SB PREVIEW: Lancers Face Lions in LA Before Hosting Aggies

Tuesday, March 22

Los Angeles

2 PM

California Baptist University

Loyola Marymount

SB PREVIEW: Lancers Face Lions in LA Before Hosting Aggies

3/21/2022 2:59:00 PM | Softball

By: Daniel Cook, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

RIVERSIDE – After closing out the opening weekend of Western Athletic Conference play with a 12-0 victory over Seattle U, California Baptist University softball now prepares for a week with four games in Southern California. First, CBU will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lions of Loyola Marymount on Tuesday before New Mexico State comes to town for the first home WAC series of the season.

In Saturday's getaway game in Seattle, Priscilla Estrada and Katelyn Mangrello led a massive offensive output for CBU, each recording three hits on the day. Mangrello also scored once, and Estrada shined with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Karmyna Becerra also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. In all, seven different Lancers made solid contact at the plate, connecting for 12 hits, the second most hits in a game this year, and a season-high 12 runs.

Mangrello used a 6-for-11 week at the plate to increase her team-leading batting average to .380. She is the first Lancer this season to reach double-digit, extra-base hits with 10 doubles and a home run. Maile Olsen was the first CBU player this year to reach double figures in both runs scored (11) and runs batted in (13).

Jazmine Castaneda picked up the win on Saturday, throwing a six-inning complete game shutout against the Redhawks. Castaneda leads the staff with a 9-4 record, but Alyssa Argomaniz paces them with a 2.31 earned run average, 85 innings pitched, a .214 opponent batting average and 71 strikeouts.

GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: Loyola Marymount University
Dates: Tuesday, March 22
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Smith Field)
Video: (LINK PENDING)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

The Lions welcome the Lancers on Tuesday for the fifth-ever meeting between the two programs. The Lions have won 11 of their last 13 games, outscoring their opponents 88-37 during that run. Head Coach Tairia Flowers is in the midst of her second season leading the Lions, but already has the squad humming with six players hitting over .300 and a bullpen that goes five-deep with a staff ERA of 2.99.

LMU is led in the circle by Jenna Perez who paces the staff with a 1.68 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched. At the plate, Val Pera and Georgia Blair are on top of the statistical list for LMU, both hitting .346 with a combined 24 runs scored and 44 runs batted in.

SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: New Mexico State
Dates/Times: Friday, March 25 (4 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.) | Saturday, March 26 (5 p.m.)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (John C. Funk Stadium)
Video (ESPN+): Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

The Aggies maintain a 6-16 record on the year and are 1-2 in conference play after opening conference at home against Grand Canyon. NMSU has had a rough go in the past two weeks, posting a 2-7 record between a tournament at Arizona State and the GCU series. They will face a 19-9 New Mexico team on Tuesday ahead of this weekend's conference tilt in Riverside.

Aside from the slow start to this season, the Aggies have historically had a very balanced program, able to dominate both sides of the plate. This season, the offense is holding up its end of the deal, posting a team batting average of .305 with 55 extra-base hits. Jillian Taylor paces the team with a .422 average, but Ramsay Lopez carries the bulk of the offensive load with top-three stats in runs scored (17), runs batted in (20) and hits (21).

Where NM State falls behind is in the circle, currently posting a team ERA of 13.87. They rank last in the WAC in nearly every major pitching category, even with just 19 games played, the fewest in the league.