The University of Redlands baseball squad showed no clemency during a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader against the Caltech Beavers on Saturday at the Yard. In both contests, the Bulldogs reigned supreme by winning 10-0 in seven innings via mercy rule.
The Bulldogs gained another solid pitching performance in game one, starting with freshman hurler Matthew Acosta (San Bernardino, CA), as he chucked three scoreless innings with four strikeouts en route to his fifth win of the year. Junior reliever John Keane (Clayton, CA) and freshman reliever Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) slammed the door in the final four frames, as they allowed just three hits and struck out four.
Junior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) led the Bulldogs in the early-inning charge, as he recorded an RBI-single in the first inning and an RBI-sacrifice fly in the third to help the Bulldogs gain a 3-0 advantage.
Senior right-fielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) chipped in an RBI-double in the third inning, while senior catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) followed with a sacrifice fly to push the score to 4-0.
McMillan continued his RBI trend by driving in Samson on a single to right field, extending the score to 7-0.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bulldogs plated three runs to put the mercy rule into effect. Freshman shortstop Will Hall (Seattle, WA) doubled down the right-field line to score freshman left-fielder Nick Ono (Yorba Linda, CA), who led off the inning with a single. Senior third baseman Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA) followed with a sac-fly to right field, scoring freshman second baseman Ian Chavez (Carlsbad, CA), who reached base on a line-drive shot to left center. Freshman right-fielder Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA) dug into the box and lofted a blooper-single to right field, plating Hall to grab the 10-0 victory.
The Bulldogs combined for 11 hits and drew nine walks in the victory.
In game two, the Bulldogs mimicked their game-one outcome by blanking the Beavers and scoring 10 runs in another shortened contest.
The Bulldogs used an eight-run second frame to work towards the three-game sweep of Caltech.
While taking advantage of a Beaver miscue with two outs, six different bulldogs recorded RBI. Sophomore center-fielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) notched two of the six RBI on a double down the right-field line, scoring freshman designated hitter Joey Warner (Indio, CA) and Keane. Senior short stop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA) pitched in a RBI-knock up the middle to score sophomore second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) to aid a quick 8-0 advantage.
The Maroon and Gray added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Chavez and Hall teamed up for back-to-back RBI, securing the Bulldogs' 10-0 mercy-rule victory.
An untouchable pitching staff was present once again, beginning with junior starter Michael Collins (Upland, CA), who hauled in the win after throwing four innings and fanning three batters. Freshman Noah Jones (San Bernardino, CA), sophomore John White (Burbank, CA), and freshman Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) each tossed an inning and allowed just one hit in the three innings.
Hancock, Warner, and Kabeary notched 2-for-2 outings, while Keane scored twice for the Bulldogs.
Redalnds (20-9, 13-8 SCIAC) takes on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags (5-24, 3-15 SCIAC) on Friday, April 10, for the opening contest of a three-game series. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at the Yard.
