California Baptist University
40-16
UC Riverside
15-36
Baseball Caps Off Its Historic 2021 Season, With 40th Victory and Ninth Series Win of the Year
5/29/2021 7:13:00 PM | Baseball
The Lancers defeated the Highlanders 14-6 to secure its first 40-win season of the NCAA Division I era and the program's first since 2016. It gave CBU the series win over UCR and its ninth series win overall, as it ended the year with a 40-16 overall record, while UC Riverside wound up with a 15-35 record.
💥 4⃣0⃣ 💥
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) June 11, 2021
CBU continued one of the best-ever transitions to NCAA Division I in 2021. The Lancers were one of three West Coast @NCAACWS schools to win 40 games this regular season. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/sCZ4KSoYtk
It continues one of the best-ever transitions to Division I for CBU. The Lancers continued to make a name for themselves at the highest level in 2021, as they won a share of the Western Athletic Conference title for the second time in as many opportunities.
CBU is the second team to win 40 games in one of its first two full transition seasons to Division I out of 49 teams that have made the move since 1998. It's the first time a team has won 40 games in one of the first two years of its D-I transition since Dallas Baptist won 44 games in 2004.
Russell Stevenson ended his season with a bang, as he went 5-for-5 at the plate with three runs batted in, a solo home run and a walk. It makes Stevenson just the fourth Lancer to record five hits in an NCAA-era game. It was just one hit off CBU's modern-era record for hits in a game. He's the first player with a five-hit game in Division I and the first Lancer to do it since A.J. David on March 12, 2016.
🔥🔥🔥
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 29, 2021
Russell Stevenson ends his season with a 5-for-5 game. He's the first Lancer with a 5️⃣ hit game in the Division I era, the fourth with a 5️⃣ hit game in NCAA era and just one off CBU's modern-era record for hits in a game. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/0tDzt1OT0z
There was more history made in the season finale, as senior pitcher Jacob McCarvel made his 26th appearance of the year. It tied CBU's single-season record first set by Patrick Gonzales in 2016.
🚨𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧🚨
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 29, 2021
Senior Jacob McCarvel made his 26th appearance this year today. It ties CBU's single-season record for pitching appearances first set by Patrick Gonzales in 2016. McCarvel's 58 career appearances rank top-10 for the Lancers all time. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/nqR1685HKo
All nine of the Lancers starting position players combined for 18 hits in the game. Senior Rory Smith ended his collegiate career with a 3-for-6 game game that included an RBI. Fellow seniors Nick Plaia (three runs) and John Glenn (RBI, run) also had hits in their final college games.
WHAT A WAY TO GO OUT 👏👏👏
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 29, 2021
Senior Rory Smith ends his collegiate baseball career with an RBI single. He finishes up with a 3-for-6 game overall. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/evx5mYWReu
Juniors Harrison Spohn, Chad Castillo and Mitchel Simon all had two hits, as well. Simon added four RBI and Spohn had two of his own. Damon Keith also went 1-for-2 in the game with three runs scored and four walks drawn.
Ryan Silva put together a career outing to earn the win on the mound. He threw a career-high 3.1 innings and matched his career high with four strikeouts, while he held UCR to just two runs on two walks and a hit.
WHERE THE TRANSITION RANKS
Forty wins are a new single-season high for CBU in the D-I era, as well, after it won 35 games in its 2019 debut season. The Lancers have gone 75-35 over their first two full years in Division I (2019 and 2021), which is the second most wins by a program in its first two full D-I seasons.
Dallas Baptist (76-39) is the only teams to win more than 75 games through its first two full Division I campaigns out of the 49 teams who have made the move to D-I since 1998.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Lancers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with a trio of runs in the third. A Plaia single and four-pitch walk to Keith put the pressure on and a sacrifice bunt from Glenn put both runners in scoring position with one out. Castillo delivered a two-run double and Stevenson capped off the inning with an RBI single.
UC Riverside tied the game with three runs of its own in the fourth inning. A back-and-forth broke out from there. Stevenson gave CBU the lead again with a solo homer in the fifth, but the Highlanders knotted the score again with a run in the bottom of the frame.
CBU took a lead for the third time on the day in the sixth. Glenn and Spohn drove in two runs with RBI singles after two walks earlier in the inning.
For the third time today, the Lancers take the lead for the third time today, with two runs in the sixth on RBI singles from John Glenn and Harrison Spohn 👏👏👏#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/bZkSzsgnq5
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 29, 2021
The Lancers turned the game on its head with a five-run seventh that gave them an 11-4 lead. CBU had five hits in the inning including a Marty Munoz double, while Keith, Spohn, Stevenson and Simon all came through with RBI singles in the inning.
🗣 𝘐𝘛'𝘚 𝘈 𝘏𝘐𝘛 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘠❗️
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) May 29, 2021
CBU turns this game on its head with a five-run seventh. The Lancers collect five hits in the inning, with Damon Keith, Harrison Spohn, Russell Stevenson and Mitchel Simon all coming through with RBI singles. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/6rwVwN6QsV
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Silva, Ryan (2-0)
L: Trevor Bateson (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Castillo, Chad 1 ; Simon, Mitchel 1 ; Munoz, Marty 1
HR: Stevenson, Russell 1
RBI: Keith, Damon 1 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Castillo, Chad 2 ; Spohn, Harrison 2 ; Stevenson, Russell 3 ; Simon, Mitchel 4 ; Smith, Rory 1
SH: Glenn, John 1 ; Munoz, Marty 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Plaia, Nick 3 ; Keith, Damon 3 ; Glenn, John 1 ; Castillo, Chad 2 ; Spohn, Harrison 1 ; Stevenson, Russell 2 ; Simon, Mitchel 1 ; Munoz, Marty 1
SB: Keith, Damon 1
Batting:
2B: Cole Pofek 1
HR: Dylan Orick 1
RBI: Travis Bohall 2 ; Dylan Orick 1 ; Cole Pofek 2 ; Ethan Payne 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dylan Orick 1 ; Anthony Mata 1 ; Jacob Shanks 2 ; Cole Pofek 2
HBP: Jacob Shanks 1
