Bakersfield Bounces Back, Beats Cal Poly - California State University at Bakersfield Athletics
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Jack Lee & Angel Saldivar
Mark Duffel
5
Cal Poly CP 20-20, 10-15 Big West
9
Winner CSUB CSUB 15-13, 12-9 Big West
Cal Poly CP
20-20, 10-15 Big West
5
Final
9
CSUB CSUB
15-13, 12-9 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cal Poly CP 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 11 0
CSUB CSUB 0 3 1 0 0 0 5 0 X 9 12 1

W: O'Connor, Kellen (1-2) L: Thorpe, Drew (4-5) S: Lee, Jack (3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Bakersfield Bounces Back, Beats Cal Poly

Bakersfield, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield scored five times in the bottom of the seventh inning to break open a tie game and rolled to a 9-5 win over Cal Poly in a Big West series opener at Hardt Field, Friday afternoon. The Roadrunners snapped a mini, four-game losing streak and improved to 15-13 overall and 12-9 in conference play.
 
Bakersfield received dominant performances from a pair of relief pitchers, as Kellen O'Connor and Jack Lee combined to hold the Mustangs to just one run over the final six innings.
 
O'Connor earned the win, tossing 4.2 innings and scattering six hits, while allowing an earned run and striking out a pair. He was efficient from the moment he entered the game, throwing 43 of his 55 pitches for strikes.
 
Lee picked up his third save of the season after stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and then working a scoreless ninth.
 
Nick Grossman and Jacen Roberson each had three hits for CSUB.
 
Grossman reached base in all four of his plate appearances, adding a walk to go with his three base hits. He also scored a run and drove in a pair.
 
Roberson finished 3-for-4, including a triple and a two-run single that snapped a 4-4 tie in the seventh. The Bakersfield native, stole a bag, scored a run and had three RBI.
 
Angel Saldivar and Aaron Casillas both finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
Cole Cabrera and Nick DiCarlo had two hits for the Mustangs, while Myles Emmerson finished with three.
 
The `Runners touched up Cal Poly starter Drew Thorpe to the tune of nine hits and four walks, scoring seven times over his 6.1 innings pitched. Thorpe took the loss, falling to 4-5 this season.  
 
Bakersfield and Cal Poly will continue their series Saturday afternoon with a double header scheduled to start at noon. Aaron Charles and Noah Cordova will start for CSUB.
 
How it Happened:
• Cal Poly pushed across a single run in the first, when Cole Cabrera led off the inning with a full-count walk and scored three batters later on a wild pitch from Bakersfield starter Ethan Skuija.   
• The `Runners took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Nick Salas' RBI ground out scored Tyler Jorgensen to tie the game, before Saldivar gave CSUB the lead when he singled sharply to center field. Casillas ripped a double into the right-center field gap to make it 3-1.   
• The Mustangs answered immediately with three runs of their own in the top of the third. Nick Marinconz singled up the middle with two outs to score two and tie the game, then scored on a single and an error to make it 4-3.
• CSUB made the most of their chance to respond in the bottom half of the frame, when Roberson tripled with no outs to scoring Eric Charles, who had walked.
• The `Runners put up another crooked number in the seventh, plating five on consecutive run-scoring singles from Roberson, Jorgensen and Grossman.
• Cal Poly got one run back in the eighth on an RBI infield single from Cabrera. The Mustangs went on to load the bases with two outs, but `Runner closer Jack Lee entered the game and induced a soft fly ball to right from shortstop Brooks Lee to end the threat.  
 
Notable:
• Jorgensen was 1-for-3 with a walk, extending his career long on-base streak to 25 games.
• Saldivar finished the day 2-for-4 and improved to 7-for-19 (.369) over his last six games.
• O'Connor's outing was the longest of his career, lasting 4.2 innings in a winning effort.   
• The `Runners knocked off Cal Poly for the first time in eight attempts, with their last win over the Mustangs a 5-4 victory at Hardt Field on Apr. 28, 2015.   
• Bakersfield has won three series openers this season, going on to take three of four from a Big West opponent in each instance.
 
Quotable:
Head Coach Jeremy Beard
On O'Connor's performance out of the pen…
"Kellen had a big performance today, working ahead in counts and giving us length after a tough start. He kept us in the game and gave our bats a chance to breakthrough. We needed that from him today and he delivered."
 
On Roberson's tie-breaking single in the seventh…
"Roby had a great day today and took quality at bats. His swing is coming back to him after a little bit of a funk, and it was nice to see him level some swings out today. He turned on a firm fastball in that inning and changed the momentum of the game."
 
On what a series opening win means to the team…
"This was a big win for us. We're playing a talented and well coached team in Cal Poly, but our guys did an excellent job. They focused. They won pitches. And there was never a doubt in our dugout that we'd bounce back today."
 
Winning Pitcher Kellen O'Connor
On his approach to today's outing…
"I was excited about the opportunity to pitch in a tight game against a good opponent. I knew I had to work ahead, throw strikes early and be a bulldog. I wasn't going to let them score before we did, so if we didn't score than I knew I had to put up another zero."
 
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