The University of Redlands baseball team faced Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent, Whittier College, in the first of the three-game series on Friday at The Yard. Junior third basemen Brendan Gardiner (Mission Viejo, CA) went yard twice for four RBI en route to a 6-1 win over the Poets.

Junior pitcher Felix Minjarez (Riverside, CA) took the mound for the Bulldogs with junior catcher Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) behind the dish. Although Minjarez walked Whittier's first batter, he made quick work of the next three to leave the runner stranded.

With the first inning behind him, Minjarez cruised through the next one by fanning two batters and relying on the defense of senior second basemen Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) to snag a line drive.

With two outs in the bottom of the second, both sophomore short stop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA) and junior right-fielder Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA) drew walks. Senior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) kept the inning alive by sending a single to right field to score Singh. With two on and two outs, Gardiner stepped up to the dish, squared up to the pitch, and launched a three-run home run deep to right center for three RBI and the 4-0 Bulldog advantage.

Minjarez continued to be money from the mound, as he retired the next six Whittier batters by way of four fly-outs and two strikeouts.

In the bottom of the fourth, Gardiner stepped into the box again, with two outs up on the scoreboard. He saw a pitch he liked and drove the ball over the fence for yet another home run.

During the next frame, Aguilar found his way on base via single, advanced to second when the Poet defense left the bag uncovered, and then moved to third on a passed ball. Sophomore designated hitter Brendan Moore (Murrieta, CA) slapped a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Aguilar to tag up and score for a 6-0 Bulldog lead.

Despite having a nice lead, Minjarez remained focused and sat down the next three Poet batters. In the top of the seventh, Whittier took advantage of an error in the field and knocked two base-hits for one run. With one out and the bases loaded, Minjarez got out of the jam when he put trust in his defense to turn the successful double play and keep the damage at a minimum.

With one out and two men on in the top of the ninth, Minjarez closed out the game with back-to-back strikeouts.  

Minjarez finished the day with 10 punch-outs in a stellar showing, while Gardiner led the team with four RBI and two home runs.

Redlands (4-7, 1-3 SCIAC) looks to remain in the win column when it travels to Whittier on Saturday, February 25, to close out the SCIAC series against the Poets.