STOCKTON – A power surge at Klein Family Field made for a wild getaway game that featured five ties and three lead changes between California Baptist University and Pacific on Monday.
The Lancers erupted for 17 hits and seven extra-base knocks, including two home runs. Nevertheless, the Tigers won the back-and-forth series finale, 14-12, after scoring the two go-ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth. Pacific ends the first week of the season at 3-1, while CBU is 1-3.
John Glenn was a dominant force at the plate for the Lancers, as he went 4-for-6 with four runs batted in that included a three-run homer.
Nick Plaia went 3-for-5, while
Chad Castillo,
Harrison Spohn,
Jeff Bruyntjens and
Ulises Caballero all had two hits. Caballero, the Riverside City College transfer, hit his first homer as a Lancer, as well.
CBU will play its next official game on Friday when they host UC Riverside to start the Crosstown Showdown at 6 p.m. at Totman Stadium. The Highlanders will be home for game two of the series on Saturday at 6 p.m. before the series wraps up at Totman Stadium at 5 p.m.
The Lancers scored first in the top of the second inning on a double from designated hitter
Kyle Oyama that scored Plaia, who led off the inning with a walk. The Tigers came back to take a 3-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the second and another in the third.
CBU erupted for six runs in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead.
Damon Keith started the inning with a double, and he took third on a sacrifice bunt from Oyama and then scored on an infield single from
Andrew Jurado.
Spohn kept the rally going with a double and a walk to Castillo loaded the bases with one out. Bruyntjens brought home Jurado with a sacrifice fly, and Glenn cleared the bases with his first home run of the season to center field.
The dream inning continued for the Lancers on a Tiger error, Plaia single and walk to Keith. True freshman
David Martin came up with the bases loaded and drew the RBI walk.
Pacific answered right back and tied the game at 7-7 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and another in the fifth. The Lancers took the lead right back, though, as Glenn started the sixth with a double and then Caballero made it 9-7 with a homer of his own to dead center.
Plaia scored CBU's 10
th run with a triple in the next at-bat, and then scored on a grounder from Keith.
The Tigers erased their deficit and even took a 12-10 lead with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a grand slam. The Lancers came right back and tied the game again, 12-12, with two runs in the seventh.
An error and Bruyntjens single got things started. Glenn then recorded his fourth RBI and put runners at the corners with a single representing his fourth hit of the game. Caballero then evened the score with a sacrifice fly.
