REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Baseball team (14-7) led throughout the game in a 15-5 win over Willamette University Sunday at The Yard extending their winning streak to four games.
Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) got the first run of the game with an RBI-groundout in the first as Rylan Morris (Fullerton, CA) scored after hitting a triple on a ball to left field that was misplayed.
In the second, the Bulldogs scored two more runs as the Bearcats again struggled defensively. The first run came on a fielding error at first that allowed Kaiya Saito (Bellevue, WA) to score and the second run was on a fielder's choice by Kirkland who beat out a potential inning-ending double play.
After a scoreless third, Morris tripled home Saito and Kirkland fought off a pitch for a double down the left field line for his third RBI putting UR on top 5-0.
Following the first run for Willamette, CJ Brown (El Cajon, CA) tripled and scored Will Cell (Seattle, WA) and Ian Umscheid (Beaumont, CA). Nate Miller (San Jose, CA) then made it 9-1 in the bottom of the sixth when he hit a two-run shot off the netting above the wall in left.
The Bulldogs removed any potential doubt of a win in the seventh when they scored six times thanks to more defensive miscues and strong hitting.
Kirkland started the scoring with an RBI-single to right that came on an 0-2 pitch. Miller got within a double of the cycle with a two-run triple to left center. Cade McClelland (Mission Viejo, CA) then stepped in as a pinch hitter driving a ball to the base of the right field wall for the 13th run and his first double on the season. The final two runs came off a Jake Burgess (Riverside, CA) double to right and a single up the middle for Saito.
The Bearcats did score four times across the eighth and ninth innings, but the lead was never in jeopardy as Redlands won their fourth in-a-row.
As a team the Bulldogs had eight extra base hits, including four triples. On the mound they got two scoreless innings from both their starter Erik Radder (San Diego, CA) and first reliever Nathan Buchan (Mercer Island, WA). Tanner Currier (Brawley, CA) added a 12-pitch scoreless seventh.
The final non-conference game of the season comes this Wednesday, March 19 when the Bulldogs host Middlebury College at 3:00 p.m. at The Yard.
