Cal Baptist baseball team beats UC Riverside in crosstown series opener – Press Enterprise

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RIVERSIDE — Jacob Shanks hit UC Riverside’s first grand slam of the season, but Cal Baptist once again proved why they are one of the best-hitting college baseball teams in the country.

Mitchell Simon had four hits and four RBIs as the Lancers opened their season-ending three-game series against UC Riverside with a total of 16 hits in a 13-8 victory Thursday night at Totman Stadium.

“I was looking for good pitches to hit and the team did a good job of getting guys on base in front of me,” said Simon, one of seven CBU starters with a batting average above .300. “We have a good batting club.”

Redlands East Valley graduate Ryan Silva struck out seven and didn’t allow an earned run in 4-2/3 innings of relief to earn the win for CBU (34-20 overall), who are playing their final games as part transition from college to NCAA Division I Athletics.

“I’m done with (the transition phase). I just want it to end,” Lancers coach Gary Adcock said. “Four years of high-level success and no postseason for it; I’m done with that.”

The first pitch of Game 2 of the series is set for 6 pm Friday at the UCR Sports Complex. It will be Senior Night and the last home game of the season for the Highlanders.

“It’s fun for the players and it’s fun for the community,” UCR coach Justin Johnson said. “We want to send our seniors to a victory.”

UCR (8-43) jumped out to a quick lead after Dylan Orick’s 15th double of the season drove in leadoff hitter Jacob Badawi, and went up 6-1 in the second after Shanks flew over the scoreboard in left field. he cleared the bases in the second inning.

“Our guys jumped on them early, but they give him (CBU) credit. They fought back, took the lead and beat us,” Johnson said.

Corona graduate Jeremiah Priddy started for UCR but couldn’t escape the bottom of the second inning after allowing four earned runs on five hits and two walks.

David Martin had three hits and scored twice, and Harrison Spohn had two hits and two RBIs as CBU tied it with a run in the third inning before pulling away with a pair of runs in the fourth and sixth innings.

Silva entered the game in the fifth inning in place of starter Spencer Bengard, who recovered to pitch two quiet innings after allowing Shanks’ home run and finished with three strikeouts.

“(Bengard) turned it around after giving up that home run, pitched a 12-pitch third inning, and everybody was like, ‘Ugh,’” Adcock said.

Silva, a 5-foot-10 right-hander, pitched 1-2-3 innings in the fifth, sixth and seventh, and the Lancers grabbed three more runs in the eighth, including a solo homer by Roosevelt graduate Jake Skipworth to Expand your leadership.

“I told Silva: ‘Just be you. Be that 5-10 kid with a chip on his shoulder and more guts than stuff,’ and then his stuff was there too,” Adcock said.

Silva pitched into the ninth, but a three-base error caused UCR to put in three runs in the inning before Adcock went to the bullpen. Ethan Pope recorded the final out to end the Lancers’ victory.

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