BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield fought off a late Seattle U rally to defeat the Redhawks 10-5 to clinch a series victory between two of the top three teams in the Western Athletic Conference Saturday.  

Seattle U threatened in the third. Colin Peterson singled to left to open the inning; however, Barragan picked him off.  Grant Newton was hit by a James Barragan (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) pitch and moved to second on a TJ Byrne bunt single. Griffin Andreychuk singled to right center to load the bases. Landon Cray, the Redhawks' No. 2 batter, fouled out to third. Sheldon Stober popped out to short to conclude the frame.

Seattle U's Skyler Genger, the WAC strikeout leader, was masterful through the first three. He struck out six CSUB batters and did not allow a hit.  Genger took too long to warm up prior to the start of the fourth, down 1-0 in the count; Genger walked Max Carter (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS). Ryan Grotjohn (So., Cave Creek, Ariz., Brophy College Prep) earned CSUB's first hit, a single to center.

Soloman Williams (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Golden West College) put down a sacrifice bunt which was fielded by SU catcher Brian Olson. Olson's throw to first pulled Stober, the second baseman off the base which allowed Williams to reach first and load the bases. Mylz Jones (Jr., Palmdale, Calif., Paraclete HS) grounded into a double play as Carter scored for the game's first run. Kris Cayton (R-Sr., Manhattan Beach, Calif., LA Harbor College) walked the fourth of the game for Genger, to put runners on the corners. Ross Hough's (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Central Arizona College) infield single scored Grotjohn. Jordie Hein (Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz., Chapparal HS) reached on a bunt single of his own to load the bases. Joey Sanchez (So., Pico Rivera, Calif., El Rancho HS) flew out to center for out number three.

Barragan retired nine in a row at one point before Cray singled to center with one out in the sixth. Stober singled to right center before Olson flew out to right center. Cray advanced to third before Dalton Hurd came to the plate. Hurd singled down the left field line to plate Cray. Sean Sutton's grounder to second put an end to the SU inning.

Jones began the CSUB sixth with a single to left.  Pinch-hitter Chance Gusbeth (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Desert Christian HS) successfully sacrificed Jones to second with a bunt. Genger's second wild pitch pushed Jones to third. Hough walked before Hein attempted a drag bunt for a base hit. Hein was thrown out at first to be credited with a sacrifice as Jones scored.  Ted Hammond relieved Genger to match up against Sanchez.  Sanchez's infield single David Metzgar (So., Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS) a chance with runners on first and third. Metzgar singled to right to drive in pinch-runner Logan Trowbridge (Sr., Santa Cruz, Calif., College of San Mateo). Carter doubled down the left field line to easily score two.

Kyle Doyle, a lefty, was brought in to face the left-handed hitting Grotjohn. Grotjohn grounded out to Doyle for the final out.  Peterson's second single of the game started the Redhawks' seventh. Newton singled to right before Byrne's bunt single loaded the bases. A sharp Barragan slider struck Andreychuk out. Cray grounded out to short but Peterson scored on the play. Barragan went to the slider again and it worked, striking out Stober for out number three.   

Barragan gave up his first walk to Olson as the top of the eighth got underway. Carter, the CSUB closer came on in relief and would matchup against Hurd.  Hurd worked out a walk to bring up Sutton who singled to right to bring the tying run up at the plate in Peterson.  Peterson singled to score Olson. Newton hit a grounder to first; Cody White (So., Hemet, Calif., Hemet HS) attempted to throw the ball to Carter who dropped the ball allowed all of the runners to reach safely as one run scored.

“James didn't have his best curve ball today,” said CSUB head coach Bill Kernen. “He wasn't as consistent as it usually is.”

Pinch-hitter Michael McCann fouled out for the first out of the inning. Andreychuk walked to make it 6-5. Cray lined out to Gusbeth in right, keeping the runners in place. Stober flew out to center to get the Roadrunners out of the jam.

Trowbridge worked out a walk to start the CSUB eighth. Hein sacrificed Trowbridge to second. Sanchez reached on the third catcher's interference of the weekend called against Seattle U.  Metzger's opposite field single to right scored Trowbridge.  Carter walked to load the bases. Grotjohn walked to get an RBI for the Roadrunners' eighth run.  White and Jones tallied RBI's to increase the lead back to five.  Trowbridge batted for the second time in the inning when Gusbeth walked to load the bases.  He popped out for the third out.

“I think you can tell that nobody panicked,” Kernen said. “We have a bunch of veteran guys who know what to do. So I was proud of what they were able to do.”

Genger would strike out seven and walked a season high six. Peterson posted a game high three hits for SU.  Metzgar led CSUB by going 2-for-3 with two RBI's and two runs scored. Jones also had two hits. Carter drove in two runs.

The Roadrunners have won 12 of their last 13 games to improve to 25-15-1 on the season. At 12-4-1, CSUB has moved into a virtual tie for first place (12-4-1 WAC) with Grand Canyon. The Antelopes are 12-4 (23-19 overall) after splitting a pair of games against Utah Valley Saturday. Seattle U is a half game back with a 12-5 record. Seattle is 21-21 overall.

“We need to get a good one of Nick (Rogowski) tomorrow,” Kernen said. “He has struggled the last couple of times out. There guy will be good and it will be a challenge.”

The series concludes Sunday. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. 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~