California Baptist University
University of San Diego
SB PREVIEW: Lancers Look To Add To The Win Column During Five Game Road Trip
4/5/2021 10:52:00 AM | Softball
RIVERSIDE - California Baptist University softball begins another five-game week after taking the series finale against Utah Valley last Saturday, improving to 13-21-1 on the season and 3-3 in conference play.
The upcoming week will be the opposite setup from last week as all five games are on the road. A doubleheader against the University of San Diego on Tuesday will begin the week before CBU heads to Texas to take on Tarleton State, each series will be the first in program history against each opponent.
CBU used a career-game from Makayla Jordan to earn its win against Utah Valley on Saturday. Jordan made plays in the outfield and at the plate to lead the Lancers to a comeback 6-5 victory against the Wolverines. Jordan leads the Lancers with 10 doubles on the season as CBU is tops in the Western Athletic Conference in the same category with 57.
Makayla Jordan takes her first home run trot as a Lancer!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/gPJeTqKTGV— California Baptist Softball (@CBUSoftball) April 3, 2021
Kerisa Viramontes, the staff ace, notched her ninth win of the year, second only to Dixie State's Carissa Burgess, who is the only WAC pitcher so far to break double-digits with 10 wins. Viramontes still leads the league in strikeouts by a wide margin. Her 98 K's are 23 more than the next closest hurler. Kerisa and company maintain the WAC's second-lowest staff ERA at 4.14, not far off of Seattle U's leading mark of 3.90.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponents: San Diego & Tarleton State
Dates/Times: April 6 DH vs. USD (2 & 4:30 p.m.), April 9 DH vs. TSU (2 & 4:30 p.m.), April 10 vs. TSU (10 a.m.)
Locations: San Diego, Calif. (USD Softball Complex) & Stephenville, Texas (Tarleton Softball Complex)
Video: USD Game 1 & 2 | TSU Game 1 & 2 | TSU Game 3
Stats: USD Game 1 & 2 | TSU Game 1 | TSU Game 2 | TSU Game 3
The Torero's enter Tuesday's doubleheader at 8-15 after a 15-day gap since their last contest, a 5-4 win over UC San Diego, due to COVID protocols within the team. USD missed doubleheaders against Chapman and #2 UCLA during that stretch as well as a single game against the Lancers that was originally scheduled for March 23 in Riverside.
San Diego will look to get back into the groove of things against CBU as this will be its final series before starting West Coast Conference play against Pacific on April 10. Currently, the Torero's boast the WCC's top-pitcher in earned run average as McKenna Braegelmann owns a 1.62 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with a 4-1 record in 10 appearances so far this season.
TARLETON STATE PREVIEW
Tarleton State hasn't exactly eased into its first season at the Division I level. Its 12-24 record (1-2 WAC) may seem indicative of a growing program, but the schedule shows a team challenging themselves as they have taken on multiple top-11 opponents in #11 Oklahoma State, #10 Texas, and #3 Oklahoma, as well the likes of Baylor, Texas Tech, BYU, and future WAC foes Lamar and Stephen F. Austin.
One thing that may be a result of such an intense non-conference schedule is their WAC-worst team batting average of .237 and staff ERA of 6.37. What the Texans may lack in average they make up for in sheer volume, as five TSU hitters have 15-or-more runs batted in on the season and have accounted for 91 of the team's 120 RBI.
