The No. 24 University of Redlands baseball team rewrote its
program record book on Saturday afternoon at The Yard in Redlands,
downing Caltech by a 34-4 final in Southern California
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action.
The Bulldogs' 34-run total tied the program record for the most
in a single game. The 1982 edition of Redlands baseball also posted
34 runs when the team squared off with LA Baptist College on Feb.
23, 1982.
On the season, Redlands has scored 392 runs, which surpasses the
single-season program record of 372 set by the 1997 Bulldog
baseball team. The Maroon and Gray also extended its single-season
doubles record (125) and now owns the single-season record in RBI
(349). Both of those former standards were held by the 1997
Bulldogs.
Individually, junior rightfielder Nate Carlson (Portland, OR)
sits just two RBI away from tying the single-season program record.
Derek Bell and Jim Reinhardt drove in 53 runs in 1998 and 1981,
respectively. Junior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) needs just
one more win to tie Nolan Nicholson's single-season program
standard of 12, which he set in 2008.
After a slow start, Redlands poured on the offense and buried
the Beavers, spraying hits in every gap.
Caltech scored first, plating one run in the second to take a
1-0 lead. The Bulldogs, however, responded with a six-run second
and never looked back. The Redlands attack would go on to score two
in the third, 11 in the fourth and seven in the fifth before the
Beavers tacked on three more in the top of the sixth to bring the
tally to 26-4. The Bulldogs then countered with an eight-run effort
in the bottom half of the inning to spell out the final score of
34-4.
Junior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) worked four innings on
the hill for the Maroon and Gray, yielding one run on six hits
while striking out three. D. Johnson moved to 11-2 on the year with
the win. Five different Redlands hurlers came out of the bullpen
and kept the Caltech order in check.
Mike Gherini sustained the loss for the Beavers. He gave up 19
runs, 17 of which were earned, on 16 hits over four frames of
duty.
Several Redlands batters had outstanding afternoons at the dish.
Nine different players had multi-hit efforts, with freshman
centerfielder Ryan Buscemi (Tiburon, CA) leading the way with a
5-for-5 performance. Buscemi crossed the plate four times and drove
in two runs. Graduate student pinch hitter/first baseman Matt Hughes (Westminster, CA) had a career-high six RBI, while sophomore
second baseman Cameron Lowe (Olympia, WA) smacked three doubles in
a 4-for-6 outing that included four runs scored and four RBI.
In total, the Bulldog bats combined for 17 extra-base
hits—nine doubles, six triples and two home runs.
Daniel Sexton paced the Caltech attack, going 2-for-3 with one
run scored and three RBI. Both of his base knocks were doubles.
Redlands (28-9, 20-8 SCIAC) has just three games left on the
regular-season docket, but the trio of contests are against No. 6
Chapman University. The Bulldogs play their final home game at The
Yard on Friday (May 7) at 3 p.m. and will celebrate their seniors
in a ceremony prior to the first pitch. The series then moves to
Orange on Saturday (May 8) for a non-conference doubleheader.
