BASEBALL

Sea Dogs win opener, second game suspended

Jantzen Witte was 3 for 3 with a two-run double, solo home run and three RBI, as the Portland Sea Dogs beat Reading, 8-4, in the first game of the doubleheader in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The second game was suspended in the ninth inning with Reading (13-21) ahead 9-7. Portland is the home team because it was a makeup for a game rained out at Portland’s Hadlock Field. The game will be finished Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. with the Sea Dogs (12-23) batting in the bottom of the ninth inning.

COLLEGES

BASEBALL: University of Southern Maine junior Jake Dexter was named Little East Conference baseball player of the year on Tuesday, while freshman Sam Troiano was named the conference rookie of the year.

Dexter (.387 batting average, 11 doubles, 20 pitching appearances with a 4-3 record, 11 saves and 1.67 ERA) became the ninth USM player to win the award, while Troiano (.258, six doubles, two triples, five home runs , 18 RBI) became the ninth USM player to be named top rookie.

• Brian Dempsey was 4 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored as Boston College beat Maine 9-7 at Brighton, Massachusetts in a game called with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning due to lightning.

Both teams are 17-30.

Danny Casals homered twice for Maine. He had three hits, three RBI and three runs.

TENNIS

ITALIAN OPEN: Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov pulled off another big win, beating 15th-seeded Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the first round on Tuesday in Rome.

Shapovalov, 19, reached the semifinals last week’s Madrid Open.

Also on the red clay, three-time champion Maria Sharapova defeated 16th-seeded Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, defending champion Elina Svitolina routed Petra Martic 6-1, 6-2, and defending French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko eliminated Zhang Shuai 6-2, 7-5.

SOCCER

PORTUGUESE: About 50 fans forced their way into Sporting Lisbon’s training center and assaulted its players and staff on Tuesday near Lisbon, Portugal.

The intruders covered their faces to not be identified and interrupted practice about 20 kilometers south of Lisbon.

Police detained 21 suspects in the hours following the incident, according to assistant Secretary of State for the Interior Isabel Oneto.

WORLD CUP: Russia has granted entry for a German journalist Hajo Seppelt, who exposed systematic doping in Russian athletics, reversing a decision last week that angered German officials.

FOOTBALL

NFL: The Carolina Panthers are being sold for an NFL-record $2.2 billion to hedge fund manager David Tepper, who has agreed to buy the Panthers from team founder Jerry Richardson.

The purchase is subject to a vote at the NFL owners meeting next week in Atlanta.

• Green Bay signed cornerback Jaire Alexander, a first-round pick from Louisville.

• Tennessee and linebacker Rashaan Evans, the No. 22 pick overall out of Alabama, agreed to terms.

• The Giants, Eli Manning and Steiner Sports reached an undisclosed settlement to end a four-year-old civil lawsuit in which three memorabilia collectors accuse them of fraudulently passing off unused helmets as “game-used.”

Terms were not released.

– Staff and news service report