Friday, April 23
Riverside, Calif.
6 PM
California Baptist University
vs
Utah Valley
Photo by: Andrew Shortall
BASE PREVIEW: CBU Returns Home For First Time in Nearly a Month for WAC Series with Utah Valley
4/21/2021 9:40:00 AM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University baseball's stretch of 11-straight road games is coming to an end this week, as the Lancers return to Totman Stadium for the first time in almost a month to host a Western Athletic Conference series with Utah Valley.
The Lancers are coming off a series split at Dixie State, while the Wolverines lost their last series at home to Tarleton State. Utah Valley has a mid-week game at home versus Utah Tuesday before it heads to California.
CBU has yet to lose a WAC series this season, with home sweeps of Northern Colorado, Tarleton State, 3-1 win at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the split at Dixie State. The Lancers come in with a 21-11, 13-3 WAC record.
UVU has yet to win a WAC series, as it was swept by Sacramento State, 3-1 losses to Grand Canyon, Tarleton State, UTRGV and a split series with Northern Colorado. The Wolverines are 7-27, 5-15 in conference coming off a 14-1 loss to Utah on Tuesday.
WHO'S HOT?
Three Lancers: Chad Castillo, Russell Stevenson and Damon Keith put together big offensive performances last week by hitting .389, slugging .706 and maintain a .421 OBP at least at Dixie State. Castillo hit a team-high .647 (11-17) over four games. Stevenson hit .583 (7-12) and slugged 1.167 with two homers, a double and six runs batted in. Keith hit .389 and slugged .944 with three homers, seven runs and six RBI.
CULPEPPER'S RECORD PACE
Closer CJ Culpepper is tied for the second-most saves of any NCAA Division I pitcher with 10 this season. Stanford's Zach Grech leads the nation with 11 saves, while Georgia Southern's Nick Jones has 10, as well. Miami's Carson Palmquist and Oregon State's Jake Mulholland both have nine saves.
Culpepper's 10 saves are three more than the next WAC pitcher, and is tied for CBU's all-time single season record with Charlie Eckenrod (2001). Culpepper and Eckenrod are now tied for the fifth most career saves in Lancer history at 10 apiece.
GAME ON FOR DAMON
Damon Keith has been on fire this season for CBU. The outfielder has started in all 32 games and leads the Lancers in batting average (.358), slugging percentage (.625), on-base percentage (.431), hits (43), runs (32), stolen bases (eight) and home runs (eight). He has a hit in 23 of 32 games, 13 multi-hit performances, six three-hit games on the year and a four-hit performance at Dixie State on Sunday.
In the WAC, Keith is tied for the lead in home runs (eight), ranks second in hits and runs (32), third in slugging percentage, fourth in batting average, fifth in stolen bases and eighth in on-base percentage.
WAC STANDINGS UPDATE
It is shaping up to be a three-team race to the WAC regular-season title at this point. The Lancers' three conference losses are a WAC low and their 81.3 winning percentage is a conference best, as well. Grand Canyon (16-4) and Sacramento State (14-6) are currently the top two teams in the conference standings.
The WAC's 2021 standings are based on formula that multiplies winning percentage by WAC games played percentage, which values overall wins more than winning percentage. CBU will have a chance to move up the standings as GCU has a bye from WAC play this week and Sacramento State has a road series at Northern Colorado after it lost its home series to Seattle U last week.
NM State and Dixie State are both tied for fourth in the WAC at 9-11 in league, while UTRGV (8-8) and Tarleton State (8-12) both have eight wins and Seattle U (7-9) rounds out the top seven with seven wins.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Valley
Dates/Times: Friday, April 23 (6 p.m.); Saturday, April 24 (1 p.m.); Sunday, April 25 (12 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Totman Stadium)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Video: WAC Digital Network – Game 1 | Games 2-3 | Game 4
WOLVERINES AT A GLANCE
Utah Valley is off to a 7-27 start and 5-15 mark in the WAC. The Wolverines are a dangerous team, though, as they split a four-game series with a Saint Mary's team that defeated CBU earlier this year. UVU also won a game against first place Grand Canyon.
As a team, the Wolverines have a 6.11 ERA and .218 batting average. They score an average of 3.20 runs a game and give up 6.61 runs.
Offensively, Alexander Marco, Mitch Moralez and Kade Poulsen lead Utah Valley. All three rank top three on the team in batting average and RBI while playing and starting in at least 31 of 34 games this year.
Jesse Schmit, Nick Sims, Mason Gray and Bobby Voortmeyer are the only four Wolverines who have started multiple games on the mound this season. Voortmeyer has the best numbers of that group, with a 4.32 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.
There is no clear-cut closer as four players have at least one save this season. Spenser Triplett and Devin Smith are the only ones with multiple saves. Triplett has three saves, a 5.29 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 12 appearances. Carson Brown has the best numbers on the whole staff, as he has a 2.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and .156 opposing batting average over eight appearances and 10 innings.
The Lancers are coming off a series split at Dixie State, while the Wolverines lost their last series at home to Tarleton State. Utah Valley has a mid-week game at home versus Utah Tuesday before it heads to California.
CBU has yet to lose a WAC series this season, with home sweeps of Northern Colorado, Tarleton State, 3-1 win at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the split at Dixie State. The Lancers come in with a 21-11, 13-3 WAC record.
UVU has yet to win a WAC series, as it was swept by Sacramento State, 3-1 losses to Grand Canyon, Tarleton State, UTRGV and a split series with Northern Colorado. The Wolverines are 7-27, 5-15 in conference coming off a 14-1 loss to Utah on Tuesday.
WHO'S HOT?
Three Lancers: Chad Castillo, Russell Stevenson and Damon Keith put together big offensive performances last week by hitting .389, slugging .706 and maintain a .421 OBP at least at Dixie State. Castillo hit a team-high .647 (11-17) over four games. Stevenson hit .583 (7-12) and slugged 1.167 with two homers, a double and six runs batted in. Keith hit .389 and slugged .944 with three homers, seven runs and six RBI.
CULPEPPER'S RECORD PACE
Closer CJ Culpepper is tied for the second-most saves of any NCAA Division I pitcher with 10 this season. Stanford's Zach Grech leads the nation with 11 saves, while Georgia Southern's Nick Jones has 10, as well. Miami's Carson Palmquist and Oregon State's Jake Mulholland both have nine saves.
Culpepper's 10 saves are three more than the next WAC pitcher, and is tied for CBU's all-time single season record with Charlie Eckenrod (2001). Culpepper and Eckenrod are now tied for the fifth most career saves in Lancer history at 10 apiece.
GAME ON FOR DAMON
Damon Keith has been on fire this season for CBU. The outfielder has started in all 32 games and leads the Lancers in batting average (.358), slugging percentage (.625), on-base percentage (.431), hits (43), runs (32), stolen bases (eight) and home runs (eight). He has a hit in 23 of 32 games, 13 multi-hit performances, six three-hit games on the year and a four-hit performance at Dixie State on Sunday.
In the WAC, Keith is tied for the lead in home runs (eight), ranks second in hits and runs (32), third in slugging percentage, fourth in batting average, fifth in stolen bases and eighth in on-base percentage.
WAC STANDINGS UPDATE
It is shaping up to be a three-team race to the WAC regular-season title at this point. The Lancers' three conference losses are a WAC low and their 81.3 winning percentage is a conference best, as well. Grand Canyon (16-4) and Sacramento State (14-6) are currently the top two teams in the conference standings.
The WAC's 2021 standings are based on formula that multiplies winning percentage by WAC games played percentage, which values overall wins more than winning percentage. CBU will have a chance to move up the standings as GCU has a bye from WAC play this week and Sacramento State has a road series at Northern Colorado after it lost its home series to Seattle U last week.
NM State and Dixie State are both tied for fourth in the WAC at 9-11 in league, while UTRGV (8-8) and Tarleton State (8-12) both have eight wins and Seattle U (7-9) rounds out the top seven with seven wins.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Valley
Dates/Times: Friday, April 23 (6 p.m.); Saturday, April 24 (1 p.m.); Sunday, April 25 (12 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Totman Stadium)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast – Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Video: WAC Digital Network – Game 1 | Games 2-3 | Game 4
WOLVERINES AT A GLANCE
Utah Valley is off to a 7-27 start and 5-15 mark in the WAC. The Wolverines are a dangerous team, though, as they split a four-game series with a Saint Mary's team that defeated CBU earlier this year. UVU also won a game against first place Grand Canyon.
As a team, the Wolverines have a 6.11 ERA and .218 batting average. They score an average of 3.20 runs a game and give up 6.61 runs.
Offensively, Alexander Marco, Mitch Moralez and Kade Poulsen lead Utah Valley. All three rank top three on the team in batting average and RBI while playing and starting in at least 31 of 34 games this year.
Jesse Schmit, Nick Sims, Mason Gray and Bobby Voortmeyer are the only four Wolverines who have started multiple games on the mound this season. Voortmeyer has the best numbers of that group, with a 4.32 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.
There is no clear-cut closer as four players have at least one save this season. Spenser Triplett and Devin Smith are the only ones with multiple saves. Triplett has three saves, a 5.29 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 12 appearances. Carson Brown has the best numbers on the whole staff, as he has a 2.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and .156 opposing batting average over eight appearances and 10 innings.
Players Mentioned
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