By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON – For the first time this season, the Muskegon Clippers have control of their own destiny.

The Clippers swept a doubleheader against the Southern Ohio Copperheads on Saturday night at Marsh Field and did it with the franchise’s first no hitter in the nightcap.

The Clippers won the opening game in sudden death, 6-5, then pulled off a 3-0 combined no-hitter by Maxwell Salas and Winston Delp and won the nightcap.

Muskegon suddenly has the second-best winning percentage in the league with a 17-16 record with just nine games remaining.

The Clippers will travel to play the Xenia Scouts in a three-game series starting on Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m.

“We tried to pick the right guys to pitch on the right day,” said Clippers’ manager Logan Fleener. “Our staff called a great game and executed.

“We played a high anxiety sudden death game, and then all of a sudden, it’s 20 minutes we need to get hot again. We are humans and we are going to do everything to get ready, but it helped having a guy shove it down their throats.”

Game 1
Clippers 6
Copperheads 5 (Sudden death)

The Clippers jumped out to a 5-0 lead, scoring three runs in the first and two in the third inning.

Muskegon scored on a wild pitch and two-run double by Luke Noack in the first inning.

The Clippers added a pair of runs on RBI singles from Cole Leclair and Aidan Robinson.

The Copperheads responded with two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh inning to tie the contest. Both teams failed to score in the eighth, forcing a sudden death half inning.

In the sudden death ninth inning, Southern Ohio opted to go on offense, which put a runner on first with no outs. If the Coppersheads score, they win. If Muskegon keeps them from scoring, the Clippers win.

The Copperheads advanced their runner to third base, but could not get him home.

Taylor Head and Leclair paced the Clippers with two hits apiece.

Davis Weeks earned the win by shutting down Southern Ohio in the sudden-death inning. Connor Freeman tossed a no-decision, pitching five innings and allowing no runs on five hits while striking out six batters.

Game 2
Clippers 3
Copperheads 0

Six shutout innings by Salas and one by Delp secured the no-hit victory. Salas struck out five and walked two while Delp came on in the seventh inning for the final three outs.

Clippers scored a run in the second, third, and sixth innings.

Weeks had an RBI single; Jack Bakus added an RBI single; and Ashten Wong had a sacrifice fly.

Ethan Delgado, Bakus, Weeks, and Ben Meyers each recorded a hit.

“It feels awesome to do this on this historical field and be a part of the history,” Salas said. “I try to throw as many strikes as possible and see what happens. And I trust the guys behind me.”

It is never easy for a reliever to finish a no-hitter, but Delp had plenty of confidence going into the final inning.

“Max (Salas) did all the hard work, but the hard part is I didn’t want to let him down,” Delp said. “I just tried to fill up the zone and use the team around me.”

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso County Coliseum hosted Ring Wars 18 on Saturday, showcasing local talent in nine bouts.

The night was highlighted by the main event featuring men’s flyweight fight between Albuquerque’s Abraham Perez (11-0) and Angel Geovanny Meza Morales (9-3-3), a product out of Baja California, Mexico.

Results can be found below:

Welterweight

DeVon Garcia of Las Cruces is awarded the win by knockout against Avante Kamara of Forth Worth 1-minute and two seconds into round one. Both made their pro debut at the event. Garcia moves to a 1-0 record.

Super Flyweight

D’Angelo Sanchez of Las Cruces improves to a 2-1 pro record after defeating Atlanta’s Rondarius Hunter by TKO 1-minute and 52 seconds into round three of four.

Heavyweights

Vercell Webster of Dallas takes the win over El Paso’s Marcos Duran by unanimous decision, 38-37. Duran suffering his first pro defeat dropping to a 2-1 record.

Lightweight

Fort Worth’s Gary Hampton snapped Las Cruces’ Andres Rey undefeated streak with a unanimous decision of 57-56, 58-54 and 59-84. Rey moves to a 5-1 record.

Flyweight

El Pasoan Ivy Enriquez extends her unbeaten record to 4-0 after defeating Liverpool’s (New York) Damiana Andrello after a four round decision win.

Super Flyweight

Nayeli Rodriguez of El Paso takes her fight after a 6-round decision win against Alexis Mones of Forth Worth. Rodriguez moves to a 6-0-1 record after the 59-55, 59-55 and 57-56 scores while also securing the Queen of the Ring Championship title.

Middleweight

Middleweight Jorge Tovar of El Paso moves to a 12-0 record with nine KO’s after a 4th round knock out against Joaquin Murrieta Lucio of Sonora, MX. Tovar takes the King of the Ring Championship title.

Flyweight

El Paso native, now current Albuquerque resident, Abraham “Hammer” Perez takes the win in the main event by decision over Angel Geovanny Meza Morales of Baja California, MX. With scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75, Perez remains undefeated with a 12-0 record.

• Geographic and Seasonal Isolation: Harsh winters, long distances, and limited transportation options increase emotional stress and reduce access to care.
• Limited Behavioral Health Services: Shortages of mental health professionals, long wait times, and increased demand place a heavy burden on individuals seeking timely support.
• Cultural and Intergenerational Stigma: Deep-rooted social attitudes can make seeking help feel difficult, particularly in close-knit communities where privacy is limited.
• Occupational Strain and Seasonal Work: Commercial fishing, processing, and irregular schedules create added pressure, fatigue, and mental burnout.
• Trauma and Historical Injustice: The long-term impacts of colonization, cultural displacement, and systemic inequities continue to affect the mental health of Alaska Native individuals and families.

The 6’6 Stevens is averaging 14.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game. All of those are career highs under first-year Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts. Adler explains how Stevens has thrived in Roberts’ system:

“She’s in a very pick-and-roll-heavy scheme that involves a lot of sort of cutting and just threes and rim shots off the ball. And … part of it is her sort of best position has been an open question for a while. She played the five and the four and the three, really, in Chicago, and it all really varied based on the teammate she was with. There was a lot of playing with Candace [Parker]. There was a lot of playing with Stef Dolson. …

“Now, playing with Dearica Hamby, things look really different because Dearica Hamby is an offensive five, a defensive four. So it’s a sort of a weird mix. I think it’s exciting to think about what that looks like once Cam Brink comes back. But until then, I think it’s really accentuating how good she is as a cutter, how quickly she thinks off the move, and how decisive she is, and just how much skill she has playing in space without having to worry about really anything getting cluttered up along the way, and I think it’s really brought out what her game is.”

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Williams was named an All-Star this season for the first time in her seven seasons. She is averaging 14.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.6 steals and 0.5 blocks in 33.9 minutes per game. Those are career highs in every category except rebounds. Cruse explains what’s different about how Williams is playing this season:

“I think she’s been more aggressive off the catch. I think we’ve seen her have a more aggressive scoring mentality this season. I was looking at the finishing numbers, and the finishing numbers still aren’t great in half court, but … it seems better when I watch her play. Obviously in transition, she’s insane. That game against New York, the way she was making plays in passing lanes doesn’t make sense. Like, you shouldn’t be this athletic on a basketball court. …

“She’s made more pull-up twos this year. I think she’s been more effective in that way [than] she has been in previous seasons. And then defensively, she’s ridiculous on that end.”

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