As of March 2, CBU baseball continues to go undefeated.
It’s baseball season! The 3-0, back-to-back WAC champions, the California Baptist University Lancers, won their season opener versus Coppin State with a 9-4 sweep. The CBU Lancers worked hard to fight and adjust to a new season with new players and worked hard during practice.
“We have a standard schedule or checklist we adhere to in the winter to prepare ourselves for the upcoming season, (including) individual defense, intra-squads, team defense, etc.” said Gary Adcock, head coach of the CBU baseball team. “But each team begins to develop their own identity and obstacles they may need to overcome.
“This season our lack of pitching experience and getting them that real game action in the ‘Jersey’ (regular-season) games not ‘T-shirt’ (practice games) have been a goal of mine.”
Adcock has done his best to equip players with the skills to succeed on the field and creating an atmosphere for growth and practice.
In any sport, your mindset and focus tend to determine your performance, and preparing yourself mentally for any game is how you make sure you do your best. Having a poor mindset can harm you and your teammates.
“My mindset going into a game is to focus on the task at hand and I try to bring good intensity and just be a good teammate,” said Ryan Delgado, sophomore business administration major and pitcher for the CBU baseball team.
“As I am out on the field, my thought process is to make good pitches, make the next pitch better than the last one. Throw strikes, make things simple, get outs and get my guys back in the dugout so they can score.”
The importance of doing your part to make the team better is evident through Delgado. As you can see, being a team player makes playing more enjoyable and brings an exciting atmosphere to the game. Working hard for your teammates and yourself makes the team.
The season opener is a big deal for any sport, and our CBU Lancers showed great appreciation for the fans that came to support.
“(The atmosphere of the game was) amazing,” Adcock said. “Especially setting a record for student attendance in the history of the program. (449, I believe). The group in the softball overflow bleachers may have been my favorite.
“They created a true home-field advantage with their humor and voices that I have never heard before at Totman Stadium in my 19 years at CBU. Then to see some of them after at In-n-Out burger having a good time was a neat experience. It made me want to go back to college myself. I am so grateful for all who made it a great night for our program.”
Fans play a massive role in the excitement of a game, and it was very evident that CBU students, faculty and families made it a night to remember. CBU baseball will continue its campaign with a series against Grand Canyon University from March 4-6, and a game against CSU Bakersfield on March 8.
