Friday, April 24
Riverside, Calif.
6:00 PM
California Baptist University
vs
Utah Tech
Photo by: Mariah Rodriguez
BASE Preview: Utah Tech Comes to Town as WAC Play Continues
4/23/2026 3:35:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball program is set to welcome Utah Tech this weekend as Western Athletic Conference play continues and the fight for first place is in full swing. The Lancers enter the weekend with a 5-4 conference record, while the Trailblazers are 5-1 as they had a bye weekend during the second week of WAC play. Overall, CBU is 31-10, and UTU is 27-14.
The Trailblazers enter the weekend hot with a six-game winning streak on the line, including a WAC sweep of Utah Valley last week. Utah Tech took down BYU on Monday evening, 9-4, and will carry a lot of offensive momentum into Riverside. Six Trailblazers are currently hitting above .300 this season, and leading the way is Miller Durham. The first baseman enters Friday with a .376 batting average with 47 hits this season and seven home runs. Kyle McDaniel leads the offensive squad with 61 hits, tying Chris Ramirez for the second most in the WAC.
Utah Tech ranks second in the conference in hitting average, behind CBU, and sits in fifth in ERA. As a staff, the Trailblazers own a 6.40 ERA, with Brandon Kosel as the go-to starter with 10 starts and a 4.57 ERA and 38 punchouts. However, the reliever to know from UTU is, of course, Ryan Kroepel. The two-way player has been electric in relief this season with a 2.95 ERA in 14 appearances and 10 saves. Kroepel is also batting .302 for the Trailblazers with five home runs this season.
On the other side of the diamond, CBU is ready to shake off an uncharacteristic week and get back into the conference title race. The Lancers are coming off a 1-3 week after dropping their first series of the season to Tarleton State last week and then a comeback falling short against UC Santa Barbara. Despite being slow offensively last week, CBU has seven Lancers hitting over .300, and Cole Hansen leads the charge. Hansen is sitting with a .405 average and 54 hits with 11 doubles. Just behind is Chris Ramirez with a .370 average, who was just nominated for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Player of the Year semifinalist. The squad leads the WAC in batting average and hopes to keep that lead as this weekend progresses.
From the bump, the CBU pitching staff has been dominant this season, leading the WAC with a 3.64 team ERA that ranks 11th in the nation. Michael Malki has been the name to know for the Lancers and enters the weekend with a 1.89 ERA with eight victories from the mound. Malki has tossed 51.2 innings this season with 83 strikeouts, ranking 10th in the nation in that category. He also ranks second in the nation in pitching victories.
The Utah Tech versus California Baptist series has always been extremely competitive, and this weekend will be no exception. The pair of teams has a storied history as they began playing each other in 2008, and both enter the weekend 29-29.
The first pitch is set for Friday at 6:05 p.m. at Totman Stadium. Games can be streamed through ESPN+.
The Trailblazers enter the weekend hot with a six-game winning streak on the line, including a WAC sweep of Utah Valley last week. Utah Tech took down BYU on Monday evening, 9-4, and will carry a lot of offensive momentum into Riverside. Six Trailblazers are currently hitting above .300 this season, and leading the way is Miller Durham. The first baseman enters Friday with a .376 batting average with 47 hits this season and seven home runs. Kyle McDaniel leads the offensive squad with 61 hits, tying Chris Ramirez for the second most in the WAC.
Utah Tech ranks second in the conference in hitting average, behind CBU, and sits in fifth in ERA. As a staff, the Trailblazers own a 6.40 ERA, with Brandon Kosel as the go-to starter with 10 starts and a 4.57 ERA and 38 punchouts. However, the reliever to know from UTU is, of course, Ryan Kroepel. The two-way player has been electric in relief this season with a 2.95 ERA in 14 appearances and 10 saves. Kroepel is also batting .302 for the Trailblazers with five home runs this season.
On the other side of the diamond, CBU is ready to shake off an uncharacteristic week and get back into the conference title race. The Lancers are coming off a 1-3 week after dropping their first series of the season to Tarleton State last week and then a comeback falling short against UC Santa Barbara. Despite being slow offensively last week, CBU has seven Lancers hitting over .300, and Cole Hansen leads the charge. Hansen is sitting with a .405 average and 54 hits with 11 doubles. Just behind is Chris Ramirez with a .370 average, who was just nominated for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Player of the Year semifinalist. The squad leads the WAC in batting average and hopes to keep that lead as this weekend progresses.
From the bump, the CBU pitching staff has been dominant this season, leading the WAC with a 3.64 team ERA that ranks 11th in the nation. Michael Malki has been the name to know for the Lancers and enters the weekend with a 1.89 ERA with eight victories from the mound. Malki has tossed 51.2 innings this season with 83 strikeouts, ranking 10th in the nation in that category. He also ranks second in the nation in pitching victories.
The Utah Tech versus California Baptist series has always been extremely competitive, and this weekend will be no exception. The pair of teams has a storied history as they began playing each other in 2008, and both enter the weekend 29-29.
The first pitch is set for Friday at 6:05 p.m. at Totman Stadium. Games can be streamed through ESPN+.
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