With one more home series to go before the Western Athletic Conference tournament, the California Baptist University baseball team still can finish anywhere from second to seventh.
“We’ve been a work-in-progress all year to get to where we are, but I do think we’re playing our best now,” coach Gary Adcock said.
The Lancers (29-24 overall, 11-10 WAC) are currently in fifth place and host Abilene Christian University for three games at Totman Stadium beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.
“We need all three wins to have a shot at finishing in the Top 2, and I can point to two or three games already this season that we’ve chunked, just gave away, so we’ve created our own situation,” Adcock said.
CBU is just three games back of first place Sacramento State, and just two games ahead of Tarleton State in seventh. The Top 8 teams advance to the WAC tournament May 20-24 at Grand Canyon University in Mesa, Ariz.
The Lancers have won seven of their last 10 games, including a 9-7 victory on Tuesday night over Long Beach State in their final non-conference matchup of the season.
Senior outfielder Jake Brown (Rancho Cucamonga High) hit his ninth home run of the season and later scored as part of a four-run seventh as CBU rallied before holding on to beat LBSU.
“The bullpen is finally healthy and that’s a huge boost,” Adcock said. “We’ve been buckling out seatbelts from the seventh inning to the ninth inning and beyond all year.”
Junior Alfredo Capacete (Jurupa Valley High), a transfer from UC Riverside, struck out two in one inning, and Jacob Wilson (Murrieta Mesa High) earned a four-out save.
Senior outfielder Nick Dumesnil, projected as an early-round pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball amateur draft, currently is hitting .350 with a team-leading 20 doubles, three triples and 52 RBIs.
CSUSB MEN’S GOLFENDS DROUGHT
The Cal State San Bernardino men’s golf team has qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships for the first time since 2009 after placing fifth last weekend at the NCAA Division II West Regional at Victoria Club in Riverside.
Led by senior John Kim’s 5-under par 67, the Coyotes carded the second-best team score (8-under) on the final day. Kim finished tied for sixth overall.
Junior Chris Wardrup’s bid for the individual championship was thwarted by a final round 70. He finished 12-under par over the three days and took third. CCAA freshman of the year Tyler Price (Yucaipa High) was three-under par for the final round to finish tied for eighth.
The NCAA Division II National Championship begins Tuesday, May 20 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
BRONCOS TRACK BACK AT NCAA FINALS
The Cal Poly Pomona track and field program is sending eight men and four women to compete at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships at Colorado State Pueblo this weekend.
Senior Alessio Sommacal, ranked first in the nation in the 400 meter hurdles, leads the men’s group. This is the fourth appearance at the NCAA Championships for Sommacal, who posted the second-fasted time in school history earlier this season.
Juniors Neshara Smith, an All-American at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships earlier this year, will compete in the 100 hurdles, and Vivian Martinez is entered into the 1500 final a week after breaking a nine-year-old school record by three seconds (4:21.87) to qualify.
REDLANDS SOFTBALL EARNS NCAA BID
The University of Redlands softball team was one of the 21 at-large bids selected to begin the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
The Bulldogs (34-9 overall) are the No. 1 seed in the St. Louis, Mo. regional bracket and travel to play No. 4 Lake Forest College on Thursday at 9 a.m. PT.
Jose Ortega, a former Riverside City College baseball standout, was the SCIAC coach of the year after Redlands captured the regular season title and won the third-most games in school history.
LA VERNE BASEBALL HOSTS REGIONAL
The La Verne baseball team will host an NCAA Division III regional tournament at Ben Hines Field beginning Friday.
The Leopards (34-9 overall) clinched a spot in the NCAA Division Tournament after winning the SCIAC Tournament and earning the conference’s automatic bid.
SCIAC rival Pomona-Pitzer, which reached last year’s NCAA Division III World Series, plays McMurry University at 10 a.m., followed by La Verne vs. Whitworth at 1:30 p.m.
ODDS & ENDS
San Bernardino Valley College sophomore defender Kennedy Cardey (King High) has transferred to Cal State San Bernardino. … Riverside City College sophomore Zekiah Serrano won the 100 intermediate medley final in 50.67 seconds at the California Community College Athletic Association championships to set a new 3C2A record. … The Mt. San Jacinto College women’s beach volleyball team of Josephine Springer (Hemet High) and Korie Milan (Murrieta Valley High) finished third overall at the 3C2A championships at Long Beach City College on Saturday, May 12. … The Mt. San Jacinto women’s soccer team announced that defensive midfielder Brooke Smith (Yucaipa High) will play for the Eagles next season.
