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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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DavonteButlerMD3
Mark Duffel
2
Washington State WSU 1-2
7
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 2-1
Washington State WSU
1-2
2
Final
7
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
2-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Washington State WSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 0
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 X 7 9 0

W: Butler, Davonté (1-0) L: Newstrom, Michael (0-1) S: Cordova, Noah (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

`Runners Beat Cougars 7-2, Earn Series Victory



Bakersfield, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield scored twice in the first, two more times in the second and got five innings of shutout pitching from starter Davonte Butler as they cruised to a 7-2 win over Washington State in the finale of a three-game set at Hardt Field. With the win, the Roadrunners took two of three from the visiting Cougars and captured their first series win of the season.
 
"We backed ourselves into a corner with Friday night's loss," said CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard. "I wanted to see our guys to take control today. We did that in the first inning and we never let them back into the game."  
 
Redshirt freshman Jacen Roberson sparked Bakersfield's first inning rally when he led off with a base hit for the third-straight game. Roberson scored just two pitches later, on a sharp triple down the right-field line by junior Damian Henderson, and CSUB was off and running.
 
A wild-pitch plated Henderson in the first and the `Runners would add two more in the second, on doubles by Nick Grossman and Aaron Casillas, scooting out to an early 4-0 lead.
 
Grossman belted the first pitch of the second inning deep into the right center field gap and scored when Casillas poked a 2-0 fastball down the line in right. The `Runners made it 4-0 when Roberson scored from second base on a Newstrom wild pitch. Roberson, who was off with the pitch, saw the ball escape Cougar catcher Jake Meyer and never broke stride, diving across the plate to beat the tag.
 
The early lead was more than enough for CSUB starter Davonte Butler. Butler tossed five shutout innings and allowed just three Cougars to reach base while striking out one for his first win of the season.
 
"Davonte was excellent," said Beard. "The zone was tight early, but he responded well, started attacking the zone and our defense played great behind him."
 
Butler threw 36 pitches in the top of the first allowing two of the three WSU baserunners he'd allow all day. He escaped the jam when he got five hitter Justin Van De Brake to foul out to Tyler Jorgensen at first base.
 
Butler would need just 41 pitches over his final four innings of work.
 
"That's all on the offense," Butler explained. "When they got me those early runs, I knew I just had to settle down, throw strikes and grind."
 
WSU trimmed the lead to 4-2 in the top of the eighth when the scored on back-to-back RBI ground outs, but CSUB answered immediately with three eighth inning runs of their own.  

Grossman and Roberson each singled in the frame and the `Runners cause was aided by three walks and a hit batter. Casillas and Henderson each collected their second RBI of the game on ground ball outs to second, while Jorgensen forced in CSUB's final run of the game following a four-pitch walk.
 
Roberson finished the day 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. He batted .636 for the series, scored four runs, drove in another and stole three bags.
 
Henderson and Casillas each drove in a pair, while Nick Grossman collected his first two hits of the campaign.
 
Noah Cordova tossed two innings of hitless relief to earn the save. Cordova slammed the door in the ninth putting the Cougars down 1-2-3, including a strikeout of Wazzu catcher Jack Meyer.
 
The `Runners are back in action on Wednesday when they hit the road for the first time this season for a 6 p.m. game at Loyola Marymount.
 
Bakersfield returns to Hardt Field next weekend for a three-game set with the University of San Francisco. Game one is set for Friday night at 6 p.m.
 
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