The University of Redlands baseball squad laced up for its fourth game in three days on Sunday morning, taking on the Rutgers University-Newark (NJ) Scarlet Raiders under pristine weather conditions at the Yard. The Bulldogs swung the aluminum well once again, notching 14 hits and plating 11 runs to defeat the Scarlet Raiders by a score of 11-9 in non-conference action.
Junior hurler Kevin Stevens (Highland, CA) was handed the ball for the start and held Rutgers-Newark scoreless through the opening three frames with quality command of the ball and the perfect combination of the hard stuff and off speed.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the first inning, as senior shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) punched a single to center field, plating junior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA), who reached base on a single down the left field line. Two batters later, sophomore catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA) stepped up and poked a bases-loaded single to left field, plating Dresner for a 2-0 lead. Sophomore second baseman Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) completed his job by grounding a ball to second base, which allowed senior center-fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) to cross the dish for the Bulldogs' 3-0 advantage.
Redlands tallied another run in the bottom of the second, after junior outfielder Nathan Bowker (Edmond, OK) led off the inning with a perfectly placed drag bunt. He later came around to score off the bat of Dresner, pushing the score to 4-0.
Hancock called in a reservation for one in the bottom of the fifth inning by sending a two-out solo shot over the right-field wall to make it a 5-0 ball game.
Nonetheless, the Scarlet Raiders worked to plate six runs over the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to take a temporary 6-5 lead. The Bulldogs responded to Rutger-Newark's scoring trend by indulging in a five-run rally in the bottom of the sixth.
Bowker completed a perfectly executed suicide squeeze with the bases loaded for his second bunt-single of the day, scoring Wallau to open the flood gates. Scalisi followed with the biggest knock of the day with a towering, bases-clearing double to the left-field warning track.
When asked about his big knock, Scalisi was nothing but smiles.
"Well, we have just been having some fun out there," he explained. "It's fun to get out here and play every day."
Scalisi later came around to score off the bat of Dresner, as he dropped a single into shallow left-center to hold a 10-6 advantage.
Defensive errors and bullpen blunders allowed the Scarlet Raiders to come within one run of the lead in the top of the seventh. But freshman reliever Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) pitched himself out of a small jam by fanning a Scarlet Raider with a slider in the dirt to preserve the Redlands lead and eventually hold on for an 11-9 victory.
With a solid team effort, Head Coach Aaron Holley was highly satisfied with his squad.
"Offensively, I think we've been rolling, as of late," he explained. "We have definitely been doing jobs; getting guys on, over and in, and we are able to run a successful offense that way."
With conference play continuing in the upcoming weekend, Holley touched on the importance of depth and an understanding of Redlands' potent offense.
"We know that offense is going to be there, and now it's a matter of pitching and playing defense. It was good to see a pitching performance from guys who don't necessarily get all those innings during a conference series."
Scalisi finished the day going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Dresner notched a 3-for-5 day with four RBI and one run scored. Wallau and Bowker each produced 2-for-4 outings.
Junior reliever John Keane (Clayton, CA) picked up the win after tossing 1.2 innings. Aguilar hauled in the save after tossing three quality innings while allowing no runs and striking out three.
The Bulldogs (13-6) square off against Kean University (NJ) on Monday, March 16, in a non-conference showdown at the Yard at 2:30 p.m.