Friday, February 25
Riverside, Calif.
9 PM ET
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
California Baptist
Baseball Heads West For Series at California Baptist
2/23/2022 4:30:00 PM | Baseball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The 'Dons play California Baptist for the first time in program history this weekend.
Game Day Information
When: Friday, February 25 | 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, February 26 | 5 p.m. ET | doubleheader
Sunday, February 27 | 3 p.m. ET
Where: Totman Stadium | Riverside, Calif.
Video: ESPN+ Friday and Sunday, WAC Digital Network Saturday
Live Stats: GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3 | GM 4
Series History: First meeting
Weather: Clear, high of 66 Friday, 70 Saturday and 73 Sunday.
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne:
GM 1: LHP Justin Miller (10.80, 0-1)
GM 2: RHP JD Deany (9.00, 0-1)
GM 3: RHP Mitchell Spencer (1.80, 0-0)
GM 4: TBD
California Baptist:
GM 1: RHP CJ Culpepper (0.00, 1-0)
GM 2: RHP Spencer Bengard (3.00, 0-0)
GM 3: RHP Brandon Downer (11.57, 0-0)
GM 4: RHP Anthony Silvas (0.00, 0-0)
Scouting the Lancers: The Lancers defeated Coppin State 8-1, 6-5, 9-4 last weekend to open the season. Chad Castillo was named the WAC Hitter of the Week after batting .615 and slugging 1.154 in the series. Last season California Baptist went 40-16 overall and 29-7 in WAC play to earn a share of the league regular season crown.
The First Ever: This will be the first time in program history the 'Dons compete in the state of California. However, they do have a March 10, 1992 game against California University of Pennsylvania which wasn't even played in California, Pennsylvania. It was played in Florida. The 'Dons lost that one 7-2.
New Faces: The 2022 Mastodon roster features 15 returners from last season and 18 newcomers.
Easy as 1-2-3: Three Mastodons finished the season-opening series at Georgia State batting over .300. Jack Lang hit a team-best .357 with nine total bases and an on-base percentage of .471. Alex Evenson hit .333 with four hits and three walks for an OBP of .467. Cade Nelis had three hits in nine at-bats.
Save That Baseball: Cade Nelis, Cade Fitzpatrick, Dalton Madsen, Braedon Blackford, Jarrett Bickel, Ben Higgins, Isaiah Hart and Brian Erbe each picked up their first hit in a Mastodon uniform last week at Georgia State. Hart's was a home run in game three.
Call It A Career: Jack Lang returns for 2022 after starting all 46 games last year. He has played in 156 games with 144 starts in his career. Should he hold down a starting spot for every scheduled game, he would finish with 208 games played and 196 starts. Both totals would rank second in program history. Only Shane Trevino (2012-16) would own more games played (234) and started (228) as a Mastodon.
Just Get On Base: Jack Lang and Garett Lake got on base in all four games in Atlanta.
Look At Me, I Can Be...: Garett Lake was the only Mastodon to play all four games in Atlanta at the same position. He held down center field for the 'Dons.
Miller Time: Justin Miller owns 131 career strikeouts. He will need to reach 137 to get into the top 10 in program history and pass Jake Weber who recorded 136 strikeouts from 2015-17.
Miller Time X2: Justin Miller owns a career 10.2 strikeouts per nine average, best in program history for a Mastodon who played multiple seasons.
Smart Mastodon: Garett Lake was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Academic Team last season thanks to a 3.83 GPA. He played in 44 games with 43 starts in center field in 2021. He led the Mastodons in OPS (.911), slugging percentage (.503), triples (3), home runs (7), walks (23) and hit by pitch (8). He also had a perfect fielding percentage with 109 putouts and an assist.
Put HOF On The Signature: Former Mastodon Brad Smock was inducted in to the Mastodon Hall of Fame earlier this month. Smock was a Mastodon mainstay for the 'Dons in their final years of Division II. The former catcher ranks fourth in program history in runs scored (124), fifth in hits (191), fifth in total bases (273) and sixth in at-bats (626).
Up Next: The 'Dons will head to Tennessee Tech next week for a three game series.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Game Day Information
When: Friday, February 25 | 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, February 26 | 5 p.m. ET | doubleheader
Sunday, February 27 | 3 p.m. ET
Where: Totman Stadium | Riverside, Calif.
Video: ESPN+ Friday and Sunday, WAC Digital Network Saturday
Live Stats: GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3 | GM 4
Series History: First meeting
Weather: Clear, high of 66 Friday, 70 Saturday and 73 Sunday.
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne:
GM 1: LHP Justin Miller (10.80, 0-1)
GM 2: RHP JD Deany (9.00, 0-1)
GM 3: RHP Mitchell Spencer (1.80, 0-0)
GM 4: TBD
California Baptist:
GM 1: RHP CJ Culpepper (0.00, 1-0)
GM 2: RHP Spencer Bengard (3.00, 0-0)
GM 3: RHP Brandon Downer (11.57, 0-0)
GM 4: RHP Anthony Silvas (0.00, 0-0)
Scouting the Lancers: The Lancers defeated Coppin State 8-1, 6-5, 9-4 last weekend to open the season. Chad Castillo was named the WAC Hitter of the Week after batting .615 and slugging 1.154 in the series. Last season California Baptist went 40-16 overall and 29-7 in WAC play to earn a share of the league regular season crown.
The First Ever: This will be the first time in program history the 'Dons compete in the state of California. However, they do have a March 10, 1992 game against California University of Pennsylvania which wasn't even played in California, Pennsylvania. It was played in Florida. The 'Dons lost that one 7-2.
New Faces: The 2022 Mastodon roster features 15 returners from last season and 18 newcomers.
Easy as 1-2-3: Three Mastodons finished the season-opening series at Georgia State batting over .300. Jack Lang hit a team-best .357 with nine total bases and an on-base percentage of .471. Alex Evenson hit .333 with four hits and three walks for an OBP of .467. Cade Nelis had three hits in nine at-bats.
Save That Baseball: Cade Nelis, Cade Fitzpatrick, Dalton Madsen, Braedon Blackford, Jarrett Bickel, Ben Higgins, Isaiah Hart and Brian Erbe each picked up their first hit in a Mastodon uniform last week at Georgia State. Hart's was a home run in game three.
Call It A Career: Jack Lang returns for 2022 after starting all 46 games last year. He has played in 156 games with 144 starts in his career. Should he hold down a starting spot for every scheduled game, he would finish with 208 games played and 196 starts. Both totals would rank second in program history. Only Shane Trevino (2012-16) would own more games played (234) and started (228) as a Mastodon.
Just Get On Base: Jack Lang and Garett Lake got on base in all four games in Atlanta.
Look At Me, I Can Be...: Garett Lake was the only Mastodon to play all four games in Atlanta at the same position. He held down center field for the 'Dons.
Miller Time: Justin Miller owns 131 career strikeouts. He will need to reach 137 to get into the top 10 in program history and pass Jake Weber who recorded 136 strikeouts from 2015-17.
Miller Time X2: Justin Miller owns a career 10.2 strikeouts per nine average, best in program history for a Mastodon who played multiple seasons.
Smart Mastodon: Garett Lake was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Academic Team last season thanks to a 3.83 GPA. He played in 44 games with 43 starts in center field in 2021. He led the Mastodons in OPS (.911), slugging percentage (.503), triples (3), home runs (7), walks (23) and hit by pitch (8). He also had a perfect fielding percentage with 109 putouts and an assist.
Put HOF On The Signature: Former Mastodon Brad Smock was inducted in to the Mastodon Hall of Fame earlier this month. Smock was a Mastodon mainstay for the 'Dons in their final years of Division II. The former catcher ranks fourth in program history in runs scored (124), fifth in hits (191), fifth in total bases (273) and sixth in at-bats (626).
Up Next: The 'Dons will head to Tennessee Tech next week for a three game series.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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