CHICAGO—CSU Bakersfield evened its final Western Athletic Conference baseball series of the regular season Friday when the Roadrunners defeated Chicago State 13-4.

“Obviously we played better today and were more who we are as a team,” said CSUB head coach Bill Kernen.

CSUB took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Ryan Grotjohn's (So., Cave Creek, Ariz., Brophy College Prep) sacrifice fly plated Max Carter (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS). A six-run Roadrunner outburst in the top of the fourth increased the CSUB lead to 7-0. The Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with two.

Carter, in his first career start on the mound, went the first six innings before giving way to Alec Daily (So., Temecula, Calif., Great Oak HS). Chicago State roughed Daily up for two runs in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and second and one out, CSUB called upon Steven Gee (So., Taft, Calif., Taft Union HS) to get out of the jam. Gee struck out both Cougars he faced to keep the Roadrunner advantage at three.

CSUB scored in the top of the eighth when Jordie Hein (Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz., Chapparal HS) singled in Soloman Williams (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Golden West College). The Roadrunners scored five in the top of the ninth, highlighted by Drew Seelman's (Fr., Temecula, Calif., Temecula Valley HS) three-run home run.

The Roadrunners tied the school record with four double plays including in the bottom of the ninth when a double play ended the game. This was the second time this season CSUB turned four double plays in a game, the fourth time overall.

Williams and Hein both registered three hits to pace the Roadrunners. Mylz Jones (Jr., Palmdale, Calif., Paraclete HS) and David Metzgar (So., Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS) both tallied two hits. Carter went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI in addition to earning his third victory of the season on the mound. Gee faced the minimum of eight batters over his 2.2 innings of work to earn the save. Sanford Hunt was 3-for-4 to lead Chicago State.

“Carter gave us six solid innings and Gee was able to close it out,” Kernen said. “We played exceptionally well on defense to bounce back from last night.”

CSUB (31-21-1, 16-9-1 WAC) and Chicago State (13-39-1, 6-18-1 WAC) wrap the regular season Saturday. First pitch set for 12 p.m. (CDT). Seattle U has clinched the top seed for next week's WAC Tournament as the Redhawks defeated Northern Colorado 5-4 Friday.

The Roadrunners still have a chance to earn the final first round bye on Saturday. Sacramento State takes the two seed with either two wins over the final two games or a win over the next two days and a CSU Bakersfield loss. If you CSUB wins Saturday and Sac state loses one of the next two, CSUB will get the number two seed.

~GoRunners.com~