The University of Redlands baseball team ended its season with a win as it split a non-conference doubleheader with No. 6 Chapman University Saturday afternoon at Hart Park in Orange. The Panthers captured game one, 12-8, while the Bulldogs took the nightcap by an 8-1 final.
With the Saturday twinbill split, Redlands now awaits a potential at-large bid into the NCAA Championships. Despite the fact that the Bulldogs likely needed a sweep to strengthen their credentials, they still stand as an outside shot as a Pool "C" contender. The full field will be announced by the NCAA on Monday, May 17.
Two more single-season program records fell for Redlands on Saturday afternoon. Junior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) is now tied with Nolan Nicholson for the single-season program-record total for wins with 12, while junior rightfielder Nate Carlson (Portland, OR) broke the single-season program record in RBI with 57. Derek Bell and Jim Reinhardt each accounted for the former program-record total of 53 RBI in 1998 and 1981, respectively.
Chapman went up early in game one, scoring three in the bottom of the first.
Redlands, however, would answer with three in the fourth. Graduate student designated hitter Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA) drew a walk before Carlson reached on a fielding error, which allowed Sandford to move to third. Carlson advanced to second on a wild pitch, while senior catcher Jefre Johnson (Canby, OR) plated Sandford when he grounded out to the second baseman. Senior third baseman Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ) drove in Carlson with a single up the middle, and senior shortstop Zack Braband (Alameda, CA) pushed Lessig across later in the frame with a single to center.
The Panthers would take the lead for good with a six-run fourth. The Bulldogs battled back, however, with a two-run fifth and a three-run sixth, but Chapman sealed the victory with three runs in the eighth.
On the mound for the Bulldogs in game one, freshman pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) scattered 11 hits and allowed nine runs over five innings of duty and dropped to 6-3 on the year with the loss. Sophomore pitcher Adam Byrd (Bullhead City, AZ) tossed two scoreless frames in relief before handing the ball off to senior pitcher Jack Winters (Oradell, NJ), who gave up three runs on three hits in the eighth.
Jordan Sigman drew the start on the hill for the Panthers in the front end of the twinbill and pitched a complete game. He yielded eight runs, three of which were earned, on seven hits and advanced to 8-4 on the season.
Junior leftfielder Brandon Owashi (San Diego, CA) and Braband each had multi-hit performances to bolster the Redlands attack.
Tyler Hadzinsky, James Parr and Tyler Surnbrock each batted 3-for-5 to lead the Chapman lineup.
Redlands countered with eight runs on 11 hits in the nightcap, and the Bulldog defense worked with D. Johnson to hold Chapman to one run.
Carlson put the Bulldogs on the board with a two-run double in the third, but Hadzinsky drove in Ryan Hall in the bottom of the frame to cut the Panther deficit in half.
An RBI double by sophomore second baseman Chase Tucker (Poway, CA) and a Carlson sacrifice fly in the fifth pushed the tally out to 4-1 in favor of the visitors. The Bulldogs would go on to score two more in the eighth and pile on a pair in the ninth to secure the victory.
D. Johnson went the distance on the bump for Redlands in game two, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out six. He moves to 12-2 on the year with the win.
Travis McGee absorbed the loss for Chapman, dropping to 6-3 on the season. He yielded four runs on five hits over four frames of work.
Four different Bulldog batters recorded multi-hit performances. Carlson led the group with four RBI.
Hadzinsky was the lone Panther to have more than one base knock. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Redlands (29-11, 20-8 SCIAC) finished the 2010 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season tied for second in the conference standings with Cal Lutheran University. The fate of its season now rests with the selection committee. The Bulldogs are a member of the West Region, and the West Regional Championships will be held at Linfield College (OR) from May 19-23. The eight regional champions will converge in Appleton, WI, for the NCAA Championship Finals, which occur from May 28-June 1.