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Baseball Hits the Road for Four with Long Beach State

Bakersfield, Calif. - The Roadrunners bounced back emphatically last weekend, sweeping a four-game Big West series against Central California rival Cal Poly and moving into sole possession of third place in the conference standings. CSU Bakersfield opens the stretch-run with a critical series at fourth-place Long Beach State, with Friday's opener set to begin at 6:00 p.m. from Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif.

CSUB hit .341 for the series with seven doubles, a triple and five home runs, erupting offensively after struggling in the batters' box against UC San Diego and CSUN.

Sophomore Jacen Roberson belted two home runs, and slashed .533/.563/1.133 with four runs scored and ten runs driven in. He was named the Big West Player of the Week for his efforts, the first `Runner to accomplish the feat in the sport of baseball.

Tyler Jorgensen was 7-15 in the four games with Cal Poly, raising his average to .390, second highest in the conference. The senior first-baseman had reached base in 43% of his at bats, and has seven doubles and three home runs.

Outfielder Evan Berkey is third in the Big West in hitting with a .384 average, to go with eight doubles, four home runs and a .475 on-base percentage. Berkey has a hit in 21 of his last 22 games.

Starter Noah Cordova threw 5.2 innings in a game three start against the Mustangs, allowing just one run on four hits.

CSUB's bullpen also stood out in the series, as the `Runners got exceptional relief appearances from Kellen O'Connor, Jack Lee, Davonte Butler and Kenny Johnson, among others, en route to 21.0 IP and a 1.80 earned run average.

The Roadrunners and Dirtbags will meet for the first time in this weekend's series at Blair Field. CSUB sits 2.0 games ahead of LBSU for third place in the league.

SCOUTING THE DIRTBAGS          
Long Beach State also enters the weekend series on a roll, winners of five-straight, including a sweep of UC Riverside a weekend ago. The Dirtbags are also 18-13 and sit just behind CSUB with a 16-12 conference mark.

Prior to a sweep over UCR, LBSU split series with the two top teams in the conference in UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.

The Dirtbags have ridden their arms on the mound for much of the season.

Starter Johnathan Lavallee leads the team and the conference with a .158 opponents batting average over 40.1 innings pitched. Closer Devereaux Harrison has a LBSU best 2.13 ERA, with 33 strikeouts and nine saves in 25.1 IP.

As a staff, LBSU boasts a 4.34 overall ERA and a .237 BAA.

Offensively, the Dirtbags are led by Connor Kokx and Jonathan Long, who are hitting .353 and .341, respectively.

Calvin Estrada leads the club with six home runs and 23 RBI to go with his .305  batting average.

Long Beach is hitting .285 on the year and has scored more than 6.5 runs per game with 64 doubles and 29 home runs.

CENTURY CLUB      
The series sweep of Cal Poly gave Head Coach Jeremy Beard the four victories he needed to reach 100 wins in his tenure as the head coach at CSU Bakersfield. Beard has coached the `Runners since the start of the 2017 season, averaging more than 25 wins over his first three seasons in Bakersfield. He has 23 more wins over the last two COVID abbreviated campaigns.

JORGENSEN'S STREAK CONTINUES                      
Tyler Jorgensen reached base in all four games against Cal Poly, extending his on-base streak to 28 games, tied for 3rd-longest in CSUB history. The  program record for consecutive games reaching base is 37, set by current first-base coach David Metzgar. Jorgensen also has a hit in 15-consecutive games, 8th-longest in program history.

The Gilbert, Ariz., native has reached base in 29 of 31 games this season and 89 of 102 games (87.3%) in his NCAA career. He has at least one base hit in 78 of 102 career outings (76.5%).

ROUND TRIPPER                    
Jacen Roberson hit his fifth and sixth home runs of the season in the series with Cal Poly. Roberson's six long balls are the most in a single season since  Soloman Williams hit six in 55 games during the 2014 campaign. The two are currently tied for 6th in the single-season record books for long balls in  season.

Only three players have hit more home runs in a single year. Cael Brockmeyer hit seven in 2012, while Jason Kudlock hit eight in 2010. Career home run leader Martin Medina hit eight in 2009, nine in 2011 and 12 in 2011.

BACK-TO-BACK                    
Cody Holtz and Evan Berkey hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning of the series finale against the Mustangs. It was the first time that CSUB hitters went back-to-back since the program's inaugural season of 2009, when Stuart Smith and Martin Media turned the trick.

TRIPLE PLAY                    
The Roadrunner hit three home runs in their May 9 contest with Cal Poly, their first three HR game since 2014 when they hit four in a win over Northern Colorado.

TRIPLE CROWN            
Evan Berkey remains in the top three of the Big West statistical rankings in overall & conference batting average (.390 | .419), on-base percentage (.475 | .495) and slugging-percentage (.606 | .675), the only player to do so in either category.

SWEET RELIEF                    
The CSU Bakersfield bullpen threw 20.0 innings against Cal Poly, spinning an astonishing 1.80 ERA, winning three times and earning three saves.

TWIN KILLINGS                    
The `Runner infield spun nine double plays, behind Bakersfield pitchers last weekend. CSUB's defense played a significant role in Cal Poly stranding 33 bases over four games.

HOW SWEEP IT IS          
The sweep was Bakersfield's first four-game sweep of an opponent since four-consecutive victories over Fairleigh Dickinson on Mar. 8-10, 2019.

COME BACK KIDS        
The Roadrunners have come from behind all season long, grabbing ten victories when its opponent scores first, nine in Big West action, and winning six times when trailing in the 6th inning or later.

ROMAN CANDLE                    
Roman Angelo's .226 career opponent's batting average is the best in school history, .025 points ahead of James Barragan's standard of .251.

JUST LIKE RIDING A BIKE        
Sophomore Jacen Roberson hit for the first cycle in CSUB program history when he finished game three against UC Davis 4-for-5, with three runs scored and six RBI. Roberson doubled in the first inning, hit a grand slam home run in the second, tripled in the sixth and singled in the eighth to make history. The Bakersfield native drove in the GW RBI in both of CSUB's wins over UC Davis.

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 11-5 in conference play, sitting in third-place behind just UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara despite being picked to finish dead last prior to the season.

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

RED DAWN                 
Outfielder Damian Henderson signed with the Cincinnati Reds following a stand-out 2020 season in Bakersfield, becoming 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.

THE MASTERS        
Fifth-year seniors Noah Cordova (Environmental Resource Management) and Eric Charles (Kinesiology), and true senior Kenny Johnson (Psychology) are all working on Master's Degrees this semester.

LOCAL BOYS  MAKE GOOD          
Eight Roadrunners hail from Bakersfield, representing six local high schools, including 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.

WELCOME BACK  
Limited fans are now welcome at Hardt Field for all CSUB home games. Each student-athlete is allowed two passes for family and friends on game day, while a small number of CSUB student tickets are available through a reservation request system on GoRunners.com. At this time, general admission ticketing is not open directly to the public.

CARBON CUTOUTS      
While attendance remains 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.

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

David Metzgar

#15 David Metzgar

INF
5' 8"
Senior
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
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
Kellen O

#51 Kellen O'Connor

LHP
5' 10"
Freshman
L/L

Players Mentioned

David Metzgar

#15 David Metzgar

5' 8"
Senior
INF
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
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
Kellen O

#51 Kellen O'Connor

5' 10"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
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