Seattle, Wash. -- Bakersfield's softball team opened the Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament with a 4-1 loss against Utah Valley on Thursday morning. The 'Runners struggled to get their offense going against Josi Summers of Utah Valley who ranks in the Top 10 in the WAC in ERA and strikeouts. The senior pitcher from Utah dealt her way to a four-hitter against Bakersfield.

Utah Valley struck first in the bottom of the third inning as the Wolverines picked up three runs off of four consecutive two-out hits. One of those hits was a two-run home run by Amanda Robinson which led UVU to a 3-0 lead after three innings. A solo shot by Erin Romero gave the Wolverines a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning and chased Bakersfield's starting pitcher, Lyndsay Klimenko (Fr., Half Moon Bay, Calif., Half Moon Bay HS), in favor of regular starter Kelsie Monroe (Jr., Los Banos, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College). The junior pitcher got the job done and steered the 'Runners out of the inning.

Bakersfield had a scoring chance in the top of the fifth when Ashley Carter (Jr., Tehachapi, Calif., Tehachapi HS) broke up Summers' no-hitter with an infield single. Carter made a heady play on the next hit, going first to third, but was stranded there to end the inning. Sydney Raeber (So., Hanford, Calif., Hanford HS) reached based for the third time in the game with her first hit in the top of the sixth. Raeber would eventually score off of a grounder to give the 'Runners their first and only run of the game.

Raeber led the team offensively, reaching base safely in all three at bats with two walks and a single. Klimenko picked up the loss as she moved to 3-10 on the year. Monroe pitched 2.2 solid innings in relief, giving up three hits while striking out two Wolverines.

Because of rain, the rest of the day's games were delayed. The hope is to get two more games in on Thursday night. If those games are successfully completed, the 'Runners would get to play their second game on Friday morning (time TBD), assuming that the weather allows for it. If the rain persists, the tournament directors may be forced to change the format of the competition from double elimination to single elimination. With the morning's loss to UVU, Bakersfield would then be eliminated from the tournament.

Check our twitter account (@CSUBAthletics) for the latest updates on the tournament schedule. 

~www.GoRunners.com~