Schools

The 2015/16 basketball campaign is shaping up as a good one for Cloverdale High School boys and girls teams, with both poised to kick off what figures to be a strong league season.

Only baseball, track and field teams will see action next week as Healdsburg High takes an early spring break.

Hounds take 4-3 record into holiday break

For the first time in Mark Domenichelli’s 16 years as a baseball coach at Healdsburg High, his team has reached the semifinals in the division championship series. That means they’re just one win away from the finals, two from the title.

Healdsburg’s narrow path to an NBL Redwood baseball pennant opened a bit wider Wednesday afternoon. In dramatic fashion, the Greyhounds broke a 7-inning scoreless game on a two-out error by the Montgomery shortstop that allowed Tyler Swanson to score from second in the top of the eight inning.

Healdsburg’s cross country program is historically strong, but this year’s runners have set a high bar even for Greyhounds. At the North Bay League Championships meet last weekend, on Nov. 8, three of the top four finishers in the boys varsity, and five of the top 10, represented Healdsburg.

If nothing else the final score, 69-34, shows the Greyhounds were in the game, even after a forfeit the previous week kept them off the field. For the first time this year, they started with a full roster as the early season suspensions expired, giving the team a chance to get a tough game under their belt before the NBL-Mountain league debut this Friday in San Rafael.

Healdsburg’s varsity basketball team plays as hard as any in the county, pulling off the occasional upset while fighting to keep its year record respectable. Second-year coach AJ Crosby said, as the league season began on Jan. 7, “I think we’re starting to hit our stride now.”

By halftime Tuesday night the Healdsburg Greyhounds basketball team seemed to have things well in hand. After a relatively quiet first period that ended 7-6 to the home team’s advantage, the Lady Greys exploded for 19 points in the second quarter, doing what they do best with a smothering defense and rapid, accurate shooting from inside the key—and beyond the arc. Then it turned around.