RIVERSIDE – After a statement win on Opening Day, California Baptist University baseball made a bigger statement when it secured the series victory over 33
rd-ranked Pepperdine with a 6-2 win in the finale on Sunday at Totman Stadium.
Ulises Caballero landed the big blow of the game with a three-run homer in the second inning, and pitchers
Liam Rocha and
Matt Amrhein held Pepperdine's offense in check for most of the game.
Michael Carpentier and
Nick Plaia both went 2-for-3 in the game, while the Lancers also got base hits from five other players, as well.
The Lancers improve to 2-1 this season, while the Waves start out 1-2. Pepperdine enters 2021 ranked No. 33 by Collegiate Baseball and receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The Waves were picked to win the West Coast Conference this season in the league's preseason poll.
The Waves have a rich baseball history, as it has won 18 West Coast Conference titles, most recently in 2018, and are the favorites to win the WCC again in 2021. Pepperdine has made 28 NCAA Tournament appearances. They're coming off an impressive 12-3 showing last year, which led to them being ranked as high as No. 14 in the NCAA.
Rocha, a true freshman, was very impressive in his collegiate debut. He got the start on the mound for CBU and did not disappoint, with five strong shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, two walks and struck out three batters, and showed composure in big moments.
Caballero gave CBU the lead early with a three-run bomb in the bottom of the second inning. The Lancers tacked on another run in the frame for a 4-0 lead.
John Glenn drove in a run with an RBI single in the fourth to make it 5-0.
Chad Castillo set the table for Glenn's RBI, as he singled down the line with two outs, stole second and then moved to third on a wild pitch.
Pepperdine looked to get to Rocha in the fifth inning when it loaded the bases with one out. Rocha didn't panic, though, and got a double-play grounder to shortstop to end the threat.
The Waves did get on the board, with two runs in the sixth against CBU's bullpen. Amrhein, the Lancers' go-to reliever the last two years, limited the damage. He came into the game with two on and one out and retired two of the three batters he faced to allow just one run.
CBU got a run back in the bottom of the sixth. It started with Castillo again, as he struck out but took first on a dropped third strike with two outs. Carpentier drove him in with the first triple of the season for the Lancers to make it 6-2.
Amrhein recorded the final 11 outs for his first save of the season. He allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out five over 3.2 innings for the eighth save of his career, which moves him into a tie for fifth place on the all-times saves list with Caleb Dirks in CBU's career record books.
UP NEXT
The Lancers' mid-week game with the University San Diego originally scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled, which puts Saint Mary's up next for CBU. It will be a four-game series between CBU and the Gaels.
