BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Three Seattle U pitchers combined on a six-hitter as the Redhawks defeated the Roadrunners 4-0 Sunday afternoon to prevent a CSUB sweep of SU this weekend at Hardt Field.

“You have to credit their pitchers today,” said CSUB head coach Bill Kernen. “It is difficult to sweep a good team, when you get that kind of quality pitching you congratulate them and move onto the next game.”

Griffin Andreychuk's RBI single in the top of the third gave the Redhawks (22-21) their first lead of the series.  Sean Sutton added an RBI and Colin Peterson added RBI's in the fourth to make it 3-0. Five of the first six SU hits were to the opposite field.

The Roadrunners loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth. Skubal got Mylz Jones (Jr., Palmdale, Calif., Paraclete HS) to bounce back to the mound to get out of the jam. Roadrunner pitcher Nick Rogowski (Sr., Woodbridge, Va., Cypress College) pitched out of his own bases loaded jam in the fifth to keep the 'Runners in the game.

“We needed something big with the bases loaded,” Kernen said. “Mylz hit the ball well, but it was right at the pitcher who made a good play.”

With one out in the sixth, David Metzgar (So., Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS) singled and moved to second on a Max Carter (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) walk. Skubal struck out pinch-hitter Kris Cayton (Sr., Manhattan Beach, Calif., LA Harbor College) on three pitches before striking out Soloman Williams (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Golden West College).

Seattle U added a run in the seventh on a Brian Olson infield single that drove in Griffin Andreychuk. SU starter Tarik Skubal struck out eight and walked two before giving way to Grant Gunning to begin the seventh.  After giving up a hit to pinch-hitter Cody White (So., Hemet, Calif., Hemet HS) with two outs in the seventh, Gunning gave way to lefty Garrett Anderson to face the left-handed hitting Jordie Hein (Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz., Chapparal HS). Anderson got Hein to bounce back to him on the mound for the final out.

Williams opened the ninth with a single up the middle. Jones grounded into a fielder's choice that forced Williams at second. Chance Gusbeth (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Desert Christian HS) grounded out to second before Ross Hough (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Central Arizona College) singled to left. With runners on the corners, Hein flew out to left conclude the game. SU's Grant Newton was the only player on either team to record multiple hits (2-for-3).

Rogowski earned his third complete game of the season. He scattered eight hits, walked six, and struck out four in throwing 126 pitches (72 for strikes).

“I was happy the way with Rogowski today,” Kernen said. “He settled down after the fourth inning and took charge over the last five innings. He pitched well enough to win.”

The Roadrunners are a one game out of first place in the WAC with a 12-5-1 league record. Grand Canyon, which defeated Utah Valley Sunday 4-3. The Antelopes are 13-4 in league play, with Seattle in second, a half game back, at 13-5. GCU is ineligible for the WAC Tournament due to their transition to Division I. SU and CSUB would receive the first round byes in the tournament that begins Wednesday May 20 in Mesa, Ariz.

“We won the series and we needed to do that against the team ahead of us to pick up one of those games,” Kernen said. “We have three weekends left and we are playing for the seed, but we want to win the conference championship even if Grand Canyon is involved. It is so close right now that one game could shift the standings.”

CSUB (25-16-1) hosts Cal Poly Tuesday night with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The Roadrunners welcome fourth place Northern Colorado (15-22, 11-7 WAC) to Hardt Field for a three-game set beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. If you can't make it to Hardt Field, you can watch all four games next week  on Bakersfield.com and listen to Friday and Saturday's games  on 1230 ESPN.

~GoRunners.com~