COLLEGE ROUNDUP, April 22-28: Sprinting to the finish line
Apr. 29—It's officially championship season again.
At Bakersfield College, track and field, swimming and men's golf are already well into postseason conference and regional competition, while the high-flying softball squad awaits its first playoff opponent.
Cal State Bakersfield is on a different athletic calendar, but its beach volleyball team is already facing the best of the Big West at Cal Poly this weekend.
We're heading into the climax of the sports calendar before college athletics go into hibernation (or is it estivation?) for the summer.
Bakersfield College
Baseball: The Renegades have picked up the pace after suffering a 10-game losing streak at midseason, but have still struggled with inconsistent pitching. With a devoted group of alumni in attendance last Saturday for a series decider against West LA, Wildcats pitcher Alexander Galvan tossed a complete game and George Eaves posted four key hits as BC lost 4-3. The Renegades dropped a high-scoring 10-9 result Tuesday at Canyons despite a heroic two-home run effort late in the game from Xabi Iparraguirre. But for coach Tim Painton's last home game Thursday afternoon, BC managed a hard-fought win, with starter Brock Barron allowing just one earned run in six innings and Jose Ruiz launching a go-ahead single late to give the Renegades a 4-3 victory and move them to 12-27 entering their last game of the year Friday.
Men's golf: BC missed out on postseason play by the narrowest of margins, after trailing Citrus by a single stroke at the conference championship in Solvang. Blake Keesey was named first-team all-conference and will compete as an individual in the regional playoffs, as will teammate Octavio Romero.
Softball: It was business as usual for the Renegades last Saturday as they picked up a pair of 8-0 run-rule victories against Southwestern and Allan Hancock, with coach Casey Goodman moving to 101 career wins with BC. Rylee Price concluded a red-hot four-game stretch in which she went 10-for-13 with three home runs and 10 RBIs and received player of the week honors from the state coaches association. BC concluded its regular season at 34-6 and will await its first playoff opponent.
Swimming: The men's and women's teams each finished second at their conference championships at Cuesta, with Emma Jeffries, Reiley Pike and Enrique Preciado taking home individual wins and the women also picking up a pair of relay victories over the course of the three-day event. The Renegades will look ahead to the state championships at East LA beginning Thursday.
Track and field: BC entered the Western State Conference prelims April 22 with the goal of qualifying as many athletes as possible for the SoCal Championships in Moorpark. Tearra Haney, Francisco Felix, Zaila Clark, Tucker Monaco, Roland Gandy and Demetrius Morgan each made the cut for the championships, with Haney winning the hammer throw. A slew of other Renegades met the requirements for Friday's conference competition in Santa Monica, providing another chance to qualify for regionals.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Beach volleyball dropped a pair of matches in Santa Monica entering the conference playoffs in Ventura this weekend ... Four men's basketball players committed to their next schools: Tony Counts and Deandre Pemberton to Northern New Mexico, Saintfilson Vincent to Bethany (Kan.) and Joshua Lewis to Jarvis Christian.
Cal State Bakersfield
Baseball: CSUB lost its second straight Big West Conference series, this time at home against UC San Diego. The Roadrunners posted a narrow 4-3 result on April 22 behind a 3-for-4, three-RBI day from A.J. Miller and several shutout innings in relief by Ryan Verdugo. However, the CSUB bullpen gave up leads each of the following two days en route to 6-3 and 9-5 losses, dropping the Roadrunners to 15-22 entering their weekend series at CSUN.
Beach volleyball: In its last tune-up before the Big West championship this weekend, CSUB lost to Long Beach State but beat Cal State LA, with four pairs winning one match apiece. The Roadrunners started their tournament Friday in a hole after an early 4-1 loss to UC Davis, with Cameron Solberg and Milica Vukobrat picking up the lone win at No. 1.
Softball: The Roadrunners were swept in Hawaii. They were unable to lock down a high-powered Rainbow Wahine offense and allowed 25 runs in just 16 innings last weekend. The Curran sisters combined for six hits in their home state, but it wasn't enough to offset the struggles of all three CSUB pitchers. At 8-28, CSUB will look for its second conference series win of the year at home against CSUN beginning Saturday.
Track and field: Despite struggling with the elements in San Luis Obispo, the Roadrunners picked up four wins at the Mustang Invitational: Miranda Miller in the pole vault (her seventh of the year), Mariah LeSure in the 100 meters, Riley Slayton in the 400-meter hurdles and Jacob Whitby in the hammer throw for his first win of the year. The Roadrunners are in action at Fresno State through Saturday.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Men's basketball signed Modestas Kancleris, a transfer from Creighton ... men's soccer held a friendly with the Ventura County Fusion Friday night ... women's soccer hosted an exhibition against Fresno City College last weekend and travels to UC Santa Barbara Saturday.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
