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Arthur Smith

Baseball Written by James Tsitakis-Cecil

CSUB Heads to Texas for Final Road Trip of 2023

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – For the final non-conference series of 2023, the Cal State Bakersfield baseball team will travel halfway across the nation to battle Baylor in Waco, Texas. The Roadrunners come into this series on a hot streak after securing victory in their last two series, along with four wins out of the last seven games. With just one more series and senior day against CSUN on the horizon next weekend, the `Runners will be searching for more success to cap off a season that has already been much improved from last year's results.

This Weekend's Schedule:
  • at Baylor
    • Thursday, May 18, 4:30 p.m. (PT)
    • Friday, May 19, 4:30 p.m. (PT)
    • Saturday, May 20, 12:00 p.m. (PT)
Quotes from Head Coach Jeremy Beard
  • "It is nice to see some of our guys put their names in the `Runner baseball history books. There have been some great players come through this program, and it is always great to see your current players be a part of a growing history."
  • "Baylor is a very talented baseball team that plays a top-tier schedule around the country, and playing them on the road will be that much more of a challenge. I look forward to seeing our guys continue playing good baseball and give us a chance to finish strong against two good programs."
  • "We plan on continuing to develop our players and keep them playing their very best baseball until the end. We have been great recently and want to continue competing all the way through the finish line."
`Runner Notes
  • A few `Runners have made great progress on milestones this season:
    • Matt Comnos recently took home CSUB's Athlete of the Year award on the back of a season for the record books. With two prospective starts remaining, Comnos is already slated at ninth for single-season strikeouts in CSUB history with 73. At the 8.96 K/9 pace that Comnos is currently on, he could place as high as fourth all-time by the end of the season.
    • Nick Salas has easily been the team's most patient batter of 2023, already setting his own career-high walks tally with 35, which also places him just behind the single-season record holder at 36 walks. With six games remaining in 2023, Salas is primed to not only set the new single-season CSUB walks record but also place himself in the top-three for career walks.
    • Davonté Butler has appeared in 66 games during his six-year career at CSUB through COVID and the general ups-and-downs of Division I baseball. At fifth place for all-time career pitching appearances in the CSUB record book, Butler needs three of the final six contests this season to match the fourth-place mark of 69 games.
  • Currently sitting at ninth in the Big West, the `Runners have taken their last two series, including beating a perennially impressive Long Beach State squad. With Baylor experiencing a very tough season, CSUB has a golden opportunity to improve its overall record and gain momentum before finishing the season against an outstanding CSUN team that is currently fourth in-conference.
Scouting the Bears
  • Baylor (16-35, 6-18 Big-12) is led by first-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
  • As of May 16th prior to their mid-week matchup against Tarleton State, the Bears were on a five-game losing streak, including a series sweep via TCU. Baylor is currently experiencing a tough season in the post-COVID era, but being a Big-12 team they are always playing stellar competition and will be a difficult foe to defeat. The Bears will put up a fight on their home diamond, as the upstart `Runners look to nab some more nonconference games.
  • The `Runners will certainly look to attack Baylor's pitching corps, as it only has one pitcher with less than a 4.00 ERA. Despite their pitching disadvantage, the Bears do sport four routine starters with over a .300 batting average. The CSUB pitching staff will need to perform at a high level, like they did against Long Beach State and UC Riverside, in order to shut down Baylor's bats.
  • CSUB and Baylor have never faced each other, making this matchup somewhat of an unknown. However, the `Runners are 9-10 against non-conference opponents this year and will be looking to either even that record or surpass the losses for a positive record after their series against the Bears.
How to Follow the `Runners Individual game tickets for senior day are on sale and can be purchased on GoRunners.com/Tickets or by calling 661.654.BLUE or 661.654.GOLD.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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Players Mentioned

Matt Comnos

#29 Matt Comnos

LHP
6' 1"
Senior
L/L
Nick Salas

#11 Nick Salas

INF
5' 9"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Matt Comnos

#29 Matt Comnos

6' 1"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Nick Salas

#11 Nick Salas

5' 9"
Junior
R/R
INF
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