RIVERSIDE--- Friday night ended in heartbreak for the California Baptist baseball program after falling to Utah Tech in extra innings during the Western Athletic Conference season opener. Seven scoreless frames yielded a phenomenal pitchers' duel, and a late Lancer comeback was not enough to overcome the one-run difference. Utah Tech's 3-2 victory improves their record to 14-11 and 1-0 in WAC play, while CBU drops to 11-11 and 0-1 in conference.

Cody New and Cade Montgomery put on a show for the 400 fans in attendance during the weekend opener, spinning six scoreless innings of work. Montgomery dished nine strikeouts from the mound, while New let his defense do the legwork after sitting down four Trailblazers. It was the visitors who ultimately broke the stalemate on a pair of RBI singles in the top of the eighth. The 2-0 lead would hold firm, even after Ben Castelli knocked his fourth home run of the week to put CBU on the board to put the home team within one of tying the game.

A scoreless top of the ninth from Niko Urquidi allowed the Lancers the opportunity to walk off the game, but CBU settled for knotting it 2-2 after scoring on a passed ball. The top of the tenth saw a solo shot with two outs on the board from Utah Tech that the Lancers were unable to match. Friday night marks the first time CBU has played extra innings this season.
 

Ben Castelli is a HR MACHINE🤌#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/sHTSihpppa

— California Baptist Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 22, 2025

California Baptist struggled to capitalize on opportune moments, like drawing eight walks and two hit-by-pitches. The Lancers left 14 runners on base compared to the Trailblazers' nine. Pitching looked strong for the Lancers yet again, but a lack of execution on offense sealed the loss for the home team.

CBU will gear up for the second installment of the WAC series tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. and will be on the hunt for the squad's first conference win.