Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

Next Event

David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography

Baseball

CSUB to Host Big West Leaders

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Fresh off a weekend sweep of Utah Valley University, the CSU Bakersfield baseball team is set to host the University of Hawaii, who currently lead the Big West with a 6-3 conference record.  

Series History
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.  

Scouting the Rainbow Warriors
The Rainbow Warriors enter Wednesday with a 20-12 overall record and have won three straight Big West series against UC Irvine, UC Davis and UC Riverside.  In non-conference action, they swept series against Air Force and Illinois State University.  As a team, they are hitting .273, with Kekai Rios and Adam Fogel leading the way offensively.  Rios leads the team in batting average (.321) and on-base percentage (.438).  Fogel has 14 doubles on the year and is slugging .500.  Dylan Thomas has been lights out from the bullpen.  He's made 16 appearances and has produced a 1.29 ERA.  As a team, Hawaii has a 3.70 ERA.  

Pitching Matchups
CSUB Hawaii
RHP Isaac Meza (0-0, 22.50 ERA)   RHP Cade Smith (1-1, 3.60 ERA) 

Team Comparison
CSUB Hawaii
RPI 212 88
Batting Average .253 .273
Scoring Average 4.5 4.4
On-Base Percentage .332 .365
Slugging Percentage .315 .373
Extra-Base Hits 49 74
Stolen Bases 30 5
ERA 5.65 3.70
WHIP 1.74 1.33
Strikeouts Per Nine 6.7 6.8
Fielding Percentage .949 .971

Category Leaders
CSUB Hawaii
Batting Average Penner .351 Rios .321
Runs Penner 22 Yamazaki 21
On-Base Percentage Penner .441 Rios .438
Slugging Percentage Koch .471 Fogel .500
RBI Koch 18 Fogel 22
Extra-Base Hits Koch 13 Fogel 18
Stolen Bases Pena 5 Vchulek 3
Wins Daily/Parks 3 Uskali 6
Innings Pitched Butler 39.1 Uskali 48.2
ERA Daily 2.93 Thomas 1.29
Strikeouts King 38 Rees 34

Last Time Out
CSUB busted out the brooms in Orem, Utah, sweeping Utah Valley for three much-needed WAC victories. It was the Roadrunners' first road sweep of a WAC opponent since they took all three games from the University of North Dakota in April of 2015.

In the series opener, the `Runners snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory. The lineup exploded for 14 hits, including seven by Jassen Oliver and Sergio Robles combined. It was the most hits for CSUB since they had 15 at the University of Portland on March 4.

Luis Martinez cracked his second career home run to start the second inning and CSUB added to the lead later in the inning on a double by Daniel Carrizosa to make it 2-0.

Clinging to a one-run lead, CSUB tallied three in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Alec Daily (3-1) got the win despite walking seven batters in five innings pitched. Ben Cutting tossed four scoreless innings to get the save. Oliver set career-highs in hits (3) and runs (2), while Robles was 4-for-5 with two RBI.

An eighth inning rally sparked a 7-6 Game 2 victory. The `Runners trailed 5-1 after seven frames and hadn't scored since the third, when they batted around, scored six times and took a 7-5 lead. CSUB took advantage of three Wolverine errors in the inning, a double by Andrew Penner, singles by Jake Ortega and Jassen Oliver and walks by Evan Berkey and Robles.

In the eighth, Kyle King took the ball from Kevin Altamirano with baserunners on first and second and nobody away. King walked his first batter to load the bases, but got back-to-back strikeouts and a flyout to center field to escape the inning. The Wolverines cut the lead in half with one out in the ninth, but King got tough and recorded a strikeout and a flyout to center to collect his first save.

Dewsnap (2-3) recorded his first victory as a starter as he struck out a career-best five in seven innings. In the series finale, CSUB jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Ortega singled home Carrizosa. After Utah Valley scored two runs off of Parks in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead, the `Runners responded quickly with two runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to blow open the game.

Penner singled and came around on a Ryan Koch triple in the sixth and Oliver singled to score Koch later in the inning. In the seventh, Luis Martinez plated two with a single up the middle to complete the scoring for the visitors.

Parks (3-1) threw a career-high six innings to earn his third victory of the season. Fellow freshman Davonte Butler tossed the final three innings and allowed one unearned run to pick up the save. The offense was effective again, pounding 14 hits for the second time in three games.  For the series, the `Runners hit .327 with Robles and Oliver leading the way six hits apiece.  Berkey and Penner also added five hits, while Daniel Nist and Martinez clubbed home runs.  CSUB also got outstanding pitching and produced a team ERA of 3.00 

If It Ain't Broke
The `Runners used the same lineup, sans the pitcher, at the plate and in the field for all three games in Orem last weekend, the first time that has happened all season long.  CSUB welcomed 18 new players to the team this season and has had to deal with numerous injuries.  This weekend's lineup featured three players making their first starts at their respective positions.  Evan Berkey made his first start at second base, while Jake Ortega and Jassen Oliver did the same in left and center field, respectively.  Prior to the weekend, Daniel Carrizosa had made just two starts at shortstop.

Oliver Key in the Clutch
Senior Jassen Oliver was critical to the Roadrunners' success at Utah Valley.  The Bakersfield native hit .462  with six hits, three runs scored and three knocked in for the series.  He was also on-base half the time and hit .500 (3-for-6) with runners in scoring position.  Making his first starts of the season in center field, Oliver made an impressive running catch against the wall in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 1 to rob a Wolverine of extra bases.  He also got a great jump on the ball in the left center gap to end Game 2.  

Nist Gets First Career Hit, Home Run
Junior Daniel Nist was 0-for-12 to start his Roadrunner career.  In his last at-bat in Game 1 at Utah Valley, the transfer from the College of Southern Idaho hit a line drive to right center field for his first career hit.  In his next at-bat, which occured in the third inning of Game 2, he blasted a deep home run that hit off the top of the batter's eye in center field and nearly left the entire park.  Nist started all three games of the Utah Valley series as the designated hitter in his first action since March 27 at CSUN.  

Stellar Pen
The CSUB bullpen was outstanding against Utah Valley over the weekend.  The combination of Ben Cutting, Kevin Altamirano, Kyle King and Davonte Butler allowed just one earned run in nine innings pitched and stuck out seven batters.  King struck out four in just two innings, while Cutting also performed well in his first action since he returned from an injury.  Cutting tossed the final four innings on Friday night and allowed just two hits to pick up the save in his first appearance since March 15.      

Catcher Leading the League in Triples
Not often is there a catcher leading the conference and ranked in the top 20 in the country in triples, but that is exactly what Ryan Koch is doing.  The junior from Stockton Calif. has four triples on the season, which currently leads the WAC and is ranked 18th in the nation.  Koch had two last week alone and leads the team in doubles (7), triples (4), home runs (2), slugging percentage (.471) and RBI (18).  Koch needs just one more triple to tie for seventh on the CSUB single-season top 10 list.    

New Look Staff
Just four of the 15 CSUB pitchers that have appeared for the `Runners this spring made more than one appearance for the team last season.  The new staff has won nine games this season and has accounted for 202 innings pitched out of a total of 294.2, good for 68.6 percent of the possible outs.  The 11 pitchers have combined for a 5.30 ERA and a 9-13 record with 154 strikeouts.  Alec Daily has been particularly effective this season after missing the last two because of Tommy John surgery.  The redshirt senior is 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in seven appearances and four starts.  The lefty has struck out 28 batters in 27.2 innings pitched and is holding opposing hitters to just a .202 average.  

 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Alec Daily

#5 Alec Daily

P/1B
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
L/L
Luis Martinez

#16 Luis Martinez

INF
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Isaac Meza

#34 Isaac Meza

P
6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Jassen Oliver

#13 Jassen Oliver

OF
6' 1"
Senior
R/R
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

C/INF
5' 10"
Junior
L/R
Andrew Penner

#7 Andrew Penner

C/OF
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Sergio Robles

#6 Sergio Robles

OF
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Ben Cutting

#51 Ben Cutting

LHP
6' 1"
Junior
L/L
Kevin Altamirano

#20 Kevin Altamirano

RHP/3B
5' 10"
Freshman
R/R
Ryan Koch

#24 Ryan Koch

C/1B
6' 1"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Alec Daily

#5 Alec Daily

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
L/L
P/1B
Luis Martinez

#16 Luis Martinez

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
INF
Isaac Meza

#34 Isaac Meza

6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Jassen Oliver

#13 Jassen Oliver

6' 1"
Senior
R/R
OF
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

5' 10"
Junior
L/R
C/INF
Andrew Penner

#7 Andrew Penner

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
C/OF
Sergio Robles

#6 Sergio Robles

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
OF
Ben Cutting

#51 Ben Cutting

6' 1"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Kevin Altamirano

#20 Kevin Altamirano

5' 10"
Freshman
R/R
RHP/3B
Ryan Koch

#24 Ryan Koch

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
C/1B
California State University at Bakersfield Athletics loading logo