California Baptist University
Notre Dame de Namur
High Fives
3/20/2014 2:22:00 AM | Softball
BELMONT, Calif. --- Coming off a strong doubleheader against the No. 6-ranked team in NCAA Division II, the No. 3-ranked California Baptist University Lancers kept their bats hot Wednesday. The Lancers outscored Notre Dame de Namur 23-1 overall to grab a pair of five-inning wins.
CBU improves to 26-7, 13-5 in the PacWest with the doubleheader sweep, winning the first game 11-0 and the nightcap 12-1 -- both in five innings. The Argonauts fall to 14-18 on the season, 8-11 in conference.
Krista Mann led the Lancers with a 4-for-7 performance at the plate where she knocked in five runs and scored one herself. Jacque Lopez went 3-for-4 on the day with three runs scored. Seven offensive starters registered hits on the day for CBU, with the majority of them grabbing multiple hits.
The Lancers jumped on the board in the first inning of the day, despite being down to their final out of the inning. Savannah Miller singled to grab the fist hit of the day and sister London Miller blasted a home run to score them both.
Lopez kept the scores coming in the second, scoring off an error. Mann added another RBI to her season tally with a single that scored Jordan Mowatt to put the Lancers up 4-0 after just two-and-a-half innings.
Belinda Renne retired three-straight batters in the bottom half of the inning, striking out the first two swinging and the third looking.
London Miller doubled to open the third, initiating a five-run inning. Ashley DeVaere traded places with her off a double of her own before the Argonauts grabbed the second out.
That didn't slow down the Lancers, however, as CBU loaded the bases. Marshean August knocked a base hit to score two runners and Mann followed with another two-RBI single to put the visitors in front 9-0.
NDNU managed to keep CBU off the board in the fourth, but the Lancers capped their scoring in the fifth to hold a staggering 11-0 advantage. With Heather Smith on third pinch running for Rachel Meyer, Kayla Gray singled to score Smith. Nicole Hennessey singled and scored Mowatt for the final run of the game.
The Lancers held the Argonauts from breaking through the scoreless streak, with Renne securing her shutout and first career no-hitter by catching the last batter looking at the plate, ending the game in five innings.
Unlike the first game, CBU went down in order in the opening innings of the nightcap.
Despite being quiet, the Lancers broke through in the third. Back-to-back-to-back singles from Lopez, Mowatt and August loaded the bases, before Mann found a gap to send her base hit, scoring two. August scored on the next play and Kailey Willingham knocked in two more runs off a single to put the Lancers in front 5-0.
NDNU broke their scoreless drought in the bottom half of the inning, scoring off a sacrifice fly to cut CBU's lead to 5-1.
Unfortunately for the Argonauts, it was the last time they would score, as they quickly found themselves in another hole. The Lancers exploded again in the top of the fourth, plating four runs on five hits.
Mowatt led the inning off with a single and scored on a perfectly laid down bunt from Mann. Willingham sent another two-run single to score Savannah Miller and Mann. Meyer jumped on the RBI train with a base hit that scored Taylor Castro, giving CBU a 9-1 upper hand.
The Lancers tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth off a two-RBI double from London Miller and a sacrifice fly from Rebecca Orozco.
NDNU grabbed a hit in the bottom half of the inning, but it wasn't enough to produce the four runs the home team needed to keep the game alive, ending it 12-1, in favor of the Lancers.
CBU continues its long Northern California road trip with a four-game series at Dominican, starting Friday. The Lancers and Penguins square off both days beginning at 1:00 p.m.
