KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Roadrunner softball team opened its final regular season series of the year with a doubleheader against WAC foe Kansas City on Friday. UMKC picked up the win in Game 1 but Bakersfield rallied to split on the day.

Game 1: Kansas City 9, Bakersfield 3

Bakersfield's Lyndsay Klimenko (Fr., Half Moon Bay, Calif., Half Moon Bay HS) got the nod from Head Coach Crissy Buck-Ziegler, but the young pitcher struggled early on. After Klimenko allowed two of the first three batters to reach safely, Caitlin Christopher put the Kangaroos on top with a three-run shot to left field. The 'Runners answered right back in the top of the second as Briana Pontecorvo's (So., Hanford, Calif., San José State) RBI double allowed Sydney Raeber (So., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) to make it a 3-1 ballgame.

Two infield singles and a sacrifice bunt set up a scoring opportunity for the 'Roos. Cinda Ramos plated a run with a bloop single, but Klimenko recorded two consecutive outs to keep the score 4-1 after two innings. After loading the bases in the bottom of the third, Klimenko allowed the fifth UMKC infield single of the game and then walked in a run as the 'Roos took a 6-1 lead. A botched double play would allow Madison Bundy (Jr., Anacortes, Wash., Oregon State) to score from second and cut the UMKC lead to 6-2 after the top of the fourth, but three more runs in the UMKC half of the inning would make it 9-2.

The 'Runners added one last run in the top of the seventh, but eventually fell by a score of 9-3. Raeber and Pontecorvo both had two hits in the game while the latter and Jessica Castaneda (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Ridgeview HS) contributed an RBI each to the Bakersfield cause.

Game 2: Bakersfield 5, Kansas City 4

The Roadrunners took an early lead in the top of the first inning thanks to Castaneda's three-run home run. The designated player's fourth blast of the season would aid Bakersfield in taking a 4-0 lead through the second inning after a double steal with 'Runners at the corners allowed Pontecorvo to score.

UMKC answered back in the bottom of the third when Ramos tripled in a run and Katie Kelley promptly homered to left center to cut the 'Runner lead to 4-3. In the next inning, Bakersfield's starting pitcher, Kelsie Monroe (Jr., Los Banos, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College), got into a bases-loaded, two-out jam, but kept the 'Runners ahead by inducing a pop out.

Kelley later tied the score with her second home run of the game as the 'Roos and 'Runners went to the seventh inning knotted up at four runs apiece. Bakersfield had Castaneda on first with two outs in the top half of the inning when Bundy's clutch double to the gap allowed her teammate to wheel home. The Kangaroos did their best to cause problems in the bottom half of the inning as both Raeber and Klimenko faced batters in the inning. Klimenko got the final out and preserved the one-run Bakersfield victory.

Castaneda finished the game just a triple shy of the circle and collected four hits on the day with four RBI. Monroe went 4.1 innings in Game 2, giving up four earned runs off of five hits and four walks while striking out three. Raeber pitched 2.1 innings while allowing only one hit. Pontecorvo added another hit in Game 2, bringing her total on the day to three hits and one RBI.

Bakersfield (15-37-1, 4-10 WAC) will finish its regular season with a single game on Saturday at noon (CDT) against Kansas City (17-32, 6-7 WAC).

~www.GoRunners.com~