BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield's second home stand of the season has arrived and this weekend's three-game series will be the Western Athletic Conference opener for the Roadrunner softball team. Bakersfield will play host to Grand Canyon with a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 30, and the series finale on Saturday.
GCU will come to Bakersfield with a 19-17 record on the season after splitting a pair of midweek games against Utah. Sisters Sierra Smith and Shea Smith, who boast batting averages of .390 or better, lead the Lopes' offense. Senior catcher Niki Gonzalez adds the power with 17 extra base hits this season. In the circle, sophomore Brianna Aguilar is the go-to arm, but Head Coach Ann Pierson has another pair of trustworthy arms to choose from as well.
CSUB (3-24) went 1-3 at UC Santa Barbara's Gaucho Classic II last weekend, but is playing some of its best softball of the season heading into WAC play. Senior outfielder Julea Cavazos continues to lead the `Runners, batting .342 on the year while reaching base safely in 49.5% of her plate appearances. Senior pitcher Summer Evans has earned a bulk of the starts for the `Runners while freshman Daryn Hitzel has contributed nearly as many innings as her teammate.
The `Runners are approaching a few records as seniors Cavazos and Kaylynn Burt continue to add to their offensive statistics. A speedy outfielder, Burt currently has 32 career stolen bases, just one shy of CSUB's Division I record set by Karissa Veiga (2011-14). Burt also needs one more hit by pitch to take over the top spot in a `Runner career with 21. The pair are both tracking down CSUB's career walks record (47, Selena Gonzalez, 2015-17) as Cavazos enters the weekend with 45 bases on balls while Burt has 43.
This weekend's WAC-opening series will kick off on Friday, Mar. 30, with a doubleheader at the Roadrunner Softball Complex. A scheduled first pitch of 2 p.m. will open the action while Saturday's single game will begin at 1 p.m.
Tickets are available for purchase at the gate as well as ahead of time by visiting this page. Fans that cannot make it out to support the `Runners in person can watch each of CSUB's WAC games this season via the WAC Digital Network.
~GoRunners.com~
