Sports briefs: Fresno Pacific to play for NCCAA men’s soccer title

Rodrigo Vianna capped a comeback and put top-seeded Fresno Pacific into the National Christian College Athletic Association men’s soccer final with one powerful kick.

Vianna’s goal gave the Sunbirds a 5-4 win on penalty kicks after they and No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic tied 2-2 through overtime Thursday in Kissimmee, Fla.

Fresno Pacific (18-4) faces No. 2 Cal Baptist (15-5-2) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The teams split two matches this season.

A winning streak now at 14 for the Sunbirds was in jeopardy after they fell behind 2-0 in the first half. Goals by Alvaro Nogales and Luke Tyler tied it in the second half.

Palm Beach Atlantic (16-4-1) of West Palm Beach, Fla., went first in the shootout, and Fresno Pacific’s Fabian Rangel stopped the shot to open the door.

Fabricio Nazare, Nogales, Gustavo Silva and Alexis Hernandez all converted their PKs for Fresno Pacific.

Sunbirds sweep matches in volleyball pool play

Rupia Inck totaled 22 kills as top-seeded Fresno Pacific swept two matches to open pool play at the NCCAA volleyball tourney in Kissimmee.

Inck had 13 kills and Karah Mitchell 11 as the Sunbirds (26-3) downed No. 9 Southern Wesleyan of Central, S.C., 25-14, 25-23, 25-23.

Inck delivered nine kills and Morghan Williams 11 in a 25-12, 25-13, 25-14 win over No. 5 Oakland City, Ind.

The Sunbirds face No. 8 Grace of Winona Lake, Ind., at 7 a.m. and No. 4 Campbellsville-Ky. at 4 p.m. today.

Bulldogs recruit six for 2014 baseball season

Fresno State’s baseball recruiting class for 2014 has five pitchers and an outfielder, including Kerman High right-hander Carlos Salazar.

Coach Mike Batesole, who this season leads the team into its first Mountain West Conference campaign, said the top recruit may be 6-foot-2 outfielder Jordan Paroubeck of Serra-San Mateo.

“He’s a fast, powerful, explosive, and switch-hitting center fielder that will make an impact right away,” Batesole said. “He and Salazar are both likely first-rounders.”

Other pitchers are right-hander Connor Brogdon (Liberty-Madera Ranchos) and lefties Anthony Arias (Fairfield), Dillon Houser (St. Francis-Watsonville) and Fred Schlichtholz (Coronado).

“We needed power arms and left-handed arms and we got them both,” said Batesole, who credited assistant Steve Rousey with helping attract the “best class of pitchers of any university west of Texas.”

Fresno City cruises in Gilcrest tourney opener

Nina Gregory’s 15 points — all on 3-pointers — helped state No. 3-ranked Fresno City College beat Riverside 92-48 Thursday at the Gilcrest Invitational women’s basketball tournament in Visalia.

Madison Parrish added 11 points and six assists for the Rams (3-1), who advance to face two-time defending champion Cerritos at 4 p.m. today.

Fresno fighter Salazar wins at World tourney

Fresno amateur boxer Gary Salazar stopped Tajikistan’s Shavkatbek Negmatov in the opening round Thursday at the Youth World Championships in Yerevan, Armenia.

Salazar took an 8-3 lead after the first round of the bantamweight (123 pound) bout. He extended that lead to 15-5 through two rounds before earning the stoppage at the 1:21 mark of the third.

Salazar faces Syria’s Ali Ghouson on Saturday.

Prep water polo all-stars to play at Clovis High

The first Clovis Water Polo Club All-Star Games — with 56 of the top boys and girls high school players from the Tri-River Athletic Conference — is Saturday at Clovis High.

The girls play at 1 p.m., the boys at 3 p.m. and a skills competition is in between in a lineup of events not sanctioned by the CIF Central Section.

Admission is $2 and all proceeds go to the Fresno Special Olympics Swim Team.

Section Division I champ Clovis West has six players in the girls game: Mei Williams, Sarah Snyder, McKenna Fife, Ali Alving-Trinh, Charlee Starkweather and Lauren Del Carlo. Buchanan’s D-I boys champs will be represented by Austin Fennacy, Taylor Smith, Max Cusator, Jerry Kittlitz, Chase Pfister, Kyle Archer and Erik Brown.