The No. 23 University of Redlands baseball team swept past Whittier College in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon at The Yard in Redlands. The Bulldogs captured game one by an 8-3 final before claiming the nightcap, 8-2.
With the pair of victories, Redlands has won 19 of its past 20 games, including nine straight.
Whittier kept pace with Redlands throughout much of the twinbill, but the Bulldogs' standout pitching and defense ultimately facilitated the series sweep.
Junior rightfielder Nate Carlson (Portland, OR) buoyed the offense throughout both games, continuing to hit at a torrid clip. On the afternoon, he went 4-for-6 with three runs and four RBI, which included a three-run homer in the second inning of game two.
After three-and-a-half frames devoid of scoring in game one, Carlson plated graduate student designated hitter Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA) in the fourth to put Redlands up, 1-0. Whittier responded with a three-run fifth, which Jacob Storrer led with a two-run triple. Senior catcher Jefre Johnson (Canby, OR) ripped an RBI double in the home half of the fifth to cut the Poet advantage to one.
The Bulldog bats awoke in the sixth as the team stuffed the run column on four occasions. Carlson started off the inning with a single to right, and sophomore Chase Tucker (Poway, CA) advanced him to third with a double to center. Sophomore third baseman Cameron Lowe (Olympia, WA) drew a walk to load the bases before senior shortstop Zack Braband (Alameda, CA) reached on an error, which brought in Carlson. Senior centerfielder Will Wetmore (Santa Cruz, CA) laid down a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt to push across Tucker, while junior leftfielder Brandon Owashi (San Diego, CA) got on board in the ensuing at bat with a fielder's choice as the Poets opted to throw out Lowe at home. J. Johnson singled to the shortstop to bring in Braband, and a fielding error by the shortstop allowed Wetmore to come home as well.
Redlands closed out game one's scoring with a two-run seventh.
Freshman pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) threw the first six innings for the Bulldogs, yielding just three runs off 10 hits while striking out six. Hart moved to 5-0 on the year with the winning decision. Sophomore pitcher Brock Jacobo (Yuma, AZ) was handed the ball in the seventh and lasted two innings, giving up just one hit while fanning two Poet hitters. In the ninth, senior pitcher Jack Winters (Oradell, NJ) took over and retired the side in order.
Keith Hoefel drew the start on the hill for the Poets in the front end of the doubleheader, allowing two runs, one of which was earned, off seven hits and three walks in five innings of work. Austin Nogueira relieved Hoefel but accounted for six runs, four of which were earned, in one frame of duty and absorbed the loss. Andrew Pigott threw two scoreless and hitless innings to close out the tilt for Whittier.
Carlson's 3-for-3 outing at the dish helped pave the way for the Bulldog order. He also scored twice and drove in one.
Reed Tuttle powered the Poet attack with a 3-for-4 effort that included two doubles.
While the front end of the doubleheader provided tense moments at times, the nightcap produced little worry for the Bulldogs as the team plated five in the second to gain a commanding lead early.
Sandford led off the second with a walk, and senior third baseman/first baseman Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ) moved him to second with a single through the left side. Carlson rocked the first pitch he faced in the next at bat, sending the ball well over the rightfield wall and onto adjacent Farquhar Field. His three-run bomb gave Redlands the 3-0 edge. Senior shortstop Zack Braband (Alameda, CA) plated Tucker and sophomore first baseman Jon Cavender (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) later on in the inning to extend the Bulldog lead to five.
Whittier produced a run in the fifth by means of a Tuttle double, but Tucker and Wetmore would come across in the sixth to push the tally to 7-1 in favor of Redlands. Following a double play in the eighth, Owashi hit a single to shallow right field to drive in Tucker.
The Poets touched up Winters for a run in the top of the ninth, but their offense left two stranded as the game ended on a foul pop-up to third.
Junior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) picked up his eighth win of the year on the mound for the Bulldogs, going seven innings while surrendering just one run off eight hits and two walks. He also struck out a game-high five batters. Sophomore pitcher Adam Byrd (Bullhead City, AZ) struck out the lone batter he faced in the eighth before handing the game off to sophomore pitcher Josh Snyder (Denver, CO), who tossed two-thirds of a frame while issuing one walk. Byrd and Snyder each had a strikeout as well. Winters pitched in the ninth once again and accounted for one run off three hits while striking out one.
On the bump for Whittier, Taylor Fallon went 5 1/3 innings and shouldered the loss. He gave up seven runs on 11 hits and two walks. Pigott and Casey Serna finished out the contest in relief and combined to allow one run.
Tucker pounded out three doubles and scored three times in a 3-for-3 performance at the plate for the Bulldogs.
Tuttle once again had a stellar string of at bats for Whittier, as he finished out the nightcap 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Redlands (24-3, 16-2 SCIAC), ranked at No. 23 in the D3baseball.com Top-25 Poll and at No. 9 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division III Top-30 Poll, faces its toughest test yet this year when it contests No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in a three-game SCIAC set next weekend. The series first comes to The Yard on Friday (April 9) for a 3 p.m. single-game matchup before going to Claremont on Saturday (April 10) for an 11 a.m. doubleheader.