Castaneda Throws One-Hitter, Leads CBU to Milestone Win Against Dixie State

Friday, April 8

Riverside, Calif.

4 PM

California Baptist University

21-20, 4-6

Dixie State

13-22, 3-7

Dixie State

California Baptist

Photo by: Elijah Hickman

Castaneda Throws One-Hitter, Leads CBU to Milestone Win Against Dixie State

4/8/2022 9:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Daniel Cook, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University softball found itself in a pair of defensive fights on Friday night as it split a pair of low-scoring contests with Dixie State. The Trailblazers eventually broke through and took game one 1-0, before the Lancers took the nightcap with a 3-0 win.

CBU moves to 22-20 on the year and 5-6 in Western Athletic Conference play while the Trailblazers are now 13-23 with a 3-8 conference record. The game two win for California Baptist set a new single-season record for the Lancers in the NCAA Division I era, surpassing the 21 wins the team recorded in 2019 and 2021.

‼️𝙇𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙍𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉‼️ The Lancers earn win No. 22 (and counting) with a 3-0 victory in game two! With the win, CBU has set a new single-season wins record for the Division I era!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/vx8JPpWpUH — California Baptist Softball (@CBUSoftball) April 9, 2022
Nicole Stark led the way at the plate for CBU, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and one run batted in, and Deja Westbrook chipped in a solid 2-for-3 game two effort. Alyssa Argomaniz was the tough-luck loser of game one, throwing a complete game, striking out four, allowing four hits and just one earned.

Jazmine Castaneda turned in one of the great pitching performances in recent history for CBU, earning her 11^th win on a complete game effort while striking out four and allowing just one hit, nearly carding the first DI no-hitter for the Lancers.

GAME ONE
Both teams struggled offensively to begin the day as the starting pitchers maintained no-hitters into the fifth inning. Lancer hurler Alyssa Argomaniz threw just one pitch all day she would have liked back, a 3-1 toss with two outs that a Blazer got all of and sent over the left center wall for the lone run of the game.

Tensions were high in the home dugout as the game neared its end as the Lancers still trailed by one run and within two outs of being no-hit, but were equally within reach of a comeback. Stark broke up the Dixie State no-hit bid with a pinch-hit single up the middle, and while her pinch runner eventually made it to second, the Lancers' rally would be halted just one batter later.

GAME TWO

The nightcap followed a very similar trajectory at the start as both offenses were unable to really get anything significant going. The Lancers would record one hit in the second, third and fourth innings, stranding all three, while Dixie recorded its first and only hit in the top of the fifth.

The bottom half of the fifth began with a fly out and strike out for the Lancers, but Michaila Harrington and Priscilla Estrada would record a walk and a single, respectively, to start a two-out rally. Stark followed that up with a single into left field, easily scoring Harrington from second base. The Trailblazer catcher tried to end the inning after Harrington scored by throwing out Estrada who was attempting to take third, but the throw got away from her and ended up underneath the left field foul pole, allowing Estrada and Stark to score giving CBU a 3-0 lead with one swing.

Nicole Stark breaks game two wide open with a three-run single!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/dqQteeMILm — California Baptist Softball (@CBUSoftball) April 9, 2022
After that, Castaneda needed just 15 pitches to retire six Dixie State batters in the sixth and seventh innings and seal the game two victory.

UP NEXT

Saturday will pit the Lancers and Trailblazers against each other for a rubber match to decide the series winner. John C. Funk will host game three of the series with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.