Saturday, February 19 -- vs. Oakland University (Bakersfield, Calif.), 6:05 p.m.
ESPN+  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets

Sunday, February 20 -- vs. Oakland University (Bakersfield, Calif.), 1:05 p.m.
ESPN+  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets

Tuesday, February 22 -- vs. Saint Mary's (Bakersfield, Calif.), 6:05 p.m.
Live Stats  |  Tickets

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• Game Day Information:  Hardt Field  |  Ticket Information

The CSU Bakersfield Baseball (0-0, 0-0 Big West) team will host Oakland University (0-0, 0-0 Horizon League) in a three-game, season opening series at Hardt Field, beginning Friday night, Feb. 18 at 6:05 p.m. The Roadrunners will also welcome Saint Mary's (0-0, 0-0 West Coast Conference) to Bakersfield for a single game on Tuesday, Feb. 22. All three games against Oakland will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Tuesday's matchup with the Gaels will be CSUB's first midweek showdown since a Feb. 19, 2020 road trip to Loyola Marymount. 

PROMOTIONS...

• Feb. 18: Opening Day Celebration  |  2022 Schedule Poster Giveaway (while supplies last)  |  Friday Night Meal Deal
• Feb. 20: Group Value Game  |  Kids Run the Bases (post-game)

Full Promotions Schedule

ROADRUNNER QUICK PITCHES...

• The Roadrunners return 15 letterwinners and welcome 26 newcomers this season. Seven returners appeared in at least 20 games or pitched at least 20 innings a year ago. This season's newcomers include 17 NCAA or NJCAA transfers and nine true freshman. 

• Friday's series opener is the first ever meeting between CSUB and Oakland University on a baseball field. The Roadrunners are 6-1 all-time against Horizon League opponents, with all seven games played in Bakersfield. CSUB swept a three-game series with Milwaukee in 2014 and took three of four from Northern Kentucky in 2015. 

• Bakersfield was voted eighth in the Big West Pre-Season Coaches Poll ahead of the 2022 season. The Roadrunners earned 35 total points and join Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, CSUN and UC San Diego in a congested group near the middle of the standings. CSUB was chosen to finish last in 2021, but spent much of the season near the top of the standings before ending the year in seventh place. Full Story

• Three CSUB opponents open the season ranked or receiving votes in the NCAA Division I Coaches' Poll Top-25. All three are Big West rivals, with UC Irvine checking in at #19 and Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara receiving votes.

HOME IS AT HARDT
The series with Oakland kicks off a 33-game home schedule for the `Runners, that includes nine home series and four individual midweek opponents. In addition to the Golden Grizzlies, Bakersfield will host series with Kansas State, Utah, Utah Valley and Big West opponents Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, UC San Diego, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. Midweek opponents include Saint Mary's, Fresno State, Pepperdine and California Baptists.

Season tickets and single-game tickets for all CSUB home games can be purchased on GoRunners.com/Tickets or by calling 661.654.BLUE.

CSUB was 12-12 at Hardt Field last season, winning key Big West series against UC Riverside and Cal Poly, and splitting with UC Davis.

HOMERS AT HARDT
Bakersfield belted 23 home runs last season, tying for the third highest single-season mark in school history. The team also hit 23 long balls in 2011, and blasted 42 and 36 in 2010 and 2009, respectively. The Roadrunners return just one of those 23 home runs; catcher Angel Saldivar homered on Opening Day at Fresno State.

CSUB adds several power hitters to the middle of its 2022 batting order via transfer, including Andrew Allanson, James Bell and AJ Miller, as the team looks to replace Jacen Roberson (7), Evan Berkey (4), Cody Holtz (4), Tyler Jorgensen (4) and Nick Grossman (3).

CENTURY CLUB
Jeremy Beard won the 100th game of his CSUB coaching career with a 6-4 victory over Cal Poly on Sunday, May 9, 2021, as the `Runners closed out a series sweep of the Mustangs. Beard enters the 2022 season with a 102-127 overall record (.445) and a 53-58 (.478) conference mark in four full seasons, plus the COVID shortened 2020 campaign. He's won at least 20 games in each of his four years on campus.

TRADING PLACES
Jashia Morrissey made 27 starts and 30 appearances at second base last season, but will move to center field as a sophomore and replace the drafted Jacen Roberson as the anchor of the CSUB outfield. Morrissey is a special athlete capable of playing anywhere on the field, and his speed should make him a natural fit in center.

ROLE REVERSAL
The Bakersfield bullpen threw more innings than their starting counterparts during the 2021 season, pitching 194.2 innings to the starters' 184.0. The CSUB pen exceptional late in the season, including one key stretch that saw the unit throw 56.1 IP with a 2.51 ERA, 4 wins and 4 saves in late season series versus Cal Poly, UC Irvine and Long Beach State.

KEYSTONE KID
Shortstop Aaron Casillas has started 53 of Bakersfield's 57 games at shortstop over the past two seasons. Well known for his glove, defensive range and quick release, Casillas has delivered lockdown defense at the games' most important position. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native has made just four errors in 246 chances for a .980 fielding percentage. At the plate, Casillas took a big step forward in 2021, raising his batting average by 64 points and hitting .248 with six doubles and 19 RBI.

NOWHERE TO RUN
Bakersfield catchers Angel Saldivar and Cody Holtz cut down 36% of would-be base stealers in 2021 (22/62). Saldivar threw out eight of 24 opponents on the run and returns to lead CSUB backstops again this season.

THE BUTLER'S DONE IT
Davonte Butler returns for his fifth season at CSUB in 2022 to lead a fresh-faced Roadrunner pitching staff. Butler leads all Bakersfield hurlers with 151.0 career innings pitched.

CLUTCH TIME
The Roadrunners were excellent at protecting late leads last season, finishing the year with a 16-3 record when leading or tied after six innings of play.

INTERNATIONAL MEN OF MYSTERY
Newcomers Cody Hendriks and Nic Anderson-Vine both competed in International competition prior to their arrivals at CSU Bakersfield. Hendriks is a dual Canadian and Dutch citizen, who represented the Netherlands at the 2021 18U European Championships. Anderson-Vine hails from Umina, Australia and also competed for his home country at the 18U level. Anderson-Vine is the third Australian to suit up for the `Runners.

GRADUATE STUDENTS
Three Bakersfield scholar-athletes are working towards graduate degrees during the 2021-22 school year. Fifth-year seniors Kevin Altamirano, Daniel Carrizosa and Kenny Johnson are all taking advantage of COVID eligibility to pursue advanced degrees.

TEAMMATES AGAIN
James Bell and AJ Miller both signed with the University of Oregon out of high school and were teammates with the Ducks during the COVID shortened 2020 season. Bell played one season in Eugene and another at Fresno City College before joining the Roadrunners, while Miller spent three seasons at Oregon.

Newcomers Evan Rice and Adrian Santa Cruz were teammates at Phoenix College, leading the Bears to the NJCAA Division II World Series in 2021.

Benji Caggianelli and Gabe Ulloa played together at Bakersfield College in each of the last two seasons.

Four sets of `Runners were high school teammates. Andrew Allanson and Tyler Vargas played together at Quartz Hill High School in Lancaster, Calif., while Matt Kurata and DJ Massey competed at Gahr High School in Cerritos, Calif., Nick Salas and AJ Cleveland played at Highland High School in Bakersfield, Calif., and Aaron Casillas and Michael Pollard were teammates at Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, Calif.

LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD
Bakersfield native and three-year Roadrunner outfielder Jacen Roberson became the 21st CSUB baseball player selected in the Major League Baseball Draft when he was chosen by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 468th choice in the 16th Round. Roberson hit .282 with 10 doubles, three triples and seven home runs last season, earning All-Big West Honorable Mention honors.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT(S)...

• Oakland: The Golden Grizzlies we're 18-29 last season, including a 12-24 record in Horizon League play and an 11-20 record on the road. Oakland hit .275 as a team and scored 5.9 runs per game, with 70 doubles, 23 home runs and 67 stolen bases in a robust 91 attempts. Returnees Michael Stygles and Cam Post will lead the offensive attack again in 2022. Stygles hit .382 last season, with 16 total extra-base hits and a team-high 38 RBI. Post slashed .340/.402/.497, with four home runs, 35 RBI and 30 runs scored. Oakland's hurlers pitched to a 7.23 earned run average a season ago, allowing 464 hits and walking another 230 in 368.2 innings pitched. Opponents hit .306 against the OU pitching staff. Right handers Bryce Konitzer and Jacob Wosinski and lefty Chas Sagedahl are scheduled to pitch out of the rotation this weekend. 

• Saint Mary's: The Gaels finished the 2021 campaign with a 25-26 overall record and a 12-16 mark in West Coast Conference action. Saint Mary's struggled at the plate for much of last season, hitting just .233 and slugging only .318 in 51 games played. Kyle Velazquez and Nick Mistone are the team's top returning hitters, posting 2021 batting averages of .265 and .223 respectively. Two-way threat Chris Campos was named as a Pre-Season All-American by Collegiate Baseball after he hit .270 with 10 doubles and posted a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched out of the pen. Starting pitchers Sam Bower and Ryan Taurek return for 2022. Bower posted a 3.43 ERA and a .209 average against in 81.1 innings pitched, while opponents hit .256 against Taurek in 61.1 innings of work.  

LAST TIME OUT...

Picked to finish dead last in the 2021 Pre-Season Coaches' Poll, the Roadrunners shocked the Big West when they spent much of the season in the top-four of the conference standings. CSUB slipped down the stretch and, ultimately, placed seventh in the league standings. Bakersfield struggled to work starting pitchers deep into games, eventually turning in a 5.37 ERA and a .283 opponents batting average as a staff. Roadrunner hitters combined for a slashline of .267/.340/.366 with 23 home runs and an average of 4.9 runs scored per game. 

2021 Overall Statistics

NEXT WEEK...

The Roadrunners will host a three-game series against Kansas State (0-0, 0-0 Big12) at Hardt Field, beginning Friday, Feb. 25, with first pitch set for 6:05. Following the weekend set, CSUB welcomes central valley rival Fresno State (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West) to Bakersfield for game one of a home-and-home series between the two schools this season.