BASEBALL

Samad Taylor led off the sixth inning with a double and later scored on a wild pitch as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats beat the Portland Sea Dogs 3-2 to sweep a doubleheader at Hadlock Field on Wednesday night.

New Hampshire won the opener, 6-1.

In the second game, Portland tied the game 2-2 in the second inning on a two-run homer by Ryan Fitzgerald.

In the sixth, Taylor went to third on a groundout and scored on Joan Martinez’s wild pitch.

In the opener, Nick Podkul hit a three-run homer in the third inning to give New Hampshire a 3-0 lead.

The Sea Dogs, who had six hits in the seven-inning opener, scored in the fourth inning on an error.

NECBL: Matt Oldham blasted a three-run homer to pace a six-run bottom of the seventh as the Vermont Mountaineers rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Sanford Mainers 8-6 at Montpelier, Vermont.

Casey Mayes was 3 for 5 and a pair of RBI for the Mountaineers. Craig Larsen and Griffin Arnone chipped in with two hits apiece.

Ryan Turenne had a pair of hits, including a two-run home run, for the Mainers.

HOCKEY

OLYMPICS: Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins has been named U.S. men’s hockey coach for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

Sullivan will be behind the bench if the NHL participates, which is still a question. There is not a deal currently in place to send NHL players to the Olympics, and negotiations are ongoing.

“I’m going to operate on the premise that the NHL and the (International) Olympic Committee are going to work towards an agreement and we’re going to participate,” Sullivan said on a video call with reporters Wednesday. “That’s the approach that we have to take and, we’re just entrusting that the powers that be are going to work out an agreement and hopefully that will be sooner than later.”

Sullivan coached the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017. USA Hockey expects to name his assistants later this summer.

If the league and Players’ Association get an Olympic agreement done with the IOC and International Ice Hockey Federation, Sullivan would be the second Penguins coach in as many Games with NHL participation. Dan Bylsma coached the U.S. team in Sochi in 2014.

USA Hockey made the announcement Wednesday morning, tabbing Sullivan and along with Joel Johnson for its women’s team and David Hoff for the Paralympic sled hockey team.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Mike D’Antoni is leaving the Brooklyn Nets, forcing Steve Nash to make another change on his coaching staff.

Nash announced the 70-year-old D’Antoni’s decision in a statement, saying having the two-time Coach of the Year was “invaluable” in his first season as a coach.

D’Antoni won the 2005 Coach of the Year award in Phoenix when Nash was his point guard, then another in Houston in 2017. He has long been regarded as one of the NBA’s best offensive coaches and helped the Nets reach the second round of the playoffs, where they lost to eventual champion Milwaukee in seven games.

The Nets already lost one assistant this offseason when Ime Udoka left to become Boston Celtics coach. David Vanterpool was hired to replace him.

SOCCER

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING: The United States will play its home World Cup qualifier against Mexico in Cincinnati, ending a streak of five straight in Columbus, Ohio. The U.S. Soccer Federation said Wednesday that the Nov. 12 match will be at TQL Stadium, the 26,000-capacity venue that opened in May as home of the city’s Major League Soccer team.

The U.S. beat Mexico in World Cup qualifiers at Columbus Crew Stadium in 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013, all by 2-0 scores. The match against El Tri gained the nickname “Dos a Cero.”

Mexico beat the U.S. 2-1 in a 2016 qualifier in Columbus on an 89th-minute goal by Rafa Márquez, a key home defeat in the opening match of the hexagonal for 2018 qualifying as the U.S. streak of seven straight World Cups came to an end.

PREMIER LEAGUE: Premier League club Norwich canceled its preseason match against Coventry hours before kickoff Wednesday because of COVID-19 cases. The newly promoted Norwich reported a “small number” of positive tests in its squad and called off the game against second-division Coventry in Chesterfield.

“The decision was made as a precautionary measure following a small number of positive COVID-19 test results within City’s first team group,” Norwich said in a statement.

Earlier, Aston Villa’s friendly against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday was scrapped when the second-tier club similarly discovered a “small number of positive cases of COVID-19” in its squad.

“Unfortunately this was the only decision that could be made in the circumstances to protect the welfare of players and staff at both clubs,” Forest Manager Chris Hughton said.

Villa had been scheduled to host the game at its training ground.

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