BASEBALL
Pedro Castellanos blasted a three-run homer to left-center field in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday evening, lifting the Portland Sea Dogs to a 4-1 win over the Harrisburg Senators in an Eastern League game at Hadlock Field.
Castellanos broke a scoreless tie with a towering home in the fourth over the Maine Monster. The 1-0 lead lasted until the top of the ninth, when Jackson Cluff lined a leadoff double and scored on Brady Lindsley’s single.
Jay Groome pitched the first six innings for Portland, allowing seven hits. He struck out one and walked two. Chase Shugart picked up the win despite allowing the tying run.
COLLEGES
GOLF: Camden’s Cole Anderson is headed to the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row after his Florida State team placed second at a regional in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Anderson, a redshirt sophomore, shot a 3-over 75 to finish with a three-day total of 3-over 219. He tied for 19th place and was the No. 3 scorer for the Seminoles.
UConn sophomore Caleb Manuel of Topsham missed out on qualifying as an individual, tying for 15th place at a regional in New Haven, Connecticut. He closed with a 2-over 72 for a total score of 2-under 208 – three strokes behind Virginia Commonwealth’s Adrian Vagberg for the one spot available to players competing as individuals rather than with a full team.
The NCAA Championship is May 27 to June 1 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
FOOTBALL: Moments after the NCAA Division I Council tossed out requirements that dictate how football conferences can determine a champion, the Pac-12 announced that it was scrapping its divisional format for the coming season.
The Pac-12 will now match the teams with the highest conference winning percentages in its title game after 11 seasons of matching winners of the North and South divisions.
Other conferences are expected to follow, most notably the 14-team Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC is looking to implement a new scheduling model as soon as 2023.
NCAA rules previously required football conferences that want to play a championship game to split into divisions if they cannot play a full round-robin schedule.
SOCCER
EUROPA LEAGUE: Eintracht Frankfurt’s 42-year wait for a European title ended with a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Rangers in the Europa League final in Seville, Spain.
Rafael Borre converted the decisive penalty kick after Kevin Trapp saved Aaron Ramsey’s shot, giving the German club its first European trophy since the 1980 UEFA Cup, a predecessor to the Europa League. The win also secures a first appearance in the Champions League next season for Frankfurt.
Joe Aribo gave Rangers the lead in the 57th minute. Borre equalized for Frankfurt in the 69th.
TENNIS
GENEVA OPEN: Defending champion Casper Ruud eased into the quarterfinals in Switzerland.
Ruud, the No. 2 seed, won 6-3, 6-1 against Benoit Paire to confirm his status as the favorite to retain his title after Daniil Medvedev was beaten Tuesday by Richard Gasquet.
CYCLING
GIRO D’ITALIA: An accident with a prosecco cork while celebrating his historic stage victory forced Biniam Girmay to pull out of the race.
The Eritrean rider became the first Black African to win a stage at a grand tour when he beat Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint to the line in the 10th stage on Tuesday. But he had to be taken to a local hospital after getting injured when he popped a prosecco cork into his left eye during the podium celebration.
• Alberto Dainese became the first Italian rider to win a stage in this year’s race, sprinting to victory during a flat 126-mile leg Wednesday from Santarcangelo Di Romagna to Reggio Emilia, while Juan Pedro Lopez kept hold of the pink jersey as the overall leader.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Formula One has decided against replacing the Russian Grand Prix, which was canceled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement reduced the current season from a record 23 races to 22, the same total as last year.
The Sochi race, originally scheduled for Sept. 25, was pulled from the calendar a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Several cities had offered to host the race, but freight rules, logistical and travel costs during a season when teams have tight budgets made it too difficult.
FOOTBALL
NFL: The Philadelphia Eagles strengthened their secondary, agreeing on a one-year contract with veteran cornerback James Bradberry.
Bradberry, who made the Pro Bowl in 2020, was released by the New York Giants on May 9 for salary reasons. He would have been a $21.9 million cap hit.
Bradberry’s new deal reportedly is worth $7.5 million, including $7.25 guaranteed.
• The Los Angeles Chargers continued the offseason rebuild of their defense by signing defensive lineman Morgan Fox.
Fox will be entering his seventh year in the league. He spent his first five seasons with the Rams (2016-20) before going to the Carolina Panthers last year.
Fox’s most productive season was in 2020, when Chargers Coach Brandon Staley was the Rams’ defensive coordinator. Fox had a career-high six sacks and nine quarterback hits.
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