Beat that, Levi Leipheimer!

On a warm but not sweltering Sunday morning, some of Bakersfield's best cyclists set marks for Leipheimer and other pros to aim for when the Amgen Tour of California swings through town next month.

As if three hard-fought games weren't enough, the Bakersfield College baseball team will have to play Western State Conference South foe L.A. Valley again, this time in a single-elimination play-in game at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Van Nuys.

"We're both very familiar with each other," said BC coach Tim Painton, whose team defeated Valley 6-5 earlier this month, but lost the season series 2-1. "Looking back on our games, it's been a fairly evenly matched series. There won't be too many surprises. We just have to go in and we have to win."

MODESTO -- Billy Hamilton went 3-for-4 and stole his 29th base, but the Modesto Nuts rallied to defeat the Bakersfield Blaze 7-4 on Sunday at John Thurman Field.

Hamilton opened the game with a single, stole second and scored on a base hit by Devin Lohman to give Bakersfield a brief 1-0 lead.

Clay Daly of Watsonville used a pick to perfection Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway.

Daly was running second to Steve Drake as the leaders rapidly closed on slower traffic with 10 laps remaining in the 30-lap Late Model feature.

"Baseball is a game that is neither won nor lost ... it is merely played." -- Unknown

DAVIE, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins have selected former Bakersfield College receiver Rishard Matthews in the seventh and final round of the NFL draft.

The 6-foot-2 Matthews, who finished his college career at the University of Nevada, caught 54 passes for 759 yards and six touchdowns in 2009 for the Renegades.

Baseball

Shafter 4, Arvin 3

Bakersfield College earned an at-large playoff bid and will host a first-round series in the CCCAA Softball Southern Regional at the Dean and Adah Gay Sports Complex.

The Renegades (27-13), who finished fourth in the Western State Conference Blue Division, were awarded the No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 College of the Desert in a best-of-three series starting Saturday at 7 p.m. The teams will play at 2 p.m. Sunday and again at 4 p.m., if necessary.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Spencer Messore set the school record for longest outing by a pitcher as Cal State Bakersfield earned a split with Nebraska on Saturday.

Messmore, a senior, threw 10 innings in game 1 to set the record before the Roadrunners fell 3-2 in 11 innings. CSUB rallied for a 10-2 victory in game 2 for the split.

MODESTO -- Two more Billy Hamilton stolen bases weren't enough to help the Bakersfield Blaze extend its winning streak.

The Blaze fell 7-4 to the host Modesto Nuts, ending its winning streak at 11 games.

Get ready for the frenzy.

When the Amgen Tour of California last stopped here in 2010, massive crowds lined the bluffs to watch bicyclists zip past Bakersfield College as they ended a grueling 121-mile stage. Thousands cheered the finish in person and basked in the knowledge that Bakersfield played an integral part of the most prestigious bike race in the country.

Derrick Brown, a 6-foot-6 senior forward at Bakersfield High School, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at San Francisco State.

Brown, who will play guard for the Gators, averaged 17 points and five rebounds per game for the Drillers, who went 20-9. He was named to the All-Southwest Yosemite League first team.

Nick Vehlewald knew Jake Sweaney was fast, but just maybe, he thought, this was too big of a challenge.

But even with a long pause at second base, Sweaney motored home from first base on Vehlewald's seventh-inning double and scored in a cloud of dust to lead Garces to a 3-2 home victory over North on Friday.

Baseball

Garces 3, North 2

MODESTO -- Billy Hamilton went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three more stolen bases to lead the Bakersfield Blaze to their 11th straight victory Friday night, 7-0 over the Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field.

The Blaze shorstop, who is hitting .395, has 26 steals in 31 tries this season for Bakersfield (14-7), which has a one game lead over the San Jose Giants in the California League North standings.

STOCKTON -- The Blaze won its 10th straight game Thursday, 8-1 over the Stockton Ports, as Billy Hamilton stole four bases to extend his lead over all minor leagues.

Tony Cingrani (2-1) allowed one hit and one walk and struck out eight in six innings of work for the Blaze (13-7), lowering his California League-best ERA to 0.39.

For most of Thursday's softball game, Frontier put runners on base, threatened Stockdale and generally looked dangerous. Stockdale, armed with the narrowest of leads, kept finding ways to escape.

When the dust had settled, the Mustangs had a 2-0 victory and were a step closer to an unlikely Southwest Yosemite League title.

Baseball

Stockdale 3, Frontier 2

The high school football coaching carousel has ended for another year, and it does so with a familiar face.

Bakersfield Christian announced Thursday it has promoted Jerald Pierucci from offensive coordinator to head coach, giving the former East High coach another shot at a front-and-center position.

In baseball coach Tim Painton's eyes, his Bakersfield College Renegades did everything right to conclude the regular season.

"We beat Glendale at Glendale (a week earlier), which is not an easy task," Painton said. "We won on the road Tuesday and we won here today," Painton said after the Renegades romped past Los Angeles Pierce College 13-3 at Gerry Collis Field.