COLLEGE ROUNDUP, Nov. 16-22: Last hurrahs
Nov. 23—Even if their year hasn't gone according to plan, outgoing seniors always have a chance to make their mark in the closing matches of a college sports season.
Cal State Bakersfield's class of 2023 will hope to leave it all out on the court this weekend. A group of six volleyball standouts — from longtime impact players like Hana Makonova and Hayley McCluskey to recent transfers Laura De Pra and Emma Erteltova — have an opportunity to set the rest of the 7-23 campaign aside and make an indelible impression in their final games as Roadrunners.
In CSUB's last two fall collegiate sporting events of the year, the Roadrunners will host UC San Diego Friday and UC Irvine Saturday. Here's more on how the fall season has been drawing to a close.
Bakersfield College
Cross-country: The men's and women's teams finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at the state championships in Fresno Saturday, with Francisco Felix, Jacob Yagers and Crystal Raya earning All-American honors for their team-leading performances.
Men's basketball: BC trailed by 15 at Moorpark with just under two minutes left, but used a series of 3-pointers to get as close as 76-73 before the Raiders' Jack Benyshek added one key free throw with 10 seconds left. In the end, the Renegades suffered their third close loss of the year, falling to 1-3 entering Wednesday's home clash with West Hills Coalinga.
Men's soccer: A pair of Victor Melendez saves and a game-winning penalty by Luis Martinez gave the Renegades a first-round shootout win over San Bernardino Valley, but the conference champions' season came to an end in Norwalk Saturday with a loss to Cerritos. The top-ranked Falcons scored early with Raul Ortiz and doubled their lead through Uriel Sanchez to take down BC 2-0 and bring its playoff run to a close.
Volleyball: BC looked to be in good form as it swept its first-round playoff match against El Camino Saturday behind 11 kills each from Aubree Dees and Tori Robertson, but the Renegades, who have struggled on the road most of the year, couldn't hold up against second-seed Irvine Valley Tuesday night. The Lasers' Tessa Marocco tallied 18 kills in a 3-1 win to bring BC's season to a close.
Women's basketball: A challenging start to the season got much tougher when Cypress came into the Gil Bishop Sports Center Friday and dropped a 40-point loss on the Renegades behind 30 points from point guard Ashley Hawkins. But BC shook off that result to improve to 3-5 Tuesday night, using a late surge of 16 points from Elise Enriquez to down winless Cuesta 51-39.
Women's soccer: Past success against Santa Monica fell by the wayside on Nov. 16, as the conference-foe Corsairs bounced BC from the playoffs in the first round behind a 12th-minute Sophie Doumitt goal.
Wrestling: BC's dual-meet record took a hit with a loss to Fresno on Nov. 16, as the Rams took seven of 10 bouts, but the Renegades bounced back Thursday with a solid showing at the ELAC Brawl in Monterey Park. Benjamin Combs at 141, James Juarez at 149 and Carlos Martinez at 157 each secured third-place finishes.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Men's basketball is the only BC sports team with any games on the schedule until wrestling returns Dec. 3.
Cal State Bakersfield
Men's basketball: The Roadrunners found some early-season rhythm for a pair of wins away from home, 52-43 over Idaho on Nov. 16 and 73-63 over Texas A&M—Corpus Christi Tuesday night. While high-scoring guard Kaleb Higgins posted great showings in both games, the highlight performance came from transfer forward Modestas Kancleris, who helped CSUB down the Islanders with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double (plus four blocks). The Roadrunners improved to 3-1 with two games left to play at their multi-team event in El Paso.
Volleyball: CSUB simply couldn't get its offense going on the road at Hawaii Sunday, falling 3-0 with a negative hitting percentage on the night. The Roadrunners have two final chances at redemption in the Icardo Center against conference foes Friday and Saturday.
Women's basketball: The ups and downs of a young team were on full display Sunday in Las Vegas, as CSUB's first game after an encouraging road win over Fresno State was a 74-42 loss to UNLV. In a pattern reminiscent of last season, the Roadrunners were outscored 22-3 in the second quarter and never recovered, falling to 1-2 with a home matchup against Fresno Pacific this coming Sunday. The Division II Sunbirds' roster includes former Roadrunner Aaliyah Seuell.
Wrestling: CSUB hosted the Roadrunner Open Sunday and came away with a 4-1 second-place effort by Angelo Martinoni at 141 and a third-place result from Eddie Flores at 125, with more work to do leading up to its third event of the season, the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas beginning Dec. 2.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Former Roadrunner baseball player Darius Vines was added to the Atlanta Braves' 40-man roster ... Softball signed center fielder Alina Guerrero from Pico Rivera-El Rancho ... the swimming and diving teams return to action in Princeton, N.J. Wednesday.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
