Defending Pac-12 Champion Utah defeated CSU Bakersfield 15-3 to take a season opening three-game series Sunday at Hardt Park.
The Utes scored twice in the second, one in the third, and three in the fifth before the Roadrunners got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a David Metzgar sacrifice fly that plated Mark Pena. A Pena sac fly in the sixth cut the Utes’ advantage to 6-2. Utah would score two in the top of the eighth prior to an Austyn Tengan RBI single. Utah sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the ninth as the Utes scored seven runs to make it the final 15-3.
The Utes outhit the Roadrunners 20-11. Dallas Carroll was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI’s. Chandler Anderson, Oliver Dunn, and Kyle Hoffman each posted three hits. Anderson charted three RBI’s while Dunn had two. Andrew Penner, Max Carter, Mahlik Jones, and Junior Felix combined for eight of the 11 CSUB hits.
“We did not come out and play the same kind of baseball that we played yesterday,” said CSUB interim head coach Jeremy Beard. “Sometimes when games like this get away from you, you have to lean on the fence and let your guys work and encourage them. We did not do a lot things at the level that we need to compete that we know we need to compete. We did not make pitches and fell behind in counts. Our team will learn from today’s game. We had many highs this weekend and some lows. The biggest thing we can take from today is that we need to learn from everything that went along in the series and get better from it.”
CSUB (1-2) will host No. 19 UC Santa Barbara (1-2) Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on the Roadrunner Sports Network via Youtube.com. You can listen to the game on ESPN 98.1 FM and 1230 AM with Corey Costelloe on the call beginning with the pregame show at 5:45 p.m.
