Last holdouts getting underway
By the end of this week, nearly every local college sports team will have begun competition for the 2022-23 season.
A couple of the final holdouts, Cal State Bakersfield baseball and outdoor track and field, begin their seasons Friday. Bakersfield College now has all its sports in action after the first swim meet last week.
All that’s left is CSUB beach volleyball, which still has another week of preparation remaining before the Barnes Beach Complex ‘Runner Invite on Feb. 24.
Now that everyone’s in action, there are plenty of results to report.
BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE Baseball:
Entering the week as one of the hottest teams in town, BC baseball saw its early momentum come to a halt. After a 7-4 win to open its home series against El Camino, the Renegades dropped three straight, including a 7-3 dud in the series decider with the Warriors Saturday, then a 5-4 loss at Taft in which the typically solid bullpen allowed a go-ahead Izzy Halton grand slam in the eighth inning. BC fell to 5-4 and travels to Allan Hancock Thursday.
Men’s basketball: Still without star forward Rahmel Davis, BC played its third overtime game of the season Feb. 8 at Glendale. Ipreye Egbe turned in a 23-point showing, but the Renegades were outscored 10-2 in the extra period and lost 75-67. Then, in a low-scoring slugfest in Lancaster, BC fell 56-52 to Antelope Valley, missing four straight shots in a crucial stretch late and dropping to 11-15 entering Wednesday night’s matchup with Santa Monica.
Softball: BC continued its unpredictable start to the season. Just two
days after she allowed eight earned runs in six innings to Allan Hancock, Ryleigh Harrison returned to the circle last Thursday and shut out unbeaten state No. 5 Cypress on the road as the Renegades claimed a 2-0 win. They then split a doubleheader with last year’s playoff opponent El Camino on Saturday before piling on 12 runs in the conference opener Tuesday at Antelope Valley. That 3-1 week was good enough to move BC up to No. 8 in the state despite a 5-5 record.
Track and field: The Renegades hosted the Battle of the Regions at Memorial Stadium on Friday and turned in a number of excellent performances. Thrower Tearra Haney took home a quartet of wins in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin. Crystal Raya, Olivia Ontiveros and Neshara Smith took first place in the 1,500 meters, 3,000 steeplechase and 100meter hurdles, respectively. The men’s team placed first overall and saw Malik Bolton (400 meters), Francisco Felix (3,000 meters) and Edgar Merlos (3,000 steeplechase) all claim individual victories, along with the 4x400 relay group. The Renegades will be back in action this Friday in Ventura.
Women’s basketball: Despite a team-high 19 points in each game from Elise Enriquez, the Renegades dropped a pair of conference road games to Glendale and Antelope Valley, bringing their record to 7-20 on the year. BC closes its season Friday with one final game at LA Valley.
Women’s tennis: Marc Gomez’s group has strung together a quiet fourmatch winning streak to improve to 4-2, beating Antelope Valley 8-1 in its lone road contest of the year so far before coming back home to sweep Porterville and top Ventura 6-3. The Renegades will hope to continue their momentum Thursday at home against Santa Monica.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: BC beach volleyball dropped a 3-2 decision to Mira Costa and was swept by host El Camino last Friday, falling to 0-4 on the year ... men’s golf competed in Oxnard Monday ... men’s tennis beat Orange Coast 6-3 as part of a three-match week
... swimming opened its season Friday in Ventura, with Enrique Preciado claiming the Renegades’ lone win in the men’s 200 individual medley, and will be back at home next week.
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD Men’s basketball:A
sudden 3-pointer barrage against CSUN’s zone allowed CSUB to jump out to a quick double-digit
lead over the Matadors last Thursday, and the Roadrunners extended their winning streak to three with a 73-58 win. They didn’t have the same luck against the zone Saturday versus Long Beach State, but still got five double-digit scoring performances out of their starting lineup. However, after cutting their deficit to three points with six minutes left, they conceded a brisk 11-2 run and lost, snapping a three-game winning streak. That put CSUB at 9-16 ahead of its Wednesday night game at last-place Cal Poly.
Softball: The Dan Sperl era opened with a pair of run-rule losses against quality Utah State and UCLA squads Friday, but CSUB nearly upset the Aggies in their rematch the next day. New Mexico transfer Brianna Sanchez allowed one earned run in more than eight innings as Utah State dragged the Roadrunners into extras with a one-out single in the seventh. The teams traded runs in the eighth before the Aggies, with a runner placed on second, escaped on a ninth-inning walkoff. In all, CSUB took five losses on the weekend and returns to the diamond Friday against Montana at UNLV.
Women’s basketball: The Roadrunners’ chances of earning a top-six seed in the Big West tournament took a hit this past week as they lost 69-60 at fellow bottom-four competitor CSUN last Thursday, after allowing 43 points in the first half. They had to go on the road to face a topnotch Long Beach State squad two days later and played one of their best first halves of the season, taking a 36-25 lead at the break, but were outscored 19-4 in the fourth quarter and dropped that game too, falling to 6-16 on the season ahead of Wednesday night’s Cal Poly rematch.
Wrestling: The injuryand illness-depleted CSUB squad lost 43-0 to No. 24 Stanford Friday night, then 23-17 to Cal Baptist Sunday in a close nonconference match.
The Roadrunners led by one point with three weight classes to go following Albert Urias’ 3-1 decision at 174, but the Lancers promptly sealed the deal with a major decision and a pin. CSUB has lost seven straight duals to drop to 1-10 and will look for one more win at Arizona State Thursday.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Softball signed BC’s Rylee Price
... Swimming and diving opened the conference championships Wednesday night in St. George, Utah.