The University of Redlands baseball team lost its Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opener to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Friday afternoon in Claremont by an 8-13 final.

The Maroon and Gray went back-and-forth with the Stags early on in the contest, but Claremont-Mudd-Scripps scored eight unanswered runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to pull away.

A double by junior leftfielder Brandon Owashi (San Diego, CA) set the table for the Bulldogs in the top of the first. Senior catcher Jefre Johnson (Canby, OR) and graduate student Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA) advanced Owashi home, putting the Maroon and Gray on the board early.

After the Stags scored in the second, Redlands went up 3-1 off of a home run by senior centerfielder Will Wetmore (Santa Cruz, CA) and a Sandford RBI in the top of the third.

Junior rightfielder Nate Carlson (Portland, OR) tied the game at four apiece in the top half of the fourth with a solo home run.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps plated three in the home half of the fifth and did not relinquish the lead from that point forward.

Down 5-13 heading into the final stanza, the Bulldogs relied on runs by J. Johnson, sophomore third baseman Jon Cavender (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) and Carlson to cut into the Stags' lead and narrow the margin of defeat.

J. Johnson enjoyed a stellar outing at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. He legged out the sixth triple of his career in the third.

On the hill for the Bulldogs, senior pitcher Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ) dropped to 1-1 on the season. Lessig struck out four in four innings of work.

Redlands (2-1, 0-1 SCIAC) hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1-1, 1-0 SCIAC) Saturday afternoon in a SCIAC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.