WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The University of Redlands baseball team (18-19) lost game one, 1-0, after getting a great start from Nathan Buchan. Then in game two the offense continued to struggle as they lost 12-3.
Game 1 (Redlands 0 – Whitman 1)
After a strong offensive finish in game two yesterday, the Bulldog offense was never able to get going as they were shutout for only the second time this season.
They finished with hour hits, one of which came on a leadoff single from Luke De Vries. Following the hit with one out in the first, Tyler Preece walked to put two on. The subsequent two batters were unable to bring home De Vries as they reached on a fielder's choice and flew out to right to which stranded two.
In the second the Blues got their lone run of the game on a solo home run.
Redlands second and third hits came in the fifth when Nathan Miller had an infield single as did Will Cell. De Vries then drew a two out walk which loaded the bases. The bases were left loaded following a strikeout.
In the ninth Mason Chetcuti became the tying runner after singling to center. The next two batters, though, grounded out to end the game.
Washington native Buchan got the start and threw 6.1 innings with one earned run while striking out three. Jakob Russell finished off the final 1.2 innings while facing the minimum five batters.
Game 2 (Redlands 3 – Whitman 12)
In the final game of the four-game series the Bulldogs bats did not get on track as they failed to score more than five runs for the fourth time in the series.
The pitching was able to keep the game scoreless through two innings, but the Blue scored seven times in the third, once in the fourth, and three times in the fifth to put the game away.
Gabriel Ceja pushed the first run across in the fourth on a fielder's choice that allowed Tyler Preece to come home from third to make it a 7-1 deficit.
Down to their final three outs in the ninth Luke Hanson drew a walk to lead off the inning. After a strikeout, Cade McClelland doubled home Hanson. Lucas Romero then drew another Bulldog walk as McClelland went to third on a passed ball.
Jake Burgess made Whitman pay for the extra base given to McClelland as he reached on a fielder's choice and got the RBI.
Sean McCance had a quietly good game, reaching three times via a hit, walk, and hit-by-pitch.
On the mound the two bright spots were Kyler Bacosa and Marco Naranjo who both threw scoreless innings and faced the minimum.
Redlands gets next week off before they end their season with a three-game Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) series with Occidental College on May 4-5. The Bulldogs host the Tigers for a doubleheader at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 4 at The Yard.