STEPIEN ACES TURKANA HOLE

CALCUTTA — Tom Stepien aced Turkana Golf Course’s No. 17 with an 8 iron on April 27. Witness was John Stepien.

POTTER TEAM FINISHES THIRD

DOVER — East Liverpool’s Brady Dawson and Garrett Cooper ended up finishing third at the Div. II sectional tennis tournament on Friday at Dover City Park.

St. Clairsville’s Mavrik Malin and Caiden Staub defeated the Potters 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinal. Dawson and Cooper beat Cambridge’s Silas Hutchinson and Quentin Stora 6-1, 6-4 in the third place match. The St. Clairsville team beat Berlin Hiland’s Clay Lehman and Quinn Mullet 6-3, 6-2 in the sectional final. All four teams will be a part of the district meet set for Monday at Dover City Park. Only the winner will advance to the state tournament.

GOLDEN BEARS GET THE SIXTH SEED

NEW MANCHESTER, W.Va. — Oak Glen’s baseball team secured the No. 6 seed in the Class AA, Region 1 tournament. The Golden Bears will travel to No. 3 Williamstown for a 5 p.m. start on Monday. The winner of that game will get the winner of No. 2 seed Doddridge County and No. 7 seed Ravenswood in the double elimination tournament. The last team standing out of those four will advance to the state tournament. On the other Region 1 bracket, Wheeling Central is the No. 1 seed and will meet the winner of No. 4 Weir and No. 5 Tyler Consolidated in the second round.

MOUNT UNION BASEBALL DROPS OPENER

SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 14 Mount Union baseball team lost, 4-1, to Hobart in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday.

Hobart (31-13) started the game with three runs in the first and added another run in the second to lead 4-0 through three innings.

West Branch High School graduate Aaron Tucker was a defensive replacement at first base for Mount Union in the top of the ninth inning

Mount Union (31-11) will play Bridgewater State (30-9) at 8:30 a.m. Saturday in the first elimination game.

PURPLE RAIDERS IN REGIONAL FINAL

ALLIANCE — The Mount Union softball split a pair of games in the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday and advanced to the regional championship.

The Purple Raiders (31-7) will play Christopher Newport (30-11) at the 23rd Street Softball Field.

Mount Union lost to Christopher Newport, 8-5, in Friday’s opener and beat Penn College, 13-2, in five innings in an elimination game.

The Mount Union infield includes senior first baseman Sydney Mercer from West Branch, sophomore second baseman Allison Jones from Western Reserve and senior shortstop Lydia Brunner from Minerva.

In the two games, Mercer totaled three hits, three runs, two RBIs and one stolen base; Allison Jones collected three hits, three runs, two RBIs and one stolen base; and Brunner had three hits, including a double, one run and one RBI.

UNITED YOUTH FOOTBALL CAMP

HANOVERTON — The United Golden Eagles Youth Football Camp featuring Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard will be held Saturday, June 6, at United’s football stadium.

The camp is free to boys and girls in grades 3-8 from all schools.

Register at unitedgridironclub.org by May 20.

Brungard won the 2025 Walter Payton Award given to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I FCS.

The United coaching staff along with players from YSU, Walsh and Geneva will conduct the one-day camp.

COLT DIES AT LAUREL PARK

LAUREL, Md. (AP) — A 3-year-old colt making his racing debut died Friday shortly after running in the first race at Laurel Park, a day before the track is set to host the Preakness.

Hit Zero died of an apparent cardiac event, the Maryland Racing Commission said. The cause of death will not be confirmed until necropsy findings have been reviewed.

Hit Zero was the favorite in the 6-furlong race but was eased toward the end, finishing well behind the other horses. He was trained by Brittany Russell, with her husband Sheldon riding. Russell also trains Taj Mahal, one of the top horses in the Preakness. Hit Zero was owned by ItsTheJHo, LLC and Evan Trommer.

“The Commission has initiated all required review and investigation protocols in response to the death of Hit Zero,” it said. “We recognize the significance of this loss and are committed to conducting a thorough, transparent process.”

HOCKEY PIONEER NAMED GM

Manon Rheaume is carrying over her trailblazing women’s hockey career into a front office role in being hired as the general manager of the PWHL’s expansion team in Detroit, the league announced on Friday.

The Canadian Olympian goaltender, and first woman to appear in an exhibition game of any of North America’s four major sports, has spent the past four years working in the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings hockey operations department. And Rheaume’s hiring represents a homecoming for the 54-year-old, who spent 11 years in a developmental role for the Detroit-based Little Caesars youth hockey girls’ program.

“She brings an unmatched resume, a championship mindset and a lifelong commitment to growing the women’s game,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, who oversees the hiring process.