BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A matchup with the Western Athletic Conference's preseason favorite Grand Canyon appeared to be a tall order for CSU Bakersfield's softball team to open league play. The Roadrunners were unfazed and sealed a 2-1 series victory with a 3-2 win over the Lopes on Saturday.

"You see our team getting better and better every week," said Crissy Buck-Ziegler, Head Coach at CSUB. "We like playing at home; that's a big thing for us, especially now that it is renovated and looking good. It was a good series. I thought our pitchers really stepped up and I thought our hitters stepped up when we needed them to."

The `Runners hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the second with freshman Ariana Acedo plating sophomore Jocelyn Betancourt. Acedo came around to score later in the frame on a GCU error as the `Runners took a 2-0 lead into the third inning.

The Lopes got a runner on base thanks to an error in the third, but a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play helped CSUB get out of trouble. CSUB's starting pitcher, freshman Daryn Hitzel, found herself in a jam with two Lopes on base in the top of the fourth. Hitzel snagged a hard-hit comebacker and threw over to first to keep the Lopes off the board again.

Junior transfer Paige Johnson led the bottom of the fourth off with a double to center field. Karah Wiseman's ground out moved CSUB's third baseman within 60 feet of home. Acedo, the starting first baseman, picked up her second RBI of the game with a line drive off the pitcher's glove, putting the `Runners ahead 3-0.

After hitting a two-run home run on Friday, GCU's Bianca Boling gave the `Runners trouble again on Saturday. With two Lopes on base, GCU's first baseman hit a double to the gap, making the score 3-2. Senior Summer Evans came in to relieve Hitzel and got the `Runners out of the inning with a lazy fly ball.

Needing just three outs to claim the game and the series, Evans and the `Runner defense came back out in the seventh. The CSUB defense backed up its pitcher for a 1-2-3 inning as Evans earned her first save of the season. The native of Escondido, Calif. threw 2.1 scoreless innings against the Lopes, retiring all seven batters she faced.

Hitzel earned the win for CSUB after throwing 4.2 solid innings. Buck-Ziegler talked praised both of her pitchers after Saturday's game: "I still think Daryn can be better. I know she can be better. I loved how she gutted it out even though it wasn't her best. That's growth and maturity. Summer came in and did a wonderful job. She sat over here, watching their swings and analyzing so that she could go in and get the W."

"Yesterday, I told Ariana that we need her to be better," Buck-Ziegler said of CSUB's freshman first baseman, who went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. "She knows what we expect and she knows our game. She's going to be a big part of our program and she did exactly what we knew she could do today."

With a WAC series victory under their belts, the `Runners (5-25, 2-1 WAC) have momentum heading into the rest of conference play. Bakersfield will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. next week to take on defending WAC Champion New Mexico State in a three-game series.

~GoRunners.com~