SAN DIEGO-- On the opening day of the USD Tournament, the Roadrunners faced the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The 'Runners cleaned up their defensive issues and hit a home run, but eventually fell to SUU by a score of 3-1.

CSU Bakersfield squandered several good chances to score throughout the game including in the bottom of the first inning with a 'Runner on third and only one out. Southern Utah was able to eliminate the threat with an infield lineout and popup to end the inning.

In the top of the second, the Thunderbirds struck first as they had runners on second and third when Tanisha Anderson's two-out double plated two runs. SUU would go on to put runners on the corners with a single, but Kelsie Monroe (Sr., Los Banos, Calif., San Joaquin Delta College) would induce a groundout to end the threat.

CSUB had another chance to score with 'Runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the third inning, but a groundout to end the inning would leave the score at 2-0. Bakersfield finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth thanks to the much anticipated power of freshman Nicole Curry (Martinez, Calif., Alhambra HS). The 5-10 power hitter, who drove out 27 home runs in her high school career, led off the inning with her first collegiate home run to cut the score to 2-1.

After a leadoff double from Kylee Wolf, the Thunderbirds reclaimed a two-run lead when Jordan Theurer singled up the middle to make the score 3-1 in the fifth inning. The 'Runners had one more solid chance to score as CSUB had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth. Again, an opportunity capitalize and cut the Thunderbird lead passed by when Katie Greenberg, SUU's pitcher, induced a groundout.

"It was a much better played game today and Kelsie pitched another good game," said Crissy Buck-Ziegler, Bakersfield's head coach. "It was great to see Nicole get her first home run. I hope this is a spring board for the rest of the weekend."

Greenberg and Monroe both finished with complete games. Monroe edged her counterpart in strikeouts, fanning seven Thunderbirds to Greenberg's three strikeouts, but Monroe also walked seven. The 'Runners scattered four hits but plated only the one run off of Curry's solo shot. After recording 14 errors in the first five games of the year, CSUB had none on Friday.

CSUB (0-6) will be back in action with two games at the USD Tournament on Saturday. The 'Runners will have a rematch against SUU at 2 p.m. before a nightcap against Montana at 7 p.m. Links to the live stats and full recaps can be found here on GoRunners.com.

~GoRunners.com~