CBU Comeback Falls Short in WAC Series Finale; Remains Top of Standings

Saturday, April 3

Edinburg, Texas

8 AM

California Baptist University

18-7, 0

UT Rio Grande Valley

13-15, 0

California Baptist

UT Rio Grande Valley

CBU Comeback Falls Short in WAC Series Finale; Remains Top of Standings

4/3/2021 10:48:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Director of Athletics Communications

EDINBURG – California Baptist University baseball battled back from a three-run deficit to force a tie in its series finale at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the top of the ninth. The Vaqueros ultimately claimed the 4-3 victory in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium.

Harrison Spohn led the Lancers' offense Saturday, with a three-hit game, while Damon Keith went 2-for-4. On the mound, CBU got strong performances from Drew Necochea and Jacob McCarvel.

Damon Keith brings a rare mix of speed and power 💨⚡#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/JjGxJGXhic
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 3, 2021

Nevertheless, the Lancers' 12-game conference winning streak, which was tops in NCAA Division I and dated back to 2019, comes to a close. CBU moves to 18-7 overall and 11-1 in the WAC, while UTRGV moves to 13-15, 5-7.

Necochea put together a career-best performance in his second start of the season on Saturday. He threw a career-high six innings and retired 10-straight batters at one point – a streak that carried over from the first inning through the fourth. He allowed just three hits, one walk, no earned runs and struck out four.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
UTRGV scored its first three runs in a disastrous fifth inning for the Lancers. All three runs were unearned, as the Vaqueros scored them on one hit and three errors.

Connor Clift delivers again 💪#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/3aU22MJkWC
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 3, 2021

CBU fought back and scored two runs in the seventh. Keith led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a two-out RBI double from Spohn. Connor Clift then delivered an RBI single to cut the Lancers' deficit to one, 3-2.

🔥🔥🔥

Harrison Spohn is 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥

He has a hit in each game this series and an RBI double for the second game in a row.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/G0cGwig1pl
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 3, 2021

The Lancers tied the game in the ninth. The inning started on one-out singles from Chad Castillo and Spohn. A fielder's choice from Clift put runners at the corners with two outs. David Martin brought in the tying run with a hard shot in the hole between shortstop and third base.

𝑻𝑰𝑬 𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬❗️❗️

David Martin brings home the tying run in the top of the ninth!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/bEb2XcgxEH
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) April 3, 2021

McCarvel threw two shutout innings in the seventh and eighth. He struck out a pair and did not allow a base runner until a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth.

UTRGV moved the runner to third on a sacrifice bunt and then scored the winning run on a squeeze bunt.

WAC STANDINGS
The Lancers maintain their first-place standing in the WAC at 11-1 in conference play. Sacramento State is in second place with a 10-2 league record, while Grand Canyon was in third place (8-3) going into its final game of the week Saturday at Utah Valley. NM State is not far off in fourth place (8-4).

UP NEXT
Although the Lancers return to California next week, CBU's 11-game road trip will continue with a three-game series at Cal State Fullerton. The Lancers and Titans are set to open the week on Friday, April 9.