RIVERSIDE - California Baptist University softball improved to 26-24 on the season and 8-10 in Western Athletic Conference play after claiming a hard-fought series win against preseason favorites Seattle U. The Redhawks claimed game one in extra innings, but the Lancers walked off game two and won the finale 3-1 on Saturday to claim the first-ever series win over SU.

CBU currently resides in fourth place in the West Division, but is just one game back of Utah Valley and two behind Seattle U. With two series left in the season, there is a path for the Lancers to reach as high as second place in the division before the end of the schedule. The Lancers will close out 2022 with a road series at New Mexico State and a final homestand against Grand Canyon left to play.

Jordan Schuring dominated in the circle for CBU against the Redhawks, doubling her season win total by adding two wins against SU to her stat sheet. Friday night saw Schuring throw a complete game shutout, setting up her teammates to walk-off the Redhawks for the 1-0 victory. She followed that up with another fantastic outing just 16 hours later, throwing 5.2 innings while allowing just one run on four hits.

SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: New Mexico State Aggies
Dates/Times: Friday, April 29 (5 p.m. Pacific) | Saturday, April 30 (3 & 5:30 p.m.)
Location: Las Cruces, N.M. (NM State Softball Complex)
Video (WDN): Game 1 | Games 2 & 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

The Aggies are just 1-7 in their last eight games played, most recently a sweep victim of Grand Canyon, which ended two of the three games in that series early by run rule. NM State stands at just 10-29 overall and 5-13 in conference play, but that record will change before the start of this weekend's WAC series as NMSU is set to host Arizona for a doubleheader on Wednesday. This is shaping up to be a very uncharacteristic season for a historically successful program that has averaged 34 wins and double-digit conference wins in every full season since 2015.

These two programs last met March 25-26 in Riverside for a three-game series, which CBU swept by a total score of 22-8. The Aggies outhit the Lancers 29-26 that weekend, but were unable to capitalize on plentiful opportunities, leaving 22 runners stranded. Alyssa Argomaniz shined in the circle for CBU in March, collecting two of the three CBU wins that weekend while allowing four earned in 10.1 innings of work.

The Aggies are hitting .312 this season, good enough for the fourth-best average in the WAC and ranking No. 26 in Division I this season. Pitching has been the Achilles heel for this year's NM State team, as Jordin King currently owns the best numbers on the staff with a 6-12 record, 61 strikeouts, and a 9.12 ERA. NM State is the only squad posting a double-digit ERA (10.66) in the country out of 293 teams.