REDLANDS, Calif. — The Caltech baseball team wrapped up its 2023 season on Saturday with a pair of games versus the Redlands Bulldogs.

Game 1 saw Caltech score a pair of runs in the fifth inning to tie the game at 2-2; junior third baseman Gautam Chawla sparked the rally with a single to left field, followed by another single by sophomore catcher Edward Speer that moved Chawla to third. Sophomore left fielder Jack Fishel would then walk to load the bases with two outs before senior first baseman Jack Warren split the 3-4 gap with an RBI single, scoring Chawla. With the bases still loaded, senior center fielder Will Dembski managed another station-to-station RBI single with an infield single to shortstop, bringing Speer home as the tying run.

After a quiet sixth inning, the Beavers rallied again in the top of the seventh with two outs by stringing together four consecutive hits. Junior second baseman Patrick Donohoe led off the inning and took first base after being hit by a pitch. Redlands then pulled their starter and retired the next two Caltech batters, but Warren kept the inning going with a double to deep center field, bringing Donahoe home. Dembski cranked yet another single, this time down the left field line, to score Warren from second base. First-year shortstop Mark Hu knocked another single by the Redlands third baseman to move Dembski into scoring position, and sophomore right fielder Thorsen Kristufek brought him home with an RBI single.

Dembski led the team in total hits in the matchup, earning three in his five at-bats. The 12 hits recorded by the Beavers tied for their second-most in a conference road game all season.

Game 2 of the doubleheader was a lower-scoring affair that saw no team lead by more than two runs at any point.

The Beavers would strike first in the contest come the second inning, as junior third baseman Leo Jenkins crossed home in the midst of a pickoff play between first and second base. Jenkins reached first on a walk before moving to second on a ball put in play from Kristufek and advancing to third on a single from Hu.

The Bulldogs would tie the game at 1-1 their next time at the plate before tacking on another run in the fourth and one more in the sixth.

It was the eighth inning where the Beavers began to string together a series of hits, beginning with a single from Warren through the left side. A double to right from Dembski would bring Warren to third, before a single up the middle from Kristufek scored both baserunners. First-year right fielder Jacob Alderete would single to right field later in the frame before Redlands retired the side.

With the score tied up at 3-3, the Beavers would head to the plate in the ninth inning looking to get at least one more run across the board. The team advanced Speer to third base after he connected on a single to left field, though were unable to bring him home before the Bulldogs earned the deciding run.

First-year right-handed pitcher Brendan Flaherty pitched the entire contest; he gave up just four runs across 28 at-bats. He held the Bulldogs to just six hits – their lowest since Apr. 16.

The Beavers finish the season with their highest win total since 2019 after grabbing victories against Occidental, Pomona-Pitzer, Luther, Whittier and Nebraska-Wesleyan, among other teams.

Warren ends his career with the most single-season hits in program history (59), while Dembski leaves with the single-season home run record (10) and the career home runs record (20). Dembski's career record was achieved in just two full seasons of baseball due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team will take a well-deserved break before returning to action in 2024. Follow Caltech Athletics on Instagram and Twitter @caltechbeavers.