RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The program's first-ever, multi-game series sweep of Hawaii Pacific helped catapult California Baptist University into the thick of the PacWest Championship race and into the top-10 NCAA Division II West Region rankings compiled by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association. With how competitive the conference has already been, CBU will have to keep pace as it continues its season-long 12-game homestand with Fresno Pacific this week. The four-game set opens with 6 p.m. games Thursday and Friday and wraps up with a 9-and-7 inning Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon. By the end of the week, the Lancers will have played eight games in seven days.While the Lancers have been clicking of late, so to have the Sunbirds, winning six of their last seven, with a 3-1 series victory over Azusa Pacific and three-game sweep of Cal State East Bay. FPU's strong pitching staff will look to cool off a CBU offense that scored 23 runs in four games off Hawaii Pacific.
Hottest in the Lancers lineup this past series was Nathan Antoun. The senior designated hitter belted three home runs, including both runs in a 2-1 series finale over the Sharks ace on Monday. He batted .455 (5-for-11) over the last four games with a 1.273 slugging percentage, thanks to five hits -- three of which were homers.
Pitching continues to be the strength of CBU this season. HPU averaged just over two runs a game at Totman Stadium, with each Lancer starter going at least seven innings outside of Austen Zimarik's 5.1 innings in the final seven-inning contest. Tyson Miller is coming off consecutive complete-game performances to earn his first PacWest Pitcher of the Week award. SERIES NOTESThe Lancers and the Sunbirds have played each other 38 times, with the Lancers holding a six-game lead over the Sunbirds, 22-16. Since joining the PacWest, both teams have stayed in the top half of the conference standings each season, and have kept a .583 or higher winning percentage. Out of the two, CBU is the only team to have won a PacWest title. The first-ever time these two teams faced-off, the Lancers won a doubleheader with 5-2 and 4-3 being the respective scores.
A LOOK AT THE SUNBIRDSFresno Pacific started the season strong, winning nine of its first 11. The Central California team boasts the lowest earned run average at 2.90 in the PacWest conference and is tied for the most shutouts as well. Wilson Ashford, a two-time PacWest Pitcher of the Week, leads FPU's rotation with a 1.91 ERA. Drew Merlo (3.08 ERA), Eian Raeber (3.38 ERA) and Jake Martinez (4.29 ERA) also make up the Sunbirds' starting rotation. Some of Fresno Pacific's best arms are in the bullpen. Kyle Rasmussen and Josh Medeles are their top-two relievers. Medeles has a 0.70 ERA and .143 opposing batting average in 25.2 innings, 10 appearances and one start. Rasmussen has recorded a 1.26 ERA and .194 opposing batting average in 12 appearances and 28.2 innings. Preston Scott is the team's top offensive threat with a .370 batting average. FPU's lone rough patch this season came when it was swept by HPU in four games to open the PacWest. With an early wake up call, the team regrouped and bested then-ranked 15th Azusa Pacific, 3-1, in a series and swept three off Cal State East Bay in non-conference.Â
PACWEST STANDINGSAs of 3/26/15| School | Conference Record | Overall Record | Streak |
| Dixie State | 11-1 | 16-8 | W4 |
| California Baptist | 6-2 | 14-12 | W5 |
| Point Loma | 8-4 | 20-7 | W7 |
| Azusa Pacific | 10-6 | 20-8 | L1 |
| Hawaii Pacific | 9-7 | 12-9 | L4 |
| Fresno Pacific | 6-6 | 18-8 | W3 |
| Hawaii Hilo | 4-12 | 6-15 | W1 |
| Academy of Art | 3-9 | 5-20 | L6 |
| Holy Names | 3-13 | 11-17 | L7 |
PLAYOFF PICTUREComing into the week, California Baptist University worked its way back into a top-10 standing in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings released by the NCBWA. With the Lancers sweep of fellow 10th-ranked Hawaii Pacific, they will hope to move up even more in the unofficial poll. Dixie State (3rd), Fresno Pacific (4th), Azusa Pacific (t-5th) and Point Loma (7th) give CBU four top-10 ranked teams it has yet to face this season, with plenty of time for the Lancers to clinch a top-eight spot.Â
RECORD WATCHQuite 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 win with the program and
Trevor Oaks became the new career leader in ERA (1.68) when 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, with
Andy Crowley and
David Herd in position to do so at the plate and on the mound, respectively. Â Crowley is 161 at-bats, 47 runs, 44 hits and five triples shy of being the all-time record holder in those categories. Herd is seven wins, five complete games and less than 92 innings pitched away from history.
LAST YEARCBU 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 GLANCECBU has been a perennial power under coach Gary Adcock, who is in his 12th season coaching the team. He owns a winning percentage of .658 (420-217-1) and has the most wins in program history by 302 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. MULTIMEDIAPortal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers is your one-stop shop for live coverage of CBU athletics. Every home Lancers baseball game will have live stats, with all the games this week including a radio broadcast. Friday's contest will also include a separate video feed. 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.
FULL GAME NOTES
