The News-Messenger from Fremont, Ohio • Page B1

1 SPORTS VINCE GUERRIERI ASSISTANT EDITOR Phone: 419-334-1042 Email: vguerriegannett.com U.S. OPEN 2B NEIGHBORS 6B SOFTBALL NBA FINALS Heat on fire; tie series By Brian Mahoney Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY LeBron James asked for help, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh provided it. The Miami Heat finally rediscovered the formula to winning in the NBA Finals barely. James scored 32 points, Wade rebounded from a poor opener with 24 and the Heat built a huge early lead before holding off a furious fourth-quarter rally behind their three All-Stars to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96 on Thursday night to tie the series at one game apiece. Bosh had 16 points and 15 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for the Heat, who snapped a four-game finals losing streak with their first victory since Game 3 against Dallas last year.

"We've been down. We've withstood rallies. The good thing about it, when they scored, we didn't get our head down. We just got back on offense and started to execute," James said. "It's a great team that we're going against.

So we're going to need every effort, every play and it's going to take all the way down to zeroes on that clock to get a win." Now they go home to host Game 3 on Sunday and the next two after that, knowing they don't have to hear the noisy Thunder fans again not to mention all their critics if they win all three. Kevin Durant scored 32 points for the Thunder, but missed a shot after appearing to be bumped with James that would have tied a game the Thunder trailed the entire way. Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but shot 10 of 25 from the field. James Harden tried to keep the Thunder in it early and finished with 21 points, but this time the Thunder couldn't come back from a double-digit deficit after spotting Miami a 17-point advantage during their worst first half of the season. It was the first home loss in 10 postseason games for the Thunder, who had overcome a 13-point deficit in Game 1.

James had 30 points in the opener, but afterward said he needed more help from his friends, especially Wade. In Game 1, Wade was 7 of 19. He wasn't sharp in the last round and continues to hear reports that something is physically wrong with him. He was all but asked Wednesday if his explosiveness was a thing of the past, what must have been insulting to a player who, though 30, still believes he's not far from the top of the game. Lakota's Abby Durst throws a pitch in a game in May.

Durst was recognized second-team all-Ohio Thursday. JONATHON BIRD.NEWS-MESSENGER Bellevue's Santoro, Lilly earn honors Lakota's Durst, Woodmore's Phillips selected Schubert cheering for Kent Bellevue AD watches alma mater advance to College World Series tournament By Kevin Shields Sports writer BELLEVUE Bellevue athletic director Brian Schubert, like other Kent State University alumni and fans across Ohio, was glued intently to his television Monday evening, hoping to see the Golden Flashes baseball team make history. Kent State, the fifth seed overall, was a win away from qualifying to its first-ever College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Tied at a game apiece in its best-of-three Super Regional at Oregon, the Golden Flashes held a 2-0 lead going into the final innings for the second straight night. It looked like Schubert a former KSU pitcher and graduate of 1990 just might get to see his former team become just the third Mid-American Conference team to make the trek to Omaha.

However, just like the previous night, the Ducks fought back, tying the game in the top of the eighth. But this time, KSU didn't give up the lead as did in Sunday's 3-2 loss. Instead, freshman pitcher Brian Clark worked back to get his team out of the inning and turned a quick 1-2-3 ninth to set the stage for the bottom of the ninth. Facing Oregon closer Jimmie Sherfy, who made the Golden Flashes look silly in the batter's box with his slider for most of three games in his relief appearances, not much was expected of the KSU offense. But Derek Toad-vine drew a walk to leadoff, then was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.

That brought up KSU's all-time leader in hits, Jimmy Rider, and Rider's flare down the left field line sent Toadvine home and those watching, like Schubert, into a celebratory frenzy. The Golden Flashes, who play Arkansas in their first game on Saturday, are the first MAC team since Eastern Michigan in 1976 to book a trip to Omaha. They're the first state team since Ohio University to make it since 1970. "I'm happy for the program," Schubert said. "Kent has a great tradition and they've had good baseball for a long time.

It's just great to see." Schubert, the MAC pitcher of the year in 1990, graduated a year before current KSU coach Scott Stricklin started his playing career with the Golden Flashes. For his KSU career, Schubert tallied 22 victories, which included a 9-4 record and 2.55 earned run average as a senior. Kent was 35-18 overall and 17-10 in the MAC his final year, finishing third in the conference. "The talent level was improving every year that I was there," said Schubert. "My team was just on the verge in 1990 during my senior year.

I think we lost the MAC championship on the last day on our field. But after that, they took off." Schubert, a 2004 Bellevue Hall of Fame inductee, was recruited by long-time Ohio State baseball coach Bob Todd. He played a year for Todd in 1987, before Todd moved on to the Buckeyes. Todd recently ended his career in 2010 as OSU's all-time winningest coach with 901 victories in 23 years. Schubert led the Redmen to a state title in 1985, where he started and won all eight games for the Bellevue baseball team, coached at the time by long-time football coach Ed Nasonti.

Threw no-hitter During his freshman year at Kent State, Schubert became the third player in NCAA history to throw a no-hitter in his first collegiate start as the Golden Flashes shut out Youngstown State 6-0. Todd was replaced by current Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall the winningest coach in Tech sports history who coached Schubert from 1988-90. Hall left to coach the Yellow Jackets in 1994 after winning back-to-back MAC titles in 1992 and 1993 with Stricklin as his catcher. "Stricklin does a nice job of emailing alumni and texting us to See SCHUBERT, page 2B with an on-base percentage of .546. The prolific Santoro stepped in at catcher because of an injury to Kelsey Yantz as a freshman in the spring and earned second-team all-state status.

She batted .500 with seven home runs and 52 News-Messenger report Bellevue's softball team had two girls recognized all-Ohio in Division II by the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association in second baseman Hannah Lilly and catcher Carly Santoro. and had an ERA of 1.35 in 11913innings. She batted .460 with six home runs, 19 runs and 25 RBIs. Woodmore's Madeline Phillips was honorable mention in Division III as she struck out 207 and walked 24 with an ERA of 1.29 over 173 innings as a sophomore in the spring. Phillips (21-5) allowed opponents to hit only .187 and threw 71 percent of her pitches for strikes.

Phillips batted .478 with nine doubles, 26 RBIs and 27 runs as the Wildcats finished one game back of Eastwood in the Northern Buckeye Conference. Phillips was first-team all-Northwest District and co-pitcher of the year in the NBC. RBIs. Lakota pitcher Abby Durst was a second-team pick in Division IV. Durst was first-team all-district Lilly was a first-team selection after hitting .524 with 14 RBIs, 22 stolen bases and 44 runs in 27 games as a junior in the spring as the Santoro Lilly and all-Midland Ath Northern Lady Red won the letic League as a senior in the spring as the Raiders finished a game back in the conference.

Durst (14-4) struck out 123 Ohio League. Lilly has earned a reputation for gritty play and slugged .619 MLB Cincy smacks 3 HRs in sweep of Indians y- -ir LW" 1 Mfci nv- MLB Verlander gets 1st win in a month CHICAGO (AP) Justin Verlander was running in the outfield Thursday when he heard a round of cheers from the sizeable contingent of Detroit Tigers fans that packed Wrigley Field for the series finale against the Chicago Cubs. "I got chills," Verlander said. He returned the favor during an important 5-3 victory, pitching eight solid innings and helping himself with a pair of sacrifices as Detroit capped an encouraging 4-2 interleague road trip through Cincinnati and Chicago. While Verlander shut down the Cubs in another impressive performance, Austin Jackson hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh and a two-run homer in the ninth to help the Tigers to their fourth victory in five games.

"We've got to start winning two out of three," manager Jim See TIGERS, page 2B Baker, getting hit in the arm by a pitch during a 5-3 win on Wednesday night. Phillips wasn't aware of why Lowe hit him. "To be honest, I don't even know what he said," Phillips said. "We won. We're in first place, that's all I care about.

We're too busy winning." Mike Leake went 4 1-3 innings before having to leave the game, still feeling the effects of a nasty stomach virus that swept through the clubhouse at the start of the series. Jose Arredondo (4-1) pitched out of a threat in the fifth. Votto hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Josh Tomlin (3-4), who had been 4-0 in five career interleague starts. Cleveland's Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 21 games, longest in the majors this season. Other than that, there wasn't much good for the Indians during the visit to the Ohio River city.

"Not the way you wanted to finish a road trip," manager Manny Acta said. "You've got to give them credit. They beat us on both sides of the ball. Their By Joe Kay Associated Press CINCINNATI This Cleve-land-versus-Cincinnati series will be remembered for an inside fastball and a wagging finger. Don't overlook that sweep, though.

Brandon Phillips hit one of Cincinnati's three homers and drove in four more runs on Thursday afternoon, leading the ailing Reds to a 12-5 victory and their first three-game sweep of the Indians since 2008. Joey Votto and Ryan Ludwick also homered for the Reds, who had a season-high 17 hits. "What a series!" Ludwick said. "What a win!" No surprise that Phillips played a starring role for the NL Central leaders. He went 8 for 13 with two homers and seven RBIs against the team that gave up on him in 2006, raising his career average against Cleveland to .356.

He also paid a price for a dust-up between Indians starter Derek Lowe and Reds manager Dusty Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart throws to first base after fielding a ground ball hit by Cleveland Indians' Aaron Cunningham in the second inning of Thursday's game in Cincinnati. Cozart threw Cunningham out at first, ap starters pretty much held our offense down, and they out-hit us, too." Phillips was upset at his treatment in Cleveland before he was traded to Cincinnati. He has mellowed over the years, but got a lot of enjoyment out of beating his former team. See INDIANS, page 2B.