BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--  The Roadrunner baseball team closed out its second Western Athletic Conference series of the season with a 3-1 loss to Utah Valley. CSUB struggled to push 'Runners across, leaving nine stranded on base in the game. Bakersfield wasted a leadoff baserunner three times in the game by grounding into three double plays.

Nick Rogowski (Sr., Woodbridge, Va., Cypress College) battled through eight strong innings, but a few costly pitches let the Wolverines take a lead. “Pitching was definitely good enough to win,” said Bill Kernen, Head Coach of the Roadrunners. “It was a good battle by Nick and we played good defense. We didn't hit. That has been our pattern now for a while. It's a concern because I don't think that's indicative of who we are.”

The 'Runners started a two-out rally in the bottom of the first inning thanks to back-to-back singles and a walk. The bases-loaded threat went wasted as Utah Valley's Kaden Schmitt induced a fly ball to get out of the jam.

Spencer Gothberg led off the top of the fourth with a triple to the left center gap to put Rogowski in a tough spot. A walk followed by a Craig Brinkerhoff triple put the Wolverines up 2-0. Bakersfield's starter did well to fight back and record three straight outs to strand Brinkerhoff and keep the deficit to just two runs.

Mark Krueger came up with one out in the top of the fifth inning and sent a deep shot to right field that cleared the fence. The right fielder's solo blast was Krueger's first home run of the season and gave UVU a 3-0 lead.

CSUB started another two-out rally in the bottom half of the fifth. Joey Sanchez's (So., Pico Rivera, Calif., El Rancho HS) single put 'Runners on the corners and David Metzgar's (So., Lancaster, Calif., Paraclete HS) single to left brought Christian Deaton (Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., Frontier HS) around to score. A pitching change saw Hunter Smith come out of the bullpen for the Wolverines. The freshman got a 'Runner to foul out to keep the score at 3-1.

Rogowski surpassed the 100-pitch mark in the top of the sixth while getting himself into trouble with back-to-back singles. A pep talk from Kernen set the senior pitcher straight as he induced two foul outs and a grounder to get out of the inning unscathed. Bakersfield's starter had to get out of trouble again in the top of the seventh inning. After a leadoff double and an intentional walk, Rogowski recorded three straight outs includinf a check swing strikeout on a full count to end the inning.

The third triple of the game for UVU came from Seth Rhineer but ended up wasted in the top of the eighth inning. While Rogowski was not dominant, he found a way to get out of sticky situations. After Rhineer's leadoff, the Roadrunners pulled off the hidden ball trick to eliminate the threat and keep the score at 3-1.

Max Carter (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) pitched one perfect inning in relief to send CSUB to its last three outs. The 'Runner offense continued to struggle in the bottom of the ninth. Despite putting two on, CSUB stranded its eighth and ninth baserunners of the day to fall to Utah Valley 3-1.

Metzgar finished the game going 3-for-4 with one RBI while Deaton ended up with two hits. Rogowski battled through eight innings, allowing nine hits, three runs, and three walks while striking out eight Wolverines. Three of UVU's batters recorded two hits in the game as the team moved to 7-19, 3-3 WAC with the win. Bakersfield dropped to 13-14-1, 2-3-1 WAC while Rogowski's loss moves the senior to 2-2 on the year.

“We will just keep hammering away and see if we can do better offensively,” said Kernen. “We're staying in the game with pitching and defense and we only gave up eight runs the whole weekend. That's a run total that usually ends up being a sweep.”

CSUB will return to Hardt Field on Tuesday, Mar. 31, for a midweek contest against UC Riverside set for 6 p.m. Next weekend, the Roadrunners will resume WAC play with a series at North Dakota.

~GoRunners.com~