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Daniel Carrizosa
Mark Duffel

Baseball

Baseball Returns for Big West Series with UC Davis

Bakersfield, Calif. - Following a two week hiatus, CSU Bakersfield returns to action on Friday, in game one of a Big West series against UC Davis scheduled for Apr. 9-11, at Hardt Field. The Roadrunners (6-5, 3-1) will hit the field for the first time since late March, when they captured their first ever Big West series by taking 3-of-4 from UC Riverside. Bakersfield has won five of six, overall, and currently sit third in the Big West Standings with their 3-1 conference record. 

The `Runners have outscored their opponents 48-31 in their last six games, hitting .329 with 11 2B and 4 HR in that span. The team leads the Big West with .303 overall average.

Bakersfield's offensive was on full display in the team's stunning come from behind win in the series opener against UCR. CSUB trailed 9-0 in the third and 9-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, before exploding for 13 runs in their final two at bats to shock the Highlanders. Tyler Jorgensen put the `Runners ahead for good when his two-run, eighth-inning home run to right field made it 10-9.

Jorgensen enters the weekend red hot, riding an eight-game hitting streak that includes seven multi-hit efforts. He's 19-30 over the eight-game stretch, including a .611 OBP, 4 2B, 2 HR and 12 RBI.

Nick Grossman is also off to a great start at the dish - the senior right-fielder is hitting .389, with 10 RBI and the second grand slam of his career.

Evan Berkey (.323), Angel Saldivar (.333), Jacen Roberson (.317) and Aaron Casillas are also hitting over .300, with at least 2 PA/G, in the early going.

The `Runners got 5+ inning starts from Aaron Charles, Art Joven and Roman Angelo in the series with UCR. Angelo and Charles lead CSUB's starters with ERA's of 2.65 and 2.93, respectively.

Kenny Johnson has solidified the back end of Bakersfield's bullpen, with two scoreless outings in a row, totaling 4.0 IP, with just one hit and five strikeouts. He joins Noah Cordova and Kellen O'Connor to give Head Coach Jeremy Beard a formidable trio at the back end.

The `Runners and Aggies will meet for the first time since 2018; Bakersfield leads the all-time series 9-6.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES          
UC Davis (7-19, 2-10) split a four-game Big West series with UC Riverside a week ago, dropping the first two games of the home stand before salvaging the series with their first two conference wins of the season. The Aggies have also suffered conference sweeps at the hands of league leaders UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, and rank last in the Big West in hitting with a .237 average.

Jalen Smith leads UCD at the dish, hitting .310 with nine extra-base hits, including five doubles and a pair of home runs, while Michael Campagna has seven doubles and three round-trippers to go with a .303 average.

Davis is averaging 3.8 runs per game, with 10 HR in 26 games.

Right-hander Jake Spillane leads the Aggies with seven starts. He's pitched to a 5.13 ERA over 40.1 innings, with 44 hits allowed, 12 walks and 36 strikeouts. Spillane is 1-3 on the year.

Five more hurlers have made at least two starts this season for UCD, including RHP Brett Erwin and LHP Zach Carrell who boast 3.22 and 3.38 ERAs, respectively.

As a team, the Aggies carry a 5.01 ERA into this weekend's series, allowing opposing hitters to bat .277 with a .364 on-base percentage and 17 home runs.

UC Davis has 35 errors in 26 games for a .964 FPCT.

HOT TO TROT      
Tyler Jorgensen's hot start includes the 7th-highest individual batting average in the country through March. 22nd. The Gilbert, Ariz., native is hitting a robust .477, with four 2B, two HR and 12 RBI.
He also has eight multiple hit games, including 2+ hits in seven of his last eight outings, giving him 32 career multi-hit efforts in 79 career starts (41%).

Over the past two weekends, Jorgensen is 19-33 (.576), with all six of his extra base hits and an eight-game hitting streak.

To date, he ranks among the top-3 in the Big West in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and leads the league with a .705 SPCT and a 1.211 SPCT. 

CENTURY      
Last weekend's series with UCR was also a milestone moment for Tyler Jorgensen, who collected the 50th RBI and the 100th base hit of his 82-game CSUB Baseball career. After belting a two-run home run in the series finale to record RBI 49 & 50, Jorgensen singled to center to join the Roadrunner century club with 100 hits. He finished Sunday's game 4-for-4.

GRAND HOTEL              
Nick Grossman hit the second home run of his career in Saturday's second game, lifting CSUB to a 7-1 win. Both of Grossman's career HR have come with the bases loaded, and he has hit each of the last two CSUB grand slams. He also homered with the sacks packed on March 10, 2019, in a 5-4 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. The senior is hitting .389 this season, with 10 RBI after posting seven hits in 15 at bats against UCR.

TO CATCH A THIEF      
CSUB catchers Cody Holtz and Angel Saldivar have continued to showcase their arm talent behind the plate for the Roadrunners, cutting down 48% of would be base stealers this season (9/19). Dating back to the beginning of the 2020 campaign, the `Runner catchers are throwing out 52% of opponents on the move (16/31).

TERMINAL VELOCITY      
Righty Ethan Skuija found another gear ahead of his Saturday relief appearance against UC Riverside, rearing back and sitting 93, while touching 96, over 3.2 innings of one run ball.

SAVED      
Back-to-back shutdown outings have vaulted right-hander Kenny Johnson up the CSUB relief pitching depth chart. Over his last two appearances, Johnson has thrown 4.0 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five, while picking up a win and a save.

ROMAN HOLIDAY      
The Roadrunners are 3-0 in starts made by junior Roman Angelo this season. Angelo threw 5.0 innings in the series finale versus Fresno State, and 7.0 frames against Pacific, on Mar. 7, to pick up the win on each occasion. In his Sunday start against UC Riverside, Angelo tossed five strong, settling for a no decision.

The Bakersfield native has a team-best 2.65 ERA over 17.0 innings pitched this season, with a .246 average against, 15 K's and 5 BB.

His career opponents' batting average of .227 is a school record by .024 points.

THE COMEBACK KID(S)      
Bakersfield's comeback from a 9-0 deficit in Friday's season opener versus UC Riverside was the largest in school history.

It was also just the eighth time in the program's 12 year history that the `Runners won a game in which they allowed nine or more runs. Strangely enough, the last time CSUB won a game of that sort, was also against UC Riverside, and by an identical 15-9 margin.

BEST DEFENSE        
The Roadrunners lead the Big West Conference with a .979 fielding percentage, and fewest errors made (9). 

WILD WILD WEST      
The 2021 season is CSUB's first as a member of the Big West Conference, one of the elite leagues in all of college baseball. The `Runners are currently 3-1 in conference play, sitting in third-place behind just UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. Bakersfield won its first-ever Big West series with a 3-1 advantage over UC Riverside. 

THE INTERNATIONALS           
Freshmen Jack Lee and Jo Stevens are the first non-North American student-athletes to suit up for CSUB Baseball. Both Lee and Stevens hail from Australia, where they were teammates on the country's 2019 U-18 WBSC Team.

Stevens became the first non-North American to appear in a CSUB Baseball game, when he entered as a pinch hitter on Mar. 6, versus Pacific. The following day he became the first non-North American to start, when he earned the nod at third base.

Lee made his debut on Mar. 6 as well, becoming the first non-North American to appear on the mound, when he came out of the bullpen to pitch 1.2 innings and collect  the win.

RED DAWN                 
Outfielder Damian Henderson signed with the Cincinnati Reds following a stand-out 2020 season in Bakersfield. Henderson led the `Runners in nearly all offensive categories last season. He is the 23rd Roadrunner to sign a professional contract after his collegiate playing career, and the third as a free-agent, in the program's 12-year history.

MASTER(S) & COMMANDERS        
Three `Runners are taking graduate level courses this year. Seniors Noah Cordova and Eric Charles are both taking advantage of the NCAA's COVID-related eligibility ruling and returned this season to begin pursuit of their master's degrees. Classmate Kenny Johnson was able to complete his undergraduate degree last Spring, thanks to a redshirt in 2018. Cordova is pursuing a degree in Environmental Resource Management, while Charles and Johnson are studying Psychology and Kinesiology, respectively.

HOMEWARD BOUND        
Eight Roadrunners hail from the city of Bakersfield, representing six local high schools, including one set of high school teammates in Stockdale's Cory Blackburn and Eli Brum. Newcomers Art Joven and Nick Salas each attended Highland, but did not play together. Additionally, Roman Angelo (Bakersfield Christian), Aaron Charles (Ridgeview),  Jacen Roberson (Garces Memorial), Kobe Silva (Frontier) are all local products.

FAN-TASIA         
Bakersfield will welcome back a limited number of fans, beginning with the UC Davis series opener on Friday, Apr. 9. Each student-athlete will be given two passes for family and friends, while a limited number of CSUB students will be allowed to register for individual tickets on a game-by-game basis. Strict health and safety protocols will be followed by all of those in attendance, including social distancing and mandatory mask wearing. Students interested in attending can register at www.gorunners.com/studentrsvp. 

THE REPLACEMENTS        
While attendance is limited for CSUB home games this season, the Bakersfield community has ensured that Hardt Field will be sold out in spirit, purchasing more than 800 fan cutouts to be displayed in the Hardt Field grandstand this season. For more information on purchasing a cutout of your own, visit www.gorunners.com/cutouts.

BROADCAST NEWS         
All 28 Roadrunner home games will be carried live on local radio (101.1 FM / 1230 AM) and available online at www.bakersfieldespn.com. Additionally, all CSUB home contests will be live streamed on WATCHESPN and the ESPN APP.
 
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Players Mentioned

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
Aaron Charles

#25 Aaron Charles

RHP
6' 5"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
Eric Charles

#8 Eric Charles

OF
6' 0"
Senior
L/L
Noah Cordova

#33 Noah Cordova

RHP
6' 5"
Senior
R/R
Nick Grossman

#3 Nick Grossman

OF
6' 0"
Senior
L/R
Damian Henderson

#22 Damian Henderson

OF
6' 1"
Junior
L/L
Kenny Johnson

#35 Kenny Johnson

RHP
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
Tyler Jorgensen

#10 Tyler Jorgensen

INF
6' 2"
Senior
L/R
Jacen Roberson

#16 Jacen Roberson

OF
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
L/L
Angel Saldivar

#31 Angel Saldivar

C
5' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
R/R

Players Mentioned

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
Aaron Charles

#25 Aaron Charles

6' 5"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
RHP
Eric Charles

#8 Eric Charles

6' 0"
Senior
L/L
OF
Noah Cordova

#33 Noah Cordova

6' 5"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Nick Grossman

#3 Nick Grossman

6' 0"
Senior
L/R
OF
Damian Henderson

#22 Damian Henderson

6' 1"
Junior
L/L
OF
Kenny Johnson

#35 Kenny Johnson

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
RHP
Tyler Jorgensen

#10 Tyler Jorgensen

6' 2"
Senior
L/R
INF
Jacen Roberson

#16 Jacen Roberson

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
L/L
OF
Angel Saldivar

#31 Angel Saldivar

5' 9"
Redshirt Freshman
R/R
C
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