California Baptist University
Abilene Christian University
BASE Preview: Lancers Set to Take On Abilene Christian During Texas Road Series
4/19/2024 8:05:00 AM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball team will head to Texas for the sixth weekend of Western Athletic Conference play against Abilene Christian for a three-game series. The Lancers are coming off a five-game winning streak and currently reside at the top of the WAC standings as they head into the meat of conference action. The Wildcats have seen a successful season thus far in the year and welcome CBU after taking down Texas Christian during a midweek tilt on Tuesday. California Baptist possesses a 25-13 record overall while holding an 11-4 WAC record. ACU holds a 10-5 conference record and is 22-15 overall.
THE LANCERS AT A GLANCE
The dominating series sweep over Stephen F. Austin last weekend and solid showing against UNLV carries the Lancers into the sixth week of WAC play against the Wildcats. The CBU pitching staff had a phenomenal weekend, allowing just 12 hits across 24 innings and no runs. Lukas Pirko shined bright during the first game of the weekend and was named WAC Pitcher of the Week for his impressive outing on the mound, allowing just two singles and one walk over six complete innings while striking out four batters.
Nicholas Dumesnil currently sits at the top of the CBU stats with a .333 batting average and a .651 slugging percentage, launching ten home runs this season. The sophomore outfielder has been clutch for the Lancers this season, finding his way into the starting lineup 34 times and checking in with 24 RBI. Pirko leads the Lancer pitcher staff with a low 2.14 ERA and 39 strikeouts on the season, while Brandon Downer follows suit with a 2.21 ERA and 41 strikeouts.
RECORD-BREAKING WEEKEND
Head Coach Gary Adcock's squad enjoyed an extremely successful weekend as they hosted Stephen F. Austin and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During the three-game homestand against the Lumberjacks, the Lancers did not allow a single run across 24 innings while giving up just 12 hits and dishing 20 strikeouts. It was the first time in program history CBU recorded a shutout series sweep and the dominating defense continued into the team's midweek tilt against UNLV. The Lancers ultimately kept their scoreless streak alive for 30.2 innings but still took their fifth win in a row over the Rebels.
Mitchel Simon was the other name to know this weekend as the junior third baseman knocked his 52nd career home run to break the all-time California Baptist baseball career home run record, surpassing Aaron Seuss at 51.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Abilene Christian
Dates/Times: Friday, April 19th (11:00 a.m. PST); Friday, April 19th (2:00 p.m. PST); Sunday, April 21st (8:00 a.m. PST)
Location: Abilene, TX
Video: ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 2 WACInternational: Game 3
Live Stats: StatBroadcast: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
SERIES NOTES
This is just the second year these two squads will face each other in WAC play with the overall series tied 2-2. The Lancers took the regular season series 2-1 against the Wildcats in Riverside last season, while ACU snagged a postseason dub in a tight 5-4 win at the WAC Tournament.
THE WILDCATS AT A GLANCE
Abilene Christian enters the weekend tied for second in the WAC standings with a .667 winning percentage tied with Utah Valley. The squad had their WAC bye-week last weekend and faced UC Davis at home, snagging the series 2-1 and run-ruling the Aggies twice. ACU also picked up a big 8-3 win over Texas Christian, who recently fell out out of the top-25 rankings.
Leading the team in batting average is grad student Gino D'Alessio, who owns a .372 batting average and boasts 51 hits on the season. The utility player has tallied eight home runs and six doubles, nearing a .500 on-base percentage. From the mound, Brett Lanman is the go-to guy for ACU and has recorded a 2.35 ERA with a 5-1 pitching record on the year.
Lancer baseball tickets are on sale now at CBULancers.com/baseballtickets for all games at Totman Stadium.
