rest of the game went Redlands’ way as the Bulldog
pitchers, which included junior pitcher/infielder Michael Lessig
(Fountain Hills, AZ), freshman pitcher Mike Massari (Palmdale, CA)
and freshman pitcher Ryan Smith (Milwaukie, OR), surrendered just
four additional hits and no earned runs after the end of the
first.
Offensively, the Bulldogs pushed eight across in the first two
innings and then cooled off, plating two in the third and one more
in the fifth.
Sophomore outfielder Joe MacMillan (Pasadena, CA) scored two runs
and batted in two on two hits while freshman shortstop Chase Tucker
(Poway, CA) crossed the plate twice on two base knocks. In
addition, senior first baseman Matt Hughes (Westminster, CA) went
2-for-2 with one run.
Lessig picked up the win, pitching three innings while striking out
seven. In relief, Massari fanned five hitters while Smith struck
out three. Both pitched two full innings.
The second bout went down in a similar fashion as the first with
the Bulldog bats proving too much for the Beavers to handle.
Redlands scored 18 runs on 22 hits while its defense allowed just
one earned run.
Caltech could not find an answer to a hungry Bulldog offense in the
first three innings as the home team scored one in the first, four
in the second and five in the third to mount a 10-0 advantage. The
Beavers put one across in the top of the fourth, but the Maroon and
Gray rattled off eight runs on eight hits and two errors in the
bottom of the inning to build what would be an insurmountable
deficit for Caltech.
A three-run ninth, which included two errors by the Bulldog
defense, salvaged the game for the Beavers as the team scored three
runs on three hits.
Freshman first baseman Terry Dempsey (Pinetop, AZ) and freshman
outfielder Chris Gipe (Laguna Niguel, CA) played the entirety of
the game at first base and left field, respectively, and both
showcased their hitting talents by going 4-for-5. Dempsey scored
three times and batted in one while Gipe touched home plate twice
and notched an RBI.
Others that accumulated two or more hits included freshman
infielder Tyger Pederson (Palo Alto, CA), senior pitcher/infielder
Jon Eubanks (Chula Vista, CA), freshman infielder Marcus Himelhoch
(Beaverton, OR) and freshman catcher Tyson Moll (Bountiful, UT).
Notably, Pederson tied junior shortstop Zack Braband (Alameda, CA)
for the game-high in RBI with three.
Despite having just two plate appearances, senior outfielder Jordan
Snider (Temecula, CA) belted a solo homer to left center in his
second at bat, which occurred in the fourth.
Head Coach Scott Laverty used five pitchers, and freshman pitcher
Brock Jacobo (Yuma, AZ) earned the win after going three innings
while giving up a mere one hit.
Redlands (20-11, 10-5 SCIAC) starts up a three-game series with
Whittier College on Saturday, April 18. Game one takes place at The
Yard in Redlands, and the first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. The
team then travels to Whittier on Sunday for a twin bill.