The University of Redlands baseball team headed to Kino Stadium in Tucson, AZ for the final game of the Cactus Classic on Sunday morning. Even though the Maroon and Gray battled back from an early Linfield lead, Redlands came up just short in a 5-7 decision.

Despite the Wildcats putting up a two-spot in the top of the first, the Bulldogs rallied to cut the deficit in half in the bottom of that inning. After an out, sophomore shortstop Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL) sent a single to center. Senior designated hitter Anthony Acosta (Simi Valley, CA) and sophomore first baseman Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) followed suit with singles to right and left field. Sophomore right-fielder Alex Olague (Renton, WA) stepped up in a big way with an RBI-base knock through the left side for a 1-2 Bulldog score.

Unfortunately, momentum began to swing in favor of Linfield, who added four runs over the next two innings to put Redlands in a 1-6 hole.

Junior pitcher Matt Crow (Lake Elsinore, CA) entered the game in relief in the bottom of the fourth. He pitched three-up, three-down including a strikeout to put the Maroon and Gray back on offense quickly.

First-year third baseman Max Clark (Etiwanda, CA) split the gap with a hard-hit triple to right-center to open the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore centerfielder Payton Walsh (Santa Ana, CA) subsequently sent a hard-hit ball deep enough to first for Clark to score to make it 2-6.

After Crow recorded the first two outs of the fifth, Linfield managed to load the bases on two walks and a Bulldog error. Crow subsequently pitched for the groundball to escape the inning unscathed.

Redlands continued to chip away at the deficit on a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. Olague and Walsh singled while sophomore catcher Matthew Brumbaugh (Chula Vista, CA) stayed patient at the plate to walk the bases loaded. Sophomore Sammy Diaz (Palm Desert, CA) did his job as a pinch hitter with a first-pitch, blooper down the left-field line. With two outs and the runners already on the move, Olague and Walsh scored on the single to cut the difference to 4-6.

Further, sophomore Chris Hardin (Highland, CA) took over pitching duties in the sixth and went 1, 2, 3 with a K.

Kirkland and Olague continued to have a day with two straight singles in the bottom of the sixth. Now with two on and two outs, junior pinch hitter Cal Bridges (Fremont, CA) dinked a single to center to score Kirkland and close the gap to just one run, 5-6.

However, Linfield added a score on a home run in the top of the seventh and despite Redlands having baserunners in the bottom of that half, they could not get them all the way around.

Due to time constraints, the game was called after seven innings, with the Bulldogs dropping a close, 5-7 game.

Olague finished the game going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Redlands (2-2) returns home for three straight games against the University of Texas-Dallas starting on Friday, February 14, at 2:30 p.m.