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Daniel Carrizosa
Mark Duffel

Baseball

`Runners Close Regular Season in Second City

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield baseball team will head to Chicago this weekend needing just one victory over Chicago State to lock up its seventh straight appearance in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. 

The Roadrunners (21-33, 9-15 WAC) could also clinch a spot in the six-team tournament if Seattle U loses at Northern Colorado over the weekend.  CSUB is currently locked in a battle with Utah Valley for the No. 5 seed.  Bakersfield is tied with the Wolverines, but holds the tiebreaker because of their 2-1 series victory at Hardt Field. 

CSUB is looking to gain some momentum before the league tournament, which will begin a week from today.  The `Runners won last weekend's series against conference-leading UTRGV and will win back-to-back series for the third time this season with a victory against Chicago State.  For the first time in school history, Bakersfield won every series at Hardt Field this season. 

The Bakersfield bats have come alive in conference play and have a team batting average of .292.  In league action, the Roadrunners have six starters with batting averages over .300, led by Jesse Rowley at .433.  Tyler Jorgensen is flirting with a .400 average as well and heads into the weekend at .391.  Jorgensen had an incredible series against the Vaqueros, hitting .462 with a double and four RBI.  Damian Henderson has provided the power in conference play, leading the team with nine extra-base hits and tying for tops on the team with six doubles and two home runs. 

The CSUB pitching staff also had a good series, posting a team ERA of 2.33 and 32 strikeouts.  Edgar Barclay earned the WAC Pitcher of the Week Award after he threw seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits, while striking out 12.  Darius Vines struck out 10 in six innings in his start on Saturday and allowed just two runs.  Freshman Roman Angelo also had a dominating performance on Sunday in a relief role.  He threw 7.1 shutout innings and allowed just three hits, while striking out eight batters. 

Series History
CSUB has dominated the all-time series with the Cougars, winning 12 of 15 meetings and winning all five series.  The `Runners are 4-2 in two trips to the Windy City. 

In last season's series at Hardt Field, the Roadrunners won Thursday and Friday's games by the mercy rule, posting 14-2 and 12-2 victories.  On Saturday though, the Cougars salvaged the final game of the regular season with a 6-3 win.  CSUB hit .421 over the three games with Evan Berkey going 5-for-7 with two doubles and four RBI in two games.  Jake Ortega and Jassen Oliver also had five hits, while Noah Barba hit .571 in a pair of starts. 

Davonte Butler won the second game of the series, throwing 5.2 innings and allowing a pair of earned runs.  Kevin Altamirano threw 2.1 scoreless, while Kyle King also had a perfect outing. 

Scouting the Cougars
Chicago State has struggled since defeating Utah Valley in a series in Orem, Utah.  The Cougars enter the weekend having lost 15 straight games.  Tyler Lowe leads the team in batting average (.272), slugging percentage (.401), home runs (4) and RBI (24).   For the year, Chicago State is hitting just .231 as a team. 

On the mound, Chicago State has a 7.18 team ERA.  Yunis Halim has been primarily used as a reliever, making 20 of his 21 appearances this season out of the bullpen.  Halim got his first start last Sunday at California Baptist.  He allowed three earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched, but has a team-best 4.24 ERA on the year.  Last Friday's starter, Brett Gregory, is 2-8 with a 7.16 ERA, while Rodny Valdes is 1-4 with a 5.34 ERA and got the start last Saturday. 

The final series of the season gets underway on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. PST. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Kevin Altamirano

#20 Kevin Altamirano

RHP
5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
Noah Barba

#2 Noah Barba

3B/OF
5' 11"
Senior
L/R
Evan Berkey

#4 Evan Berkey

SS
5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

RHP
6' 0"
Sophomore
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
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

C
5' 10"
Senior
L/R
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

LHP
5' 10"
Junior
L/L
Tyler Jorgensen

#10 Tyler Jorgensen

INF
6' 1"
Junior
L/R
Damian Henderson

#11 Damian Henderson

OF
6' 1"
Sophomore
L/L

Players Mentioned

Kevin Altamirano

#20 Kevin Altamirano

5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Noah Barba

#2 Noah Barba

5' 11"
Senior
L/R
3B/OF
Evan Berkey

#4 Evan Berkey

5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
SS
Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

6' 0"
Sophomore
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
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

5' 10"
Senior
L/R
C
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

5' 10"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Tyler Jorgensen

#10 Tyler Jorgensen

6' 1"
Junior
L/R
INF
Damian Henderson

#11 Damian Henderson

6' 1"
Sophomore
L/L
OF
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