BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Nick Rogowski (Sr., Woodbridge, Va., Cypress College) and Steven Gee (So., Taft, Calif., Taft Union HS) combined on a one-hitter as CSU Bakersfield completed a three-game sweep of Texas-Pan American 4-1 Sunday afternoon.

David Metzgar's (So., Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS) safety squeeze in the bottom of the first plated Jordie Hein (Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz., Chapparal HS) for the game's first run.  With two outs, Soloman Williams (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Golden West College) smacked a double that drove in two runs.  Chance Gusbeth (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Desert Christian HS) followed with a single that allowed Williams to score. The Roadrunners would lead 4-0 after one complete.

Thanks to a walk and a CSUB error, the Broncs put the first two batters on in the top of the second.  Scott Mercer posted a safety squeeze of his own to score Victor Garcia, Jr. for the Broncs' first run.  With Correy Davis at third, and Jacob Huckabay at the plate, UTPA (12-22, 0-12 WAC) called for a suicide squeeze. The ball was high which allowed CSUB catcher Logan Trowbridge (Sr., Santa Cruz, Calif., College of San Mateo) to tag Davis out coming home.  Huckabay struck out to end the inning.

Rogowski issued a pair of walks with one out in the UTPA fourth. With Davis at the plate, the Broncs' right fielder grounded back to Rogowski, but it allowed the runners to move to second and third. Scott Mercer walked, Rogowski's fifth, to load the bases. Rogowski got Huckabay, the UTPA catcher, to line out to left to quiet the threat.

Rogowski walked the bases loaded again in the fifth. With one out, Rogowski was removed in favor of Gee. The first batter Gee faced was the WAC leader in hitting, Logan Landon (.434).With the count 3-1 in his favor, Landon popped out to short (on which the infield fly rule was invoked) for the second out. Garcia, Jr. popped out to second for the final out.

Davis opened the sixth with the first UTPA hit, an infield single to short.  The Broncs left runners on in the sixth and eighth innings but went down in order in the ninth.  Rogowski walked eight in 4.1 innings before Gee took over. Gee earned his fourth victory of the year. He struck out two, facing 16 in his 4.2 innings of work.

CSUB recorded 10 hits. Each team left nine on base. Hein went 2-for-4 while Ryan Grotjohn (So., Cave Creek, Ariz., Brophy College Prep) was 2-for-3. The victory was the seventh in a row for the 'Runners including a pair of conference sweeps. CSUB has outscored their opponents in the last seven games 65-5.

“We played poorly today, we wouldn't have beaten a great team,” said CSUB head coach Bill Kernen. “If we do what we did today (eight walks, two errors), we won't be able to beat good teams to become a champion. We need to play our best game every time out.”

The Roadrunners (20-14-1, 8-3-1 WAC) travel to Sacramento State for a three WAC games next weekend. The series begins Friday at 3 p.m. CSUB returns home Apr. 22 when the Roadrunners host Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. The Roadrunners will then host Seattle U in a WAC series Apr. 24-26. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. If you can't make it to Hardt Field, you can watch the game on Bakersfield.com.

“We have Sacramento State and Seattle coming up and these are going to be deciding games if we are going to compete for a seed at the conference tournament,” Kernen said.

~GoRunners.com~