PHOENIX – California Baptist University baseball got the win it needed at Grand Canyon to keep its hopes of winning a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship in back-to-back seasons alive.
The Lancers and Lopes split Friday's doubleheader at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark, as CBU took game one 5-3 and GCU won game two, 2-1. CBU's record moves to 36-15 overall and 28-7 in the WAC, while GCU is 36-18, 29-6 on the year.
The win set a new program record for single-season wins for the Lancers in the NCAA Division I era after they won 35 games in their 2019 debut season. It also ties Florida Gulf Coast for a team in its second full season in Division I, as the Eagles went 36-18 in 2009.
Grand Canyon clinched a share of the WAC title with its win on Friday. The Lopes have at least won a share of the conference crown four out of the last five times, with wins in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The Lancers can still lock up the title of co-champions with a victory in Saturday's series finale at 1 p.m.
Dominant pitching from
Bryan Pope,
Matt Amrhein and
Jacob McCarvel were crucial for the Lancers on Friday. Pope and Amrhein both threw quality starts, with Amrhein recording his first-ever complete game. McCarvel earned his fourth save of the season as he closed out game one.
Damon Keith and
Ulises Caballero both homered on the day to power CBU to the game-one win.
Mitchel Simon had a team-high three hits and added two runs batted in on Friday, while Keith also had a hit in both games.
After this weekend, the Lancers' season will then come to an end with a Crosstown Showdown as CBU will play UC Riverside in a four-game, home-away series starting next Thursday, May 27 at 6 p.m. at the Riverside Sports Complex.
WHERE THE TRANSITION RANKS
The Lancers have gone 71-35 in their first two full D-I seasons (2019 and 2021), which are the third most wins by a program in its first two full D-I seasons. Dallas Baptist (76-39) and Florida Gulf Coast (74-33) are the only two teams with more wins through their first two full Division I campaigns out of 49 teams who have made the move to D-I since 1998.
CBU went 35-20 and won a share of the WAC title in its first Division I season in 2019 and had the 2020 campaign cut short after 15 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancers' 35 wins ranked third for a first-first year D-I program.
GAME ONE
CBU got to one of GCU's premiere pitchers, Carter Young, in Friday's opener. Young came into the game with a 7-0 record, 1.79 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and had given up just two home runs all years.
The Lancers rocked Young to the tune of eight hits, two homers and five earned runs. It was a season-high in runs and earned runs allowed for Young and matched his season high for hits given up in a start with eight.
Keith and Caballero both homered in the game. Keith's three-run homer in the fourth inning proved to be the difference in the game. Caballero and
Nick Plaia (two runs) both went 2-for-4 in the win for the Lancers.
Pope gave CBU a great start on the mound. He limited the Lopes to three runs over 5.1 innings, as he held GCU to seven hits, struck out three and did not allow a free pass. McCarvel got the save, as he allowed just one hit over the final 1.2 innings.
The Lancers' offense jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game, with their first four runs all coming with two outs.
CBU got on the board in the second inning. A two-out single from
Nick Plaia and walk to
Connor Clift set up an RBI single from Simon.
Plaia led off the fourth with a single and a two-out single from
CJ Masciel kept the inning alive. Keith then came out first-pitch swinging and drove the baseball for an opposite-field, three-run homer. Caballero added to CBU's lead with a no-doubt solo homer with one out in the fifth.
Pope cruised through the first five innings, as he gave up just three singles over that span and faced the minimum in the first, second, third and fifth innings with the help of two double plays.
GCU scored all three of its runs in the sixth. It prompted a move to the bullpen, as McCarvel came on with one out, the bases loaded and CBU holding a 5-2 lead. An RBI fielder's choice scored another run, but it ended the scoring as McCarvel squashed the Lopes' comeback attempt.
GAME TWO
Amrhein gave CBU exactly what is was looking for in his game-two start on Friday. He held GCU to just one earned (two runs overall) on four hits and a walk.
The senior threw just 90 pitches over the eight-inning complete game. He got better as the game went on and retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced from the third inning through the eighth.
Grand Canyon jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Friday's final game. The Lopes scored in the first and third innings.
Simon had a team-high two hits and an RBI in the game, but the Lancers were one big hit away from tying the game or even taking the lead.
CBU's best chance to take the lead came in the third inning when Simon and
Michael Carpentier led off the inning with singles and both moved into scoring position with no outs on a balk. A walk to Keith loaded the bases with one out.
It appeared
John Glenn laced an RBI single into right field but GCU's fielder made an incredible dive on the play. It appeared to be a trapped ball initially, but it was ruled a catch and led to a double play to end the inning.
