California Baptist University
35-20, 19-8
NM State
37-15, 19-8
WAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
5/18/2019 1:54:00 PM | Baseball
Going in, there was no secret how important the game was. The Lancers were well aware a victory equaled a piece of the conference title while a loss would drop them into a third-place tie. Down two runs going into the eighth, CBU turned the game around with a seven-run rally on five hits and an error in the top half of the inning.
THAT'S A WINNER‼️
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 18, 2019
The Lancers take down NM State, 9-4, to take a share of the 2019 WAC Regular Season Championship! CBU finishes the season with 3⃣5⃣ wins in its first year at the NCAA Division I level!#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/hI023abgAT
It is the second WAC title for CBU this season, with women's cross country winning in the fall, but first by a team sport in the regular season. The Lancers end the season with a 35-20 overall record and a 19-8 record in the WAC to become just the second team to ever win a regular-season conference title in its first year in NCAA Division I.
CBU's win created a three-way tie for first place in the WAC standings, with NM State (37, 19-8) and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (34-19, 19-8) matching CBU's conference record. There is no tiebreaker for regular-season championships in the WAC, which makes all three co-champions in 2019.
"I am so proud of this staff and young men," Coach Gary Adcock said. "From day one, they were relentless in their pursuit of excellence. They rallied around each other and absorbed the highs and lows, learning from each of them along the way. What a journey, it's a great day for CBU!"
Feels good to end the year with a win and in first in the @WACsports ❗️#LanceUp | #TheyKnowNow pic.twitter.com/ZfebPL11sM
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 18, 2019
It is the fourth-straight season in which CBU has won 35 games, a streak that even a promotion to Division I could not stop. CBU's 35 wins are the third most by a team in its first season in D-I out of 40 teams that have made the move since 1998, while they are just the second team in that span to win a regular-season conference title.
Dallas Baptist holds the record for wins in its first D-I year at 44 back in 2004, while Florida Gulf Coast is second with 38 back in 2008 and is the only other team to win a regular-season conference title after it won the Atlantic Sun crown 11 years ago.
CBU out hit NM State 10-7 on Saturday, with Luke Navigato, Andrew Bash and Nick Plaia all collecting two hits each. Bash finished with two runs batted in, along with John Glenn and Billy Rockefeller.
Bash also got the start on the mound and Bash threw five solid innings against the top offense in the WAC and perhaps all of Division I. The redshirt junior gave up three runs on five hits, three walks and struck out five. The Palm Desert native ended the year with a 1.98 earned-run average that ranks first in the WAC this year and fifth in CBU's single-season history.
Matt Amrhein and Matt Mogollon closed out the game out of the bullpen. Amrhein picked up the win by throwing three innings in which he allowed just one run on two hits and two walks. Mogollon threw a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth inning, with three-straight groundouts to the Aggies' top of the order ending the game without any drama.
Entering today's game, NM State was 8-0 in the finale of WAC series this season. CBU took the Thursday opener, 5-3, and claimed the series with today's 9-4 victory. The Lancers snapped Aggie streaks of 10 consecutive WAC series wins along with six straight at home. Grand Canyon was the last foe to take a series from NM State, back in Phoenix last April. Sacramento State was the last team to take a series on their home field at Presley Askew Field in March of last year.
After being held to just three hits and one run over the first seven innings, CBU turned the game around when the Aggies went to the bullpen in the eighth. The Lancers sent 12 batters to plate in the inning, with the inning starting with Billy Rockefeller being hit by a pitch and then an error putting two runners on with no outs.
Chad Castillo scored Rockefeller with a line single right in front of the left fielder, and a full-count walk to Ryan Mota loaded the bases. Facing a 1-2 count, John Glenn bounced a two-run single up the middle to give the Lancers their first lead, 4-3, since the opening inning.
John Glenn drives in a pair to give the Lancers a 4-3 lead! Luke Navigato and Chad Castillo score! First lead by the Lancers since the the Andrew Bash solo shot HR in the second.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/OdlQjWhBN9
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 18, 2019
Bash loaded the bases again with a single and Plaia drew a bases-loaded walk to score CBU's fifth run. Rockefeller then entered the batter's box for the second time in the inning and landed the big blow of the inning, with a two-run double to left field. Navigato capped the offensive outburst with an infield single to shortstop that brought the score line to 8-3.
Billy Rockefeller delivers‼️
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 18, 2019
The double brings home Nick Plaia and John Glenn to extend the Lancer lead to 7-3 in the eighth! CBU has scored six runs this inning and still going!#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/rEvqHu2ZTT
NMSU got a run back in the bottom of the eighth, but the Lancers took a five-run lead into the bottom of the ninth with another run in the top half. Mota started the inning with a single, while an intentional walk to Bash and 1-2 Plaia single loaded the bases again. A balk then brought home the Lancers' ninth run.
Bash continued to do a bit of everything for CBU, as he earned the start on the mound and hit fifth in the batting order. His solo home run gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. It was Bash's 12th homer of the season and 30th of his career, as he ranks eighth all-time in CBU's record books in that category.
Here's what Andrew Bash's homer looked like at Presley Askew Field, as he turned on a 1-2 pitch and sent it out to left for his 12th home run of the season. NM State came back to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second.#LanceUp | #BashofallTrades pic.twitter.com/pEGjfIFahD
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 18, 2019
NM State tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the second, and then took a 2-1 lead with another two-out RBI in the third. The Aggies then increased their lead to 3-1 with a solo homer in the sixth.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST-GAME CONTENT:
Congrats to @CBUbaseball @gadcock9 !! Share of the @WACsports conference title in CBU's first year of D1 pic.twitter.com/DEQS7hy8Hb
— Trevor Oaks (@trevoaks) May 18, 2019
Moment seized. Thank you to all of our great fans for joining us on a memorable journey this season! #LanceUp https://t.co/SKHDHgusDU
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 18, 2019
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Amrhein, Matt (4-1)
L: Edwards, Andrew (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Rockefeller, Billy 1
HR: Bash, Andrew 1
RBI: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Castillo, Chad 1 ; Glenn, John 2 ; Bash, Andrew 1 ; Plaia, Nick 1 ; Rockefeller, Billy 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Navigato, Luke 1 ; Castillo, Chad 1 ; Mota, Ryan 2 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Bash, Andrew 2 ; Plaia, Nick 1 ; Rockefeller, Billy 1
CS: Smith, Rory 1
HBP: Rockefeller, Billy 1
Batting:
HR: Peterson, Tristan 1
RBI: Peterson, Tristan 2 ; Williams, Braden 2
SF: Williams, Braden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bottrell, Logan 1 ; Carranza, Tristen 1 ; Peterson, Tristan 2
HBP: Carranza, Tristen 1
