RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball program opened its third straight Opening Day with a win after besting the Portland Pilots in the first of a four-game series on Friday night. CBU's pitching staff impressed and staved off any offensive momentum for a 1-0 win to begin the 2025 season with a victory.

After finding his footing in the first inning, CBU starter Jacob Wilson sat down a pair of Pilots in the second inning for his first two strikeouts of the day. The Lancer offense fed off the energy as they came up to bat in the bottom of the second, kicking off with a stand-up double from Bubba Rocha. Julian Alvarez battled in the box and picked up a walk before Matt Chavez knocked a well-placed single down the left line, forcing Portland's third baseman to make a difficult throw across the infield. The Pilot's first baseman was unable to field the hard throw, allowing Rocha to score the one and only run of the night.

From there, both sides dueled out the game on the defensive end between their pitchers and solid infielders. True freshman Chris Ramirez made several plays that boasted confidence from the young shortstop, cementing his spot in Coach Gary Adock's defensive line-up. Portland's Carter Gaston was solid from the mound during his first outing of 2025, sitting down four of CBU's batters, but it wasn't enough to get away from being dubbed the losing pitcher during the Opening Day contest. Noah Smith secured the winning pitcher nod after entering in the fifth inning and dominating in a quick 1-2-3 inning with three strikeouts to keep Portland at bay. Ryan Kittredge also showed off a pair of excellent innings in which he allowed no runs before Alfredo Capacete secured the save after finishing out the ninth inning. The Lancer pitching staff ultimately retired the final 17 batters from Portland to snuff out any hopes of an offensive comeback from the away squad.

California Baptist totaled eight hits from their offense and nine strikeouts from the pitching staff to secure its first win of the season. Smith led the way defensively with four strikeouts, while Rocha and Chavez each picked up a pair of hits at the plate.

The Lancers will return to Totman Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the second installment of the four-game series versus Portland.