COLLEGE ROUNDUP, April 19-25: One week to go
Apr. 26—It's hard to believe, but Bakersfield College is set to host its last regular-season home game of the school year Thursday.
The baseball game with West LA probably won't be the final sporting event at BC this season, period — the softball team looks likely to host a home playoff series beginning May 5, especially if it beats Canyons on Thursday — but it still serves as a stark reminder of the upcoming end of spring sports.
In short, savor this ongoing action in college athletics while you still can.
Bakersfield College
Baseball: After elite performances on the mound and at the plate last Thursday in an 11-1 win over Citrus, the Renegades were unable to complete their first sweep of the season and fell 11-4 to the Owls on the road Saturday, as Kyle Langston and Alex Rodriguez allowed a combined six runs in the eighth inning. BC did bounce back immediately by shutting down West LA 8-1 on the road Tuesday behind a complete game from David Delgadillo, setting up the Renegades, now 16-22, for a chance to claim one last series win back at home Thursday.
Men's golf: Caleb Jameson and Blaize Rader qualified for regional competition on May 8 with third- and fifth-place showings at the conference championships on Monday.
Softball: Antelope Valley beat Canyons 5-0 in Santa Clarita Tuesday, locking BC out of first place in the Western State Conference because the Renegades were swept by the Marauders in two close meetings this season. BC, which split a nonconference doubleheader with Sequoias Friday and run-ruled Glendale Tuesday, can still earn a share of the league title if it matches AVC's feat and beats the Cougars on the road Thursday.
Swimming: Both the men's and women's teams finished in sixth place in their respective WSC championships. Jay Hill was responsible for the two best performances on the men's side, finishing third in the 500 free and 1650 free. Emma Jeffries set a school record in the 50 backstroke on her way to a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke, and was also runner-up in the 200 backstroke the following day. Kristyn Feola also broke her own school record in the 200 fly and will be one of several BC athletes competing at the state championships beginning May 4.
Track and field: The Renegades shone in the WSC Prelims at Antelope Valley. Tearra Haney opened a strong Friday by winning the shot put. Francisco Felix took first in the 10,000 meters, Sean Fry followed suit in the high jump and Neshara Smith won a pair of titles in the long jump and high jump. Four other performances (including Fry in the long jump and Haney in the hammer) were good enough to qualify for SoCal Regionals. Next up on the calendar are the WSC Finals at Moorpark Friday.
Women's wrestling: At the first-ever state women's wrestling championships, Galilea Chavez finished as runner-up and All-American in the 180-pound weight class, as two other Renegades came in sixth place to wrap up BC's first season of the sport.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Beach volleyball lost 5-0 to Santa Barbara on the road ... The individual tennis championships begin Thursday in Ojai ... Crystal Raya, of the cross-country and track teams, signed with Fresno State ... Women's soccer players Myla Chow and Ashley Flores committed to Bushnell, which recently hired former Renegade Halle Meadows as its head coach.
Baseball: CSUB entered last weekend with plenty of momentum following a series win over Cal Poly, but couldn't take any of its three close games on the road at Fullerton and then fell at home to Saint Mary's Tuesday. The Roadrunners dropped to 14-22 (5-13 Big West Conference), despite the hot hitting of Stockdale graduate Jacob Ruley, who is batting 12-for-24 (.500) since entering the starting lineup during the Cal Poly series. They will host UC Irvine for a three-game series beginning Friday.
Beach volleyball: The most successful regular season in program history ended with a decidedly unsuccessful run at the Big West tournament, as the Roadrunners lost back-to-back 4-1 results to Cal Poly and UC Davis and exited on the first day. They finished the season with a 16-10 record.
Softball: The Roadrunners snapped a monthlong losing streak by beating Hawaii 8-5 in their doubleheader opener Saturday, but fell short of taking the series win after Shaylene Fuimaono's seventh-inning drive to left field drifted foul and the Rainbow Wahine won 3-2. The highlight of the weekend for CSUB was the pitching by Reina Castillo and Kirsten Martinez, who combined to allow seven earned runs across 20 innings pitched throughout the series. The Roadrunners, now 7-34, will travel to face CSUN beginning Friday.
Track and field: Miranda Miller earned Big West Field Athlete of the Week honors following her eighth pole-vault victory and best showing of the season at the Mustang Invitational Friday. Riley Slayton finished first in the 400-meter hurdles again, Skyblue Gonzales earned his first collegiate win in the 400 meters and Thomas Richardson and Matthew Garrett came in first and second in the hammer throw. CSUB will travel to Fresno State for its next competition beginning Friday.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Women's basketball officially announced the signings of JUCO transfer center Jordan Brooks and Sacramento State transfer guard Jordan Olivares; Sage Bridges-Bey transferred to San Francisco State ... The National Wrestling Coaches Association named Mateo Morales a Scholar All-American.
Taft College notes: Winding down their season, the Cougars took one of three conference baseball games, falling 6-4 at Reedley and beating West Hills Coalinga 8-5 before taking a 12-7 home loss to Merced ... Taft also hired Stockdale girls soccer coach Lyle Martin to lead its women's soccer program.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
