TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

It was a day of firsts for CSU Bakersfield's Emily Bliss and Taylor DeSilva.

Bliss capped a 4-for-4 second game of Friday's doubleheader with a game-ending single in the bottom of the seventh, lifting the Roadrunners to an 8-7 win over Cal State Fullerton and a split of a doubleheader that opened CSUB's home softball season.

Fullerton scored four runs in the eighth of the opener to post a 4-1 win.

The Roadrunners (2-5) trailed 7-6 when they batted in the bottom of the seventh of the second game.

Leadoff batter Sara Smith, who had homered earlier, beat out an infield hit to third base but was forced at second when Shay Fryer attempted a sacrifice bunt.

With Fryer at first, Ashley Carter popped out. With CSUB down to its final out, Bree Sandoval's grounder to second baseman Emily Vizcarra was bobbled for an error.

Karissa Veiga singled up the middle to score Fryer with the tying run and bring Bliss to the plate. Bliss had three singles and was hit by a pitch in her first four plate appearances.

Bliss said she doesn't recall having a four-hit game before.

"I knew I was seeing the ball well," Bliss said. "I felt so confident. I knew I was going to get a hit."

Bliss drilled a line drive that sailed over the head of left fielder Leesa Harris and went to the fence. Sandoval scored without a throw.

"It's nice. I had my whole team behind me," Bliss said.

DeSilva, a sophomore who was pitching her first official collegiate game, worked the final three innings and got the win.

A transfer from Pacific, DeSilva said her only previous college pitching appearance was one inning during a fall exhibition when she played at UOP.

She entered the game in the top of the fifth with CSUB leading 6-5.

"I think I was more excited than nervous," she said. "I had a little nerves because I had never done it before. But I felt ready. I wanted to be put in."

Fullerton (3-4) scored twice in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead.

Adriana Martinez beat out a chopper to DeSilva with two outs and Eliza Crawford tied it with a double through the left-center field gap.

CSUB shortstop Fryer took the relay throw and fired to the plate trying to retire Martinez, but the play wasn't close. Crawford took third on the throw and she scored the go-ahead run when Morgan Lemont blooped a single to left. Without the throw home, Crawford would have held second and would not have scored on LeMond's single.

"That's all part of the learning process," CSUB coach Crissy Buck said. "I have a sophomore at shortstop and she was going for the runner at home.

"The greatest thing is it's happening early in the year and we can learn from it. I'll be upset if we're doing that at the end of the year because that means we haven't learned anything."

Fullerton had four errors in the second game, which led to four unearned runs.

In the opener, the game was scoreless through seven innings. The international tie-breaker rule was used in the eighth, where a runner is placed on second base before the inning starts.

Fullerton scored four runs. CSUB pitcher Sarah Hoag, who had thrown very well up to that point, issued a walk and hit a batter after a sacrifice that loaded the bases.

An RBI single drove in one run and the Titans scored two more on Jena Rubio's perfectly placed suicide squeeze bunt. A sacrifice fly added an insurance run.

"They had a sour taste in their mouth after the loss and they knew they gave Fullerton that win," Buck said. "They froze up and we didn't play our game."

CSUB next plays in a doubleheader at San Jose State next Friday.