The University of Redlands baseball team swept No. 20 Cal Lutheran University in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Ullman Stadium in Thousand Oaks. The Bulldogs won the first game, 4-2, before capturing the nightcap, 10-5.

Cal Lutheran, which drops to 7-6 (2-4 SCIAC) with the losses, is ranked at No. 20 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's preseason poll.

While rainy conditions on Saturday postponed the twinbill, the two teams convened in Thousand Oaks just one day later to finish out the three-game set. Redlands won, 13-4, on Friday at The Yard in Redlands.

Avenging its 2009 mark of 1-2 against the Kingsmen, the Bulldogs used exceptional pitching down the stretch in game one before using a six-run ninth to seal the deal in the back end.

Redlands scored twice off of three hits and two errors in the first inning of game one, but Cal Lutheran equalized the score over the course of the bottom of the first and second.

A double by sophomore first baseman Jon Cavender (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) drove in graduate student designated hitter Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA) in the sixth, and senior third baseman Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ) scored in the ensuing at bat off of a groundout by sophomore second baseman Chase Tucker (Poway, CA). From that point forward, both teams' pitching staffs took over, combining to scatter just three hits over the final three-and-a-half innings.

Freshman pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) earned the win on the hill for the Bulldogs, yielding two runs off six hits over seven innings while striking out six. With the victory, Hart moves to 2-0 on the year. Senior pitcher Jack Winters (Oradell, NJ) successfully shut the door on the Kingsmen in the ninth and earned the save.

Robbie Selden was the tough-luck loser on the bump for Cal Lutheran, sustaining the loss despite tossing a complete game.

Sandford went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored, while Cavender batted 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Redlands' six-run ninth in the nightcap ensured the sweep, stamping an exclamation point on the series.

Cal Lutheran scored early, plating two in the first. After four full innings of scoreless baseball, junior leftfielder Brandon Owashi (San Diego, CA) blasted an RBI double down the leftfield line in the sixth, pushing across senior centerfielder Will Wetmore (Santa Cruz, CA). After Lessig had doubled to center in the seventh, graduate student first baseman Matt Hughes (Westminster, CA) punched a pinch-hit, RBI single up the middle, which drove in Lessig.

The Bulldogs went up, 4-2, in the top half of the eighth, but the Kingsmen responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame.

Two defensive miscues by Cal Lutheran allowed the floodgates to open in the top of the ninth. With the help of four wild pitches, the Bulldog runners advanced at will and batted around in the order. The line-up burned through four Kingsmen pitchers, the last of whom surrendered a two-run double to Sandford after throwing two wild pitches and intentionally walking senior catcher Jefre Johnson (Canby, OR).

Matt Martin of Cal Lutheran scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the ninth, bolting home after a wild pitch by Winters.

Junior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) went eight innings on the mound for Redlands and left a number of men on base. He scattered 12 hits but surrendered just four runs, two of which were earned.

Ian Durham pitched effectively for Cal Lutheran through 7 1/3, but the wheels came off when the bullpen took over. Byron Minnich allowed the eventual go-ahead run to get on board in the first at bat of the ninth and was charged with the loss.

Owashi, J. Johnson, Lessig and senior shortstop Zack Braband (Alameda, CA) all shared the team-high in hits with two apiece while Sandford produced a game-high three RBI.

Redlands (9-2, 7-2 SCIAC) currently sits at second in the conference standings behind league-leading Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. The Bulldogs travel to Eagle Rock on Friday for a single game against Occidental College at 2:30 p.m. The Tigers then visit The Yard in Redlands for an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday.