HAIL TO THE CHAMPS!
4/29/2010 4:00:00 AM | Baseball
SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Four months worth of a grueling baseball season came down to a little less than three hours Wednesday, and seconds after Drew Madrigal struck out Allen Boyer for the final out, he found himself at the bottom of a 30-man dog-pile.
California Baptist University is the 2010 Golden State Athletic Conference Champion.
Taylor Siemens carried a one-hitter into the seventh, and he was backed by stellar glove work and timely hitting and base running, and the fifth-ranked Lancers wrapped up their third conference title and first since 2006 with a 10-1 thumping of No. 10 Point Loma Nazarene at Carroll B. Land Stadium in the first of a four-game, regular-season ending series.
CBU improves to 38-12 overall, 27-6 GSAC and will host the GSAC Tournament May 10-13. The Sea Lions fall to 33-13, 22-11.
The Lancers, who failed to reach the postseason last year for the first time ever under Head Coach Gary Adcock, returned with a vengeance, walking into the defending conference champion's house and literally taking the crown off their heads.
“This is especially sweeter since we didn't make the postseason last year,” said Adcock. “The coaching staff got together and wanted to get a group of guys who were passionate about the game, and this group has showed a passion all year. I thought we were a year away, but the guys came together quicker than we expected.”
Needing to win just one in this four-game series, CBU went for broke today, starting usual Wednesday Taylor Siemens and closing with Madrigal, the usual Thursday starter. It worked and then some.
The Lancers finished with nine hits, had three stolen bases, took extra bases on three wild pitches and parlayed four Sea Lion errors into four unearned runs. Siemens, Jesse Arreola and Madrigal limited the Sea Lions to just five hits.
“When you throw your Thursday starter in the closing roll, you're going for the win,” said Adcock. “We wanted to win today, not because of the pressure because this group likes pressure, but to get it over with. The whole goal all year is winning each series, and this is just another series.”
Siemens went 7.1 innings, scattering four singles. After walking Boyer to leadoff, he gave up an RBI single to Tyler Kuehl with one out in the first and then didn't allow a hit until Kevin Newburg and Wes Kartch led off the seventh with back-to-back singles. Siemens, though, struck out Evan Lippow and then got Drew Bernhard and Boyer to fly out to end that threat.
Meanwhile, the Lancers wasted little time getting to Sea Lion ace Steven Winnick (8-3). They scored three times in the first, getting an RBI single from Sharif Othman and a two-RBI single from Zach Hedges. They then added two more in the third on a groundout by Hedges and a sacrifice fly by Madrigal to jump out to a 5-1 lead.
“The offense scoring right away made my job a lot easier today,” said Siemens. “I knew that Drew was closing, so we were throwing all our eggs in one basket, but once we scored I was able to relax and get after it.”
Garrett Rau had an RBI single in the fourth and an RBI double in the sixth to increase the margin to 7-1. Cole Bullard capped the scoring with a two-RBI single in the ninth.
Siemens threw 122 pitches, walked five and struck out six to tie Madrigal for the team-lead with his ninth win.
“Taylor pitched extremely well,” said Adcock. “He was able to pitch around all but one of his walks. He attacked the zone, and he has taken it up another level the past few weeks.”
Rau, Othman, Hedges and Bullard each had two hits. Hedges finished with three RBIs. Bullard and Rau each had two.
CBU has won three straight and 10 of its past 12.
“The team atmosphere is great, and I'm having so much fun playing with these guys,” said Siemens. “It's not a one-dimensional group. There are different ways we can win. The pressure is not just on the pitching or the offense. Everyone picks each other up.”
California Baptist University is the 2010 Golden State Athletic Conference Champion.
Taylor Siemens carried a one-hitter into the seventh, and he was backed by stellar glove work and timely hitting and base running, and the fifth-ranked Lancers wrapped up their third conference title and first since 2006 with a 10-1 thumping of No. 10 Point Loma Nazarene at Carroll B. Land Stadium in the first of a four-game, regular-season ending series.
CBU improves to 38-12 overall, 27-6 GSAC and will host the GSAC Tournament May 10-13. The Sea Lions fall to 33-13, 22-11.
The Lancers, who failed to reach the postseason last year for the first time ever under Head Coach Gary Adcock, returned with a vengeance, walking into the defending conference champion's house and literally taking the crown off their heads.
“This is especially sweeter since we didn't make the postseason last year,” said Adcock. “The coaching staff got together and wanted to get a group of guys who were passionate about the game, and this group has showed a passion all year. I thought we were a year away, but the guys came together quicker than we expected.”
Needing to win just one in this four-game series, CBU went for broke today, starting usual Wednesday Taylor Siemens and closing with Madrigal, the usual Thursday starter. It worked and then some.
The Lancers finished with nine hits, had three stolen bases, took extra bases on three wild pitches and parlayed four Sea Lion errors into four unearned runs. Siemens, Jesse Arreola and Madrigal limited the Sea Lions to just five hits.
“When you throw your Thursday starter in the closing roll, you're going for the win,” said Adcock. “We wanted to win today, not because of the pressure because this group likes pressure, but to get it over with. The whole goal all year is winning each series, and this is just another series.”
Siemens went 7.1 innings, scattering four singles. After walking Boyer to leadoff, he gave up an RBI single to Tyler Kuehl with one out in the first and then didn't allow a hit until Kevin Newburg and Wes Kartch led off the seventh with back-to-back singles. Siemens, though, struck out Evan Lippow and then got Drew Bernhard and Boyer to fly out to end that threat.
Meanwhile, the Lancers wasted little time getting to Sea Lion ace Steven Winnick (8-3). They scored three times in the first, getting an RBI single from Sharif Othman and a two-RBI single from Zach Hedges. They then added two more in the third on a groundout by Hedges and a sacrifice fly by Madrigal to jump out to a 5-1 lead.
“The offense scoring right away made my job a lot easier today,” said Siemens. “I knew that Drew was closing, so we were throwing all our eggs in one basket, but once we scored I was able to relax and get after it.”
Garrett Rau had an RBI single in the fourth and an RBI double in the sixth to increase the margin to 7-1. Cole Bullard capped the scoring with a two-RBI single in the ninth.
Siemens threw 122 pitches, walked five and struck out six to tie Madrigal for the team-lead with his ninth win.
“Taylor pitched extremely well,” said Adcock. “He was able to pitch around all but one of his walks. He attacked the zone, and he has taken it up another level the past few weeks.”
Rau, Othman, Hedges and Bullard each had two hits. Hedges finished with three RBIs. Bullard and Rau each had two.
CBU has won three straight and 10 of its past 12.
“The team atmosphere is great, and I'm having so much fun playing with these guys,” said Siemens. “It's not a one-dimensional group. There are different ways we can win. The pressure is not just on the pitching or the offense. Everyone picks each other up.”
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