California Baptist University
UC Riverside
BASE Preview: Lancers Set to Face UCR in Crosstown Showdown
2/20/2024 4:15:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE – California Baptist Baseball is set to host the UC Riverside Highlanders in a four-game series, spanning Thursday through Sunday in a back-and-fourth hosted weekend. The Lancers nearly swept last year's Crosstown Showdown, going 3-1 in the series record.
Both squads are coming off a 2-2 Opening Weekend record and will be looking to add a few wins before CBU begins Western Athletic Conference play in two weeks.
THE LANCERS AT A GLANCE
California Baptist started their season with a pair of wins and losses, going 1-1 in Malibu and 1-1 at home. In their first win of the season, the Lancers forced an extra inning against Pepperdine and secured a 4-1 win. CBU would also take the second win of their 2024 campaign against the Waves, only this time winning 25-4, and broke the record for most runs in a single game during the CBU Baseball NCAA Era.
Tonight was one for the (record) books📚#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/Wh9PCKlNaj
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) February 19, 2024
Michael Carpentier led in the batting category for the Lancers, tallying a .471 batting average with three doubles, a home run, and eight hits. Junior Jake Brown had himself a weekend at the plate as well, knocking a pair of home runs out of the park for two RBI and his first two hits of the year.
True freshman Lukas Pirko made his college debut on Opening Day for CBU and kicked off his career with a bang after going 4.2 innings, collecting five strikeouts and a 1.93 ERA. Ryan Delgado also picked up where he left off from last season, earning two pitching wins after closing out a pair of games for a 1.80 ERA.
First career strikeout for true freshman Lukas Pirko💪#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/7qcrNeGRYO
— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) February 16, 2024
PRESEASON HONORS:
The Lancers were selected to finish third in the WAC coaches poll, with Grand Canyon being the favorites and Utah Valley selected to second place. CBU landed Preseason Co-Player of the Year with Mitchel Simon, a senior third baseman, and starting catcher Michael Carpentier was named to the WAC Preseason Team as well. This will be the second year of the NCAA Division I postseason eligibility for CBU after qualifying for the WAC tournament last year.
California Baptist was represented well during the 2024 DI Baseball Preseason Awards, including two top-50 position nods. Cody New, Ryan Hetzler, and Lukas Pirko were all selected as freshmen to watch amidst the WAC-specific awards. The Lancers also noted five players on the 2024 draft prospects in the WAC, including Simon, Brandon Downer, Michael Carpentier, Jacob Wilson, and Josh Paino. Nick Dumesnil was named to the 2025 draft prospects list as well. Simon was also named to the top 15% of third basemen in the NCAA DI, clocking in at #42. Ryan Delagado was named to the top 15% of the relievers list, punching in at #35.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: UC Riverside
Dates/Times: Thursday, February 22nd (6:00 p.m. PST); Friday, February 23rd (6:30 p.m. PST); Saturday, February 24th (5:00 p.m. PST); Sunday, February 25th (1:00 p.m. PST)
Location: Riverside, CA (Totman Stadium & Riverside Sports Complex)
Video: ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Stats: StatBroadcast: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
SERIES NOTES
The Lancers and Highlanders have a rich, competitive history that dates back to 1987. The infamous Crosstown Showdown has gone CBU's way as they enter the weekend with a three-game winning streak, taking three of the four-game series last season. The Lancer's all-time record against the Highlanders is 15-24, but have an 8-2 record in the last ten games against UC Riverside. Most recently, Gary Adcock's squad came up big against UCR and tallied an 11-2 win at the Highlander's home field.
THE HIGHLANDERS AT A GLANCE
UC Riverside opened their 2024 season against Nevada in a three-game series and finished with a single match-up against Utah Valley. The Highlanders took one off the Wolfpack on Saturday night, coming away with an 11-7 win for their first of the year. UCR secured their second win of Opening Weekend against Utah Valley with an 8-4 victory on their home field.
Jayden Lopez led the squad in hitting across the four-game spread, going .500 at the plate with six hits. The junior sailed a double, triple, and a home run, bringing in 2 RBI. Following close behind is Tyler Martinez, who batted .400 with six hits during his 15 at-bats over the weekend.
On the pitching side, the Highlanders have added freshman Kurt Marton to their artillery and he came up big against Utah Valley. The freshman threw a 1.50 ERA across six innings of action for the Highlanders, notching six strikeouts and allowing just one hit. Tyler Gebb also started the year well for the Highlanders and three innings of relief, allowing just one home run and picking up three strikeouts from the mound.
Lancer baseball tickets are on sale now at CBULancers.com/baseballtickets for all games at Totman Stadium.
