The University of Redlands baseball team traveled to Thousand Oaks on Friday afternoon for the first game of a three-game series with the 11th-ranked Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen, and thanks to solid pitching and timely hitting, the Bulldogs stunned the Kingsmen, 7-5.
Cal Lutheran jumped on top early, scoring a run each of the first two innings.
The Bulldogs responded in a big way in the third frame, however, and freshman second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) got things going with a single to center field. A couple of batters later, the bases were loaded and junior shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) came up big with an RBI single to the pitcher, scoring Scalisi from third. Still with the bases juiced, junior right-fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) delivered for Redlands with a double to left field, scoring two Bulldogs on the play. Sophomore third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) capped off the inning with an RBI groundout to give the Maroon and Gray a 4-1 lead.
The Kingsmen tacked on one more in the bottom half of the inning, but then pitchers for both sides settled into a groove over the next few frames, keeping the score a 4-3.
Redlands tallied three insurance runs in the top of the seventh, extending the advantage to 7-3. Junior catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA), Hancock, and Tumlinson all provided the important RBI during the big inning.
The Kingsmen did not go down without a fight, however, and scored two runs in the bottom half of the seventh to cut the deficit to just two. Then, in the bottom half of the eighth, Cal Lutheran loaded the bases with two outs. Junior pitcher Josh Makler (Portland, OR) came on in the pressure situation for the Bulldogs, and with no room for error, he got the Kingsmen batter to ground out, ensuring nobody would cross the plate for Cal Lutheran.
In the bottom of the ninth, Makler left no doubts and retired the Kingsmen batters in order for the save, securing the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) triumph for Redlands.
One of the stories of the day for the Bulldogs was freshman pitcher Hayden Haight (Redlands, CA). In his first-career collegiate start for the U of R, Haight went seven strong innings while dispersing 10 hits and allowing just five runs, only four of which were earned. He also struck out two Kingsmen in the victory.
At the dish, Scalisi provided just what the Maroon and Gray needed from its leadoff-man, racking up four hits on the day while crossing the plate once. In addition, Hancock registered a 3-for-5 performance with a team-best three RBI, while Tumlinson tallied two hits and two RBI.
Redlands (6-9, 6-4 SCIAC) concludes its series with Cal Lutheran (6-3, 5-2 SCIAC) tomorrow at The Yard. The two teams will play a doubleheader, with the first pitch set for 11 a.m. If you can't make it to the game, be sure to follow the action via live stats and the live video steam.