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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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Daniel Carrizosa
Mark Duffel

Baseball

Baseball Continues WAC Slate in Riverside

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield baseball team will continue its Western Athletic Conference road swing on Friday when they Roadrunners travel to California Baptist for a three-game series.  This is the second straight road series for the `Runners and the third in the last four weeks. 

Setting the Scene
The Roadrunners had an excellent month of March, going 13-7 and an even 3-3 mark in the WAC, but CSUB has struggled since the turn of the calendar and has yet to earn a win in April.  Bakersfield did play Sacramento State tough last weekend, falling in 10 innings in the series opener and dropping the finale in the final at-bat, but was unable to get over the hump. 

The WAC schedule has done the `Runners no favors as they have played three of their first four series on the road, including facing the top two teams in the league in their home parks. 

For the season, Jake Ortega has been the top hitter on the team and leads the squad in batting average (.358) and OPS (.855).  He is also tied for the team lead in slugging percentage with Ryan Koch at .413 and is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. 

In conference play though, all of the `Runners have been swinging the sticks.  CSUB has a team batting average of .293 in league action, led by Jesse Rowley at .517.  The junior first baseman has an OPS of 1.243.  His 15 hits are tied for the team high with Ortega, and he's walked an impressive five times to just one strikeout. 

Edgar Barclay and Roman Angelo have been the two most effective pitchers during league play.  Angelo has made four appearances out of the bullpen and has seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings pitched.  He also is holding opposing hitters to just a .235 average and sports a 2.08 ERA.  Barclay tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout against Seattle U two weeks ago and has 22 Ks in 21 innings pitched.  Darius Vines has also utilized the strikeout, sitting down 21 batters in 18.2 innings pitched. 

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

Scouting the Lancers
CBU has performed well in its first season of Division I competition.  The Lancers were a strong Division II program and qualified the NCAA West Regional in all five seasons it was eligible.  This spring, they have gone 20-12 and 5-4 in the WAC.  The Lancers knocked off defending regular season champion Grand Canyon in their first conference series and are coming off a series victory over Seattle U. 

Luke Navigato leads the offense with a .386 batting average and a .999 OPS.  He is also tops on the squad with 31 runs, 54 hits, 11 doubles, five stolen bases and 80 total bases.  Ryan Mota has hit 10 home runs and driven in 28. 

Andrew Bash (3-2) has been CBU's best pitcher so far this season and is scheduled to be Sunday's starter.  The redshirt junior has a 1.70 ERA in seven starts and his WHIP is just 1.12.  He was dominant in his last outing against Washington.  He tossed six innings in relief against the Huskies, struck out eight batters and needed just 76 pitches.  Friday's starter Logan Rinehart has a 4.10 ERA in five starts.  He's struck out 29 batters in just 26.1 innings pitched and has held opposing hitters to just a .202 average. 

Series Schedule
The weekend will kick off on Friday with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch and will continue on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Sunday's series finale is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Ryan Koch

#23 Ryan Koch

C/1B
6' 1"
Senior
R/R
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

C
5' 10"
Senior
L/R
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

LHP
5' 10"
Junior
L/L
Jesse Rowley

#1 Jesse Rowley

1B
6' 1"
Junior
L/R
Roman Angelo

#40 Roman Angelo

RHP
6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
Darius Vines

#24 Darius Vines

RHP
6' 1"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Ryan Koch

#23 Ryan Koch

6' 1"
Senior
R/R
C/1B
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

5' 10"
Senior
L/R
C
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

5' 10"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Jesse Rowley

#1 Jesse Rowley

6' 1"
Junior
L/R
1B
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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