On cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, the University of Redlands baseball team hosted the Occidental Tigers for a non-conference game. Through a tightly contested game, the Bulldogs came out on top, 5-4.
Redlands jumped on the board in the bottom of the first on just one hit. First-year second baseman Jonah Advincula (Santa Clara, CA) led off with a triple down the right-field line. He was then sent home on sophomore first baseman Chris Hardin's (Highland, CA) hard-hit ball to second base.
Although Occidental gained base runners in the first and second, junior starting pitcher Dylan Ross (Malibu, CA) recorded a strikeout in the first and executed a nice pick-off play in the second to stymie the Tigers offense.
Occidental did however tie the score in the top of the third on a solo home run.
The Bulldogs overtook the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two runners on and one out, sophomore shortstop Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL) sent a double to deep left-center for two RBI. Smyley touched home on the very next batter for a 4-1 advantage through four innings.
The Maroon and Gray tacked on the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth. Advincula led off with an infield single to first and won the footrace to the bag. Senior designated hitter Anthony Acosta (Simi Valley, CA) followed suit with a base knock to left. After two quick outs, junior right fielder Cal Bridges (Fremont, CA) doubled to left-center to score Advincula.
The Tigers made things interesting in the top of the sixth, adding three runs on two hits and a couple of Bulldog miscues. First-year pitcher Hayden Compton (Newark, OH) secured the second and third outs on a flyout and foul out to escape the inning still holding on to a 5-4 lead through 5.5 innings.
Fast forward to the top of the ninth, Hardin moved from first to the pitcher's mound to close out the game. Occidental threatened to tie the game on walks and wild pitches, but Hardin struck out the fifth batter of the inning to secure the win and the save.
Ross was credited with the win with four strikeouts. Advincula and sophomore catcher Matthew Brumbaugh (Chula Vista, CA) had multi-hit days while Smyley led the team with two RBI.
The Bulldogs (8-6, 3-2 SCIAC) head to Cal Lutheran on Thursday, March 5, for a 2:30 p.m. conference game against the Kingsmen.