THIS WEEK
The Roadrunners look to snap a seven-game winless streak this weekend when they take on San Jose State for a three-game series. CSUB and the Spartans open play Friday, Mar. 27 at 6 p.m. at Municipal Stadium. The series continues Saturday, Mar. 28 with a 1 p.m. start and concludes with a 1 p.m. match-up Sunday, Mar. 29.
LIVE STATS
Live statistics will be available for all three games against San Jose State. Log on to GoRunners.com and navigate to the live stats link off the CSUB main page or the baseball schedule page.
'RUNNER RECAP
CSUB dropped all four of its games against then No. 16/No. 12 ranked Cal Poly last week. The first and last games were battles on opposite sides of the spectrum, the former a pitcher's dual and the latter a slugfest.
Mickey Jannis pitched seven solid innings for CSUB in game one, allowing just four hits and four runs, but Cal Poly was able to push three runs across the plate in the eighth to break open a one-run lead for the 6-2 final.
Games two and three went easily to the Mustangs, but Bakersfield put up a fight in the final match-up, blasting 12 hits and holding the lead on three occasions before coming up just short in an 18-15 final. The Roadrunners had seven freshman in the starting lineup, with four delivering multi-hit outings. Martin Medina went 2-for-4 with six RBIs, Stuart Smith was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, Ryan McIntyre was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Jeremy Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with four runs. McIntyre and Medina each recorded a home run while Medina also hit his team-leading sixth double of the season.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCH-UPS
GAME 1, FRIDAY, MAR. 27
CSUB: Mickey Jannis (RHP)
SJSU: David Berner (LHP)
GAME 2, SATURDAY, MAR. 28
CSUB: Jonathan Montoya (LHP)
SJSU: Max Peterson (LHP)
GAME 3, SUNDAY, MAR. 29
CSUB: TBD
SJSU: TBD
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE
San Jose State (16-5 overall) had a seven-game win streak snapped on Mar. 24, dropping a 7-4 decision to Dartmouth and a 17-9 final to No. 12 Cal Poly. The Spartans led 4-1 through eight innings against Dartmouth, but gave up a six-run ninth inning to fall 7-4. Though already leading 12-9, Cal Poly also put up big numbers late in the game, scoring a combined seven runs in the seventh and eight against SJSU to put the game away.
Over the course of the season, the Spartans have outscored opponents in every inning except the ninth, where they trail 15-2. They also hold just a narrow 14-10 margin in the eighth inning.
Jacob Bruns paces the offense with a .465 average. The senior outfielder has a team-high seven doubles along with one home run and 14 RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Jason Martin (.338) has five double, one triple, three home runs and a team-best 17 RBIs.
On the mound, Scott Sobczak (RHP), David Berner (LHP), Max Peterson (LHP) and Ryan Shopshire (RHP) have earned the majority of the starts for SJSU. Sobczak is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA, Berner is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a team-high 35 strikeouts, Peterson is 4-0 with a 2.53 ERA and Shopshire is 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA. Meanwhile, Anthony Vega (RHP) has collected all six saves for the Spartans.
SMITH STAYS HOT
Freshman left-fielder Stuart Smith continued his consistent performance at the plate this past week against Cal Poly. He was 6-for-17 (.353) with three doubles, five runs and three RBIs. Smith leads the ?Runners with a .355 average, .613 slugging percentage and .403 on-base percentage.
WALKING WOES
CSUB's pitching staff has accumulated 106 walked batters through 18 games this season, an average of 5.9 per game. Conversely, the ?Runner offense has drawn just 66 walks (3.7 per game). Not allowing “free” bases to opponents is key as CSUB's opponents are hitting .341 with runners on base and just .263 when the bases are empty.
JANNIS ON THE RISE
Junior right-hander Mickey Jannis struggled in his first two appearances of the season, but has since turned a corner. In two appearances at the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic last week, Jannis struck out 13, allowed just eight hits and gave up three earned runs in 12 2/3 innings of work. He earned no-decisions in both appearances, but posted a 2.13 ERA in those games. He also had a solid effort in CSUB's opening game against then No. 16 Cal Poly, striking out three and scattering four hits for four runs in 7.0 innings.
ON DECK
On Monday, Bakersfield makes up the first of two postponed games (rain) with a 3 p.m. start at St. Mary's in Moraga. The Roadrunners then return to Bakersfield for a single game against the University of San Francisco on Wednesday, April 1. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Hardt Field.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
Bakersfield's inaugural schedule was listed as the 29th toughest in the nation, according to a preseason strength of schedule ranking by boydsworld.com. CSUB has 21 games against 10 opponents ranked above them on the strength of schedule list, including No. 8 Cal Poly, No. 11 Pacific, No. 13 UC Davis, No. 14 UC Riverside, No. 16 Loyola Marymount, No. 18 UC Santa Barbara, No. 21 San Francisco, No. 22 Saint Mary's and No. 24 Cal State Northridge.
TOGETHER AGAIN
Bakersfield is the fourth school coaches Bill Kernen and Jody Robinson have worked at together. The two were assistants at Cal State Fullerton in the late 1970's through 1981. During that time, the Titans, who had just made the transition to Division I in 1975, earned five NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the College World Series and a national championship title in 1979. They also teamed up briefly in 1988, both serving as assistants to former Titan Head Coach Augie Garrido, this time at the University of Illinois. In 1991, Kernen was in his second season as the head coach at Cal State Northridge, leading the Matadors through the transition from DII to DI play. Robinson joined the staff as an assistant coach, helping CSUN to a 44?18?1 record, the West Regional championship game and a top 10 ranking in the final NCAA Division I poll in its first season of DI play.
HARDT FIELD
Coming from the 99 Freeway (north or south) exit at Ming Ave. and proceed WEST to Haggin Oaks Blvd. (approximately four miles). Turn right on Haggin Oaks to Camino Media. Turn left on Camino Media. Turn right into campus on Roadrunner Drive and park in Lot E or I. Hardt Field is located west of Lot E.
TICKETS, PLEASE
Ticket information for all Roadrunner home baseball games may be found online at GoRunners.com or by calling the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office at (661) 654-BLUE.
NEED MORE INFO?
For all of the most up-to-date information about CSUB Baseball and all other Roadrunner sports, check out the CSUB Athletics Web site at: GoRunners.com.
