The No. 21 University of Redlands baseball team completed a three-game series against the No. 22 Occidental College Tigers in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday under pristine conditions at The Yard. After routing the Tigers 11-1 in Friday's game of the series, the Bulldogs faltered in the doubleheader by dropping both games with the final scores of 2-9 and 6-7.
In game one, junior center-fielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) got the Bulldogs on the board in the bottom of the first inning by launching a one-out, round-tripper over the left-field wall for the early 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs succumbed to a seven-run, top-of-the-fifth-inning en route to a 1-8 deficit.
Conci continued to cart a hot stick by launching his second solo shot of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Redlands could not climb out of the deep hole en route to a 2-9 loss.
Senior starter Michael Collins (Upland, CA) was tagged with the loss after surrendering eight runs off 12 hits in 4.2 innings of work.
Conci went 2-for-4 with two solo shots, while junior second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) boasted a 2-for-4 mark at the plate.
In game two, the Bulldogs fell down by a run early and looked for the offense to respond in a timely manner.
The Bulldogs' offensive unit did just that, as junior catcher Kyle Wallau (San Mateo, CA) notched a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Conci, who reached on a single through the right side. Senior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) followed two batters later with a double down the left-field line to plate senior first baseman Ryan Franklin (Manhattan Beach, CA), who reached via single, resulting in the Maroon and Gray's 2-1 advantage.
After Occidental regained the lead at 3-2, Bulldog senior third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Anaheim, CA) remained clutch at the dish by lacing a double down the left-field line in the bottom of the fifth inning to plate Scalisi and sophomore pinch hitter Joey Warner (Indio, CA). This put Redlands back on top with a 4-3 lead.
However, the Bulldogs surrendered a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to face a 4-6 deficit.
Scalisi continued to remain a potent threat on the offensive front in the bottom of the sixth inning by pulling the Bulldogs within in one after smoking a double to deep right-center field, plating Warner. Franklin came up huge in the following inning by barreling an RBI-triple down the right-field line after being down in the count at 0-2 to tie the ball game up at 6-6.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs gave up a run in the top of the seventh inning en route to a 6-7 defeat.
Junior reliever John White (Burbank, CA) picked up the loss after tossing three innings in relief.
Conci stayed hot at the dish by recording three hits and scoring two runs. Scalisi was money at the plate by holding a 2-for-5 mark with a double, RBI, and run scored. Franklin finished the day with a 3-for-5 posting on his ledger.
The Bulldogs (17-8, 10-5 SCIAC) take on the Chapman University Panthers on Friday, April 1, for the first game of a three-game series in Orange at 3 p.m.
