RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University baseball will hit the road for the first time this season and play its first mid-week game of the year as it travels to CSU Bakersfield for a non-conference game and Utah Valley for a three-game Western Athletic Conference series.

The Lancers are looking to bounce back from their WAC-opening series against Grand Canyon. The Lopes won all three games at Totman Stadium after CBU began the season with a 7-0 record.

CBU enters this week hitting .297, slugging .443 and maintain a .414 on-base percentage as a team. A total of five of the Lancers' regular players are hitting .300 or above: Michael Carpentier (.571), Jake Skipworth (.485), Chad Castillo (.405), Harrison Spohn (.400) and Connor Clift (.300).

As a pitching staff, CBU maintains a 4.40 earned-run average, 1.38 WHIP and .257 batting average against. CJ Culpepper and Anthony Silvas are the only two Lancers to start three games this year, while Drew Necochea is the other pitcher with multiple starts on the team and sports a strong 3.00 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and .185 batting-average against.

Jared Villaobos has emerged as the most effective reliever to date, with a team-high four appearances, along with Brett Finnel. He's yet to allow an earned run and has a 0.52 WHIP and .121 BAA over 9.2 innings pitched. Fellow relievers Seth Mattox and Ryan Silva have also yet to allow runs over multiple relief appearances this year.  

HOT STREAKS
Skipworth, a transfer from Cal, is the lone Lancer with a hit in all 10 games this season. He has six multi-hit games to his credit, a team-high 12 runs batted in, six doubles and seven runs scored. Russell Stevenson was CBU's best batter last week, though, as he hit .500 (4-8) versus GCU. Ulises Caballero, Castillo and Skipworth also had three hits against the Lopes.

Culpepper has logged back-to-back quality starts, including a strong six innings in which he allowed one run on four hits, walks and struck out six against Grand Canyon. It's been a strong start to the season for the hurler, who boasts a sub 1.00 ERA and WHIP in his transition to the starting rotation after serving as CBU's record-setting closer a season ago. In 2021, he logged 13 saves and earned NCAA Division I and All-WAC First Team and Freshman of the Year honors in the process.

SERIES NOTES
CSU Bakersfield was a WAC member with CBU back in 2019-20 before it made the move to the Big West Conference in 2021. The Lancers swept the Roadrunners in their first-ever matchup and three-game conference series in Riverside back in 2019, outscoring the Roadrunners 18-3 on the week. The 2020 matchup was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This will be the third series between CBU and Utah Valley. The Lancers have won all seven games they've played against the Wolverines, but this will be their first trip to Orem. They first met in 2019 for a three-game series at Totman Stadium. It was more of the same last season when the Lancers won all four games against UVU in Riverside by a combined score of 34-12.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: CSU Bakersfield
Dates/Times: Tuesday, March 8 (6 p.m.)
Location: Bakersfield, Calif. (Hardt Field)
CBU Radio: Sidearm
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: Sidearm
 
A LOOK AT THE ROADRUNNERS
CSU Bakersfield starts the season with a 4-7 record, but has played a tough schedule with series against Oakland, Kansas State, Utah and a one-off with Fresno State. The Roadrunners took two of three off Kansas State, but dropped its three-game home series to Utah over the weekend, although they're coming off a 2-1 win over the Utes on Sunday.

CSUB has opened the season hitting .253 but has struck out 102 times and drawn 43 walks for a .337 on-base percentage. Bailey Seeger (.423) and Cory Blackburn (.375) are both leading the offense by hitting over .375 as regular starters. AJ  Miller (.293), Evan Rice (.280), Aaron Casillas (.275) and Matt Kurata (.263) are also regular players hitting .250 or better, while Nic Anderson-Vine (.600) and Angel Saldivar (.500) are batting .500 or better albeit with small sample sizes.

As a pitching staff, the Roadrunners have a 4.19 earned-run average, 1.42 WHIP and .257 batting average against. Matt Comnos has the team's one save this season along with a 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and .172 BAA over a team-high five appearances. Jaykob Acosta (4.38 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) has made four appearances and one start and ranks third among all pitchers with 12.1 innings pitched, while Gabe Ulloa also has four appearances in relief. 

SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Valley
Dates/Times (Pacific): Friday, March 11 (5:05 p.m.); Saturday, March 5 (1:05 p.m.); Sunday, March 6 (11:05 a.m.)
Location: Orem, Utah (UCCU Ballpark)
Video: ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: StatBroadcast: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

A LOOK AT THE WOLVERINES
Utah Valley has started the season with a 3-8 record and is 1-2 in the WAC after opening the conference season at Dixie State. In non-conference, the Wolverines played four-game series against Texas State and San Francisco and took one game off them both.

UVU's offense has been its strength as it's hitting .266 and slugging .361 with a .344 OBP. Mitch Moralez is the big hitter with a team-high .415 batting average, .585 slugging and .478 on-base percentages. Trey Cutchen (.340), Connor Hall (.313) and Paul Vossen (.300) are all hitting .300 or better, as well.

The Wolverines' pitchers have an 8.18 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and .293 BAA on the year. Devin Smith (9.00 ERA), Cole Yocum (20.86) and Mason Gray (4.38) are the three pitchers who've made multiple starts so far this season. Nick Sims is the closer with two saves, a 1.29 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. Coop Rust has been a standout arm in the bullpen, as well, with a 2.16 ERA over three appearances, one start and 8.1 innings pitched.