LOS ANGELES, Calif.-- Bakersfield softball started a win streak on Saturday with wins over UNLV and Charleston Southern at the UCLA Tournament.

Game 1

The first game of the day pitted CSUB against UNLV in which the 'Runners emerged victorious by a score of 4-1. The win broke a long string of losses for Bakersfield dating back to Feb. 9.

The Roadrunners broke the scoring open early with a run in the first inning. As she often does, senior leftfielder Karissa Veiga (Hemer, Calif., Hemet HS) led off the game with a single, then ended up on third base after a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt. Jessica Castaneda (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Ridgeview HS) sacrificed to bring Veiga home and give the 'Runners a 1-0 early lead.

Three base hits to start out the top of the second gave Bakersfield a 2-0 advantage which was capped off by Karsyn Guzman (Fr., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) singling home Briana Pontecorvo (So., Hanford, Calif., San José State). The 'Runners would get a third run when Amber Mills (So., Fresno, Calif., Clovis West HS) sent an RBI single through the right side.

The Rebels threatened in the bottom half of the second, putting two runners on base, but starting pitcher Kelsie Monroe (Jr., Los Banos, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College) shut down the potential damage by inducing a ground out. The third inning would prove more successful for UNLV, however, as the Rebels scored a run to make the score 3-1. In the top of the fourth inning, Sydney Raeber (So., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) doubled home Veiga to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Rebels threatened again in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single that prompted Head Coach Crissy Buck-Ziegler to bring in Lyndsay Klimenko (Fr., Half Moon Bay, Calif., Half Moon Bay HS) to close the game. Despite giving up a single after the first out of the inning, the freshman pitcher got the job done with a fly out and a ground out. Klimenko's performance gave her the save and ensured Monroe the win.

Game 2

In the second game on Saturday, the Roadrunners held on to a 4-3 win over Charleston Southern.

Bakersfield struck first, tacking on two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Amy Ricciardi (Sr., Chino Hills, Calif., Ayala HS) and Guzman had back-to-back RBI singles to give the 'Runners a 2-0 lead. Bakersfield had the opportunity to increase the lead with the bases loaded and only one out, but Guzman was thrown out at home on a grounder and a fly ball limited the damage to just two runs.

CSU loaded the bases right away in the third and pounced on the starting pitcher, Klimenko, for two runs. Coach Buck-Zielger brought Monroe in to relieve and the junior pitcher promptly got Morgan Dowdy to ground into an inning-ending double play. The clutch relief pitching kept the score tied at two runs apiece.

The 'Runners broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth due in part to an error by Charleston Southern's first baseman. The mistake prolonged the inning and gave Raeber an at-bat which resulted in a two-out, two-RBI double and a 4-2 Bakersfield lead.

The Buccaneers closed the gap in the top of the fifth with a run that made the score 4-3. Bakersfield had two runners on with only one out in the bottom of the sixth, but a line out double play would end the possibility of gaining any insurance runs.

CSU put runners on second and third with only one out in the seventh. Monroe caught the next batter looking for a strike out, then induced a fly out to left field to end the game and give the 'Runners a two-game win streak.

Ricciardi finished the day 5-7 with an RBI while Raeber went 2-4 with 3 RBI and Veiga collected three hits and scored three times. Monroe's relief pitching solidified the win in Game 2 as the junior's line was 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 4 K en route to her second win of the day.

Bakersfield will complete the UCLA Tournament on Sunday with a 9 a.m. rematch with Loyola-Chicago and a game against the host Bruins with first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Make sure to check out the Bakersfield softball schedule page for a link to a free audio broadcast of the CSUB-UCLA game tomorrow.

~www.GoRunners.com~