The University of Redlands baseball team headed to Tucson, Arizona for the annual Cactus Classic this weekend. The team opened the tournament with a dominating 13-7 win over Sul Ross State University (TX) this morning before dropping an 8-9 heartbreaker in the ninth to Linfield College (OR).

The Bulldogs scored early and often in the opening game against Sul Ross. After sophomore pitcher Cameron Kundig (Redlands, CA) made quick work of the first four Lobos batters, Redlands offense backed him up with a one-run lead after one. In the bottom of the first, with runners at the corners and two outs, sophomore designated hitter Chris Hardin (Highland, CA) sent a single through the 5-6 hole for a 1-0 Maroon and Gray advantage.

Kundig continued his momentum by rolling through the Sul Ross batters in the second and third innings.

In the bottom of the third after an out and walk, Hardin pulled another single, but this time through the right side. Sophomore shortstop Max Smyley (Sarasota, FL) subsequently sent a bases-clearing triple to deep center field for two RBI. Additionally, in the next inning, senior third baseman Anthony Acosta (Simi Valley, CA) dinged an RBI double for a 4-0 Redlands lead after four frames.

Despite the Lobos cutting the deficit in half in the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs busted the game wide open on a five-run bottom of the fifth. Sophomore first baseman Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) got things going with a single through the right side. Hardin followed with another single to right. Sophomore catcher Sammy Diaz (Palm Desert, CA) continued to pepper right field with an RBI single. Redlands added three more runs on an infield hit and a couple of Lobos blunders for an 8-2 advantage.

Junior Dylan Ross (Malibu, CA) took over pitching duties in the top of the sixth and recorded a 1, 2, 3 inning for an impressive first outing that included two K's.

Smyley picked up his pitcher yet again with a two-RBI triple that extended Redland's lead even further. The Bulldogs tacked on one more run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.

However, Sul Ross did not go down quietly, scoring five runs in the top of the seventh to come within four runs at 7-11.

First-year second baseman Jonah Advincula (Santa Clara, CA) opened the bottom of that frame with a double down the rightfield line. Acosta subsequently traded places with Advincula with an RBI double of his own that hugged the left-field line.

Senior pitcher Tony Rosario (Monterey Park, CA) took the mound in the seventh and eighth innings and faced seven batters, recording two strikeouts. He recorded the third out in the eighth on a nice, heads-up, pick-off play.

The Bulldogs added one more run in the eighth, on a sophomore center fielder Payton Walsh (Santa Ana, CA) triple and subsequent sacrifice fly.

Rosario closed out the game for a 13-7 Redlands victory.

After a short break and walk to the big stadium at Kino Field, the Bulldogs faced Linfield College, with Redlands serving as the visiting team in this neutral-site game.

Junior pitcher Justin Yang (Fountain Valley, CA) climbed the hill for the second game and recorded three quick outs with two K's including one looking.

Although Linfield added two runs in the bottom of the second, Yang regrouped to strike out the final three batters with the bases loaded to escape the inning with minimal damage.

Redlands came right back with two runs of its own to equalize the score, but Linfield matched the blows in the third as well, to put the Bulldogs in a 2-4 hole through three.

The teams continued to trade scores until Linfield added three more in the seventh for an 8-3 lead, forcing the Maroon and Gray to go to work.

With time quickly running out, Acosta led off the top of the ninth with a single to left, followed by Kirkland with a double. Although the next batter recorded an out, the hard-hit ball was deep enough to first base for Acosta to score from third. Smyley remained dialed-in with an RBI single that was followed by a Walsh double off the right-field line corner.

Now with two outs, first-year Max Clark (Etiwanda, CA) stepped up big time with a pinch-hit single to center that scored two. After three straight walks that scored one more, the Bulldogs had tied the game up at 8-apiece in an exciting rally.

Unfortunately, Linfield mustered another run in the bottom of the ninth to hand Redlands a tough, 8-9 loss.

Smyley ended the day with eight hits including two triples and seven RBI.

The Bulldogs (1-1) look to bounce back with a night game on Saturday, February 8, against Whitman College (WA) at 5 p.m. PST.