The University of Redlands baseball squad hosted the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sagehens on Friday afternoon in the first game of a three-game Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) series. Despite trailing early, the Bulldogs took care of business in the opener with freshman starter Felix Minjarez (Riverside, CA) tossing eight solid innings en route to the 5-2 victory over the Sagehens.
After Pomona-Pitzer scored one in each of the first two innings, the tides began to shift in the Bulldogs' favor. With Minjarez effectively locating his pitches, he settled into the contest and held the Sagehens scoreless during his six remaining innings of work. He punched out four hitters and scattered seven hits in the process.
Offensively, the Maroon and Gray showed signs of life in the bottom of the fifth inning, as sophomore designated hitter Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA) and sophomore second baseman Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) reached base via singles. Conci forced a throwing error by the catcher, allowing Wallau to cross home to cut the deficit to 1-2. The rally continued when freshman left-fielder Nick Ono (Yorba Linda, CA) sprayed a single to left field, advancing Conci to third base and setting up an RBI-opportunity for junior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA). The Bulldog veteran stepped up by launching a deep sacrifice fly to center field, which tied the score at 2-2.
Junior first baseman Ryan Franklin (Manhattan Beach, CA) worked a four-pitch walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning and later advanced to third on a two-out double from Tumlinson. Senior catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) clutched up in a massive way by yanking a single through the right side to plate Franklin and Tumlinson for a 4-2 Redlands lead.
Freshman closer Noah Jones (San Bernardino, CA) entered the game in the top of the ninth with hopes of securing the victory. Despite walking the first batter of the inning, Jones broke off a filthy, 3-2 bender to freeze the Sagehen batter, thus securing his second save of the season and a 4-2 victory for the Maroon and Gray.
Minjarez (3-0) tossed his second-consecutive, eight-inning game while remaining undefeated on the year. After tossing a scoreless ninth frame, Jones picked up his second save of the season.
Tumlinson was 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. Senior center-fielder Connor Hancock finished the day by going 2-for-4 as well. McMillan came up with the game-winning knock for a 1-for-4 performance with two RBI.
The Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1 SCIAC) complete the three-game showdown with Pomona-Pitzer (6-3, 3-1 SCIAC) on Saturday, February 20, in Claremont, beginning at 11 a.m.