The No. 14/25 University of Redlands baseball team competed against Endicott College (PA) for the second time this week and earned the opposite outcome of Monday's win by falling in a back-and-forth, 5-6 decision on Saturday morning.
Senior pitcher Adam Stead (Rialto, CA) made quick work of the first inning by going three up and three down. But, the Gulls added a run on two hits and a Bulldog miscue in the top of the second to go ahead, 1-0.
However, Redlands turned it right around in the bottom of that inning by snagging the 2-1 lead. Junior first baseman Brendan Moore (Murrieta, CA) started things off with a walk and advanced to third on a long single by junior short stop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA). Moore then snuck in for the score on the subsequent groundout. Senior center fielder Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA) topped the inning off with a shot over the left-field fence for the Bulldogs' advantage.
Stead continued to deal with a 1-2-3, third inning. Unfortunately, Endicott jumped back in front on three-straight base hits in the top of the fourth and tacked on one more in the fifth to move head at 3-2.
After two hits-by-pitch and senior second baseman Will Hall's (Seattle, WA) base-hit bunt, the bases were loaded for senior designated hitter Rainier Aguilar (San Bernardino, CA). Aguilar came up with a clutch two-RBI single through the left side for the Maroon and gray's 4-3 advantage over the Gulls.
Stead kept things rolling through the sixth and seventh innings by sitting the next six batters in order.
Both teams' offenses got hot in the seventh, as they traded runs to keep Redlands in front by one at 5-4. With Singh on second and senior right fielder Jordan Babbitt (Highland, CA) on first, junior catcher Bart In den Kleef (Oosterhout, Netherlands) fired a shot down the left-field line to plate Singh.
Senior hurler Noah Jones (San Bernardino, CA) was called to the mound to replace first-year Cal Bridges (Fremont, CA), who had entered the game in the top of the eighth. In an unfortunate turn of events, the Gulls strung together a few base hits to overtake the lead 6-5 and ultimately the win.
Redlands (16-6) looks to jump back into the win column with a doubleheader against Williams College (MA) on Tuesday, March 20, for a 12 noon start time at the Yard.
