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Southern seeks HOFers
SALINEVILLE -- The Salineville-Southern Local Athletic Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the Class of 2026. Induction of new members will be held the weekend of September 11-12. Nomination forms are available on the school web site www.southern.k12.oh.us. The deadline to nominate someone is June 1. Nomination forms should be mailed to Deborah Boyd, 5893 St. Rt. 164, Leetonia, OH 44431.
Kentucky sinks WVU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Teonni Key had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Clara Strack had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Kentucky nearly gave up a big lead and held on to beat West Virginia 74-73 Monday to advance to the NCAA women's Sweet 16 for the first time in a decade.
No. 5 seed Kentucky (25-10) will meet top-seeded and Southeastern Conference rival Texas on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Kentucky will make its seventh trip to the regional semifinals in program history and its first since 2016.
Kentucky second-year coach Kenny Brooks wants to savor this win first before turning his attention to the Longhorns.
"To do this in two years is pretty remarkable," he said. "So heck yeah I'm going to step back and smell the roses and enjoy this."
No. 4 seed West Virginia (28-7) nearly stormed back from a double-digit deficit. Sydney Shaw scored 11 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and two Jordan Harrison free throws with 1:20 left brought the Mountaineers within 72-71. But West Virginia never retook the lead.
Key said Kentucky has been in enough nail-biters under Brooks that the players have learned to handle those challenges.
"Basketball is a game of runs, especially in March and in this environment," she said.
West Virginia had the "extra fuel" of playing at home, "I think us just staying composed and staying together was the main focus," Key said.
Strack, who earned honorable mention honors on The Associated Press All-America team, had her 16th double-double of the season, and Key her seventh.
Led by Strack, Kentucky scored the first nine points of the third quarter to break open a tie game and take the lead for good. She had eight rebounds, four points, two assists, a block and a steal in the period and Kentucky built its largest lead, 62-48.
"She's an All-American for a reason," said West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg. "She's a matchup problem. She's perfected her craft, for sure."
The Mountaineers were trying to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since its only trip in 1992, when West Virginia earned a first-round bye and needed just one win in a field of 48 teams to get there.
Gia Cooke added 23 points and Kierra Wheeler had 16 for West Virginia, which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped.
The taller Wildcats held a 39-23 rebounding advantage and withstood both West Virginia's trapping defense and a noisy crowd of nearly 13,000 that favored the host Mountaineers.
"That was a fun game, fun atmosphere," said Kentucky's Tonie Morgan, who finished with 15 points. "You want to play tough teams like that because you've played them all year, so why change it up now?"
Clevinger sent to minors
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- Mike Clevinger's career reset with the Pittsburgh Pirates is going to start in the minors.
The club reassigned the veteran right-handed pitcher to minor league camp on Monday. The 35-year-old, who agreed to a minor league deal with Pittsburgh in early February, went 1-0 with a 5.02 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings of work during spring training, starting in two games and serving as a reliever in two others.
Clevinger is 60-44 with a 3.55 ERA across nine seasons with Cleveland, San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. He has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and struggled with the White Sox last spring after being moved to the bullpen. He bounced back after returning to the rotation with Triple-A Charlotte. Clevinger went 7-3 with a 4.20 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 22 starts in the minors last summer.
The Pirates have a young rotation led by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, veteran Mitch Keller and rookie Bubba Chandler, who went 4-1 during a stint in the majors at the end of last season.
Clevinger was eyeing a spot either at the back end of the rotation or as a long reliever. Pittsburgh instead went with Carmen Mlodzinski as their fifth starter and Jose Urquidy and Hunter Barco in middle-inning relief roles.
Clevinger's best days came with Cleveland from 2017-19, when he was 38-18 with a 2.91 ERA.
McCutchen will be on the Rangers roster
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Andrew McCutchen will be on the opening day roster for the Texas Rangers, who expect the 39-year-old former MVP outfielder to split some time at designated hitter, maybe play a few games in the field and be a mentor to their young, talented outfielders.
Chris Young, the team's president of baseball operations, said Monday that McCutchen, who joined the team on a minor league contract less than three weeks ago, will be part of the 26-man squad when the Rangers begin the season Thursday at Philadelphia. The 2013 National League MVP and five-time All-Star more than a decade ago with Pittsburgh won a roster spot over Mark Canha, another veteran outfielder also in camp on a minor league deal.
"I was wrote off in a lot of places, honestly told to retire. But I knew deep down there was something in me that told me that there was still more in the tank and that I could continue to keep playing," McCutchen said. "For them giving me the opportunity … I'm going to make sure that it's worth it from both of our ends."
The right-handed-hitting McCutchen, who will make $1.5 million playing in the majors this season, batted .444 (8 for 18) in seven spring training games, with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs.
"There were a number of factors that went into it, but ultimately we felt like Cutch earned it just with his performance," Young said.
McCutchen is a .271 career hitter with 332 homers and 1,152 RBIs in 2,262 games over 17 big league seasons, all but five of those with the Pirates. He spent the past three seasons back in Pittsburgh, batting .239 with 13 homers and 57 RBIs last year when 120 of his 135 games were as the DH.
"This is the beginning of for me to continue to keep doing what I've been doing since I got here. And understanding that just because I'm here doesn't mean that I'm here to stay," McCutchen said. "I have to remind myself of that every single day that I'm out here and that I am on the field. Even the days that I'm not starting, always knowing that there's a way to improve, and for my peers and teammates, there's something that I can do to be able to help them."
The Rangers have rising standouts Wyatt Langford in left field and Evan Carter in center, with veteran newcomer Brandon Nimmo in right after they acquired him from the Mets in a trade that sent second baseman Marcus Semien to New York.
Carter was limited to 63 games last season because of injuries. Left-handed-hitting DH Joc Pederson missed about two months because of a broken hand after getting hit by a pitch.
Pittsburgh drafted McCutchen in the first round in 2005 and promoted him in 2009 for his major league debut. McCutchen played his first nine years with the Pirates, making five straight All-Star teams from 2011-15. He played for San Francisco, the New York Yankees, Philadelphia and Milwaukee from 2018-22 before reuniting with the Pirates.
"He came in and performed well right away. He fit right in in the clubhouse, can still play the outfield at times," new Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. "I don't think you'll see him all the time out there, but if we need him, he'll play out there. But just a really valuable piece to either come off the bench in a high-leverage spot or also potentially start against left-handed pitching."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb