RIVERSIDE, Calif. – After putting itself in rare company yesterday, California Baptist University stood alone as the first team to reach eight wins in NCAA Division I after a doubleheader sweep of Ohio on Saturday.
The Lancers won both games by three-run margins, 7-4 and 4-1, as it became the first D-I school to improve to 8-0 this season. Ohio drops to 1-5 this season, and will wrap up its series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday at Totman Stadium.
CBU matched Texas A&M and Pacific when it improved to 6-0 on Friday, but neither the Aggies or Tigers are playing their eighth game until Sunday.
Pitching was a major separating factor for CBU on Saturday, as it allowed just three earned runs on the day. Three home runs, one each from
Andrew Bash,
Ryan Mota and
Billy Rockefeller helped the Lancers win the opener.
Jorge Valerio picked up the victory on the mound after throwing six strong innings where he gave up three hits, one walk and two runs while striking out eight.
Matt Amrhein got the final seven outs, giving up just a hit, walk and striking out three for his second save of the year.
Bash homered again in the nightcap and had two hits in the game, along with
John Glenn.
Angel Delgado pitched his way to his second win of the year with seven quality innings that included just four hits and an unearned run for Ohio.
Matt Mogollon retired all six batters he faced over the final two innings for his second save.
The Lancers led by as many as four through six innings in Saturday's opener, but the Bobcats made things interesting when they scored two runs in the top of the seventh.
With a runner on, two outs and CBU up 6-4, Amrhein was called out of the bullpen. He got into some trouble and loaded the bases after a hit by pitch and fourth-pitch walk. He kept it a two-run game, though, after getting a soft grounder right back to the mound.
Rockefeller got a big insurance for the Lancers with a moon-shot homer to right field. Amrhein closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning that included two strikeouts for his second save of the season.
After Ohio scored in the top of the first, Mota wasted little time in giving CBU the lead with an opposite field two-run homer. The Lancers scored two more times in the third inning to widen their lead to 4-1.
Angelo Capolupo drew a leadoff walk and
Luke Navigato moved him to third with a single. True freshman
Damon Keith recorded his first career run batted in with a deep grounder to shortstop. Navigato then stole third and came home on a throwing error into left field.
CBU scored a run in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-2 lead. Bash hit his first home run of the season, an absolute no doubter in the fifth.
Glenn led off the sixth with a double to center field. A fly ball to right from Rockefeller allowed Glenn to tag up to the third with one out. Capolupo then perfectly executed a suicide-squeeze bunt to score Glenn from third.
Ohio would score first again in the top of the third Saturday night. A leadoff double from
Rory Smith, RBI single from Glenn and a pair of errors gave CBU a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Bash padded the lead with a solo homer in the eighth.
