# 2009 Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners baseball team

The 2009 CSUB Roadrunners baseball team represented California State University, Bakersfield in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2009. The 2009 season was the inaugural season for the Roadrunners in baseball, with CSUB beginning the transition from Division II to Division I in 2006, launching baseball in 2009, and completing the transition and eligible for the post season in 2011. A new stadium, Hardt Field, was built on the CSUB campus during the off-season and opened on opening day of the 2009 season.
The team was managed by Bill Kernen.

## Pre-season

In June 2006, CSUB president Horace Mitchell announced that CSUB would be moving to Division I, and entering a four-year reclassification process, which would require additional funds for the creation of a new baseball program.
In August, 2008, before the schedule for Cal State Bakersfield's inaugural baseball season was released, coach Bill Kernen confirmed that the Roadrunners would play six games against Fresno State, the defending College World Series champion. August 2008 also marked the groundbreaking of CSUB's Hardt Field, construction of which was completed in 28 weeks. The Roadrunners strength of schedule (SOS) was ranked an astounding 19th in the country.

## Regular season

CSUB entered the 2009 Baseball season with a competitive schedule, competing against multiple teams ranked in the top 30 in Collegiate Baseball poll, along with the 2008 National Champion Fresno State Bulldogs. CSUB opened the season at home against the St. Louis Billikens, in a three-game series which marked the first winning series for the Roadrunners, finishing 2–1 in the series. The second team faced by the Roadrunners was the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, ranked #30 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, which resulted in a 10–0 loss.
The 2009 Season found the team getting off to a .500 start in their first 6 games, including victories over St. Louis and Utah. However, after getting off to a good start, the Roadrunners went 1–14 in the month of March. During the course of the month, the Roadrunners met several in-state opponents, including San Jose State, St. Mary's, and San Francisco. The 'Runners also cemented a rivalry with the nearby Cal Poly Mustangs. The 'Runners also met their valley rivals, the Fresno State Bulldogs, winning one game of the three game series played in Beiden Field, and winning the first game of the homestand in a come from behind win, by a score of 17–12. The Roadrunners' 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs on April 4 marked the first time that a first-year NCAA Division I baseball program defeated the defending College World Series champions.

## Roster
### Coaches

| Name | Title | First Season at CSUB | Alma Mater |
| Bill Kernen | Head coach | 2008–Present | University of Redlands (1970) |
| Jody Robinson | Assistant coach | 2008–Present | Cal State Fullerton (1981) |
| Dennis Machado | Assistant coach | 2008–Present | Montana State-Bozeman (2000) |
| Bill Gentry | Assistant coach | 2008–2010 | Concordia University (2002) |

### Players (Inaugural Roster, 2009)

| Players | Number | Position | Bats/Throws | Hometown (Prev School) |
| Akiyama, Matthew | 22 | SS/2B | R/R | Torrance, Calif. (Bishop Montgomery HS) |
| Boren, Brandon | 3 | 2B/3B/SS | R/R | Bakersfield, Calif. (Bakersfield College) (Stockdale HS) |
| Branske, Garrett | 15 | C/RHP | R/R | Chino, Calif. (Chino HS) |
| Draxton, Erik | 37 | RHP | R/R | Park City, Utah (Phoenix College) (Park City HS) |
| Escalera, Richard | 11 | 1B | L/L | Baldwin Park, Calif. (Mt. SAC) (South Hills HS) |
| Gaston, Mick | 10 | OF | R/R | Quartz Hill, Calif. (Quartz Hill HS) |
| Geisinger, Derek | 16 | 1B | L/R | Gilbert, Ariz. (Phoenix College) (Highland HS) |
| Henry, JJ | 26 | 3B/OF | R/R | Denver, Colo. (Phoenix College) (Cherry Creek HS) |
| Jannis, Mickey | 55 | RHP | S/R | Sparks, Nev. (Allan Hancock College) (Arroyo Grande HS) |
| Jones, Sam | 40 | LHP | R/L | Morro Bay, Calif. (Allan Hancock College) (Morro Bay HS) |
| Kudlock, Jason | 34 | RHP/OF | R/R | Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler-Gilbert CC) (Hamilton HS) |
| McIntyre, Ryan | 5 | OF | L/R | Henderson, Nev. (Coronado HS) |
| Medina, Martin | 30 | INF/P | R/R | Ventura, Calif. (Saint Bonaventure HS) |
| Messmore, Spenser | 28 | RHP | R/R | Granada Hills, Calif. (Alemany HS) |
| Mills, Joey | 1 | OF | R/R | Englewood, Colo. (Phoenix College) (Cherry Creek HS) |
| Montoya, Jonathan | 19 | LHP | L/L | Chino Hills, Calif. (Chino Hills HS) |
| Richardson, Kyle | 14 | SS | L/R | Sacramento, Calif. (Sierra JC) (Bella Vista HS) |
| Rodriguez, Jeremy | 7 | C | S/R | Thousand Oaks, Calif. (Crespi HS) |
| Eric Sanchez | 2 | INF | R/R | Corona, Calif. (Santiago HS) |
| Smith, Stuart | 25 | OF | L/R | Ventura, Calif. (Buena HS) |
| Valenzuela, Jacob | 12 | RHP | R/R | Bakersfield, Calif. (Garces HS) |
| Van Dam, Brandon | 18 | RHP | R/R | Lancaster, Calif. (Quartz Hill HS) |
| Walkley, Korie | 8 | RHP | R/R | Bakersfield, Calif. (Centennial HS) |

## Schedule and results

2009 CSUB Roadrunners baseball game log :
Regular season
#DateOpponentScoreLocationWinLossSaveAttRecord
1February 20Saint Louis7–8Hardt FieldTurmail (1–0)Jannis (0–1)9000–1
2February 21Saint Louis4–2Hardt FieldDraxton (1–0)Sever (0–1)Medina (1)5001–1
3February 21Saint Louis8–4Hardt FieldMontoya (1–0)Buckham (0–1)5002–1
4February 22#30 UC Santa Barbara0–10Hardt FieldHollands (1–0)Jones (0–1)6292–2
5February 22Utah1–12Hardt FieldBudrow (1–0)Jannis (0–2)3652–3
7February 28Utah10–8Hardt FieldKudlock (1–0)Askew (0–1)Medina (2)5143–3
8February 28Utah6–7Hardt FieldStreich (1–0)Medina (0–1)5143–4
9March 9Buffalo6–7Beiden FieldAnderson (2–2)Messmore (0–1)3–5
10March 10Fresno State1–16Beiden FieldBenny (1–1)Draxton (1–1)Morse (1)20173–6
11March 11Portland9–7Beiden FieldMontoya (2–0)Varce (1–3)Valenzuela (1)4–6
13March 12Buffalo10–23Beiden FieldCiesla(1–1)Medina (0–2)4–7
14March 13Fresno State2–3Beiden FieldSprague (2–0)Branske (0–1)Bischoff (1)25754–9
15March 14Portland6–10Beiden FieldBrynteson (1–0)Branske (0–2)4–10
16March 20Cal Poly2–6Baggett StadiumEskew (4–1)Jannis (0–3)10124–11
17March 21Cal Poly3–15Baggett StadiumLeonard (3–0)Draxton (1–2)Radeke (1)10634–12
18March 22Cal Poly2–10Hardt FieldMauldin (3–1)Montoya (2–1)6384–13
19March 23Cal Poly15–18Hardt FieldDeVincenzi (2–0)Jones (0–3)Massingham (2)3984–14
20March 27San Jose State4–8Municipal StadiumBerner (5–0)Jannis (0–4)4014–15
21March 28San Jose State10–13Municipal StadiumPeterson (5–0)Montoya (2–2)5354–16
22March 29San Jose State2–17Municipal StadiumSobczak (4–0)Van Dam (0–1)4204–17
23March 30Saint Mary's1–3Louis Guisto FieldReid (2–3)Draxton (1–3)Berl (4)884–18
24April 1San Francisco4–5Hardt FieldOropeza (1–1)Jones (0–4)Mott (1)2994–19
25April 3Fresno State8–9Beiden FieldKendall (1–0)Jannis (0–5)Sprague (1)19514–20
26April 4Fresno State4–3Beiden FieldMontoya (3–2)Garrison (4–2)20365–20
27April 5Fresno State2–9Beiden FieldSprague (3–0)Draxton (1–4)21585–21
28April 7Fresno State17–12Hardt FieldMessmore (1–1)Bischoff (1–4)7076–21
29April 8Fresno State3–2Hardt FieldMedina (1–2)Escat (0–1)7047–21
30April 9UC Riverside2–10Hardt FieldBargas (4–2)Jannis (0–6)3697–22
31April 10UC Riverside1–6Hardt FieldAndriese (3–1)Montoya (3–3)3477–23
32April 11UC Riverside9–7Hardt FieldMedina (1–2)Dickey (3–3)4938–23
33April 14Cal State Northridge1–3Matador FieldTremlin (4–1)Van Dam (1–1)Slover (4)1378–24
34April 15UC Santa Barbara7–8Caesar Uyesaka StadiumFord (4–3)Draxton (1–5)1268–25
35April 21UC Santa Barbara2–17Hardt FieldMeaux (3–0)Draxton (1–6)3418–26
36April 24Nevada6–7Peccole ParkGraham (2–2)Messmore (1–2)5888–27
37April 25Nevada4–9Peccole ParkGarcia (3–4)Montoya (3–4)6758–28
38April 26Nevada6–13Peccole ParkAchelpohl (4–3)Jannis (0–7)9048–29
39April 28UC Santa Barbara8–6Caesar Uyesaka StadiumMessmore (2–2)Meals (2–2)2039–29
40April 29Loyola Marymount2–13Hardt FieldMcClintick (4–1)Van Dam (0–3)3849–30
41May 5UCLA2–15Jackie Robinson StadiumClaypool (2–1)Montoya (3–5)5319–31
42May 8Nebraska6–9Hawks FieldNesseth (4–4)Medina (2–3)28539–32
43May 9Nebraska10–8Hawks FieldJannis (1–7)Rose (1–3)252710–32
44May 10Nebraska8–7Hawks FieldMontoya (4–5)Yost (1–5)Draxton (1)183211–32 :

## Rankings

The 'Runners have yet to be ranked, and are ineligible for the post season until 2011.

## Awards and honors

Erik Draxton and Jason Kudlock were selected to the All-Independent Academic Team in 2009. Erik Draxton had a 3.42 gpa in Business Administration. Jason Kudlock had a 3.38 gpa in Psychology.

## Major League Baseball Draft

In CSUB's first year of eligible draftees, the first three baseball players in CSUB's short history (2nd year) were selected in the 2010 MLB Draft. Zach Arneson was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 21st round as the 648th pick. Jason Kudlock was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 36th round as the 1096th pick. Finally, Mickey Jannis was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays as the 1331th pick.