California Baptist University
33-25
No. 1 Grand Canyon
47-11
CBU Falls in Championship Series to Top-Seeded Grand Canyon
5/11/2024 4:47:00 PM | Softball
SEATTLE - The record-setting 2024 California Baptist University softball season came to a close this afternoon in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament. The Lancers found their way into the finale by winning three contests in two days to face the No. 1 seed in Grand Canyon. The game started as a back-and-forth affair until the Lopes pulled away in the later innings to take the title by a score of 9-2.
The Lopes struck first, plating a run in the bottom of the first, but the Lancers answered right away in the top of the second. They threatened to really open it up in the first, but impeccable defense from the duo of Priscilla Estrada and Kayla Lyon struck down a threatening Lope at the plate to slow them.
Amped from the previous inning's highlight, Kalena Burns took the second pitch she saw and sent a no-doubter over the left field fence to tie the game at 1-1.
However, GCU would keep their foot on the pedal and put up two more in the bottom of the frame to retake their lead. The Lancers answered again, this time using a free pass, a pair of productive groundouts, and a single to right from Kayla Lyon to bring in pinch-runner Cayla Crawford to make it a 3-2 game still in favor of the Lopes.
GCU would put up one more in the bottom of the fourth as both teams' offenses struggled in the surprising Seattle heat. The Lancers would only put two more runners on base in the contest, one via an error and another by fielder's choice, while the Lopes offense exploded in the sixth inning for five runs to seal the outcome.
The 2024 season saw a lot of milestones, including a program record 33 wins, the most in a single season in the Division I era. Merissa Borkowski posted a new single-season hit record with her 70th of the season last night against Utah Valley, and Kalena Burns became the first Lancer to hit double-digit home runs in a season with her tenth today against Grand Canyon.
Presley Hosick finished the year as the undisputed ace for the Lancers, leading the staff in ERA (2.34), WHIP (1.26), wins (13), saves (5), innings pitched (137.1), and strikeouts (66). In her final season with CBU, Jazmine Castaneda picked up eight more wins to bring her career total to 28, the new career mark in the Division I era, surpassing Kerissa Viramontes in 2020 & 2021 with 22.
The loss of seven incredible seniors will be tough to overcome, but returning eight regular starters and multiple more freshmen who gained immeasurable experience this season makes the outlook on 2025 very promising.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hudson, Hailey (15-5)
L: Hosick, Presley (13-7)
S: Golden, Meghan (3)
Batting:
HR: Burns, Kalena 1
RBI: Lyon, Kayla 1 ; Burns, Kalena 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burns, Kalena 1 ; Crawford, Cayla 1
HBP: Russell-Millen, Malachy 1
Batting:
2B: Trierweiler, Ashley 1 ; Fifield, Kristin 1 ; Lucas, Tinley 1
HR: Lopez, Ramsay 1 ; Gomez, Makaiya 1
RBI: Trierweiler, Ashley 1 ; Rodgers, Kayla 2 ; Fifield, Kristin 1 ; Lopez, Ramsay 3 ; Gomez, Makaiya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rodgers, Kayla 2 ; Fifield, Kristin 1 ; Lopez, Ramsay 1 ; Gomez, Makaiya 1 ; Groshong-Kirk, S. 1 ; Lucas, Tinley 1 ; Smythe, Brynn-Jordan 1 ; Lutu, Leinani 1
SB: Rodgers, Kayla 2 ; Wolsky, Haley 1 ; Groshong-Kirk, S. 1 ; Smythe, Brynn-Jordan 1
