The University of Redlands baseball program won back-to back games in today's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) doubleheader against the visiting Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran University. The Bulldogs relied on strong hitting, effective pitching, and superb defense to earn an 8-3 win in game one, followed by a 6-4 decision in the second.
Behind senior pitcher Derek Johnson's (Canby, OR) strong performance, Redlands defeated Cal Lutheran by a score of 8-3 in the opener. The workhorse of the staff went eight solid innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out six. Johnson picks up his fourth win in as many appearances so far in the 2011 season.
Cal Lu jumped on the Maroon and Gray early, stringing together three hits for two first-inning runs to take an early lead.
However, the Bulldogs settled into a strong offensive rhythm, recording 14 hits in the game en route to the victory.
After two wild pitches and a choppy RBI-single past short stop from junior second baseman Cameron Lowe (Olympia, WA), the Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom half of the second inning and evened the score at two a piece.
After three consecutive scoreless frames, the heart of Redlands' order went on the attack, notching five runs in the sixth. The highlight of the inning came from senior right fielder Nate Carlson (Portland, OR) on a two-run bomb to deep center. The Bulldog four-through-eight hitters went a combined 5-for-5 with a trio of RBI in the inning.
The Kingsmen tried to answer back in the subsequent inning, pushing across their third run of the game.
Redlands immediately responded as junior third basemen Jason Henning (Redlands, CA) rounded the bases for the Bulldogs' eighth run of the contest.
Junior reliever Adam Byrd (Bullhead City, CA) finished out the game, ringing up two batters in a scoreless final frame.
Five Bulldogs in all collected a multi-hit game, including three-hit performances from junior designated hitter Trenton Lively (La Verne, CA) and Henning.
Redlands pounced on the Kingsmen early in the nightcap, posting four runs in the first inning. Henning continued his recent hot streak by taking Cal Lu's starting pitcher Peter Ciaramitaro deep with a two-run shot to right.
Cal Lu's sophomore third baseman Nick Boggan (Pacific Grove, CA) responded with a homer of his own in the top of the third, bringing the Kingmen within two runs.
Junior first baseman Jon Cavender (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) collected his second RBI of the day in the following frame, giving the Bulldogs a 5-2 lead.
Redlands tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh as Lively scored his third run of the season, taking advantage of a Kingsmen miscue.
Cal Lutheran made the game interesting in the top of the ninth when sophomore right fielder John Leal (Modesto, CA) connected on a two-run home run to make it a 6-4 ball game.
Making his second appearance of the day, Byrd came back to the mound in the ninth to close the door on the Kingsmen, collecting his second save of the 2011 campaign.
Starting pitcher sophomore Kyle Hart (Burbank, CA) threw seven innings, allowing only two runs in the outing to pick up his second consecutive victory. The second-year flame-thrower registered an impressive 10 strikeouts for a season-high.
Redlands (7-3, 5-2 SCIAC) wraps up the three-game series with Cal Lutheran University by heading to Thousand Oaks for tomorrow's single outing, which begins at 2:30 p.m.