Wednesday, May 2
Riverside, Calif.
4:00 PM
California Baptist University
30-14, 23-11
2
vs
1
Academy of Art
24-23, 19-19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Academy of Art
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
0
California Baptist
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
X
2
8
1
Photo by: Emeline Delanis
CBU Sweeps Senior Day
5/2/2018 10:10:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Senior Day brought out the best in California Baptist University, as it swept a doubleheader with Academy of Art to secure at least a PacWest series win over the Urban Knights on Wednesday at Totman Stadium.
One Lancer senior, Brody Robinson, made history when he logged his 14th career save in a 2-1 win over Academy of Art to start the day's doubleheader. CBU shutout the Urban Knights, 8-0, in game two in the nightcap after scoring five runs in the first inning. With the sweep, CBU improves to 31-14, 24-11 in the PacWest and Academy of Art drops to 24-24, 19-20.
"It's bittersweet, I love this place and I love being here. It is sad to see my time come to an end, but it's been a joy being here," Robinson said of Senior Day before talking about the record. "It's just an honor to be able to leave my mark on something and have something that's going to last for a while."
On top of Robinson becoming the all-time saves leader in CBU history, several other Lancer seniors enjoyed big days. Tommy Bell batted 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, double and stolen base. DJ Porter stayed hot with a 3-for-6 showing at the plate that included two runs, a double and stolen base, and Ryan Williams went 3-for-8 on the day with two stolen bases, two runs and a double.
"The emotions were crazy, I tried not to cry and I didn't let any go, but man, it was right there on the edge. It was awesome, a great day," Williams said. "CBU has meant everything, it's shaped who I am and who I want to be… It's about being a stand-up guy in every aspect, not just on the field."
ART U scored first in the fourth inning of Wednesday's opener and led up until the sixth inning. Bell led off that inning with a first-pitch single to left field and then took second on a wild pitch. Nick Plaia scored Bell with a one-out single to left, and then the bases were loaded with two outs on walks to senior Bryce Macy and Kyle Oyama. Luke Navigato was then hit by a pitch to score the winning run.
Andrew Bash picked his sixth win of the year on the mound. The redshirt sophomore matched his career high for strikeouts in a game, with 10 over eight innings. The Urban Knights managed just four hits, a walk and run off Bash, who retired the side in order in the first, second, sixth and eighth innings.
"The underclassmen really showed up, they realized how monumental this day was to us [seniors]," Williams said. "We had their backing, we are a team and they got us going. Every gear was clicking tonight and that's how we found our success."
Two CBU seniors maintained the narrow lead for Bash out of the bullpen. Morgan Earman started the ninth inning on the mound and recorded the first two outs on a foul and fly out. A two-out walk led to the Urban Knights bringing on a left-handed batter and the Lancers calling on Robinson, a left-handed pitcher, out of the bullpen.
"It was pretty exhilarating. I have been waiting for it for a while and I was really happy about it," Robinson said.
Well aware of the significance of the moment, Robinson was sharp and struck out the one batter he saw on four pitches to secure the victory and historic save before being embraced and congratulated by all his teammates.
"The past few outings I have felt pretty good," Robinson said. "I think today the adrenaline and hopefulness of getting the save just pushed me beyond. I felt really good, everything was working."
"I knew we had it right away," Williams said of the save. "The very first pitch he pumped a strike and painted the outside corner. At that point, it was ball game, we knew he was going to do it."
Senior Day festivities between Wednesday's doubleheader seemed to energize the Lancers for game two, as they scored five runs in the first inning. Porter, Bash and Bell hit three-straight, one-out doubles in the inning. Bell's double scored Porter and then a grounder to shortstop from Ryan Mota plated Bash.
A two-run homer from John Glenn put an exclamation mark on the rally. It was not finished until Rory Smith singled up the middle to score Williams, who was hit by a pitch and stole second, with two outs.
The Lancers scored in each of the first four innings. Porter logged a one-out single and then stole second and came home on an RBI single from Bell in the second inning. Williams hit a one-out double in the third and then came home on a sacrifice fly from Smith. Bash hit his 14th home run of the season, a solo shot, in the fourth to make it an 8-0 cushion.
It was plenty enough of an advantage for the pitching combination of Andrew Bernstein and Justin Montgomery. Bernstein, a senior, gave up just four hits and struck out five in four innings to earn his third win of the season. Montgomery earned the nine-out save after giving up just a walk and striking out five over the final three innings.
While Wednesday may have been Senior Day, the Lancer nine seniors have one more game at Totman Stadium this year. First pitch with Academy of Art is at 1 p.m. on Thursday, as CBU goes for the series sweep.
"Everyone wants to perform as well as they can on senior day," Robinson said. "We aren't pushing, we aren't stressed, it was all just have as much fun as you can in one of your last games on Totman.
"It's amazing to come out here every day with your best friends and build those relationships that are going to last a lifetime."
One Lancer senior, Brody Robinson, made history when he logged his 14th career save in a 2-1 win over Academy of Art to start the day's doubleheader. CBU shutout the Urban Knights, 8-0, in game two in the nightcap after scoring five runs in the first inning. With the sweep, CBU improves to 31-14, 24-11 in the PacWest and Academy of Art drops to 24-24, 19-20.
"It's bittersweet, I love this place and I love being here. It is sad to see my time come to an end, but it's been a joy being here," Robinson said of Senior Day before talking about the record. "It's just an honor to be able to leave my mark on something and have something that's going to last for a while."
On top of Robinson becoming the all-time saves leader in CBU history, several other Lancer seniors enjoyed big days. Tommy Bell batted 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, double and stolen base. DJ Porter stayed hot with a 3-for-6 showing at the plate that included two runs, a double and stolen base, and Ryan Williams went 3-for-8 on the day with two stolen bases, two runs and a double.
"The emotions were crazy, I tried not to cry and I didn't let any go, but man, it was right there on the edge. It was awesome, a great day," Williams said. "CBU has meant everything, it's shaped who I am and who I want to be… It's about being a stand-up guy in every aspect, not just on the field."
ART U scored first in the fourth inning of Wednesday's opener and led up until the sixth inning. Bell led off that inning with a first-pitch single to left field and then took second on a wild pitch. Nick Plaia scored Bell with a one-out single to left, and then the bases were loaded with two outs on walks to senior Bryce Macy and Kyle Oyama. Luke Navigato was then hit by a pitch to score the winning run.
Andrew Bash picked his sixth win of the year on the mound. The redshirt sophomore matched his career high for strikeouts in a game, with 10 over eight innings. The Urban Knights managed just four hits, a walk and run off Bash, who retired the side in order in the first, second, sixth and eighth innings.
"The underclassmen really showed up, they realized how monumental this day was to us [seniors]," Williams said. "We had their backing, we are a team and they got us going. Every gear was clicking tonight and that's how we found our success."
Two CBU seniors maintained the narrow lead for Bash out of the bullpen. Morgan Earman started the ninth inning on the mound and recorded the first two outs on a foul and fly out. A two-out walk led to the Urban Knights bringing on a left-handed batter and the Lancers calling on Robinson, a left-handed pitcher, out of the bullpen.
"It was pretty exhilarating. I have been waiting for it for a while and I was really happy about it," Robinson said.
Well aware of the significance of the moment, Robinson was sharp and struck out the one batter he saw on four pitches to secure the victory and historic save before being embraced and congratulated by all his teammates.
"The past few outings I have felt pretty good," Robinson said. "I think today the adrenaline and hopefulness of getting the save just pushed me beyond. I felt really good, everything was working."
"I knew we had it right away," Williams said of the save. "The very first pitch he pumped a strike and painted the outside corner. At that point, it was ball game, we knew he was going to do it."
Senior Day festivities between Wednesday's doubleheader seemed to energize the Lancers for game two, as they scored five runs in the first inning. Porter, Bash and Bell hit three-straight, one-out doubles in the inning. Bell's double scored Porter and then a grounder to shortstop from Ryan Mota plated Bash.
A two-run homer from John Glenn put an exclamation mark on the rally. It was not finished until Rory Smith singled up the middle to score Williams, who was hit by a pitch and stole second, with two outs.
The Lancers scored in each of the first four innings. Porter logged a one-out single and then stole second and came home on an RBI single from Bell in the second inning. Williams hit a one-out double in the third and then came home on a sacrifice fly from Smith. Bash hit his 14th home run of the season, a solo shot, in the fourth to make it an 8-0 cushion.
It was plenty enough of an advantage for the pitching combination of Andrew Bernstein and Justin Montgomery. Bernstein, a senior, gave up just four hits and struck out five in four innings to earn his third win of the season. Montgomery earned the nine-out save after giving up just a walk and striking out five over the final three innings.
While Wednesday may have been Senior Day, the Lancer nine seniors have one more game at Totman Stadium this year. First pitch with Academy of Art is at 1 p.m. on Thursday, as CBU goes for the series sweep.
"Everyone wants to perform as well as they can on senior day," Robinson said. "We aren't pushing, we aren't stressed, it was all just have as much fun as you can in one of your last games on Totman.
"It's amazing to come out here every day with your best friends and build those relationships that are going to last a lifetime."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bash, Andrew (6-2)
L: Kaser, Ben (6-5)
S: Robinson, Brody (1)
Academy of Art
Batting:
RBI: Reichel, Marciano 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Murphy, Jackson 1
SB: Martin, Taylor 1
Batting:
RBI: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Plaia, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bell, Tommy 1 ; Plaia, Nick 1
SB: Williams, Ryan 1
HBP: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Porter, D.J. 1 ; Bell, Tommy 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
CBU Baseball vs UCR Series (Cinematic Highlight)
Monday, June 17
CBU Baseball Hype Video 2023-2024
Tuesday, June 04
California Baptist University Athletics Master Facility Plan Update
Wednesday, August 17
CBU Baseball vs Coppin State - Opening Night
Friday, February 25
