• The Cal State Bakersfield Track and Field program travelled to San Luis Obispo, Calif. for the Big West Track and Field Championships. The two-day event took place at the Miller and Capriotti Athletics Complex hosted by the Cal Poly Mustangs.  
• On the biggest stage, Miranda Miller produced another podium finish in the women’s pole vault.  
• The NCAA Division I men's and women's outdoor track and field championship selections for the 2024 first round meets will be announced on Thursday, May 16 by the NCAA.
  • As of now both Matthew Garrett and Javier Toro have qualified for the regional meet as both rank in the Top 48 in the hammer throw in the West Region. 
• Click here for the full results from the Big West Championship.

CSUB at Big West Track and Field Championships Day 1  

• On the track, the championship meet opened with the women’s 3,000m steeplechase. Senior Helena Valentic placed 4th overall with a time of 10:50.67. She rebroke her school record by milliseconds. Valentic was seeded 7th heading into the race and fought hard the whole time to pick up All-Conference honors.
• Friday also featured the women’s pole vault in which Miranda Miller tied for third overall. She finished the event with a height of 12’4.75”. Miller , a two-time Big West champion in the event, finished with a podium spot in every conference championship meet she competed in. The `Runner senior had been dealing with a knee injury since December, but she pulled through for a Top 3 finish. Miller completes her CSUBcareer as the most decorated track and field athlete since transitioning into D1.
• Jacob Yagers finished the men’s 1,500m with a first-place finish in the prelims with a time of 3:50.44. Yagers became the first CSUB male athlete to make a conference final in the event in the D1 era, but he was disqualified in the finals for stepping off the track while jockeying for position with the pack.
• Meshach Davis completed the men’s 100m in a new personal best of 10.71 seconds.  
• In the women’s 400m Hurdles, Jaztyn Greer threw down a personal best of 1:03.39 to sneak into the last spot for the finals. 

CSUB at Big West Track and Field Championships Day 2 

• Day 2 of the championship meet began with the women’s hammer throw. Jessi Solis finished her collegiate career with a ninth-place finish and a mark of 170’3”.
• Javier Toro and Matthew Garrett competed well in the men’s hammer throw. Toro placed 4th overall on his final throw, reaching 202’2” and winning All-Conference honors. Garrett threw a 187’7”, good for 7th place. 
• Toro also earned a point for the `Runners in the men’s shot put. The junior finished in 8th place with a mark of 53’11.25”.
• The CSUB men’s 4x100 relay placed 7th place with a season best of 41.87 seconds.
• Jaztyn Greer finished the women’s 400m Hurdles finals in 8th place.
• Next up for the `Runners, Matthew Garrett and Javier Toro will compete at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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• The Cal State Bakersfield softball team wrapped up the 2024 season with a three-game set against UC Riverside.
• The visiting Highlanders swept the series in Bakersfield despite a pair of good battles.
• Junior catcher Maya Molina-Villareal went 2-for-4 from the plate while hitting her second home run of the season.
• Freshman outfielder Hailey Brooks hit .429 on the weekend with a pair of doubles, wrapping up her rookie campaign with one of her best showings of the year.
• Senior Brianna Sanchez closed out her collegiate career with a pair of strong performances, throwing 9.2 innings with a 3.62 ERA across the series.
• A pair of juniors ended up as the offensive leaders for the Roadrunners on the year:
  • Logan-Ray Gaspar (shortstop): .310 BA, 19 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI
  • Kaia Johnson (center fielder): .287 BA, 24 R, 6 2B, 3 3B, 14 RBI, 25 SB

CSUB 1, UCR 5 – Friday, May 10

• CSUB starting pitcher Brianna Sanchez threw well, allowing just two earned runs over 6.2 innings while striking out a season-high four batters. The `Runner hurler was outdueled by UCR’s Maddie Heinlin, who allowed just two hits and a single run in the complete-game victory.
• After a Highlander run in the top of the first inning, Bakersfield tied the score in the bottom of the second on Hailey Brooks’ groundout RBI.
• UCR gradually pulled away from the `Runners, plating a run in the third, two in the fifth, and one more in the sixth.

CSUB 5, UCR 6 – Saturday, May 11

• In the closest game of the weekend, the two teams went back and forth, trading the lead four different times.
• Bakersfield jumped out to an early, 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a UCR throwing error.
• The Highlanders went ahead 2-1 in the third before making it a three-run advantage in the top of the fourth.
• CSUB regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth.
  • Kaia Johnson drove in the first two runs with a double before Sam Morales tallied an RBI single to cap the scoring.
• The `Runners added to their lead in the sixth inning, making the score 5-3 on Hailey Brooks’ second RBI double of the weekend.
• UCR took the lead for good in the top of the seventh thanks to a three-run home run from Kat Montuya, her second dinger of the game.

CSUB 1, UCR 15 (5 inn.) – Saturday, May 11

• Riverside scored early and often, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning before ballooning its advantage to 7-0 in the third.
• Bakersfield’s lone run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth on the team’s last hit of the season, a solo home run from catch Maya Molina-Villareal.

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• The Cal State Bakersfield baseball team faced one final opponent this last week at Hardt Field for the final home series of the season.
• With only four games left on the road, the Roadrunners are wrapping up the 2024season.
• This weekend's three games were against one of the toughest schools in the league, UC Santa Barbara, who is ranked 25th in the nation. 
• Ryan Verdugo worked hard on the mound for the Bakersfield ball club, throwing a total of seven innings while only giving up five hits and two runs.
  • Bakersfield's pitcher struck out six batters, increasing his tally to 88 strikeouts while moving to second in the conference.
    • Verdugo is now tied for fourth in CSUB's single-season history in strikeouts with Jeff McKenzie (2013).

 CSUB 3, #25 UCSB 8 – Friday, May 10

• The `Runners enjoyed an exciting start to the series. Friday night was packed with the stands full of students and fans celebrating National Student athlete night, Food Truck Friday with Hall Ambulance Night to top off the fun. 
• Ryan Verdugo would start off on the mound for the `Runners, holding off the Gauchos for four innings, pitching very well for his last time this season on the mound at Hardt Field. 
• Finally scoring in the top of the 5th and 6th inning, UCSB put their first runs up on the board and leading the game 2-0. 
• The Santa Barbara pitching staff held off Bakersfield well, holding them scoreless until the bottom of the ninth, but UCSB's six runs in the top of the ninth made CSUB’s come back difficult.

CSUB 7, #25 UCSB 15 – Saturday, May 11 

• The Bakersfield baseball team continued to battle through Game 2.
• Both teams got out early to start off the second game of the series, each scoring a single run in the first inning.
• The Gauchos answered right back in the top of the second inning, scoring five runs to grab an early lead. 
• Bakersfield came right back, answering with four runs of their own in the bottom of the third, before CSUB scored another run in the bottom of the fifth to tie up the game, 6-6.
• UC Santa Barbara surged ahead shortly after, refusing to give up the game. The Gauchos scored seven runs in the top of the seventh and then two more in the top of the ninth to finalize their scoring for the night.

CSUB 1, #25 UCSB 7 – Sunday, May 12

• Before the final home game of the season, CSUB celebrated 10 seniors who made a big impact on the `Runner baseball program. 
• Rolling into the game, Kellen O’Connor, senior starting pitcher for Bakersfield, would have his last outing on the Hardt Field mound. He pitched a total of 7.2 innings before calling it a day.
• It was a close, 2-1 game for much of the time until the Gauchos grabbed five runs in the top of the eight on the way to sweeping the series against Bakersfield.

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