The University of Redlands baseball squad traveled to La Verne to complete a three-game series with the University of La Verne Leopards in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader action on Saturday. The Bulldogs split with the Leopards after dropping the first game, 2-3, and coming back to win the second game, 14-10 (8 inn.).
In game one, senior pitcher Michael Collins (Upland, CA) was handed the pearl and was effective throughout the game. After allowing a two-out run in the bottom of the first inning, he retired the side in the following two innings with ease.
However, Collins experienced some uncharacteristic woes by walking a total of five batters to put the Bulldogs in dangerous territory in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Leopards threatening. Senior reliever John Keane (Clayton, CA) came in and attempted to stop the bleeding, but allowed one run to score to face the Bulldogs with a 0-1 deficit.
While the Bulldog offense was sluggish early on, it awoke in the top of the ninth inning, beginning with a walk drawn by junior second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA). After he promptly advanced to second on a wild pitch, senior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) plated Scalisi with a single up the middle. Junior catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA) reached base on catcher's interference with the bases loaded a couple at-bats later, allowing Tumlinson to score for Redlands' 2-1 lead entering into the bottom half of the ninth.
However, the Leopards came through with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and scored one run, handing them a 2-3 defeat.
With the series tied up at one game apiece, the Bulldog bats came alive in the rubber match and shaped the contest into a barn-burner early on.
After the Leopards struck first in the bottom of the first inning, the Bulldogs responded with a three-spot in the ensuing inning. After Tumlinson led off with a two-bagger, senior right-fielder Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA) launched a two-run dinger over the left-field wall. Freshman shortstop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA) backed the homer by lacing a one-out double to center field to plate senior first baseman Ryan Franklin (Manhattan Beach, CA), who reached via single, for theBulldogs' 3-1 advantage.
After the Leopards pulled within one of the lead, the Bulldogs distanced themselves by throwing up seven runs on the scoreboard over the following two frames.
In the top of the fourth inning, senior right-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) and junior center-fielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) touched home on a Scalisi double to grab a 6-4 lead after four full.
Redlands continued to press down on the gas pedal by plating five runs in the top half of the fifth inning. After Gurrola scored on a wild pitch and Franklin scored after a drawn walk from Samson, Conci launched a sacrifice fly out to right field, allowing Wallau to cross home plate. Scalisi and sophomore designated hitter Joey Warner (Indio, CA) each barreled consecutive RBI-singles to put their team up by an 11-4 advantage.
Nevertheless, the Leopard threw up a four-spot in response to pull within three runs of the Bulldogs.
Fortunately, with Gurrola and Wallau each notching RBI-singles in the top half of the eighth inning to account for three more runs, the Bulldogs were able to hang on to a 14-10 victory after the game was called through eight frames due to darkness.
Sophomore reliever Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) was credited with the win after chucking two innings and giving up four runs and fanning three batters. Sophomore reliever Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) threw a solid eighth inning as well.
In the victory, Gurrola led the offense by going 4-for-5 with a two-run homerun, four RBI, and three runs scored. Scalisi backed him with a 4-for-5 day with three RBI, while Tumlinson inked a 3-for-5 line on his ledger with three runs scored and a double.
Assistant Coach Ryan Garcia was happy with the series win, but realizes there is more work to be done.
"We knew that if we trusted our philosophy and our abilities that we would be able to get into their bullpen and continue to take good swings with conviction," said Garcia. "We need to continue to work."
The Bulldogs (9-5, 7-2 SCIAC) faces off against the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen on Friday, March 11, in a 2:30 p.m. showdown at The Yard.