Jumping At The Chances

Friday, March 25

Riverside, Calif.

6:00 PM

California Baptist University

25-6, 0

Chaminade

8-17, 0

Chaminade

California Baptist

Photo by: Lauren Garcia

3/25/2016 10:43:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Picking up right where it left off in the Bay Area, No. 11-ranked California Baptist University grabbed two mercy-rule victories Friday evening.

The Lancers beat Chaminade University 8-0 in six innings and 12-4 in five innings to improve to 26-6 overall, 9-3 in the PacWest. The Silverswords drop to 8-18, 4-12 in conference.

"We're being patient at the plate and swinging at pitches we want," said Coach Bill Baber. "We're just on a bit of a groove. Everyone seems to be catching fire."

CBU had five batters bat over .500 on the day and out-hit Chaminade 21-11.

"Everybody really hit the ball well," said Baber. "We need to keep that going."

Ashley Coleman kept up her dominant play in the circle, extending her shutout streak to 32 consecutive innings. The right-handed freshman threw six strikeouts and only allowed two hits in six innings of action.

"Ashley is pitching very well," said Baber. "We told her to not worry about the next game or about the stats. She's doing a good job with that and just going out and taking care of business one inning at a time. She's improving more and more every day."

The home team wasted little time, scoring three runs in its first inning of action. With two runners on and no outs, Erin Burkhart doubled to send in one runner. London Miller (3-for-6) then sacrificed a fly ball to center as Jacque Lopez (2-for-3) tagged up at third to make it 2-0.

Chaminade grabbed a second out, but Sarah Murphy singled straight up the middle to score Burkhart and put the Lancers in front 3-0.

After locking down the Silverswords once again in the top of the second, CBU tacked on two more runs in the bottom half of the frame. Ali Subia led the inning off with a walk and was joined on base by Jordan Mowatt (4-for-6), who singled up the middle. Krista Mann then turned on a pitch and doubled to the gap in right center to score both runners, 5-0.

Burkhart got her second RBI of the day with another double in the fourth, scoring Lopez, putting CBU closer to the eight-run rule mark.

The Silverswords kept the Lancers from ending the game in the fifth, but couldn't keep the home team from closing it early in the sixth. Mowatt led off with a one-out double to center and traded places with Mann after she tucked in a double just inside third base. London Miller ended the game with a hard knock to left center, allowing Mann to cross home for the eighth run, sealing the 8-0 victory.

CBU looked to keep momentum in the nightcap, but had to avert a Silversword threat early. Chaminade loaded up the bases with one out and looked like it might go ahead with a ball deep in the infield between first and second.

Lopez wouldn't let that happen, however, as she snatched up the roller and hurled it home to Burkhart to get the force play. Kayla Hatch then got strike three to end the inning and get out of the jam.

Hannah Thieroff led the bottom of the second with a free pass to first on ball four. Murphy followed with a base hit to right to join her teammate on base. Soraya Shahbazian sent Thieroff home by finding the gap in left center. Subia made it a 4-0 lead as she blasted a three-run bomb over the fence at left field.

CBU wasn't out of the gates there, however, as the Silverswords tied the game up in the top of the third with four runs on five hits.

The Lancers got their lead back in the bottom of the inning as Thieroff doubled to left field to score Miller from second.

Subia looked like she might have found a sweet spot in left field, drilling a pitch that was just inches short of a second home run for a double. Mowatt followed with a single, also to left, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Both runners moved up a base on a passed ball, scoring Subia.

Mann hit a hard-to-handle ball at shortstop, sending Mowatt home to give CBU a 7-4 edge, but it wasn't done from there. With one out and runners at second and third, Miller singled deep into left field, sending two more Lancers across home plate. A Thieroff sacrifice bunt capped the running as Nicole Hennessey ran home on the play, 10-4.

Kellye Springstead held off the Silverswords in the top of the fifth, sending the Lancers into the bottom of the frame just needing two more runs to end the game early. They capitalized on the opportunity on smart base running, as Mowatt saw a chance to score the game-ending run and she took it, 12-4.

The Lancers and Silverswords face off again Saturday afternoon, with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. CBU then hosts Hawaii-Hilo on Monday for a 5:00 p.m. doubleheader.

"Tomorrow, we have to forget these two games," said Baber. "You can't carry those runs over and Chaminade is a team that can score runs and beat you. Everyone in this conference can beat you if you're not ready. It's tough to beat somebody four times in a row. I think our team will be ready. We know what we have to do."