The University of Redlands baseball team headed to Thousand Oaks on Sunday morning for the final game of the series against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen. Although the Bulldogs went ahead in the seventh, the home team managed three more runs late in the game handing Redlands a hard-fought, 4-6 loss.

The Maroon and Gray jumped on the board first with a single run in the top of the second. With two outs, sophomore third baseman Max Clark (Etiwanda, CA) drew a walk. Senior right fielder Cal Bridges (Fremont, CA) followed that with a single to left that the Kingsmen left fielder misplayed, sending Clark all the way home from first for the early score.

However, Cal Lutheran matched the run in the bottom of that inning to tie things up at one apiece. The Kingsmen then went ahead in the bottom of the third on three hits, putting the Bulldogs in a 1-3 hole after three.

Redlands acquired baserunners over the next couple of innings but could not pull the trigger to get them all the way around.

In the bottom of the sixth, junior pitcher Nicholas Rohen (San Diego, CA) made a heads-up play, throwing a strike to first base to pick off the CLU runner for the third out, firing up the Bulldogs and putting them back on offense.

Energized after the successful pick-off play, junior shortstop Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL) led off the top of the seventh with a single through the left side. Junior catcher Omar Barraza (San Mateo, CA) and first-year second baseman Jared Anderson (Gilbert, AZ) followed with base hits of their own to load the bases.

Now with two outs, senior designated hitter Anthony Acosta (Simi Valley, CA) stayed calm at the plate and drove a single back up the middle for two RBI. Junior first baseman Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) found his way on via walk for the bases loaded once again. Clark was subsequently hit by a pitch for another Bulldog run to come in and take over the lead 4-3.

But the lead didn't last long as the Kingsmen responded in the bottom of the seventh for a knotted, 4-4, score. Unfortunately, Cal Lutheran tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, which ultimately resulted in a 4-6 Bulldog loss.  

Redlands (2-6, 2-4 SCIAC) head to No. 14 Chapman University on Friday, May 7, for a 3 p.m. single game before returning home on Saturday, May 8, for senior day and a doubleheader against the Panthers at 11 and 2:30.