RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The energy in Riverside was electric when the Concordia Baseball Team rallied to take down PacWest giant, California Baptist. CUI jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but the Lancers fought back with a four-run second inning. The Eagles bounced back quickly, scoring four more times to come away with a 6-4 victory.
Cade Temple went the distance, tossing a gem for the Eagles against one of the most powerful offenses in the country.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
Haloa Dudoit led off the game with a base hit up the middle and advanced on a ground ball off the bat of
Bailey Collins.
Alex DiMascio stepped to the plate with a runner in scoring position and one out and shot a single to center, allowing Dudoit to race around and beat the throw home.
Cade Temple took the mound for CUI to start and sat the Lancers down in order in the home half of the first.
CUI continued to pressure CBU in the top of the second.
Dillon Millar drew a walk then stole second. With two outs,
Dominic Castro gave the Eagles a 2-0 advantage with an RBI double blasted to left center.
The Lancers answered back with four runs in the home half of the second, aided by a big two-run shot from Ryan Williams. Two more hits plated two more runs for CBU, giving the Lancers a 4-2 lead after two.
Concordia got the top of the fourth started with back-to-back singles from
Chris Martin and
Hunter Holland. With the pressure on the defense,
Juan Zuniga forced the pitcher to act quickly with a sacrifice bunt. An errant throw allowed Zuniga to reach and gave Martin the chance to score and bring CUI back within one.
Temple settled in on the mound and started dealing, facing the minimum for the remainder of the game.
Concordia tied the contest in the top of the seventh with help from
Bailey Collins. With two outs, Dudoit singled to left center to set the stage for Collins. The sophomore delivered, crushing a ball to left center for an RBI triple to even the contest at four apiece.
The offense continued to produce in the top of the eighth; forcing CBU to make four pitching changes to attempt to contain the Eagles. DiMascio led off the inning with a single up the middle and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Martin. A single from Holland put runners on the corners with one out. CUI took a 5-4 lead with an RBI fielder's choice by the pinch-hitting Tony Garcia.
Dillon Millar walked to extend the inning before Castro legged out an infield single and forced a throwing error to plate Garcia and give the Eagles a 6-4 advantage.
Temple remained on the mound in the bottom of the ninth to close out his game. With one out, CBU's Ryan Mota attempted to stretch a single into a double but was denied by DiMascio. The left fielder relayed the ball into Dudoit who then fired it to Martin at second to cut down Mota for the second out of the inning. A fly ball to Castro in right ended the game and sent CUI home with a 6-4 victory.
Dudoit, DiMascio, Holland and Castro all tallied two hits for the Eagles to lead the offense. Collins, DiMascio and Garcia each knocked in a run in the win and Dudoit scored twice.
Temple was dealing throughout the game, striking out three in his second win of the season. He logged seven one, two, three innings including the final six innings of the game.
"After they put up four I could've rolled over, but the next inning I came out and cleared my head and threw strikes and let my defense work for me. It's not just me; it's my whole team. They made some outstanding plays on defense and I couldn't have asked for a better game from them, " Temple said after the game.
After evening the series with CBU 1-1, the Eagles square off with the Lancers yet again in a twin bill on Saturday in Riverside. First pitch is slated for noon.
