The University of Redlands baseball team kicked off Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Friday afternoon by squaring off against the Whittier College Poets at the Yard. In a tight game that featured a 1-0 score through five-and-a-half innings, the Bulldogs' bats fed off of their team's dominant pitching effort and came alive for six more runs en route to a 7-0 victory.
Sophomore hurler Felix Minjarez (Riverside, CA) was handed the pearl for the conference home opener and picked up right where he left off last week when he snagged a victory against No. 14 Linfield College (OR). Through the opening five frames, Minjarez confused the Whittier offense by mixing pitches and changing locations, resulting in six strikeouts and just two hits.
With the Bulldogs' bats slow to come around, junior catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA) dug into the box with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning and launched a solo jack over the left-field wall to put the Bulldogs ahead, 1-0.
After Minjarez retired the side in the top of the sixth inning, the Bulldogs added another run in the bottom half of the inning, as sophomore designated hitter Joey Warner (Indio, CA) turned on a fastball for a single down the right-field line. He plated junior second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) for the Maroon and Gray's 2-0 advantage.
Minjarez continued to keep the Whittier offense off-balanced by striking out the side in the top half of the seventh inning.
The Maroon and Gray bats fed off of the pitching dominance and put up a five-spot in the seventh. Senior right-fielder Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA) initiated the outburst with a two-bagger and later came around to score on a Wallau triple. Junior center-fielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) poked a single to left field, which plated sophomore shortstop Brendan Gardiner (Mission Viejo, CA) after he drew a walk. Warner remained clutch in RBI situations by barreling a single up the middle, scoring Conci a batter later. Furthermore, the Poets handed some runs to the Bulldogs on a few defensive miscues, giving Redlands a commanding 7-0 advantage.
With a comfortable lead, Minjarez registered one more strikeout before handing over the ball to sophomore reliever Adam Stead (Rialto, CA), who pitched a scoreless ninth inning to give Redlands a 7-0 victory.
Minjarez (2-0) was untouchable on the hill by registering 11 strikeouts in eight flawless innings of work.
"I felt good coming out – arm felt good," said Minjarez. "I came out and tried to help my team win."
Wallau highlighted the offensive performance by going 2-for-3 with a triple, solo homerun, two RBI, and two runs scored.
"Our offense is predicated on aggressiveness," explained Wallau. "We look to swing the bats early and often – that's our idea. It took a couple of innings to get comfortable, get our feet wet, and then we were able to come in and hit the pitches that we were looking for."
Warner had a day by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double. Gardiner, Gurrola, Scalisi, Conci, and sophomore catcher Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) registered one hit each.
Head Coach Aaron Holley led his team to their first conference win in the 2016 campaign and had positive things to say about his squad.
"We struggled to make adjustments early, and luckily for us, Felix was able to keep us in the game to the point where we were able to settle down," said Holley. "One big hit by [Wallau] and that's all it takes, really. Sometimes hitting is contagious like that."
The Bulldogs (3-3, 1-0 SCIAC) complete a three-game set with the Poets on Saturday, February 20, in Whittier, with the first pitch set for 11 a.m.
