CBU Earns Doubleheader Split with Grand Canyon Thanks To Demyon Walk Off

Friday, April 28

Riverside, Calif.

4 PM

California Baptist University

27-22, 10-9

Grand Canyon

38-11, 12-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Grand Canyon	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
California Baptist	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	4	8	1

Photo by: Elijah Hickman

CBU Earns Doubleheader Split with Grand Canyon Thanks To Demyon Walk Off

4/28/2023 11:17:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Daniel Cook, Associate Director of Athletics Communications & Digital Media

RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University softball is in the midst of a conference-wide battle to earn a spot in the eight-team WAC Softball Tournament, where nine teams currently reside within two games of each other for six tournament spots. Friday's split with Grand Canyon, currently in second place in the standings, helped the Lancer's odds of making it to Phoenix in two weeks.

The Lancers took game one by a score of 4-3 as Samantha Demyon walked off the Lopes in the bottom of the seventh before GCU claimed an 8-2 victory in the nightcap. The Lancers are now 27-23 on the year and 10-10 in the conference. The Lopes moved to 39-11 and 13-7 after Friday's action.

GAME ONE: CBU 4 – GCU 3

The Lopes got on the board immediately, pushing a run across in the top of the first and extending that lead in the top of the third with two more scores on a two-out single. The Lancers retaliated in the bottom half of the inning with two of their own as Kayla Lyon laced a bases-loaded single up the middle, scoring Priscilla Estrada and Sydney Soto easily.

Bases loaded with Kayla Lyon at bat? Take it to the bank 💰 #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/XXEQZgTEhc
— California Baptist Softball (@CBUSoftball) April 29, 2023

GCU would manage just two hits for the rest of the game but managed to load the bases in a tense seventh inning before Jazmine Castaneda induced a slow grounder to Estrada for the final out. With the game tied, California Baptist's first two hitters up in the bottom of the seventh forced went down in order, and the game seemed destined for extra innings, but Valerie Alvarez put the first pitch she saw right down the left field line for a double and a threat.

Head Coach Mike Smith added to that threat by putting in Carly Limosnero as a fleet-footed pinch runner with Demyon at bat next. She needed to see just two pitches before they returned the ball to sender, scoring a grounder up the middle, scoring Limosnero from second to win in walk-off fashion.

‼️𝕎𝔸𝕃𝕂 𝕆𝔽𝔽‼️ Samantha Demyon smacks a walkoff single to bring Carly Limosnero home from second to walkoff the Lopes in game one!!#LanceUp⚔️ | @NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/u0LePHH6rX
— California Baptist Softball (@CBUSoftball) April 29, 2023

Castaneda collected win number eight this season even though she only threw three pitches in the top of the seventh. Morgan McConnell carried the load for 6.2 innings while striking out two Lopes.

GAME TWO: GCU 8 – CBU 2

The Lopes wasted no time taking another lead in game two, but a significantly more daunting difference to make up this time at they dropped a five-spot and batted around in the top of the first. Eventually trailing 8-0 in the fifth, the Lopes seemed destined to collect their 10th run-rule victory of the season with a no-hitter tag attached to it, but with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Amanda Bricker reached safely with a bit of help from a less-than-ideal throw from GCU's catcher. She would be pinch run for, and three batters later, Ryley McDaniel scored on Molly Kolander's double to left center.

Timely hitting and heads up base running from CBU gets the lancers on the board!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/3ggiFXyuyk
— California Baptist Softball (@CBUSoftball) April 29, 2023

The Lancers would not roll over, battling to the end and adding another run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Lopes would complete the split with a swinging strikeout with the bases loaded.

Saturday's rubber match is set for 5:00 p.m. Victory would go a long way for both team's postseason aspirations. The Lancers look to gain some breathing room in the standings, and GCU hopes to secure a double-bye in the tournament while holding off a surging SFA squad.