Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Both games were close heading into their respective fourth innings on Wednesday, but scoring surges helped No. 13 California Baptist defeat Academy of Art 7-1 and 4-1 in the end. The Urban Knights and Lancers weathered a 45-minute lightning delay midway through their doubleheader out at John C. Funk Stadium and it was the charged bat of junior catcher
Elise Oldham as well as sophomore pitcher
Alexa Peters' strikeout career-high both in game one that highlighted the day.
"We played well," said head coach
Sonja Garnett. "It will come at the plate. We are making adjustments and continuing to play hard. We'll bounce back from these games. We just need to stay focused on our goals."
GAME ONEIn the first inning, California Baptist used small-ball to push across a run and both teams exited their half of the second inning on double plays. Freshman
Brenna Mitchell (9-5) allowed a solo home run to Krista Mann in the third, but the 2-0 Lancer lead was more than manageable for ART U's offense.
With one swing of the bat, Oldham halved the CBU margin, smashing a solo home run beyond the right center field fence in the top of the fourth. The 2-1 game did not last long, however, because California Baptist rallied with five runs in their half of the fourth inning to go up 7-1.
The contest moved relatively quickly from that point on as 14 of the next 17 batters were retired en route to the Lancers' 7-1 victory. Peters (3-7) was a big reason why zeroes ensued after she struck out four of the first five batters she faced and ended 2.1 scoreless relief innings with a career-high five strikeouts.
"Alexa came in and threw very well today," said Garnett. "She showed what she is capable of."
GAME TWOPeters and the ART U defense kept California Baptist quiet through the first two innings which seemed like an eternity when a flash of lightning in the distance caused a 45-minute delay mid-second. The first run of the game was scored on a Mann RBI double in the third and Academy of Art nearly evened things up when senior infielder
Kamyle Glover tripled in the fourth. She was left stranded, however, and CBU proceeded to strike for three more in their half of the inning.
The Lancers' 4-0 lead held through until the sixth when senior outfielder
Haily MacDonald was hit by a pitch with two out. After she entered scoring position on a fielder's choice, the Knights executed a double steal and MacDonald touched home plate for 110th time in her career after senior infielder
Taylor Thurman singled her in.
Academy of Art came close to bringing the tying run to the plate after sophomore infielder
Jessica West hit a one-out single in the seventh, but it was not to be on this occasion and CBU prevailed 4-1.
The Urban Knights are now 12-13 overall and 7-5 in PacWest play. Oldham led the way with a 2-for-3 game one that included her fourth home run of the season. Glover tripled for the second time this year in game two as both she and West had hits in each game on Wednesday. Thurman drove in her team-leading 21st RBI of the season in the finale.
Still second in the PacWest standings, CBU improves to 28-6 and 17-3 in conference with the wins. The top of the Lancer lineup was particularly effective with Savannah Miller and Mann combining to go 6-for-11 with two home runs and five RBIs. Loie Kesterson (14-4) won the opener with one run allowed on five hits and three strikeouts in a complete 7.0 innings while Kayla Hatch (14-2) also threw a complete game with one run allowed on three hits and two strikeouts.
ART U will next head to St. George, Utah for their two-day, four-game series with No. 5 Dixie State this Friday (Mar. 20) and Saturday (Mar. 21).
