California Baptist University
30-23, 17-7
Stephen F. Austin
15-38, 8-16
Lancers Send Seniors Off With Regular Season Finale Victory
5/4/2024 7:38:00 PM | Softball
RIVERSIDE - Despite previously clinching the 2-seed for the upcoming Western Athletic Conference softball tournament, California Baptist University softball wanted to win badly on Saturday to send off seven seniors the right way. Those seniors will remember going out on top as the Lancers downed the Lumberjacks 4-1 on Saturday.
Before play started, Maya Avila, Maya Martinez, Alyssa Argomaniz, Jazmine Castaneda, Merissa Borkowski, Raegan Cheyne, and Alissa Montes De Oca were honored with a pregame ceremony, which brought smiles, tears, and laughter to all in attendance. However, the jerseys in the frames would need to wait as the jerseys they were wearing still needed defending against an SFA team that was highly motivated to ruin Senior Day. With a win, the 'Jacks would claim the eighth and final spot in the WAC Tournament, but a loss meant they would return to Nacogdoches tonight and pack for home tomorrow.
The Lumberjacks were ready from the jump, loading the bases in the first inning before starter Castaneda forced a pop-out and a line out to get out of the jam. SFA would collect in the top of the fourth, scoring the opening run on a one-out single. That's all they would manage, and Presley Hosick would relieve Castaneda and immediately force a pair of groundouts to end the frame.
The Lancers would answer right away, with Kayla Lyon leading off the bottom half of the fourth with an infield single. A pinch runner would come in for her, but it would be an empty gesture, and the next batter, Kalena Burns, sent her ninth home run of the season over the left center wall to give CBU a 2-1 lead.
Burns would find her way back into the batter's box in the very next inning, and the 'Jacks would test her with two outs. SFA failed the test, and Burns smoked a double down the right field line, scoring Borkowski and pinch runner Carly Limosnero from second and third, respectively.
The Jacks were down but not quite out in the seventh. Hosick needed just nine pitches to retire the first two batters before handing the ball to the other senior pitcher, Argomaniz, to close out the game. That's precisely what she did, emphatically, by striking out the Lumberjack on three pitches to seal the game for CBU.
The win gives the Lancers a 30-23 record, which matches the single-season best win mark from 2022, and a 17-7 mark in league play, a five-game improvement from the 2022 season. CBU finished the year with a 6-2-1 conference series record, the best since joining the WAC in 2018.
The season now shifts to the Pacific Northwest as Seattle U hosts the 2024 WAC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 8, with the first round of single elimination games. After those initial games, the double-elimination version of the tournament starts. Still, thanks to a double-bye earned with the second seed, CBU will first take the field on Thursday, May 9, at 10:00 a.m. against either #7 Tarleton State, #6 UT Arlington, or #3 Utah Valley. All games will be streamed on ESPN+, with Live stats available throughout the tournament. Follow along on CBU softball social media for all the links and information regarding the tournament.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hosick, Presley (12-5)
L: Aydenne Brown (5-12)
S: Argomaniz, Alyssa (1)
Batting:
2B: Kylie Bishop 1
RBI: Emily Land 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hope Lusk 1
SB: Madison Nguyen 1
Batting:
2B: Burns, Kalena 1 ; Annett, Ashlee 2
HR: Burns, Kalena 1
RBI: Burns, Kalena 4
SH: Estrada , Priscilla 1 ; Penberthy, Kate 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Borkowski, Merissa 1 ; Severns, Matti 1 ; Burns, Kalena 1 ; Limosnero, Carly 1
HBP: Russell-Millen, Malachy 1
