California Baptist University
8-2
University of San Francisco
5-3
Historic Day on the Mound and Seven Home Runs Lead Lancers to Victory
2/26/2026 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--- It was a game of long ball for the California Baptist baseball program on Thursday afternoon as the squad took on the University of San Francisco and opened the series with a commanding 16-2 win. The victory came on the heels of a historic day on the mound from the CBU pitching staff and seven home runs from the Lancer offense, improving the Lancers to 8-2 on the season.
Gary Adcock's team put on an offensive masterclass this afternoon, literally from the first pitch, as Chris Ramirez knocked his first collegiate home run that was soon followed by Ben Castelli's first homer of the season. The top of the second saw Ramirez hit his second of the day, roped over center field, before Riley Hunsaker joined in on the fun and launched his first career home run in the fourth inning.
With a 7-1 lead, Matt Chavez knocked another home run for three RBI in the fifth, and then Cole Howarth picked up his first bomb of the year with a dinger over left field in the seventh. Castelli found his second home run of the day in the same inning before CBU showed some versatility and snagged their final three runs via small ball.
From the mound, Michael Malki had the performance of his career as he struck out 12 Dons while allowing just one hit and one run across 5 innings of action. His multiple strikeouts would tee up the next four Lancers to toss eight more Ks, marking a program record for most strikeouts in a single game by a CBU pitching staff. The incredible 20 sit-downs beat out the former record of 18 versus Utah in 2025, as Malki's 12 marked the fifth most in the CBU Division I Era for a single pitcher.
Castelli and Bryce McFeely each picked up a four-hit game, while Castelli led the way with four RBI and two doubles during his day at the plate. The Lancers look to be firing on all cylinders as both offense and defense were impeccable this afternoon. The win in Northern California was a strong response after the squad fell to CSUN earlier this week.
Adcock's team will be back at it in San Francisco again tomorrow afternoon as the series continues at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Malki, Michael (3-0)
L: Andreas, Jake (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Hunsaker, Riley 1 ; Eberhard, Carter 1 ; Castelli, Ben 2 ; McFeely, Bryce 1
HR: Ramirez, Chris 2 ; Howarth, Cole 1 ; Hunsaker, Riley 1 ; Castelli, Ben 2 ; Chavez, Matt 1
RBI: Ramirez, Chris 2 ; Howarth, Cole 3 ; Hunsaker, Riley 2 ; Castelli, Ben 4 ; Chavez, Matt 2 ; Bline, Matthew 1 ; McFeely, Bryce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ramirez, Chris 2 ; Howarth, Cole 2 ; Hunsaker, Riley 3 ; Eberhard, Carter 1 ; Castelli, Ben 3 ; Chavez, Matt 2 ; Lopez , Samuel 1 ; Dykstra, Ryder 1 ; McFeely, Bryce 1
SB: McFeely, Bryce 1
CS: Hunsaker, Riley 1 ; Chavez, Matt 1
HBP: Entrekin, Thomas 1 ; Lopez , Samuel 1
Batting:
2B: Davis, Wyatt 1
HR: Rogers, TJ 1
RBI: Rogers, TJ 1 ; Davis, Wyatt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rogers, TJ 1 ; Esquivel, Eddison 1
SB: Vasell, Tino 1 ; Nagy, Zach 1
HBP: Esquivel, Eddison 1
