The University of Redlands baseball team took both games against the Caltech Beavers on Saturday to complete the series sweep, winning game one by a score of 9-1 and earning a 15-3 victory in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Bulldogs took a quick 2-0 lead after two innings on RBI-plays by junior outfielder Marcus Himelhoch (Portland, OR) and freshman outfielder Connor Hancock (Burbank, CA).
Redlands exploded for a four-spot in the fifth inning, resulting in a comfortable lead. Senior shortstop Chase Tucker (Poway, CA) led off with a single and then stole two bags before Himelhoch plated him on an RBI-double. Junior first baseman Eliot Smith (West Linn, OR) hit a sacrifice-fly to left field, scoring Himelhoch. Freshman right fielder Nathaniel Acosta(Chino Hills, CA) and senior second baseman Cameron Lowe (Olympia, WA) also picked up RBI in the big fifth inning for the Maroon and Gray.
The Bulldogs tacked on one more in the eighth frame and then two in the ninth to give them the 9-1 victory.
Himelhoch led the way for Redlands with three RBI, while sophomore catcherJoe Bell (Bakersfield, CA) went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI.
Tucker finished the game with four stolen bases, upping his team-leading mark to 12 this season.
After five innings of work, junior pitcher Paul Dippel (East Granby, CT) notched his second win of the 2012 campaign. He dispersed two hits, allowed no runs and struck out five in a solid performance.
Freshman pitcher Mark Harris (Tucson, AZ) and senior pitcher Brock Jacobo (Yuma, AZ) finished out the last four innings for the Bulldogs to complete the win. Jacobo recorded his second save of the season after 3.1 innings while scattering two hits and striking out five.
Redlands fired off two or more runs in five of the seven innings during the shortened nightcap, leading to a solid 15-3 triumph.
Up by five after two frames, the Maroon and Gray scored five more in the third inning, highlighted by freshman third baseman Sean McMillan's (Redwood City, CA) three-run long ball for the first home run of his young career.
In addition, seven other Bulldogs notched multi-bag hits, with senior first baseman Jon Cavender (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) lacing a pair of run-scoring doubles. The team also took advantage of a slew of stolen bases as Himelhoch nabbed three for Redlands.
Senior pitcher Adam Byrd (Bullhead City, AZ) collected his team-leading fifth win of the season after completing a prescribed four innings. FreshmanPeter Shipman (Salt Lake City, UR), sophomore Ross Orman (Corvallis, OR) and Smith combined forces to shut out the Beaver offense in the subsequent three frames.
Redlands (17-13, 11-10 SCIAC) now looks forward to battling it out with each SCIAC foe in single-game action through the end of April. This Friday, the Bulldogs face the first-place Leopards of the University of La Verne in a home bout at 3 p.m.