In the first contest of a three-game series against Whittier College, the University of Redlands baseball team suffered a 3-7 defeat in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opener on Friday afternoon at The Yard.

After the Poets put up runs in the first and third innings to take a 3-0 lead, the Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the third when senior first baseman Brendan Moore (Murrieta, CA) singled to center field to push senior shortstop Aaron Singh (Anaheim, CA) across home for the score.

In the next inning, senior catcher Bart In den Kleef (Oosterhout, Netherlands) hit a deep sacrifice fly to bring in sophomore centerfielder Brennen Carr (Chino Hills, CA). On the next at-bat, junior left-fielder Tony Rosario (Monterey Park, CA) singled to shortstop to bring in junior third baseman Anthony Acosta (Simi Valley, CA) for the game-tying score at 3-3.

The Maroon and Gray kept the Poets off the board over the next couple innings with solid defense and pitching. Redlands orchestrated a sweet 6-4-3 double-play to retire the sixth inning.

However, Whittier pulled ahead with another run to make it 4-3 after seven innings.

For the final two outs in the top of the eighth, Rosario caught a deep fly ball to left field and threw a rocket to home plate for the outfield assist that retired the inning.

Nonetheless, Whittier scored three in the top of the ninth to pull away for the win.

For the game, Acosta went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Moore went 2-for-4 with an RBI and 11 putouts.

Sophomore pitcher Chris Fousek Jr. (San Diego, CA) threw a solid eight innings but suffered the loss.

Redlands (4-7, 0-1 SCIAC) now travels to Whittier on Saturday, February 23, for a SCIAC doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 11 a.m.