Moses Lake routs Ike, clinches share of CBBN title

MOSES LAKE - The old adage goes, "Chicks dig the long ball."

Moses Lake head softball coach Dave Gregory is a pretty big fan of it too.

The Chiefs (12-1, 14-3) pounded two home runs in the first inning and three total en route to a 13-4 win against Eisenhower.

Tuesday's win clinched at least a share of the Big Nine championship for the Chiefs, who have won four in a row and 13 out of their last 14 games.

"I thought it was great," Gregory said. "The kids on Senior Night ... You kind of get nervous where their heads at. We came out in that first inning and just crushed the ball. The top of the order's been doing that all year."

After Marnie Skinner struck out the side to begin the game, Moses Lake took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning when Skinner pounded a two-run home run and Tressa Radach powered a solo shot.

For Radach it would be just the beginning of a big game on Senior Night. She would finished 4 for 4 with two home runs, two doubles and five RBIs.

The first double, sandwiched between the two home runs, just missed clearing the right field fence.

"Well I fixed my swing a little bit over the week so that helped quite a bit," Radach said.

The Chiefs extended their lead to 6-0 in the second inning with RBI doubles from Skinner and Radach and a RBI triple from Alyssa Balderas.

Balderas was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Skinner finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

Skinner also pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts.

The lead swelled to 10-0 after the fourth inning and with one out in the fifth it looked as if the game would end early.

However, with two runners on Skinner left a ball over the plate that was crushed over the left field fence for a three-run shot.

"She got the ball up a little bit," Gregory said. "Actually she made a pretty good pitch on that home run that girl just went down there and golfed it up, but that's where a walk killed you ... It's nice to have a comfortable lead then you can make some mistakes, but we go to the playoffs and stuff and it's going to be a little different."

Moses Lake will close its season with a road doubleheader against Eisenhower on Friday before the District 6 4A Softball Tournament begins May 24.

With one more win against the Cadets, Moses Lake will clinch the Big Nine championship outright and secure the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.

Regardless of the outcome of the district championship game, the Chiefs will advance to the state tournament.

"I feel like we're going to have some tough games at state, but I think we'll be able to do just as good as we did last year, if not better," Radach said.

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Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Russell Westbrook finished off Oklahoma City's stunning comeback.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers believes he should never have had the chance.

Westbrook scored 38 points and made three free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining, and the Thunder overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 50 seconds to beat Los Angeles 105-104 on Tuesday night and go up 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals.

"I think when you get a win like this it brings everybody closer," Westbrook said. "It lets you know you can't mess around. You have to take every moment, every play and go out and win the game."

The play that led to Westbrook's free throws is in dispute.

Kevin Durant made a 3-pointer, then Los Angeles' Jamal Crawford missed in close before Durant made a layup with 17 seconds left. Westbrook stole the ball, and in a scramble, the Thunder got possession with 11.3 seconds to play, setting up Westbrook's play. The Clippers believed the ball went off Oklahoma City's Reggie Jackson, but the officials awarded the ball to the Thunder. After review, the play stood.

"Everybody knows it was our ball," Rivers said. "The bottom line is they thought it was a foul and they made up for it. Let's take away the replay. We were robbed. It was our ball, whether it was a foul or not."

NBA crew chief Tony Brothers explained the call after the game.

"When the ball goes out of bounds, the ball was awarded to Oklahoma City," he said. "We go to review the play. We saw two replays. The two replays we saw were from the overhead camera showing down, and the one from under the basket showing the same angle but from a different view. And from those two replays, it was inconclusive as to who the ball went out of bounds off of. When it's inconclusive, we have to go with the call that was on the floor."

The Thunder were more focused on what they did after the call. They can clinch the series Thursday in Los Angeles.

"I've never seen a game like this with us," Durant said. "It just shows that you can never keep us down. We're going to fight until the end no matter what happens. We fought through it all and persevered through it all."

After the Thunder got possession, Westbrook was fouled by Chris Paul while shooting a 3-pointer with the Thunder trailing by two. Westbrook, who had missed a 3-pointer that would have won Game 4 in the closing seconds, welcomed the chance for redemption.

"I'm still upset about that shot that I missed in L.A. for the game, so tonight, I just tried to take my time, take a deep breath and knock 'em down," he said.

After the free throws, Paul drove to the hoop, but Jackson stole the ball from him, and time expired.

"Probably the toughest thing I've been through, basketball-wise," Paul said. "Everything that happened there at the end is on me. It was just bad basketball."

Durant scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 3:23 after shooting 3 for 17 through three quarters.

"Great players can have a bad shooting night, have a great three minutes and be the superstars that they are," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.