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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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Graham Kuck
Mark Duffel
11
Winner UC Irvine UCI 34-15, 26-7 Big West
5
CSUB CSUB 19-17, 16-13 Big West
Winner
UC Irvine UCI
34-15, 26-7 Big West
11
Final
5
CSUB CSUB
19-17, 16-13 Big West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UC Irvine UCI 6 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 11 14 0
CSUB CSUB 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 5 8 1

W: Ingebritson, Gordon (5-1) L: Cordova, Noah (2-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Six-Run First Sinks CSUB in Series Opener

Bakersfield, Calif. – A six-run first inning was the difference as CSU Bakersfield lost 11-5 in their series opening game with UC Irvine at Hardt Field, Friday afternoon. Tyler Jorgensen drove in a pair and Jacen Roberson belted his team-best seventh home run of the season, but the Roadrunners fell to 19-17 overall and 16-13 in Big West Conference play.
 
"We can't fall behind 6-0 and expect to win too many games against a quality club like UC Irvine," said CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard. "Today was a setback, but our guys kept competing and fought hard to play them even over the final eight innings."
 
Bakersfield starter Noah Cordova lasted just two-thirds of an inning, surrendering six earned runs on three walks and three hits.
 
UCI led 9-0 before the `Runners got on the board in the fourth on Tyler Jorgensen's sacrifice fly.
 
CSUB scored three more times in the fifth to pull as close as five.
 
Angel Saldivar finished 2-for-4, while Roberson and Jorgensen were each 1-for-3.
 
Irvine center fielder Mike Peabody was 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Three more Anteaters had at least two hits.

Before the game CSUB honored long-time administrator Mark Mayes for 25 years of service to the athletic deparatment. Mayes is set to retire on June 30. 
 
CSUB and UCI will square off in a Saturday double header, with game one scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Senior Aaron Charles will start tomorrow's opener for the `Runners.
 
How it Happened:
• UC Irvine put the pressure on Bakersfield from the outset, sending ten men to the plate and scoring six times in the first. With two outs and the bases loaded, nine-hitter Taishi Nakawake doubled down the left field line to clear the bases and make it 6-0. Peabody and Justin Torres added RBI hits in the inning, while Luke Spillane picked up a sacrifice fly.
• A double and a single put runners on the corners with no outs in the top of the second. UCI's Jacob Castro followed with a sacrifice fly to center field giving his team a 7-0 lead.  
• Spillane singled with one away in the top of the third, advancing to third base on an error and scoring on a safety squeeze from Nakawake to give the Anteaters an 8-0 lead.
• Castro's RBI triple in the fourth scored Nathan Church from first base to make it 9-0.
• Bakersfield got one back in the bottom of the fourth, when Evan Berkey led off the frame with a triple over the head of the Anteater right fielder. He scored two batters later when Jorgensen drove a sacrifice fly into the left-center field gap.
• Jo Stevens inched the `Runners closer when he grounded into a 6-3 force out scoring Aaron Casillas. Casillas had led off the frame with a sharp single to right and advanced to third on Saldivar's double. Saldivar would score on Berkey's ground ball to third to make it 9-3 through five innings.
• UCI got one run back when Jake Palmer doubled and scored on Peabody's RBI single in the sixth.
• Roberson made it 10-5 belting his seventh home run of the season over the fence in right-center field in the bottom of the 7th inning.
• Church gave UCI a six-run lead when he connected for the Anteaters third sacrifice fly of the day in the 9th, making it 11-5.   
 
Notable:
• Today's game was CSUB's first versus a ranked opponent at Hardt Field since Apr. 22, 2019, when #6 UC Santa Barbara came to Bakersfield and won, 4-1. Today's starting pitcher, senior Noah Cordova started that game as well.
• Berkey's triple was his second of the season, matching his personal best total from both the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
• Roberson's home run was his 7th of the season tying him with Cael Brockmeyer (2013) for fifth on CSUB's single season list.
 
Quotable:
Head Coach Jeremy Beard
On Noah Cordova's tough outing…
"That was a rare performance for Noah. He's pitched very well for us this season in any role we've asked him to fill. It was a disappointing start, but he'll bounce back."
 
On the team's offensive performance…
"It was good to see our guys find their rhythm and timing offensively and put some good swings on balls. Watching the line-up come back and compete the way they did is a great sign as we look ahead to three games remaining in this series."
 
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