Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

Next Event

Will Picketts
Mark Duffel
5
Winner Holy Cross HC 2-5
4
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 4-4
Winner
Holy Cross HC
2-5
5
Final
4
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
4-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Holy Cross HC 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 5 11 1
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 4 9 2

W: Lopes, Eric (2-1) L: Angelo, Roman (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

`Runners Drop Tight Decision in Series Opener

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Continuing a good streak of performances by the CSU Bakersfield starting pitchers, Aaron Charles put together a solid outing in Saturday's series opening game against Holy Cross. Despite the effort from the right hander, the Roadrunners let a late lead slip and CSUB could not close the gap as the Crusaders held on for a 5-4 victory at Hardt Field.

After the game, CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard spoke about his team's performance: "We always want guys to come out of the pen and stop any momentum. I thought we made some pretty good pitches, but they were still able to get the base hit…We left eleven runners on base and that always hurts. That timely hitting came back and got us a little bit…Today, we just didn't get that one timely hit when we probably could have separated ourselves a little bit."

CSUB tallied 11 hits on the game including a pair of hits each from Nick Grossman, Will Picketts, and Aaron Casillas. Grossman scored twice while driving in one run against the Crusaders. Picketts had two RBI base hits while Casillas, Bakersfield's starting shortstop, registered a pair of web gems on the defensive end.

On the mound, Charles pitched five solid innings for the `Runners, giving up two earned runs while striking out four batters and walking none. Roman Angelo took the loss, relieving for 2.1 innings and giving up three runs while fanning a trio of Crusaders. Noah Cordova pitched the final inning and two thirds, holding Holy Cross scoreless over the span.

The `Runners opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Picketts drove in his first run of the game with an RBI single. Holy Cross took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third when an RBI single plated a pair of Crusaders.

Bakersfield continued putting `Runners on base, but was not able to score until the seventh inning. Pickets singled again, driving in Grossman to tie the score at 2-2. Tyler Jorgensen followed that up with an RBI single of his own, plating Damian Henderson as CSUB took a one-run lead.

The next inning, Holy Cross rallied for three runs in the frame, which started with a solo home run. Later in the inning, an RBI single followed by a double down the line helped the Crusaders take a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

With two `Runners in scoring position, Grossman hit a deep fly ball to the right center warning track, but the deep fly did not carry enough to leave the park. His sacrifice fly plated Eric Charles, pulling CSUB within one run, but the `Runners were unable to close the gap and fell by a final score of 5-4.

CSUB (4-4) will return to Hardt Field on Sunday for Game 2 of the four-game series against Holy Cross (2-5). First pitch between the `Runners and Crusaders is scheduled for noon in Bakersfield.

~GoRunners.com~
Print Friendly Version
California State University at Bakersfield Athletics loading logo