The University of Redlands baseball team took on non-conference opponent Ithaca College (NY) on a beautiful Friday afternoon at The Yard. The Bulldogs went ahead and stayed ahead by scoring four in the first inning and never looking back en route to the 11-0 victory.
Junior hurler Felix Minjarez (Riverside, CA) started on the bump for the afternoon match. He began the game on a positive note by going three-up, three-down, with two strikeouts to quickly put the Maroon and Gray on offense.
Redlands laced together four-straight singles for two runs with no outs in the bottom of the first, as senior third baseman Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) and junior catcher Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA) registered RBI-hits. A walk loaded the bases for junior designated hitter Jordan Babbitt (Highland, CA), who sent a deep sacrifice fly to score another. After the second out, sophomore shortstop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA) roped a single down the left-field line to plate Redlands' fourth and final run of the inning.
With Minjarez cruising through the order through the top of the fourth, Redlands added three more runs in the bottom of the frame due to multiple walks, passed balls, wild pitches, and errors in the field.
Despite holding a solid 7-0 lead, Minjarez kept the intensity up, pitching for the ground ball to allow the Bulldogs to turn the double-play in the top of the fifth. He completed the inning with a strikeout.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, senior left-fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) dinged a double to right field. Senior centerfielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) followed suit by knocking a single to left field, plating Samson for the Bulldogs' 8-0 advantage.
The home team added another run in each the sixth and seventh innings. In the seventh inning, freshman Jake Bryant (Glendora, CA) pinch-hit for Samson and drew a walk. Conci then hit his second double of the game to send Bryant to third. Freshman Austin Williams (Redlands, CA) stepped up to the dish as a pinch-hitter and successfully sent a double soaring over the right fielder's head for two RBI and the 11-0 lead.
Junior pitcher Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) threw an inning of relief before senior pitcher John White (Burbank, CA) was called in to close out the ninth. After giving up a single, White buckled down and struck out the last three batters, keeping the Bombers off the board and securing the 11-0 victory.
In total, the Maroon and Gray tapped 13 hits, with Conci going 4-for-4 with two doubles. The Redlands defense was perfect in the field, turning four successful double-plays. Minjarez rounded out the great game by recording nine punch-outs in seven innings of work.
The Bulldogs (11-9) return to The Yard tomorrow, Saturday, March 18, for a non-conference doubleheader against Southern Vermont College. Games are slotted for 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
