CSUB splits double header with Irvine

Hoping to extend the Cal State Bakersfield lead by coming home from second base on a Jo Stevens single, Aaron Casillas was gunned down at the plate in the seventh inning of a home game against UC Irvine Saturday.

Though the gamble didn’t pan out, one could forgive Casillas’ boldness, as up to that point, everything else had gone his way during the game.

Casillas drove in five runs to help CSUB build up an eight-run lead, and the Roadrunners overcame a disastrous eighth inning to edge the 20th-ranked team in the country 11-9 in the second game of a doubleheader at Hardt Field.

Since beating then-No. 23 UNLV on March 6, 2018, CSUB had lost five straight to ranked opponents, including a 2-1 loss to the Anteaters in Saturday’s first game.

But the ‘Runners established control early in game two. After Kobe Silva and

Nick Grossman RBIs made it 2-0 in the first inning, Casillas doubled the lead with a two-run single.

He added another tworun single during a four-run third inning, and had his fifth RBI with another single in the seventh. Before Casillas was thrown out at home, Grossman came around on Stevens’ third RBI, and CSUB had built up an 11-3 lead.

After scoring just five runs in a four-game set against Long Beach State last weekend, and just one in Saturday’s opener, game two was a needed bounce back for the Roadrunner offense, as Casillas, Stevens, Silva and Grossman all had three hits.

Most impressively, they did it against Anteater ace Michael Frias, who entered the game 8-0, but was chased after 2 1/3, allowing eight runs (seven earned).

“Big confidence boost,” Casillas said of the offensive showing. “A lot of guys were struggling (but) some guys showed up and put some balls in play, even if they were outs. Hitting’s all about confidence and all the guys the second game did great.”

BC BASEBALL

Two days after being swept by Allan Hancock, the Bakersfield College baseball team salvaged a split in a second doubleheader on the road.

Wesley Bradford blasted a go-ahead three-run double in the sixth inning, and BC pulled away for a 7-1 win in the opener.

The offensive support was more than enough for Brock Barron, who allowed just one run on three hits while recording six strikeouts in six innings of work.

The 14-7 Renegades close the regular season with a pair of doubleheaders against Oxnard next week. They travel to Oxnard Thursday before hosting a doubleheader at 3 and 6 p.m. on Saturday.