Baseball May 03, 2010 CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communications

Roadrunners Host UC Santa Barbara Tuesday at Hardt Field

THIS WEEK
The Roadrunners return to Hardt Field Tuesday, hosting Big West Conference member UC Santa Barbara. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

ON DECK
The Roadrunners face off against their third Pac-10 opponent of the season, traveling to face the University of Arizona for a three-game series in Tucson. The teams open play Friday, May 7 at 6 p.m. (MST). Game two is Saturday at 6 p.m. (MST) and the series finale is Sunday at noon (MST).

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
Tuesday's game versus UC Santa Barbara will be broadcast live on ESPN 1230 AM and via the internet at espnbakersfield.com. ESPN 1230 Program Director Corey Costelloe will provide the play-by-play from Hardt Field.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCH-UPS
TUESDAY, MAY. 4, 2010
CSUB: Jonathan Montoya (LHP) (3-4)
UCSB: Greg Davis (RHP) (1-1)

'RUNNER REPORT
The Roadrunners dropped their second consecutive series to a Big West Conference opponent, falling in three one-run games to then No. 29 UC Irvine.

In the first two games, Bakersfield got at least one runner on base in the top of the first, but could not hit him home. Additionally, the Anteaters posted a pair of runs in the bottom of the first in each of those games, on their way to back-to-back 3-2 wins.
On Sunday, CSUB errors led to four unearned runs and despite rallying for three runs in the top of the ninth, tying the game 7-7, the Anteaters pushed the game-winner across the plate in the final frame with a bases loaded sacrifice fly.

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.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
UC Santa Barbara enters Tuesday's game with a 19-19 overall record. The Gauchos have lost seven of their last 10 games, including two-of-three to UC Riverside last weekend in Big West action.

Greg Davis will get his fourth start of the season Tuesday against the Roadrunners. In 23 innings (12 appearances) this season, the junior RHP holds a 5.09 ERA along with 25 strikeouts and seven walks.

The Gauchos are hitting .286 as a team with five players hitting over .300. Trevor Whyte leads the way with a .328 average, including seven doubles and three home runs. Ryan Tregoning is batting .308 with four doubles, two triples and one home run. Beck Wheeler and Mat Valaika are both batting .304 and Bryce Tafelski is hitting an even .300.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UC SANTA BARBARA
UC Santa Barbara won three of four games against the Roadrunners in 2009. The Gauchos took the first-ever meeting (Feb. 22) between the teams, 10-0. UCSB stormed back from a 7-1 deficit to win the second meeting (Apr. 15), 8-7, and later won a 17-2 decision (Apr. 21). But Bakersfield rallied in the final match up (Apr. 28), 8-6.

RODRIGUEZ ROLLING
Jeremy Rodriguez enters Tuesday's game riding a school record 19-game hit streak dating back to Mar. 31 against Stony Brook. The sophomore catcher has gone 34-for-79 (.430) during the streak. He has had three four-hit outings while also collecting 21 runs scored, 10 RBIs, seven doubles and one home run. Rodriguez is now hitting .391 for the season, the second highest mark on the team.

KUDLOCK CRUISING
Jason Kudlock's hit streak came to and end at 17 consecutive games after he went hitless on Apr. 30 against UC Irvine. He bounced back for a pair of hits in each of the next two games against the Anteaters and currently holds the team's fourth highest average at .354. The senior is second on the team in doubles (11), first in triples (5) and second in home runs (4).

YOUNGER NO MORE
Kevin Younger is the youngest member of the 2010 Roadrunners squad (born July 15, 1991), but the freshman outfielder has surged in recent weeks, becoming a force at the plate. Earning starts in the past 17 games, Younger has gone 27-for-71 (.380) with five doubles, 14 runs and 13 RBIs. For the season, he is now hitting .367.

MEDINA'S MUSCLE
Martin Medina has 53 hits on the year, 22 of which have been for extra bases. He is batting .303 and leads the Roadrunners in home runs (10), RBIs (41), at bats (175) and runs (34). He is also second in doubles (11) and slugging percentage (.549). For reference, as a rookie in 2009, Median finished the season (50 games) with 55 hits, 13 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 40 RBIs.

RUN RECORD
The Roadrunners' 19 runs scored on Apr. 18 against UC Davis marked an all-time program record. The previous high of 17 was first achieved on Apr. 7, 2009, in a 17-12 win over Fresno State. CSUB matched that mark on Mar. 19 of this season in a 17-7 win over San Jose State.

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 69 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 37 games this season, the Roadrunners' ratio is nearly doubled, as they have tallied 2.1 strikeouts for every walk allowed (291 K, 137 BB). Those figures have helped the staff carry a 4.67 ERA so far this year, as opposed to last season's 7.63 ERA.

FIRST SAVE
Seventeen wins into the 2010 season, CSUB finally recorded its first save in its Apr. 17, 12-4 win over UC Davis. Martin Medina pitched three scoreless, hitless innings of relief to preserve Matt Reyes' third win of the season. The sophomore utility player struck out six of the eight batters he faced in the third save of his career.

MIDWAY POINT
CSUB's Apr. 9 game against Cal State Northridge marked the midway point of the 56-game season. The Roadrunners made the best of the outing, collecting their 13th win of the season, matching last year's final win total.

At last year's midpoint, 25 games in, the Roadrunners held a 5-20 overall record. In that 25th game, they broke a 13-game losing streak with a 4-3 walk-off win over then defending national champion Fresno State. CSUB went on to go 8-17 in the second half of the season to finish 13-37.

COMPLETE GAMES
Complete games are piling up for the Roadrunner pitching staff this season. Mike McCarthy and Mickey Jannis have three each and Matt Reyes pitched his first complete-game on Apr. 10.

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. His third came this past Tuesday in a 12-2 win over Fresno State.

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.

ONE HIT, FIVE RBIs
Joey Mills had just one hit in the Mar. 19 win over San Jose State, but also tallied five RBIs in the game. The senior center fielder drove in two runs on a triple, then sent two runs home on a pair of sacrifice flies and one more on a bases-loaded walk.

WALK-OFF
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.

EXTRA INNINGS
The Roadrunners have played just four extra innings games in their one-plus seasons of existence. After dropping their first-ever extra inning game, a 7-6 final in 11 innings to Buffalo (Mar. 9, 2009), they came back with a 9-7, 15-inning walk-off win over UC Riverside (Apr. 11, 2009).

Through 38 games this season, the Roadrunners have played two extra-inning game, falling 8-4 to St. Mary's (CA) on Feb. 26 and 13-9 to Fresno State on Apr. 2.

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.

HARDT FIELD
Coming from the 99 Freeway (north or south) exit at Ming Ave. and proceed WEST to Haggin Oaks Blvd. (approximately four miles). Turn right on Haggin Oaks to Camino Media. Turn left on Camino Media. Turn right into campus on Roadrunner Drive and park in Lot E or I. Hardt Field is located west of Lot E.

COLLECT YOUR BASEBALL TRADING CARDS
Collect the Official 2010 CSUB Baseball Trading Card set when six different cards are being unveiled at each remaining Saturday home contests. The first 100 fans through the gate each day will receive one set of six cards. Fans looking to collect the entire set must be one of the first 100 fans at every Saturday home game.

The final card giveaway dates is Saturday, May 15 versus University of the Pacific. All Saturday games begin at 1 p.m. with gates opening at 11:30 a.m.

LITTLE LEAGUE DISCOUNT
Any Bakersfield area little leaguer 13 and under will receive $1 admission to all remaining home Sunday Roadrunner baseball games when accompanied by a paying adult. Little league players, who must be in uniform to receive the discount, may also have the opportunity to join the Roadrunners on the field for the national anthem. Visit GoRunners.com for more information.

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