The University of Redlands baseball team hosted a doubleheader against 11th-ranked Cal Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon at The Yard, concluding its three-game series with the Kingsmen. In the opener on Saturday, the Bulldogs fell, 2-7, while in the nightcap, Redlands lost in seven innings, 0-16.
In the early game on Saturday, the Bulldogs flashed their leather with a number of spectacular defensive plays. Those plays weren't enough to keep the Kingsmen off the board though, and after six innings, Cal Lutheran led 5-0. The Kingsmen then added one more in the seventh before Redlands tried to mount a comeback in the bottom half of the frame.
Senior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA) got things started for Redlands with a single up the middle. Junior catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) followed that up with a single of his own a batter later. Not long after, junior right-fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) lined an RBI single through the right side, scoring Scheiwe. Keeping the inning alive, freshman pinch-hitter Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) raked an RBI single to left field, cutting the deficit to just four. With the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate, however, the U of R could not capitalize and left the runners stranded.
Cal Lutheran would tack on one more to help secure the five-run triumph.
In the loss, U of R freshman second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) led the way for the Maroon and Gray with a 3-for-4 effort at the dish, while Scheiwe tallied two hits in the game.
In the nightcap, the Bulldogs fell behind by five runs after the first two frames and could not recover, resulting in the tough Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) defeat.
Five different Bulldogs registered one hit in the losing effort.
For Cal Lutheran, Scott Peters pitched all seven innings, scattering just the five hits while allowing no runs.
Redlands (6-11, 6-6 SCIAC) returns to the diamond on Wednesday, March 12, when it hosts Drew University (NJ) at 11 a.m. and Kean University (NJ) at 2:30 p.m.
