REDLANDS, Calif. – In a midweek non-conference game against Vanguard University the University of Redlands Baseball team (7-6, 2-4 SCIAC) would fall 18-4 as they used 19 different players, including seven who made their season debuts.
The Bulldogs were down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the first inning and they had Gabriel Ceja (Long Beach, CA) at third and Kethan Efron (Henderson, NV) at first after they both singled with two outs. A strikeout would end the frame in what was a big opportunity to put early pressure on the Lions' pitching staff.
That missed opportunity was evident as they only had three more hits through the eighth inning as they found themselves in an 18-0 hole. Jake Burgess (Riverside, CA), Sean McCance (Irvine, CA), and Luke Hanson (Escondido, CA) were the three to record hits from the second through the eighth.
Across the final two innings Patrick Perez (Ontario, CA) and Miles Lu (San Jose, CA) combined to shut down the Lion offense in what would be two of the three innings with no runs allowed.
In the final opportunity to avoid the shutout the Bulldogs put up some runs in the bottom half of the ninth. Perez started the rally with a single up the middle, CJ Brown (El Cajon, CA) walked, and Hanson had another hit as the bases were loaded with no outs.
After the first two outs were recorded with strikeouts Caesar Correa (Redlands, CA) hit a bases-clearing double into right center that cleared the bases. Ceja then posted his second hit as he drove in Correa on a single to left as the Bulldogs got all four of their runs after 26 outs were recorded.
Ceja finished with two hits and a walk as the only Bulldog to reach base three times. Hanson went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Efron threw 1.2 scoreless innings to stop the bleeding as the first reliever. Perez and Lu both threw one scoreless inning with all three of the outs for Lu coming via strikeout.
Redlands will return to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play this Friday, March 8 as they host Pomona-Pitzer at 2:00 p.m. for a single game to begin the three-game series.
