CBU Returns Home with Runners-Up Honors

Sunday, March 1

Oxford, Miss.

10:30 am

California Baptist University

6-13

University of Mississippi

11-10

California Baptist

Ole Miss

CBU Returns Home with Runners-Up Honors

3/1/2020 1:56:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Daniel Cook, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

OXFORD, MISS – California Baptist University closed out the Ole Miss Classic with runner-up honors after the Rebels walked away with their fifth straight championship in the tournament after defeating the Lancers 6-2.

Mackenzie Budinger led the way for the Lancers as one of three players with two hits on the day but recorded both of her RBI's on one hit, a single in the top of the third that made it a 4-2 game. Budinger hit .357 (5-14) over the five games in Oxford, scoring one run and three runs batted in. She improved her season batting average by 20 points now sitting just over the three hundred mark at .302.

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Mackenzie Budinger gets the Lancers' third single of the inning and scores Kolander and Robertson to cut the Rebel lead in half!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/TTpDbU7XEr
— CBU Softball (@CBUSoftball) March 1, 2020

The Rebels piled on the runs in the first inning, scoring four runs on three hits. From there, MU pitching kept the Lancers at a comfortable distance allowing only one Lancer hit or fewer in five of the seven offensive frames for CBU.

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Katelyn Mangrello tags her ninth hit of the tournament, Lancers are threatening with a runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Lg65eQiqbx
— CBU Softball (@CBUSoftball) March 1, 2020

The most successful frame for California Baptist came in the top of the third where Abby Robertson and Molly Kolander would reach safely with hits that reached the grass. Budinger's two-RBI single would follow with two outs. The Lancers would get Caitlyn Lloyd and Sanae Orme into scoring position, but they would be stranded there after a ground out to third.

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Things are heating up in Oxford! Abby Robertson drops a gap single into left center and suddenly the Lancers have two on with just one out!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/LZb17RrgDI
— CBU Softball (@CBUSoftball) March 1, 2020

The tournament as a whole saw some very high high's as individual efforts shined bright, not the least of which came from freshman catcher Katelyn Mangrello. The backstop got it done on both sides of the plate as she doubled her season hit total this weekend, finishing the tournament going 9-18 (.500) with six RBI, a homerun, and throwing out a pair of would-be base stealers. Mangrello leads the team by a wide margin in batting average with at .377 clip through 19 games played.

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Katelyn Mangrello tags her ninth hit of the tournament, Lancers are threatening with a runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Lg65eQiqbx
— CBU Softball (@CBUSoftball) March 1, 2020

Makenna Stram had a strong weekend as well, going 6-16 (.375) and scoring three runs, bringing in another, and adding a stolen base to her team leading total which now stands at three. Stram is second on the team in batting average with a .343 clip through 17 appearances.

The Lancers will return home for a set of home games that are part of a co-hosted tournament with neighbor UC Riverside. The Lancers will open with a double-header against Michigan State on Thursday the 5^th, with those games being scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. starts.

CBU will then host a neutral site contest on Saturday the 7^th between Michigan State and Southern Utah at 1:00 p.m. at Funk Stadium, before challenging the Thunderbirds from SUU to a game immediately following at 3:30 p.m.

Finally, the slate will conclude with a pair of games just up the 91 Freeway at Amy S. Harrison Field on the campus of UC Riverside where the Lancers will take on the Highlanders at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and again on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.