California Baptist University
Utah Valley University
BASE Preview: CBU Heads to Orem
4/30/2026 3:45:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist baseball program is headed to Utah as Western Athletic Conference action continues this weekend. The Lancers will face off against last-place Utah Valley, which enters the series 1-8 in WAC play. CBU comes to Orem with a 7-5 conference record and is 16-6 in away games this season, as it hunts its first WAC sweep this weekend.
CBU has continued its season-long streak of sitting atop both the hitting and pitching stat sheets in the WAC, and will be taking its team's .313 batting average to Utah this weekend. Six Lancers are currently hitting .300 or higher, and Cole Hansen leads the squad with a .399. Bryce McFeely leads with a six-game hitting streak in addition to his team-high 13 multi-RBI games this season. McFeely launched his 14th home run this week as CBU dominated UC Riverside for the last time this year with an 18-6 victory across town. To no one's surprise, Chris Ramirez will also be on the list to watch this weekend as the sophomore shortstop is hitting .368 with 16 doubles this season. CBU leads the WAC with 104 doubles this season, ranking 11th nationally.
From the mound, Michael Malki continues to be dominant with a 2.04 ERA and his perfect 9-0 pitching record. Malki contributed 88 strikeouts to the 2026 staff's Division I K record this season, which surpassed last year's team with 497 punchouts. Ryne Palmer broke out onto the scene last week after tossing a shutout victory for the Lancers versus Utah Tech, earning WAC Pitcher of the Week honors for the first time in his career after taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. CBU dons the lowest team ERA and the most Ks this season in the conference standings.
Despite playing in a regional last season, Utah Valley has had a tough year and an overall record of 15-28. The Wolverines' lone win against a WAC program came against Sacramento State during the opening weekend series, but they were swept by Utah Tech and Tarleton State afterward. UVU's most notable hitter has been Chipper Beck, who enters the weekend with a .371 batting average and 31 RBI this season. Just behind is Kaden Carpenter with a .329 average and 10 home runs this season. On the bump, the Wolverine pitching staff sports a 7.02 ERA as Jacob Heppner and Colton Kenndy have the most starts this season. George Albrecht is expected to see some time on the mound this weekend, owning a 10.13 ERA and 13 strikeouts this season.
The weekend series will kick off on Friday evening at 5:05 p.m. PST and can be streamed on ESPN+.
