The University of Redlands baseball team traveled to Thousand Oaks on Friday afternoon for a Southern California Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game against Cal Lutheran University. The team downed the Kingsmen by a final score of 7-2 behind junior ace Felix Minjarez's (Riverside, CA) impressive effort on the hill.
The visiting team got off to a blazing start when junior catcher Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) stepped up with runners in scoring position by driving a single up the middle for two RBI. After junior third basemen Brendan Gardiner (Mission Viejo, CA) drew a walk, senior second basemen Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) moved him over by dinging a double to right center to set up Aguilar's scoring play.
Minjarez got right to work by sitting the first Cal Lutheran batters in order, fanning two in the process.
In the second inning, the Maroon and Gray picked up right where it left off, as senior centerfielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) and senior first basemen John Keane (Clayton, CA) quickly got on base, before junior shortstop Will Hall (Seattle, WA) sent a single to right field to plate Conci. Senior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) added to the Bulldogs' firepower with a double down the left field line to allow Hall and Keane each to touch home.
Up 5-0 in the second inning, Minjarez continued to dominate, going three-up, three-down, while putting trust in his defense for two of the outs.
Nonetheless, the Kingsmen added a run in the third on a costly fielding error by the Bulldogs and then again in the fourth on a solo homer.
But Redlands stretched its lead back to five runs with a strong offensive showing in the fifth inning. After Aguilar doubled to lead off, Conci brought him in on a single to right field. A Cal Lutheran pitching change and two walks later, Redlands had the bases loaded for Hall, who put down a successful sacrifice bunt for the RBI and the 7-2 Bulldog advantage.
Minjarez brought the heat in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he sat all three Kingsmen by way of strikeout, with two looking. He ended the game with eight punch-outs in a solid seven-inning effort.
Junior hurler Noah Jones (San Bernardino, CA) entered the game to shut down Cal Lutheran in the final two innings. He did just that, as the home team was kept off the board en route to the Maroon and Gray's solid 7-2 victory.
The Bulldogs (8-8, 4-3 SCIAC) complete the series with two more games against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen on Saturday, March 11. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. at The Yard.
