Saturday, March 18
Riverside, Calif.
12:00 PM
California Baptist University
17-9, 8-4
10
vs
9
Dixie State
20-6, 9-3
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9
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H
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Dixie State
4
0
0
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0
4
1
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9
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CBU
0
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1
0
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10
15
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Photo by: Conner Schuh
Walk-Off Win For Lancers
3/18/2017 4:31:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Down by five runs going into the eighth inning, instead of giving in, California Baptist University launched a furious comeback and scored three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings for a 10-9 walk-off win in its series finale with 18th-ranked Dixie State on Saturday.
Four walks, a run-scoring single from true freshman Nick Plaia and a bases-loaded, walk-off hit by pitch to DJ Porter fueled the No. 17 Lancers' ninth-inning rally to victory. CBU improves to 17-9, 8-4 in the PacWest and Dixie State drops to 20-6, 9-3 in conference.
"We have a one-game-at-a-time mentality, so that's how we treated it," said Plaia, who made his first career start at shortstop and went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and three more scored in the game. "We didn't think about the past three games, we just said, 'Today's a new day and we're going to get after it.'"
Zack Norris and Luke Navigato joined Plaia in putting on incredible offensive displays for the Lancers Saturday. At one and two in the batting order, Navigato and Norris batted 3-for-5 and 4-for-5, respectively. Navigato scored, doubled twice and drove in a run, while Norris posted two RBIs, scored two runs and hit his first homer of the season, as well.
"I didn't want to overcomplicate anything, just thought 'see ball, hit ball,'" Norris said. "I've done well against Dixie State in the past, so I was confident."
Ryan Williams also batted .500 (2-for-4), with two runs, for CBU, which outhit the Trailblazers 15-8 in the game.
Dixie State built up a 4-0 lead in the first inning, which set the Lancers' comeback bid in motion. A mini two-out rally made up of a Navigato double to left and RBI single from Norris got CBU on the board in the third. Consecutive doubles from Plaia and Navigato got the Lancers going again in the fifth, with a Norris single and sacrifice fly from Bryce Macy bringing the home team within a run, down 4-3.
The Trailblazers seized back momentum with a four-run sixth inning and another run in the seventh gave them a 9-3 cushion. CBU kept chipping away, with singles from Norris, Macy and a sacrifice fly from John Glenn making it 9-4 at the end of the seventh.
With one out in the eighth, Williams jump started CBU's offense with a single into left. That's when Plaia hit his home run on a 1-2 count into the netting in left center. Two batters later, Norris sent a deep fly ball out of the park in right field to bring about a 9-7 score.
Dixie State tried to shut the door and brought in its closer in the bottom of the ninth, but there was no stopping the Lancers.
"We just try to keep [the ninth] like another inning," Norris said. "We try to focus on our breathing, slow things down and try not to make it too much. It's just another inning, we know we're more than capable of coming back."
Brian Ruhm and Williams both drew walks to bring the tying run to the plate with one out. Plaia singled into center field to score Ruhm and then moved up to second on a throw to third base.
"We have a never-stop attitude," Plaia said. "Once we got that leadoff guy on, we just got more pumped."
A passed ball scored Williams to tie the game, while walks to Navigato and Norris loaded the bases with one out. The Trailblazers got the next batter to popup for the second out, but then DJ Porter was hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count to bring home the winning run.
"Once the day is over and we're done celebrating it's on to the next series," Plaia said. "We have to look past this with DSU and look to our new competitor we're going to be playing."
CBU plays its next 14 games on the road, starting at Academy of Art Thursday through Saturday. Point Loma is the next stop on the map March 30th to April 1st, with Holy Names (April 6-8) and Azusa Pacific (April 13-14) to follow.
"It felt good, especially in a comeback fashion to get this win," Norris said. "It's a little bit of momentum as we're running into a 14-game road trip now."
Four walks, a run-scoring single from true freshman Nick Plaia and a bases-loaded, walk-off hit by pitch to DJ Porter fueled the No. 17 Lancers' ninth-inning rally to victory. CBU improves to 17-9, 8-4 in the PacWest and Dixie State drops to 20-6, 9-3 in conference.
"We have a one-game-at-a-time mentality, so that's how we treated it," said Plaia, who made his first career start at shortstop and went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and three more scored in the game. "We didn't think about the past three games, we just said, 'Today's a new day and we're going to get after it.'"
Zack Norris and Luke Navigato joined Plaia in putting on incredible offensive displays for the Lancers Saturday. At one and two in the batting order, Navigato and Norris batted 3-for-5 and 4-for-5, respectively. Navigato scored, doubled twice and drove in a run, while Norris posted two RBIs, scored two runs and hit his first homer of the season, as well.
"I didn't want to overcomplicate anything, just thought 'see ball, hit ball,'" Norris said. "I've done well against Dixie State in the past, so I was confident."
Ryan Williams also batted .500 (2-for-4), with two runs, for CBU, which outhit the Trailblazers 15-8 in the game.
Dixie State built up a 4-0 lead in the first inning, which set the Lancers' comeback bid in motion. A mini two-out rally made up of a Navigato double to left and RBI single from Norris got CBU on the board in the third. Consecutive doubles from Plaia and Navigato got the Lancers going again in the fifth, with a Norris single and sacrifice fly from Bryce Macy bringing the home team within a run, down 4-3.
The Trailblazers seized back momentum with a four-run sixth inning and another run in the seventh gave them a 9-3 cushion. CBU kept chipping away, with singles from Norris, Macy and a sacrifice fly from John Glenn making it 9-4 at the end of the seventh.
With one out in the eighth, Williams jump started CBU's offense with a single into left. That's when Plaia hit his home run on a 1-2 count into the netting in left center. Two batters later, Norris sent a deep fly ball out of the park in right field to bring about a 9-7 score.
Dixie State tried to shut the door and brought in its closer in the bottom of the ninth, but there was no stopping the Lancers.
"We just try to keep [the ninth] like another inning," Norris said. "We try to focus on our breathing, slow things down and try not to make it too much. It's just another inning, we know we're more than capable of coming back."
Brian Ruhm and Williams both drew walks to bring the tying run to the plate with one out. Plaia singled into center field to score Ruhm and then moved up to second on a throw to third base.
"We have a never-stop attitude," Plaia said. "Once we got that leadoff guy on, we just got more pumped."
A passed ball scored Williams to tie the game, while walks to Navigato and Norris loaded the bases with one out. The Trailblazers got the next batter to popup for the second out, but then DJ Porter was hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count to bring home the winning run.
"Once the day is over and we're done celebrating it's on to the next series," Plaia said. "We have to look past this with DSU and look to our new competitor we're going to be playing."
CBU plays its next 14 games on the road, starting at Academy of Art Thursday through Saturday. Point Loma is the next stop on the map March 30th to April 1st, with Holy Names (April 6-8) and Azusa Pacific (April 13-14) to follow.
"It felt good, especially in a comeback fashion to get this win," Norris said. "It's a little bit of momentum as we're running into a 14-game road trip now."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Robinson, Brody (1-1)
L: Burdett, Tyler (1-2)
Batting:
2B: McLaughlin, Drew 1 ; Porter, Logan 1
RBI: Baker, Tyler 1 ; Kamachi, Trey 1 ; Porter, Logan 1 ; Bice, Miles 1 ; Mildenberg, Tyler 2 ; Branch, Wyatt 1
SH: Baker, Tyler 1
SF: Mildenberg, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Baker, Tyler 1 ; McLaughlin, Drew 1 ; Kamachi, Trey 2 ; Porter, Logan 1 ; Mildenberg, Tyler 1 ; Reineke, Trey 1 ; Lucero, Reece 1 ; Branch, Wyatt 1
SB: Mildenberg, Tyler 1 ; Reineke, Trey 1
CS: McLaughlin, Drew 1 ; Bice, Miles 1
PO: Baker, Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Navigato, Luke 2 ; Plaia, Nick 1
HR: Norris, Zack 1 ; Plaia, Nick 1
RBI: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Norris, Zack 2 ; Macy, Bryce 1 ; Porter, D.J. 1 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Plaia, Nick 3
SF: Macy, Bryce 1 ; Glenn, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Navigato, Luke 2 ; Norris, Zack 2 ; Ruhm, Brian 1 ; Williams, Ryan 2 ; Plaia, Nick 3
HBP: Porter, D.J. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
4
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
1B
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