The University of Redlands baseball team traveled to Claremont, CA to take on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags on Tuesday afternoon in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action for their third Final Four contest. After falling behind by six runs after the first three frames, the Bulldogs charged back to within one after junior second baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) launched a grand slam. However, the Bulldogs followed by stranding nine runners on base en route to a 6-7 defeat.
The Bulldogs etched the first run on the scoreboard with senior right-fielder Christian Gurrola (Torrance, CA) plating Scalisi with a double to right-center field, grabbing the lead at 1-0.
However, the Stags turned on the gas in the opening three frames by plating seven runs, thus facing the Bulldogs with a 1-7 deficit.
With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs continued to chip away at the lead in the top of the fourth inning, as sophomore catcher Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) sent a double to left-center field, scoring Scalisi and trimming the deficit to five runs at 2-7.
Redlands remained relentless at the dish in the top of the fifth inning, as pesky at-bats and Stag miscues loaded the bases for Scalisi with one out. Scalisi displayed some power by launching a full-count, letter-high fastball over the left-field wall for a grand slam – his first of the season, pulling the Bulldogs within one run at 6-7.
However, with the Bulldogs leaving nine runners-on-base, eight coming in the final four innings, they could not push the tying run across the dish en route to a 6-7 defeat.
Scalisi helmed the offensive attack by going 4-for-5, which included the grand slam. In addition, he hit a double and scored three times. Gurrola had his 19th multi-hit game of the season, which included an RBI-double. Senior first baseman Ryan Franklin (Manhattan Beach, CA) had his second, two-hit game in the past three games, as well.
Senior starter John Keane (Clayton, CA) was tagged with the loss after being hit around for five runs in 2.1 innings of work. Sophomore reliever Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) and junior reliever John White (Burbank, CA) were the most effective out of the bullpen by combining for 3.1 scoreless innings. White fanned four batters, while Stead struck out a pair.
The Bulldogs have officially completed their regular season schedule and have locked in the four-seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Their last remaining Final Four game against the Caltech Beavers will not be rescheduled. Therefore, the Bulldogs will face the No. 1-seeded Occidental College Tigers at Occidental College in East Los Angeles, CA, at 3 p.m. For all tournament information, please visit Occidental's tournament central page.