As you might expect, and as you might have already noticed, the number of posts at School House Zach is going to lessen a little bit here in the month of June. Not a whole lot of high school sports action going on.

There was an all-city baseball game last Friday night at Gerry Collis Field at Bakersfield College, and that was pretty interesting. Liberty's Tony Mills, who was coaching the East All-Stars, decided to intentionally walk Centennial's Jarret Martin and Ridgeview's Art Charles, the two local high schoolers drafted out of Bakersfield earlier that day in the MLB draft.

You don't normally see intentional walks in all-star games — first of all, they're for fun (at least they're supposed to be; get it right, MLB) — but also because there are normally some pretty good players waiting if you decide to give a free pass to one particular guy. That was the case here, and that's why the West won. Centennial's Joe Ramirez, overlooked all year for more heralded teammates Martin and Dusty Robinson, lined a single into left field with the bases loaded to start a three-run rally. The East got one back in the bottom of the ninth but lost 6-4.

Anyway, the whole thing was fun and a good way to end the year. There's also an all-county softball game tonight at 6:30 out at Dave Fry Field in the Bakersfield Blaze complex. Check that out if you want to see Kern's best senior softballers.

As for me, I'll be slaving away in the office, trying to get our All-Area teams done for the paper before I go on vacation next week. (Aw, heck, "slaving" makes it sound like such work. It's not so bad). Here's our publication schedule for the eight spring sports:

Wednesday, June 18 — All-league teams reprinted

Thursday, June 19 — Boys and girls swimming and diving

Friday, June 20 — Boys tennis and boys golf

Saturday, June 21 — Boys and girls track and field

Sunday, June 22 — Baseball and softball

During the next few weeks, while I finish those up and then take a vacation, the posts will be pretty few and far between here. My apologies in advance for that, but I'll tell you what I've got planned when I'm back in early July.

I will recap each of the past year's sports, one at a time, with best athlete, best team, best game, best moment, worst moment and a quick look ahead to next year.

Once that's done, it'll be time for ... high school football to begin again.

Guess what? I'm actually not on the road or in the office! Sitting at home on the couch for the first time in what seems like forever, and it's a pretty darn good feeling.

It's been a hell of a finish to the high school sports year for Kern County, what with five state track and field championships and a second-place finish for Stockdale's Pete Fernandez at the boys golf state tournament in Santa Maria on Tuesday.

In case you missed it, the track champions were Dayshan Ragans of Foothill, who was a double champ in the shot put and discus; Anna Jelmini of Shafter, also a throwing double champ; and Ridgeview's Johnny Carter, one of the meet's true surprises when he won the triple jump as a freshman. Foothill's Chris Schwartz was second in the boys 3,200 (behind only the cyborg known as German Fernandez) and Ridgeview's Chris Kelly (triple jump) and Burroughs' Kayla Kovar (discus) each finished third.

As for Fernandez, he battled through a windy day on a course with narrow fairways, deep rough and difficult pin positions to shoot even par. Only one of the best high school players in the state was able to shoot better than that. So congratulations to Pete.

The highlight of this Kern high school sports season, at least for me, came in the last two weeks of it. Five state champions, two runners-up and a slew of other great performances.

Others might remember November (I wasn't here), when four of the five Central Section football champions came from Kern, including a thriller in the Div. I final for Bakersfield High. Or the winter, when Travis Rasmussen of BHS wrestled for a state title and Garces made a run to the state quarterfinals before colliding with Jrue Holiday's North Hollywood-Campbell Hall team. Still yet, you might pick back-to-back days in May when Stockdale baseball and Centennial softball won championships.

While I work on putting together spring All-Area teams, tell me what your favorite memory of the past year was.