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Monday MLB— Brewers at Cubs, 11:10 a.m., WGN MLB— Red Sox at Twins, 1 p.m., ESPN MLB— A’s at Mariners, 3:40 p.m., CSNCA MLB— Pirates at Giants, 7:15 p.m., CSNBA NBA— Rockets at Kings, 7 p.m., CSNCA Sports 1B Monday April 12, 2010 Soroptomist Spring Run brings out best Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson The 10th Annual Soroptomist Spring Run at the Sacramento River Discovery Center featured 127 registered runners. By GEOFF JOHNSON It began over a few drinks at a barbecue, DN Staff Writer Like most races, there was a gunshot, and a flurry of footsteps. Like most races, the 10th Annual Sorop- tomist Spring Run began much earlier than Saturday morning’s competition, when 127 registered runners, and one Welsh Corgi, lined up at the Sacramento River Discovery Center for one-mile, 5K and 10K races. It began when 43-year-old Matt Powers, a carpenter for Kinner Construction, was asked to watch his boss’s grandchildren during the one-mile walk-run. A broken neck in 1993, smoking and drinking habits, a pair of feet that suffered third-degree burns last year — none of it could keep Powers from running this year. Asked how he felt when he finished the run, Powers was in a good mood. “Not bad, not bad for someone that has- n’t run in 20 years,” he said. when ear, nose, and throat specialist Tim Frantz was boasting about his marathon experience. At least, that’s what David Towne said, whose wife Kelly Towne works for Frantz. David Towne got the idea to challenge Frantz in the 10k. For weeks now, he had been training, jogging miles while pushing his boy Daw- son Towne, 3, in a stroller outfitted with rugged mountain-bike styled tires. By pushing the stroller and baby, about 60 pounds altogether, he hoped to build up some muscle. “I gave (Frantz) some donuts,” Towne said. “Maybe that’ll slow him down.” It began when Red Bluff resident Jill Lyford and her friends held a contest styled after TV’s “Biggest Loser” contest, com- peting to see who could lose the most weight. Exercising had worked out so well for her friends that eight of her friends and family agreed to compete in this year’s run, spending four Sundays running the 5K in advance of the real thing. For some, it was less that it began, as much as it was that it never stopped. Dan Keck, winner of the 5K, was run- ning before the race and will be running afterwards. He already has more Soroptomist races under his belt than he can remember, but Saturday’s victory was just training. The Corning resident is scheduled to run in the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon in Seattle in June. By the time he is out of the state, Sorop- tomist organizers estimate he, and others like him, will have raised some $3,000 in scholarships for women and girls. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527- 2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluff- dailynews.com. Left from attention, Lefty wins Masters AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Phil Mickel- son soaked up a scene he knows all too well as he climbed the steep hill toward the 18th green at Augusta National to claim another green jacket. Only when he rapped in one last birdie for a three-shot victory did this Masters get even better. Standing behind the green — as always — was his wife, Amy, with her long blonde hair and easy smile, their three children at her side. She had not been on a golf course since being diagnosed with breast cancer 11 months ago, and had stayed in bed most of the week. ‘‘I wasn’t sure if she was going to be there,’’ Mickelson said. A week of roars gave way to tears as they hugged for the longest time. Mickel- son finally had to let go, and with a single tear trickling down his cheek, headed for the scoring hut to sign his card for a 5- under 67, the official stamp on a most compelling Masters. ‘‘In the last year, we’ve been through a lot and it’s been tough. And to be on the other end and feel this kind of jubilation is incredible,’’ said Mickelson, who tight- ly grasped his wife’s hand until he headed off for an interview. This Masters deserved nothing less than a storybook ending. It began with Tiger Woods returning from a sex scandal, which shattered his image but left his game intact. He capti- vated crowds by flirting with contention until the putts stopped falling and he tied for fourth. It ended with Mickelson mak- ing daring escapes from the trees, deliver- ing a clutch birdie in the heart of Amen Corner, and pulling off a high-risk shot out of the pine straw. He knocked in an 8-foot birdie putt for a three-shot margin over Lee Westwood, who lost the lead for good with a three- putt bogey on the ninth hole and never got closer than two shots over the final six holes. ‘‘It’s been such an incredible week, an Tehama Tracker Spartans softball The Lady Spartans lost to the hosts 8-7, Saturday at the Pleasant Valley softball tournament. The Lady Vikings erupted for seven runs in the third inning, but Red Bluff battled back to tie the game 7-7 after five innings. However Pleasant Valley squeezed out the game winning run in the top of the seventh to drop Red Bluff to 17-6 on the season. Cardinals baseball Corning’s fast start in the Shasta Lake Bass Easter Baseball classic came to a crash with two straight losses to end their tournament run. Corning had won their first three games to open the tournament, but then fell 12-2 to Pleasant Valley and 4-2 to Chico. Tyler McIntyre homered in the loss MCT photo Phil Mickelson slips on the green jacket Sunday following his win. emotional week,’’ Mickelson said. ‘‘And to cap it off with a victory is something I can’t put into words. It’s something we’ll share for the rest of our lives.’’ Mickelson finished at 16-under 272, the best score by a Masters champion since Woods in 2001. Just like his last Masters title in 2006, the outcome was never in doubt as Mick- elson arrived on the 18th green. Unlike any of his other 40 victories around the world, there was never this much emo- tion. Mickelson shared a long embrace with his caddie, Jim ‘‘Bones’’ Mackay, who took countless trips to San Diego to be with Mickelson as he coped with the uncertainty of cancer — not only Amy’s but his mother, Mary, who was diagnosed the week of his wife’s first surgery. Mackay sat on the grass, legs crossed like a schoolboy, during the green jacket ceremony. He could barely speak. ‘‘Twenty years from now, nothing will compare to this,’’ Mackay said. Westwood was third at the British Open last summer, tied for third at the PGA Championship, and dealt with another close call at the Masters with his highest finish ever in a major. He remains among the best players without one. See LEFTY, page 2B to the Vikings and Marc Mason went 2- for-3. Corning is 10-4-1 on the season. Warriors baseball Mercy, who had lost to Corning to open the Shasta Lake tournament and their next three games, rebounded to salvage a win, Saturday, with a 9-8 vic- tory over University Prep. Cameron Vietti went 3-for-4 with a double and drove in a run. Dylan Thomas drove in two runs to go along with a pair of hits. Scott Farmer also drove in two runs and Mitchell Lopez went 2-for-3 with a double. Vietti struck out 14 batters in a 11-5, 9-inning loss to Sutter. Mercy also fell to Etna 9-8 and Yreka 19-4. Soroptomist Spring Run Winners One-Mile 1st Leirn Hoover, 12 11:28 2nd Jennifer Peyton, 11 11:28 3rd Emily Ryan, 11 11:31 5K 1st Dan Keck, 51 18:19 2nd James Lander, 18 19:39 3rd Andrew Zufall, 15 20:35 10K 1st Devon Shoop, 18 39:14 2nd Pete Davies, 45 39:29 3rd Blake Zufall, 15 39:49