EAST PALESTINE HAS TO WAIT

UNITY — The East Palestine-Mogadore Div. VI sectional baseball tournament game scheduled for Friday was postponed due to rain.

It will be made up at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Ace of Diamonds.

Due to Ace of Diamonds having planned travel team tournaments through the weekend and a Mogadore coach having to fly to Florida for a wedding, the team decided not to play it on the weekend.

LISBON WILL PLAY ON MONDAY

LISBON — Lisbon and Dalton had their Div. VI sectional baseball tournament game on Friday postponed due to rain.

The two teams will play at 5 p.m. on Monday at Lisbon.

ACE FOR HEATER

CALCUTTA — Scott Heater hit a hole-in-one at Beaver Creek Meadows on Friday.

He aced the 210-yard 12th hole. It was witnessed by Maddox Heater.

CRESTVIEW VOLLEYBALL CLINIC

COLUMBIANA — A volleyball clinic will be held at Crestview High School on Saturday, June 13, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The camp is run by Crestview coaches as well as current and former players.

It is open to all girls entering grades K-8.

Cost is $30, which includes a T-shirt and snack.

MOUNT UNION TO WORLD SERIES

ALLIANCE — The 12th-ranked Mount Union softball team swept two game from UMass Dartmouth in the Super Regional on Thursday to advance to the NCAA Division III College World Series for the first time.

The Purple Raiders posted wins of 5-2 and 4-1 at the 23rd Street Softball Complex.

Mount Union (35-7) is among the eight teams that advance to the World Series, which will be held May 28 to June 3 at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia.

Senior shortstop Lydia Brunner from Minerva hit a two-run triple in the sixth inning of the second game after getting a single in the opener.

Sophomore second baseman Allison Jones from Western Reseve had a bunt single in the first game and senior first baseman Sydney Mercer started both games. Sophomore Lindsay Jones from Western Reserve was a defensive replacement in right field both games.

MANZARDO’S HOMER LIFTS GUARDS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Manzardo hit a pinch-hit homer off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning to preserve a terrific outing for starter Gavin Williams and lead the Cleveland Guardians to a 1-0 win over Philadelphia on Friday night.

Cade Smith worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save in a game that needed just 2 hours, 5 minutes.

Cristopher Sánchez and Williams matched up in a classic pitchers’ duel where each tossed eight shutout innings in front of 38,092 fans on a rainy night. They were the first opposing starters to each pitch at least eight scoreless innings since Miami’s Ryan Weathers and Detroit’s Reese Olson on May 14, 2024.

Manzardo made Williams (7-3) a winner when the left-handed hitter launched a homer the opposite way to left off Duran (1-2).

Sánchez tossed four-hit ball over eight innings and struck out six. He threw 96 pitches and lowered his ERA to a staggering 1.62 on the season.

Coming off his first shutout of the season, Sánchez ran his scoreless streak to 37 2/3 innings, which moved him past Cliff Lee (34 innings) into second place and within striking distance of the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings. Grover Alexander tossed 41 straight innings in one stretch in the 1911 season.

Williams was just as stout. He struck out 11 and walked none.

He made NL batting champion Trea Turner look bad on flailed check-swing on a sweeper for his ninth strikeout. He then froze Kyle Schwarber, back in the lineup after missing three games with an illness, on a 97.5 mph sinker for his 10th strikeout.

AGE BASED MODEL POSSIBLE

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA’s Division I cabinet discussed possible implementation of an age-based eligibility model should it be approved and signaled it would consider voting on it at its meeting next month.

The NCAA said on Friday that athletes whose fourth year of college eligibility was completed by spring 2026 would not be given any more eligibility under the new model. It also would give flexibility to currently enrolled athletes with eligibility after the 2025-26 academic year to apply the age-based model or continue previous eligibility rules, whichever is more beneficial to that individual.

The NCAA Eligibility Center also would review any prospects who graduated high school before spring 2026 but are not yet enrolled in college. All other high school prospects would have to adhere to the age-based model.

The age-based eligibility model would give athletes a window of five years to compete in Division I starting immediately after their high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes first. It also would eliminate waivers for extended eligibility except for pregnancy, religious missions or active-duty military service.