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Bakersfield, Calif. - CSU Bakersfield dropped its second-straight series, losing the final two Big West Conference games with UC San Diego after earning a 4-3 victory in Friday night's opener. The Roadrunners have lost five of their last six, slipping to 15-22 on the season and 8-7 in league play. Bakersfield will play their next six games on the road, beginning with a three-game set at CSUN, followed by three at Cal Poly. The Roadrunners trail CSUN in the all-time series between the two schools 18-12, including a four-game sweep by the Matadors in Bakersfield a season ago.

Despite the 'Runners recent skid, starting pitchers Jaykob Acosta and Kellen O'Connor have continued to eat innings and work deep into games for CSUB. Acosta has assumed the Friday night starter's role the past two weeks, posting a 1-1 record and allowing just nine hits  in 10.2 innings pitched over a pair of starts, while striking out seven and walking just three. Acosta has allowed 11 ERs in his last 35.2 IP, good for a 2.78 earned run average in that span. O'Connor has pitched with elite command of late, striking out 31 opposing hitters against just three walks in his last  29.2 innings pitched over five outings. O'Connor is 3-4 this season with a 4.11 ERA.

Outfielders Jashia Morrissey, AJ Miller and James Bell have paced the CSUB offense of late. Morrissey and Miller are the team leaders in batting average with .307 and .306 marks, respectively, while Bell has raised his average to .271 from .194 since the start of conference play. Miller had two doubles and a home run in a win over UCSD and now leads the team with 11 doubles and 17 extra-base hits. Morrissey has nine doubles, three triples and two home runs this season, while Bell has eight two-baggers and four round trippers.

After their six-game road trip, CSUB will return home to host Long Beach State on May 13-15 in their penultimate series at Hardt Field this season.


ROADRUNNER QUICK PITCHES...

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
CSUB has been excellent in slowing down opposing running games this season, especially of late. Roadrunner catchers have cut down 20 of 45 would-be base stealers (44.4%) along with the run game management of the Bakersfield pitching staff, which has nabbed five more opponents with moves to first base. Redshirt sophomore Angel Saldivar threw out all three would be base stealers in the series with UC San Diego and has now caught 50% of opposing base stealers this season.

THROWING STRIKES
Sophomore Kellen O'Connor sports a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio this season, among the best in the Big West Conference. He's been even better of late, striking out ten hitters for every walk allowed over his last 29.2 innings pitched. In that span, O'Connor has fanned 31 and walked just three. He's lasted at least five innings in each of his past five starts and in eight of ten starts this season.

THREE TIMES IS THE CHARM
CSUB right fielder AJ Miller delivered three extra-base hits in a Friday night win over UC San Diego at Hardt Field. Miller became the first Roadrunner to hit three extra-base hits in a single game since Jacen Roberson did the trick while hitting for a cycle against UC Davis on April 10, 2022. Miller belted two doubles and his sixth home run of the year. He leads the club with his 11 two baggers and 17 extra-base hits, while ranking second on the team in home runs this season. Miller is hitting .339, with 15 of his 17 extra-base hits, since hitting his first home run of the year versus Fresno State on Feb. 27.

SLUGGING FOR EXTRA BASES
CSUB failed to record an extra base hit in a game two loss to UC San Diego, going without for the first and only time in 37 games this season. The Roadrunners have 64 doubles, four triples and 22 home runs in 2022, totaling 90 extra-base hits or an average of nearly two and a half extra-base hits this season. CSUB is just ten doubles shy of cracking the single-season top ten and has already belted the fifth most round trippers in school history with 22.

SAVING GRACE
Ryan Verdugo has quickly and quietly developed into on of CSUB's most dependable bullpen arms. Verdugo worked 4.0 innings of relief in Friday's win over UCSD, picking up his team-leading third save of the season and recording his longest outing to date. Verdugo has allowed just a single earned run over his last 7.1 innings pitched, picking up a pair of saves in that span.

CAREER YEAR
Not to be outdone, Bakersfield graduate student Kevin Altamirano has posted the best earned run average of his Roadrunner career this season with his team-leading mark of 2.12. Altamirano has fanned 19 batters in 17.2 innings pitched and limited opposing hitters to a .242 average. His previous career low ERA was 4.66, established last year in just 9.2 innings pitched. Altamirano pitched just 14.0 combined innings during the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

WALK THIS WAY
Bakersfield has taken its bases on balls this season, walking 163 times, which already ranks 11th in program history. CSUB will crack the top ten with just two more free passes and is on pace for a record 234 walks in 2022.

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 MLB history (Bill Mueller, Red Sox, 2003). He has 7 home runs in 2022, tied for the fifth most in CSUB single-season history. He needs one more to move into a T-3rd and two more to move into a T-2nd. Martin Medina holds the `Runner record with 12 in 2010.

BIG WEST SLUGGERS
CSUB centerfielder 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.

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. Nine 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)...

• CSUN: CSUN enters this weekend's series with a 20-17 overall record and a 9-9 conference mark, following a series win over Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors have won five of their last six Big West games, also sweeping UC Riverside on the road. CSUN also has series wins over Long Beach State and UC Irvine, while suffering sweeps at the hands of Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.

CSUN is hitting .266 as a team with an impressive 35 home runs in the 37 games, paced by Gabe Conzalez' Big West leading 10 long balls. Andrew Sojka leads the team with a .355 average, while 2021 First-Team All-League choice Kai Moody is hitting .285 with sixteen extra base hits and 19 walks against just 16 strikeouts.

Matador pitchers have pitched to a 4.49 ERA this season, with seven hurlers boasting an ERA under 4.00. Blaine Traxel (9 starts, 3.52 ERA), Ryan Wentz (8, 3.74) and Blake Sodersten (10, 5.97) have been the regular starters for CSUN this season.

All three games of this weekend's series will be played in the afternoon and streamed live on ESPN+.
 

LAST TIME OUT...

The Roadrunners grabbed a Friday night victory over UC San Diego, but fell on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to lose their second straight series in conference play. Bakersfield has won three of five league series and currently sits at 8-7 in Big West action. 

2022 Overall Statistics


NEXT WEEK...

CSUB continues its six-game road trip with a trip to Cal Poly for a three-game Big West Conference series beginning Friday, May. 6 at 6:00 p.m. The Roadrunners and Mustangs will meet for the first time in San Luis Obispo as members of the Big West Conference. CSUB swept a four-game series with Cal Poly in Bakersfield during the 2021 season.