By: Mariah Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Digital Media
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball program will welcome the Utah Valley Wolverines for a Western Athletic Conference weekend series beginning on Friday evening. The Lancers enter the weekend tied for first in conference standings with Grand Canyon University, while UVU sits in second tied with Abilene Christian University. CBU boasts a 27-14 overall record, while sporting a 13-5 WAC record and have yet to drop a conference series. As for the Wolverines, the away team this weekend holds a 20-21 overall record and an 11-7 conference record.
THE LANCERS AT A GLANCE
The Lancers boasted another strong outing over the weekend in Texas as they took down second-place Abilene Christian with a 2-1 series win. CBU then returned home to host Long Beach State University on Tuesday evening, where Head Coach Gary Adcock's squad picked up their 27th win of the year after downing the Dirtbags 12-8.
Nicholas Dumesnil continues to have a dominant sophomore season and leads the Lancers with a .347 batting average, paired with 50 hits and 13 home runs this season. Junior Josh Paino has also been clutch for CBU this season and currently sits with a .320 batting average while knocking 12 doubles and 10 homers during his 2024 campaign.
The California Baptist pitching staff has had a phenomenal season and sat in the top 20 of the national rankings this season with the squad's team ERA. CBU currently sits with a 3.82 ERA and has combined for 305 strikeouts this season. Leading the pack is Brandon Downer, who owns a 2.29 ERA across 59 innings of action. The right-handed pitcher leads the team with 46 Ks and boasts a 5-2 pitching record.
DOMINANT DUMESNIL
Nicholas Dumesnil earned his second weekly WAC honor of the season after an impactful week against UNLV and ACU. Dumesnil batted .467 with four home runs, seven RBIs, a 1.235 slugging percentage, and 10 runs over four starts. Dumesnil launched a solo home run and scored twice against UNLV at home, and opened a doubleheader at Abilene Christian 5-for-5 with two home runs, five RBIs, and five runs scored. Dumesnil brought in three hits and three runs in the to round out the weekend. This is the second weekly award for Dumesnil and Lancer's fifth POTW nod this season.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Valley
Dates/Times: Friday, April 26th (6:00 p.m. PST); Saturday, April 27th (5:00 p.m. PST); Sunday, April 28st (12:00 p.m. PST)
Location: Riverside, CA
Video: ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: StatBroadcast: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
SERIES NOTES
In the overall record between the two squads, the Lancers reign supreme with 11 wins and just a pair of losses to Utah Valley. The teams most recently met in 2022 during regular season play and the 2-1 series went in favor of California Baptist after UVU took the first game of the weekend.
THE WOLVERINES AT A GLANCE
Utah Valley enters the weekend tied for second in the WAC standings with a .611 winning percentage with Abilene Christian. The squad fell to UT Arlington in the series after dropping the first two games of the weekend but came back with a 5-1 win on Sunday. The Wolverines went without a midweek game this week, opting to cruise straight into WAC play beginning on Friday at Totman Stadium.
The WAC Preseason Co-Player of the Year has continued to impress this season and sits at the top of the stat lines for UVU. Daniel Dickinson owns a .353 batting average across his 41 starts for the Wolverines and holds 59 hits and 15 home runs this season. The sophomore has been dominant at the plate for Utah Valley with a .458 on-base percentage and a .701 slugging percentage.
On the pitching side, the squad holds a team ERA of 6.69. Chase Hennessey has been the go-to guy for the Wolverines with 18 starts this season and an even 6.00 ERA. The senior has consistently thrown a single inning through the majority of his starts and holds a 0-2 pitching record. Mitch Mueller boasts 40 innings pitched for UVU and a 3-1 record, paired with 34 strikeouts on the season and a 2.66 ERA.
Lancer baseball tickets are on sale now at CBULancers.com/baseballtickets for all games at Totman Stadium.
