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Mark Duffel

Baseball

CSUB Welcomes WSU for Season Opening Series



Bakersfield, Calif. - Six starting position players and one member of the starting rotation return from a CSU Bakersfield team that posted a 24-35 overall record and a 12-15 mark in league play during the 2019 season. Senior Tyler Jorgensen is the team's top returning hitter. Jorgensen hit .323 for the season, with an .802 OPS and 12 extra-base hits. He's expected to cross the diamond and play first-base this year, after primarily seeing action on the hot corner a year ago. Evan Berkey, Damian Henderson, Daniel Carrizosa, Eric Charles, Will Picketts and Nick Grossman give the `Runners six more student-athletes who started at least 21 games last season. As a team the `Runners hit .261 and posted a .347 on-base percentage in 2019.

Freshman Jacen Roberson is expected to make a significant contribution to the offense after redshirting his first year on campus. Kobe Silva, Aaron Casillas, Angel Saldivar, Cody Holtz and Aris Nakagawa are also expected to make immediate impacts as newcomers.

On the bump, Roman Angelo and Ethan Skuija are expected to headline the `Runner rotation. Aaron Charles, Davonte Butler and Noah Cordova are also in the mix to start this season.  Skuija started 12 games a season ago, posting a 6.33 ERA and striking out 66 opponents in just 54 innings pitched. Angelo led the team with a 3.66 ERA while pitching mostly out of the pen.

QUOTABLE
"Beginning a new season is always an exciting time," said CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard. "We've been working hard for a long time with the simple goal of getting better each day and I like where we are as a team in our development, but it will be nice to put that to the test against Washington State."

"I really like our defense and I believe in the development we've made on the mound and at the plate," Beard added. "There is always a bit of an unknown with a new season. We're mixing in a lot of newcomers and we return a number of players we're expecting to step up into larger roles, but I like the way we have been playing and I like our work ethic so far."

"We can't wait to get started," said Pre-Season All-WAC selection Tyler Jorgensen. "It's been a six month process getting ready for this weekend. We've all worked so hard and it will be nice to finally compete against someone in a different uniform. We have great chemistry as a team and everyone is contributing. I like our pitching, I like our hitting and I like our defense. I'm excited to get started and I think we can surprise some people."

SCOUTING THE COUGARS                     
Washington State finished last in the Pac-12 a season ago with an 11-42-1 overall record. The Cougars were outscored by their opponents 423-247 over the course of the 2019 season. WSU hit .263 as a team last season, with a .341 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Collin Montez is the team's top returning hitter after posting a .286 average, 12 doubles, 3 triples and 4 home runs. Infielders Garrett Gouldsmith and Kodie Kolden hit .225 and .217 and are the team's other qualifying returnees.

Three pitchers return in 2020 after making at least eight starts in 2019. Hayden Rosenkrantz led the starters with a 5.34 ERA over 55.2 innings. AJ Block and Brandon White turned in respective ERAs of 6.06 and 6.52. Block struck out 68 in a team-high 71.1 innings pitched. As a team the Cougars posted a 7.20 ERA.  

The Cougars lead the all-time series between the two schools, 4-3. The clubs split a four-game series in  Pullman, Wash., in 2010, before Wazzu grabbed 2-of-3 in their return trip to Bakersfield in 2011.

JORGENSEN EARNS PRE-SEASON ACCOLADES                     
Senior infielder Tyler Jorgensen has seen the pre-season accolades rolling in on his behalf. Jorgensen, a Second-Team All-WAC selection last season after hitting .375 in league play was selected by the conference's coaches as a First-Team Pre-Season selection this season.
Jorgensen was also honored as a Pre-Season All-Conference Selection by Perfect Game College and DI Baseball.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS                     
Sophomore starter Roman Angelo is likely to get the ball on opening day against Washington State. Angelo pitched primarily out of the bullpen a season ago, making 20 appearances but just four starts in 2019. He led the team with a 3.66 ERA, while striking out 51 across 64.0 innings. Angelo also posted the second best opponents' batting average in school history for a single season at .220.

HOME COOKING                    
CSUB will play a grand total of 33 games at Hardt Field this season, including 15 against WAC opponents. The `Runners will play 10 of their first 11 games on campus, hosting series against Washington State, San Francisco and Holy Cross. Later in the season, Bakersfield will host future Big West opponents UC Riverside (3 Games), Cal Poly (1), UC Santa Barbara (1) and Hawaii (1). CSUB will also host single games with Pepperdine and Loyola-Marymount this season.

SUMMER CATCH                
Redshirt freshman Jason Roberson will spend this summer on the shores of Cape Cod, Mass., when he becomes the first Roadrunner to play a full season in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball league. Roberson was drafted in the 24th round by the Dodgers out of Garces Memorial High School, before electing to pursue his college career at CSUB.

CENTURY CLUB            
If junior second baseman Evan Berkey starts all three games against Washington State this weekend, he'll hit the 100 mark for games started in his career. A two-year starter in the middle infield, Berkey has appeared in 101 games for the `Runners while starting 97.  The La Quinta, Calif., native is also just nine base hits shy of 100 for his career.

WAZZU REUNION
CSUB assistant Coach Mike Kinkade was a standout ball player at Washington State University, where he earned All-American honors in 1994 and still holds WSU career records for runs (230), total bases (478), and doubles (75). In 2017, the Cougars elected Kinkade to the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame for his storied career. Kinkade was the bench boss at Pullman HS last season, where he coached his son, `Runner freshman Konner Kinkade.

PRE-SEASON WAC COACHES POLL                     
The Roadrunners were selected to finish sixth in the conferences pre-season poll as voted on by the league's head coaches. Grand Canyon was the WAC's pre-season favorite, garnering two first place votes and totalling 73 points. Three other teams received at least two votes to win the conference this season, while Sacramento State led the league with four first-place tallies.

2020 Pre-Season Coaches Poll:
1    Grand Canyon (2)              73
2    Sacramento State (4)         71
3    NM State (2)                     66
4    UT Rio Grande Valley (2)    55
    California Baptist                 55
6    CSU Bakersfield                 39
7    Seattle U                           35
8    Utah Valley                       29
9    Northern Colorado             18
10    Chicago State                    9  

`RUNNERS RECEIVING VOTES                    
Bakersfield grabbed seven points in the season opening USA Today Coaches Poll. The `Runners seven-point total ranked them in a tie for 43rd in the nation with the University of Connecticut. CSUB was the lone WAC team to receive votes in the pre-season poll, but three future Big West received votes as well. Oregon State (#25), UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside make three 2020 opponents to receive votes in the poll.

HOME BOYS                     
Nine members of the CSU Bakersfield baseball team grew up or attended high school in the city of Bakersfield. The group represents six local high schools...

Roman Angelo (Bakersfield Christian HS)
Cory Blackburn (Stockdale HS)
Eli Brum (Stockdale HS)
Aaron Charles (Ridgeview HS)
Gabriel Garcia (Bakersfield Christian HS)
Austin Puskaric (Frontier HS)
Jacen Roberson (Garces Memorial HS)
Kobe Silva (Frontier HS)
Jared Toothman (Centennial HS)

GLORY DAYS                     
Four pairs of `Runners attended High School together before playing for CSUB. Three of those pairs did so in Bakersfield. Roman Angelo and Gabriel Garcia are both alums of Bakersfield Christian, while Cory Blackburn and Eli Brum each attended Stockdale High School, Austin Puskaric and Kobe Silva were classmates at Frontier High School. Additionally, Tyler Jorgensen and Noah Cordova competed together at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Arizona prior to enrolling at CSUB.

WE ARE FAMILY              
Over 30 alumni returned to CSUB for the team's annual alumni game this season, as the current edition of the Roadrunners bested their elder counterparts by a score of 4-2.

Five former `Runners still playing in affiliated professional baseball were among the alumni to return to Hardt Field on Feb. 1. Three of those five were 2019 draft picks, including Jake Ortega (NYM), Edgar Barclay (NYY) and Darius Vines (ATL). Mylz Jones, a 2013 draft pick of the Colorado Rockies and David Metzger a 2014 free-agent signing of the New York Yankees also attended. A sixth professional, Oscar Sanay, was also in attendance. Sanay currently plays for Monclova of the Mexican League.

BIG WEST BOUND                  
2020 is the final season in the Western Athletic Conference for CSU Bakersfield. Next season the Roadrunners will move to one of the better baseball conferences in America when they join the Big West. CSUB will play nine games against future conference opponents this season, including a three-game set with UC Riverside at Hardt Field on Mar. 13-16.

HOT STOVE SEASON                  
The Roadrunner baseball team held its annual Hot Stove Dinner on Jan. 17 at the Bakersfield Fair Grounds. This season's guest was Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Max Muncy. The event has grown into an incredible showcase of communicty support and was again a huge success in 2020. Previous guests of honor have included Orel Hersheiser, Tommy Lasorda, Clay Bellinger, Aaron Hicks and Dusty Baker.

`RUNNERS IN THE DRAFT               
Twenty CSU Bakersfield baseball players have been heard their name called in the MLB Amateur Draft during the program's eleven year history. That number includes three `Runners from the 2019 team. Darius Vines, Edgar Barclay and Jake Ortega were selected by the Atlanta Braves, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, respectively. Vines, a junior pitcher, became the highest draft pick in school history when Atlanta chose him in the seventh round with pick #217. Another pitcher, Barclay was chosen in the 15th round at pick #465, while catcher Jake Ortega went in round 28 and 838th overall.

CSUB MEDIA SCHEDULE                
Twenty-one of CSUB's 33 home games will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network, with play-by-play duties being handled for the third year in a row by Jason Galvin. An additional 25 games will air live on ESPN Bakersfield (101.1 FM / 1230 AM) in conjunction with Learfield Audio. Daniel Gillman, the former voice of Purdue Volleyball will serve as the voice of CSUB Baseball on the radio. A full schedule of CSUB radio and TV broadcasts is available on www.gorunners.com.

SEASON TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE                 
Season Tickets for CSU Bakersfield can be purchased by calling 654-Blue or online at www.gorunners.com/tickets. Plans begin at just $190.00 for all 33 home games and will reduce in price on a sliding scale as the season progresses.  Half-season plans and 8-game flex plans are also available. The Half-season plan allows fans to purchase 16 games and choose from two options, the Weekend Plan or the Big Game plan, while the 8-game flex plan offers fans their choice of any eight home contests. Groups of 15+ or 50+ can also contact the CSUB Ticket Office for discounted tickets when arranged at least 24 hours in advance.
 
Single-game tickets are also available at this time.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jared Toothman

#7 Jared Toothman

OF
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
Jake Ortega

#33 Jake Ortega

C
5' 10"
Senior
L/R
Edgar Barclay

#26 Edgar Barclay

LHP
5' 10"
Junior
L/L
Darius Vines

#24 Darius Vines

RHP
6' 1"
Junior
R/R
Roman Angelo

#40 Roman Angelo

RHP
6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Evan Berkey

#1 Evan Berkey

IF
5' 11"
Junior
R/R
Cory Blackburn

#11 Cory Blackburn

OF
5' 10"
Redshirt Freshman
R/R
Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

RHP
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Daniel Carrizosa

#5 Daniel Carrizosa

IF/RHP
6' 1"
Junior
R/R
Aaron Charles

#25 Aaron Charles

RHP
6' 5"
Redshirt Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Jared Toothman

#7 Jared Toothman

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
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
Darius Vines

#24 Darius Vines

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Roman Angelo

#40 Roman Angelo

6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Evan Berkey

#1 Evan Berkey

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
IF
Cory Blackburn

#11 Cory Blackburn

5' 10"
Redshirt Freshman
R/R
OF
Davonté Butler

#15 Davonté Butler

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Daniel Carrizosa

#5 Daniel Carrizosa

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
IF/RHP
Aaron Charles

#25 Aaron Charles

6' 5"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
RHP
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