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Hanford baseball takes down Fresno
HANFORD - When Hanford High coach Tim Scott took over the baseball team at his alma mater this year, he ruffled a few feathers by setting strict ground rules.
The Bullpups went through some prickly times at the outset, but none of that seems to matter today.
Second-seeded Hanford took down No. 3 Fresno 9-5 Wednesday in a Division I playoff semifinal and now stands on the doorstep of its first Central Section championship in 15 years.
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Recap: Phoenix vs. Los Angeles
Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll each scored twice to power the Kings to a 5-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.
Wayne Simmonds had the eventual game-winner in the third period for Los Angeles, which won its third consecutive game. Jonathan Quick made 30 saves in the victory.
"We've got a game at home tomorrow (Columbus) and we know how tough back-to- back games are," said Stoll. "We got ourselves off on the right foot tonight and played pretty well. There were some times there where we were back on our heels, just trying to weather the storm. Quick had some big saves for us."
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Bullpups step up, win
With less than three minutes left to play in Friday night's Central Section Division II girls basketball final at Selland Arena, Garces High freshman Lisamarie Sanchez swiped Hanford's inbounds pass but the ball bounced off her hands and out of play.
That was about the way the evening went for the second-seeded Rams as No. 1 Hanford rolled to a 73-44 victory.
"We didn't face anybody of this caliber all year," Garces head coach Tod Denison said. "They're a very good team and that's why they're one of the best in the state."
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Recap: Buffalo vs. NY Islanders
Ryan Miller posted his second shutout of the season with 24 saves, and Thomas Vanek picked up a goal and an assist, as the Buffalo Sabres notched a 3-0 win to defeat the streaking New York Islanders.
Derek Roy pocketed his first goal of the year and Paul Gaustad his third for Buffalo, which had a four-game win streak snapped Saturday on Long Island in a 5-0 setback to the Isles. It was just the second regulation loss of the season for the Northeast Division-leading Sabres.
Miller was pulled in Saturday's setback after allowing three goals on 16 shots but recorded his 14th career blanking in a successful encore.
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Recap: Los Angeles vs. Vancouver
Mikael Samuelsson scored in regulation and had the game-winner in the shootout, lifting the Vancouver Canucks to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.
The Kings went first in the shootout, but Michal Handzus missed. Ryan Kesler then scored on a wrister before Jack Johnson's wrist shot beat Andrew Raycroft.
The next two shooters -- Vancouver's Mason Raymond and LA's Ryan Smyth -- were unsuccessful, and Samuelsson buried a backhander past Jonathan Quick for the win.
HANFORD -- Storied won out over a story only beginning to be written Friday, as Hanford High beat Madera South 11-7 to win the Central Section Division III baseball championship.
Hanford won its 10th title but its first since 1994, holding off a group of Stallions just beginning to come into their own in their third varsity season.
Erik Casida went 3 for 3 with four RBIs, and Gage Dominguez used 112 pitches to get through six innings for the win.
At the helm of the Bullpups' drive back to glory was first-year coach Tim Scott, the ex-major leaguer who prepped at Hanford in the early 1980s. It was in that decade that the Bullpups reached seven finals, winning three.
"Everything's kind of a blur," said Scott, whose mind raced through memories of long days in which he, players and parents went through a sometimes difficult adjustment period.
In the end, he said, everyone learned to pull together.
"It's been a long ride," Scott said, "but well worth it."
Credit on offense went to Casida, who erased a 2-0 deficit with his two-run double in the bottom of the first. When the Stallions closed to within 7-5, Casida provided some breathing room with a solo homer in the fifth.
"That was probably the fastest I've ever run around the bases," Casida said. "I just wanted to get back in and celebrate with my teammates."
Dominguez had a two-hitter through four innings, but the Stallions kept fighting back.
"My hats off to them," he said. "That's one good ballclub."
And one that very well could be a force next season. Madera South's roster had four seniors.
"We've learned so much, grown so much," coach John Fernandez said. "We want to start next year where we just finished."
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