Saturday, March 13
Riverside, Calif.
3:30 PM
California Baptist University
vs
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Reagan Lee
BASE PREVIEW: CBU's Set for WAC Opener at Home against Northern Colorado
3/10/2021 9:00:00 AM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University baseball is riding a four-game winning streak and series sweep over UC Davis into its Western Athletic Conference opener with Northern Colorado this week at Totman Stadium.
The Lancers are 6-4 overall and the Bears come in at 4-7. Northern Colorado won two of three games against Colorado Christian of NCAA Division II, was swept by South Dakota State, and most recently split a four-game set with North Dakota State.
This will be the second-ever meeting between these two teams and the first-ever at Totman Stadium. CBU won the first-ever WAC series with UNC back in 2019, with 11-5 and 19-4 wins in the first two games, but the Bears won the series finale, 6-1, last time out on April 28, 2019.
California Baptist is receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Division I Top-30 poll. It marks the third time CBU has received votes in the NCBWA poll. The Lancers were there twice in 2019, first when it became the fastest team in the division to nine wins on a 9-0 start and again when it won its final series of the season at New Mexico State to secure a share of the WAC title.
RUN TO 600
A series victory would push Coach Gary Adcock to another milestone, win No. 600. He comes in with a 597-300-1 all-time record and 66.5 winning percentage at CBU. He is in his 18th season and has the most wins in program history by a large margin. Fourteen of his 15 eligible teams have qualified for the postseason. His teams have won seven conference championships, including a four-year run from 2010 to 2013 and a share of the 2019 WAC title.
A LOOK AT THE LANCERS
CBU has been a balanced team so far, with a .253 team batting average, 4.30 staff earned-run average and .977 fielding percentage as a team.
Four Lancers come into this week hitting .265 or better: Chad Castillo (.325), Damon Keith (.310), Chad Minato (.269) and Nick Plaia (.265).
Chris Burica, Bryan Pope and Liam Rocha have settled into the starting pitcher roles. The fourth starter is still in question, but will need to be answered with four-game WAC series beginning this week. Burica has thrown into at least the seventh inning in his last two starts, while Pope leads the starters with a 3.18 ERA.
CJ Culpepper seems to have taken control of closing duties, with three saves in four appearances. Jacob McCarvel and Matt Amrhein have been the other go-to arms out of the bullpen, with three relief appearances to this point.
ON A ROLL
Five Lancers come into this week riding five-game reached-base streaks. Ulises Caballero leads the group as he's reached base in nine-straight games. Chad Minato, Keith, Castillo and Harrison Spohn have reached base the last five games, with Keith coming in with a team-best three-game hit streak, as well.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Northern Colorado
Dates/Times: Friday, March 12 (6 p.m.); Saturday, March 13 doubleheader – Game 1 (1 p.m.) & Game 2; Sunday, March 14 (12 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Totman Stadium)
Video: WAC Digital Network – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Stats: StatBroadcast – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
A LOOK AT THE BEARS
Northern Colorado's offense has been the team's strength so far, as it comes in hitting .287 and slugging .481 as a team. Josh Glenn (.441), Jake Gitter (.405) and Sam Leach (.367) are all regular starters who come in hitting above .350 for the Bears.
Jacob Salim leads UNC's pitching staff, with a 2.77 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in three starts. He also has 16 strikeouts in 13 innings. Leah is a two-way player and has started all three series for the Bears so far, and has a 3.46 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 13 innings. Dylan Bowers has started all three series, as well, but comes in with a 6.48 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.
The Bears lead the WAC in several categories. Glenn leads the conference in batting average (.441) and RBI (16). Bowers has a league-high 27 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. Gitter leads the WAC with five home runs and ranks third in RBI (10), stolen bases (three) and fourth in batting average (.405).
The Lancers are 6-4 overall and the Bears come in at 4-7. Northern Colorado won two of three games against Colorado Christian of NCAA Division II, was swept by South Dakota State, and most recently split a four-game set with North Dakota State.
This will be the second-ever meeting between these two teams and the first-ever at Totman Stadium. CBU won the first-ever WAC series with UNC back in 2019, with 11-5 and 19-4 wins in the first two games, but the Bears won the series finale, 6-1, last time out on April 28, 2019.
California Baptist is receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Division I Top-30 poll. It marks the third time CBU has received votes in the NCBWA poll. The Lancers were there twice in 2019, first when it became the fastest team in the division to nine wins on a 9-0 start and again when it won its final series of the season at New Mexico State to secure a share of the WAC title.
RUN TO 600
A series victory would push Coach Gary Adcock to another milestone, win No. 600. He comes in with a 597-300-1 all-time record and 66.5 winning percentage at CBU. He is in his 18th season and has the most wins in program history by a large margin. Fourteen of his 15 eligible teams have qualified for the postseason. His teams have won seven conference championships, including a four-year run from 2010 to 2013 and a share of the 2019 WAC title.
A LOOK AT THE LANCERS
CBU has been a balanced team so far, with a .253 team batting average, 4.30 staff earned-run average and .977 fielding percentage as a team.
Four Lancers come into this week hitting .265 or better: Chad Castillo (.325), Damon Keith (.310), Chad Minato (.269) and Nick Plaia (.265).
Chris Burica, Bryan Pope and Liam Rocha have settled into the starting pitcher roles. The fourth starter is still in question, but will need to be answered with four-game WAC series beginning this week. Burica has thrown into at least the seventh inning in his last two starts, while Pope leads the starters with a 3.18 ERA.
CJ Culpepper seems to have taken control of closing duties, with three saves in four appearances. Jacob McCarvel and Matt Amrhein have been the other go-to arms out of the bullpen, with three relief appearances to this point.
ON A ROLL
Five Lancers come into this week riding five-game reached-base streaks. Ulises Caballero leads the group as he's reached base in nine-straight games. Chad Minato, Keith, Castillo and Harrison Spohn have reached base the last five games, with Keith coming in with a team-best three-game hit streak, as well.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Northern Colorado
Dates/Times: Friday, March 12 (6 p.m.); Saturday, March 13 doubleheader – Game 1 (1 p.m.) & Game 2; Sunday, March 14 (12 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Totman Stadium)
Video: WAC Digital Network – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Stats: StatBroadcast – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
A LOOK AT THE BEARS
Northern Colorado's offense has been the team's strength so far, as it comes in hitting .287 and slugging .481 as a team. Josh Glenn (.441), Jake Gitter (.405) and Sam Leach (.367) are all regular starters who come in hitting above .350 for the Bears.
Jacob Salim leads UNC's pitching staff, with a 2.77 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in three starts. He also has 16 strikeouts in 13 innings. Leah is a two-way player and has started all three series for the Bears so far, and has a 3.46 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 13 innings. Dylan Bowers has started all three series, as well, but comes in with a 6.48 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.
The Bears lead the WAC in several categories. Glenn leads the conference in batting average (.441) and RBI (16). Bowers has a league-high 27 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. Gitter leads the WAC with five home runs and ranks third in RBI (10), stolen bases (three) and fourth in batting average (.405).
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