The task is Herculean: Go to Anchorage and beat the Alaska Aces.

The Condors did that in their last game there on May 17.

Yovan Gonzalez hit a double to the gap in right-center field to drive in Kyle Waldrop in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie Monday and the Bakersfield Blaze closed out their homestand with a 5-4 win over the High Desert Mavericks.

The victory puts Bakersfield at 34-18, four games ahead of the Rawhide in the California League's North Division heading into a critical three-game set in Visalia beginning today.

No doubt about it, the Condors are staggering.

And they are just one punch away from being knocked out of the ECHL Western Conference Finals by the Alaska Aces.

Jesse Winker had four hits, Juan Silva and Zach Vincej had three hits apiece, and David Vidal and John Tolisano homered as the Blaze pounded the High Desert Mavericks 10-5 Sunday in a California League baseball game at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

Bakersfield (33-18) totaled 16 hits against three Mavericks pitchers, less than a day after being held to four hits in an 8-1 loss to High Desert (27-24).

MESA, Ariz. -- Rhys Hoskins went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs to lead Sacramento State to a 10-3 victory over Utah Valley on Sunday in the championship game of the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament at Cubs Park.

Hoskins finished with three hits, and Kyle Moses, Nathan Lukes and Chris Lewis had two hits apiece for the top-seeded Hornets (39-22), who also won the regular-season WAC title.

CLOVIS -- Even for Blake Haney, winning the three longest races at the Central Section Track and Field Masters Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium sounded difficult.

Turns out he had no idea.

Manchester, N.H. — The stories of professional baseball players are told time and time again through a combination of fact and folklore. From the Babe "calling his shot," to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, we have seen the stories of baseball's greatest acts held in nearly divine regard. But as these stories are told there is consistently the story that isn't told or heard from but has been a very integral part of the game: the umpires.

Most fans see the players with great detail. Every child mimics their favorite hitters home-run swing and grandfather's describe the disappearing pitches of their favorite pitcher but how many people describe their favorite "strike call?" Or the time that an umpire had the greatest positioning to make an "out" call at third base? It just doesn't exist.

VISALIA -- Everything was according to script for Golden Valley's baseball team Saturday except for one problem: Evan Sagariballa wasn't playing along.

Kerman shut out the Bulldogs 3-0 in the Central Section Division IV championship at Rawhide Ballpark, inducing a bases-loaded double play to end the game.

If the Condors are going to advance to the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals, they will have to do so in Anchorage, Alaska.

Whether they will be up a game or down a game in the ECHL Western Conference Finals will be determined tonight in Game 5 at Rabobank Arena.

Pitcher Min-Sih Chen allowed only two hits in six innings of work as the High Desert Mavericks beat the Blaze 8-1 Saturday at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

Chen (2-2) allowed one earned run. He struck out one and walked two.

MESA, Ariz. -- Hayden Carter did his best to keep Cal State Bakersfield in Saturday's elimination game, but the offense never came to the rescue.

The junior from San Diego pitched a complete game -- his second in three starts -- and held Sacramento State, the tournament's top seed, to six hits and three runs. It wasn't enough to keep the Roadrunners from being eliminated by the Hornets, who won 3-1 Saturday.

MESA, Ariz. -- Hayden Carter did his best to keep Cal State Bakersfield in Saturday's elimination game, but the offense never came to the rescue.

The junior from San Diego pitched a complete game -- his second in three starts -- and held Sacramento State, the tournament's top seed, to six hits and three runs. It wasn't enough to keep the Roadrunners from being eliminated by the Hornets, who won 3-1 Saturday.

The Condors proved that no lead is ever safe against the Alaska Aces, but they had just enough of one on Friday night to come away with a wild 5-4 win before 6,411 at Rabobank Arena.

The victory gave them a 2-1 series lead in the ECHL Western Conference Finals with Game 4 at 7 tonight.

Utah Valley's offense struck Cal State Bakersfield quickly and mercilessly as a four-run rally in the first buried the Roadrunners early in their 5-2 loss on Friday night at the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Mesa, Ariz.

Roadrunners pitcher James Barragan (5-6) went seven innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Barragan allowed four runs in the first inning, then another in the fifth.

Caitlyn Emberson held the Central Section Division IV champion plaque high over her head while she and the rest of the Taft High softball team sang along to Queen's "We are the Champions."

The Wildcats celebrated their second straight section title on Friday, beating visiting Liberty-Madera Ranchos 6-0 in rematch of last year's D-IV championship game.

Seth Mejias-Brean hit two home runs, and the Bakersfield Blaze offense was dominant from the start Friday in a 12-8 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

Bakersfield scored five first-inning runs and never looked back.

If there was any doubt as to how Centennial's softball game was going to approach its Central Section Division I softball final against Clovis-Buchanan on Friday, it disappeared with one mighty swing of Madison Aurin's bat.

Aurin crushed a long home run to left field to start the scoring, and host Centennial beat Buchanan 10-0 in a championship ended after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

He was pretty effective during the regular season, but Condors forward Jordan Knackstedt has been at his best during the playoffs.

Specifically, the ECHL Western Conference semifinals and finals.

MESA, Ariz. -- Cal State Bakersfield's Taylor Aikenhead pitched a complete game and faced only six batters over the minimum Thursday, helping the Roadrunners to a 4-1 victory against top-seeded Sacramento State in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Cubs Park.

Aikenhead (8-7) allowed seven hits, struck out two and walked one. He threw 107 pitches on the way to his seventh complete game.

An overflow crowd spilled out of a room in Mira Monte's administrative offices on Thursday afternoon, but there was more than that.

Palpable joy and pride were in that room, too, because Braxton Huggins -- who had just become Mira Monte's first Division I-bound athlete -- was celebrating his signing to play basketball for New Mexico State.