Turns out Cody Kessler hasn't been the only Centennial senior making nationwide waves in the sports world.

A terrific summer for Golden Hawks volleyball standout Alyssa Gammel comes to an end Thursday when Centennial opens its season at Visalia-El Diamante. When Gammel takes the court, she'll carry a few titles with her.

When Bakersfield College running back Julian Dean-Johnson showed incredible balance by staying on his feet despite hard hits, and then turning two of those plays into long touchdown runs, it illustrated the pluses and minuses of Saturday's intersquad scrimmage.

"We felt going in that the strength of our team is in the running game," BC coach Jeff Chudy said. "But we put the ball on the ground too much today -- four or five times we had fumbles.

The good news for Cal State Bakersfield women's soccer: The team showed enthusiasm and aggressiveness in its season-opener Friday night against Cal State Fullerton.

The bad news: The Roadrunners had only 33 minutes to show their skill.

Scott County, Ky. used a four-run fourth inning and held on to beat the Northwest Bakersfield 10-year-old All-Stars 5-3 in the semifinals of the Cal Ripken World Series on Thursday in Ocala, Fla.

Scott County led 5-0 before Northwest rallied for two runs in thethird and one in the fourth to pull within two runs. Noah Hemphill and Anthony Baldridge combined to pitch 42/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Cal State Bakersfield officially opens its women's soccer season tonight when it hosts Cal State Fullerton at 7 on the Main Soccer Field.

The Roadrunners, who went 6-11-2 last season, had an exhibition game against the CSUB alumni last Saturday. Junior Kassi Massey had two goals and sophomore Yesenia Reyes added another in a 3-0 win.

Weapon -- An instrument of offensive of defensive combat; something to fight with; anything used, or designed to be used, in destroying, defeating. Weapons can be dangerous and can injure or kill.

You take responsibility of your own personal risk and liability, risk to others, your own property, and the property of others when using a gun. Use guns with care.

One thought came to mind after word came down Wednesday that the Western Athletic Conference was losing Fresno State and Nevada to the Mountain West Conference:

Are they rejoicing at Cal State Bakersfield yet?

Bakersfield native Casey Mears will take over the driving duties in the No. 13 GEICO Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series beginning with the Sept. 5 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Mears will compete in the the seven remaining GEICO sponsored races in the 2010 season and in 18 events in 2011.

Kern County and southern San Joaquin Valley

BOB'S BAIT STRIPER DERBY: The month-long Bob's Bait Striper Derby kicked off Aug. 1 with a $100 cash prize going to the angler who weighs in the biggest striper at Bob's Bait in Bakersfield during August. The current leader is Alfredo Vasquez, Bakersfield, with a seven-pounder he caught from the aqueduct. Pre-registration required. For more information, call Bobís Bait at (661) 833-8657.

ABERDEEN, Md. -- The Northwest Bakersfield 12-year-old All-Stars concluded their Cal Ripken Major 70 World Series experience Wednesday with a come-from-behind 14-6 win over Mountain Home, Ariz.

Nate Clark, who moved from left field to pitcher in the third inning, got the win and was the team's top hitter, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

For the past 41 years, Jerry Scott has been a fixture on the basketball court.

Not as a player or coach -- as an official.

The huge car counts of a few years ago are long gone, but the competitiveness in the Late Model stock car division at Bakersfield Speedway is as high as it's ever been.

Car counts have ranged from a low of 12 to a high of 22 so there is no doubt that economic times have certainly hurt the high-dollar racing class in the number of drivers competing on a regular basis.

OCALA, Fla. -- Northwest Bakersfield broke a 6-6 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and beat Newtown, Conn., 8-6, in the Cal Ripken 10-Year-Old World Series Tuesday.

Winning pitcher Noah Hemphill had a two-run double to highlight a three-run first inning for Bakersfield and added a two-run homer in the third.

Home games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers Fresno State and Dayton (Ohio) highlight the Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball schedule for 2010-11 that was released Tuesday.

The Roadrunners, 16-13 last season, will play their first Division I season as an eligible team for the NCAA Tournament.

Condors coach Marty Raymond has added two more players with championship pedigree to his team -- Finnish forward Mika Suoraniemi and rookie defenseman Yan Turcotte, both of whom played on championship teams last season.

Suoraniemi, 30, helped lead the Stavanger Oilers to the Norwegian Championship last season with 17 goals and 36 points in 45 regular-season games and 7 goals and 11 points in 18 playoff games.

With Winter leagues starting up in less than a month (week of Sept. 7 to be exact), the Golden Empire United States Bowling Congress will be conducting their annual Secretaries Workshop this Saturday, Aug. 21, starting at 1 p.m. at AMF Southwest Lanes. All league secretaries and/or league presidents are invited to attend.

This Workshop is put on every year to help league secretaries make their job a little easier, inform them of any new award changes, and distribute their league secretary packets so they will be ready when the first night of their league starts.

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The Northwest Bakersfield 12-year-old All-Stars beat White Plains, Md., 9-4 on Sunday at the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md. 
 

SAN DIEGO -- Ryan Mathews was so nervous before his debut that he had to duck into the bathroom to throw up.

The former West High and Fresno State star recovered quickly though. On his second NFL carry, Mathews was pushed back almost to the Chargers' goal line, then powered through linebacker Lance Briggs and ran for 18 yards.

It was a victory Brian Cobb wanted for himself but more importantly for the wrestling program he loves.

Fighting in the main event of a 10-bout pro mixed martial arts card designed to help support the CSUB wrestling program he once competed for and now serves as an assistant coach.