Season ends for Clovis West boys basketball after stunning defeat
For the second year in a row, Clovis West had its season end on a extremely sour note, this time losing 70-56 at home to Sunnyside in a stunning turn of events for the No. 1 seed looking for a return trip to the D-I Valley title game at Selland Arena.
The Golden Eagles were coming off a 9-1 TRAC championship season and a sparkling 26-3 record with home court advantage. However, they sure picked a bad time for a letdown against the No. 9 seed Wildcats.
Clovis West was down 48-45 over Sunnyside entering the fourth quarter and actually took a 51-50 lead on a Dante Chachere layup with 3:52 left in the game. However, the upset-minded Wildcats would outscore the Golden Eagles 20-5 the rest of the game.
Last year, Clovis West, as the No. 2 seed, lost 71-68 at home to No. 7 Bullard.
Overall, it was a down year for TRAC teams in the playoffs as Sunnyside beat No. 8 Buchanan 68-58, No. 7 Clovis North beat Centennial 78-70 before losing to No. 2 Bullard 70-61, No. 13 Clovis East lost at No. 4 Liberty 57-55 and No. 14 Clovis lost 76-62 at No. 4 Liberty.
TRAC baseball teams off to scorching start
What if I told you that five teams are a combined 30-2 on the young season, dominating opponents on both offense and defense, surely a precursor to a competitive league season.
Well, that’s the case. As of March 5, those five baseball programs have started off in a hot blaze with Clovis West (7-0), Clovis North (6-0), Buchanan (6-0), Clovis (6-1) and Clovis East (5-1) all off to remarkable starts.
Most of the games were a part of the Coca-Cola Classic run by Clovis coach James Patrick, featuring 14 of the best teams from Fresno to Tulare. The tie-breaker for making the championship game is the least amount of runs given up during the tournament in which Clovis West gave up a total of five and Clovis North 10. The two teams played on Feb. 5 at Clovis High.
The next issue of the Clovis Roundup will have a preview of every baseball team in the TRAC with league play beginning on March 16.
Clovis’ Lung pitches perfecto, Sodersten throws no-hitter
Clovis High School had a double dip of history in late February on the 24th when senior Blake Sodersten threw a complete game no-hitter with 11 Ks and zero walks in the Cougars 7-0 win over Tulare Western.
Then on Feb. 27, Clovis superstar pitcher Danielle Lung threw a perfect game in the Cougars 5-0 season opener, a 15-strikeout masterpiece. Lung, a Fresno State signee, burst on the scene her freshman year when she threw a no-hitter in the Valley championship 2-0 win over Central. The Cougars are the defending D-I Valley champs.