LOS ANGELES, Calif.-- CSUB softball concluded the final day of the UCLA Tournament with losses to both Loyola-Chicago and the host Bruins.

Game 1

In the first game of Day 3, Bakersfield lost to Loyola-Chicago by a score of 5-2.

The Ramblers opened the game with a big first inning. Two doubles and three singles later, LUC held a 4-0 lead over the 'Runners. After the fourth run was scored, Head Coach Crissy Buck-Ziegler decided to pull her starting pitcher, Lyndsay Klimenko (Fr., Half Moon Bay, Calif., Half Moon Bay HS), in favor of Kelsie Monroe (Jr., Los Banos, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College). The junior pitcher would get the 'Runners out of trouble in the first and go on to finish the game with five hits, one run, no earned runs, and six strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.

Bakersfield threatened in the top of the third inning with bases loaded and two outs, but the Ramblers would hold off the 'Runners by inducing a pop up. CSUB finally did get on the board in the fourth inning after Kara Frankhouser's (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield College) RBI groundout scored Amy Ricciardi (Sr., Chino Hills, Calif., Ayala HS). Karissa Veiga (Sr., Hemet, Calif., Hemet HS) promptly recorded her 4th triple of the season to knock in another run and make the score 4-2.

Loyola-Chicago scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth and had the bases loaded with one out, but Monroe shut the door on the opportunity to increase the lead with a strikeout and a pop up. Trailing 5-2 in the seventh, the 'Runners were unable to mount a comeback and lost to the Ramblers.

Game 2

Bakersfield faced the host No. 3/4 UCLA Bruins in their final game of the tournament. The Roadrunners took a tie ball game into the sixth inning, but the long ball gave UCLA the needed boost to secure the 4-2 win.

UCLA got on the board early by following up a leadoff walk with a deep home run to left field. Delaney Spaulding's fifth homer of the season gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Two innings later, the Roadrunners answered back with two runs of their own. After Karsyn Guzman (Fr., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) reached on an error, Veiga singled to right to set up trouble with Sydney Raeber (So., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) coming to the plate. The centerfielder sent a double to the right center gap and tied the score at two runs apiece thanks to Raeber's fifth and sixth RBI of the weekend.

Bakersfield threatened in the top of the sixth by loading the bases with one out. A leadoff single by Amber Mills (So., Fresno, Calif., Clovis West HS) followed by a walk from Ashley Carter (Jr., Tehachapi, Calif., Tehachapi HS) and a bloop single by Briana Pontecorvo (So., Hanford, Calif., San José State) set up the opportunity for Ricciardi. The first baseman's shallow fly ball to center turned into a wild double play that recorded the third out of the inning just before Mills could score at home and kept the score tied.

UCLA led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo shot to deep center field. Mysha Sataraka recorded her team-leading seventh home run of the season to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead over the 'Runners. A second solo home run later in the inning would give UCLA a two-run cushion heading into the final inning. A 1-2-3 seventh would close out the game and preserve the win for the Bruins who improved their record to 22-1 on the season.

Kelsie Monroe finished the weekend with three starts and appearances in all five games for the 'Runners. "Kelsie was outstanding this weekend and showed how giving 100% of what you have can pay off," said Head Coach Crissy Buck-Ziegler. The junior pitcher tallied 25.2 IP while giving up only eight earned runs and striking out 19 opponents while picking up two wins. Sydney Raeber led CSUB offensively as she was 6-14 (.429) on the weekend while plating six RBI. Karissa Veiga added six hits, an RBI, and scored seven times in five games. 

"This weekend was a grind and the ladies are learning how to win," Buck-Ziegler also said.  "We had two hard fought wins on Saturday and played extremely well today, even with a tough schedule of playing late last night and then early this morning. Watching the team play UCLA was inspiring."

Bakersfield (4-19) will host its first home games since opening day of the season before heading to play a series against Sacramento State this upcoming week. Come on out to the Roadrunner Softball Complex on Tuesday, Mar. 11 for a doubleheader against Utah State starting at noon.

~www.GoRunners.com~