Friday, May 8
Riverside, Calif.
6:00 PM
California Baptist University
39-11, 11-5
5
vs
4
Sacramento State
22-29, 6-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento St. | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| California Baptist | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 1 |
Photo by: Jonathan Vivanco
CBU Extends Win Streak to 7 with Friday Night Win over Sac State
5/8/2026 9:15:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University baseball team extended its winning streak to seven games on Friday night as it bested the Sacramento State Hornets 5-4 in the series opener.
The win moves the Lancers to 39-11 this season and now brings them within a half game of Tarleton State in the Western Athletic Conference standings for first place at 11-5. The loss drops Sacramento State to 6-7 in the WAC standings and 22-29 overall.
The Hornets started strong on offense, posting a solid pair of innings that produced five hits and three runs. All three runs came via a Sam Harry home run to left center to make it 3-0 Sac State. Michael Malki responded with six strikeouts over the first two innings to limit the Hornets' damage. The Lancers' offense would respond in haste to the early 3-0 deficit with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second, beginning with a solo shot from Connor Ross. Ben Castelli followed that up immediately with a triple and would score on the ensuing single from Cole Howarth. Riley Hunsaker would put one in play a few batters later to score Diesel Toth to knot the game at three runs apiece.
Malki would add two more strikeouts in the top of the third to give him 100 strikeouts for his career and would be a part of his 11-strikeout performance on the mound. CBU would produce the go-ahead run in the third inning as a Howarth double would score Castelli to make it 4-3 Lancers. The Hornets would tie the game again at the top of the fifth inning as a throwing error would bring Erick Dressens home for the tying run. CBU responded again in the same inning, with Howarth again earning the RBI with a single that scored Ross.
Luis Becerra would take over on the mound to begin the sixth and would go three innings, allowing just one hit and producing seven strikeouts to keep the Hornets off the board. Zachary Yates would earn his seventh save of the season as he would finish off the Hornets in the ninth inning with a base runner aboard to give CBU the 5-4 victory at Totman Stadium.
Howarth led the Lancer offense with three hits and three RBI while Ross and Castelli each had two hits and two runs. Malki earned the victory after going five innings to improve his record to an NCAA-best 11-0, tying him with Joey Giordano of Richmond.
The Lancers will battle the Hornets tomorrow evening for game two of the series, with first pitch set for 5:05 PM at Totman Stadium.
The win moves the Lancers to 39-11 this season and now brings them within a half game of Tarleton State in the Western Athletic Conference standings for first place at 11-5. The loss drops Sacramento State to 6-7 in the WAC standings and 22-29 overall.
The Hornets started strong on offense, posting a solid pair of innings that produced five hits and three runs. All three runs came via a Sam Harry home run to left center to make it 3-0 Sac State. Michael Malki responded with six strikeouts over the first two innings to limit the Hornets' damage. The Lancers' offense would respond in haste to the early 3-0 deficit with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second, beginning with a solo shot from Connor Ross. Ben Castelli followed that up immediately with a triple and would score on the ensuing single from Cole Howarth. Riley Hunsaker would put one in play a few batters later to score Diesel Toth to knot the game at three runs apiece.
Malki would add two more strikeouts in the top of the third to give him 100 strikeouts for his career and would be a part of his 11-strikeout performance on the mound. CBU would produce the go-ahead run in the third inning as a Howarth double would score Castelli to make it 4-3 Lancers. The Hornets would tie the game again at the top of the fifth inning as a throwing error would bring Erick Dressens home for the tying run. CBU responded again in the same inning, with Howarth again earning the RBI with a single that scored Ross.
Luis Becerra would take over on the mound to begin the sixth and would go three innings, allowing just one hit and producing seven strikeouts to keep the Hornets off the board. Zachary Yates would earn his seventh save of the season as he would finish off the Hornets in the ninth inning with a base runner aboard to give CBU the 5-4 victory at Totman Stadium.
Howarth led the Lancer offense with three hits and three RBI while Ross and Castelli each had two hits and two runs. Malki earned the victory after going five innings to improve his record to an NCAA-best 11-0, tying him with Joey Giordano of Richmond.
The Lancers will battle the Hornets tomorrow evening for game two of the series, with first pitch set for 5:05 PM at Totman Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Malki, Michael (11-0)
L: Ethan Lay (4-3)
S: Yates, Zachary (6)
Batting:
2B: L. Pimentel-Guerrero 1 ; Erick Dessens 1
HR: Sam Harry 1
RBI: Sam Harry 3 ; Jakob Poturnak 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sam Harry 1 ; Erick Dessens 1 ; Cameron Sewell 1 ; Brett Ott 1
Batting:
2B: McFeely, Bryce 1 ; Howarth, Cole 1 ; Hunsaker, Riley 1
3B: Castelli, Ben 1
HR: Ross, Connor 1
RBI: Ross, Connor 1 ; Howarth, Cole 3 ; Hunsaker, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ross, Connor 2 ; Castelli, Ben 2 ; Toth, Diesel 1
SB: Castelli, Ben 1 ; Howarth, Cole 1 ; Toth, Diesel 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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OF
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INF
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RHP
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IF
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