From Tim Willert: Jessica Clements hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the seventh inning early Friday morning to carry ninth-seeded UCLA past No. 16 Oregon 4-2 at the Women’s College World Series, after the Ducks tied the game in the top of the inning on a call at home plate that was overturned.
Catcher Alexis Ramirez also hit a two-run homer in support of Bruins’ starter Kaitlyn Terry, who pitched a four-hitter and gave up one earned run. UCLA (55-11) will play No. 12 seed Texas Tech on Saturday at 4 p.m. (PDT) for a spot in the semifinals. Oregon (53-9) will face unseeded Mississippi in Friday’s elimination game.
Oregon’s Paige Sinicki doubled inside the third-base line to lead off the seventh, but the ruling was challenged by UCLA. The call was upheld, but the next hitter, Dezianna Patmon bunted Sinicki to third with one out. Emma Cox followed with a ground ball to third baseman Jordan Woolery, who tried to throw Sinicki out at home. The throw to Ramirez was on time and Sinicki was ruled out at home for the second out.
Oregon challenged the call, and it was overturned after a video review showed obstruction by Ramirez.
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NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS
All Times Pacific
Conference finals
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 6 Minnesota
at Oklahoma City 114, Minnesota 88 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 118, Minnesota 103 (box score)
at Minnesota 143, Oklahoma City 101 (box score)
Oklahoma City 128, at Minnesota 126 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 124, Minnesota 94 (box score)
Eastern Conference
No. 3 New York vs. No. 4 Indiana
Indiana 138, at New York 135 (OT) (box score)
Indiana 114, at New York 109 (box score)
New York 106, at Indiana 100 (box score)
at Indiana 130, New York 121 (box score)
at New York 111, Indiana 94 (box score)
Saturday at Indiana, 5 p.m., TNT
Monday at New York, 5 p.m., TNT*
NBA FINALS
West No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. NY/Ind.
Thursday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday, June 8 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC
Wed., June 11 at NY/Ind, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Friday, June 13 at NY/Ind, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Monday, June 16 at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC*
Thursday, June 19 at NY/Ind, 5:30 p.m., ABC*
Sunday, June 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC*
*if necessary
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Before the start of the season, Dodgers first base and infield coach Chris Woodward pulled Mookie Betts aside one day, and had him envision the ultimate end result.
“You’re gonna be standing at shortstop when we win the World Series,” Woodward told Betts, the former Gold Glove right fielder in the midst of an almost unprecedented mid-career position switch. “That’s what the goal is.”
Two months into the season, the Dodgers believe he’s checking the requisite boxes on the path toward getting there.
“I would say, right now he’s playing above-average shortstop, Major League shortstop,” manager Dave Roberts said this week. “Which is amazing, considering he just took this position up.”
Betts has not only returned to shortstop this season after his unconvincing three-month stint at the position last year; but he has progressed so much that, unlike when he was moved back to right field for the stretch run of last fall’s championship march, the Dodgers have no plans for a similar late-season switch this time around.
“I don’t see us making a change [like] we did last year. I don’t see that happening,” Roberts said. “He’s a major league shortstop, on a championship club.”
“And,” the manager also added, “he’s only getting better.”
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Shaikin: ‘Another log on the fire.’ Yankees eager to avenge World Series meltdown against Dodgers
Dodgers acquire former All-Star closer Alexis Díaz in trade with Reds
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Tutu Atwell played quarterback. He played receiver, and he also played on defense.
Years before diminutive and speedy Atwell matured into an NFL prospect, the Rams receiver played flag football.
Could anybody stop him?
“Nah, nah,” Atwell said, chuckling.
So Atwell, a 2021 second-round draft pick who will earn $10 million this season, said he would be cool and fun if he got the opportunity in a few years to try out for the 2028 U.S. Olympic flag football team.
Atwell echoed the feelings of Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson and other players in the league since NFL owners last week approved a resolution that would allow them to try out for flag football. The resolution limits only one player per NFL team to play for each national team in the Los Angeles Games.
NFL players would compete for spots with others already playing flag football.
“It’s great,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “If that’s something that players say they want to be able to do, then I think it’s a really cool experience for them to be able to be a part of while also acknowledging that, man, there are some other guys that have been doing it.”
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USC-NOTRE DAME POLL
Let’s hear from you. Could a smoother path to the College Football Playoff be worth losing the Notre Dame-USC rivalry? Vote here and let us know. Results announced next week.
NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE, RESULTS
All times Pacific
Conference finals
Western Conference
Central 2 Dallas vs. Pacific 3 Edmonton
at Dallas 6, Edmonton 3 (summary)
Edmonton 3, at Dallas 0 (summary)
at Edmonton 6, Dallas 1 (summary)
at Edmonton 4, Dallas 1 (summary)
Edmonton 6, at Dallas 3 (summary)
Eastern Conference
Metro 2 Carolina vs. Atlantic 3 Florida
Florida 5, at Carolina 2 (summary)
Florida 5, at Carolina 0 (summary)
at Florida 6, Carolina 2 (summary)
Carolina 3, at Florida 0 (summary)
Florida 5, at Carolina 3 (summary)
STANLEY CUP FINALS
P3 Edmonton vs. A3 Florida
Wednesday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT
Friday, June 6 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT
Monday, June 9 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Thursday, June 12 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Saturday, June 14 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*
Tuesday, June 17 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT*
Friday, June 20 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1903 — Flocarline becomes the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes.
1908 — Jockey Joe Notter misjudges the finish of the Belmont Stakes and eases up on his mount, Colin, whose career record to that point was 13-for-13. Notter recovers from his mistake and holds off Fair Play, who came within a head of defeating Colin. When he retired, Colin’s record stood at 15 wins in as many starts.
1911 — Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis 500 in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds with an average speed of 74.59 mph.
1912 — Joe Dawson wins the second Indianapolis 500 in 6:21:06. Ralph Mulford is told he has to complete the race for 10th place money. It takes him 8 hours and 53 minutes as he makes several stops for fried chicken. The finishing rule is changed the next year.
1951 — Lee Wallard wins the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to break the 4-hour mark with a time of 3:57:38.05.
1951 — Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1952 — At 22, Troy Ruttman becomes the youngest driver to win the Indianapolis 500.
1955 — Bob Sweikert, an Indianapolis native, wins the Indianapolis 500. Bill Vukovich, seeking his third consecutive victory, is killed in a four-car crash on the 56th lap.
1957 — European Cup Final, Madrid: Alfredo Di Stéfano and Francisco Gento score as defending champions Real Madrid beats Fiorentina, 2-0.
1974 — 17th European Cup: Ajax beats Juventus 1-0 at Belgrade.
1985 — The Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year with an 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5.
1987 — Mike Tyson beats Pinklon Thomas by TKO in round 6 in Las Vegas to retain WBC/WBA heavyweight boxing titles.
1993 — Emerson Fittipaldi wins his second Indianapolis 500, by 2.8 seconds. Fittipaldi takes the lead on lap 185 and holds on, outfoxing Formula One champion Nigel Mansell and runner-up Arie Luyendyk.
2004 — In Cooper City, Fla., Canada easily beats the United States in a three-day cricket match, the first competition on American soil sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.
2005 — Johns Hopkins wins its first NCAA lacrosse title in 18 years, beating Duke 9-8 to complete an undefeated season.
2009 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,391): Chelsea beats Everton, 2-1; Frank Lampard scores 72′ winner.
2010 — Dario Franchitti gets a huge break from a spectacular crash on the last lap to climb back on top of the open-wheel world to win the Indianapolis 500. Franchitti’s second Brickyard victory in four years helps his boss, Chip Ganassi, become the first owner to win Indy and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in the same year.
2011 — Jim Tressel, who guided Ohio State to its first national title in 34 years, resigns amid NCAA violations from a tattoo-parlor scandal that sullied the image of one of the country’s top football programs.
2012 — Roger Federer breaks Jimmy Connors’ Open era record of 233 Grand Slam match wins by beating Adrian Ungur of Romania 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the second round of the French Open. Federer, who owns a record 16 major championships, is 234-35 at tennis’ top four tournaments. Connors was 233-49. The Open era began in 1968.
2015 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,283): Arsenal beats Aston Villa, 4-0; Gunners’ 12th title.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1894 — Boston’s Robert Lowe became the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, leading the Beaneaters to a 20-11 win over Cincinnati. After hitting four straight homers, all line drives far over the fence, Lowe added a single to set a major league record with 17 total bases.
1922 — Between the morning and afternoon games of a Memorial Day twin bill, Max Flack of the Chicago Cubs was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Cliff Heathcote. They played one game for each team.
1927 — In the fourth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, shortstop Jim Cooney of the Chicago Cubs caught Paul Waner’s liner, stepped on second to double Lloyd Waner and then tagged Clyde Barnhart coming from first for an unassisted triple play.
1935 — Babe Ruth made his last major league appearance. He played one inning for the Boston Braves against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim Bivin retired Babe Ruth on an infield grounder in the Babe’s final major league at-bat.
1940 — Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants threw 87 pitches in a 7-0 one-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He faced the minimum 27 batters. Johnny Hudson, who singled, was caught stealing.
1956 — Mickey Mantle hit a home run that came within a foot-and-a-half of leaving Yankee Stadium. It hit the face of the upper deck in right field, 370 feet from home plate and 117 feet in the air. Mantle became the first player to hit 20 home runs by the end of May as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators 4-3.
1961 — Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Bill Skowron each hit two homers to lead the New York Yankees to a 12-3 rout of the Boston Red Sox. Yogi Berra also added a homer.
1962 — Pedro Ramos of the Cleveland Indians tossed a three-hitter and hit two home runs, including a grand slam, for a 7-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
1977 — Cleveland’s Dennis Eckersley pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the Angels.
1982 — Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr. began his record consecutive games streak by starting at third base against the Toronto Blue Jays.
1987 — Eric Davis hit a grand slam in the third inning, breaking two National League records and leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis became the first NL player to hit three grand slams in a month and his major league leading 19 homers broke the NL record for most homers in April and May.
1992 — Scott Sanderson became the ninth pitcher to beat all 26 major league teams as New York defeated Milwaukee 8-1. Sanderson joined Nolan Ryan, Tommy John, Don Sutton, Mike Torrez, Rick Wise, Gaylord Perry, Doyle Alexander and Rich Gossage as those who have defeated every club.
2001 — Barry Bonds hit two home runs, moving past Willie McCovey and Ted Williams into 11th place on the career list with 522. Bonds with 17 home runs in May, surpassed the mark set by Mark McGwire in 1998 and Mickey Mantle in 1956.
2003 — Ken Griffey Jr. hit a game-tying home run in the ninth and a go-ahead homer in the top of the 11th to lead Cincinnati over Florida 4-3.
2006 — Vernon Wells hit three home runs and Troy Glaus added two more in Toronto’s 8-5 victory over Boston.
2009 — Travis Tucker hit an RBI single with one out in the top of the 25th inning, leading Texas to a 3-2 victory over Boston College in the longest game in NCAA history. The game eclipsed the previous record of 23 innings, set in 1971 when Louisiana-Lafayette defeated McNeese State 6-5.
2010 — Albert Pujols hit three long home runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Pujols homered in the first, fifth and ninth innings for his fourth career three-homer game.
2011 — Jo-Jo Reyes won for the first time in 29 starts by throwing his first career complete game to lead Toronto to an 11-1 rout of Cleveland. Reyes avoided becoming the first pitcher to go winless in 29 starts. Oakland’s Matt Keough went 28 starts between wins in 1978 and 1979, matching the dubious mark first set by Boston’s Cliff Curtis in 1910 and 1911. Reyes went 0-13 with a 6.59 ERA in his 28 starts between wins.
2011 — Arizona’s Kelly Johnson became the second player in the majors this year to have four extra-base hits in a game as the Diamondbacks beat the Florida Marlins 15-4. Johnson hit solo home runs in the third and sixth, doubled in the fourth and tripled in the seventh.
2015 — The Dodgers snap a 42-inning scoreless road streak in beating the Cardinals, 5-1. They are held hitless for five innings by Michael Wacha to beat an unenviable club record dating back to 1908, until a run-scoring single by Howie Kendrick in the 6th puts the team on the board and a three-run homer by Yasmani Grandal gives them the lead. It is Wacha’s first loss after opening the year with seven straight wins.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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