The No. 17 University of Redlands baseball team swept No. 5
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in a Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (SCIAC) twinbill Saturday afternoon at Alumni
Stadium in Claremont to move into a tie for first in the conference
standings. Redlands won game one, 6-2, before taking the nightcap,
7-1.
The Sagehens defeated the Bulldogs by a 9-2 final on Friday
afternoon.
Both Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer now boast matching conference
records of 18-3 and sit in a tie for first in the SCIAC. At the
moment, Redlands holds the tie-breaker with a 2-1 mark against
Pomona-Pitzer. The regular-season champion earns an automatic bid
into the 2010 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships, as the
SCIAC does not sponsor a postseason tournament for baseball.
The Bulldogs never trailed on Saturday, as the team's bats came
alive early in each contest before the pitching took over and
prevented the Sagehens from mounting a rally.
Senior centerfielder Will Wetmore (Santa Cruz, CA) and junior
leftfielder Brandon Owashi (San Diego, CA) had back-to-back hits to
lead off the first in game one, and senior catcher Jefre Johnson
(Canby, OR) drove in Wetmore in the ensuing at bat by means of a
sacrifice fly. Owashi then swiped second before an error by the
centerfielder allowed Owashi to come home after a hit by graduate
student designated hitter Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA).
A failed pickoff attempt set the stage for a Kyle Pokorny RBI
single in the home half of the second, which brought in Erik
Munzer. The inning ended, however, when sophomore first baseman Jon Cavender (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) gunned down Pokorny at the plate.
Through two innings, both squads had three hits, but the Bulldogs
still remained on top, 2-1.
After three scoreless frames, Redlands doubled its run total
with a two-run sixth.
Graduate student first baseman Matt Hughes (Westminster, CA)
added insurance to the Bulldogs' lead in the eighth when he stroked
a two-run home run.
Freshman pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) earned the start and
went seven innings, scattering nine hits and allowing two runs.
Hart picked up the win, his sixth of the season, and also struck
out a game-high six batters. Hart gave way to sophomore pitcher
Brock Jacobo (Yuma, AZ) and senior pitcher Jack Winters (Oradell,
NJ), who tossed the eighth and ninth, respectively. The two
relievers combined to yield three hits while holding Pomona-Pitzer
scoreless.
James Brunswick absorbed the loss for the Sagehens, giving up
four runs on nine hits in six innings.
Wetmore, Sandford, senior third baseman/first baseman Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ) and junior rightfielder Nate Carlson
(Portland, OR) all shared the team-high in hits with two.
Pomona-Pitzer outhit Redlands, 12-11, but the Sagehen order left
nine stranded.
Taking to the mound in the rubber match, junior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) went the distance, tossing a complete game on
the bump for the Bulldogs. He held the Sagehens to one run on six
hits and two walks while striking out three. Johnson also earned
the winning decision and moved to 9-0 on the year.
Redlands made a statement early, plating four in the first.
Carlson capped off the frame with a two-run bomb.
J. Johnson homered to lead off the third, but the Sagehens
filled the run column in the bottom half of the inning with a
Travis Rooke-Ley RBI single.
Hughes drove in the final two runs of the nightcap with a single
to center in the seventh.
Leo Rosetti was shelled in his four innings of work on the hill
for the Sagehens, allowing five runs, one of which was earned, on
10 hits. Rooke-Ley and James Kang threw the final five frames,
combining to yield two runs on five hits and one walk.
Seven different Bulldog hitters notched two hits, while six
different Sagehens reached on base knocks.
Redlands (26-4, 18-3 SCIAC) faces each SCIAC team once more,
starting with the University of La Verne on Friday (April 16) at 3
p.m. at The Yard.
