California Baptist University
Hawaii Pacific
Home Run Central
2/22/2014 3:56:00 AM | Softball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- To people in the stands, it might have looked like No. 9-ranked California Baptist University came out swinging for the fences Friday evening, but home runs were not the intended result.
CBU blasted a total of five home runs to claim two victories over Hawai'i Pacific University, 9-0 and 8-7, including a walk-off homer finale from London Miller.
"We actually work a lot on hitting doubles," said head coach Bill Baber. "We want to lead the conference in doubles. I told the girls if we can lead in that, the home runs will come since some will just keep going. They aren't up there swinging for the fences, even though it may look like it. They're doing well at being selective and driving the ball."
The Lancers jump to 16-3 overall, 7-1 in the PacWest, with the series sweep over HPU. The Sea Warriors, on the other hand, fall to 1-7 both overall and in conference, having only played PacWest contests.
"It feels great to get four against HPU," said Baber. "They'll win games in this conference, so those are great wins."
Marshean August led the Lancers with a 4-for-7 showing at the plate, knocking a double and a home run to tally two RBI and score four runs for herself. Ashley Devaere, Krista Mann and London Miller each added long balls for CBU, with Mann homering twice.
DeVaere set the tone in the first game as she blasted the first home run of the day over the fence at left center, with Kailey Willingham already on base, to give CBU an early 2-0 lead in the second.
August added another homer to her season tally--now tying for first in the PacWest with seven on the season--to lead off the third and Mann followed with a bunt single to get on base. She scored the Lancers' second run of the inning by taking advantage of a throwing error and London Miller hit a sacrifice fly to score her sister Savannah Miller to put CBU in front 5-0.
Back at the plate, August grabbed an RBI double to score Jordan Mowatt from second and made her way to third on a wild pitch. August then added a run of her own as a ball snuck past the HPU catcher to leave home plate vulnerable.
With the 7-0 lead, CBU kept tight on defense to keep the Sea Warriors from putting together any scores and came back to the batter's box in the bottom of the sixth. Mann stepped up to the plate and homered to left with August on first to end the game, 9-0, in favor of the Lancers.
The Lancers struck first in the nightcap as well, grabbing one run in the opening inning. Rachel Meyer sent a fly ball to left, but the runners on second and third tagged up to each advance a base, giving CBU the 1-0 lead.
"We wanted to stay focused in the second game," said Baber. "We've had a couple of doubleheaders where we didn't start the second game very well or didn't play very well. I thought we did today."
Two innings later, CBU added to its tally with three runs in the third to hold a 4-0 margin over HPU. Mann knocked a three-run homer over the fence in center--her fourth home run in three games--to score August and Mowatt.
HPU broke CBU's scoring streak in the next half inning, scoring one run on two hits, but couldn't put more of a rally together to still trail the Lancers 4-1.
CBU came knocking once more in the fifth as the Lancers put together a successful two-out rally. London Miller initiated the rally with a base hit and scored off a Kayla Gray double. DeVaere followed with a single through the right side to add another run, putting the Lancers ahead 6-1.
The Sea Warriors made things interesting in the top of the seventh, plating the go-ahead run to put pressure on the home squad in the bottom half of the inning.
"We were rolling along and then we hit that last inning and ran into a few problems," said Baber. "We're really trying to clean that up and stay focused and keep playing like we do in the first games. We have a young team and to stay focused in two back-to-back games can be hard, it's a long day."
With Savannah Miller on second, London Miller rocketed a walk-off home run to score herself and her sister for the tying and game-winning runs, handing the Lancers the 8-7 victory.
"What a clutch hit," said Baber. "It was very similar to Krista [Mann] last night where she had made a few mental mistakes and was struggling a little with her bat. She went up there and wanted to drive something. She knew if we could get a single with Savannah on second, we had a shot at tying the game. She was very selective and picked a good pitch and got a hold of it. It was one of those line drives that just kept going.
"She's a phenomenal hitter and keeps working to get better," added Baber. "That's all you can ask from a freshman."
CBU has a few days rest to get ready for rival Azusa Pacific, heading to the Cougars on Thursday for a pair of games beginning at 4:00 p.m. The Lancers return to John C. Funk Stadium on Saturday, March 1, as they host Dixie State for a doubleheader starting at noon.
"We've played a lot of games in a short period of time so we're going to take a few days off and get rejuvenated before playing two great opponents," said Baber. "We don't want to relax because we've gotten off to a great start, we want to keep learning and keep going forward. We can still get better in many areas. That's what we need to do to if we want a shot at winning this conference."
