California Baptist University
Utah Valley University
BASE Preview: CBU Travels to Orem for Weekend Series Against UVU
4/24/2025 11:25:00 AM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball program will hit the road again this weekend, trading Northern California for Orem, Utah, as Utah Valley is set to host CBU. The Lancers enter the weekend on a two-game losing streak and will be looking to get right with the series in Utah. CBU owns a 22-19 record overall and is currently 5-7 in Western Athletic Conference play, while UVU is 25-17 overall and 10-5 in the WAC.
THE LANCERS AT A GLANCE
California Baptist enters the weekend with the hopes of righting their sails against a very good Utah Valley squad after falling to Sacramento State last week and going 1-1 against UC Santa Barbara. Carter Eberhard secured his first collegiate walk-off last Monday after CBU took down the Gauchos at home before heading north to Sacramento, where the Lancers fell 2-1 in the WAC series. Gary Adcock's squad headed to Santa Barbara on Monday, where the Gauchos returned the walk-off favor on their home field to complete the season series against the Big West team.
Chris Ramirez is the name to know this season for CBU's offense, as the true freshman has posted impressive numbers during his collegiate debut season and does not look to be slowing down any time soon. Ramirez has been maintaining a .376 batting average with 50 hits and a .897 OPS. The freshman shortstop owns the most multi-hit games this season for the Lancers and is currently on a five-game hitting streak. Sitting behind the freshman is Bubba Rocha, who's posting a .333 batting average and is coming off a solid game against UCSB. The outfielder came in clutch with a two-run blast to tie the game 6-6 against the Gauchos and now owns three home runs with 68 RBI this season.
The California Baptist pitching staff owns one of the lowest ERAs in the WAC, highlighted by Cody New and Andrew Rudd. Both New and Rudd own 3.40 ERAs this season; New owns 62 strikeouts across 10 starts, and Rudd has given up just 19 earned runs across 14 appearances with 40 punchouts. Ryan Kittredge has also made his way into a starting role, posting a 5.36 ERA across 50.1 innings of action, retiring 34 batters on strikes, and owning a 2-1 pitching record.
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Utah Valley University
Dates/Times: Friday, April 25th (5:05 p.m. PST ); Saturday, April 26th (3:05 p.m. PST); Sunday, April 27th (11:00 a.m. PST)
Location: Orem, UT
Video: ESPN+: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Statbroadcast: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
SERIES NOTES
The Utah Valley and California Baptist record dates back to 2019 in CBU's history books, showing CBU with a 13-4 all-time record against the Wolverines. During their most recent meet-up, UVU secured the series in Riverside with an extra innings Sunday win before the Lancers knocked them out of the WAC Tournament at the end of the year.
THE WOLVERINES AT A GLANCE
Utah Valley enters the weekend tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with Grand Canyon and Sacramento State. UVU is coming off a tough series against Tarleton State before hosting a pair of midweek games, falling to BYU 15-7 and dropping the game versus Utah 13-5. After dropping six of their last seven games, the Wolverines will be looking to get back on track against California Baptist in this three-game set this weekend.
The Wolverines lead the WAC in several offensive categories, proving their aggressive style of play and their success at the plate. UVU is hitting .316 as a squad and owns 58 home runs on the year. The team has three Wolverines hitting over .300, including Luke Iverson and Jayden Smith.
Iverson is currently maintaining a .303 batting average and a 40-game hit streak before it was snapped against Utah earlier this week. Iverson is about the extra bases, posting five doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs this season. Smith currently leads the team in batting average, sitting at an even .400 with 52 hits this season and 12 doubles. The UVU offense is fast on the basepaths, too, owning over 75 stolen bases as a team this season.
From the mound, the UVU pitching staff combines for a 5.99 ERA and 1.58 WHIP this season. The squad has put their trust in Colton Kennedy and Corbin Kirk this season, who are projected to throw for UVU on Friday and Saturday. Kennedy enters the weekend with a 4.93 ERA and a 3-1 overall pitching record this season, tossing 45.1 innings and dealing 52 strikeouts this season. Kirk owns a 5.51 ERA across 10 starts for the Wolverines, posting a 1.61 WHIP and 42 strikeouts this season.
