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Bakersfield, Calif. - Bakersfield returns to Big West play, Friday afternoon, with the first of a three-game weekend series at UC Davis scheduled for 2:30 PM. The Roadrunners and Aggies will also play single games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with both games set for 1:00 PM at Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium. CSUB enters the weekend with a 12-15 overall record, and a 5-1 mark in conference games, good enough for a share of first place alongside rival Cal Poly. The Roadrunners won their second-consecutive Big West series when they took two of three from visiting Cal State Fullerton last weekend at Hardt Field.

Bakersfield's offense continues to hum along, averaging 6.7 runs per game over their past 12 outings, including an 11-run effort in Tuesday's loss at California Baptist. Designated hitter Andrew Allanson has led the charge with six home runs and 21 RBI in his last nine games. He's lifted his slashline to .300/.342/.560 and leads the Roadrunners in both long balls and runs driven in this season. AJ Miller continues to lead the team in average with a .333 mark, including a .415 on-base percentage, six doubles and four home runs. Catchers Bailey Seeger and Angel Saldivar are hitting .333 and .302, respectively, while center fielder Jashia Morrissey is up to .289.

Saturday starter Kellen O'Connor made his second consecutive strong start in a win over Cal State Fullerton. He's tossed 13 innings in his last two outings, allowing just a pair of earned runs. Benji Caggianelli made his shortest outing of the season last weekend, lasting just 1.0 innings, but the Roadrunners rallied and improved to 6-1 in his Friday night starts. Caggianelli boasts a 1.67 earned run average and a .153 BAA.

The CSUB bullpen was excellent against the Titans, answering the call and delivering 21.2 standout innings in the series, before running out of gas against CBU in Riverside, Calif. A rested Bakersfield pen will be critical against a UC Davis team that has struggled at the plate in the early going and is just 1-15 on the season (1-8 Big West).

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 MLB 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.

BENJI'S BEST FOOT FORWARD
CSUB is 6-1 on Friday nights behind number one starter Benji Caggianelli. The Roadrunner ace is 2-1 this season, with team bests in strikeouts (46), strikeouts per nine (12.9) and opponents' batting average (.153). The Bakersfield native also leads the Big West and ranks 12th nationally in fewest hits allowed per nine innings at 4.35.

GOING DEEP
Andrew Allanson belted his 7th home run of the season - and his sixth of the past two weeks - in a Tuesday night loss at California Baptist. Allanson moved into a tie for fifth on CSUB's single-season home run list, and needs just five more bombs this season to match Martin Medina's school record of 12, set in 2010.

AN INNING FOR THE AGES
The Roadrunners sent 14 men to the plate, using nine hits, a walk and one error to score ten runs and tie a school record (N. Dakota, 5/21/16) at California Baptist. It was the highest single-inning output for Bakersfield this season, with eight of the nine `Runners scoring in the frame. AJ Miller and Andrew Allanson each had two hits in the inning, with Allanson driving in four in his two at bats.

O'CONNOR ON A ROLL
Bakersfield's sophomore southpaw, Kellen O'Connor, has returned to form in his past two starts, tossing a combined 13.0 innings with just two earned runs allowed. O'Connor threw a seven-inning, complete-game shutout to beat Utah Valley on Mar. 26, and backed it up with a six-inning outing  to beat Cal State Fullerton on Apr. 2. He fanned seven opponents in each outing against zero walks. O'Connor ranks third in the Big West Conference with his 5/1 strikeout to walk ratio.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
CSUB has been excellent in slowing down opposing running games this season, especially of late. The Roadrunners have cut down 16 of 36 would-be base stealers (44.4%) thanks to catchers Angel Saldivar and Bailey Seeger, along with the run game management of the Bakersfield pitching staff. Saldivar has thrown out 9 of 20 (45.0%), while Seeger has eliminated 5 of 15 (33.3%). `Runner pitchers have also caught four more opponents with pick off moves to first.

COST CONTROLLED
Bakersfield's Jaykob Acosta has allowed just five earned runs in his last 19.2 innings pitched, good for a 2.29 earned run average. The Exeter, Calif., native has surrendered just 20 hits in that span, while striking out 20 and walking only five.

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. Twelve 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)...

• UC DAVIS: The Aggies enter the weekend series with just a 1-15 overall record and a 1-8 conference ledger, but did salvage a win and avoiding a sweep in their last contest with UC Riverside on Sunday, April. 3. UC Davis had previously been swept by Big West favorites UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. Bakersfield and Davis split a four-game series at Hardt Field in 2021, in the Roadrunners return to action following a two-week COVID protocol shutdown. CSUB leads the all-time series 11-8, including a 5-1 mark in Davis, Calif.

UCD is hitting .235 as a team, paced by standout James William III, who is hitting .348 with a .446 on-base average and six extra base hits. Williams had nine hits in 12 at bats against the Highlanders last weekend. Jonah Henrickson leads the Aggies with three of the team's six home runs on the season.

UCD has pitched to an 8.36 ERA as a club, with eight different pitchers making at least one start this year. Freshman left-hander Bryan Green has made five starts and leads the team with a 5.03 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched. Right-handers Nate Freeman (5.96 ERA) and Kaden Riccomini (6.57 ERA) have each made three starts for the Aggies. Opponents have hit .324 against UCD pitchers, with 56 extra-base hits, including 10 home runs, in 16 games to date.
 

LAST TIME OUT...

The Roadrunners improved to 5-1 in Big West play when they took two of three from conference heavyweight Cal State Fullerton at Hardt Field. Bakersfield won the first two games of the series, before dropping the finale with the Titans for their first league loss of the year. CSUB also fell in a dramatic 13-11 shootout at California Baptist on Tuesday and enters the UC Davis series looking to snap a two-game losing streak. 

2022 Overall Statistics


NEXT WEEK...

The Roadrunners will return to Hardt Field for a three-game conference series against the University of Hawai'i, beginning on Thursday night with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch. The two schools will meet again on Friday evening (6:05 p.m.) and Saturday afternoon (1:05 p.m.), with Sunday a scheduled off day in observance of the Easter holiday. The Roadrunners won a four-game series on Oahu a season ago. CSUB then completes a home-and-home midweek series at Pepperdine on the following Tuesday.