The University of Redlands baseball team suffered a tough defeat on the road at Chapman University on Saturday afternoon, losing by a final score of 3-5. The loss drops the Bulldogs into a tie for fourth place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings with the University of La Verne.
The Panthers scored a run in each of the first two frames, and then one in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning. Redlands responded and broke up Chapman's no-hit bid in the sixth frame, tallying one hit and three runs in the inning to tie the ballgame.
Junior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA) registered that first hit of the day for the U of R, and it was a big one as he singled up the middle, scoring Bulldog sophomore second baseman Matt Barnes (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) from third base. Redlands then took advantage of a fielding error by the Panther left-fielder later in the frame, tacking on two more runs on the costly error.
Chapman loaded the bases in the bottom half of the sixth, however, and scored two runs on an errant pick-off attempt, ultimately proving to be the difference in the game.
The Bulldogs did not go down without a fight, nonetheless, loading the bases in the ninth inning. With just one out and three runners on base, the Maroon and Gray had two opportunities to bring home the tying or winning runs, but could not, resulting in the two-run defeat.
On the day, Scheiwe went 2-for-4 at the dish with one RBI and one run scored. Sophomore right-fielder Nathaniel Acosta (Chino Hills, CA) and sophomore shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) tallied the other two hits for the Bulldogs in the game.
Freshman pitcher John Keane (Clayton, CA) went 5.2 innings on the mound for Redlands, allowing six hits and five runs, only two of which were earned.
The Maroon and Gray (19-16, 15-11 SCIAC) returns to action tomorrow morning when it hosts Occidental College at 11 a.m. and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 3 p.m. Prior to the start of the first contest, five Bulldog seniors will be honored on Senior Day at The Yard.