Friday, February 18
Riverside, Calif.
6 PM
California Baptist University
vs
Coppin State
Photo by: Zac Zeman zaczeman.com
BASE PREVIEW: Lancers Open 2022 with Home Series Versus Coppin State
2/14/2022 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University baseball will open the 2022 season at home with a three-game, non-conference series with Coppin State this weekend. Opening Night on Friday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. will be capped off with a post-game fireworks show.
The Lancers have made quite a strong impression in NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference, as they've won a share of the last two WAC regular-season titles (2019, 2021). CBU will play its first 10 games at home, including the WAC opener against Grand Canyon in week three (March 4-6). The 56-game schedule includes 31 homes games and 25 road contests.
Season tickets are on sale now at CBULancers.com/baseballtickets, with prices at $99 for adults and $60 for children. Individual games can also be purchased HERE.
In 2021, CBU won a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship in its second-straight opportunity and logged a 40-16 overall record, including a 29-7 run in the WAC.
Forty wins tied for the eighth-most in all of Division I at the end of the regular season on May 30. It was tied with the University of Arizona and UC Irvine for the most victories among West Coast teams in the regular season.
CBU ended the 2021 campaign receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's final Top 30 Poll and picked up votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's 2022 Pre-Season Top 50 Poll in December.
A LOOK AT THE LANCERS
Offense was key to CBU going on a 21-5 run at the end of last season, as its .295 team batting average ranked first in the WAC and top 31 in all of Division I in 2021. The Lancers return six players who hit .290 or better a season ago: Chad Castillo (.333), Mitchel Simon (.308), Harrison Spohn (.297), Connor Clift (.291), Garret Ostrander (.344) and Russell Stevenson (.340).
It will be a new-look pitching staff after CBU lost about 64 percent of its inning pitched from a season ago (304/475), including its top two starting pitchers in Chris Burica and Bryan Pope and primary relievers in Matt Amrhein and Jacob McCarvel. The Lancers will look to a few experienced returners to lead a group that will also heavily rely on true freshmen.
California Baptist was picked to finish third in the WAC's West Division Preseason poll. The Lancers receive one first-place vote and 27 votes overall. Grand Canyon is the West Division favorite with six first-place votes and 34 points in all, followed by Sacramento State, which got one first-place vote and 30 points total. NM State (20), Dixie State (19), Utah Valley (10) and Seattle U round out the seven-team division. This will be the first season the conference will be broken up into West and Southwest Divisions after the addition of four new Texas teams.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
CJ Culpepper earned Preseason All-WAC honors and was named to Collegiate Baseball's Preseason All-America Third Team coming into 2022. He logged a single-season record 13 saves for CBU, which not only led the WAC but ranked second in all of Division I in the regular season in 2021. Overall, Culpepper made 22 appearances, which ranked second on the team and struck out 38 batters over 30 innings. He also won two games and maintained a 3.30 earned-run average, 1.33 WHIP and .225 batting average against.
WHERE THE TRANSITION RANKS
The Lancers are 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.
Forty wins are a new single-season high for CBU in the D-I era after it won 35 games in 2019. 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.
Overall, CBU has gone 82-44 in its first three D-I seasons. Its win total ranks ninth among first-year Division I teams since 1998, despite the 2020 season being canceled just 15 games in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancers' 65.1 winning percentage over their first three D-I campaigns ranks third, behind Florida Gulf Coast (67.9, 2008-10) and Stony Brook (65.3, 2000-02).
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Coppin State
Dates/Times: Friday, Feb. 18 (6 p.m.); Saturday, Feb. 19 (5 p.m.); Sunday, Feb. 20 (12 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Totman Stadium)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
COPPING STATE AT A GLANCE
The Eagles are led by Head Coach Sherman Reed, who is entering his 11th season leading the squad. He earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2018. CSU went 10-29 in the MEAC in 2021 but put together a 24-24 season in 2019.
Offense led Coppin a season ago, as it hit .288 as a team and sported a 7.29 ERA as a pitching staff. The team returns five All-MEAC performers return from last season's squad, all of whom were either freshman or sophomores in 2021.
Perfect Game highlighted six Eagles in its MEAC preview earlier this month. Mike Dorcean, Sebastien Sarabia, Marcos Castillo, Jordan Hamberg and Giovanni Canales were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, while freshman Justin Johnson was projected as the MEAC Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game.
💥💥💥
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) February 11, 2022
Opening Night under the lights at Totman Stadium on Feb. 18 will be capped off with fireworks. We'll see you there!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/IWW51KfRMO
The Lancers have made quite a strong impression in NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference, as they've won a share of the last two WAC regular-season titles (2019, 2021). CBU will play its first 10 games at home, including the WAC opener against Grand Canyon in week three (March 4-6). The 56-game schedule includes 31 homes games and 25 road contests.
Season tickets are on sale now at CBULancers.com/baseballtickets, with prices at $99 for adults and $60 for children. Individual games can also be purchased HERE.
In 2021, CBU won a share of the Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship in its second-straight opportunity and logged a 40-16 overall record, including a 29-7 run in the WAC.
Forty wins tied for the eighth-most in all of Division I at the end of the regular season on May 30. It was tied with the University of Arizona and UC Irvine for the most victories among West Coast teams in the regular season.
CBU ended the 2021 campaign receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's final Top 30 Poll and picked up votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's 2022 Pre-Season Top 50 Poll in December.
2021 had a nice 💍 to it!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/anhlWhrKPB
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) February 13, 2022
A LOOK AT THE LANCERS
Offense was key to CBU going on a 21-5 run at the end of last season, as its .295 team batting average ranked first in the WAC and top 31 in all of Division I in 2021. The Lancers return six players who hit .290 or better a season ago: Chad Castillo (.333), Mitchel Simon (.308), Harrison Spohn (.297), Connor Clift (.291), Garret Ostrander (.344) and Russell Stevenson (.340).
It will be a new-look pitching staff after CBU lost about 64 percent of its inning pitched from a season ago (304/475), including its top two starting pitchers in Chris Burica and Bryan Pope and primary relievers in Matt Amrhein and Jacob McCarvel. The Lancers will look to a few experienced returners to lead a group that will also heavily rely on true freshmen.
California Baptist was picked to finish third in the WAC's West Division Preseason poll. The Lancers receive one first-place vote and 27 votes overall. Grand Canyon is the West Division favorite with six first-place votes and 34 points in all, followed by Sacramento State, which got one first-place vote and 30 points total. NM State (20), Dixie State (19), Utah Valley (10) and Seattle U round out the seven-team division. This will be the first season the conference will be broken up into West and Southwest Divisions after the addition of four new Texas teams.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
CJ Culpepper earned Preseason All-WAC honors and was named to Collegiate Baseball's Preseason All-America Third Team coming into 2022. He logged a single-season record 13 saves for CBU, which not only led the WAC but ranked second in all of Division I in the regular season in 2021. Overall, Culpepper made 22 appearances, which ranked second on the team and struck out 38 batters over 30 innings. He also won two games and maintained a 3.30 earned-run average, 1.33 WHIP and .225 batting average against.
WHERE THE TRANSITION RANKS
The Lancers are 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.
Forty wins are a new single-season high for CBU in the D-I era after it won 35 games in 2019. 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.
Overall, CBU has gone 82-44 in its first three D-I seasons. Its win total ranks ninth among first-year Division I teams since 1998, despite the 2020 season being canceled just 15 games in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancers' 65.1 winning percentage over their first three D-I campaigns ranks third, behind Florida Gulf Coast (67.9, 2008-10) and Stony Brook (65.3, 2000-02).
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Coppin State
Dates/Times: Friday, Feb. 18 (6 p.m.); Saturday, Feb. 19 (5 p.m.); Sunday, Feb. 20 (12 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Totman Stadium)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
COPPING STATE AT A GLANCE
The Eagles are led by Head Coach Sherman Reed, who is entering his 11th season leading the squad. He earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2018. CSU went 10-29 in the MEAC in 2021 but put together a 24-24 season in 2019.
Offense led Coppin a season ago, as it hit .288 as a team and sported a 7.29 ERA as a pitching staff. The team returns five All-MEAC performers return from last season's squad, all of whom were either freshman or sophomores in 2021.
Perfect Game highlighted six Eagles in its MEAC preview earlier this month. Mike Dorcean, Sebastien Sarabia, Marcos Castillo, Jordan Hamberg and Giovanni Canales were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, while freshman Justin Johnson was projected as the MEAC Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game.
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