The No. 15 University of Redlands baseball team could not figure
out pitcher David Colvin, the staff ace for No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer
Colleges, as the Bulldogs fell, 5-14, to the Sagehens in Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action
Saturday afternoon at The Yard in Redlands.
From the get-go, the Sagehen bats found the gaps. The visitors
plated four in the first on three hits, two walks and an error. Two
more Pomona-Pitzer runners came across in the top of the second
before Redlands took one back in the home half of the stanza.
Graduate student designated hitter/third baseman Brett Sandford
(Santa Barbara, CA) came home on a single by junior rightfielder
Nate Carlson (Portland, OR) to cut the Sagehens' lead to five.
Sloppy defensive play in the third allowed Pomona-Pitzer to push
four more across, taking a 10-1 edge into the bottom of the third.
Freshman pitcher Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) entered the game in the
top of the inning, officially ending junior pitcher Derek Johnson's
(Canby, OR) chance at picking up win No. 11 on the season.
Hart settled down after giving up four in the third, working two
more frames. He quieted the Sagehens in the fourth and fifth before
handing the ball off to senior infielder/pitcher Michael Lessig
(Fountain Hills, AZ). Pomona-Pitzer tapped Lessig for two in the
seventh after he had hurled brilliantly in the sixth. The Sagehens
picked up two more runs in the eighth off of sophomore pitcher Josh Snyder (Denver, CO) before sophomore pitcher Adam Byrd (Bullhead
City, AZ) came in and forced a groundout to end the inning.
Colvin made way for Travis Rooke-Ley in the eighth after having
thrown 116 pitches. The Bulldogs took advantage of the pitching
change and mounted a rally. Using three hits and one error, the
Maroon and Gray scored three in the bottom of the eighth. James
Kang then came in to throw the ninth after senior pitcher Jack Winters (Oradell, NJ) retired the side in the top of the frame, and
Redlands took full advantage, collecting one run on three hits. A
fielder's choice to end the game, however, left the bases juiced
and put the Bulldogs well short of a comeback bid.
Johnson, who drew the start on the hill for Redlands, yielded
six runs on seven hits in just two innings of action and shouldered
the loss. He falls to 10-1 on the year with the decision.
Colvin stole the show, lasting seven innings while holding the
Bulldogs to just one run. He scattered six hits and also fanned a
game-high eight batters. Colvin moves to 8-3 on the year with the
victory.
Sandford stood as the lone bright spot on Redlands' otherwise
disappointing outing, coming just a triple short of the cycle. He
batted 4-for-4 with one RBI and three runs scored, swatting a home
run—his third of the season—and adding two doubles.
Kang's two triples helped him bring in six runners, a game-high.
He powered the Sagehen attack with a 4-for-5 performance that also
included one run scored.
Redlands (27-7, 19-6 SCIAC) looks to halt its three-game skid
tomorrow when it travels to Claremont to face
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in a SCIAC tilt. The first pitch is
set for 1 p.m.