Baseball May 27, 2010 CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communications

'Runner Baseball Concludes 2010 Season at Cal Poly

THIS WEEK
The Roadrunners round out their second year of competition with a three-game series at Cal Poly. Game times are Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

ON DECK
With the end of the 2010 school year just two weeks away, the Roadrunners will disperse across the country to a variety of summer league teams. Check in to gorunners.com in coming weeks for information on how to follow your Roadrunners throughout the summer.

LIVE STATS
Live statistics are available for all CSUB games this week. The link for all games can be found on the baseball schedule page at gorunners.com.

ON THE AIR
Fans can tune into Cal Poly's free audio broadcast of this weekend's games between the Mustangs and Roadrunners. The website link to the broadcast can be found on the baseball schedule page at gorunners.com.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCH-UPS
FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010
CSUB: Mickey Jannis (RHP) (4-4)
CAL POLY: Matt Leonard (LHP) (1-7)

SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2010
CSUB: TBA
CAL POLY: DJ Mauldin (RHP) (5-3)

SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2010
CSUB: Mike McCarthy (RHP) (5-5)
CAL POLY: Eugene Wright (RHP) (2-5)

'RUNNER REPORT
The Roadrunners bounced back from a rough outing in Texas to claim a pair of midweek wins from UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount. On Tuesday, CSUB scored runs in each of the first five frames and added two more runs late to hold on for the 13-10 win. Five home runs accounted for eight of the 13 runs scored by the Roadrunners.

On Wednesday, Bakersfield looked down and out, sitting in a 9-1 hole through five complete innings. But the Roadrunners came alive late, scoring 12 unanswered runs, including a go-ahead grand slam by Derek Geisinger, to rally for the win.

FIRST START = FIRST WIN
On Tuesday against UC Santa Barbara, Sam Jones turned his first start of the season into his first win of season, a 13-10 final. The senior southpaw struck out three while walking three and scattering 10 hits for five earned runs in six-plus innings.

FRESHMAN SAVE
Freshman hurler Juan Padilla has continued to grow in every appearance he has made throughout the 2010 season. On Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara, the rookie tossed three hitless, scoreless innings of relief to earn his first save of the season. It was also just the second save of the year for the entire Roadrunner pitching staff.

HOME RUN RECORD
The Roadrunners blasted five home runs Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara, setting a school record for single-game homers. Jason Kudlock struck for two long balls, and Martin Medina, Mick Gaston and Jeremy Rodriguez added one each. The previous record of four was first set on May 9, 2010, at Nebraska, and was also reached on opening day of this season (Feb. 19) against Air Force.

COME BACK KIDS
Wednesday's 13-9 come-from-behind win over Loyola Marymount marked the largest deficit the Roadrunners have overcome in their two-year history. Down eight runs (9-1) in the fifth inning, the Roadrunners rallied for 12 unanswered runs in the final four frames.

Previously, the largest hole the Roadrunners had dug themselves out of was a 7-0 deficit to Portland on Mar. 11, 2009. In that game, Bakersfield rallied for nine runs in the top of the eighth and held on for the 9-7 win.

GO-AHEAD GRAND SLAM
With the Roadrunners trailing 9-8 in the eighth inning Wednesday at Loyola Marymount, senior first baseman Derek Geisinger launched the 2-2 offering into the trees beyond the right field fence to put CSUB on top 12-9. The grand slam capped a seven-run inning for the Roadrunners, who went on to win 13-9. The long ball was the first of the season for Geisinger, and his first grand slam in a Roadrunner uniform.

ADVANTAGE, ARNESON
Zach Arneson's fastball has been consistently clocked at 95-96 mph, but he has struggled with his accuracy throughout the season. Wednesday's at Loyola Marymount was a different story. The junior hurler entered the game with one out in the fifth. He walked two of the first three batters he faced, but quickly settled in, retiring 11 consecutive batters on his way to 4.2 hitless innings of relief. The performance earned Arneson his first collegiate win in his 10th appearance of the season.

A SHOT AT .500
The Roadrunners entered this week's play five games below .500...with five games to go. With wins on Tuesday and Wednesday, their record improved to 25-28...with three games to go. A series sweep at Cal Poly would give the Roadrunners a .500 record in just their second year of existence. In 2009, the first-year program concluded with a 13-37 overall mark.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
After earning an NCAA Regional berth one year ago, Cal Poly has struggled to a 21-31 record this season. However, the Mustangs have surged as of late, winning 11 of their last 15 games, including a 10-7 come-from-behind victory over Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.

The Mustangs are batting .296 as a team, with six players hitting over .300. David Van Ostrand leads the way with a .342 average, including 15 doubles, one triple and three home runs. Bobby Crocker is batting .335 with 11 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 16 stolen bases while Luke Yoder is also hitting .335 with team highs of 9 doubles and 13 home runs. Yoder also has 16 stolen bases to his name.

On the mound, the Roadrunners will begin the weekend by facing Matt Leonard. The LHP is 1-7 with a 5.11 ERA. He has struck out 46 and walked 19 in 88 innings. Saturday's starter is RHP DJ Mauldin, who holds a 5-3 record and 7.52 ERA. RHP Eugene Wright will close out the weekend rotation. In seven starts and 17 total appearances, Wright is 2-5 with a 6.95 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CAL POLY
Cal Poly swept the four-game series against the Roadrunners in 2009. The Mustangs won 6-2 and 15-3 in San Luis Obispo and 10-2 and 18-15 in Bakersfield.

BOREN'S BACK
Brandon Boren began the 2010 season on a tear, boosting his batting average to .600 after opening weekend. He continued to roll through the month of March and into April, compiling a 16-game hit streak through Apr. 10. He then went hitless in six-of-nine games, but has come on strong again, hitting safely in 15 of the last 16 games. He is 34-for-79 (.430) during this recent run, while also adding 21 runs, 10 RBI's, five doubles, one triple and two home runs. The senior second baseman is currently second on the team with a .395 average.

KUDLOCK CRUISING
Jason Kudlock's career-best 17-game hit streak came to an end on Apr. 27 against Loyola Marymount. But he has remained a force at the plate, hitting safely in 11 of 14 games since, including nine multi-hit outings. Kudlock leads the team in triples (6) and slugging percentage (.565), and is second in doubles (15) and RBIs (46).

JUST A BUMP IN THE ROAD
Jeremy Rodriguez's school record 19-game hit streak dating back to Mar. 31 against Stony Brook came to an end on May 2. During his 19-game streak, the sophomore catcher went 34-for-79 (.430). He had three four-hit outings while also collecting 21 runs scored, 10 RBIs, seven doubles and one home run.

Since his streak ended, Rodriguez has safely hit in nine of 13 games, including seven multi-hit games. After going a combined 6-for-11 with three RBIs, four runs, two doubles and one home run in the past two games, Rodriguez has pushed his batting average back over .400 and now leads the team at .402.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Jeremy Rodriguez was named CB360's Primetime Player of the Week on May 11, becoming the first Roadrunner baseball team member to earned a national player of the week honor in the two year history of the program. He was honored for his contributions to CSUB's series win over Arizona (7-for-12 (.538) with two doubles, nine RBI's, five walks and seven runs scored in three games).

WALK OFF HOME RUN
Jeremy Rodriguez's walk-off home run against Pacific (May 14) was the first of his career and the second in Roadrunner history. With runners on first and third, the sophomore catcher launched the 2-2 offering well beyond the right field fence for the extra-inning win.

The first-ever walk-off home run in CSUB history came on Apr. 11 of last season when Jason Kudlock blasted a two-run shot in the bottom of the 15th inning to give CSUB a 9-7 win over UC Riverside.

JANNIS' GEM
Mickey Jannis recorded arguably his most dominating performance of the season on Friday, May 14 against Pacific. The senior hurler tied his career-high of 10 strikeouts while scattering just five hits for one earned run in seven innings. He took a no-decision when the tie game went into extra innings, but the Roadrunners eventually came away with the win in the 10th courtesy Jeremy Rodriguez's walk-off home run.

EXTRA INNINGS
The Roadrunners have played just four extra-inning games this season and hold a 2-2 record in this games. They fell 8-4 to St. Mary's (CA) on Feb. 26 and 13-9 to Fresno State on Apr. 2, but then went on to post five runs in the top of the 11th to claim a 7-2 win over then No. 20 Arizona (May 7). Bakersfield won its second extra-inning affair of the season on May 14, a 4-1, 10-inning final over Pacific.

TWENTY-TWENTY
The Roadrunners picked up their 20th win of the season over the 20th ranked team in the country, the University of Arizona, on May 7. CSUB broke a 2-2 tie by posting five runs in the top of the 11th inning against the Wildcats.

RUN RECORD
The Roadrunners' 22 runs scored on May 9 against then No. 20 Arizona marked an all-time program record. The previous high of 19 was achieved on Apr. 18, in a 19-8 win over UC Davis.

TRIPLE DOUBLE
Jason Kudlock knocked out a pair of triples in consecutive at bats on May 1 against UC Irvine. It was the first time in CSUB history a player had recorded multiple triples in a game.

RECORD BREAKER
Mike McCarthy turned in his second record-breaking outing of the season on Apr. 13, fanning 13 Fresno State batters in a 12-2 complete-game win. That mark broke his own previous CSUB record off 11 strikeouts, a feat he achieved on Mar. 14 against Nevada.

The junior RHP now has a team-high 79 strikeouts on the season, breaking Mickey Jannis' 2009 single-season record of 61.

BALL CONTROL
One major area of concern last season was the pitching staff's strikeout to walk ratio. During that inaugural season, the Roadrunners finished with a 1.2 strikeout to walk ratio (322 K, 261 BB). Through 53 games this season, the Roadrunners' ratio is nearly doubled, as they have tallied 1.9 strikeouts for every walk allowed (366 K, 197 BB). Those figures have helped the staff carry a 4.99 ERA so far this year, as opposed to last season's 7.63 ERA.

COMPLETE GAMES
Complete games are piling up for the Roadrunner pitching staff this season. Mike McCarthy has five, Mickey Jannis has three, and Matt Reyes and Jonathan Montoya have one each.

McCarthy won his first complete game, a 3-0 decision at Washington State (Mar. 28). That win over the Cougars was also the first-ever shutout win in CSUB history. McCarthy's second complete game resulted in a 4-3 loss to USC. He also picked up complete-game wins over Fresno State (Apr. 13), Arizona (May 9) and Pacific (May 16).

Jannis won both his nine-inning affairs, a 9-5 final at Washington State (Mar. 27) and a 6-3 victory on Apr. 9 against Cal State Northridge. He also tossed eight complete innings at UC Irvine on Apr. 30, a 3-2 loss for the Roadrunners.

Reyes pitched CSUB's second-ever shutout win, a 5-0 final at Cal State Northridge (Apr. 10). He struck out four and scattered six hits in the game.

Montoya's May 4 complete-game shutout of UC Santa Barbara was the program's third-ever shutout and the sophomore's second career complete game.

WALK-OFF HIT
Brandon Boren recorded the second walk-off hit of his Roadrunner career on Feb. 28 against Central Michigan. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the senior second baseman, sent a bloop hit just past first base to score Kevin Younger and give CSUB the 7-6 come-from-behind win.

Boren's first walk-off hit as a Roadrunner took place back on Apr. 8, 2009, when his single down the right-field line scored JJ Henry, giving CSUB a 3-2 win over then defending College World Series champion Fresno State.

FIVE-HIT OUTING
As part of his 12-for-20 performance on opening weekend, Brandon Boren tied his own program record with five hits in one game. He went 5-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored in the second game of the doubleheader on Feb. 20 against Air Force. Those numbers are an exact match to his performance last year in CSUB's 17-12 win over Fresno State on Apr. 7.

TOGETHER AGAIN
Bakersfield is the fourth school coaches Bill Kernen and Jody Robinson have worked at together. The two were assistants at Cal State Fullerton in the late 1970's through 1981. During that time, the Titans, who had just made the transition to Division I in 1975, earned five NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the College World Series and a national championship title in 1979. They also teamed up briefly in 1988, both serving as assistants to former Titan Head Coach Augie Garrido, this time at the University of Illinois. In 1991, Kernen was in his second season as the head coach at Cal State Northridge, leading the Matadors through the transition from DII to DI play. Robinson joined the staff as an assistant coach, helping CSUN to a 44–18–1 record, the West Regional championship game and a top 10 ranking in the final NCAA Division I poll in its first season of DI play.

NEED MORE INFO?
For all of the most up-to-date information about CSUB Baseball and all other Roadrunner sports, visit GoRunners.com.

Print Friendly Version