By: Mariah Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and Digital Media
RIVERSIDE--- The regular season will conclude on Saturday afternoon for the California Baptist baseball program as they finalize the season on the road at Utah Tech. The Lancers have secured a spot in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year during CBU's first two years of being postseason-eligible and will head to Mesa, Arizona, following the weekend series.
THE LANCERS AT A GLANCE
California Baptist bounced back over the weekend with a series win over UTRGV after taking two of three games after notching a midweek victory over Bakersfield. The two conference wins over the Vaqueros pushed CBU back into the top four WAC standings, and this weekend's series will have major seeding ramifications for the Lancers.
Nicholas Dumesnil continues his hot streak into the final week of the conference series and leads the Lancers with a .345 batting average paired with 17 home runs and 68 hits. Garret Ostrander follows closely behind with a .310 batting average, while Josh Paino has been solid at the plate with a .303 average this season.
The California Baptist pitching staff currently holds a 4.59 ERA as a squad with true freshman Lukas Pirko leading the way. Pirko is maintaining a 3.19 ERA across 62 innings and leads the team with 65 strikeouts on the year. Following closely behind is Brandon Downer, a junior right-hander, with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP through 72.2 innings of action.
DOWN TO THE FINAL SERIES
The final seeding for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be determined after this weekend's contests. The eight-field team has been decided and Grand Canyon has solidified the first-place spot with the final seven up for grabs. Utah Valley, California Baptist, Abilene Christian, Tarleton State, UT Arlington, UTRGV and Sacramento State have each punched their ticket to the tournament, and the top two seeds will earn a first-round bye.
For California Baptist to be the two-seed, GCU would need to win its final series against Utah Valley, and the Lancers must sweep if the Wolverines take one of three from the Lopes. If UVU is swept, CBU would need to take at least two games this weekend for the two-seed.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Tech
Dates/Times: Thursday, May 16th (5:00 p.m. PST); Friday, May 17th (5:00 p.m. PST); Saturday, May 18th (11:00 a.m. PST)
Location: St.George, UT
Video: WACInternational: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Sidearms Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
SERIES NOTES
The Lancers' and Trailblazer's competition dates back to 2008 and UTU currently holds an all-time record of 26-25 during the last 51 games. During their most recent meeting last season, CBU secured a home series win over Utah Tech after taking two games of three over the weekend.
THE TRAILBLAZERS AT A GLANCE
Utah Tech will finish out its 2024 campaign this weekend after not earning a postseason appearance at the WAC Tournament. The Trailblazers are 13-40 on the season and 9-18 in conference play. The home team will be looking to end their season strong though with a win over CBU and has picked up some big wins despite a tough year. UTU took wins over Oklahoma State, Grand Canyon, and Utah earlier this season.
Hunter Katschke leads the offense for Utah Tech with a .289 batting average across 51 games in a UTU jersey. The junior owns 52 hits and 11 doubles on the season while boasting 32 RBI. Hank Dodson and Kyle McDaniel follow suit with a pair of batting averages in the .270s for the Trailblazers.
On the pitching side, the squad holds a team ERA of 7.87 with Cartsen Herman leading the squad. The left-handed pitcher holds a 4.88 ERA across 62.2 innings and has posted a team-high 49 strikeouts from the bump. Ryan Hardman tends to be the go-to guy in relief for the Trailblazers and owns 3 saves on the year paired with an 8.46 ERA.
