The University of Redlands baseball team won the opening game of the doubleheader against Occidental College on Saturday afternoon at The Yard, but could not come from behind to win the nightcap, resulting in the series defeat to the Tigers. In game one on Friday, the Bulldogs fell by a score of 3-5, but recovered to capture the opener on Saturday, 4-2, before suffering a tough 7-8 defeat in the rubber match of the series.
The U of R faced a four-run deficit after the first four innings in Friday's contest at Anderson Field, putting the team in a tough hole to climb out of. The Bulldogs responded in the sixth frame, however, tallying two runs to cut the deficit in half.
Sophomore shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) led off the sixth with a double to left field. Two batters later, he came in to score after junior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA) reached on a fielding error by the Tigers' shortstop. Scheiwe eventually came around to score as well, thanks to a line-drive, RBI-single to left field from sophomore designated hitter Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA).
The Tigers answered Redlands' offensive surge with a run of their own, scoring one in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend the advantage back to three runs. The Bulldogs pulled one more run back in the eighth frame, but that would be all they would get, resulting in the two-run loss. Junior pitcher Paul Dippel (East Granby, CT) provided three solid innings of relief out of the bullpen for the Maroon and Gray, dispersing three hits and allowing no runs.
Knowing it needed a big performance in the doubleheader, Redlands put together a solid team-effort in the opener on Saturday. Senior pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) threw a phenomenal game for the Bulldogs, going 7.1 innings on the mound while allowing just six hits and two runs, only one of which was earned. He also struck out five Tiger batters en route to earning the victory.
Trailing 1-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs got three across the plate in the frame to take the 4-2 lead. Senior left-fielder Jason Henning (Redlands, CA) and Scheiwe provided the decisive hits, tallying an RBI-triple and an RBI-single, respectively. For the game, Henning went 2-for-4 at the dish with the one RBI and one run scored.
Sophomore slinger Josh Makler (Portland, OR) closed the door on Occidental, stranding Tiger runners on second and third base in the bottom of the eighth inning before registering a 1-2-3 ninth frame to secure the win.
In the rubber match of the three-game stint with Occidental, the Bulldogs took a 2-1 advantage in the third inning. Henning and Scheiwe came up clutch again for Redlands, each registering RBI in the frame.
The Tigers responded in the fourth and fifth with two runs in each inning to recapture the lead. However, the U of R immediately tied the game in the bottom of the fifth by scoring three runs. The Maroon and Gray remained very patient at the plate in the frame and eventually recorded two RBI-walks.
Occidental notched three more runs to take back the three-run lead late in the contest, and despite valiant efforts by the Bulldogs, it was a deficit that they could not be overcome in a ninth-inning rally.
Scheiwe remained hot at the plate for Redlands, registering a 4-for-5 performance with three RBI. Additionally, Henning, freshman third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Topeka, KS) and sophomore second baseman Matt Barnes (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) recorded two hits apiece.
With the series defeat, Redlands drops into fifth place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings.
The U of R (16-12, 12-9 SCIAC) returns to action on Friday, April 12, when it hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. First pitch at The Yard is scheduled for 3 p.m.
