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ByKristieRieken TheAssociatedPress HOUSTON StephenCurrysaid Friday that he'll be very sur- prised if his sprained right ankle keeps him out in Game 4 of the Golden State War- riors' first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Curry was injured in the series opener and missed the last two games. Golden State won the first one without him, but Houston took Game 3 on Thursday night to cut the se- ries deficit to 2-1. Last year's MVP was on the bench for Game 2, but watched from the locker room Thursday night because he didn't bring a suit to Houston. Though he's still listed as question- able for the next game, Curry sounded pretty confident that he wouldn't be on the bench again. "I will not be going to any suit store," Curry said when asked if he'd buy a suit in case he doesn't play Sunday. Curry played a couple of games of 3-on-3 during prac- tice Friday to test his ankle. Physically he felt good, but all wasn't well with the star and he answered this way when asked how his explosion and change of direction was in practice. "Awful," he said. "It was just rusty. Got to get the flow and the mechanics and stuff. When you miss that time literally not NBA PLAYOFFS Currywouldbevery surprisednottoplay Golden State's MVP has missed last 2 games with sprained right ankle PHOTOSBYBENMARGOT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry cheers from the bench during the first half in Game 2of a first- round playoff series Monday against the Houston Rockets in Oakland. The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, center, and coach Steve Kerr smile during a timeout during the first half in Game 2. WARRIORSLEADSERIES2-1 Game 4: Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets, 12:30p.m. Sunday, TV on ABC. TUNEIN Staff Report RED BLUFF The Red Bluff Spar- tans golf team hosted an East- ern Athletic League tournament Thursday at a windy Wilcox Oaks Golf Club and took fifth place. Derek Runnels and Dawson Hopper tied for best rounds for the Spartans, each shooting an 87. Nathan Pregoso was just off that pace with an 89, Ben Crain carded a 100, Kaden Catrell shot 102 and Cameron Purdue shot 115. Chico High School took first in the tournament with a team score of 437 and the top rounds were turned in by Shasta's Zack Caples, 72, and Jaykob Capels, 83. Chico's Tanner Caviness also carded an 83. Earlier in the week the Spar- tans played in the rescheduled Wolf Pack Invitational Tourna- ment, hosted by Shasta High School at Gold Hills Golf Course in Redding. The tournament was postponed March 21 due to in- clement weather. Pregoso led the Spartans with an 81, followed by Runnels at 82, Hopper at 89, Crain at 103, Cantrell at 104 and Purdue at 108. Chico won the tournament with a team score of 397. The top round came from Chico's Garrett Grassmyer and Jesuit's Keaton Sutherland, who each shot 72. The Spartans are in fifth place in the league, five points behind Foothill and two points ahead of Paradise. GOLF Spartanstake fi h place in windy home tournament Staff Reports RED BLUFF The Mercy Warriors baseball team ganged up on the visiting Liberty Christian Patri- ots for an 11-1 win Thursday in six innings. The Warrior put up a run each in the first and second innings, then piled on four more in the fourth. The Patriots managed a run in the top of the sixth, but the Warriors responded with five runs to end the game under the 10-run rule. Travis Gorden was named player of the game for the War- riors, going 3 for 5 with a dou- ble and a run. He also stole a bag and pitched the complete game, giving up an earned run on three hits, walking three and striking out 14. Jonathan Ross went 2 for 3 with a run and two RBIs, a base on balls and stole a base; Richie Borges was 2 for 3 with a double, base on balls, two runs and three RBIs; freshman Will Nelson went 2 for 4 with two runs, an RBI and a base on balls; Bryce Baer was 1 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs; Dartagnan Kingwell was 1 for 1 with a run and an RBI and Rob- ert Rodriguez and Nick Ornelas each had an RBI. The Warriors were quick on the basepaths with Nelson and Borges each stealing twice. Al- varo De La Fuente, freshman Tas- man McClellan, Nate Bennett, Ka- vin McClellan and Ornelas each stealing successfully. The Warriors (5-7 overall, 4-1 league) are scheduled to face the league-leading Chester Volcanoes (8-6 overall, 2-0 league) at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Chester. FOOTHILL 5, LADY SPARTANS 0 The Red Bluff Lady Spartans soft- ball team was shut out 5-0 on the road Thursday against the league- leading Foothill Cougars. The Spartans were held to just two hits on the afternoon and committed an error. As of 4:30 p.m. Friday no indi- vidual stats had been posted for PREP ROUNDUP Warriors show no mercy to Patriots Lady Spartans shut out 5-0 in Palo Cedro by league-best Foothill By Hank Kurz Jr. The Associated Press RICHMOND, VA. Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart returned to the track on Friday for the first time this season, and several driv- ers said they support his right to raise questions about safety concerns. NASCAR fined Stewart $35,000 on Thursday for com- ments he made criticizing the series for not policing how many lug nuts teams are apply- ing during tire changes. Some teams have opted to use four lug nuts instead of five for a faster pit stop, especially late in races, and it has led to a rash of loose wheels in the past two races. The nine-member driver council announced Thursday night that it would pay the fine for Stewart, saying it dis- agreed with the punishment, and council member Denny Hamlin said at Richmond In- ternational Raceway that the show of solidarity was impor- tant. NASCAR said Friday that it has always had severe penal- ties in place for loose wheels, including a four-race suspen- sion for the crew chief and tire changer, but Scott Miller, se- nior vice president for compe- tition, said the series has de- cided to "re-evaluate our po- sition" in enforcing the rules. "The teams are obviously NASCAR SPRINT CUP Stewart's stormy return garners support Fellow drivers decide to pay his $35,000 fine in show of solidarity STEVE HELBER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tony Stewart watches his crew work on his car during practice Friday for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Richmond, Virginia. By John Hickey Bay Area News Group TORONTO Sonny Gray survived a rare bout of wildness, and the A's bullpen barely survived a concerted comeback effort by the Blue Jays as Oakland held off Toronto 8-5 Friday, the A's sixth consecutive win. The Jays scored single runs in the sixth and seventh, then two in the eighth to creep to within one run at 6-5, but resurgent left fielder Khris Davis delivered a two-out, two-run single for the A's in the ninth as Oakland im- proved to 7-0 on the road to be- gin the season. And at 10-7, the A's have al- ready won one more game than they did in all of April last year. Gray hadn't walked anybody through five and had a 6-1 lead heading into the sixth. But three walks led to a run, and he gave up another in the seventh to leave with a 6-3 lead. Ryan Dull had allowed one hit and no walks for the season be- fore taking over in the eighth. He got two quick outs, but a walk and a single led manager Bob Melvin to replace him with Sean Doolittle, and the lefty also had control issues. Doolittle loaded the bases with a walk, then gave up a broken-bat single to Kevin Pil- lar, cutting the advantage to 6-5 BASEBALL A's hold off Blue Jays for sixth straight victory ATHLETICS 8, BLUE JAYS 5 Up next: Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays, 10:07a.m. Saturday, TV on CSNCA. THESCORE CURRY PAGE 2 ROUNDUP PAGE 2 STEWART PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, April 23, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1