Thursday, April 1
Edinburg, Texas
4 PM
California Baptist University
16-6, 9-0
3
at
0
UT Rio Grande Valley
12-13, 4-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
California Baptist
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
3
6
2
UT Rio Grande Valley
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
2
Burica Throws His Second Shutout of the Season, CBU Defeats UTRGV 3-0 to Improve to 9-0 in WAC
4/1/2021 7:13:00 PM | Baseball
EDINBURG – Chris Burica's streak of dominance continued, as he recorded his second complete-game shutout of the season in California Baptist University baseball's 3-0 win at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Thursday.
It keeps the Lancers perfect in Western Athletic Conference play at 9-0 in league and 16-6 overall. UTRGV drops to 12-13 and 4-5 in the WAC. CBU has won 14 of its last 16 games and is still the only undefeated WAC team in conference action, while everyone else in the conference has at least two losses.
Thursday marked Burica's second shutout in his last three starts. He recorded the Lancers' first complete-game shutout of the NCAA Division I era in a 7-0 win at Cal on March 19. This time, Burica allowed just four hits, no walks and struck out six. He's allowed just one run over his last 41 innings pitched.
It was also the third complete game in the D-I era. Burica has been responsible for all three, with the first coming in a 10-3 home win over Pacific on March 9, 2019.
CBU also got a pair of hits from John Glenn and Nick Plaia in the win. Glenn extended his hitting streak to five games, with a 2-for-4 performance that included an RBI and a double. Plaia recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the season, with a 2-for-5 game that also included an RBI.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
CBU scored first with two runs in the top of the third inning. It was a two-out rally started with a full-count walk to Chad Castillo, who proceeded to steal second. Damon Keith then drew a four-pitch walk. Glenn drove in Castillo with a hot shot to first base, and a double steal brought Keith home.
The Lancers got a precious insurance run in the seventh. Harrison Spohn led off the inning with a single, took second on a passed ball and moved over to third on a grounder to second from Marty Munoz. Plaia then clutched up with the two-out RBI single.
Burica faced the minimum through three innings and had his no-hit bid ended with one out in the fourth inning. He induced double plays in the third and eighth innings to overcome both CBU errors on the day.
UTRGV's best chance at scoring came in the bottom of the seventh. The Vaqueros loaded the bases in the inning. A pair of two-out singles put them in business, but a big strikeout from Burica recorded the second out. A third single loaded the bases, but Burica kept the Vaqueros off the scoreboard with his second punchout of the inning.
BURICA'S BRINGING IT
Burica has been on an incredible run of late. He has thrown at least through the seventh inning in his last six starts, and won his last five starts to improve his season record to 5-1. His 51.1 innings pitched and five wins are now best in the WAC. Thursday's outing lowered his season ERA to 1.93, his WHIP to 0.78 and his opposing batting average to .188.
UP NEXT
The Lancers and Vaqueros will continue their series with a doubleheader on Friday, set for a first pitch at 11 a.m. Pacific. The weekend will come to a close with an 8 a.m. game on Saturday.
It keeps the Lancers perfect in Western Athletic Conference play at 9-0 in league and 16-6 overall. UTRGV drops to 12-13 and 4-5 in the WAC. CBU has won 14 of its last 16 games and is still the only undefeated WAC team in conference action, while everyone else in the conference has at least two losses.
Thursday marked Burica's second shutout in his last three starts. He recorded the Lancers' first complete-game shutout of the NCAA Division I era in a 7-0 win at Cal on March 19. This time, Burica allowed just four hits, no walks and struck out six. He's allowed just one run over his last 41 innings pitched.
Chris Burica's shutout 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀:
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 2, 2021
9⃣ innings pitched
6⃣ strikeouts
4⃣ hits
0⃣ walks
1⃣0⃣2⃣ pitches
Burica has given up just one run over his last 41 innings pitched.#LanceUp⚔ | @d1baseball pic.twitter.com/EudukszDH7
It was also the third complete game in the D-I era. Burica has been responsible for all three, with the first coming in a 10-3 home win over Pacific on March 9, 2019.
CBU also got a pair of hits from John Glenn and Nick Plaia in the win. Glenn extended his hitting streak to five games, with a 2-for-4 performance that included an RBI and a double. Plaia recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the season, with a 2-for-5 game that also included an RBI.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
CBU scored first with two runs in the top of the third inning. It was a two-out rally started with a full-count walk to Chad Castillo, who proceeded to steal second. Damon Keith then drew a four-pitch walk. Glenn drove in Castillo with a hot shot to first base, and a double steal brought Keith home.
🥵🥵🥵
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 1, 2021
John Glenn stays hot and drives in the first run of the game. #LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/OdmNfn0uds
The Lancers got a precious insurance run in the seventh. Harrison Spohn led off the inning with a single, took second on a passed ball and moved over to third on a grounder to second from Marty Munoz. Plaia then clutched up with the two-out RBI single.
⚡ 𝙉𝙄𝘾𝙆 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙄𝘼 ⚡#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/EeiVyWWWIf
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 2, 2021
Burica faced the minimum through three innings and had his no-hit bid ended with one out in the fourth inning. He induced double plays in the third and eighth innings to overcome both CBU errors on the day.
UTRGV's best chance at scoring came in the bottom of the seventh. The Vaqueros loaded the bases in the inning. A pair of two-out singles put them in business, but a big strikeout from Burica recorded the second out. A third single loaded the bases, but Burica kept the Vaqueros off the scoreboard with his second punchout of the inning.
Burica leaves 'em loaded 🙌#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/pFiCFB8cXU
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 2, 2021
BURICA'S BRINGING IT
Burica has been on an incredible run of late. He has thrown at least through the seventh inning in his last six starts, and won his last five starts to improve his season record to 5-1. His 51.1 innings pitched and five wins are now best in the WAC. Thursday's outing lowered his season ERA to 1.93, his WHIP to 0.78 and his opposing batting average to .188.
UP NEXT
The Lancers and Vaqueros will continue their series with a doubleheader on Friday, set for a first pitch at 11 a.m. Pacific. The weekend will come to a close with an 8 a.m. game on Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Burica, Chris (5-1)
L: Stevens, Kevin (2-4)
Batting:
2B: Glenn, John 1
RBI: Plaia, Nick 1 ; Glenn, John 1
SH: Spohn, Harrison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Castillo, Chad 1 ; Keith, Damon 1 ; Spohn, Harrison 1
SB: Castillo, Chad 1 ; Keith, Damon 1 ; Glenn, John 2 ; Munoz, Marty 1
CS: Plaia, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Diaz, Conrado 1
Base Running:
HBP: Rojas Jr., Freddy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
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