FRESNO, Calif. – A pair of seventh-inning home runs, one for CSU Bakersfield and one for Weber State, provided late-inning fireworks in Saturday's game in Fresno. The Roadrunners ended up on the wrong side of the celebration as the Wildcats took a 5-4 victory on Day 2 of the Fresno State Classic.

“It was a good game,” said Crissy Buck-Ziegler, CSUB's Head Coach. “I loved that we came back in the top of the seventh. We have to learn to close the door now.”

Weber State pressured early, putting a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the first inning. CSUB's starting pitcher, Alyssa Stockton, induced a fly ball to right field to get the 'Runners out of trouble, but the Wildcats would put a run up on the board in the second inning. With two outs and runners on the corners, a fielding error allowed an unearned run to come across and gave WSU a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats returned the favor in the top of the fourth inning, giving the 'Runners an unearned run on an error. With Sydney Raeber on second, an error by the WSU shortstop allowed CSUB's center fielder to score and tie the game up at 1-1.

The game settled down for a couple innings until WSU got a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2-1 lead. Third baseman Alyson Kulp lifted a fly ball to centerfield which allowed JaeCie Wilson to score from third.

Down to their final three outs, the Roadrunners got some late-inning heroics from Pontecorvo. With Selena Gonzalez on base thanks to a lead-off single, Pontecorvo sent a two-run blast over the fence to give the 'Runners a 3-2 lead. CSUB was not done scoring as Adrianna Cardoza would single and eventually scored on Kaylynn Burt's RBI single to extend its lead to 4-2.

Weber State responded with a two-run home run of its own, courtesy of first baseman Krystin Kubo. The homer tied the score at 4-4 and forced reliever Amber Mills out of the game. CSUB's starter, Stockton, came back out to pitch and gave up a walk to the first batter she faced. A double by McKinley Brinkerhoff created a close play at the plate, but WSU's baserunner slid under the tag for the game-winning run.

Pontecorvo's home run was the second of her three-year CSUB career. Gonzalez led the 'Runners at the plate, going 2-for-3 in the game. Sophomore Nicole Curry saw her first action of the season after sitting out the first three weekends with a foot injury. The first baseman came into the game as a pinch hitter and was 0-for-1 in the game.

Stockton took the loss, falling to 0-3 on the season after pitching 1.2 innings and giving up two runs, one earned. Junior Lyndsay Klimenko was the most effective pitcher for CSUB on Saturday, throwing 3.0 innings while scattering four hits to keep the Wildcats off the board. WSU's Kirtlyn Bohling improved to 7-2 on the year with the win while her team is now 12-7.

The Roadrunners (4-13) will close out the Fresno State Classic with a pair of games on Sunday. CSUB will face two ranked teams in No. 7 Washington at 2 p.m. and No. 22 Fresno State at 4:30 p.m.

~GoRunners.com~