REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Baseball (11-7) team picked up the series win over Franklin & Marshall Sunday with a doubleheader sweep taking Game 1 8-1 behind a solid start from Erik Radder (San Diego, CA) who went 7.1 Innings giving up just one run and then scoring five times in the eighth in Game 2 thanks to a Mark Kirkland (Redlands, CA) grand-slam that secured the 10-4 victory.
Game 1 (W, 8-1)
Redlands got off to a strong start in the first inning with Rylan Morris (Fullerton, CA) getting a base knock and Tyler Preece (Bellevue, WA) getting hit by a pitch, but a double play would end the scoring threat.
In the second inning, the Bulldogs got some offense going with Will Cell (Seattle, WA) driving in Jake Burgess (Riverside, CA) and Nate Miller (San Jose, CA) with a two-run double into left center with two outs.
In the third Morris led off the inning with a single, and despite no other Bulldog hits, he was able to come around and score giving UR a 3-0 lead thanks to a wild pitch after a stolen base and then a throwing error by the catcher that allowed him to get to third.
The third, fourth, and fifth consecutive innings with a run scored came in the fourth through the sixth when Kaiya Saito (Bellevue, WA) singled scoring Burgess in the fourth, Burgess doubling home Preece in the fifth, and Cell making it 6-0 on a wild pitch in the sixth.
The Diplomats broke up the shutout when they scored an unearned run in the seventh on a single.
With two on and one out in the eighth Head Coach Aaron Holley came out and brought in Tanner Currier (Brawley, CA) from the bullpen. He would come in, and on two pitches, would induce a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
Redlands got the run back from the seventh and added an extra run in the eighth thanks to an RBI-double from Luke De Vries (Irvine, CA) and an RBI-single from Preece.
Burgess went 3-for-4 from his seventh position in the lineup. Morris, Preece, and Cell all had two-hit games. Radder threw 7.1 innings with no earned runs as he struck out four on only 96 pitches collecting his second win ont he season and Currier got his first collegiate save after throwing 1.2 scoreless innings.
Game 2: (W, 10-4)
The rubber match game of the series saw the Diplomats score first and hold the Bulldogs scoreless until the fourth. That inning the U fo R would tie the game up with a Miller sacrifice fly.
The lead grew to three after five innings thanks to a Preece single through the left side and a pair of wild pitches.
In the seventh Franklin and Marshall tied the game at four, but Currier was able to strand the lead runner at third base.
In the bottom of the seventh Kirkland had the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly to right that scored pinch runner Aziz Bishop (Baltimore, MD).
Following a bases loaded walk by CJ Brown (San Diego, CA), Kirkland stepped up and put the game to bed with a grand slam to right in the eighth.
Kirkland had five of the eight RBI's. Nathan Buchan (Mercer Island, WA) battled through six innings with three runs allowed and seven strikeouts. Currier got the win after throwing two innings. Brett Edwards (Santa Monica, CA) ended it with a one-two-three ninth on 10 pitches.
Redlands remains at home for a single game with Dickinson College tomorrow, Monday, March 10, at 3:00 p.m. inside The Yard.
