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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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Mark Duffel
5
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 9-7, 6-3 BWC
2
Hawaii UH 15-12, 7-10 BWC
Winner
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
9-7, 6-3 BWC
5
Final
2
Hawaii UH
15-12, 7-10 BWC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 5 8 1
Hawaii UH 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0

W: Joven, Art (2-2) L: Davenport, Aaron (2-3) S: Cordova, Noah (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Bakersfield Outlasts Hawai'i in Series Opener

Honolulu, Hawai'i – Art Joven threw six strong innings, allowing just three hits, and Nick Grossman connected for a go-ahead, seventh-inning home run, as CSU Bakersfield rallied late for a 5-2 win over host Hawai'i in Friday night's series opener.
 
Joven delivered the best outing of his young Bakersfield career, out-dueling Hawai'i starter Aaron Davenport to pick up his second win of the season. Joven pitched to contact, keeping the Rainbow Warriors off balance despite not striking out a batter over his six innings.
 
His only hiccup came in the fourth, when Hawai'i scored twice behind two hits and two hit by pitches.
 
Davenport was terrific early, no hitting Bakersfield through six. Evan Berkey snapped his no-hit bid when he doubled to lead-off the seventh and the Roadrunners took the lead two batters later on Grossman's long home run to right.
 
Grossman finished the day 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Third baseman Nick Salas also had two hits for the `Runners.
 
Noah Cordova pitched the last three innings to pick up his first save of the season. He struck out three and allowed just one hit over the course of his outing.
 
The same two teams are back in action Saturday with a double header beginning at 3:00 PM Pacific. Aaron Charles will start game one for CSUB.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Hawai'i first baseman Alex Baeza opened the scoring with a one-out, RBI triple off the fence in left-center field and then scored on catcher Tyler Murray's bloop single over second base, giving the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
• The `Runners answered in the top of the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Berkey and Tyler Jorgensen walked, and Grossman was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Jorgensen eventually score on a wild pitch from Hawai'i starter Davenport to make it 2-1.
• Grossman's home run gave Bakersfield a 3-2 lead in the seventh. The CSUB senior when on the first pitch he saw and belted it deep over the right-field fence to pick up a pair of RBI. Berkey scored on the play after leading off the inning with a double.
• Back-to-back hits from Angel Saldivar and Jashia Morrissey put base runners on second and third with no outs in the eighth. Eric Charles followed with a perfectly executed safety squeeze to drive in a run and make it 4-2.
• An Angel Saldivar sacrifice fly made it 5-2 in the 9th. Grossman scored on the play after leading off the inning with a single to center.
 
NOTABLE:
• Joven was excellent over six innings of work despite not striking out a single Rainbow Warrior. He becomes the first Roadrunner starting pitcher to pick up the win without a single strike out since Isaiah Moten tossed six innings in a 7-5 win over BYU on Mar. 4, 2017.
• Jorgensen finished the day 0-for-3, snapping his 12-game hitting streak. He did reach with a base on balls in the fifth to stretch his on-base streak to 13.
• Berkey's doubled in the seventh extending his hitting streak to seven games.
• Grossman's two-run home run was his second of the season and the third of his career. His two previous home runs were grand slams. He finished the game with two RBI for his fourth multi-RBI game of the year.
 • Cordova picked up his first save of the season. CSUB has six saves in 2021, from six different relievers.   
 
QUOTABLE:
Head Coach Jeremy Beard
On the team's well-rounded effort…
"This was an excellent team effort against a top-tier pitcher and a good sign for our ball club moving forward. Our pitching and defense is starting to catch up with experience."
 
On Art Joven's strong start…
"Art did a nice job inducing contact and we anticipated well on defense, making quality plays behind him."
 
On the team's offensive effort in the late innings…
"Our offense did a nice job executing in the short game and putting up quality at bats, including Berkey's lead-off double and Grossman's home run. Grossman's shot was a no doubter and that sparked us late. It was great to see the team rally in the face of adversity tonight."
 
Right Fielder Nick Grossman
On the team's offensive approach against Davenport…
"Our plan was to chew as many pitches as we could. You never know when the runs will come, and we did a great job staying patient. We were able to capitalize when we brought the starter deeper into his pitch count."

 
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