Portland Sea Dogs outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela has been selected to play in the 2022 Futures Game at Dodger Stadium on July 16.
The all-star game showcases top minor league prospects.
Rafaela, 21, a native of Curacao, was the was the Boston Red Sox 2021 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year. Since being promoted to the Double-A on June 7 he is .278 with five doubles, a triple, six home runs and 18 RBI in 23 games.
The Futures Game, which is scheduled for seven innings, will be shown at 7 p.m. on Peacock and SiriusXM.
• Tyler Dearden drove in three runs with a home run and a single, one of five Portland players with two hits as the Sea Dogs rolled to a 12-5 win over the Rumble Ponies on Wednesday in Binghamton, New York
David Hamilton and Tyreque Reed each had two hits and two RBI while Alex Binelas and Christian Koss had two hits. Starter Victor Santos went 61/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out three.
For Binghamton, Brandon McIlwain, Brett Baty and Carlos Cortes each had two hits.
NECBL: Jackson Ross had two hits and three RBI to lead the Keene Swamp Bats to a 9-4 win over the Sanford Mainers in an NECBL game on Wednesday in Sanford.
For the Mainers, Quinn McDaniel had two hits and two RBI, while Calvin Hewett added two hits. Starting pitcher Ryan Douglas went five innings, allowing six runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking four.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: NASCAR on Wednesday penalized Noah Gragson for a deliberate and dangerous crash he caused in the Xfinity Series race at Road America.
Gragson, who turns 24 later this month, was docked 30 points and fined $35,000 by NASCAR for intentionally crashing into Sage Karam on Saturday at the road course in Wisconsin.
Gragson’s swerve into Karam triggered a frightening multicar crash that was so egregious, he was criticized ahead of the penalty announcement by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The NASCAR Hall of Famer and co-owner of the JR Motorsports team Gragson has represented since 2019 was surprised NASCAR didn’t immediately penalize his driver.
“I was shocked, to be honest with you, when I saw Noah make that decision,” Earnhardt said Wednesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I was just completely shocked and in a bit of a disbelief not only that he made that choice but that he, you know, that it created such an accident and got so many other guys involved. That was tough to watch, really tough.”
HOCKEY
OBIT: Former NHL defenseman Bryan Marchment died unexpectedly in Montreal at age 53, his agent said. A cause of death was not immediately available.
Marchment played parts of 17 NHL seasons from 1989-2006 with Winnipeg, Chicago, Hartford, Edmonton, Tampa Bay, San Jose, Colorado, Toronto and Calgary. The Scarborough, Ontario, native had been working in scouting and other roles for the Sharks and their American Hockey League affiliate since 2007.
NHL: The New Jersey Devils have named their first female assistant general manager, making Kate Madigan the sixth woman to hold the title in the NHL.
Madigan had been serving as the team’s executive director of hockey management/operations. The 29-year-old also worked two years in the video/player information operation before being promoted to director of pro scouting operations in 2021
The NHL has seen several women promoted to the assistant general manager’s role in the last month, with Hayley Wickenheiser getting the job in Toronto this week and Meghan Hunter promoted in Chicago last month.
CYCLING
TOUR de FRANCE: Australian rider Simon Clarke won a crash-marred fifth stage of the Tour de France while Belgium’s Wout van Aert clung onto the leader’s yellow jersey despite coming off his bike.
Clarke sprinted to victory from the remnants of an early breakaway, edging out Taco van der Hoorn. Edvald Boasson Hagen finished two seconds behind, at the end of the 97-mile leg from Lille Métropole to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut.
The big winner, however, was Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar, who kick-started his bid to win a third straight Tour with a sensational ride to slash the gap behind Van Aert to 19 seconds on a day where several of his rivals lost time.
COLLEGES
VOLLEYBALL: Grambling State has fired first-year volleyball coach Chelsey Lucas amid an ongoing investigation into her pulling numerous scholarships from incumbent players, but has not moved to reinstate any players who’ve been cut since Lucas’ hiring last February.
Athletic director Trayvean Scott said the 12 scholarship players who were on the team at the time of Lucas’ firing would retain their current status at least through next season.
The roster upheaval that ensued after Lucas’ hiring caused backlash from Grambling students, parents, alumni and others, more than 3,000 of whom have signed a petition protesting the coach’s handling of the program.
TRACK AND FIELD
WORLDS: Olympic triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas cannot compete in long jump at the world championships in Oregon this month because her qualifying leap was done in unapproved shoes.
Track and field’s governing body, World Athletics, said a jump by Rojas in Spain in June – which was long enough to qualify for the worlds – “was not a valid result as she was wearing triple jump shoes which are not approved for long jump.”
The soles of long jump shoes are allowed a maximum thickness of 20 millimeters, while the limit for triple jump is 25 millimeters.
The 26-year-old Venezuelan is the two-time defending champion in triple jump and set two world records in the past year. Rojas’ long jump in Spain measured 6.93 meters – a distance that would have taken a silver medal at the 2019 worlds.
The world championships will be held in Eugene, Oregon, from July 15-24.
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