COLLEGES

Verrier, Grady lead Huskies in twinbill split a Gorham

Matt Verrier and Nick Grady combined for seven RBI as Southern Maine (32-7) took a 16-3 win the opener before falling 9-4 to Keene State (15-21) in the second game of a baseball doubleheader at Gorham.

Verrier went 2 for 3 with a double, four RBI and two runs scored, and Grady was 2 for 4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored.

Jeremy Gearty had two hits for Southern Maine CC (22-21-1) in a 13-2 loss to Bridgton Academy in the first game of the best-of-three 302 Challenge Cup series at South Portland.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Jenna Cyr scored with 1:15 remaining to send second-seeded University of Southern Maine (12-6) to a 13-12 win over No. 3 Keene State (11-7) in a Little East Conference semifinal at Gorham.

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The Huskies will host fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut in the title game on Sunday.

Sarah Pelligrinelli scored four goals and Rosie Forster had three for USM.

SOFTBALL: Middlebury (26-9) took a 3-0 victory over Bowdoin (28-13) in first-round play of the NESCAC tournament in Medford, Mass.

The Polar Bears now play an elimination game against Wesleyan on Saturday at 10 a.m.

GOLF

LPGA: Ariya Jutanugarn weathered the wind and kept her lead in the Kingsmill Championship at Williamsburg, Va. The 17-year-old Thai player is a shot ahead of second-ranked Stacy Lewis and Angela Stanford.

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PGA: Phil Mickelson opened with two birdies and made back-to-back birdies late in his round for a 5-under 67 that gave him a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship at Charlotte, N.C. Through two rounds, he has taken only 50 putts.

Nick Watney shot a 70 and was in a group two shots behind with George McNeill and 37-year-old tour rookie Scott Gardiner. Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood were another shot back.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Mike Goodes shot a 3-under 69 in wind that gusted to 30 mph to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Insperity Championship at The Woodlands, Texas.

MOTOR SPORTS

NASCAR: X Games star Travis Pastrana won his first career pole on the Nationwide Series at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway.

The 10-time X Games gold medalist-turned-NASCAR driver starts up front in Saturday’s Aaron’s 312.

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Pastrana called his second Top 10 start in only 17 Nationwide races “a dream come true.”

BOXING

WBC: Robert Guerrero, 30, who will challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s Saturday, is a 7-1 underdog to pull an upset for the World Boxing Council welterweight title at the MGM Grand.

Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 knockouts) is a former world featherweight and super-featherweight champ who left the sport for 15 months in April 2011.

WBA, IBF: Under Wladimir Klitschko’s disparaging gaze, Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15KO) did not give much away during an open workout before he challenges the Ukrainian for his WBA and IBF heavyweight belts on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Pianeta, who has lived in Gelsenkirchen since he was 6, was briefly Klitschko’s sparring partner last year and knows the formidable challenge of dethroning the 37-year-old Klitschko, who was also based in Germany.

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Klitschko (59-3, 51KO), whose older brother Vitali holds the WBC belt, hasn’t fought since November, when he was taken the distance by Poland’s Mariusz Wach.

PREPS

SOFTBALL: Berwick Academy beat Concord Academy, 20-4, at Berwick, as Taylor Lyman hit three doubles, drove in three runs and scored three. Anna Cosentino also had three hits and three RBI while Juliet Moore knocked in four runs.

HOCKEY

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Slovakia downed France 6-2 and the Czech Republic beat Belarus 2-0 to open with victories at the ice hockey world championships at Helsinki.

The Slovaks, silver medalists last year, led 2-0 in Helsinki after a goal and an assist from forward Tomas Zaborsky. He set up Michel Miklik in the first period and then redirected a pass from Roman Kukumberg for the second.

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In Stockholm, Czech goalie Alexander Salak finished with 21 saves for last year’s bronze medalists.

WHA HISTORY: A fascinating part of Gordie Howe’s life has been turned into a TV movie.

“Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story” premieres Saturday night in the U.S. on the Hallmark Channel.

The focus of the film is on the World Hockey Association’s 1973-74 season, when the then 45-year-old Howe came out of retirement to play for the Houston Aeros with two of his sons, Mark and Marty.

FOOTBALL

NFL: The Detroit Lions added 11 undrafted free agents.

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UCLA tight end Joseph Fauria leads the list after scoring 12 touchdowns last season and 20 in three seasons with the Bruins.

Detroit also signed Ohio center Skyler Allen, East Carolina defensive tackle Michael Brooks, Ball State offensive tackle Austin Holtz, Appalachian State running back Steven Miller and Texas Tech offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington was arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, who authorities said is the mother of his baby daughter.

Maricopa County prosecutors said Washington’s bond was set at $4,200 following his initial court appearance after he was booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of aggravated assault.

Florida’s oldest professional sports franchise — the Miami Dolphins — was dealt a crushing blow when the Florida Legislature ended its session without passing any funding plan that would assist the team’s quest to refurbish its venerable stadium.

The refusal of the GOP-controlled Legislature to aid the team wasn’t just a defeat for the Dolphins – it could also sack South Florida’s efforts to lure another Super Bowl to the region in the next few years.

– From staff and news services


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