Led by phenomenal pitching performances from senior Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) and freshman John Keane (Clayton, CA), the University of Redlands baseball team won both games on Saturday en route to capturing the series sweep of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.  In the opener on Saturday, the Bulldogs cruised to an 8-2 victory, while the Bulldogs were triumphant in the night cap, 11-4.

Hart set the tone early in the first game of the doubleheader, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning.  At the plate for Redlands, the Bulldog bats helped Hart out with a run in the second and third innings.  Sophomore catcher Sean McMillan (Redwood City, CA) got the second frame started with a single up the middle and came around to score a couple of batters later when senior first baseman Eliot Smith (West Linn, OR) hit a sacrifice fly to left field.

Freshman third baseman Mark Tumlinson (Topeka, KS) initiated the third inning with a single to centerfield, and he eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly as well, this time off the bat of sophomore shortstop Jordan Dresner (Etiwanda, CA).

Redlands then put two on the board in the fourth, with sophomore designated hitter Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA) and Smith each tallying an RBI in the frame. 

In the top of the seventh inning, Dresner smashed an RBI-double to left-center field, scoring Tumlinson, who had doubled earlier in the inning, to make it a 5-0 ballgame.  Then, despite allowing two runs in the eighth frame, the Maroon and Gray tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth, putting the game well out of reach of any possible comeback.

Hart went eight strong innings on the mound for the Bulldogs, surrendering two runs, only one of which was earned, while also allowing just two hits.  Sophomore hurler Josh Makler (Portland, OR) came in for the bottom of the ninth and closed the door on the Stags, securing the series-clinching win for the U of R.

Dresner and Smith both recorded two RBI for Redlands, while Tumlinson, Hancock, and senior second baseman Jason Henning (Redlands, CA) tallied two hits apiece.

In the final game of the three-game stint, both teams scored runs in the second inning, but the Bulldogs took the lead for good in the fifth when they put four more runs on the board to make it a 5-1 advantage.  Henning registered the big hit of that frame, blasting a two-RBI double into left-center field, plating both Dresner and Tumlinson.

Sophomore right-fielder Nathaniel Acosta (Chino Hills, CA) then led off the sixth frame with his team-leading seventh homerun of the year, extending the lead to 6-1.

After a run in the seventh, Tumlinson, Dresner, junior center-fielder Alex Scheiwe (Encinitas, CA), and McMillan all notched an RBI in a four-run eighth inning for the Bulldogs.

That would be more than enough for Keane, who went seven innings on the hill for the Maroon and Gray, dispersing four hits and allowing just one unearned run.

At the dish, Dresner provided a 3-for-5 performance with one RBI and two runs scored, while Scheiwe went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.  Additionally, McMillan notched three hits with two RBI and junior left-fielder Max Hardman (Encinitas, CA) recorded two hits with one run scored in the final game of the series.

With the sweep, the Bulldogs jumped into third place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings.  Every other SCIAC team has one series remaining before the SCIAC Final Four.

The U of R (19-12, 15-9 SCIAC) returns to action for a non-conference doubleheader with Whitman College (WA) on Sunday, April 21.  First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.