THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Baseball team dropped both games of their doubleheader at California Lutheran University (Ullman Stadium) Saturday afternoon by the scores of 7-3 and 14-4. With the two losses, the Bulldogs sit 2.5 games behind CLU for the fourth and final spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament.
Redlands drops now to 20-15, 10-10 SCIAC.
Game 1 (L, 7-3)
Just like game one of the series on Friday at The Yard, the Bulldogs fell behind early, conceding two runs in the first inning and then three more in the fourth. Much like the rest of the season, the top half of the lineup got things going as Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) doubled down the right field line and brought home Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL) for the first run of the game. Two batters later Max Clark (Fontana, CA) walked and on a passed ball Jonah Advincula (Santa Clara, CA) was able to score and bring Redlands within three.
The Bulldogs' comeback got more difficult in the fifth when the Kingsmen got a run off an error and then added their seventh run in the seventh inning on an RBI single as the Bulldogs trailed 7-2. In the ninth Kirkland got his third hit of the day and his second RBI to give the Bulldogs their third and final run, but it wouldn't be enough to spark a late comeback as UR would fall 7-3.
Advincula (1-for-4, walk, run), Jared Anderson (Gilbert, AZ | 2-for-5), Kirkland (3-for-5, two RBIs, double, stolen base), Jake Burgess (Riverside, CA | 1-for-3, walk), and Smyley (1-for-3, walk, double, two runs) were the five hitters that reached base safely multiple times as the Bulldogs left ten on the basepaths.
On the mound Cameron Kundig (Redlands, CA) came on in relief of Jakob Russell (Fontana, CA) and threw three innings with two runs, one earned, and two strikeouts. Joe Godoy (Commerce, CA) struck out one in a scoreless eighth.
Game 2 (L, 14-5)
For the third consecutive game, the Bulldogs trailed to start, this time it was not until the third inning that the Kingsmen scored, but the Bulldogs trailed 10-0 after four innings and did not score until the sixth when Burgess used a productive out to score Matthew Brumbaugh (Chula Vista, CA) to help the Bulldogs stay attached and avoid an early run-rule game.
In the seventh the Bulldogs got three runs back thanks to Advincula who singled home Luke De Vries (Irvine, CA), Anderson who would double to right center and then Kirkland who would get his third RBI on the day with a single that plated Anderson.
After their three-run top half of the seventh, it seemed to eliminate the chance of getting run-ruled, but the Kingsmen got three of the first four batters on before getting a run back on a pass ball. Following the pass ball, a walk was issued and then CLU got their second, third, and fourth runs from the next three batters as they had a sacrifice fly, RBI single, and then took advantage of a fielding error as the Bulldogs got run-ruled for only the second time this season.
Despite the run differential, the Bulldogs only had three fewer hits, but drew four fewer walks, committed two errors defensively, and hit three Kingsmen as CLU played a cleaner game and took advantage of their base runners, leaving only three on-base versus the seven left on by the Bulldogs.
Only Advincula (2-for-4, run, RBI) had a multi-hit day and Brumbaugh (1-for-3, walk, run) was the only other Bulldog that reached safely more than once.
After a rough start for the Redlands pitching staff, Omar Barraza (San Mateo, CA) threw a scoreless sixth which was sandwiched between 10 runs allowed in the first four innings and then four runs allowed in the final frame.
With the two losses Redlands is now 2.5 games behind the Kingsmen for the fourth spot within the conference standings, meaning they will have to sweep Whittier College next weekend, have Cal Lutheran get swept by Occidental, and then beat Occidental in the game that is currently in the top of the 10th and tied at nine. In this scenario they would be 14-10 and CLU would be 13-11. Any game the Bulldogs lose or the Kingsmen win will automatically eliminate them as CLU holds the tiebreaker with this series win.