A variety pack of sporting events starts Tuesday
Oct. 30—With playoff action heating and some winter sports starting, there figures to be plenty of choices for area sports fans in the coming weeks.
It all starts Tuesday with the Central Section semifinals for volleyball and girls tennis, along with the opening round of the boys water polo playoffs.
Top-seeded Stockdale will host No. 4 Bakersfield Christian in Division-II volleyball, with the winner advancing to Thursday's title game.
No. 3 Liberty, the South Yosemite River League champions, will travel to play at No. 2 San Luis Obispo in the Division-I semifinals, with No. 3 Centennial playing at No. 2 Exeter in D-II. In Division V, No. 4 Frazier Mountain plays at No. 1 California City. All the action is slated to start at 6 p.m.
Round 3 of an epic matchup between No. 2 Liberty and No. 3 Garces is slated to start at 2 p.m. on the Patriots' tennis courts. Liberty edged the Rams twice during SYRL play, but this time the winner will advance to the Nov. 7 Division I finals.
Chavez and Highland will also play home matches. The No. 5 Titans play No. 8 Coalinga in D-IV, and the No. 5 Scots will play No. 9 Shafter in D-V. No. 10 Foothill travels to No. 6 Dos Palos.
The No. 3 Garces boys water polo team opens the D-II playoffs with a 4:30 p.m. match against No. 14 Bakersfield High at the Salvucci Aquatic Center.
In Division III, No. 6 Centennial will host No. 11 Nipomo in a 6 p.m. match at the KHSD Aquatic Center, while No. 9 Stockdale will be playing at No. 8 Fresno-Central
Both Bakersfield College soccer teams will also be in action for a home doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. The Renegades women's team gets things started at 1:30 p.m. against Canyons, followed by a 4 p.m. men's game against L.A. Pierce.
On Wednesday, the Bakersfield College wrestling team, which has spent much of the season on the road, will host West Hills for a dual meet at 6 p.m., with the BC volleyball team on the road at Santa Monica with a chance to clinch at least a share of the Western State Conference-North title.
The No. 2 Garces girls water polo team will open defense of its Central Section title with a 6 p.m. match against No. 15 Visalia-Golden West. No. 14 Frontier will be on the road at No. 3 Reedley in another D-II contest.
No. 2 Liberty will play No. 15 Lompoc-Cabrillo in D-III, with No. 11 Centennial playing at No. 6 Nipomo and No. 12 Stockdale at No. 5 Santa Ynez.
On Thursday, the section championships for volleyball are scheduled with at least two Kern County teams assured of being in action.
Bakersfield College men's and women's basketball teams open their seasons on Thursday, with the women's team at home for its BC Cross Over Tournament. The Renegades play Reedley at 7 p.m. on Thursday, and then host Ohlone at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The Renegades men's team is playing in the Frank Garcia Classic at Copper Mountain College, with a game Thursday against College of the Desert and then Friday against the host Fighting Cacti.
There's plenty of other sports happening on Friday, but the focus will be squarely on the opening round of the Central Section football playoffs.
Nineteen schools will be in action on Friday night, with seven playing home games. Perhaps the biggest game of the night will be played at storied Griffith Field with No. 8 Bakersfield High (6-4) hosting No. 9 Tehachapi (10-0), which is still working on a perfect season.
Centennial, Bakersfield Christian and Taft will also have home games, along with all three Delano schools, Kennedy, Chavez and Delano High.
Friday is also the opening round of the two-daySouth Area Individual tournament for girls tennis, which serves as a qualifier for the Central Section championships.
The crazy week ends with the Bakersfield College football team hosting College of the Canyons at 6 p.m. on Saturday, setting the stage for much of the same next week when volleyball regionals and girls team tennis finals take centerstage.
Baseball
Stockdale is hosting a Hot Stove Dinner & raffle on Saturday at "The Yard", 13130 Appaloosa Ave.
The cost is $50 for a seat or $500 for a table sponsorship.
A social starts at 5 p.m., with dinner slated for 6.
