COLLEGE ROUNDUP, Sept. 21-27: Road warriors
Sep. 28—For as big of a deal as the sports world makes of home-field advantage, some squads are just better suited to go out on the road. These are the ones that rise to the challenge of proving their worth in unfamiliar environments.
More and more teams at Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield are beginning to fit that description. The BC men's soccer team is unbeaten on the road and 2-4 at home. The Renegade wrestlers won't be back competing at BC until November but are proving their worth all across the state. CSUB volleyball took three wins from its brutal preseason schedule and still hasn't gotten one in the Icardo Center.
Perhaps home and away records will even out as the season goes on, but for now plenty of local athletes are defying expectations in this regard
Bakersfield College
Cross-country: Both the men's and women's teams posted strong second-place finishes at a home event last Friday at Kern County Soccer Park. The teams each had one third-place individual finisher: Francisco Felix (four miles in 20:35) and Rain Gomez (a 5K in 19:08). The Renegades will race next at LA Mission on Friday.
Football: A date with Mt. San Antonio meant a chance to make some noise with a big upset, but after a promising first half BC suffered its third straight loss by a 28-10 margin. Despite a strong defensive showing, the Renegades managed just 68 yards in the second half, the majority on a single drive. They'll look to get those issues sorted out on the road at winless San Bernardino Valley Saturday.
Men's soccer: The Renegades took a pair of brutal home losses to high-ranked rivals in Fresno and El Camino. Against the Rams on Friday, BC allowed a go-ahead goal to Alan Gutierrez shortly after halftime before an aggressive second half that featured one red card for each team and three combined yellows. BC managed just five shots on the day. The El Camino game Tuesday was less close, with the Warriors surging ahead on immediate Carson Nguyen and Ty Kerns goals for a lead they would not relinquish in a 4-1 victory. It doesn't get much easier for BC, now 3-4-3, as it hosts Santa Monica Tuesday.
Volleyball: BC split a pair of final nonconference games heading into the Western State Conference opener Wednesday night at division leaders Santa Monica. The Renegades were swept at Ventura on Sept. 21 behind 24 kills on a .606 hitting percentage from Kayla Murdoch, but bounced back just two days later for a gritty five-set home win over Santa Barbara. Alexandra Johnson posted another triple-double for a team that has suddenly started stuffing the stat sheet, and helped elevate BC to 4-5.
Women's soccer: A five-game homestand ended on a down note for the previously unbeaten Renegades, who rallied to tie Ventura 2-2 on late second-half goals from Crystal Ramos Rosales and Olga Amador, but then fell decisively to conference rivals Antelope Valley Tuesday. Ramos Rosales struck first with a pretty backheel goal, but the Marauders' Emily Serrano equalized immediately and Antelope Valley pulled away after the half for a 4-1 win. That result dropped BC to 5-1-2 on the year with just a few days to prepare for Friday's road conference clash with Citrus.
Wrestling: Heavyweight Corbin Hayes made a statement with an unbeaten championship run at the West Hills Tournament in Lemoore Saturday to help lead the Renegades to a ninth-place finish out of 20 teams. Carson McElroy at 133 and Richard Garcia at 174 added 4-2 marks each. The BC wrestlers returned to the mat for a dual at East Los Angeles as their six-week road swing continues.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: BC is hosting a media day on Oct. 6 in advance of the men's team's season-opening scrimmage on Oct. 8 ... Women's golf, which came in second place on Monday in Simi Valley, has a week off before returning to action at Morro Bay Golf Course on Oct. 9.
Cal State Bakersfield
Men's soccer: CSUB posted a solid showing at unbeaten No. 14 Portland for its final nonconference tuneup on Friday, drawing within a goal on a Carlos Armendariz strike off a corner kick but falling 2-1 after a scoreless second half. The Roadrunners then lost 1-0 at home to Sacramento State after an early goal by Cody Sundquist caught them by surprise, and will return to action at Fullerton Saturday.
Women's golf: Another tournament meant another freshman standout for the Roadrunners. This time it was Iris Han, the Stockdale alumna, whose 2-under 70 to open the Eagle Invitational in Spokane, Wash., was tied for CSUB's best round ever. The team as a whole posted one of its top all-time scores on the way to a fourth-place finish after the first day, but slowed its pace and fell to eighth of nine teams by the end of the second round. Still, Han set a school record with a 54-hole 4-over 220 and CSUB totaled 921, its second-best result of all time. The team will get another chance to elevate its performance in Las Cruces, N.M. beginning Monday.
Women's soccer: The Roadrunners opened their road swing on a poor note with a 3-0 loss at Long Beach State last Thursday, but stepped up their game as Hollee Hercik posted six saves in a scoreless draw at UC Irvine. Though the Anteaters outshot CSUB 19-6, the result showed demonstrable improvement from last season's 5-0 home loss. The Roadrunners (3-6-2, 1-1-1 Big West) will be back home to host Cal Poly Thursday.
Volleyball: The comforts of home were not kind to CSUB, which suffered two more losses Friday and Saturday to begin its Big West slate. Cal State Fullerton controlled the pace of play throughout, then the Roadrunners managed one early surge against Long Beach State before falling 3-0 in both matches. CSUB, which fell to 3-11 overall, will hope for more success back out on the road, beginning at CSUN Friday.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Jeremy Beard's baseball staff added assistants David Tillotson and Brady Corrigan for the 2023 season ... Cross-country is back in action at Pepperdine Saturday.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
