Friday, March 19
Berkeley, Calif.
6 PM
California Baptist University
at
Cal
Photo by: Zac Zeman
BASE PREVIEW: CBU Heads to Cal for Non-Conference Series with Power 5 Golden Bears
3/16/2021 3:13:00 PM | Baseball
BERKELEY – California Baptist University baseball will take a break from Western Athletic Conference action and travel to take on Cal of the Pac-12 Conference in a three-game series Friday through Sunday.
It is the Lancers' first multi-game series with a Power 5 opponent in the NCAA era and their second ever. CBU has a 10-4 overall record and comes in riding an eight-game winning streak, which is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in Division I.
Cal has made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 2019, and made six College World Series. It is coming off two 32-win seasons in 2018 and 19.
This season, the Golden Bears come in with a 10-6 record and have won its last three series over Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's and San Francisco. Saint Mary's is the one common opponent between the Lancers and Bears this year. Cal won the series against the Gaels at home, while Saint Mary's is CBU's one series loss this year.
MR. 600
Coach Gary Adcock secured his 600th career victory as a head coach and at CBU on Sunday. The series sweep of Northern Colorado brought his record to 601-300-1 for a 66.7 winning percentage in his 18 seasons in Riverside.
The Lancers have been a perennial power under Adcock. Fourteen of his 15 eligible teams have qualified for the postseason, winning seven conference championships, including a four-year run from 2010 to 2013. Twenty-two of his players have been All-American, 21 were named national scholar athletes and 24 were selected in the MLB Draft.
WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Another quality start earned California Baptist University baseball's Chris Burica the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week award on Monday. Burica is the fifth Lancer to ever receive the award and first this season.
Burica gave up just two hits, two walks and struck out six over seven innings in a 4-3 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday. It marked the third-straight start Burica has at least thrown through the seventh. He lowered his season ERA to 3.46, his WHIP to 0.85 and his opposing batting average to .176 this year.
WAC LEADERS
CJ Culpepper earned his fifth save of the season in CBU's 7-4 win on Sunday. It is tied with five other pitchers for the overall lead in NCAA Division I and currently leads the WAC, as well. Lamar's Jack Dallas, Miami's Carson Palmquist, Stanford's Zach Grech, Portland's Eli Morse and Georgia Southern's Nick Jones also have five saves this year in Division I.
Those five saves are already tied for the 11th most saves in a single season in CBU's history and is tied for sixth in the NCAA era (2014-current). Culpepper has a 1-0 record, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .212 opposing batting average with 14 strikeouts over 8.2 innings and six appearances.
Chad Minato has a conference-high 16 walks this season, which also ranks seventh in Division I. His 1.14 walks per game are a top-24 mark in D-I, as well. He ranks third overall in on-base percentage with a .518. He also has 10 hits and has been hit by three pitches, while he's struck out just seven times over 37 at-bats this year.
Minato has reached base the last nine games in a row, which Ulises Caballero and Damon Keith have also done. Caballero has reached base the last 13 games and Keith has a nine-game reached base streak and seven-game hitting streak coming into this week.
POWER 5 HISTORY
This will be CBU's seventh meeting with a Power 5 opponent, as the Lancers have played games against Arizona State, Kansas State, Penn State and Washington over the years.
CBU's first meeting with a Power 5 opponent came in 1988 when it played back-to-back games against Arizona State on Feb. 9-10. The Lancers also played Penn State in a 3-2 home loss on March 4, 1988. The first Power 5 win in school history was a 20-5 home victory over Wisconsin on March 22, 1989.
Most recently, the Lancers played three Power 5 games in 2019. CBU defeated Kansas State, 7-6, on Feb. 20 and also played on the road at Arizona State on March 20 and at the University of Washington on April 8.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Cal
Dates/Times: Friday, March 19 (6 p.m.); Saturday, March 20 (3 p.m.); Sunday, March 21 (12 p.m.)
Location: Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond)
CBU Radio: Sidearm – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: StatBroadcast – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Video: No stream available
CAL AT A GLANCE
Pitching has been the strength of the Bears so far, as they bring a 3.42 ERA and 1.20 WHIP as a staff into this series. They also have 137 strikeouts to 43 walks as a staff this season. Cal is also hitting .241 and maintaining a .970 fielding percentage as a group.
Offensively, Darren Baker (.365) and Dylan Beavers (.362) are leading the way, as both are hitting above .360 this year. Beavers can change the game with one swing, as he is also slugging .707, with six home runs and a team-high 19 RBI, and has a .444 on-base percentage. Baker is the spark plug, with a .453 on-base percentage with a team-high nine stolen bases and 16 runs scored.
Cal's starting rotation figures to include Paulshawn Pasqualotto, Sean Sullivan and Ian Villers as all three hade made at least four starts this year. Pasqualotto has the best numbers of the trio with a 3.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 16 strikeouts over 22 innings. Sullivan has a 5.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, while Villers have a 6.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.
The bullpen is arguably the strength of the entire team so far. Steven Zobac has been lights out as the team's closer with three saves and a win in five appearances. He's allowed just two hits, a walk and struck out 10 over seven innings. He has yet to allow a run and has a 0.43 WHIP and .083 batting average against.
Sam Stoutenborough and Josh White have been terrific in relief, as well, with each making at least four appearances and throwing over 20 innings. Stoutenborough has a 2.11 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and .203 BAA with 16 strikeouts, while White has a 1.77 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and .155 BAA.
It is the Lancers' first multi-game series with a Power 5 opponent in the NCAA era and their second ever. CBU has a 10-4 overall record and comes in riding an eight-game winning streak, which is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in Division I.
Cal has made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 2019, and made six College World Series. It is coming off two 32-win seasons in 2018 and 19.
This season, the Golden Bears come in with a 10-6 record and have won its last three series over Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's and San Francisco. Saint Mary's is the one common opponent between the Lancers and Bears this year. Cal won the series against the Gaels at home, while Saint Mary's is CBU's one series loss this year.
MR. 600
Coach Gary Adcock secured his 600th career victory as a head coach and at CBU on Sunday. The series sweep of Northern Colorado brought his record to 601-300-1 for a 66.7 winning percentage in his 18 seasons in Riverside.
The Lancers have been a perennial power under Adcock. Fourteen of his 15 eligible teams have qualified for the postseason, winning seven conference championships, including a four-year run from 2010 to 2013. Twenty-two of his players have been All-American, 21 were named national scholar athletes and 24 were selected in the MLB Draft.
WAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Another quality start earned California Baptist University baseball's Chris Burica the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week award on Monday. Burica is the fifth Lancer to ever receive the award and first this season.
Burica gave up just two hits, two walks and struck out six over seven innings in a 4-3 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday. It marked the third-straight start Burica has at least thrown through the seventh. He lowered his season ERA to 3.46, his WHIP to 0.85 and his opposing batting average to .176 this year.
WAC LEADERS
CJ Culpepper earned his fifth save of the season in CBU's 7-4 win on Sunday. It is tied with five other pitchers for the overall lead in NCAA Division I and currently leads the WAC, as well. Lamar's Jack Dallas, Miami's Carson Palmquist, Stanford's Zach Grech, Portland's Eli Morse and Georgia Southern's Nick Jones also have five saves this year in Division I.
Those five saves are already tied for the 11th most saves in a single season in CBU's history and is tied for sixth in the NCAA era (2014-current). Culpepper has a 1-0 record, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .212 opposing batting average with 14 strikeouts over 8.2 innings and six appearances.
Chad Minato has a conference-high 16 walks this season, which also ranks seventh in Division I. His 1.14 walks per game are a top-24 mark in D-I, as well. He ranks third overall in on-base percentage with a .518. He also has 10 hits and has been hit by three pitches, while he's struck out just seven times over 37 at-bats this year.
Minato has reached base the last nine games in a row, which Ulises Caballero and Damon Keith have also done. Caballero has reached base the last 13 games and Keith has a nine-game reached base streak and seven-game hitting streak coming into this week.
POWER 5 HISTORY
This will be CBU's seventh meeting with a Power 5 opponent, as the Lancers have played games against Arizona State, Kansas State, Penn State and Washington over the years.
CBU's first meeting with a Power 5 opponent came in 1988 when it played back-to-back games against Arizona State on Feb. 9-10. The Lancers also played Penn State in a 3-2 home loss on March 4, 1988. The first Power 5 win in school history was a 20-5 home victory over Wisconsin on March 22, 1989.
Most recently, the Lancers played three Power 5 games in 2019. CBU defeated Kansas State, 7-6, on Feb. 20 and also played on the road at Arizona State on March 20 and at the University of Washington on April 8.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Cal
Dates/Times: Friday, March 19 (6 p.m.); Saturday, March 20 (3 p.m.); Sunday, March 21 (12 p.m.)
Location: Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond)
CBU Radio: Sidearm – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: StatBroadcast – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Video: No stream available
CAL AT A GLANCE
Pitching has been the strength of the Bears so far, as they bring a 3.42 ERA and 1.20 WHIP as a staff into this series. They also have 137 strikeouts to 43 walks as a staff this season. Cal is also hitting .241 and maintaining a .970 fielding percentage as a group.
Offensively, Darren Baker (.365) and Dylan Beavers (.362) are leading the way, as both are hitting above .360 this year. Beavers can change the game with one swing, as he is also slugging .707, with six home runs and a team-high 19 RBI, and has a .444 on-base percentage. Baker is the spark plug, with a .453 on-base percentage with a team-high nine stolen bases and 16 runs scored.
Cal's starting rotation figures to include Paulshawn Pasqualotto, Sean Sullivan and Ian Villers as all three hade made at least four starts this year. Pasqualotto has the best numbers of the trio with a 3.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 16 strikeouts over 22 innings. Sullivan has a 5.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, while Villers have a 6.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.
The bullpen is arguably the strength of the entire team so far. Steven Zobac has been lights out as the team's closer with three saves and a win in five appearances. He's allowed just two hits, a walk and struck out 10 over seven innings. He has yet to allow a run and has a 0.43 WHIP and .083 batting average against.
Sam Stoutenborough and Josh White have been terrific in relief, as well, with each making at least four appearances and throwing over 20 innings. Stoutenborough has a 2.11 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and .203 BAA with 16 strikeouts, while White has a 1.77 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and .155 BAA.
Players Mentioned
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