Friday, April 17
Riverside
6 PM
California Baptist University
24-16, 16-6
11
vs
4
Azusa Pacific
26-14, 16-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Azusa Pacific
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
1
0
4
9
1
California Baptist
1
0
2
0
3
3
2
0
X
11
16
0
Photo by: Lauren Garcia
Heart of the Matter
4/17/2015 7:20:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- After dropping the first game of its series with Azusa Pacific the day before, there was no panic from California Baptist University. It turned out to be in good reason, as the Lancers bounced back with a big victory in game two, like they did the week before at Dixie State.
As it should be, the heart of CBU's order -- Andy Crowley, Antonio Chavarria and Stephen Lohr -- did the heavy lifting offensively. The No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters, respectively, combined to bat an astounding 11-for-14 with nine runs batted in and six runs scored. It led to an 11-4 Lancer victory over the rival Cougars.
"We probably have one of the best two, three, four hitters in the league right now, I would say," said Tyson Miller, who picked up the victory Friday. "They are all hot right now, and they were huge today."
Crowley was 4-for-4 with a double and three runs score for CBU, while Chavarria batted 4-for-5 with four RBIs, a run and stolen base. Lohr went 3-for-5 with five RBIs, a three-run homer, a double and two runs for the Lancers. Not to be left out, Brian Ruhm went 2-for-4 with two RBIs out of the seven spot.
With a series-finale doubleheader set for a noon start Saturday, CBU improved to 24-16, 16-6 in conference. APU is now 26-14, 16-10. The win also moved the Lancers in a tie for second place in the PacWest, as Fresno Pacific (26-14, 14-12) swept a doubleheader with Point Loma (30-9, 16-6) on Friday.
"In the last inning of the previous game we started putting hits together, so I knew coming into today we were going to keep hitting," Miller said. "I knew I just had to keep us in the game."
In that case, Miller went above and beyond the call of duty. The right hander struck out 10 batters in six innings, allowing just five hits, two walks and a run. It was the second game in a row where a Lancer pitcher had 10 strikeouts after Adam Hofacket did it Thursday.
"I was just working ahead, really, just trying to get ahead of the hitters and have quick innings so our offense could get to work," Miller said. "Our hitters are gaining confidence and getting in the groove they knew they were capable of all season."
Miller had run support from the very beginning. In the bottom of the first, Crowley skied a one-out double into center field, and Chavarria scored him with a single over the right fielder's head for a quick 1-0 lead.
APU tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the third, but the even score was short lived. The Lancers got a leadoff walk from Bryce Macy to start the bottom of the inning. Crowley singled to move him into scoring position, and Chavarria logged his second RBI single in as many bats right after. Lohr then singled into center to plate Crowley from second, increasing the Lancers' lead to 3-1 through three.
Three-straight hits from Crowley, Chavarria and Lohr again in the fifth led to three more Lancer runs. Crowley led the inning off with a single into left before Chavarria moved him to third on a single into right center. Lohr cleared the bases with a no-doubt bomb to the scoreboard in left center, which made it 6-1 in favor of the home team.
There was another three-run outburst from CBU in the sixth. The inning started when Zack Norris was hit by a pitch. A Crowley single moved him to second, but a double play threatened to end the rally early. That would not be the case, as a Lohr double to right center scored Norris and kept the pressure on. The Cougars continued to crack, with A.J. David being hit by a pitch and Nathan Antoun walked to load the bases. Ruhm capped the scoring with a two-run double into right field, upping the Lancers lead to 9-1.
Fittingly, one of the Lancers' big three ended the scoring in the bottom of the seventh. Macy and Norris started the inning with walks before a Chavarria two-run single making it 11-3 before APU managed to score one more run, capping the game at 11-4.
"We just got off to a slow start yesterday," Miller said. "The first game of the series is always tough, I would say, but we came out fired up after a loss and put up 11 runs today."
As it should be, the heart of CBU's order -- Andy Crowley, Antonio Chavarria and Stephen Lohr -- did the heavy lifting offensively. The No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters, respectively, combined to bat an astounding 11-for-14 with nine runs batted in and six runs scored. It led to an 11-4 Lancer victory over the rival Cougars.
"We probably have one of the best two, three, four hitters in the league right now, I would say," said Tyson Miller, who picked up the victory Friday. "They are all hot right now, and they were huge today."
Crowley was 4-for-4 with a double and three runs score for CBU, while Chavarria batted 4-for-5 with four RBIs, a run and stolen base. Lohr went 3-for-5 with five RBIs, a three-run homer, a double and two runs for the Lancers. Not to be left out, Brian Ruhm went 2-for-4 with two RBIs out of the seven spot.
With a series-finale doubleheader set for a noon start Saturday, CBU improved to 24-16, 16-6 in conference. APU is now 26-14, 16-10. The win also moved the Lancers in a tie for second place in the PacWest, as Fresno Pacific (26-14, 14-12) swept a doubleheader with Point Loma (30-9, 16-6) on Friday.
"In the last inning of the previous game we started putting hits together, so I knew coming into today we were going to keep hitting," Miller said. "I knew I just had to keep us in the game."
In that case, Miller went above and beyond the call of duty. The right hander struck out 10 batters in six innings, allowing just five hits, two walks and a run. It was the second game in a row where a Lancer pitcher had 10 strikeouts after Adam Hofacket did it Thursday.
"I was just working ahead, really, just trying to get ahead of the hitters and have quick innings so our offense could get to work," Miller said. "Our hitters are gaining confidence and getting in the groove they knew they were capable of all season."
Miller had run support from the very beginning. In the bottom of the first, Crowley skied a one-out double into center field, and Chavarria scored him with a single over the right fielder's head for a quick 1-0 lead.
APU tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the third, but the even score was short lived. The Lancers got a leadoff walk from Bryce Macy to start the bottom of the inning. Crowley singled to move him into scoring position, and Chavarria logged his second RBI single in as many bats right after. Lohr then singled into center to plate Crowley from second, increasing the Lancers' lead to 3-1 through three.
Three-straight hits from Crowley, Chavarria and Lohr again in the fifth led to three more Lancer runs. Crowley led the inning off with a single into left before Chavarria moved him to third on a single into right center. Lohr cleared the bases with a no-doubt bomb to the scoreboard in left center, which made it 6-1 in favor of the home team.
There was another three-run outburst from CBU in the sixth. The inning started when Zack Norris was hit by a pitch. A Crowley single moved him to second, but a double play threatened to end the rally early. That would not be the case, as a Lohr double to right center scored Norris and kept the pressure on. The Cougars continued to crack, with A.J. David being hit by a pitch and Nathan Antoun walked to load the bases. Ruhm capped the scoring with a two-run double into right field, upping the Lancers lead to 9-1.
Fittingly, one of the Lancers' big three ended the scoring in the bottom of the seventh. Macy and Norris started the inning with walks before a Chavarria two-run single making it 11-3 before APU managed to score one more run, capping the game at 11-4.
"We just got off to a slow start yesterday," Miller said. "The first game of the series is always tough, I would say, but we came out fired up after a loss and put up 11 runs today."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Tyson (5-2)
L: Jacob Cage (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Ryan Santana 1
HR: Pablo O'Connor 1 ; Joe Huthsing 1
RBI: Blake James 1 ; Daniel Martin 1 ; Pablo O'Connor 1 ; Joe Huthsing 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitch Dergazarian 1 ; Pablo O'Connor 1 ; Joe Huthsing 2
SB: Daniel Martin 1
HBP: Adrian Tovalin 1 ; Joe Huthsing 1
Batting:
2B: Crowley, Andy 1 ; Lohr, Stephen 1 ; Gallaway, Jake 1
HR: Lohr, Stephen 1
RBI: Chavarria, Antonio 4 ; Lohr, Stephen 5 ; Ruhm, Brian 2
SH: Crowley, Andy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Norris, Zack 2 ; Crowley, Andy 3 ; Chavarria, Antonio 1 ; Lohr, Stephen 2 ; David, A.J. 1 ; Macy, Bryce 2
SB: Chavarria, Antonio 1 ; Macy, Bryce 1
HBP: Norris, Zack 1 ; David, A.J. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
3
H
4
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
1B/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC/3B
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF/OF
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