Thursday, February 26
Pomona, Calif.
2 PM
California Baptist University
at
Cal Poly Pomona
Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez
Another Top-10 Tangle
2/25/2015 10:29:00 AM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- After last meeting in the NCAA Division II West Regional, California Baptist University and Cal Poly Pomona face each other again. Last time out, the Lancers helped end the Broncos 2014 season with a 5-3 playoff victory.
It is another big series against another top-10 opponents for CBU. The Broncos climbed from 11th to ninth in this week's Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II top-30 poll after a 3-1 series win over Cal State San Bernardino. The Lancers dropped out of the rankings this week, despite battling #3 Colorado Mesa all week in Grand Junction before losing three of the four. The last two losses were decided by a total of three runs (9-8, 6-4), while CBU won the opener 17-3.
Both teams split two games played at Totman Stadium last year, and Cal Poly Pomona was supposed to hold home-field advantage this series with three home games scheduled this week. A heavy rain forecast for Saturday shined in CBU's favor. The teams were foced to break up Saturday's scheduled doubleheader at Scolinos Field and move the doubleheader to Friday at Totman Stadium -- starting at 3:00 p.m. It gives both teams two home games in the series.
The Broncos and Lancers continue trends of playing PacWest and CCAA opponents, respectively, in non-conference this season. The matchup will serve to tell the teams where they stand in their respective conferences. CPP swept Dixie State in four games to open its season, and split two games with Azusa Pacific. CBU won a pair of three-game series (2-1) with Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills to open the season. Coming into 2015 unranked, Cal State L.A. has begun receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball Division II poll with a 9-2 record and four-game series sweep of defending CCAA champion Sonoma State.
ON FIRE
CBU's offense was cooking in Colorado Mesa, as it hit .361 over the four games. The Lancers have been led by several players who carry lengthy hitting streaks into this series. Andy Crowley is the only player who has a hit in all 10 games this season. After being held hitless in the season opener at Cal State Los Angeles, Stephen Lohr has hits in each of the last nine games. Antonio Chavarria has base hits in the last six games, while Nathan Antoun has collected base hits in four straight for the Lancers. Zack Norris has adjusted to his leadoff role well and reached base in all 10 games this year, being held without a hit just once so far.
RECORD WATCH
Quite a bit of history was made by CBU in 2014 -- a program-best winning streak (24 games) after the team won its first 15 games of the year and last nine of 2013, Gary Adcock also won his 400th game with the program and Trevor Oaks became the new career leader in ERA (1.68) when he was drafted in the seventh round (a program high) by the Los Angeles Dodgers after one season at CBU. More history is set to be made in 2015, with Andy Crowley and David Herd in position to do so at the plate and on the mound, respectively. Crowley is 249 at-bats, 68 hits and five triples shy of being the all-time record holder in those categories. Herd is seven wins and five complete games away from history.
A LOOK AT THE BRONCOS
Cal Poly Pomona was projected to finish second in the CCAA preseason coaches poll. The Broncos received five first-place votes but was edged by Chico State's six first-place votes in the poll.
CPP went 32-17 a year ago for a .653 winning percentage, which was its highest mark since 1983. CPP returns 16 players and welcomes 17 new faces. The Broncos have high hopes All-CCAA returners Austin Boyle, Nick Cooksey, Max Bethell and Cody Ponce. Cal Poly Pomona is looking to replace the production of last year's CCAA MVP David Armendariz. Like the Lancers, three Broncos were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft over the summer (Armendariz, Steven Farnworth and Chris Carlson).
University of Oregon senior transfer Kyle Garlick is the center of CPP's offense, as he is batting .300 (12-for-40) and slugging .775 with five home runs, 12 RBI and 13 runs. Ryan Webberley (.324), Nick Cooksey (.314), Michael Erb (.308) and Matt Munoz (.300) are four other regular-playing Broncos batting over .300. While Chris Powell has been starting later in series this season, he has been Cal Poly's true ace. He is 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in three appearances and two starts. He has thrown a team-high 15.2 innings, holding teams to a .096 batting average and has yet to give up an extra-base hit this season.
RECORD WATCH
Quite a bit of history was made by CBU in 2014 -- a program-best winning streak (24 games) after the team won its first 15 games of the year and last nine of 2013. Gary Adcock also won his 400th game with the program, and Trevor Oaks became the new career leader in ERA (1.68) after he was drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Dodgers after one season at CBU. More history is set to be made in 2015, as Andy Crowley is 230 at-bats, 60 hits, 55 runs and five triples shy of being the all-time record holder in those categories. Herd is seven wins, five complete games and less than 100 innings pitched away from history.
LAST YEAR
CBU relied on a dominant pitching staff that posted a 3.14 ERA and small-ball approach, with a lineup that hit .309 with just 22 home runs (tied for second least in program history) to help it go 39-15, 20-12 in the PacWest last year. It was a far cry from the Lancers' power surge in 2013 when it hit 65 homers, but just as effective. CBU went on to qualify for the NCAA Division II postseason in its first shot and reached the West Region semifinals after entering as the third seed. The Lancers had a flair for the dramatic a year ago, with three walk-off victories from three different players -- Zack Norris, Nathan Antoun and Andy Crowley, who all return this year.
ADCOCK AT A GLANCE
CBU has been a perennial power under coach Gary Adcock, who is in his 12th season coaching the team. He owns a winning percentage of .662 (411-210-1) and has the most wins in program history by 294 games. Ten of his 11 teams have qualified for the postseason, the lone exception being in 2009, with four reaching the national bracket and three winning national titles, including the NAIA World Series title in 2010 and NCCAA Championships in 2012 and 2013. The Lancers reached the NCAA Division II West Region semifinals last year. His teams have won five conference championships, including a four-year run from 2010 to 2013. Nineteen of his players have been All-American, 19 were named national scholar-athletes, 14 were selected in the MLB Draft and 12 of his athletes have been conference Player (six) or Pitcher of the Year (six), with 56 athletes earning all-conference selection.
MULTIMEDIA
Portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers is your one-stop shop for live coverage of CBU athletics. Every home Lancers baseball game will have live stats, with Friday's 6:00 p.m. game including a radio broadcast. Complimentary access for this live coverage is given at portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers for all CBU home games. The links will be made available about 15 minutes before the game is scheduled to begin. Cal Poly Pomona will provide live-stat coverage of its home games on Thursday and Saturday. Fans can also follow along on Twitter at twitter.com/cbulancers.
FULL SERIES NOTES
It is another big series against another top-10 opponents for CBU. The Broncos climbed from 11th to ninth in this week's Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II top-30 poll after a 3-1 series win over Cal State San Bernardino. The Lancers dropped out of the rankings this week, despite battling #3 Colorado Mesa all week in Grand Junction before losing three of the four. The last two losses were decided by a total of three runs (9-8, 6-4), while CBU won the opener 17-3.
Both teams split two games played at Totman Stadium last year, and Cal Poly Pomona was supposed to hold home-field advantage this series with three home games scheduled this week. A heavy rain forecast for Saturday shined in CBU's favor. The teams were foced to break up Saturday's scheduled doubleheader at Scolinos Field and move the doubleheader to Friday at Totman Stadium -- starting at 3:00 p.m. It gives both teams two home games in the series.
The Broncos and Lancers continue trends of playing PacWest and CCAA opponents, respectively, in non-conference this season. The matchup will serve to tell the teams where they stand in their respective conferences. CPP swept Dixie State in four games to open its season, and split two games with Azusa Pacific. CBU won a pair of three-game series (2-1) with Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills to open the season. Coming into 2015 unranked, Cal State L.A. has begun receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball Division II poll with a 9-2 record and four-game series sweep of defending CCAA champion Sonoma State.
ON FIRE
CBU's offense was cooking in Colorado Mesa, as it hit .361 over the four games. The Lancers have been led by several players who carry lengthy hitting streaks into this series. Andy Crowley is the only player who has a hit in all 10 games this season. After being held hitless in the season opener at Cal State Los Angeles, Stephen Lohr has hits in each of the last nine games. Antonio Chavarria has base hits in the last six games, while Nathan Antoun has collected base hits in four straight for the Lancers. Zack Norris has adjusted to his leadoff role well and reached base in all 10 games this year, being held without a hit just once so far.
RECORD WATCH
Quite a bit of history was made by CBU in 2014 -- a program-best winning streak (24 games) after the team won its first 15 games of the year and last nine of 2013, Gary Adcock also won his 400th game with the program and Trevor Oaks became the new career leader in ERA (1.68) when he was drafted in the seventh round (a program high) by the Los Angeles Dodgers after one season at CBU. More history is set to be made in 2015, with Andy Crowley and David Herd in position to do so at the plate and on the mound, respectively. Crowley is 249 at-bats, 68 hits and five triples shy of being the all-time record holder in those categories. Herd is seven wins and five complete games away from history.
A LOOK AT THE BRONCOS
Cal Poly Pomona was projected to finish second in the CCAA preseason coaches poll. The Broncos received five first-place votes but was edged by Chico State's six first-place votes in the poll.
CPP went 32-17 a year ago for a .653 winning percentage, which was its highest mark since 1983. CPP returns 16 players and welcomes 17 new faces. The Broncos have high hopes All-CCAA returners Austin Boyle, Nick Cooksey, Max Bethell and Cody Ponce. Cal Poly Pomona is looking to replace the production of last year's CCAA MVP David Armendariz. Like the Lancers, three Broncos were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft over the summer (Armendariz, Steven Farnworth and Chris Carlson).
University of Oregon senior transfer Kyle Garlick is the center of CPP's offense, as he is batting .300 (12-for-40) and slugging .775 with five home runs, 12 RBI and 13 runs. Ryan Webberley (.324), Nick Cooksey (.314), Michael Erb (.308) and Matt Munoz (.300) are four other regular-playing Broncos batting over .300. While Chris Powell has been starting later in series this season, he has been Cal Poly's true ace. He is 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in three appearances and two starts. He has thrown a team-high 15.2 innings, holding teams to a .096 batting average and has yet to give up an extra-base hit this season.
RECORD WATCH
Quite a bit of history was made by CBU in 2014 -- a program-best winning streak (24 games) after the team won its first 15 games of the year and last nine of 2013. Gary Adcock also won his 400th game with the program, and Trevor Oaks became the new career leader in ERA (1.68) after he was drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Dodgers after one season at CBU. More history is set to be made in 2015, as Andy Crowley is 230 at-bats, 60 hits, 55 runs and five triples shy of being the all-time record holder in those categories. Herd is seven wins, five complete games and less than 100 innings pitched away from history.
LAST YEAR
CBU relied on a dominant pitching staff that posted a 3.14 ERA and small-ball approach, with a lineup that hit .309 with just 22 home runs (tied for second least in program history) to help it go 39-15, 20-12 in the PacWest last year. It was a far cry from the Lancers' power surge in 2013 when it hit 65 homers, but just as effective. CBU went on to qualify for the NCAA Division II postseason in its first shot and reached the West Region semifinals after entering as the third seed. The Lancers had a flair for the dramatic a year ago, with three walk-off victories from three different players -- Zack Norris, Nathan Antoun and Andy Crowley, who all return this year.
ADCOCK AT A GLANCE
CBU has been a perennial power under coach Gary Adcock, who is in his 12th season coaching the team. He owns a winning percentage of .662 (411-210-1) and has the most wins in program history by 294 games. Ten of his 11 teams have qualified for the postseason, the lone exception being in 2009, with four reaching the national bracket and three winning national titles, including the NAIA World Series title in 2010 and NCCAA Championships in 2012 and 2013. The Lancers reached the NCAA Division II West Region semifinals last year. His teams have won five conference championships, including a four-year run from 2010 to 2013. Nineteen of his players have been All-American, 19 were named national scholar-athletes, 14 were selected in the MLB Draft and 12 of his athletes have been conference Player (six) or Pitcher of the Year (six), with 56 athletes earning all-conference selection.
MULTIMEDIA
Portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers is your one-stop shop for live coverage of CBU athletics. Every home Lancers baseball game will have live stats, with Friday's 6:00 p.m. game including a radio broadcast. Complimentary access for this live coverage is given at portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers for all CBU home games. The links will be made available about 15 minutes before the game is scheduled to begin. Cal Poly Pomona will provide live-stat coverage of its home games on Thursday and Saturday. Fans can also follow along on Twitter at twitter.com/cbulancers.
FULL SERIES NOTES
Players Mentioned
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IF
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RHP
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C/3B
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