During the in-conference break, the Bulldogs’ baseball team had a winning streak that made the rest of SCIAC proud. In the last week, the Bulldogs went undefeated, picking up five wins against four different schools along the way. As well as Redlands had played, their streak came to an end on the final game of interstate play. The Bulldogs lost 6-3 against Wesleyan University on Tuesday.
The Wesleyan Cardinals drew first blood in the second inning. Cardinal center fielder Andrew Keith hustled out a grounder to avoid the inning-ending double play, allowing the runner from third to score, giving them a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals followed that with a double to the right-center gap, allowing Keith to score and doubling their advantage.
Due to solid pitching from both sides, the score remained the same until the bottom of the fourth. Bulldog right fielder Jordan Babbitt doubled to left with two outs, and was driven in by Joey Warner, a junior serving as the designated hitter. The two hits cut the lead in half, but that’s as close as the game got. Though junior pitcher Noah Jones was having a good afternoon overall, the fifth inning proved to be the one that knocked him out of the game. He surrendered an RBI triple, then gave up a two-out walk and was taken out of the game with runners on the corners. Junior ace Felix Minjarez came in for relief, but promptly gave up a wild pitch and a single to let the Cardinals cash in a pair of runs.
Redlands came back in the bottom half ready to fight. Second baseman, Will Hall, a junior, notched a single and then immediately stole second. He promptly scored on a single by senior Chris Scalisi, one of the team’s most consistent hitters. This brought the score to 5-2, with the Bulldogs on the verge of scoring a couple more. Junior catcher Rainier Aguilar struck out, but still made it to first due to a mental lapse by the opposing catcher. With two outs and two men on, sophomore first baseman Brendan Moore came to the plate with the intent to close the gap; but he grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
Wesleyan’s Nick Miceli teed off in the top of the seventh inning; sending a Michael Collins pitch over the fence to make the score 6-2. Redlands came right back in the bottom frame, scoring one of their own to keep the lead at three. Unfortunately for the Maroon & Gray, the Cardinals’ bullpen dominated in the last two innings, shutting down the Bulldogs to finalize a 6-3 defeat for the home team.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs are still leaving their successful out-of-conference play with many wins. They scored an average of 10.5 runs/game in the 6-match stretch. Their next challenge is on Friday, when the Bulldogs return to SCIAC action against CalTech at The Yard.
photo contributed by Redlands Bulldog photographer Halie West
