BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Hayden Carter (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Vista HS) tossed his third consecutive complete game as CSU Bakersfield defeated Seattle U 5-0 Friday night in the opening game of a series that features two of the top three teams in the Western Athletic Conference.   

“Hayden has been consistent all year long, I pretty much know what I get when he goes out there,” said CSU Bakersfield head coach Bill Kernen. “Tonight he really located well.”

The Roadrunners (24-15-1, 11-4-1 WAC) smacked four consecutive hits in the bottom of third which gave CSUB a 3-0 lead. David Metzgar (So., Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS) and Max Carter (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) recorded RBI's during the spurt. CSUB took advantage of Seattle U's third error of the game to plate a pair of runs in the fifth.   

Hayden Carter retired the first eight Redhawks he faced before Colin Peterson doubled with two outs in the third. Eight of the first nine batters Carter retired came via a ground ball. Carter retired the next nine he faced before giving up a two-out infield single to Griffin Andreyhuck in the sixth. Landon Cray followed with a double down the right field line. Dalton Hurd would ground out to short for the final out.

SU opened the seventh with three consecutive singles to bring up Brock Carpenter.  Carpenter went up 3-0 in the count before Hayden Carter posted three straight strikes for his first strikeout of the night.  Michael McCann lined out to Hayden Carter for the second out, but he couldn't double up the runner at third to end the inning. Colin Peterson grounded out to first for the final out.

“The seventh was Hayden's best,” Kernen said. “All of sudden, he threw a little harder, and he really dug in on that and that was probably the game right there. You find out what kind of guts you have when you're down 3-0 in the count with the bases loaded and he got better from the next pitch on.”

With two outs in the ninth, Seattle U (21-20, 12-4 WAC) recorded back-to-back hits. Redhawk pinch-hitter Curtis Perrin grounded out (the 16th for Hayden Carter) to end the game. It was Hayden Carter's second straight shutout and increased his scoreless inning streak to 22.1 innings. He has allowed one run in last 32 innings dating back to Apr. 2. He needed 122 pitches as he scattered nine hits (Cray was the lone Redhawk with multiple hits as he had two). Hayden Carter has recorded five complete games this season in 11 starts and is fourth in Division I in the category.

Jordie Hein (Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz., Chapparal HS) and Max Carter both recorded two hits for the Roadrunners. Seattle U committed three errors and was called for two catcher's interferences during the contest for a total of five errors. With the win, CSUB moves into a tie for second in the league standings with Grand Canyon as both teams are a half game of Seattle in the WAC standings.

“We have had some things given to us in the last couple of games,” Kernen said. “The good news is that we have been able to take advantage of those opportunities.”

The series continues Saturday with a 2 p.m. start time to coincide with Celebrate CSUB festivities. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. If you can't make it to Hardt Field, you can watch the game on Bakersfield.com or listen to it on 1230 ESPN.

~GoRunners.com~