The Prospector

By Lilia Quevedo, Staff writer

The World Series. One of the biggest events in the United States, in which two baseball teams from opposite leagues compete for a trophy made of silver, and rings emblazoned with diamonds. To get there, each team must play over 100 games and win the most out of their division. If they don’t make it, there’s always next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. Most of the time the winners are your A-class teams, like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. Every now and then, however, the underdog comes out on top.

The San Francisco Giants have beat all odds once again, going to the playoffs for the third time in five years. They won the World Series for the first time in 52 years in 2010, shocking every announcer, non-believer, and especially the anti-Giants announcer Joe Buck. They did it again in 2012, sweeping the Tigers in the World Series. The Giants started off great this year, but after a mishap by Romo, the team just went downhill. All hope was almost lost, but then came September. They stepped up their game and won the Wild Card for the National League against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The first playoffs opponent for the Giants: the Washington Nationals. Game 1 was on October 3, and it was an exciting one. The first game of playoffs is always a crucial one. The pitchers were Peavy for the Giants and Stratsburg for the Nationals. The game started off slow until the Giants scored one run in both the 3rd, 4th, and 7th innings. All seemed well, until Peavy allowed two runs with two outs in the seventh inning. Thankfully, he was able to end the two-out rally and the Giants relievers and closer Casilla were able to win the game with a score of 3-2.

Game 2 was not for the weak of heart. In the second inning, the pitcher Hudson allowed the Nationals to score one run.The Giants played eight scoreless, hopeless innings. It was the ninth inning when the miracle happened. All of the Nationals fans were standing up, thinking their team was going to win. Then the National’s closer, Zimmermann, walked 2nd baseman Joe Panik. There were already two outs so everyone still figured the Nationals would end the game cleanly. But catcher Buster Posey had other plans, and he singled, advancing Panik to second base. The two-out rally would not be ended, because at that point 3rd baseman Pablo Sandoval hit a double and Panik scored, tying the game 1-1. Buster Posey decided to take a risk, and ran all the way from first to home plate, but the umpire called him out. Had he been called safe, the game would not have gone to the 10th inning. Or the 11th. Or to the 18th. But it did, and after 18 heart-stopping, nail-biting innings, the Giants first baseman Brandon Belt grabbed yet another win for the Giants with a home run, ending the game at 2-1 and breaking the record for most extra innings in a playoff game.

The third game was in San Francisco and it was the last game the Giants needed to win to clinch the NLDS. The game started with an inspiring speech by WWE star Daniel Bryan, ending the speech with Hunter Pence’s “Yes! Yes! Yes!” back from 2012. Neither team scored for six innings. It looked like the game was going to go extra innings when the Giant’s pitcher Madison Bumgarner made a big mistake. He tried to throw a sacrifice bunt to third but the throw was wild, causing Sandoval to miss the ball and allow two runs to score. The Nationals added two more runs after that, and the Giants almost rallied in the 9th, but Washington won the game 4-1.

On Tuesday, the Giants did it. They scored two runs in the 2nd inning. In the 7th, the Nationals tied it up. The Giants would not lose this game. It was their home field and all of their fans were waving their orange flags. With one out in the 7th inning, Joe Panik singled on a line drive to left field. Buster Posey singled to center field, advancing Panik to 3rd. All the pressure was on the Nationals pitcher Aaron Barrett. He pitched and walked Hunter Pence. The bases were loaded with only one out, and one of the Giant’s biggest hitters was at bat. Barrett threw the ball..and the pitch was wild. Panik stole home, giving the Giants a 3-2 lead. That run was all the Giants needed, because their outstanding pitching staff managed to prevent the Nationals from scoring the rest of the game. Signed baseballs were given away, players high-fived fans, and there was a huge celebration in the dugout.

The Giants next stop was St. Louis. After four nerve-wracking games against the Nationals, the Giants made it to the NLCS. For the St. Louis Cardinals, they had an easy-breezy time thanks to a not-so-good postseason pitcher Kershaw and a consistent pattern of nearly always hitting in runs in the 7th inning. For the second time in five seasons, these two teams must compete against each other to earn a spot in the World Series.

Game 1’s winner could be determined early in the game. Pitcher Madison Bumgarner for the Giants dominated for 7 ⅔ innings, not allowing a single run. Their three-run-lead they earned from the second and third innings gave room for their closer Casilla to end the game smoothly, allowing the Giants to take a 1-0 lead in the NLCS.

In Game 2, both teams had to work hard to score a single run. The Giants’ pitcher Jake Peavy allowed only two runs, but was replaced by Jeremy Affeldt in the 5th inning. So was the Cardinals’ pitcher Lance Lynn. When it was the top of the 9th inning, the Giants tied the game due to a wild pitch by Trevor Rosenthal which allowed Pinch-runner Matt Duffy to score. The Giants’ hope of winning, however, was crushed when Kelton Wong of the Cardinals hit a walk-off homerun off of the closer Sergio Romo. The series was tied 1-1.

The one loss did not diminish the Giants’ spirit. The player’s determination enabled them to win three straight games at home. Game 3 was won by the Giants in the 10th inning due to an extraordinary sacrifice bunt by Gregor Blanco and a bad throw by Cards reliever Randy Choate. Game 4 was won smoothly with no extra innings and a final score of 6-4. Finally, in Game 5, left-fielder Travis Ishikawa showed the Giants we wasn’t going to retire any time soon. The game was tied 3-3 in the 9th inning when he hit a walk-off homerun, clinching the win for the Giants. He was the first Giants player to do that in a postseason game in the past 40 years.

Now it was time for the Giants to go to the World Series. They had gotten this far, and they wouldn’t stop fighting until they won.

By Montana Vince

“One of the first places I started to get a real following was Sacramento. I know some of you in the crowd have been following me from the very beginning. These throwback songs, I never get the opportunity to play, are dedicated to you.” It may be silent, but the air is charged with the anticipation. The introductory beat to the song Must Be Nice fills the room and the crowd was never quiet again.

Many up and coming artists have made their appearance on the small, humble stage of Ace of Spades. On October 21, 2014, G Eazy returned to the stage with E 40 and Jay Ant. After a successful gig here two years ago, tickets for the concert sold out in two days. But after, there was still a large demand for tickets so they added a show on Monday too.

Not only does G Eazy have a large following in Sacramento, Sac is also on an hour and a half from his home town of Oakland. In the VIP section, Young Gerald’s mother sits rocking out to every song. , She made an appearance on stage in her G Eazy, personalized varsity jacket and dark sunglasses. E 40 is originally from Vallejo, close to Sacramento as well. There was such a large sense of family community in the room special to only Sacramento.

On G Eazy’s new album, “These Things Happen”, he has a song called Far Alone, which features E 40 and Jay Ant. The room gets hyped when all three of them walk onto stage. Nobody can resist singing to the chorus and dancing uncontrollably when the beat drops. “Goodnight everybody!” echos the walls, as the audience stands there longing for more. The chant for G Eazy to return, gets louder and louder, threatening to break vocal chords. He comes backs on stage to perform his first real hit song, Mean It. Confetti falls from the sky replacing every crevice originally filled by air. Little pieces of tissue dance from the ceiling to the beat. But eventually, they all land on the floor. Now, everybody has to return from this alternate universe of dancing and live music, to a life of responsibilities and sleep.

By Carolanne Boughton, Staff writer

On Friday 19th, C.K. McClatchy celebrated yet another successful Club Rush. The event was held in the Lunch Quad during lunch. Students rushed out of their classes, excited to learn about and sign up for the latest clubs on campus.

Club Rush is a great opportunity for freshmen to learn about all the different activities offered here at C.K. McClatchy. Alana Webre (‘18), said the event was “rather overwhelming, with hundreds of students packed into such a small space and club organizers shouting, adding to the general din.” Although it may be a little overwhelming, freshman seem to sign up for the most clubs. “I joined, like, seven clubs!” Alana exclaimed. Club Rush allows freshmen to join the CKM community. Amy Dao (‘15) explained, “Freshman should definitely go since they’re new and they probably wouldn’t know about all the different clubs that are available.” Amy, who runs McClatchy’s California Scholarship Federation, pointed out that “Club Rush is important because it allows people to see all the clubs offered.” Not only could students see all the different clubs that are offered here by looking at the brightly decorated posters hanging from the Lunch Quad walls, but they had the opportunity to talk with the leaders of each club. Students asked questions about the clubs that they were interested in. Amy advised that freshmen go to Club Rush “since they’re new and they probably wouldn’t know about all the different clubs that are available.” Freshmen should definitely take advantage of the Club Rush experience!

Although Club Rush has stayed relatively the same over the years, this year CKM welcomed many new clubs. “Certainly over the years more clubs and more diverse clubs have been participating,” Tim Douglas, CKM’s Student Activities Director, said. Even though we have many new clubs, such as the Seinfeld Club and the Happy Hands Club, Alana “was disappointed that they didn’t have a film club - maybe I’ll try to start one next year.” And that’s the great thing about the club experience at CKM- if you don’t see something that you’re interested in, you can change that! New clubs and afterschool groups pop up every year, allowing students to personalize their high school experience.

The CKM Club Experience is “so simple,” said Lili Quevedo (‘16), who is the president of the Video Game Club, “Anybody can start a club, and people really took advantage of that opportunity this year.” Once you have a sponsor and a constitution for your club, you can get started! Lili pointed out that “the process is really simple, and you can start a club any time during the year.” Having been a leader of a club before, Lili said that this year she had fewer sign ups, “maybe because Club Rush was only one day, and last year it was two. A ton of people still showed up though!” Lili told us “I hope for an even bigger turnout next year. I’m excited to see how this event grows.”

Overall, this year’s Club Rush was a success! “I was glad to see so many others participating in club rush,” said Alana. “It was an intense but fun experience.” Hopefully the Club Rush tradition continues for years to come. It’s an event that truly embodies the CKM spirit. “I thought Club Rush went smoothly this year,” Amy explained. The Lions can’t wait until next year’s Club Rush!