Stockton, Calif. – Pacific scored three times in the eighth inning to spoil a strong start from CSU Bakersfield right-hander Adrian Santa Cruz and even the series, at Klein Family Field, Saturday afternoon in Stockton, Calif. The Roadrunners were in control much of the day, but struggled to push insurance runs across late, dropping to 5-9 on the season. The two teams will meet again Sunday, at 1:00 p.m., in a series rubber match.
"Adrian and our staff did an excellent job giving us a chance to win today, but defensively, we didn't do enough to deserve a victory," said CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard. "At the plate, we took pitches and upped their starter's pitch count, but didn't take advantage of our opportunities and he rebounded well."
Bakersfield scored single runs in the first and the sixth to lead 2-0 into the eighth, behind strong pitching from Santa Cruz and Gabe Ulloa, but the Tigers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Santa Cruz pitched 5.0 innings, allowing just four hits and two walks, while striking out six. Ulloa faltered and took the loss, after surrendering three hits and three earned runs in the decisive frame.
Pacific evened both the weekend series and the all-time series (6-6), with Saturday night's win.
HOW IT HAPPENED...
T1 | Back-to-back, two-out doubles from Andrew Allanson and AJ Miller gave Bakersfield a 1-0 lead in their first at bat of the day.
T6 | Pacific starter Hunter Hayes retired the first two Roadrunners on just two pitches, but Nick Salas put together a great at bat, working a two-out walk to reach base. The Tigers made a pitching change and catcher Bailey Seeger greeted reliever Jackson Vaughan by doubling in Salas on the first pitch he saw to make it 2-0.
T8 | The Tigers scored three times during an 8th-inning rally to come from behind. Catcher Jeremy Lea tripled with one out and scored on Jarron Silva's squeeze bunt. Caden Duke followed one batter later with a double that scored Silva all the way from first, and followed with the winning run on James McClenagh's sacrifice fly to right field.
NOTABLE...
* AJ Miller stayed hot with his RBI double in the opening frame. Miller is 15-for-27 with a walk, a hit by pitch, seven runs scored and four runs driven in since homering against Fresno State on March 1.
* Adrian Santa Cruz tossed five scoreless innings, as CSUB starters have yet to allow an earned run in the series. For the season, Bakersfield starting pitchers boast a 3.32 earned run average in 62.1 innings pitched.
* Third-baseman Evan Rice has reached in all 11 of his games played this season, while sophomore Nick Salas reached for the eighth-straight game.
ON DECK...
Bakersfield and Pacific will face off in a Sunday afternoon rubber-match, at Klein Family Field in Stockton, Calif., with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Left-hander Kellen O'Connor will make his fourth start of the season for CSUB, entering with a 3.78 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work. The Tigers will send righty Zach Patterson to the hill, along with his 6.52 ERA. Patterson was dominant in a win over Northern Colorado, but allowed seven runs on five hits and two home runs in a loss to CSUN.
