BAKERSFIELD – Adrian Santa Cruz and Matt Comnos provided dominant pitching and Aaron Perez keyed a fifth-inning rally with a long home run to right field, as CSU Bakersfield knocked off visiting Kansas State for the second straight game and clinch a series victory, Saturday night at Hardt Field. The Roadrunners improve to 3-2 and play for a series sweep of the Wildcats tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
"We've won two close games in a row against a very good baseball team. We can't be satisfied, but it feels good heading into Sunday knowing we have a chance to sweep a series," said CSUB Head Coach Jeremy Beard.
Santa Cruz picked up the win in his first career start, allowing just four hits and a single unearned run while striking out four over six innings pitched. Comnos fanned five over three innings of relief to earn his first career save.
Bakersfield trailed 1-0 after four and a half, but Perez led off the CSUB fifth with a no-doubt home run deep over the right-field fence to even the score. Three batters later catcher Bailey Seeger put the `Runners on top for good with an RBI single back through the box.
Kansas State starter Connor McCullough struck out seven and allowed just the two earned runs to fall to 0-1. KSU now stands at 0-5, after entering the weekend with losses to #10 Arizona, Michigan and Auburn.
HOW IT HAPPENED...
T4 • Justin Mitchell reached on catcher's interference and scored on Nick Goodwin's two-out double down the line in left to put Kansas State on top 1-0.
B5 • Aaron Perez tied the game with one swing when he launched a 1-2 fastball deep over the right field fence to lead off the CSUB fifth. AJ Miller followed with a sharp single to left and came around to score on Bailey Seeger's RBI single two batters later.
NOTABLE...
* Adrian Santa Cruz made the first start of his Bakersfield career, lasting six innings and allowing just a single unearned run. It was the deepest a CSUB starter has worked through five games this season. Roadrunner hurlers have worked at least five innings in four of five starts to date.
* Aaron Perez' fifth-inning long ball was the first of his CSUB career and the first home run by a Roadrunner this season.
* Tonight's win clinched a series victory for the Roadrunners. Tomorrow, Bakersfield will play for its first sweep since taking all four games in a four-game series with Cal Poly on May 7-9 of last year.
* Matt Comnos earned his first career save with three shutout innings of relief. Comnos struck out five and now boasts 10 strikeouts in 5.2 innings this season.
QUOTABLE...
"We took great energy from scoring twice in the fifth inning and our pitchers shoved the rest of the way; we found a way!"
- Aaron Perez on igniting a key 5th inning rally
ON DECK...
The Roadrunners and Wildcats will close out their three games series when CSUB left-hander Kellen O'Connor squares off against K-State's Christian Rueback in the series finale at Hardt Field, Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.
