CSUB Headed for CSUN Early Bird Classic

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – After opening the 2019 season with its best start at the NCAA Division I level, the CSU Bakersfield softball team is preparing to get back to the diamond for another tournament. The Roadrunners will travel to Northridge, Calif., Feb. 15-17, for five games at the CSUN Early Bird Classic.

"We're excited to get after this weekend and keep getting better," said CSUB's Head Coach, Crissy Buck-Ziegler. "Heading to Northridge is always fun; we love playing them. They are always a great opponent that has kids who play hard. Army and Binghamton will be fun to play since we have never played either program. What we have seen is that they both come out to play hard as well. It should be a fun weekend if the weather stays away."

CSUB will open the Early Bird Classic with three games against the Binghamton Bearcats. BU is based out of Vestal, N.Y. and will open its season in California this week. The Bearcats finished 2018 with a 17-25 record but made an NCAA Tournament appearance as recently as 2015. Bakersfield and Binghamton have never met in the two program's histories.

The other team the `Runners will face for the first time this week is Army West Point. The Golden Knights traveled to Georgia last weekend to kick off their season at the Mercer Invitational. Army finished that tournament with a 2-3 record behind the bat of Grace Mattimore. The first baseman wrapped up the Invite with a .500 batting average and a 1.417 slugging percentage thanks to a pair of doubles and three home runs.

After tackling a pair of new foes, CSUB will face off with CSUN, one of the most familiar opponents in Bakersfield's history. The `Runners and Matadors' all-time series goes all the way back to 1985 while CSUN owns a 43-19 advantage. The Matadors posted a 1-4 record against a strong field at the Kajikawa Classic to open the 2019 season. CSUN fell to a pair of ranked teams, No. 25 Oregon and No. 12 Arizona State, as well as two more Pac-12 squads in Oregon State and Utah.

The `Runners will open the Early Bird Classic on Friday, Feb. 15, with a doubleheader against Binghamton starting at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday, the `Runners will face the Bearcats one more time with first pitch scheduled for 10:15 a.m. CSUB and Army will clash at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday with the game against CSUN to follow immediately after.

`Runner fans can follow along with live stats for all five games this weekend while an audio-only broadcast will be available during CSUB's game against CSUN. Links to both options are available on the CSUB softball schedule page.

Rain is possible in Southern California this weekend, so, fans should be on the lookout for potential changes to the schedule. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @CSUB_Softball on Twitter (link above).

~GoRunners.com~

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