BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield continues a nine-game road trip this week with games against a pair of teams that made it to the 2014 NCAA Division I Tournament. The Roadrunners travel Wednesday to Cal State Fullerton for a 6 p.m. matchup.
Wednesday is the first of two meetings between CSUB and CSUN this season. The Titans travel to Bakersfield on Apr. 22. Cal State Fullerton defeated CSUB 8-2 on Feb. 17, 2013 in the only previous meeting between the two schools. The Titans have lost four in a row after being swept by Indiana last weekend in Bloomington. Josh Estill leads the team in hitting (.339), home runs (2), and RBI's (16). Cal State Fullerton has not determined a starter for Wednesday night. James Barragan (1-2, 1.71 ERA) will be the 'Runner starter.
CSUB begins a three-game series against UC Irvine Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's games will start at 1 p.m. The Anteaters swept a three-game series from CSUB last season in Bakersfield. Two of the three games were decided by one run. UC Irvine leads the all-time series 11-2 against the Roadrunners. Coming off an appearance in the 2014 College World Series, the Anteaters are 8-10 after taking 2-of-3 from San Jose State last weekend. Keston Hiura leads the team in batting (.357), home runs (4), and RBI's (15). Hiura has a .614 slugging percentage entering this weekend.
Lefty Elliot Surrey (1-2, 3.41 ERA) will face Hayden Carter (R, 3-1, 2.92 ERA) on Friday night. On Saturday, Matt Esparza (R, 3-1, 3.27 ERA) matches up against Steven Gee (2-1, 1.76 ERA). The series concludes with Evan Manarino (L, 2-0, 4.20 ERA) pitches against Nick Rogowski (R, 2-1, 5.50 ERA).
Sunday's tie between the Roadrunners and NM State was only the fourth tie in conference play in WAC history. NM State and Nevada played to a tie in 2010 and BYU and Hawai'i tied in both 1988 and 1990. It was the first time that CSUB has played to a tie in program history and is the fourth time Bill Kernen has had a team play to a tie in his 14+ years as a college head coach. CSUB is now 8-2-1 over its past 11 games entering this week's action.
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