COLLEGE ROUNDUP, Jan. 12-18: How will teams respond after long layoffs?
Jan. 19—Developing a routine is a critical element in any sports team's success. Teams rely on consistent practice is to reinforce existing skills and develop new ones on an incremental basis. When that foundation collapses, it can set players back dramatically.
When the Cal State Bakersfield men's basketball team was forced to cancel four games due to COVID-19, it also missed a week and a half of practices heading into Saturday's game against UC Riverside. Even teams that are able to stay healthy are constantly forced to adapt their schedules when their opponents cannot.
This past week, many local teams found themselves picking up the pieces after weeks of disruptions. Some returned to play and looked like they hadn't missed a beat. Here's more on the sports action around Bakersfield last week.
Bakersfield College
Baseball: BC baseball scrimmaged Reedley Tuesday, and will do so again Thursday; but the real news, as the Renegades prepare to open their season Jan. 27, was the impending retirement of 27-year head coach Tim Painton. This will be Painton's final year with the Renegades after more than 600 wins and 250 players sent to four-year schools, as he announced at BC's media day last Thursday. It'll be up to the Renegade players to make his farewell tour a special one.
Women's basketball: The Renegades have won three straight games to open conference play after a three-week layoff in late December. BC finds itself ranked eighth in the state's South Region after knocking off previous No. 8 Glendale 56-53 Wednesday with a string of late free throws. It was a gritty all-around effort that featured no Renegade in double digits in any major statistical category. On Saturday, BC caught fire in the third quarter and surpassed a troublesome Antelope Valley squad, holding for a 67-59 win to advance to 14-2 overall. Kathleen Rodriguez had 14 points and 17 rebounds in her return to action, which was also BC's first home game since Dec. 10. The Renegades host LA Valley Saturday.
Miscellanous and looking ahead: With its last three games postponed, the men's basketball team returned to action at West LA Wednesday night after a two-week absence, and will face LA Valley Saturday at home ... Softball has a home scrimmage against El Camino Thursday in the lead-up to its Jan. 28 opener against Mt. SAC ... Reggie Bolton was officially named the school's permanent athletic director after serving on an interim basis since 2020.
Cal State Bakersfield
Men's basketball: In their return to the court after a two-week absence, the Roadrunners suffered an agonizing home loss against UC Riverside. Justin Edler-Davis hit a jumper to put CSUB up 64-63 with 21 seconds left, but was called for a defensive foul at the other end trying to go through a screen. The Highlanders' Dominick Pickett hit two free throws to send the Roadrunners home with a loss. They came back Tuesday, however, and overcame a slow shooting start to down Cal Poly 73-60 for their first Big West win. Now 6-6, 1-2 in conference, they host Hawaii on Thursday.
Swimming and diving: Fresno Pacific, which was slated to send its men's and women's teams down to CSUB, had to postpone, meaning the men's team has missed out on three straight dual meets. No new date has been announced. Pepperdine's women's team still made the trip up to Bakersfield, however, and the Roadrunners pulled out a 156-108 win to improve to 3-1 in duals, led by Autumn D'Arcy, who set the school's Division I record for career wins at 62, particularly impressive given that CSUB did not compete last season due to COVID-19.
Women's basketball: The Roadrunners have struggled to return to the court, with Cal Poly most recently canceling Tuesday's game. But after playing just one game in five weeks, CSUB will play two in Hawaii this week on Thursday and Saturday.
Wrestling: While CSUB has endured a challenging early-season stretch against some of the top wrestlers in the country, including a 44-0 loss to No. 8 Iowa State on Jan. 12, coach Luke Smith got his first dual win Sunday when the Roadrunners defeated American 35-6. It was punctuated by heavyweight Jacob Sieder's first pin of the season at 285, and featured resounding 17-0 victories for Angelo Martinoni at 141 and Josh Loomer at 197. The win came as part of a four-way meet in Mount Pleasant, Mich., in which CSUB lost to Central Michigan and Campbell, but pulled off the one win to improve its dual record to 1-6 on the season. The Roadrunners will finally open Pac-12 play at home Sunday against Arizona State.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Stephon Marcano, the redshirt sophomore defender who started 12 games for CSUB last season, earned a call-up to the Trinidad and Tobago national soccer team for a friendly at Bolivia Friday ... Track and field is set to start its season in Flagstaff, Ariz., Friday, and also signed Anna Lensment for next year ... The women's soccer team hired Jodi Grant, a longtime member of the coaching staff at Memphis who also volunteered with CSUB's team in 2018, as an assistant. She is the wife of men's soccer coach Richie Grant ... The team also signed transfers Alani Mexia and Penny Smith.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
