Saturday, April 3 -- vs. Cal St. Fullerton (Bakersfield, Calif.), 1:05 p.m.
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Tuesday, April 5 -- at California Baptist (Riverside, Calif.), 6:05 p.m.
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Bakersfield, Calif. - Following a series split with Utah Valley, CSU Bakersfield returns to Big West Conference action by welcoming Cal State Fullerton to Hardt Field for a three-game series, beginning Friday night at 6:05 p.m. The two teams will also play single games on Saturday night (6:05 p.m.) and Sunday afternoon (1:05 p.m.), while meeting for the first time as conference foes. Last season's three-game set in Fullerton was canceled due to COVID-19 protocol.

Bakersfield is 10-13 overall and 3-0 in league play, sitting a top the conference standings as the Big West's lone remaining unbeaten. Fullerton enters on the heels of a three-game sweep of UC Riverside, boosting its overall record to 8-14 and its conference mark to 4-2. CSUF also dropped two of three games at UC Santa Barbara to open the league slate.

The Roadrunners have won five of eight games thanks to a resurgent offense and continued excellence from its starting rotation.

Jashia Morrissey and Andrew Allanson have won back-to-back Big West Player of the Week honors, leading an offense that has averaged nearly 6.5 runs per game over their past nine outings.  The Roadrunners have hit 16 home runs through 23 games, thanks in large part to five homers from Allanson in the past week.

Benji Caggianelli continues to lead the Bakersfield starting staff, helping the team to a 5-1 record on Friday nights this season. Caggianelli boasts a 1.15 earned run average and a .150 opponents' batting average. Kellen O'Connor and Adrian Santa Cruz both turned in strong starts against Utah Valley, with O'Connor tossing a seven-inning complete game and Santa Cruz working through six innings and turning in a quality start.

The Roadrunners trail the all-time series history with Cal State Fullerton, 3-1. Bakersfield's lone victory came in 2015 at Hardt Field, when CSUB outscored the Titans 14-1.


ROADRUNNER QUICK PITCHES...

A GRAND OLE TIME
Andrew Allanson became the first player in CSUB history to hit a pair of grand slams in a single game, and drove in a program record eight RBI in a loss to Pepperdine. Allanson hit one grand slam from each side of the plate, a feat accomplished just once in Major League Baseball history (Bill Mueller, Red Sox, 2003).

BIG WEST SLUGGERS
CSUB centerfield Jashia Morrissey was named Big West Player of the Week on Monday, Mar. 21, after a standout performance in a series sweep of UC Riverside. Morrissey was 6-for-8, with five walks, a triple, a home run, five runs scored and four RBI.

Andrew Allanson made it consecutive weekly honors for Roadrunner sluggers, when he captured the Player of the Week award on Mar. 28. Allanson started his week with a pair of grand slams and eight RBI against Pepperdine, before homering three more times and driving in eight more in a series split with Utah Valley.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Ridgeview High and Bakersfield College product Benji Caggianelli will make his seventh-straight Friday night start in the opener with Cal State Fullerton. Caggianelli is 2-1 this season with a 1.15 earned run average and a .150 opponent's batting average. Bakersfiefld is 5-1 in his Friday night starts this season.

O'CONNOR DELIVERS
Saturday starter Kellen O'Connor tossed his first career complete-game shutout in game two of a Saturday double header with Utah valley. The Portland, Ore., native allowed just three hits over seven innings pitched, striking out seven and walking none. He needed just 78 pitches to shutdown the Wolverine offense.

STARTING STRONG
Benji Caggianelli and Kellen O'Connor have been joined by righty Adrian Santa Cruz in the Bakersfield starting rotation for much of the season. The trio has set the pace for Roadrunner starters, who have combined to allow just 39 earned runs in 98.1 innings pitched for a 3.57 ERA, along with 106 strikeouts. Bakersfield's cumulative ERA of 4.15 ranks 56th nationally and fourth in the Big West Conference. The team mark of 4.15 would be fourth-best in program history over the course of a full season.

BAKERSFIELD'S BENCH BOSS
Bakersfield head coach Jeremy Beard coached the 250th game of his career on Saturday, Mar. 27 against Utah Valley. Beard has served as the CSUB bench boss for four full seasons, plus the COVID shortened 2020 campaign and 23 games this season. Beard has averaged nearly 25 wins per year in his four full seasons at CSUB. The Roadrunners are on pace to win at least 25 games again in 2022.

MILLER TIME
Right fielder AJ Miller continues his torrid pace, after opening the season just 3-for-25. Since homering against Fresno State, Miller is hitting .417 with nine walks, three doubles, five home runs, 15 runs scored and 13 RBI.

ANSWERING THE BELL
James Bell reached base 11 times in five games last week, with five base hits and six walks, including a pair of doubles. Bell improved his average to .238 and ranks 2nd on the team with his .398 on-base percentage.

HOME IS AT HARDT
CSUB boasts a 33-game home schedule in 2022, including nine home series and four individual midweek opponents. Five of those series are against Big West opponents Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, UC San Diego, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara, later in the year. 21 home games remain, with season tickets and single-game tickets for all CSUB home contests available for purchase 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, while splitting with UC Davis.

EXIT POLLING
CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish eighth in the Pre-Season Big West Conference Coaches' Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches. The Roadrunners finished with 35 points, sandwiched in a middle of the pack that also includes Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, CSUN and UC San Diego. Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly are among the pre-season favorites, while UC Riverside and UC Davis found themselves at the bottom of the poll. CSUB was picked to finish dead last in 2021, before spending most of the season in the top four. The `Runners stumbled at the finish and ended up in seventh place a season ago.

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)...

• UTAH VALLEY: The Titans outscored the Highlanders 29-8 to sweep a series in Fullerton and have now won four of five, with their lone loss a one run defeat at USC. CSUF will host San Jose State on Wednesday, Mar. 30, before making the trek north to Bakersfield.

Sophomore infielder Brendan Bobo leads the Fullerton offense with a .333 batting average and 15 RBI. He boasts four doubles, one triple and three home runs. Junior Zach Lew and sophomore JT Navyac are also hitting .333, with Lew pounding out a program best six two baggers.

Christian Rodriguez and Tyler Stultz lead the Titans with six and five games started, respectively. Rodriguez is 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA, while Stultz sports a 4.55 ERA with a pair of victories. As a staff, CSUF hurlers have pitched to a 5.59 ERA, 8th best in the conference.
 

• CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: California Baptist welcomes CSUB to Riverside, Calif., for the back end of the two teams' home-and-home series this season. The Lancers hung on for a 4-3 win in Bakersfield on Mar. 8, overcoming an early 3-1 Roadrunner lead.

Jake Skipworth is one of three Lancers hitting over .400, with a .405 average. He was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI in CBU's win at Hardt Field. David Martin is hitting .455, while Michael Carpentier is batting .432.

Jared Villalobos got the start at CSUB and leads the team with a 1.29 ERA and a .187 batting average against over 21.0 innings pitched.
 

LAST TIME OUT...

Bakersfield split a four-game series with Utah Valley at Hardt Field, behind a standout weekend from Andrew Allanson. Allanson was 8-for-14 in the series with three home runs, a triple and a pair of walks. He scored five times and drove in eight runs. The Roadrunners finished the week 2-3, including a midweek loss to visiting Pepperdine, last Tuesday. 

2022 Overall Statistics


NEXT WEEK...

The Roadrunners will continue Big West play with a three-game road trip to UC Davis and Paul Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium, beginning Friday Apr. 8 and continuing Saturday and Sunday. CSUB split a four-game series with Davis in Bakersfield a season ago, dropping the first two games before rebounding to win the final two. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with tickets available on UCDavisAggies.com.