Lancers Down Cougars for Sixth-Straight Win

Saturday, May 11

Riverside, Calif.

5:00 PM

California Baptist University

32-18, 16-7

Chicago State

10-36, 5-18

Chicago State

California Baptist

Photo by: Reagan Lee

Lancers Down Cougars for Sixth-Straight Win

5/11/2019 7:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Director of Athletics Communications

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – California Baptist University secured its third-straight Western Athletic Conference series win with a 10-3 victory in game two versus Chicago State on Saturday night.

For the second day in a row, the Lancers got it done with a hot start and strong finish. CBU now has six WAC series victories in its debut season in the conference, and is on a six-game winning streak to improve to 32-18 and 16-7 in the conference. Chicago State drops to 10-36, 5-18.

Andrew Bash, John Glenn and Rory Smith all collected two hits on Saturday, as the Lancers outhit the Cougars 13-7. Bash has now reached base in all nine at-bats, as he went 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs scored, another batted in and a double and home run. Glenn logged three runs batted in, while Smith had two to help blow the game open in the eighth.

The series ends with an 11 a.m. game on Sunday at Totman Stadium. Nine Lancer seniors: Austin Johnson, Antonio Jimenez, Billy Rockefeller, Seth Kaneen, Matt Mogollon, Angel Delgado, Travis Booth, Ryan Mota and Luke Navigato will be honored during a pre-game ceremony starting around 10:40 a.m.

Saturday's win keeps the Lancers in top-two standing in the WAC. NM State, which is CBU's next league opponent, still sit atop the standings at 35-12 overall, 17-6 in league. CBU was in a two-way tie for second place with Sacramento State by the end of its game, while The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Grand Canyon could join them with wins of their own on Saturday.

Four hits scored three runs for CBU in the first inning. Glenn drove in the first two runs with a double to left center, which scored Navigato (single) and Andrew Bash (hit by pitch).

Wasting no time today, CBU takes a 2-0 lead through one inning. John Glenn drives in two with a double to left center. Luke Navigato (single) and Andrew Bash (HBP) both score on the play. Bases are now loaded with just one out.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/vS1nlcxUxq
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 12, 2019

A Mota single and Smith walk loaded the bases, and true freshman Grady Tuohy drove in the third run with a single into left. Along with his first career hit and run batted in, Tuohy also had a great diving catch in the top of the first inning in left field in his first-ever start.

👏👏👏

One inning in and Grady Tuohy is already having himself a day. The true freshman made a great diving catch in the top of the first, and drove in CBU's third run in the bottom of the inning. That's the first hit and RBI in Tuohy's first career start.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/21wdNGARKi
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 12, 2019

Chad Castillo gave CBU a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second. The true freshman blasted a single up the middle with the infield drawn in for the RBI. Solo homers from Bash and Damon Keith upped the Lancers' advantage to 6-0 in the fifth.

Andrew Bash has reached base in all 8⃣ at-bats so far this series, and just homered in the bottom of the fourth to give CBU a 5-0 lead.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/GgG9qa4i7N
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 12, 2019

Pinch-hit 💣Damon Keith gives CBU a 6-0 lead through five innings with Chicago State.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/0uc25KKrim
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 12, 2019

Chicago State started to make things interesting and cut its deficit in half with three runs in the top of the sixth. When the Cougars pulled close, CBU called on Matt Amrhein. The reliever finished the final four innings to record his fifth save of the year. Amrhein came on with no outs and two runners on base in the bottom of the sixth. He gave up a single but shut down CSU from there, with the help of a great catch in foul territory from Castillo to end the eighth with two runners on base.

📢📢 AMAZING CATCH 📢📢

Chad Castillo runs down a foul ball in left field before rolling over the fence and into the visitor's bullpen. It ends the eighth inning and strands two Chicago State runners on base, with CBU up 6-3.#LanceUp | #WACtopPlay pic.twitter.com/jwk9XfYwoN
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 12, 2019

The Lancers erupted for four runs in the bottom of the eighth to turn it back into a comfortable victory. All four runs came with two outs.

Free passes to Navigato and Bash led to a two-out RBI single from Glenn that made it 7-3. The Cougars intentionally walked Mota to load the bases for Smith, and paid the price as the catcher lined a two-run single into right field. Nick Plaia capped the rally with an RBI single into left.

Chicago State intentionally walks Ryan Mota to load the bases for Rory Smith and pays the price! Smith drives a two-run single to right field to make it 9-3. #LanceUp pic.twitter.com/FaqB2B2McW
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 12, 2019

CBU's 32 wins this year are tied for the fourth most by a team in its first season in NCAA Division I out of 40 teams who have made the move since 1998. Dallas Baptist holds the record for wins in its first D-I year at 44 back in 2004, while Florida Gulf Coast (38, 2008) and North Florida (34, 2006) round out the top three. Bryant was the last team to win 32 games in its first D-I season back in 2009.