BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield softball team had a week off to hone its game plan and will take momentum from the week of practice into its next event, the Libby Matson Tournament, hosted by Pacific this weekend. The Roadrunners will travel to Stockton, Calif. for the tournament, Feb. 26-28, for five games between Cal Poly, Pacific, and Purdue.
“This weekend is going to tough,” said Crissy Buck-Ziegler, Head Coach of the 'Runners. “We have some great opponents with all of these teams. Cal Poly is coming off of a great weekend upsetting Arizona and just playing well in Palm Springs. Pacific always have tough pitchers and hitters that can spray the ball around the field. Purdue is a team that we do not see very often and to play a Big Ten school like them is going to be a real challenge. We will keep our focus on us, though, by just getting back to playing the game one pitch at a time.”
The 'Runners have a rich history against Cal Poly (39-26 all-time) and Pacific (3-10 all-time), but will be meeting Purdue for the first time. Purdue enters the tournament with a record of 6-3 while Cal Poly is 6-4 and Pacific is 5-5 after all three teams participated in tournaments the first two weeks of the season.
CSUB will be led by senior Sydney Raeber, who leads the team with a .417 batting average so far this season. Junior catch Jo Larios is close behind, hitting .375, while sophomore outfielder Julea Cavazos batted .357 in the opening weekend.
Raeber also went 2-0 at the UC Davis Aggie Kick-Off with a 1.85 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched in the circle. Fellow senior Amber Mills went 1-0 in 10.2 innings pitched and had a sub-2.00 ERA as well (1.97). Junior Lyndsay Klimenko saw the next most innings pitched, but struggled, giving up eight earned runs in the tournament.
The 'Runners will open the Libby Matson Tournament with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 26. CSUB will take on Cal Poly at 12:15 p.m. before tackling host Pacific at 4:45 p.m. Live stats will be available for every game of the tournament, as will a video stream, but there will only be a play-by-play broadcast during Pacific's games. For links to the live stats and video stream and a full schedule, visit the tournament central page.
~GoRunners.com~
