The University of Redlands baseball team finished off a three-game sweep of Occidental College by taking down the Tigers in Saturday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader by scores of 6-4 and 5-2.
Redlands initiated the scoring in game one with junior shortstop Chase Tucker (Poway, CA) leading the way. His base-running abilities paid big dividends for the Bulldogs as he stole three bags in the game and accounted for Redlands' first run by crossing home plate on a wild pitch.
The Tigers bounced back by taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth as they pushed across four runs. Those four runs were all that Occidental would see in the contest.
In the top of the ninth, the Maroon and Gray rallied back to take the lead in a wild series of plays. Highlighted by freshman catcher Joe Bell (Bakersfield, CA) RBI-single, Redlands notched three runs on a combination of three hits, two hits by pitch and three Occidental miscues.
Sophomore Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) picked up the win for Redlands, tossing a season-high eight innings. In the outing, he gave up four runs on five hits while striking out four. Rookie reliever Casey Miller (Laguna Beach, CA) took over in the ninth to garner his first collegiate save, throwing a scoreless frame while ringing up two Tigers.
In the second match-up, the Bulldogs closed out another tight one, headlined by sophomore third baseman Jason Henning's four-RBI performance. The sophomore transfer came up clutch for Redlands by tallying 80% of the team's RBI, including a three-run deep shot in the top of the fifth.
Junior lefty Adam Byrd (Bullhead City, AZ) collected his second victory in 2011 while making his first start of the season. He put in a solid six scoreless innings of work, allowing six hits and walking two.
The combination of junior Brock Jacobo (Yuma, AZ) coming out of the pen and Miller's second appearance of the afternoon resulted in a silenced Tiger offense in the final 2.1 innings.
With the wins, the Bulldogs now sit atop of the Southern California Athletic Intercollegiate Conference (SCIAC) standings with a 9-3 record.
Redlands (10-4, 9-3 SCIAC) faces non-conference opponent Wabash College (IN) on Saturday at the Yard with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.