Doubledip of Coleman

Wednesday, April 6

Riverside, Calif.

5:00 PM

California Baptist University

31-6, 14-3

Hawaii Pacific

13-26, 9-12

Hawaii Pacific

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

4/6/2016 9:34:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — After playing six games in four days, No. 9-ranked California Baptist University got some much needed rest heading into another big week. The rest paid off as the Lancers swept Hawaii Pacific, 5-0 and 4-2.

"It was good to get the two wins today," said head coach Bill Baber. "Proud of the girls. Even with two outs, we score a lot of runs. It doesn't matter. They trust each other and just string hits together."

CBU improves to 32-6 overall, 15-3 in the PacWest to move into a tie for first place in the conference standings. The Lancers also extend their unbeaten streak to 16- straight games - the second longest streak in program history since making the transition to NCAA Division II. CBU won 17-consecutive games its first year transitioning to Division II in 2012 and carried that over to the next year with a win to start the season (18 games).

The Sharks fall to 13-27 on the year, 9-13 in conference with the pair of losses.

Ashley Coleman kept up her dominant play in the circle, throwing 11 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched on the day. She held the Sharks to just three hits and two walks to pick up two wins, including a shutout in game one, to improve to 13-2 on the year.

"Ashley was dominant today," said Baber. "She was really impressive."

Neither team could get much offense going until London Miller led the bottom of the second off with a base hit, just dropping it in front of center field. The Sharks managed to get out of the inning, however, forcing CBU to leave two runners on.

Erin Burkhart sparked the offense in the bottom of the fourth, knocking down a base hit on the first pitch of the frame. Miller joined her on base by drawing ball four and Hannah Thieroff sacrificed a perfect bunt to advance both the runners.

HPU found another putout, threatening to end the inning, but Soraya Shahbazian turned on a pitch to right field to send Burkhart home. Ali Subia followed with another RBI single, sending her hit right back up the middle to score Miller. The two-out rally wasn't done yet as Jordan Mowatt singled through the right side, allowing Shahbazian to round third with no hesitation and safely tag home to give CBU a 3-0 lead after four complete.

CBU wasn't satisfied with just a three-run lead and came out in the bottom of the fifth looking to tack on more. Jacque Lopez and Burkhart led the frame off with back-to-back singles up the middle, before Miller blasted a double over the left fielder's head to send Lopez home, 4-0, with no outs. Thieroff then loaded up the bases with a walk, but HPU grabbed three-straight outs to get out of the jam and keep the game going.

The Lancer defense kept the Sharks down in the top of the sixth, looking to end the game early in the bottom half of the inning. Lopez started another two-out rally in the frame, sending a double past a diving center fielder. Burkhart then sent her home with a hard-hit single past the second baseman, 5-0.

HPU needed five runs in the top of the seventh to keep the game alive, but the Lancer defense held firm to seal the 5-0 victory. Coleman threw her fifth shutout of the year to end the game.

In the nightcap, Krista Mann started the offense in the bottom of the first, drilling a double to right center. Lopez joined her on base with a single up the middle, before Mann tagged up on a sacrifice fly to put the first run on the board, 1-0.

Sarah Murphy added an insurance run in the bottom of the second by stealing home, putting the Lancers in front 2-0.

Lopez kept the one-run-an-inning trend going in the third, leading the frame off with a standup double. CBU proceeded to load up the bases, but HPU managed to get two outs. Shahbazian showed her patience at the plate, drawing ball four to walk in the third run of the nightcap.

HPU ended its scoreless streak in the next inning on back-to-back solo shots to dead center, cutting the margin to just one run, 3-2. The Sharks then loaded up the bases, but Coleman came back into the circle and shutdown the offense to get out of the inning without surrendering another run.

The Lancers stepped up to the plate in the bottom half of the inning looking to get back some runs. Mowatt led off with a double to left center and advanced to third as the center fielder's throw to third was off target.

Mann drove her in with a base hit bouncing past an outstretched second baseman to give CBU some cushion with a 4-2 edge, continuing the one run per inning trend.

The trend ended in the fifth, however, as HPU got an appeal call to go in its favor and didn't surrender a run to keep the score at 4-2.

In the top of the seventh, the Sharks needed two runs to keep the game going. Coleman wouldn't let that happen, however, sealing the 4-2 win with a strikeout. It was her sixth knockout of the game, one-upping her performance in the opener despite not pitching the complete game.

CBU has a quick turnaround, heading to No. 13-ranked Dixie State for a four-game series this weekend. With first place in the PacWest on the line — both teams lead the conference at 15-3 — the Lancers will look to carry momentum from their 16-game winning streak into Friday's 2:00 p.m. Pacific doubleheader start.