BASEBALL
Noah Fullerton had four hits with five RBI and three runs scored, Colton Cross had four hits and four runs, and Saco/Dayton avoided elimination with a 21-3, five-inning victory over North Providence, Rhode Island on Tuesday at the 11-12-year-old Little League New England Regional Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.
Saco/Dayton will play either Essex Town, Vermont or North Manchester-Hooksett, New Hampshire on Wednesday at 4 p.m. for a chance at the elimination bracket final on Friday. The final is Saturday and will include either Peabody, Massachusetts or Manchester, Connecticut, which play in the winner’s bracket final on Thursday at 1 p.m.
On Tuesday, Fullerton hit a three-run homer, singled home a run in the six-run fourth and added a run-scoring single in the fifth inning when Saco/Dayton sent 17 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs. Cross singled and scored in the third, fourth and fifth innings. He also singled in the first and reached on a fielder’s choice and scored in the fifth.
Cross earned the win, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks over four-plus innings while striking out five.
Other offensive standouts for Saco/Dayton included Brennan Tabor (three hits, four runs), Connor Penney and Ryan Gagnon (two hits and two RBI each), Owen Thompson (three RBI), Brody Hadiaris (two hits, two RBI) and Quinn Cook (four walks, three runs).
MINOR LEAGUES: The Portland Sea Dogs game against Somerset on Tuesday was postponed and will be made up on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.
The first game is at 4 p.m. with Portland’s Frank German (3-6) facing Somerset’s Ken Waldichuk (4-1). Pitchers have not been announced for the second game, which will start 30 minutes after the first.
COLLEGES
NCAA: The NCAA announced a 23-member committee that will work on reforming its constitution, a panel that includes university presidents, college sports administrators and athletes across all three divisions. The panel was announced less than two weeks after the NCAA’s Board of Governors called for a constitutional convention to reform the way sports are governed by an organization with more than 1,100 member schools and some 450,000 athletes.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is an independent member of the NCAA Board of Governors, was appointed the chairman. Among the other members are Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour, West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen and Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips. Former and current athletes include Kendall Spencer, a long jumper who went to New Mexico; Megan Koch, a middle distance runner from Colorado College; and Madeleine McKenna, a volleyball player from California University of Pennsylvania.
The NCAA said the committee will begin its work immediately and is expected to submit a draft proposal of recommendations for membership feedback in November. The constitutional convention is expected to convene no later than Nov. 15.
FOOTBALL: Defending national champion Alabama is the preseason No. 1 in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll released Tuesday
The Crimson Tide got 63 of the 65 first-place votes while No. 3 Oklahoma got the other two. Clemson is No. 2 with Ohio State and Georgia rounding out the top five.
No. 8 Iowa State has its highest preseason ranking since USA Today started administering the coaches poll in 1991. So does No. 10 Cincinnati.
At No. 17, Indiana is ranked in the preseason coaches’ poll for the first time. And Mack Brown’s North Carolina team is ranked ninth, its best opening slot since heading into the season at No. 8 in 1997.
The Associated Press Top 25 will be released Aug. 16.
• The seven-year-old Arizona Bowl has wrestled with how to stand out on television when there are dozens of postseason college football games flooding the airwaves in late December and early January.
So in an unexpected twist, game officials won’t even try.
The Arizona Bowl recently announced a partnership with Barstool Sports for its Dec. 31 game in Tucson, Arizona. The multiyear deal with the digital sports platform – notable for its occasional off-color humor and brash founder Dave Portnoy – not only includes naming rights but also broadcasting rights, which means the game won’t be on ESPN or CBS.
• A Virginia Union freshman football player has died after collapsing during football practice over the weekend. He was 19.
Quandarius Wilburn’s death was announced by the Division II university. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound defensive end collapsed Sunday during a conditioning session, according to a letter the university’s president sent to students and staff Monday.
The letter said Wilburn was taken to VCU Medical Center, where he later died, news outlets reported. The football team had spent a full day together — breakfast, church and lunch before the workout, the letter said.
TENNIS
NATIONAL BANK OPEN: Rafael Nadal pulled out of the tournament because of an injured left foot that has troubled him for months, putting his preparation for the U.S. Open on hold.
“I need to go back and try to find a way to be better again, no? At the end of the day, for me, the most important thing is (to) enjoy playing tennis. Today, with this pain, I am not able to enjoy it,” said Nadal, a five-time champion in Canada.
The 35-year-old from Spain played last week at the hard-court event in Washington, winning his first match against Jack Sock and losing his second to Lloyd Harris — both in three sets. Nadal was bothered by the foot there. That marked his first competition in about two months. After losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open on June 11, Nadal sat out Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics because of the injury and went about three weeks without practicing at all.
SERENA, VENUS WITHDRAW: Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin on Tuesday withdrew from the upcoming Western & Southern Open. Kenin and Serena Williams are hampered by injuries. The reason for Venus Williams’ withdrawal was not disclosed.
They join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as high-profile stars who’ve withdrawn from the Cincinnati event, which starts Saturday.
Serena Williams has not competed at any tournament since retiring from her first-round match at Wimbledon after injuring her right leg on June 29. Serena Williams said she hopes to be back on the court “very soon.” Kenin, a 2019 semifinalist in Cincinnati, said she is rehabbing a foot injury and hoping to be able to play in the U.S. Open later this month.
BASKETBALL
NBA: The Brooklyn Nets signed veteran Australian guard Patty Mills.
The NBA team did not disclose terms of the deal for the free agent, who has appeared in 739 career games across 12 NBA seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers. He has averaged 8.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
This past season with the Spurs, the 32-year-old Mills appeared in 68 games and averaged 10.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists, hitting a career-high 161 3-pointers.
WNBA: Elena Delle Donne is back practicing with the Washington Mystics although still isn’t sure when she’ll step on the court in a game for the team.
“It’s been mentally incredible just to be back with my teammates and competing again,” Delle Donne said in a Zoom call. “It has been quite a long road. And I don’t think you realize how much you miss it until you’re actually back in it. And then it’s like, ‘My goodness!’ It’s just been so refreshing.′ ”
The two-time MVP hasn’t played in the league since leading the team to the WNBA title in 2019. She’s had two back surgeries. She opted out of last season that was held in Florida at IMG Academy because of the coronavirus.
• It’s been a difficult two months for Nneka Ogwumike.
The Los Angeles Sparks forward injured a knee on June 1 and then had to deal with being left off the USA Basketball roster that won gold at the Tokyo Games and losing an appeal to play with the Nigerian Olympic team as well.
The 2016 WNBA MVP is expected to be back for the Sparks on Sunday when the WNBA season resumes and Los Angeles faces Indiana.
ROAD RACING
FALMOUTH ROAD RACE: Runners at this weekend’s Falmouth Road Race will be required to wear surgical masks at the starting line, although they will be allowed to remove them while on the 7-mile course, race organizers said.
The starting line masks are one of several precautionary measures organizers are using to stem the potential spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus as the race resumes after a one-year hiatus because of the pandemic. On the course, runners are being asked to avoid running in packs, and maintain a 3-foot distance between individuals. Masks will also be required in most indoor areas, including buses that take runners to Woods Hole, and medical tents. Water station volunteers will wear gloves. There will also be no finish line gathering.
This year’s race, scheduled for Sunday, has 8,000 registered runners, down from the typical 12,800 participants.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
