Lancers Secure Series Sweep

Saturday, March 11

Riverside, Calif.

12:00 PM

California Baptist University

15-6, 6-1

Hawaii Pacific

11-10, 1-8

Hawaii Pacific

CBU

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

Lancers Secure Series Sweep

3/11/2017 8:42:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – When it comes to California Baptist University, it has a next-man-up mentality, which is one that pushed the 23^rd-ranked Lancers to a doubleheader and PacWest series sweep of Hawai'i Pacific on Saturday.

Seven different Lancers hit .300 or better in both games with the Sharks, while CBU flashed some incredible defense and more pitching depth to win on scores of 8-2 and 8-5. With victories in its first two series, CBU moves to 16-6, 7-1 in the PacWest and HPU drops to 11-11, 1-9.

Dixie State, the No. 22 team in Division II, visits Totman Stadium for the first time in three years next week, with the series beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, continuing with a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday and ending with a noon Saturday game.

DJ Porter batted .625 (5-for-8) on Saturday, with two doubles, while John Glenn hit .600 (3-for-5), with three runs batted in. Ryan Williams went 3-for-7 and Luke Navigato was 2-for-5, while Brian Ruhm enjoyed a two-hit day.

Logan Rinehart helped hold Hawai'i Pacific back in Saturday's opener. The true freshman took a perfect game into the fourth inning and worked his way through the first eight innings on 102 pitches. Rinehart gave up four hits, four walks, two runs and struck out four. Morgan Earman closed out the game with a flawless ninth, which included a strikeout.

CBU scored its runs in the second, third and fourth innings. An error put Glenn on base and an Andrew Bash single brought him home, along with Ruhm, in the second. In the third, a trio of singles from Williams, Porter and Glenn (two RBIs) scored two more runs for a 4-0 lead.

The Lancers added four more runs in the fourth on an Alfredo Rodriguez leadoff double, Bryce Macy single, another Porter single and double from Glenn. Overall, Porter and Glenn both went 3-for-4 in the game, with Porter driving in three runs.

Defense really shined for CBU in the opener, as well. Ruhm made two great plays in right field. The first was a leaping catch up against the outfield fence to save a run in the top of the fourth, and the second came in the sixth when he caught a fly ball in right and gunned down a Shark attempting to tag up to third.

Navigato ended the fifth inning when he made a great diving stop up the middle at second base and then threw out the runner at first from his knees.

Game two was more back and forth, although the Lancers never trailed after the first inning, scoring runs in each of the first five innings.

Macy forced a 1-1 tie with a single up the middle in the first, and Kyle Oyama bunted to squeeze a runner home in the second for a 2-1 CBU edge. Navigato doubled home a run in the third and a double steal allowed Tyler Johnson to score in the fourth for a 4-2 cushion.

Hawai'i Pacific came back to tie things up at 4-4, but the Lancers erupted for a four-run fifth for an 8-4 advantage. Porter drove in one run and an error scored three more to cap the scoring. Overall, Johnson, Navigato, Williams and Porter all had two hits in the game.

Garett King found himself in an unusual position, as the ace starting pitcher was brought out to close the game. The junior transfer threw the final 1.2 innings for his first save.

It was far from easy, as he recorded the final two outs in the sixth to leave the bases loaded. With the tying run at the plate and one out, King got HPU to bounce into a game-ending double play. A grounder to third baseman Nick Plaia, with runners at first and second, allowed the fielder to step on his bag and then throw out the runner at first to bring matters to a close.