BASEBALL

Surge swept by Explorers in road doubleheader

Ramon Cedeno’s three-run homer in the fifth inning helped the Sullivan Explorers take the lead for good in a 7-3 victory over the Old Orchard Beach Surge that completed a sweep in an Empire League doubleheader at Sheldrake, New York.

The Surge opened the scoring in the third on an Edgar Lebron Jr. triple that scored Sebastian Diaz. Sullivan answered in its half of the inning. Old Orchard took a 3-1 run lead in the top of the fifth on Kevin Putkonen’s RBI single and an infield groundout.

Sullivan won Game 1, 5-1.

COLLEGES

ACADEMIC INVESTIGATION: North Carolina wrapped up a two-day hearing with an NCAA infractions committee panel that will decide whether the school will face penalties tied to its multiyear academic scandal.

Now the case goes into yet another holding pattern.

School officials spent much of Wednesday meeting with committee members in Nashville, Tennessee. They returned Thursday morning for a second session lasting about four hours with the panel that will determine whether UNC faces penalties such as fines, probation or vacated wins and championships.

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn confirmed the hearing was complete but didn’t comment further because the panel must deliberate before issuing a ruling, which typically comes weeks to months after a hearing.

UNC faces five top-level charges, including lack of institutional control, in a case involving irregular courses.

TENNIS

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN: Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza overcame a long rain delay in the third set and fought off three match points before advancing to the quarterfinals at Mason, Ohio, by beating American Madison Keys, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3).

Before the storm, second-seeded Simona Halep became the tournament’s first quarterfinalist with a 6-4, 6-3 win over 15th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova.

• In the men’s bracket, Grigor Dimitrov rallied from a 4-1 second-set deficit for a 6-3, 7-5 win over Juan Martin del Potro.

David Ferrer reached his first ATP Masters quarterfinal in his last 11 tries with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Pablo Carreno Busta.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal’s match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas was pushed back to late Thursday night.

HOCKEY

NHL: New Jersey Devils center Travis Zajac will be out 4 to 6 months after surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.

Devils GM Ray Shero said Thursday that Zajac was hurt last week during offseason training.

• The Buffalo Sabres signed forward Zemgus Girgensons to a two-year contract that carries an average value of $1.6 million. Girgensons, from Latvia, has 37 goals and 49 assists in 277 career games.

SOCCER

EUROPA LEAGUE: Fans of Croatian football club Hajduk Split threw projectiles and encroached on the pitch, forcing a game in Liverpool, England, against Premier League club Everton to temporarily stop on Thursday.

Play was halted for a few minutes in the first half when trouble flared shortly after Michael Keane’s 30th-minute header put Everton in front.

After stewards and police moved to bring the situation under control, the players returned to the pitch.

Everton doubled its lead in the 45th minute of the qualifying playoff first half through Idrissa Gueye’s strike.

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