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edgar barclay
Mark Duffel

Baseball

CSUB Heads to Bay Area for Weekend Set

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield baseball team will head to the University of San Francisco this weekend for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 2:00 p.m.

CSUB has opened the 2019 season with a 2-3 record after five games.  The Roadrunners achieved victories over Cal and Ball State in a 2-2 weekend in Arizona to begin the year, before dropping a game Tuesday night against Cal Poly. 

Pitching Matchups
Darius Vines (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Riley Ornido (0-1, 1.80 ERA)
Vines' Roadrunner debut was electric as the junior right hander struck out seven batters in six innings to beat Cal last Friday.  Vines retired the final nine hitters he faced and got stronger as the game wore on.  He scattered six hits and walked two in his first outing and helped hold Golden Spikes Award Winner Andrew Vaughn hitless.  Ornido tossed five innings against San Diego State in the opening-day start against the Aztecs.  He allowed just one earned run, but gave up five and allowed five hits.  Last season, Ornido was a First Team All-West Coast Conference selection.   
 
Ethan Skuija (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. Scott Parker (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
Skuija had a rough start to his career as a Roadrunner.  He allowed eight runs to score in just 1.1 innings pitched against Pepperdine in the season opener.  Just two of the runs were earned, but he gave up six hits, a grand slam and walked a pair.  The junior settled down against Ball State on Sunday as he took over for a struggling Davonte Butler in the second frame.  Skuija pitched 3.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run.  He struck out six Cardinals and gave up just two hits.  Parker has pitched just one inning of relief so far this year and allowed SDSU to score a run in the series finale. 
 
TBA vs. Grant Young (0-0, 24.00 ERA)
Young blew up in his first start of the year, giving up eight earned runs and 10 hits to the Aztecs in three innings pitched.  The junior lefty was 1-0 with a 6.64 ERA in 2017 and made just one start last year.  Jeremy Beard has a couple options at his disposal on Sunday.  He could turn to sophomore Davonte Butler who has had two short starts so far this year, or he could look in the direction of freshman Roman Angelo who has made two quality relief appearances.  Senior Isaiah Moten has plenty of starting experience and Graham Kuck was last Sunday's starter.   
 
Scouting the Dons
San Francisco was picked to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference preseason poll behind Gonzaga, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and BYU.  Last season, the Dons finished fourth in the WCC standings.  Riley Helland and Friday's starter Riley Ornido are returning all-conference performers and both secured a spot on this season's preseason all-league team.  Helland a switch-hitting catcher and infielder hit .329 with 19 doubles and 34 RBI last year, while Ornido was 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA and 95 strikeouts.  As a freshman, Ornido led the team in all three categories. 
 
Series History
San Francisco and CSU Bakersfield have met just four times since the Roadrunners began playing baseball in 2009.  This will be the first weekend series between the two programs and CSUB will be searching for its first win on USF's home turf.  The two teams played a pair of mid-week games in 2010, with USF taking both, and the squads split two mid-weeks in 2011. 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

RHP
6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
Isaiah Moten

#28 Isaiah Moten

RHP
6' 1"
Senior
R/R
Ethan Skuija

#37 Ethan Skuija

RHP
6' 3"
Junior
R/R
Graham Kuck

#36 Graham Kuck

LHP
6' 0"
Junior
L/L
Roman Angelo

#40 Roman Angelo

RHP
6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
Darius Vines

#24 Darius Vines

RHP
6' 1"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Isaiah Moten

#28 Isaiah Moten

6' 1"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Ethan Skuija

#37 Ethan Skuija

6' 3"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Graham Kuck

#36 Graham Kuck

6' 0"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Roman Angelo

#40 Roman Angelo

6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
RHP
Darius Vines

#24 Darius Vines

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
RHP
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