BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- On Tuesday, the Roadrunner softball team will host Utah State in its first home games since opening day of the season before heading to north to play Sacramento State.
USU (5-7) is led offensively by a pair of big hitters in Victoria Saucedo and Paxton Provost. Saucedo leads the team in BA (.417), hits (15), home runs (3) and runs scored (11). Provost adds power herself with two home runs on the year and leads the team with 10 RBI, one triple, and has scored nine times.
The Aggies' go-to starting pitcher is Noelle Johnson. Johnson leads the team with a 3.72 ERA in six starts and 12 appearances while posting a 4-5 record. She has also pitched 52.2 of the team's 76 innings played.
Sacramento State (8-10) exited last weekend with four losses out of fives games at the Mustang Classic at Cal Poly. The Hornets will also travel to play Nevada before welcoming Bakersfield this weekend. The Hornets have five hitters batting over .300 on the season and are led by Paige Castro, a junior infielder. Castro already has 16 hits in her first 18 games with five RBI and eight runs scored.
Sacramento State has a well-rounded pitching rotation with two solid starters in Caitlin Brooks and Taylor Stroud. Both have ERAs under 3.20 while Brooks' is 1.31. The two have also combined for 11 complete games this year.
Bakersfield (4-19) relied heavily on junior pitcher Kelsie Monroe (Los Banos, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College) last weekend and will need her to pitch well again in order to get back in the win column. Sydney Raeber (So., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) led CSUB offensively with a .429 batting average on the weekend while plating six RBI. Karissa Veiga (Sr., Hemet, Calif., Hemet HS) added six hits, an RBI, and scored seven times in five games.
Bakersfield will play host to Utah State in a doubleheader on Tuesday. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for noon. Sacramento State will host the 'Runners in a three-game series this weekend. A doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday will be followed by a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m.
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