BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – An early lead slipped away and the Roadrunner softball team was unable to rally late as CSU Bakersfield dropped its Western Athletic Conference series finale to Seattle U on Saturday, 7-2.
"Summer started and I thought she had a really good game," said Crissy Buck-Ziegler, Head Coach of the `Runners. "We have to start playing together. I think that's what we did really well, even in New Mexico last weekend. We were playing together and playing good ball. We have to get back to that."
The `Runners made a pair of nice defensive plays in the top of the first to set up an opportunity to take a lead. In the bottom half of the frame, Kaylynn Burt was hit for the fourth time in the series. She advanced to second on a grounder and Paige Johnson's single to right field was enough for CSUB's speedy outfielder to give the `Runners a 1-0 lead.
The Redhawks answered right back in the top of the second when Maddy Kristjanson's solo home run tied the score up at one run apiece.
In the next inning, a pair of errors by the `Runners helped SU score a pair of runs and take a 3-1 lead. Two more mishaps in the fifth helped the Redhawks extend their advantage to 5-1.
Determined to fight, the `Runners got walks from freshman Ana Felix and Burt in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Evelyn Mendoza came to the plate as a pinch hitter and singled up the middle for her first collegiate RBI. The Redhawks got out of the jam, but the `Runners narrowed the gap to just three runs.
Four-straight hits in the top of the seventh helped the Redhawks tack on a pair of insurance runs. Down to its final three outs with a 7-2 deficit, a CSUB rally was not in the cards and the `Runners fell in the series finale.
Mendoza and Johnson tallied CSUB's two hits on the day while the pair generated the runs as well with their RBI. Burt, Felix, and Ariana Acedo all reached base with walks.
Evans (1-16) took the loss after four innings of work in which she scattered five hits and allowed just two earned runs. Freshman Daryn Hitzel pitched the final three innings while striking out two Redhawks.
The `Runners (5-30, 2-6 WAC) will hit the road next week for another WAC series. CSUB will meet up with Missouri-Kansas City for three games, Apr. 20-21.
~GoRunners.com~
