The No. 15 University of Redlands baseball team could not figure out pitcher David Colvin, the staff ace for No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, as the Bulldogs fell, 5-14, to the Sagehens in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action Saturday afternoon at The Yard in Redlands.
From the get-go, the Sagehen bats found the gaps. The visitors plated four in the first on three hits, two walks and an error. Two more Pomona-Pitzer runners came across in the top of the second before Redlands took one back in the home half of the stanza. Graduate student designated hitter/third baseman Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA) came home on a single by junior rightfielder Nate Carlson (Portland, OR) to cut the Sagehens' lead to five.
Sloppy defensive play in the third allowed Pomona-Pitzer to push four more across, taking a 10-1 edge into the bottom of the third. Freshman pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) entered the game in the top of the inning, officially ending junior pitcher Derek Johnson's (Canby, OR) chance at picking up win No. 11 on the season.
Hart settled down after giving up four in the third, working two more frames. He quieted the Sagehens in the fourth and fifth before handing the ball off to senior infielder/pitcher Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ). Pomona-Pitzer tapped Lessig for two in the seventh after he had hurled brilliantly in the sixth. The Sagehens picked up two more runs in the eighth off of sophomore pitcher Josh Snyder (Denver, CO) before sophomore pitcher Adam Byrd (Bullhead City, AZ) came in and forced a groundout to end the inning.
Colvin made way for Travis Rooke-Ley in the eighth after having thrown 116 pitches. The Bulldogs took advantage of the pitching change and mounted a rally. Using three hits and one error, the Maroon and Gray scored three in the bottom of the eighth. James Kang then came in to throw the ninth after senior pitcher Jack Winters (Oradell, NJ) retired the side in the top of the frame, and Redlands took full advantage, collecting one run on three hits. A fielder's choice to end the game, however, left the bases juiced and put the Bulldogs well short of a comeback bid.
Johnson, who drew the start on the hill for Redlands, yielded six runs on seven hits in just two innings of action and shouldered the loss. He falls to 10-1 on the year with the decision.
Colvin stole the show, lasting seven innings while holding the Bulldogs to just one run. He scattered six hits and also fanned a game-high eight batters. Colvin moves to 8-3 on the year with the victory.
Sandford stood as the lone bright spot on Redlands' otherwise disappointing outing, coming just a triple short of the cycle. He batted 4-for-4 with one RBI and three runs scored, swatting a home run—his third of the season—and adding two doubles.
Kang's two triples helped him bring in six runners, a game-high. He powered the Sagehen attack with a 4-for-5 performance that also included one run scored.
Redlands (27-7, 19-6 SCIAC) looks to halt its three-game skid tomorrow when it travels to Claremont to face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in a SCIAC tilt. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.