REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Baseball team continued their three-game Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) series with the University of La Verne Saturday.
The Bulldogs dropped game one of the doubleheader 8-4 despite holding an early 1-0 lead and coming back after trailing 8-1. Then in game two they were down 6-0 but rallied to take a 7-6 lead before tying it at ten in the eighth after falling behind 10-7. The game would be suspended due to darkness after the eighth when the Bulldogs scored twice. The resumption of the game on Sunday saw the Leopards hit a two-out solo shot, which gave them back the lead, which they wouldn't give up as they would hold on for the 11-10 victory picking up the clean sweep.
Game 1 (L, 8-4)
In game one the Bulldogs led early thanks to Cade McClelland (Mission Viejo, CA) who drove home Matthew Brumbaugh (Chula Vista, CA) on a sacrifice fly to right field. That was the last time the Bulldogs would be in front though as the Leopards scored eight unanswered.
The Bulldogs did claw back with a line-drive, two-run home run to right field by Jonah Advincula (Santa Clara, CA) that scored Brumbaugh in the sixth. In the eighth Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) added Redlands fourth run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
At the plate the Bulldogs only had five hits and had three players reach base safely multiple times: Luke De Vries (Irvine, CA | 2-for-4 with a double), Advincula (2-for-4 with a two-run home run), and Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL | two walks.).
On the mound Nathan Buchan (Mercer Island, WA) came in and threw 2.1 innings with no earned runs and a pair of strikeouts. Joe Godoy (Commerce, CA) and Ryan Rhoades (San Diego, CA) combined for 3.1 shutout innings to finish the game.
Game 2 (L, 11-10)
The second game of the doubleheader started on Saturday afternoon before being finished just short of 12:30 p.m. on Sunday after the game got suspended due to darkness at about 6:00 p.m. the day before.
Unlike the first game, the Bulldogs allowed the Leopards to jump out first, with their lead growing to six after just an inning and a half. The Bulldogs were able to get all six of the runs back in the bottom of the second. Omar Barraza (San Mateo, CA) got things started with a two-run home run to left field that scored Smyley. Max Clark (Fontana, CA) went back-to-back with Barraza with a solo shot to left as well. After a fielder's choice that allowed two runs to score, Advincula tied the game up with a double.
Redlands finally took the lead, 7-6, off a sacrifice fly from Brumbaugh in the fourth. The back-and-forth game continued in the fifth and sixth when the Leopards scored four runs to reclaim the lead 10-7. In the bottom of the sixth Smyley drove home Advincula with a single to right to keep the Bulldogs attached.
Then in the eighth in what looked like their last chance with the daylight almost gone, the Bulldogs got a gift off an error that scored Advincula for the second time. With Smyley at second off his fielder's choice, Barraza chopped a ground ball between the 3-4 hole for the game-tying RBI-single.
All the Bulldogs hard work was undone just after 12:00 p.m. Sunday when the Leopards got a solo home run from Brandon Shiota with two outs on a 3-2 count. Brumbaugh had gotten ahead 0-2 before three straight balls preceded the home run. The U of R fought with a pair of singles from Payton Walsh (Santa Ana, CA) and Kirkland in the bottom of the ninth, but a fielder's choice groundout to shortstop ended it.
The Bulldogs will be disappointed with the sweep as they led in all three games. At the plate the Bulldogs collected 13 hits and walked seven times. Kirkland (2-for-5 with a walk), Advincula (2-for-3, with two walks, two runs, and a double), Smyley (1-for-4, a walk, two runs, and RBI), Barraza (3-for-5, with a home run, three RBIs, and a run), and Clark (1-for-4, with a solo home run and walk) all found their way on more than once.
It was a struggle on the mound with all but one pitcher allowing at least one run, and that pitcher was the first-year Jack Brown (San Diego, CA) who threw 1.2 innings in the sixth and seventh innings to help the Bulldogs get within two after seven.
Redlands drops back to .500 at 6-6, 2-4 SCIAC and have currently dropped five in a row. The Bulldogs will take a break from conference play with a trip to Tucson, Arizona for the Tucson Cactus Classic this Friday-Sunday, March 11-13. They will play four games on the trip, which includes matchups against Aurora University (March 11), Buena Vista (March 12), Macalester (March 12), and Wesleyan (CT) (March 13).
