Bulldog baseball opened Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play by hosting the Cal Lutheran Kingsman for a single game on Friday afternoon. The Kingsmen jumped ahead in the third, forcing Redlands to play catch up. The Bulldogs clawed away at the deficit, but ultimately game up just short, 4-6 at the end of nine.
After a scoreless first inning, junior pitcher Andrew Rueter (San Diego, CA) made quick work of the CLU batters striking out two for the second and third out to put Redlands back on offense in the bottom of the second.
However, the Kingsmen scored five runs on six hits in the third, putting Redlands in a hole early in the contest. Nonetheless, Rueter regrouped and went three-up, three-down in the top of fourth and fifth innings with two more strikeouts.
Junior shortstop Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL) led off the bottom of the fifth with a monster home run halfway up the left-field netting and although the home team produced more baserunners, they couldn't keep the momentum to bring them all the way around.
First-year pitcher Nicholas Rohen (San Diego, CA) took the mound in the top of sixth. After a pair of walks, Rohen refocused to strike out the next CLU batter, before junior catcher Matthew Brumbaugh (Chula Vista, CA) made a heads-up, throw down the second to pick off an unsuspecting Kingsmen baserunner for an impressive double play. This fired up Rohen who struck out the final batter looking.
In the bottom of that inning, with two outs and a runner on, Smyley stayed patient at the plate and roped an RBI triple to deep center-field for a 3-5 score.
After a CLU pitching change, first-year second baseman Jared Anderson (Gilbert, AZ), sophomore left-fielder Jonah Advincula (Santa Clara, CA), and senior third baseman Anthony Acosta (Simi Valley, CA) knocked three consecutive singles for one run. Junior first baseman Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) did his job, plating Advincula on a sharp grounder to first for a 4-5 score after seven.
However, Cal Lutheran added one more in the eighth, and while the Bulldogs had baserunners in the eighth and ninth, ultimately could not complete the comeback, walking away with a tough, 4-6 loss.
The Bulldogs look to flip the script when they head to Cal Lutheran, tomorrow, April 11, for a doubleheader against the Kingsmen at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
