California Baptist University
4-4
San Diego
3-6
CBU Sweeps Saturday Action Against USD and Utah State
2/16/2025 12:20:00 AM | Softball
RIVERSIDE - California Baptist University softball swept its doubleheader action on Saturday afternoon in the CBU Classic, cruising past San Diego 7-1 before outlasting a late comeback attempt from Utah State 6-4. The Lancers are back on the right side of .500 at 5-4 with another doubleheader against the same pair of teams on Sunday.
GAME ONE: CBU 7 - USD 1
CBU opened the game hot, posting three runs in the top of the first on one Kalena Burns swing, her fourth home run of the season. Burns returned to the batter's box in the second inning and piled on the Torero starter by smacking a two-run double down the left field line, pushing the Lancer lead to 5-0 before USD could bat through their lineup.
The game went quiet until the bottom of the sixth inning when Priscilla Estrada tripled to score pinch runner Jasmine Goins from first, followed one pitch later by Stevie Robison, who laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring home Estrada to make it 7-0 in favor of the home team. The Toreros would avoid the shutout after the leadoff hitter for USD sent a home run over the left center wall, but a single and three groundouts would finish the game in favor of CBU.
A big part of the Lancers' lopsided win was above-average defensive plays. In back-to-back innings, center fielder Sydney Soto and left fielder Robison each recorded double plays via outfield assists. These plays have become almost commonplace for the senior Soto, who had at least eight outfield helpers last season, but Lancer fans were treated to a potential glimpse of the future when Robison made a diving catch in super shallow left field, bordering the infield dirt, popped halfway up, and threw out an overzealous USD baserunner from her knees to end the top of the third.
Lili Arana tossed six shutout innings against the Toreros, allowing just four hits on an economical 71 pitches to earn her second win of the season.
GAME TWO: CBU 6 - USU 4
Estrada entered Saturday's contests hitting just .222, but Head Coach Mike Smith knows his senior leadoff hitter just needed a chance to find her groove, and that's what she did against Utah State. She went 3-4 against the Aggies with two singles and a double, two runs scored, one RBI, and raising her average to .290 before the end of the day. Lexi Lopez also seized an opportunity on Saturday, going 2-3 and scoring a run in her second career start. The freshman outfielder is hitting .400 in her limited opportunities so far and has shown to be a more than competent fielder.
The Aggies would strike first after an extended feeling-out process, scoring on a solo homer in the top of the third. CBU would answer with a run in the fourth and fifth innings and a big four-run inning in the sixth. The action was highlighted by one of the rarest plays in college softball, an inside-the-park homerun from Ashlee Annett. The everyday first baseman dropped a well-hit ball on the left foul line with some English on it, which caused it to veer further into foul territory. The spin plus the turf were the perfect conditions for Annett, who never let up as she rounded the bases. The Aggie left fielder would eventually track the ball down at the wall, but Annett barely needed to half-slide to score.
Freshman hurler Annika Hollingsworth recorded a strong outing, going 6.1 innings in a win against an Aggies offense that put up five runs against the #7 Texas A&M Aggies two weeks ago and six runs against #19 Baylor last week. Morgan McConnell came in for the final two outs after Utah State started a rally in the seventh and earned her first save of the year.
The Lancers will finish out the CBU Classic on Sunday afternoon with an 11:00 a.m. tilt against Utah State and a 1:30 p.m. finale against San Diego.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Arana, Lili (2-0)
L: Bartlow, Kaitlyn (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Hernandez, Alyssa 1
HR: Hogue-Lacy, Shawnese 1
RBI: Hogue-Lacy, Shawnese 1
SH: Ruiz, Carly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hogue-Lacy, Shawnese 1
HBP: Mulligan, Hailey 1
Batting:
2B: Robison, Stevie 1 ; Burns, Kalena 1
3B: Estrada , Priscilla 1
HR: Burns, Kalena 1
RBI: Estrada , Priscilla 1 ; Robison, Stevie 1 ; Burns, Kalena 4
SH: Robison, Stevie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Estrada , Priscilla 1 ; Robison, Stevie 2 ; Penberthy, Kate 1 ; Burns, Kalena 1 ; Russell-Millen, Malachy 1 ; Goins, Jasmine 1
