Clutch Offense, Strong Relief Pitching Leads CBU to Late Win in Bakersfield

Tuesday, March 8

Bakersfield, Calif.

6 PM

California Baptist University

8-3

CSU Bakersfield

4-8

California Baptist

CSU Bakersfield

Photo by: Andrew Shortall

Clutch Offense, Strong Relief Pitching Leads CBU to Late Win in Bakersfield

3/8/2022 9:03:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Director of Athletics Communications

BAKERSFIELD – Some clutch offense fueled California Baptist University baseball to a 4-3 win over CSU Bakersfield in the Lancers' first mid-week game of the season at Hardt Field on Tuesday night.

CBU scored the winning run in the top of the ninth after a triple from Mitchel Simon and sacrifice fly from Harrison Spohn. The Lancers also scored their first three runs of the game on two-out RBI hits, as they improve to 8-3 this season and CSUB drops to 4-8.

Harrison Spohn drives in the go-ahead run with a deep sacrifice fly in the ninth inning‼️ #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/PIaShCkfAW
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 9, 2022

Jake Skipworth came up big with two hits and two runs batted in to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Simon also had two hits, including his triple in the ninth inning.

🙌 𝙏𝙄𝙀 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 🙌

Jake Skipworth doubles in his second RBI of the game and 14th of the season to tie this one up. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/xLZZQQKgrB
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 9, 2022

California Baptist used seven pitchers on the night and Ryan Silva was the winner. The junior reliever threw the final two innings and got the Lancers out of a big jam with two on and no out in the eighth and again in the ninth when the Roadrunners put two on. He allowed just one run on a hit, a walk and struck out five over two frames.

RYAN SILVA SHUTS THE DOOR‼️

He earns the win, throwing the final two innings in which he gave up no runs on a hit, a walk and struck out a career-high five. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/QeleCyhE59
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 9, 2022

The Lancers will continue Western Athletic Conference play at Utah Valley this weekend. The three-game series will open Friday at 5:05 p.m. Pacific, continue Saturday at 1:05 p.m. and conclude Sunday with a 11:05 a.m. first pitch.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Both teams scored in the third inning. Skipworth drove in CBU's run after the inning started with an error and a walk to Marty Munoz. It extended his hitting streak to all 11 games this season and was good for his team-high 13^th RBI.

Jake Skipworth gets CBU on the board, extends his hitting streak to all 11 games this season and picks up RBI #⃣1⃣3⃣ #LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/Py8A9V8Rx2
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 9, 2022

CSU Bakersfield scored the next three runs, with two on four hits in the third and another in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.

The Lancers cut the deficit in half in the fifth on an RBI double from Chad Castillo on a hit-and-run play that worked to perfection, with Marty Munoz scoring all the way from first. California Baptist then tied the game in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI double from Skipworth. Spohn scored after he singled aboard.

🪄🪄🪄

A little hit-and-run magic brought to you by Chad Castillo and Marty Munoz. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/CDPogTni1d
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 9, 2022

The Roadrunners threatened to take back the lead in the eighth inning when they put two runners on with no outs. Silva came up big for CBU out of the bullpen, as he struck out the next two batters and got a grounder to second base to strand both runners and keep things tied.

Simon tripled to lead off the ninth inning, as a miscommunication in the outfield allowed him to reach base as he hustled out of the batter's box. Spohn then drove him in easily with a deep sacrifice fly to right center.