COLLEGE ROUNDUP, Sept. 28-Oct. 4: Can it really be basketball season already?

Henry Greenstein, The Bakersfield Californian
Updated ·3 min read

Oct. 5—The calendar turned to October this past week, and suddenly the telltale squeaking of shoes on hardwood floors became audible in the distance.

Yes, basketball is returning to Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield this month — and with it comes a slew of other winter sports, of course, but basketball will be the first to make its return to Kern County, as the Renegade men host Cerro Coso on Oct. 14. The BC women's team begins play a week later, and will be back in the Gil Bishop Sports Center to begin November.

CSUB also unveiled its full men's basketball schedule Wednesday, which begins at the Icardo Center with the Blue-Gold Scrimmage Oct. 25.

And as if all that wasn't enough, fall sports teams are only now getting into the heart of their schedules. Here's more on how they fared over the last week.

Bakersfield College

Cross-country: Last Friday was a banner day for the Renegades at LA Pierce, as both the men's and women's cross-country teams took first place in the Western State Conference Preview meet. Each team had a pair of top-five finishers, including some familiar winners in Francisco Felix and Rain Gomez, along with Jacob Yagers (third place for the men) and Crystal Raya (fourth place for the women). The WSC championship is already around the corner, beginning Oct. 21 at Moorpark.

Football: After disappointing home losses to Golden West and Mt. San Antonio, BC needed to get back on track before the start of league play. The Renegades did just that Saturday in a rout of San Bernardino Valley, posting their highest point total in 26 years and cruising to a 69-20 victory to improve to 2-3 on the year. BC showcased a balanced offense, with key contributions from running backs Jordan Norwood and Jaron Amos, who had one rushing touchdown each. The Renegades will be back on the field at Canyons for a rare Thursday night game on Oct. 13.

Men's soccer: BC had a chance to bounce back after a week of rest but instead dropped its third straight home game to Santa Monica 3-2 to fall to 3-5-3, with the Corsairs' second-half surge countering a first-minute strike by Colin Uzih. It doesn't get any easier for the Renegades, now 3-5-3, as they travel to face highly touted Oxnard on Friday.

Volleyball: Playing consecutive road games for the first time this season, BC took a pair of losses to open conference play at Santa Monica and Canyons. The Renegades took the Corsairs to five sets on Sept. 28, led by 13 kills from Kami Marion, but lost 15-12, and then were swept by the Cougars just two days later. That dropped BC's record to 4-7 overall entering Wednesday's home matchup with Glendale.

Women's soccer: BC entered conference play with an unbeaten record but saw that derailed by a pair of three-goal losses to Antelope Valley on Sept. 27 and Citrus on Friday. The Renegade defense bounced back in a home match Tuesday against Santa Monica, keeping a clean sheet as Karla Esqueda Cardona capitalized on a late back-pass blunder to score the lone goal for BC. A tough foe awaits Friday as the Renegades, now 6-2-2, host Canyons.