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Mark Duffel

Baseball

Bakersfield Home for Three with San Francisco



Bakersfield, Calif. - Just two days after dropping a heart breaker to Loyola Marymount, on the road, the Roadrunners return to the friendly confines of Hardt Field to begin a three-game set with the University of San Francisco, Friday. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 6 p.m., with Sunday's finale set for 12 noon. CSU Bakersfield slipped to 2-2 with the loss at LMU, while USF enters the weekend with a 1-3 record in the early going.

The `Runners have received great production from both their line up, but this weekend they'll look for more consistency in the timeliness of executing at the plate.

"We're having a lot of success getting guys on base, so we don't want to change too much as far as what we're doing offensively," said CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard. "The timely hitting will come, we have too many good hitters so we just need to limit the strikeouts and try not to do too much at the plate."

Offensively, Bakersfield is hitting .273 and averaging more than 14 baserunners per game through the first four games of the season. Freshman Jacen Roberson, junior Damian Henderson and senior Tyler Jorgensen are all hitting over .350 for the `Runners.

Roberson opened the year hitting .636 in the series with Washington State, before he was held hitless against LMU on Wednesday. He did manage to reach base while leading off the first for the fourth consecutive game.

Henderson and Jorgensen each posted multi-hit games against the Lions. Henderson was 3-for-5 with a double, while Jorgensen finished 2-for-5 with a two-bagger and a run batted in. Henderson has a base hit in all four games this season. Jorgensen has a hit in three-straight.

On the mound, the CSUB starters have been electric in the early going. Over the course of 20 innings pitched, Roadrunner starters have turned out a 0.90 earned run average, while limiting opposing hitters to a .143 batting average. Bakersfield starters will enter this weekend's series having not allowed an earned run over 17 consecutive innings pitched.

SCOUTING THE DONS                   
The Dons bring a 1-3 record to Bakersfield, following a series sweep at the hands of CSU Northridge and a midweek win over UC Davis. USF swept  CSU Bakersfield in San Francisco last season, with two of the wins coming by just one run.

San Francisco is hitting just .220 as a team through four games, with a pair of home runs and an on-base percentage of .320. The Dons are led by senior outfielder and lead-off hitter Tyler Villaroman who is hitting .471 with a home run, four stolen bases and five runs scored in the early going. Villaroman has yet to strikeout at the top of the USF line up.

On the mound, the Dons have allowed opposing hitters to put up a .282 average and reach base at a .364 clip. Opponents have dented the USF pitching staff for 10 extra-base hits over four games, resulting in a San Francisco ERA of 4.36.

`RUNNER RECAP                     
The `Runners took two-of-three from visiting Washington State to close out the first weekend of play with a winning record for the first time since taking a series against CSUN in 2016.

Bakersfield dropped game one, after stranding ten men on base, but rebounded to win the final two games of the series. The `Runners out hit the Cougars in all three games and received excellent starting pitching and defense.

CSUB starters combined to throw 14 innings and allow just five hits and two earned runs, while the defense made only one error and currently leads the WAC with a .992 fielding percentage.

Freshman Jacen Roberson paced the offense with a monster debut against Washington State. Roberson hit .636 for the series and scored four times.

CSUB dropped a midweek contest at LMU, when they allowed seven unearned runs in the eighth and fell 7-1. The loss spoiled an excellent start from Jaykob Acosta, who tossed 6.0 scoreless innings in his first career outing.

HOME IS AT HARDT                  
With a series win over Washington State, the CSU Bakersfield baseball team has now won eight straight series played at Hardt Field. The `Runners won all six of their home series in 2019, before taking 2-of-3 from the visiting Cougars last weekend. CSUB has not lost a three or four game set at home since May 2-4 of 2018 when Grand Canyon needed extra innings in game three to take the series.

ON THE RIGHT FOOT                    
Through one turn in the rotation the CSUB starting pitchers have certainly started 2020 on the right foot. Roman Angelo, Ethan Skuija, Davonte Butler and freshman Jaykob Acosta have combined to throw 20.0 innings, allowing just 2 ER and nine hits, for a 0.90 earned run average and a .143 average against.

Butler and Acosta have tossed scoreless outings in each of the past two games for the Roadrunners. Butler allowed just two hits over five, while Acosta scattered four base hits in six innings of work.
Skuija, a senior, surrendered just one unearned run over five innings while Angelo allowed just a pair of earned runs in four innings on opening day.

All told CSUB starters have now pitched 17.0 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

TABLE SETTING                
Jacen Roberson has reached base to lead off the first inning in all four games so far this season. He recorded hits to open the CSUB half of the first in all three games against Washington State and was hit by the second pitch of the game at LMU.

'FOUR' CONSISTENCY'S SAKE               
Four Roadrunners have reached base in all four games this season, led by junior Damian Henderson who is currently riding a four-game hitting streak to open the year. After posting a single hit in each of the first three games, Henderson erupted for three at LMU. He nearly had a fourth, but his hard shot to deep right center was flagged down on the warning track.

Jacen Roberson, Tyler Jorgensen and Will Picketts have also reached in every game this season. Jorgensen is riding a three-game hitting streak at the moment, while Roberson had a three-game hit streak of his own snapped against LMU. Though he did reach base via an HBP.

Picketts has hits in three of CSUB's four games this season, earning a walk in the fourth.

DANIEL'S BIG DAY          
Senior Daniel Carrizosa bounced back to good health in a big way, when he made his season debut at LMU on Wednesday. Carrizosa finished the game 3-for-3 with a BB to reach base in all four of his plate appearances against the Lions.

HOME COOKING                     
With the series win over the Cougars, CSUB moved its home series winning streak to eight. The `Runners won all six of their home series in 2019 and haven't lost a three or four game set in Bakersfield since dropping 2-of-3 to Grand Canyon on May 4-6 of 2018. The Antelopes needed extra-innings in an 8-5 rubber match victory to escape Hardt Field with the series win.

WALK THIS WAY                  
CSUB walked ten times in Sunday's finale with WSU, he most in a single game since Mar. 8 of 2018, in a game versus Fairleigh Dickinson (10 BB).

UP TO SPEED                    
Freshmen Jacen Roberson and Kobe Silva eached reached base on three occasions in the team's opening day contest with Washington State. In the process they became the first `Runner freshman to reach three times in their collegiate debuts since Jeremy Rodriguez did so in 2009. Rodriguez hit the trifecta while competing in the very first baseball game in school history - an 8-7 loss to Saint Louis.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE              
Crowds of more than 600 fans enjoyed all three of CSUB's season opening contests with Washington State. The `Runners drew more than 600 fans on just two occasions in 2019. The Crowd was rewarded for their turnout as Bakersfield took two from the Cougars, including a walk-off win off the bat of senior Eric Charles on Saturday.

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.

HOME IS AT HARDT                    
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.

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 totaling 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 community 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
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
Eric Charles

#8 Eric Charles

OF
6' 0"
Senior
L/L

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
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
Eric Charles

#8 Eric Charles

6' 0"
Senior
L/L
OF
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