FRESNO, Calif. — Mike McCarthy broke his own school record with 13 strikeouts and the CSUB baseball team exploded for 12 runs, rolling past Fresno State, 12-2, Tuesday night at Beiden Field.
Bakersfield improved to 15-16 on the season. The No. 27 ranked Bulldogs, who just took 3-of-4 from Hawaii in their WAC opening series, fell to 20-14 overall.
The Roadrunners took advantage early, posting a pair of runs in their first plate appearance. Brandon Boren drew a walk off Fresno State starter Taylor Garrison, Martin Medina singled through the left side and Jeremy Rodriguez single to right to load the bases. With one out, freshman Kevin Younger came to the plate, and the Bakersfield native delivered with a two-RBI double to the left-center field fence.
Bakersfield piled runs on in the second, using five hits and three Fresno State fielding errors to score six times and take an 8-0 lead. Boren, Rodriguez, Medina, Younger and Kyle Richardson all had RBI's in the inning.
After the Bulldogs got one run back on a solo home run by Jordan Ribera, his team-leading 14th of the season, Bakersfield added two more in the third on a two-run homer to left by Jason Kudlock.
The Roadruners pushed their lead to 11-1 in the fifth, with a two-out rally. Rodriguez collected his third hit of the game, a double to left-center, and Kudlock followed with his third RBI of the night on a single to left-center.
In the top of the eighth, Boren knocked an RBI-single into shallow right field, sending JJ Henry across home plate. Henry originally reached on a fielder's choice to third.
With all of the offensive support he could ask for, McCarthy (3-3) retired the first three batters he faced, two by strikeout. He gave up the solo shot to Ribera to open the second, but settled back in to retire nine of the next 10 Bulldog batters. In the bottom of the fifth, he gave up back-to-back hits, but then caught Steve Detwiler on a strikeout before Justin Charles grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The outing was McCarthy's third consecutive complete game and his second complete-game victory. Along with the program record 13 strikeouts, the junior right-hander scattered seven hits and two walks for two runs. He allowed just four hits through the first eight innings.
Kudlock extended his current hit streak to 10 straight games, collecting two hits, including a two-run home run, and three RBIs. Rodriguez safely hit for the ninth consecutive game, going 4-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and one RBI. Younger was also solid with a pair of hits, including a double, and three RBIs.
Garrison (1-2) took the loss for Fresno State, allowing six hits and one walk for eight runs, two earned, in 1.1 innings. Garrett Weber was the only Bulldog to collect more than one hit, going 2-for-3.
The Roadrunners return to Hardt Field Friday to open a three-game series against Big West member UC Davis. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Score by Innings R H E
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CSU Bakersfield..... 262 010 010 - 12 14 0
Fresno State........ 010 000 001 - 2 7 4
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Win - McCarthy (3-3). Loss - Garrison (1-2). Save - None.
E - Muno, D. 2; Ribera, J.; Weber, G.. DP - CSUB 1. LOB - CSUB 13; FS 6. 2B
- Rodriguez; Younger; Richardson; Garrison, Tr. HR - Kudlock; Ribera, J..
HBP - Rodriguez; Younger; Geisinger; Mills. SF - Wynns, A..
