The Blaze comes into tonight's game winners of four of its last five games. Pitcher Bear Bay started Bakersfield's recent run of good fortune, helping the Blaze beat Visalia 5-2 on Wednesday. In three starts this season, Bay is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA.
Terry Blunt led the Blaze in Sunday's win over Lancaster, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Kendy Batista picked up the win for Bakersfield. He pitched six innings, giving up two runs on three hits. His ERA this season is an impressive 1.96.
I got to the park early Monday and took in batting practice. The Blaze spent extra time on bunting with John Mayberry Jr. putting on a clinic. However, as Bakersfield's cleanup hitter, Mayberry Jr. rarely bunts. I also watched second baseman Micah Furtado complete one of the most impressive double plays I've seen. With his glove hand, he scooped a ball through his right leg, sending it right to shortstop Matt Smith.

Note:
During Friday's game against Lancaster, five laptops were stolen out of the residence of six Bakersfield Blaze players. Sometime between when the players — Micah Furtado, Matt Smith, Freddie Thon, Terry Blunt and Brian Valichka — left for Sam Lynn Ball Park and returned from the game, someone punched out a window screen and broke into the residence shared by six players. John Mayberry Jr. also lives in the house. A police report has been filed.
"All of us lost memories, personal stuff," Furtado said before Monday's game against the JetHawks.

Game update
With one out in the top of the second, the game is scoreless. Neither team has a hit.

Lancaster scores three with two outs
In the third inning, the JetHawks scored three runs on two hits. Aaron Bates picked up an RBI single with two outs and two more runs scored when third baseman Chris Davis dropped a flare to left field that both Davis and shortstop Smith lost in the lights.

Blaze rallies
Bakersfield is proving to be resilent during its recent hot streak. The Blaze scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead. After a throwing error by Lancaster first baseman Zach Daegas in the first inning, the Bakersfield slapped five straight hits, including RBI singles by Smith and Mayberry Jr and RBI doubles by Thomas Berkery and Brian Valichka.

Lancaster answers
The JetHawks hit solo home runs off the sunscreen in center field in the fifth and sixth to take a one-run lead.

One more for the JetHawks
Jay Johnson hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth to put the JetHawks up by two 6-4. The run was the first one given up by Blaze reliever Danny Ray Herrera this season.

Home run No. 6 for Davis
Chris Davis cut Lancaster's lead to 6-5 in the eighth with a deep home run to left field.

Mayberry Jr. comes up big
John Mayberry Jr. is expected to come through in the clutch. So when he stepped to the plate with runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the ninth, his teammates knew he would deliver.
However, I don't think anyone was planning on hit hitting a game-winning three-run home run. It was a blast. It easily cleared the cypress trees in left field.
He was mobbed at home plate and all of a sudden, Bakersfield has won five of six.

I caught up with BC guard Andrew Ready on Saturday during the Western State Conference Track and Field Championships at Memorial Stadium. I asked the sophomore if he had decided where he will play next season and he said he's still weighing his options.
The final choices seem to be Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. and Cal State Bakersfield.
If he does end up staying in town, he will continue to build on the chemistry he's built with Terrence Johns, who signed with the Roadrunners last week. Both guards are from Chicago and developed into leaders at Bakersfield College.
The draw of playing with Johns combined with CSUB's D-I schedule next year brought a smile to the Ready's face, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Blaze manager Carlos Subero said he still doesn't have anything to report on catcher Taylor Teagarden.
Subero hinted that the catcher could return in 7-10 days to serve as Bakersfield's designated hitter, but Subero remains cautious.

After losing nine straight games, Blaze manager Carlos Subero insisted his team would be OK. Well, after back-to-back victories over Visalia, he might be right.
The Blaze's pitching is better — Andrew Walker gave up just three runs in seven innings Thursday. John Mayberry Jr. seems to be improving at the plate — he hit three home runs Thursday — and Bakersfield played error-free baseball in both of the wins.
Lancaster 13-8 comes to Sam Lynn Ball Park tonight riding a four-game win streak. The JetHawks beat San Jose 10-6 Thursday.

Update
Lancaster strikes first
The Blaze fell behind 1-0 in the first inning after an RBI single by Lancaster's Aaron Bates. Blaze right-hander Michael Schlact gave up a double and single to start the game, but settled down to get out of the inning down by just one run.

Lancaster starter Daniel Bard struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning, walking the first two batters and hitting Thursday's hero John Mayberry Jr. However, He got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Lancaster picks up another run in the second
Another inning, another RBI single, this time from Luis Soto. Lancaster is up 2-0 in the second.

Blaze capitalizes on mistakes
The Blaze scored four runs in the second. Bard still can't locate the strike zone, walking three in the inning. Thomas Berkery put Bakersfield on the board, scoring on a wild pitch. Shortstop Matt Smith slapped an RBI single and Micah Furtado put down an RBI sacrifice bunt. Smith scored the fourth run of the inning on a passed ball.

Three one-run innings
For the third straight inning Schlact gave up one run on two hits. The Blaze now leads 4-3 in the bottom of the third.

Bard done early
After his sixth walk, Lancaster manager Chad Epperson pulled Bard. In just 2 2/3 innings, the right-hander gave up just four hits, but he threw three wild pitches, committed an error and hit a batter. Of the six runs he gave up, only three were earned. Through three innings, the Blaze leads 6-3.

Streak stopped
Apparently three innings was enough. After giving up one run in each of the first three innings, Schlact shut down Lancaster in the fourth, giving up just one hit.

Schalct's night over
Michael Schlact was pulled after five innings with a one-run lead. He gave up five runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. The Blaze rewarded his effort by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Blaze is up 10-5 in the bottom of the fifth.

Closing in on three in a row
The Blaze is up 12-7 heading into the top of the ninth, just three outs away from its third straight win.

Here is a release from Cal State Bakersfield on the annual Spring BBQ.
For the first time ever, tickets for the CSUB Spring BBQ goers are available online at www.gorunners.com.
“Roadrunner athletics continues to expand online offerings for fans of their teams and events, and this is one more avenue through which we can make it even easier for fans to join us at this popular event,” CSUB athletics marketing Director Karen Langston said.
The event is May 10 with dinner being served from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Icardo Center.
Advance tickets are on sale now for just $25. For those who prefer to buy tickets in person, they are available at a variety of outlets: Vons, Wells Fargo, Russo’s Books at the Marketplace, Mexicali Restaurants and FoodMaxx.
The cost is $30 at the door.
The 35th annual Spring BBQ is themed “Back to the 70s” in celebration of the first Spring BBQ in 1973. There will be a costume contest for the best 70s outfit, “Hustle” dance lessons and tunes from the 70s performed by Thee Majestics.

The Roadrunners announced Friday that Fabiana Abreu is joining the volleyball program as an assistant coach. Abreu is a native of Brazil, who played for the national team in the late 1990s.
She moved to the U.S. to play for the College of Southern Idaho in 1998 and after two seasons moved on to the University Iowa.
Abreu joins the 'Runners after spending the last five seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburgh, Texas.
Due to space restrictions, the story on Abreu will be in Sunday's paper.

Bakersfield manager Carlos Subero said he should know more about catcher Taylor Teagarden's status Wednesday. After Tuesday's game he said the Rangers are taking precautions with their prize prospect and that he doesn't expect Teagarden to miss the rest of the season.
Teagarden, who missed last season due to a back injury and Tommy John surgery, hit .324 in 10 games. He had two home runs and three doubles.
In other moves, outfielder Jake Blalock was called up to Double-A Frisco. Jorge Vasquez, who pitched just 2/3 of an inning for Bakersfield in Modesto Saturday is also now pitch.
Fan favorite Danny Ray Herrera, a lefty pitcher who earned the nickname "Wiffle" last season, will join the Blaze Wednesday.

The Cal State Bakersfield women’s basketball team released four home dates for next season Monday. The Roadrunners open against the University of San Diego Nov. 9, before playing Houston Nov. 13, San Jose State Dec. 6 and UC Riverside Dec. 9.
All of these games will be played on campus at the Icardo Center.
"It will be exciting for both the team and our fans," Bakersfield coach Tim La Kose said.
One of the schedule’s highlights is Riverside, which is coming off its second straight Big West Conference title. Considering the 'Runners want to join the conference, it is yet another chance to make a statement. Bakersfield beat the lone Big West team it played this year, claiming a 69-61 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
"We've had a lot of success against Big West teams and, right now, (Riverside) is the best,"  La Kose said.
The Roadrunners played Houston and San Diego on the road this season, falling to the Toreros 66-63 and the Cougars 78-66.
For La Kose, the best news is that his team will finally play a Division I game at home.
"This is something we've been working toward," La Kose said.

The Cal State Bakersfield coaching staff spent a lot of time at Bakersfield College games this year. If the Renegades were playing and the Roadrunners were in town, a member of the staff was at the game.
Considering BC had the top team in the state for much of the year, it made sense for the 'Runners' staff to be there.
It also makes sense that the 'Gades' top player is staying in town next year. After signing with CSUB earlier this week, Terrence Johns provides the' Runners with an explosive scorer who can keep the team in D-I games next year. He is the kind of player who will stretch the floor for CSUB's promising young big man Cory Brown, who redshirted this season.
Johns' 41.2 shooting percentage from the 3-point line will create space for Trent Blakley to slice through the paint. Johns' ability to run the floor and handle the ball will help in the development of point guard Donovan Bragg,
In his two years at BC, Johns grew into one of the top junior college players in the state. He immediately brings a Division I-caliber scorer and experience to a team that needs both with the losses of seniors like Dwuan Rice and Zeke Andrews.
If he hits outside shots next season at a similar rate to the one recently completed, Johns should step right into the starting lineup.

Cal State Bakersfield's soccer match against UC Santa Barbara, the NCAA Division I national champions, is about more than soccer. It's an opportunity for the Roadrunners to give something back to the community, or in this instance, one man.
CSUB men's soccer coach Simon Tobin told me that a portion of the proceeds, will be given to Roger Clark, a 50-year-old husband and father who is battling liver cancer.
It's a good cause and it should be a fun game to watch. It doesn't get much better than the NCAA champions.
Californian columnist Herb Benham recently wrote a column on Clark. If you haven't read it, here it is. http://www.bakersfield.com/...

The Blaze’s game against the Modesto Nuts Sunday was postponed due to rain. The game will be made up April 21 in Modesto. The two teams will play a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games starting at 5:05 p.m.
The two teams played through a drizzle Saturday night, with the Blaze coming away with an 11-2 win. Modesto (5-5) won two out of the three games in the series.
Rain also dampened last season’s opening weekend when the Blaze’s home opener was postponed due to inclement weather.
The Blaze next plays at Sam Lynn Ball Park Tuesday against Stockton at 7:15 p.m. in the first game of a three-game series. The Blaze then heads back out on the road to Modesto.

Here is a press release from Cal State Bakersfield on the upcoming soccer match between CSUB and UC Santa Barbara. It's a pretty cool event and should provide a good measuring stick for the Roadrunners in their move to Division I.
Tickets are now on sale for the spring showdown featuring Cal State Bakersfield and current NCAA Division I champion UC Santa Barbara which will be held at the Main Soccer Field next Friday at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 654-BLUE. Premium Goal Club seats are $15 in the charity match with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. Adult general admission tickets are $10 and youths 17 and under are $5. Season tickets are also on sale for the 2007 season, and fans who purchase season tickets will receive free admission to the UCSB game.
The game is just another in a long series of exhibitions played by the Roadrunner soccer program to benefit charities, and few opponents could be more exciting for local fans to come and watch than the current national champions.
“Over the past 20 years, the men’s soccer program has raised a considerable amount of money for charity,” Tobin said. “We are honored that UCSB as reigning Division I national champions have agreed to play an exhibition game at CSUB.”
The Gauchos entered the 2006 NCAA Soccer Tournament unseeded but ran through the postseason recording wins over San Diego State, SMU, Old Dominion and Northwestern to reach the NCAA Final Four. UCSB advanced to the national championship game on penalty kicks over Wake Forest after a 0-0 draw, and completed the run to the national title with a 2-1 regulation win over UCLA in the championship game.
Bakersfield finished the 2006 season with a 13-5-2 record and would have easily qualified for the NCAA Division II Far West Regionals if it weren’t for the fact that the Roadrunners were in their first year of NCAA Division I play.
“I believe that CSUB would have been one of the top Division II programs in the country in 2006,” Tobin said. “As the program moves to Division I status, this match will give an indication as to how far we need to improve to be among the best in the country.”
In 1998, Bakersfield hosted UCLA at the Main Soccer Field in the spring following the Bruins winning the NCAA Division I national title and the Roadrunners winning the NCAA Division II title. The match, which drew 1,362 fans despite miserable rainy weather, ended in a 1-1 draw.
The crowd was the third-largest to watch a Roadrunner soccer match and also benefited the American Cancer Society.

It's less than half an hour till first pitch and the Blaze is looking to get its first home victory. Ronald Bay gets the start for Bakersfield. The 6-foot-2 160-pound right-hander is making his Blaze debut. The 23-year-old was drafted by the Cubs in the 25th round of the 2002 draft and spent last season in the Cleveland Indians' organization spending most of his time at Double-A Akron. He went 7-8 in 27 appearances — 19 starts — and had a 4.33 ERA.
The Blaze made yet another move, bringing in pitcher Ryan Knippschild from Double-A Frisco, Texas. Knippschild pitched in one game for the RoughRiders this season, going 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA.
Check back for in-game updates.

The Blaze made a few moves that I couldn't fit into my game story Friday night. First, the Blaze will have a new starting pitcher for Saturday's game against Modesto. Ronald Bay will join the team and Kevin Altman is heading down to extended spring training.
Also, Johany Abreu is going to miss the next 14 days with a groin injury. The infielder left the game in the second and was replaced by Micah Furtado. Thomas Berkery is coming up from Clinton to join the Blaze while Abreu is out. Berkery was 1-for-4 in two games with Clinton.

The Blaze just started the second game of a four-game homestand with Modesto. I'll be posting live updates throughout the game.
Keith Ramsey gets the start for Bakersfield. The lefty is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA.
After an error by Johany Abreu to open the game, Dexter Folwer was picked off and caught in a rundown. Eric Young grounded out to shortstop and Chris Nelson flew out to left field to end the inning.
In an interesting lineup move, Terry Blunt moves from center field to first base.

One of the few bright spots in last year's Blaze season was Eric Hurley. The 6-foot-4 right-hander continued the club's recent streak of solid starting pitching. He spent a bulk of the season pitching for the Blaze, honing a few other pitches to go with a blazing fastball.
This year, Hurley started in Double-A Frisco. In two starts he's 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. He has 10 strikeouts in 11 inning and, after John Danks was traded to the White Sox, he is now the Rangers' top prospect.
Don't expect him to be in Double-A long.
Last season, Hurley went 5-6 in 18 starts for Bakersfield. He had a 4.11 ERA and struck out 106 batters in 100.2 innings.

I spoke with Blaze owner D.G. Elmore before Thursday's home opener and he seemed thrilled with this year's team.
In the offseason the club put in a batting cage and tried to spruce up the clubhouse to make Sam Lynn more comfortable for players. The Rangers showed their appreciation by sending the Blaze some of the top position players in Texas' system.
From John Mayberry Jr. in right field to Taylor Teagarden behind the plate, there is certainly some talent on this team, even if their record is just 3-5 to open the season. Remember, the Blaze lost its first five games to open last season.
I also asked Elmore about any new stadium plans and he said that, despite regular talks with Cal State Bakersfield and the city of Bakersfield no significant progress has been made for a facility to be used by both the Blaze and the Roadrunners.
He hasn't lost hope yet, though, and smile on his face showed he's just excited baseball season is back.

Well, the results were less than impressive to start the season, but it's still better than starting the season 0-5 as the Blaze did last season.
Through seven games, Bakersfield is 3-4. The team started 2-0 and then struggled, limping back to Sam Lynn Ball Park after a 13-4 loss to Stockton last night.
I've been looking over the box scores and here's what I've noticed so far. People seem to want bad news to come first, so here goes.
In his second start of the season Edinson Volquez struggled mightily. The No. 3-rated prospect in the Rangers' system according to Baseball America gave up eight runs on just three hits in four innings. He walked six and gave up a pair of home runs. Volquez's stay in Bakersfield is supposed to be brief — a time for the right-hander to work on his control — but Wednesday's outing didn't help much.
The worst part of the outing was the first inning. He got the first two outs with the Blaze up 2-0, then walked the bases loaded and gave up a grand slam to Nick Blasi.
I'll stop the bad news there.
Here's the good news. The Blaze are in the upper half of the Cal League in batting average and scoring runs doesn't seem to be a problem. Shortstop Matt Smith leads the team with a .389 batting average, while Jake Blalock and John Mayberry Jr. have 17 and 16 RBIs respectively. On a positive pitching note, Michael Schlact seems to be growing into the pitcher the Rangers hoped he would become. He's 1-0 after two starts with a 2.70 ERA. He's also only walked one batter through 10 innings.
It will be interesting to see how the team performs in its home debut. At least this year it isn't raining, at least not yet.

Cal State Bakersfield's volleyball team is hosting its annual spring tournament Saturday in the Icardo Center. There will be a preview in Saturday's paper, but I wanted to get the basic information out there from the press release sent out by CSUB. 
Matches start at 9 a.m. and parking and admission are free to the general public.
This year’s event includes Arizona, Fresno State, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton and Fresno Pacific.
New NCAA regulations in place this year will allow the Roadrunner stars who redshirted during the regular season to participate in the spring portion of the volleyball season. This means Roadrunner fans will get their first opportunity to watch the full squad in action.
Redshirts Jodi Hardin (Liberty HS), Mystie McNaughton (Stockdale HS), Sarah Norman (Stockdale HS/UC Irvine) and Metro State transfer Gabrielle Curtis will see their first action of the season Saturday.
“With our move to Division I, this tournament will give us our first opportunity to evaluate how competitive we can be against some of the top Division I teams in the country,“ coach John Price said. “With the exception of Cal Poly, we will see all of these teams next fall, so for our fans it will be a bit of a sneak preview of the 2007 season.”
The ’Runners will open play at 9 a.m. against Cal State Northridge. The rest of the ’Runner schedule includes Cal State Fullerton at 10 a.m.; Cal Poly at 11 a.m.; Fresno State at 2 p.m.; Arizona (led by former CSUB Coach Dave Rubio) at 3 p.m. and Fresno Pacific at 4 p.m.

The names Ebony Ward and Codee Funkhouser had Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball coach Tim La Kose beaming Wednesday afternoon.
The duo joins Nicole Leon and Shawnee Carter, who signed during the early signing period.
Funkhouser should provide some depth in the post after averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for Butte College in Oroville.
Ward originally signed with Boise State out of high school, but then transfered to CSUB and is already taking classes. I watched her work out with the team Wednesday and she is an extremely talented guard who will be an immediate contributor after her redshirt year. The team does plan on petitioning for a hardship waiver, but most likely, Ward will sit out next season per NCAA transfer rules.
The team is expected to add one more player in the weeks to come and will also be naming a new assistant coach.
For more on the signings check out the Thursday paper. I will also have a feature on Ward for next Wednesday's CollegePlus page.

Those who follow Blaze baseball remember Josh Hamilton. Tim Wheeler, the team's official scorer, calls the outfielder the best player he's seen at Sam Lynn.
People who know about Hamilton are certainly familiar with the struggles he's gone through the last few seasons.
Well, Hamilton, who played in Bakersfield in 2002, continued his comeback from a struggle with drugs on Tuesday, hitting his first major league home run. Hamilton, who is playing for the Reds, hit a two-run shot in the third inning off of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Edgar Gonzalez.
It's good to see Hamilton make his way back. It's certainly impressive to see he can still play after missing so much time.

Aaron Perez became the first Bakersfield College basketball player to officially sign, joining Cal Baptist University.
"We are real excited to bring Aaron into our program," Lancer coach Tim Collins said. "He is very athletic and can guard in the post or on the perimeter. He has long arms and great athletic ability and can run the floor on the break."
The 6-foot-6 forward spent most of his time in the post for the Renegades, averaging 10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
"It's good for him to continue his education," BC coach Rich Hughes said. "He can go there and get his degree. He's going to be a really good player for them."
Demetrius Williamson has verbally committed to Niagara University, which made the NCAA tournament, falling to Kansas in the first round.
Andrew Ready, Steve Alford and Terrence Johns are all still taking visits and should decide on schools in a few weeks.

Cal State Bakersfield women's golf coach Bruce Burroughs has accepted a job to become the head pro at Bakersfield Country Club.
Burroughs said it was a hard decision to make, but he did what was best for his family. He said he will continue to help out with the fledgling program and will assist men's coach Dave Barber in finding a replacement.
For more on this be sure to check out tomorrow's print edition.

While the Blaze is still a few days away from its home opener, I'm guessing the team is just happy to be getting out of Lancaster.
Heading into tonight's game at Stockton, Bakersfield has a team ERA of 12.44 — the highest in the Cal League.
In four games against the JetHawks, a series the Blaze split, Bakersfield gave up 11 home runs.
It will be interesting to see how the team's pitchers adjust to a more pitcher friendly park.

I talked with Cal State Bakersfield coach Tim La Kose today, and he said the Roadrunners are close to hiring a new assistant coach. He said the search is "going well."
An offer has been extended, but there is no official word on who that person is.
The school is also still in the process of hiring a cross country coach, an assistant volleyball coach and a baseball coach.
Also, Wednesday is signing day and, while La Kose can't comment on recruits until they sign a letter of intent, the Roadrunners coach seemed to be looking forward to making the announcement.

Since I'm covering the Blaze this year, I'm broadening the scope of this blog. I'll check in from time to time with notes and quotes I pick up throughout the season at Sam Lynn Ball Park.

I spent the weekend in Seattle and, while I was there, I stopped by Key Arena to watch Kobe Bryant take over in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers over the Sonics 112-109 on Friday.
Bryant scored 31 of his 46 points in the second half, but it didn't seem like it was going to be a special night early. In fact, former Bakersfield resident Aaron Levine, who worked for KBAK and now works for Q-13 in Seattle, and I both agreed it would be hard for Bryant to even get close to 50.
Then he exploded in the second half.
But, to get back to the title of this post, I caught a glimpse of Bakersfield native Robert Swift before the game. the 7-foot center was standing in the tunnel leading out to the bench in a gray suit with his hair pulled back. Several people I talked to said Swift has bulked up since suffering a season-ending knee injury Oct. 25.
Swift is going to be back in Bakersfield July 16th-18th for the second annual Robert Swift Basketball Camp at Bakersfield College, so we'll catch up with him again then.