PORTLAND, Maine — Day in and day out we go to the ballpark to play the game we love. There are moments of late-night rain delays, overnight travel and a variety of weather conditions but there are also moments of joyous walk-off wins, dominant shutout pitching and amazing web gem catches.

We are incredibly fortunate to play the game we do, and we try to never take that for granted. We also realize that while we are not in the major leagues, we do carry a voice that fans appreciate and value.

I must admit my surprise at Thursday's announcement that Bill Kernen had done an about-face and decided to put his coaching retirement on hold.

It was May 8 when the Cal State Bakersfield baseball coach -- who started the program from scratch after his hiring in 2007 -- said he was retiring to return to New York City and resume writing plays.

Cal State Bakersfield has received about 100 applications for its head baseball coaching position since the May 8 announcement that head coach Bill Kernen was retiring.

But everything changed shortly after May 24's season-ending 3-1 loss to Sacramento State at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Mesa, Ariz.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MESA, Ariz. -- Soloman Williams capped a 3-for-3 day with a game-ending RBI single down the right- field line with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday to lift Cal State Bakersfield to a 6-5 win over Seattle.

It was the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament.

Cal State Bakersfield should have a good idea of Seattle's strengths and weaknesses heading into today's Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament opener.

The same can be said for the Redhawks' knowledge of Bakersfield.

PORTLAND, Maine — Most fans only see the clubhouse when its covered in clear plastic during a playoff champagne celebration, or during a post-game interview with the player.

But what happens before, during and after the game when there are no celebratory moments or post-game interviews?

SEATTLE -- Austin Davis and Hayden Carter combined to hold Seattle University to just four hits as Cal State Bakersfield rolled to a 10-0 win on Saturday to close out the Western Athletic Conference regular season.

The Roadrunners (24-31) are at the WAC baseball tournament beginning Wednesday.

SEATTLE -- Cal State Bakersfield's hopes of earning the No. 2 seed in next week's Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament were dashed Friday when Seattle posted an 8-5 win, the Roadrunners' fourth straight loss.

CSUB (23-31, 14-12 WAC) concludes its regular season today at noon with the series finale vs. Seattle.

SEATTLE -- Seattle University damaged Cal State Bakersfield's hopes of earning the No. 2 seed in next week's Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament with a 4-2 win on Thursday to open a regular season-ending three-game series.

The loss drops Bakersfield to 23-30 overall and 14-11 in the WAC.

FRESNO -- Fresno State's Manny Argomaniz hit two home runs and Jordan Luplow added an inside-the-park homer to power the Bulldogs to an 8-4 win over Cal State Bakersfield in the Roadrunners' final non-conference baseball game of the season.

CSUB (23-29) had a three-run double by Soloman Wiliams with two outs in the ninth inning.

SEATTLE -- Cal State Bakersfield's softball season ended Friday with a 2-1 loss to Seattle University at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Roadrunners finish 15-40. They went 0-2 in the double-elimination WAC Tournament.

Bill Kernen has been the face of Cal State Bakersfield baseball since the spring of 2007 — nearly two years before the Roadrunners played their first game.

Kernen, hired at that time to start the baseball program from scratch, announced his retirement Thursday morning, effective July 1.

SEATTLE -- Utah Valley pitcher Josi Summers shut down the Cal State Bakersfield offense as the Wolverines beat Bakersfield 4-1 in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Softball Championships on Thurday.

Utah Valley (15-40) had a two-run homer by Amanda Robinson in the third, then three more singles to take a 3-0 lead. Erin Romero homered in the fourth for the Wolverines' final run.

Hayden Carter made it two nights in a row that Cal State Bakersfield received good production out of its midweek starting pitchers.

Carter, who came into the game with an 8.10 ERA, threw his first collegiate complete game, a 6-3 win Wednesday night over Fresno State at Hardt Field.

Ben Lively pitched another gem for the Bakersfield Blaze Wednesday night but all he got was a no-decision.
Blaze closer Kyle McMyne allowed a game-tying three-run homer to Mark Shannon in the ninth inning but Bakersfield scored in the 10th to beat the Inland Empire 66ers 5-4 at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

Bakersfield won it when Ryan Wright, Jesse Winkler and Kyle Waldrop hit singles, with Waldrop getting the game-winning RBI.