Thursday, May 17
Azusa, Calif.
11:00 AM
California Baptist University
34-17
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4
Azusa Pacific
39-10
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15
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California Baptist
2
0
0
1
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1
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0
0
0
0
3
7
13
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Azusa Pacific
0
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2
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Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez
Lancers Win Wild Playoff Opener
5/17/2018 5:26:00 PM | Baseball
AZUSA, Calif. – When it needed it most, California Baptist University leaned on its true freshmen offensively in a 7-4, 15-inning win over Azusa Pacific in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional at the Cougar Baseball Complex.
Harrison Spohn, Rory Smith and Angelo Capolupo all came up clutch at the plate in the 15th and final inning to end a grueling start to the postseason for both the Lancers and the second-seeded and ranked host Cougars.
It delivered a monumental win for CBU, which improves to 34-17 and hands APU a 39-10 record in what could be the last meeting between the two PacWest rivals. Justin Montgomery earned the win on the mound after he threw four hitless and scoreless innings in which he struck out seven and walked two.
"The first word that comes to mind for me is perseverance," Coach Gary Adcock said. "I am proud of these guys because there were multiple times we could have lost this game, and their strength and their resolve wasn't tested. I couldn't be more proud."
CBU will advance to play Friday at 7 p.m. the winner of the first-round game between third-seeded UC San Diego and fourth-seed Point Loma at the Cougar Baseball Complex.
It was the third extra-inning game of the season for CBU and longest game (innings wise) since the Lancers and Montana State Billings played 16 innings in a 4-3 walk-off win at Totman Stadium March 5, 2015. It stands as the second longest game (innings wise) in CBU's NCAA era (2014-18).
CBU controlled the game for the first eight innings, but Azusa Pacific rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings with a 4-4 tie. Both bullpens held the opposing offenses in check up until the 15th.
The Lancers' game-winning rally came with two outs in the 15th. Spohn, who come into the game as a defensive replacement at third base in the ninth inning, drew a two-out walk. Smith, who also came in as a defensive replacement in the 11th, delivered the biggest blow of the game when he lined a double into the left-center gap and to the fence.
It allowed Spohn to slide in and just evade the tag at the plate for the go-ahead run, 5-4. The Lancers fought for some insurance runs, as Capolupo singled through the right side and then Luke Navigato singled up the middle to give CBU a 7-4 cushion.
"The growth and experience gained by these guys over the year have prepared them for that," Adcock said. "We have asked a lot from our freshmen class this year, and they delivered late in the season. We went on our run at the end of the season because the game slowed down for them. They're not freshmen anymore, they've played 50 games in college, so this was the first game of their sophomore year."
Azusa Pacific brought its 3-4-5 hitters up in the bottom of the 15th, but Montgomery was dominant and retired them in order to deliver the victory.
"Anyone who knows me knows I want that ball. I knew if I got us back in the dugout we were going to score and win that inning, no doubt," Montgomery said. "I didn't want to make the moment too big, I had a single-pitch focus and wanted to go throw first-pitch strikes."
It was an overall great pitching performance against a stacked APU lineup. Dylan Stowell got the first start of the West Regional and was brilliant against the Cougars' potent offense once again. The redshirt senior logged 7.1 impressive innings on the mound in which he gave up four hits, four walks, two runs and struck out eight.
Five Lancers pitched in the game, with Brody Robinson retiring both batters he faced and Chris Burica impressing over 2.1 innings where he allowed just a hit and struck out two in just his fifth appearance of the year.
Offensively, John Glenn batted 3-for-6 with a double for CBU. The Lancers out-hit the Cougars 13-6 and received two-hit games from Navigato, Capolupo, Ryan Williams and Andrew Bash.
CBU got off to a great start in the game, with two runs in the top of the first inning. Navigato was hit by a pitch to lead things off and then moved to second on a ground out from D.J. Porter. Bash then laced a double to the fence in left center to score the first run.
Glenn had a part to play in CBU's next three runs. Some clutch two-out hitting from the sophomore first baseman scored Bash, as Glenn sent the first pitch he saw into left field and an error on the play plated the second run.
Glenn scored the Lancers' third run after a leadoff double in the fourth inning. Williams followed him up with an RBI single to right center that allowed Glenn to slide in safely to home for a 3-0 CBU lead.
The Lancers built their lead to as much as four with a run in the sixth. The rally started with a one-out walk to Tommy Bell. Glenn singled up the middle to put two runners on, and Nick Plaia provided the clutch two-out, RBI single.
Check out the full post-game press conference with Adcock, Smith and Montgomery below:
Harrison Spohn, Rory Smith and Angelo Capolupo all came up clutch at the plate in the 15th and final inning to end a grueling start to the postseason for both the Lancers and the second-seeded and ranked host Cougars.
It delivered a monumental win for CBU, which improves to 34-17 and hands APU a 39-10 record in what could be the last meeting between the two PacWest rivals. Justin Montgomery earned the win on the mound after he threw four hitless and scoreless innings in which he struck out seven and walked two.
"The first word that comes to mind for me is perseverance," Coach Gary Adcock said. "I am proud of these guys because there were multiple times we could have lost this game, and their strength and their resolve wasn't tested. I couldn't be more proud."
CBU will advance to play Friday at 7 p.m. the winner of the first-round game between third-seeded UC San Diego and fourth-seed Point Loma at the Cougar Baseball Complex.
It was the third extra-inning game of the season for CBU and longest game (innings wise) since the Lancers and Montana State Billings played 16 innings in a 4-3 walk-off win at Totman Stadium March 5, 2015. It stands as the second longest game (innings wise) in CBU's NCAA era (2014-18).
CBU controlled the game for the first eight innings, but Azusa Pacific rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings with a 4-4 tie. Both bullpens held the opposing offenses in check up until the 15th.
The Lancers' game-winning rally came with two outs in the 15th. Spohn, who come into the game as a defensive replacement at third base in the ninth inning, drew a two-out walk. Smith, who also came in as a defensive replacement in the 11th, delivered the biggest blow of the game when he lined a double into the left-center gap and to the fence.
It allowed Spohn to slide in and just evade the tag at the plate for the go-ahead run, 5-4. The Lancers fought for some insurance runs, as Capolupo singled through the right side and then Luke Navigato singled up the middle to give CBU a 7-4 cushion.
"The growth and experience gained by these guys over the year have prepared them for that," Adcock said. "We have asked a lot from our freshmen class this year, and they delivered late in the season. We went on our run at the end of the season because the game slowed down for them. They're not freshmen anymore, they've played 50 games in college, so this was the first game of their sophomore year."
Azusa Pacific brought its 3-4-5 hitters up in the bottom of the 15th, but Montgomery was dominant and retired them in order to deliver the victory.
"Anyone who knows me knows I want that ball. I knew if I got us back in the dugout we were going to score and win that inning, no doubt," Montgomery said. "I didn't want to make the moment too big, I had a single-pitch focus and wanted to go throw first-pitch strikes."
It was an overall great pitching performance against a stacked APU lineup. Dylan Stowell got the first start of the West Regional and was brilliant against the Cougars' potent offense once again. The redshirt senior logged 7.1 impressive innings on the mound in which he gave up four hits, four walks, two runs and struck out eight.
Five Lancers pitched in the game, with Brody Robinson retiring both batters he faced and Chris Burica impressing over 2.1 innings where he allowed just a hit and struck out two in just his fifth appearance of the year.
Offensively, John Glenn batted 3-for-6 with a double for CBU. The Lancers out-hit the Cougars 13-6 and received two-hit games from Navigato, Capolupo, Ryan Williams and Andrew Bash.
CBU got off to a great start in the game, with two runs in the top of the first inning. Navigato was hit by a pitch to lead things off and then moved to second on a ground out from D.J. Porter. Bash then laced a double to the fence in left center to score the first run.
Glenn had a part to play in CBU's next three runs. Some clutch two-out hitting from the sophomore first baseman scored Bash, as Glenn sent the first pitch he saw into left field and an error on the play plated the second run.
Glenn scored the Lancers' third run after a leadoff double in the fourth inning. Williams followed him up with an RBI single to right center that allowed Glenn to slide in safely to home for a 3-0 CBU lead.
The Lancers built their lead to as much as four with a run in the sixth. The rally started with a one-out walk to Tommy Bell. Glenn singled up the middle to put two runners on, and Nick Plaia provided the clutch two-out, RBI single.
Check out the full post-game press conference with Adcock, Smith and Montgomery below:
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Montgomery, Justin (3-3)
L: Aversa, Tripp (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Bash, Andrew 1 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Smith, Rory 1
RBI: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Bash, Andrew 1 ; Williams, Ryan 1 ; Plaia, Nick 1 ; Smith, Rory 1 ; Capolupo, Angelo 1
SH: Navigato, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Bash, Andrew 1 ; Bell, Tommy 1 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Spohn, Harrison 1 ; Smith, Rory 1 ; Capolupo, Angelo 1
SB: Navigato, Luke 1
HBP: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Bell, Tommy 1 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Plaia, Nick 1 ; Capolupo, Angelo 1
PO: Williams, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Aspinall, Sean 1
HR: Tovalin, Osvaldo 1
RBI: Herrera, Griffen 1 ; Tovalin, Osvaldo 2 ; Garrett, Steven 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Aspinall, Sean 1 ; Tovalin, Osvaldo 1 ; Goudreau, Mychael 1 ; Dykstra, Casey 1
SB: Tovalin, Osvaldo 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
3b/rf
AB
7
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
6
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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