First-place River Valley rolls past Rio Linda
Since the Tri-County Conference has existed, two things have been certain during the high school baseball season:
Yuba City will win the league championship.
On the rare occasion the Honkers fail to win it, the Woodland Wolves will.
But so far this year, the script of the past 10 years has a new lead actor – River Valley. The Falcons were already in first place before they hosted Rio Linda on Friday and it’s no surprise they maintained their status with a 7-2 win, completing a three-game series sweep of the last-place Knights.
Clayton Chipchase, who had his first complete-game effort of the season to record his first win, tossed a five-hitter with six strikeouts for River Valley (8-3, 5-1 TCC). Facing a Rio Linda squad which hadn’t scored in the teams’ previous two meetings this week, Chipchase didn’t allow a hit until his pitching counterpart Dustin Wymer singled to left with one out in the fourth for the Knights (4-8, 2-7).
“The last couple of games I’ve pitched I’ve felt like I’ve been getting stronger throughout the game,” Chipchase said. “I feel like the last game I probably could have thrown a complete game but they just took me out because we went extra innings. I threw about 91 pitches, so they took me out of that one.”
That game resulted in the Falcons’ only league blemish, a 3-2 defeat in eight innings at River City two weeks ago. This time, Chipchase stayed on the mound long enough to throw 100 pitches and impress at least one interest- ed onlooker.
“Bulldog on the mound,” River Valley coach Jeramy Gillen said of his senior hurler. “Goes out there every time, he’s going to give you 110 percent. He’s a competitor.
“He’s got a real relaxed attitude, he doesn’t tense up in situations. Just goes out there and competes.”
Gillen’s status as head coach is also something new in the TCC this season. He spent four years as an assistant to Brandon Asher before taking the reigns.
“I don’t have to play them 100 times. Only have to beat them once,” Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. “That is one heck of a basketball team, the greatest of all-time. But how proud am I of my kids?”
Mississippi State led 64-62 before a replay review gave Katie Lou Samuelson the two free throws that tied the game. After a UConn turnover, William held the ball at the top of the key before dribbling to her right and pulling up for the shot, with the ball in the air when the buzzer sounded.
The Bulldogs ran onto the court, piling up at center court while UConn players stood stone-faced. Schaefer grabbed William in a bear hug, with former Mississippi State star Dak Prescott – the Dallas Cowboys quarterback – helping lead the cheers.
Prescott said he’d try to come back for the title game.
UConn rallied from a 16point deficit, its biggest during its NCAA record streak, to take a 59-56 lead in the fourth quarter. The teams were tied at 60 when the Bulldogs had a chance to win it in regulation, but William’s shot was blocked by Gabby Williams, sending the game into overtime.
“Maybe we’re just not ready for this. Maybe we were ready for everything else, but maybe we’re just not mature enough for this,” Auriemma said. “Maybe all our young kids needed to experience this so that we can come back and really be ready for this.” South Carolina 62,
Stanford 53 DALLAS – Allisha Gray scored 18 points, A’ja Wilson had a double-double and South Carolina is going to its first national championship game after beating Stanford in the women’s national semifinals.
Wilson had 13 points and 19 rebounds for the Gamecocks (32-4), who lost in the semifinal of their only other Final Four appearance two years ago. They went ahead to stay with 13 straight points in the third quarter.
Stanford (32-6) took a big hit when senior guard Karlie Samuelson sprained her right ankle with about 4 ⁄ minutes before halftime after the Cardinal had taken an eight-point lead with a 13-1 run.
South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who played for Tara VanDerveer on the U.S. women’s team that won the 1996 Olympic gold medal, won as a coach against the Stanford coach for the first time in six tries.
Staley also made three consecutive Final Four appearances as a player for Virginia from 1990-92. Two of those included semifinal losses to VanDerveer and the Cardinal on way to their only national titles.
The victory kept up a big run by the South Carolina basketball teams. The men’s team takes on Gonzaga in the Final Four today.