California Baptist University
23-19, 10-3
Utah Tech
13-26, 6-9
CBU Splits Friday Doubleheader with Utah Tech
4/12/2024 6:44:00 PM | Softball
ST. GEORGE - Comming off a sweep of Utah Tech in Orem, the Lancers were primed for a return trip to Utah, this time to take on the Trailblazers of Utah Tech. It was an unseasonably warm day in St. George, where the Lancers and Blazers split their Western Athletic Conference doubleheader, 6-1 and 8-6, respectively. CBU remains in second place in the conference standings at 24-20 and 10-4 in WAC play, while UT currently resides in the sixth spot, percentage points behind UT Arlington, at 14-26 overall and 7-9 in league play.
GAME ONE: CBU 6 - UTAH TECH 1
The Trailblazers would strike initially, plating a run in the bottom of the first. That run, however, would be their only offensive accomplishment in game one, as the CBU defense stifled them for the next six innings. UT would collect half of their six hits in the opening frame and failed to move any baserunner past first for the rest of the game.
It took the Lacners a few innings to warm up, but they arrived in a big way in the top of the third as Kayla Lyon smashed her team-leading seventh home run of the year to left field, scoring herself and Merissa Borkowski.
An unearned run in the fifth opened the Lancer lead to two, but CBU pulled away in the seventh, doubling their total to six to crush all thoughts of a late rally. Kalena Burns reached with the bases loaded to score Ally Amato first, followed by a two-RBI single from pinch hitter Alissa Montes De Oca, which scored Priscilla Estrada and Borkowski to reach the final score of 6-1.
Presley Hosick put in solid work in the circle for CBU, earning her eighth win of the year in her fourth complete game. She allowed just the one earned while striking out four and did not issue a single free pass. During one particularly dominant stretch, the sophomore hurler retired nine straight Trailblazers from the fourth to the sixth innings.
GAME TWO: CBU 6 - UTAH TECH 8
CBU kept up its scoring ways to start the second game, immediately scoring Borkowski on a sacrifice fly from Burns. Borkowski would collect another run in the third on another Lyon RBI hit.
Tech, however, would plate two in the second and the third to take back the lead almost as soon as CBU got it in the first place. They would extend their lead in the fourth and fifth innings with four more runs to reach their final count of eight. CBU would tack on two in the fifth and two in the sixth but couldn't come up with the other pair they needed in the seventh to keep the game going.
Even though CBU ended up outhitting Utah Tech 12-11 in the second contest, the Lancers committed a trio of errors, ultimately leading to five unearned runs for the Trailblazers, a difficult thing to overcome. The Lancer defense showed up all day, but never more so than in the bottom of the sixth to keep the Lancers in it when they made a trio of defensive plays worth watching on repeat.
The rubber match between the Trailblazers and the Lancers will take place tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sauren Garton (4-5)
L: McConnell, Morgan (7-10)
S: Tyler Denhart (1)
Batting:
2B: Borkowski, Merissa 1 ; Soto, Sydney 1
RBI: Lyon, Kayla 2 ; Burns, Kalena 2 ; Russell-Millen, Malachy 2
SH: Soto, Sydney 1
SF: Lyon, Kayla 1 ; Burns, Kalena 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Borkowski, Merissa 3 ; Estrada , Priscilla 1 ; Martinez, Maya 1 ; Soto, Sydney 1
Batting:
2B: LB Kahahawai-Kekona 1 ; Ellie Evans 1 ; Baylee Howley 1
RBI: Carly Eldredge 1 ; Ellie Evans 1 ; Marissa Rubio 1 ; Baylee Howley 1 ; Drew McKown 1
SF: Drew McKown 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LB Kahahawai-Kekona 1 ; Ellie Evans 1 ; Brooklyn Dowdle 1 ; Marissa Rubio 1 ; Rachel Campbell 1 ; Baylee Howley 2 ; Maka Sonognini 1
SB: Baylee Howley 1
CS: Drew McKown 1
HBP: Laura Lockard 1
