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Jake
Mark Duffel

Baseball

CSUB Welcomes Wolverines for Weekend Set

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -  Currently, Utah Valley sits one game ahead of the CSU Bakersfield baseball team in the Western Athletic Conference standings, but the Roadrunners are aiming to move ahead of the Wolverines in the league race and will do so with a series victory at Hardt Field this weekend.  

Setting the Scene 
The Roadrunners have continued their busy schedule this week.  After taking Easter off, Bakersfield hosted No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Monday and lost 4-1.  On Tuesday, the `Runners suffered a 6-3 defeat to UC Riverside.  

The Roadrunner pitching staff got solid outings from Noah Cordova, Kevin Altamirano and Kyle King against the Gauchos.  Cordova didn't allow an earned run in 4.1 innings pitched in his third start of the season.  Altamirano relinquished just one earned run in 2.2 innings and King tossed scoreless eighth and ninth innings.  Against the Highlanders, Mario Lopez allowed just one earned run in 2.2 innings, while Kenny Johnson had his best outing of the season.  The redshirt sophomore allowed just two hits over the final three innings and allowed just one earned run.  

CSUB has won five straight home series, dating back to a series win over Chicago State to end the regular season last year.  This season, Bakersfield has knocked off Santa Clara, Fairleigh Dickinson, Seattle U and Northern Colorado at Hardt Field.  

Pitching Matchups
Friday: Darius Vines (4-3, 4.01 ERA) vs. Jake Carr (2-8, 8.27 ERA)
Vines will toe the rubber for his league-leading 11th start of the season.  The junior is tied for the team and conference lead with 80 strikeouts and has held opposing hitters to a .246 batting average.  Vines ranks 18th in the country in Ks and his 11.87 strikeouts per nine innings places him 38th in the nation.  He is also averaging four strikeouts to every walk.  In his last outing against Northern Colorado, Vines allowed four runs in the first inning and another in the second, but bounced back to toss four straight scoreless frames.  In his six innings pitched, he had 10 strikeouts, which is the most he's had since his start against Fairleigh Dickinson on March 8.  

Saturday: Edgar Barclay (5-2, 2.80 ERA) vs. Paxton Schultz (1-4, 4.64 ERA)
Barclay has been dominant so far this season and is tied with Vines in strikeouts with 80.  His WHIP is just .96 and ranks 51st in the country.  The junior from Hilo, Hawaii leads the team with a 2.80 ERA and has five victories on the season.  He threw seven innings last Friday against Northern Colorado and struck out 10 batters for the fourth time this year.  Barclay has been named the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after complete-game victories against Hawaii and Seattle U.  In those starts, he allowed just one hit and struck out 10 batters.  

Sunday: TBA vs. Walker Ramsey (0-5, 9-97 ERA)
Roman Angelo started the series finale against Northern Colorado last weekend and allowed four runs in 4.2 innings pitched.  Ethan Skuija was CSUB's opening-game starter and was throwing the Saturday game up until last series.  The junior is 2-5 on the year and was up and down out of the bullpen last weekend.  On Thursday, he allowed two earned runs in just one inning, but pitched two innings on Friday and did not allow an earned run.  

Series History
Utah Valley leads the all-time series 9-8, but the Roadrunners have been red-hot against the Wolverines as of late.  CSUB has swept Utah Valley in the last two conference series between the two schools.  In 2017, the `Runners posted 10-0, 9-5 and 7-5 victories in Bakersfield, while last season they swept a doubleheader 6-2 and 7-6 and won the series finale 7-3.

The two schools have met up in the postseason on two occasions since they both joined the Western Athletic Conference.  Utah Valley eliminated the Roadrunners from the WAC Tournament in 2014 and 2016.
Kyle King and Davonte Butler both picked up saves last season in Orem.  Butler was spectacular in his three innings pitched, allowing just two hits and one unearned run.  At the plate, Sergio Robles hit .500 with a double, a walk and three RBI over the three-game set and Jassen Oliver played a critical role in the sweep with six hits of his own.  

Scouting the Wolverines
Utah Valley was picked to finish ninth in the conference by the league coaches prior to the start of the 2019 season.  The Wolverines struggled out of the gates, but have been better since the start of conference play.  Just like the Roadrunners, Utah Valley defeated New Mexico State once and won series against Seattle U and Northern Colorado.  The Wolverines have also dropped a series against Chicago State and were swept by Grand Canyon.  

The Wolverines have done well at the plate so far this season and have a team batting average of .270.  The lineup boasts three bats with batting averages over .300.  Ryan Eastburn leads the pack at .371 and an OPS of .976.  Alexander Marco has 17 extra-base hits on the year with six homers and 33 RBI.  

On the mound, Utah Valley has really struggled with an 8.13 ERA so far this year, which ranks 288 out of 297 teams in Division I.  Friday's starter Jake Carr has an 8.27 ERA, while Saturday's starter Paxton Schultz leads the team at 4.64.  Walker Ramsey will take the hill on Sunday and is 0-5 with a 9.97 ERA.  

Happenings at Hardt
CSU Bakersfield President Dr. Lynnette Zelezny will throw out the first pitch on Friday night to unofficially kickoff Investiture week.  Investiture activities officially begin Saturday, April 27, with the Stewards of the Land event at 2 p.m. at Alumni Park. If you haven't already, RSVP at https://csubstewards.eventbrite.com. The event is open to our campus and community.

On Saturday, it will be a white out at Hardt Field.  The first 100 fans will receive a white rally towel.  

 
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Players Mentioned

Kevin Altamirano

#20 Kevin Altamirano

RHP
5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

RHP
6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
Kenny Johnson

#35 Kenny Johnson

RHP
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Kyle King

#22 Kyle King

P
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
L/L
Jassen Oliver

#13 Jassen Oliver

OF
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Sergio Robles

#6 Sergio Robles

1B/OF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Mario Lopez

#30 Mario Lopez

RHP
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Ethan Skuija

#37 Ethan Skuija

RHP
6' 3"
Junior
R/R
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

LHP
5' 10"
Junior
L/L
Noah Cordova

#32 Noah Cordova

RHP
6' 5"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Kevin Altamirano

#20 Kevin Altamirano

5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Kenny Johnson

#35 Kenny Johnson

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Kyle King

#22 Kyle King

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
L/L
P
Jassen Oliver

#13 Jassen Oliver

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
OF
Sergio Robles

#6 Sergio Robles

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
1B/OF
Mario Lopez

#30 Mario Lopez

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Ethan Skuija

#37 Ethan Skuija

6' 3"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

5' 10"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Noah Cordova

#32 Noah Cordova

6' 5"
Junior
R/R
RHP
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