Breaking the cycle: CSUB CF Roberson reflects on history-making performance
Jacen Roberson’s record-setting day didn’t exactly end on its most highlight-reel moment.
After homering in the first game of a double-header against UC Davis last Saturday, Roberson, a centerfielder on the Cal State Bakersfield baseball team, exploded in the second game. Highlighted by a second-inning grand slam, Roberson also had a double, triple, three runs and five RBIs to his name as he came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning.
But after blasting the ball all over the outfield, perhaps the most monumental moment of Roberson’s monster day came on a ball that didn’t even reach the infield dirt.
With runners on first and third, he hit a tapper back to the mound that bounced off the glove of Aggie pitcher Kai Janowicz. By the time
shortstop Kyler Arrenado got to the ball, the speedy Roberson had already reached first base and driven in his sixth run of a game CSUB went onto win 14-4.
That infield single put a special cap on the day for Roberson, who with it became the first CSUB player to ever hit for the cycle. And while the more exciting moments may have come early, he was happy to have kept his final hit in the infield, as it prevented him from having to make any tough decisions.
“I’m definitely glad I got my big hits out of the way,” Roberson said. “If I’m being honest, I think the single was the hardest hit to get. If you hit it in the gap, do you stay at first? Probably not. I think that was definitely the hardest one for me.”
Circumstances made the accomplishment all the more significant. Roberson, a 2018 graduate of Garces Memorial High School, says it felt doubly special to have a record-setting performance for his hometown school.
“Just to have my name (attached to something) that prestigious, it’s pretty cool,” he said. “You want to leave your mark and leave your name on something and I’m glad I got to do it with something cool like that.”
It was made even better by the fact that, for the first time in over a year, Roberson was able to play in front of his family. CSUB recently allowed a small number of fans into Hardt Field, giving his parents Rob and Jen, brother Cameron and sister Breyona a chance to see his big game in person.
“It was just a blessing for them to be watching me do that live,” he said. “It’s something you dream of.”
The heroics didn’t stop there. On Sunday, Roberson added two more hits and a go-ahead RBI double that brought home the third run of a five-run eighth inning in a 5-2 win that secured a series split with Davis.
Most of the time, Roberson’s 7-for-18, nine RBI series would have been enough to win Big West Player of the Week honors.
However, that wasn’t the case this time around. Instead, the honor went to Hawaii’s Kole Kaler, who also hit for the cycle on Saturday while going 8-for-19 with nine runs scored in a four-game set against UC Riverside.
With the Roadrunners set to face Hawaii this weekend, some might think Roberson is entering the series with a chip on his shoulder.
That isn’t the case, though, as he and Kaler actually have a pre-existing relationship. The pair were teammates with the Western Nebraska Pioneers of the Expedition Summer League in 2019.
“He’s a buddy of mine,” Roberson said. “To see him hit for the cycle meant a lot. I’m happy for him, he was happy for me.”
While things will remain friendly, Roberson likely won’t be cheering for his friend so vocally this weekend.
“I’m definitely rooting for our pitchers to give him a little love,” he said. “Definitely trying to go for the win, for sure.”
The Roadrunners, who are 8-7 overall and 5-3 in the Big West, open their series at Hawaii (15-11, 7-9) at 6:05 p.m. local time on Friday.