REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Baseball team (11-13, 5-4 SCIAC) took game one of their doubleheader, 5-4, with No. 13 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Saturday afternoon at The Yard thanks to strong pitching but they lost a slugfest, 19-12, in game two.
Game 1 (W, 5-4)
The Bulldogs jumped out in front in the first thanks to a sacrifice fly to right by Tanner Gerosa (Huntington Beach, CA) with Luke Hanson (Escondido, CA) coming home.
Following a two-run double by the Stags, the Bulldogs tied the game on a Mason Chetcuti (Redwood City, CA) single that plated Ian Umscheid (Beaumont, CA). Sean McCance (Irvine, CA) then gave Redlands the lead with a single that allowed Anthony Thomas (Moreno Valley, CA) to score and reclaim the U of R lead, 3-2.
A solo CMS home run in the fifth tied the game at three, but in the bottom of the inning Nate Miller (San Jose, CA) hit the eventual game-winning two-run double that plated Chetcuti and Jesse Bullard (Riverside, CA).
In the top of the ninth Aziz Bishop (Baltimore, MD) came on and gave up a solo home run to begin the inning but followed with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to secure the save.
Umscheid and Chetcuti had four of the Bulldogs' nine hits. Erik Radder (San Diego, CA) threw six innings with eight strikeouts picking up the win. Tanner Currier (Brawley, CA) pitched a clean seventh and eighth innings.
Game 2 (L, 19-12)
In the rubber game of the series Redlands found themselves down 4-0 after an inning and a half, but in the second they came back to tie the game thanks to a solo home run for Miller, a two-run single from Umscheid, and a bases loaded walk drawn by Gerosa.
After a scoreless third and fourth, the Stags reclaimed their lead 6-4. Then in the sixth with two on and no one out Bullard laid down a sacrifice bunt that CMS tried to get the lead runner at third base, but a bad throw allowed Hanson and Umscheid to score deadlocking the game.
Head Coach Aaron Holley also had Chetcuti lay down a bunt, and again the Stags were unable to get an out as the catcher hesitated, while looking at the lead runner and then proceeded to make a bad throw to first, which allowed Chetcuti to advance to second and Bullard to score.
The fourth run of the inning came thanks to a two-out RBI single from Karlsen Drake (San Diego, CA) as he found grass in right field to make it 8-6 Bulldogs.
In the next half inning, however, CMS tied the game and then went in front 12-8. Redlands was unable to respond in the bottom half, but in the eighth with two outs and no one on, after Miller hit his second home run to start the inning, McCance was hit by a pitch and Hanson drew a walk.
Umscheid continued his hot hitting with a single through the left side to bring the Bulldogs to within two, 12-10. The tying runs then came in thanks to Chetcuti who doubled to left center, scoring Hanson and pinch runner Tyler Barsness (Palm Desert, CA), but a relay throw was in time to get pinch runner Nevan Namgoong (Irvine, CA) to keep the game at 12-12.
The pitching ran into trouble for Redlands in the ninth as CMS sent 12 players to the plate with seven scoring to all but seal the win.
Redlands did begin the ninth with a double by Gerosa and a single from Miller, but a fly out, strike out, and pop up ended the game.
Umscheid reached base safely five of six plate appearances, while adding a team-high three runs batted in. Chetcuti reached four times and Miller and Thomas each had three hits of their own.
Miller's two home run game makes him the 30th player in program history to have at least two home runs in a single game.
Redlands now prepares for a three-game set with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) beginning this coming Friday, March 27 with a single game at home beginning at 3:00 p.m.
