The University of Redlands baseball team made the trip to the University of La Verne to face the Leopards in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader. Despite earning Friday's win over the Leopards, the Bulldogs were not as lucky on the road and suffered a pair of heartbreaking losses by scores of 3-4 and 3-5 on Saturday.
After the Leopards jumped on the board in the first inning, the Bulldogs hit right back by equalizing the score in the top of the second. With two outs, junior right fielder Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA) singled up the middle to keep the inning alive. After a walk moved Kabeary to second, senior left fielder Mitch Samson (Orangevale, CA) provided the RBI-single up the middle to plate Kabeary.
Although La Verne scored an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning, Redlands managed to escape a bases-loaded jam on a heads-up defensive play by junior catcher Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA), who stepped on home for the force-out on an attempted squeeze play.
Unfortunately for the Maroon and Gray, the Leopards added two runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth for a 4-1 La Verne lead.
But the Maroon and Gray wasn't done yet, as junior second baseman Will Hall (Seattle, WA) led off the top of the sixth with a single. He then proceeded to successfully steal second and advance to third on Samson's subsequent base knock. Samson also used his speed to swipe a base before senior center fielder Christian Conci (San Mateo, CA) reached on a fielder's choice that also plated Hall.
Down 2-4 in the eighth, Redlands attempted the comeback, as two Bulldogs walked to get on base. With two outs, freshman designated hitter Andrew Renteria (Van Nuys, CA) singled to right field for an RBI. Unfortunately, with two on and two outs, Redlands could not pull the trigger on the tying run and ultimately fell by a final score of 3-4.
During the second game, the Bulldogs blasted two hits in the opening frame but to no avail.
Redlands' offensive persistence paid off in the top of the third when Conci dinged a double to right center, which was followed by an RBI-single off the bat of senior third basemen Christopher Scalisi (Woodland Hills, CA) for the Bulldogs' 1-0 advantage.
Again in the fifth, Scalisi singled through the right side and advanced to second on the subsequent batter's hit-by-pitch. Sophomore first baseman Brendan Moore (Murrieta, CA) was up next and singled to left field, allowing Scalisi to touch home for the 2-0 Redlands lead.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Leopards sent a single through the right side to score two runs and quickly equalize the score.
Amidst the tight contest, senior pitcher John Keane (Clayton, CA) continued to battle through the sixth and seventh innings, as he sat all six batters in order. Junior Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) lifted him in the eighth and secured an out but gave up three runs in the process. Freshman hurler Austin Williams (Redlands, CA) entered the game and quickly secured the final two outs on a double play.
With just one more inning to make the comeback, the Bulldogs needed to act fast. After Conci reached on a fielder's choice, Scalisi provided a snaking base hit to right field to keep the inning going. Moore lined a sharp single up the middle to plate Conci. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Leopards made an effective pitching change, which resulted in the last out and the tough 3-5 loss for the Bulldogs.
Redlands (20-13, 11-7 SCIAC) looks to return to the win column on Friday, April 14, when the Bulldogs head to Occidental College to face the Tigers at 3 p.m.