Clippers take fourth

WHEELING, W.Va. — Columbiana’s boys golf team finished fourth on Thursday at the OVAC Class 3A golf tournament on the Crispin Course at Oglebay.

For the Clippers, who shot 314 as a team, Trenton Hall had a 73, David Masters 78, Luke Struharik 81 and Geoffrey Malcolmson 82. Hall was sixth overall.

United shot a 388 as a team. For the Eagles, Adam Looman had an 89, Davin Ingold 96, Lukas Hamilton 101 and Gavin Coffee 102.

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Wheeling Central 298, 2. Barnesville 300, 3. Martins Ferry 311, 4. Columbiana 314, 5. Fort Frye 321, 6. Shenandoah 346, 7. Monroe Central 362, 8. Buckeye Trail 371, 9. United 388.

Fever win series for first time since ’15

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Aliyah Boston made the go-ahead basket with 7.4 seconds left, Lexie Hull stole the ensuing inbounds pass and the Indiana Fever beat the No. 3-seeded Atlanta Dream 87-85 on Thursday night to advance to the WNBA semifinals.

Despite missing Caitlin Clark among its injured players, Indiana closed on a 7-0 run to win a playoff series for the first time since 2015. The sixth-seeded Fever will play on Sunday against the winner of Thursday’s other Game 3 between Seattle and Las Vegas.

Boston was left alone under the basket for an easy layup after Brionna Jones went to the ground going for a loose ball. It gave Indiana an 86-85 lead, its first since it was 33-30 in the second quarter.

Rhyne Howard twice had trouble inbounding the ball in the final seconds, with Hull coming from behind to poke it away from Jones. Indiana got it to Odyssey Sims, who went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to give Atlanta another shot with 1.2 left. Jones’ off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 24 points and Boston had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Sims had 16 points and eight assists, and Natasha Howard added 12 points.

Allisha Gray had 19 points and 12 rebounds for her first playoff double-double to lead Atlanta. Jordin Canada also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Rhyne Howard scored 16 points and Jones had 12.

Atlanta, which was held to 60 points in a 17-point loss in Game 2 on Tuesday, reached 60 points with 6:09 left in the third quarter.

Shey Peddy made a 3-pointer with 6:06 remaining in the fourth to pull Indiana within 80-78. Neither team scored again until the 3:21 mark on Brianna Turner’s putback to tie it at 80-all.

Atlanta has not won a playoff series since 2016.

Kershaw will retire after season

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An emotional Clayton Kershaw said Thursday he will retire at the end of the season, having spent his entire 18-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wiping his eyes, his voice choking at times, Kershaw said he knew going into the season that it was likely going to be his last, but he didn’t want to say anything in case he changed his mind.

“I’m really not sad. I’m really at peace with this. It’s just emotional and I tried to hold it together,” he said at a Dodger Stadium news conference. “I told our guys not to make it weird today because I was going to get weird if you make it weird, and here I am making it weird.”

The three-time Cy Young Award winner had his wife, Ellen, and four children with him in the room crowded with his teammates, manager Dave Roberts and media.

“I’ve just never been around a greater competitor,” Roberts said. “Very accountable, very consistent. He’s made me better and I think we’ve both grown together so I feel fortunate to have been able to manage him and be around him for 10 years.”

The 37-year-old left-hander who got his 3,000th strikeout in July will make his final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium on Friday night against the San Francisco Giants.

“The game in and of itself I’m going to miss a lot, but I’ll be OK without that,” Kershaw said. “The hard thing will be the feeling after a win. That’s pretty special.”

The 11-time All-Star and 2014 NL MVP is tied with Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the most years with the Dodgers in franchise history. Kershaw won World Series championships in 2020 and 2024.

“I love being here. I wouldn’t change that for anything,” Kershaw said. “My kids have grown up here. We’ve all grown up here.”

Kershaw has a career record of 222-96 and 15 shutouts, which lead active major league players. He threw his only no-hitter in June 2014 against Colorado.

His 2.54 ERA is the lowest of any pitcher in the live-ball era since 1920, and his winning percentage tops all pitchers with at least 200 victories since 1900.

Kershaw’s decision was not unexpected.

He has struggled with injuries in recent years and began this season on the IL while recovering from offseason surgery. He didn’t pitch until May, but proved to be a stalwart when the rotation was hard-hit by injuries.

“Not a lot of people get this opportunity,” he said, “so I’m just super grateful for it.”

In 2024, Kershaw was forced to end his season in August because of a toe injury that limited him to seven starts and just 30 innings with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA, all career lows.

Kershaw is one of three active pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts, along with former teammate Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Kershaw could be the last pitcher for a while to reach the milestone — often considered a surefire ticket for Hall of Fame enshrinement. Kershaw would be eligible for Cooperstown in 2031.

He missed the entire postseason, including the Dodgers’ World Series win over the New York Yankees. That spurred him to return this year for what many had speculated would be his final season.

“I appreciate everything that he’s meant to the game, meant to the Dodgers, meant to myself,” shortstop Mookie Betts said.

As great as he’s been during the regular season, he’s endured his share of heartache in October. He has a 4.22 ERA in the postseason.

His teammates often cite his work ethic between starts as inspirational, and he is a commanding, if quiet, presence in the clubhouse.

“It’s sad day but it’s an exciting day for him,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “He gets to finally move on to the next chapter.”

Frequently tabbed as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, Kershaw built his reputation with a pitching style that relies on deception, movement and velocity changes. He has said he modeled his mechanics after his favorite childhood pitcher, Roger Clemens.

As his velocity diminished in recent years, he found ways to compensate by adapting his approach.

Kershaw is one of the better fielding pitchers and before the National League added a designated hitter, he was known as a decent hitter, too.

He made his big league debut on May 25, 2008.

Kershaw won’t be bored away from the field. His wife is expecting their fifth child. His oldest son, Charley, has a locker in the Dodgers clubhouse next to his father. The couple has done humanitarian work in Africa and Los Angeles.

He spends the offseason in his native Dallas, where he and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford were teammates on their high school football team.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB