BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – With a pair of wins on Saturday, the Roadrunner softball team came from behind to earn a 2-1 Western Athletic Conference series victory over Utah Valley. CSU Bakersfield took a 7-1 win to start Saturday's doubleheader before closing the series with a 4-2 decision.

“We're always happy to be winning during conference,” said Crissy Buck-Ziegler, CSUB's Head Coach. “It's good to go out of the weekend 2-1 and get the win over Utah Valley. Alex Simmons had a fantastic day, doing whatever she could to get on base. Julea Cavazos did a great job today getting on base as well.”

The 'Runner bats came alive on the second day of the series as CSUB batted .321 as a team. Seniors Sydney Raeber and Briana Pontecorvo led the way, each contributing three hits on Saturday. The big difference between Saturday's doubleheader sweep and Friday's single-game loss was the CSUB pitching staff. The 'Runners combined for seven strikeouts while allowing just 10 hits and only one earned run over the two games.

“As always, Sydney never ceases to impress us,” Buck Ziegler said about her pitching staff. “We got solid performances by Amber Mills and Lyndsay Klimenko. That's what we're going to need this year, making sure that we're all working together. I'm really happy about the weekend.”

CSUB's Head Coach also stressed that the 'Runners will need to continue to hit well with runners in scoring position. As a team, Bakersfield did indeed perform well in that category. The 'Runners went 8-of-26 (.308) from the plate with runners in scoring position on Saturday.

Game 1

CSUB took a one run lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. With one out, Simmons reached on a walk. The senior shortstop advanced to second on Raber's infield single, then took third when she realized UVU was not covering. Selena Gonzalez's grounder drove Simmons in as the 'Runners took their first lead of the series.

The 'Runners extended their lead in the bottom of the third by capitalizing on a two-out surge. Simmons got the party started by singling and stealing second base. Raeber repeated the performance as her steal of second base allowed Simmons to score on an errant throw. Raeber eventually scored on Pontecorvo's RBI single and Chris Hipa capped the three-run inning with an RBI double.

Utah Valley answered back in the top of the fourth when Dana De La Torre hit her second solo home run of the series. The catcher's shot down the left field line cleared the fence and gave the Wolverines their only run of the game.

CSUB took advantage of a pair of UVU errors in the bottom of the fourth to extend its lead. Raeber's sacrifice fly scored Adrianna Cardoza one play before a throw to plate was dropped, allowing Cavazos to score from third. The 'Runners took a 6-1 lead into the fifth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Raeber hit a deep fly ball to left field that hit the wall six inches from the top. Raeber's double was followed up by Gonzalez's ground-rule double, which drove in her second run of the game, as CSUB took a 7-1 lead.

Raeber came in to relieve in the top of the sixth and did not get the save, but pitched two perfect innings to close the game while striking out three of the six Wolverines she faced. Bakersfield's senior utility player also went 3-for-3 from the plate with an RBI. Klimenko, a junior, earned her second win of the season with a line of 5.0 innings pitched, six hits, and one earned run.

Cavazos made a pair of diving catches in right field to help the 'Runner defense hold the Wolverines to just one run. Five 'Runners had a hit in the game behind Raeber's game-high three base hits.

Game 2

The 'Runners used two hits, a walk, and a UVU error to score two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Pontecorvo singled to lead off the inning and scored on Kaylynn Burt's RBI single. Later in the second, Cavazos walked with the bases loaded to bring in Hipa and put the 'Runners up 2-0.

With Hipa and Gonzalez on base thanks to a single and a walk, respectively, Burt recorded a two-RBI triple, resetting her career-high with three RBI in the game. The sophomore's first collegiate triple pushed the 'Runner lead to four runs in the third inning. “Kaylynn's production out of the bottom of the order was huge for us today,” said Buck-Ziegler after the game.

A throwing error in the top of the fourth helped Utah Valley get a run back. Brianna Gatlin scored on the two-out error, cutting the lead to 4-1. CSUB's starter, Mills, shook off the gaffe and recorded the final out of the inning to limit the damage.

Mills rolled through the Wolverines and came back out to close out the game in the seventh. A diving snag by senior second baseman Cardoza helped the 'Runners record an out, but Utah Valley did not go down quietly. After putting two runners in scoring position, the Wolverines scored a run thanks to a fielding error on an infield popup. The error pushed the score to 4-2, but Raeber, who came in to close, finished the game by striking out the final batter on the pay-off pitch.

Raeber pitched 2.2 innings on the day while striking out five of the nine batters she faced. Burt was joined by two other 'Runners to have two hits in the second game: Pontecorvo and Cavazos.

With the sweep of Saturday's doubleheader, CSU Bakersfield improved to 10-22 on the season and won its fourth WAC series since joining the conference in 2014. Mills (5-7) earned the 13th complete game of her career while the senior lowered her CSUB-best ERA from 2.85 to 2.61. The righty from Fresno, Calif. allowed only four hits over 6.1 innings and both of her runs allowed were unearned.

The Roadrunners will return to action next weekend when the team heads to face Missouri-Kansas City in another WAC series. The Kangaroos will host CSUB in doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 8, before closing out the series with a final game Saturday, Apr. 9.

~GoRunners.com~