RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball program welcomed back the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Friday night for the second installment of the final regular season series, which saw the visitors even the series 12-2 in eight innings. The Lancers struggled at the plate and could not keep up with the offensive blows dealt by ACU, dropping to 12-11 in the Western Athletic Conference standings and 30-25 on the season.

It was a pitchers' duel through the first four innings as Ryan Kittredge battled Dominic Reid, and both defenses pulled out all the stops to limit the offenses to just two hits total amidst those 12 outs. The fifth inning saw ACU snag a lead that the squad never relinquished, as a sacrifice fly brought in their third hit of the game. CBU would not record a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning after Julian Alvarez singled to right field to get some two-out momentum going, but the Wildcat defense ultimately put an end to the offensive drive.

Nicholas Dumesnil came in clutch for the Lancers, helping CBU avoid being shut out with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. However, a five-run top of the eighth saw ACU take a ten-run lead, and after CBU was unable to find their way on base, the visitors induced the run rule to even the series. The loss secured fifth place for the Lancers in the WAC Tournament seeding, no matter how tomorrow's final regular season plays out, since both GCU and Tarleton finished their series today. As the fifth seed, CBU will play on Tuesday, May 20th, during the opening round of the WAC tournament at 4 p.m. as the play-in game against the eight seed.

Before the postseason begins, CBU will close out its final home game of the season tomorrow at 12 p.m. and will celebrate its class of 2025 graduates with a special ceremony beginning at 11:30 a.m.