BASEBALL
Oliver Dunn went 3 for 5 and drove in three runs with a homer in the fourth inning as the Reading Fightin Phils topped the Portland Sea Dogs 7-2 Tuesday night in an Eastern League game at Hadlock Field.
Matt Kroon and Johan Rojas also went 3 for 5 for Reading, which scored four runs, three earned, off Sea Dogs starter CJ Liu (4-5).
Nick Yorke drove in both runs for Portland with a homer in the sixth inning and an RBI double in the seventh. York was 4 for 4.
Portland’s Chase Meidroth was 0 for 3 but extended his on-base streak to 24 games when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.
NECBL: The Sanford Mainers swept a doubleheader from the Danbury Westerners, 9-8 and 1-0, at Rogers Park in Danbury, Connecticut.
In the opener, Matthew Micelli and Simmi Whitehill scored on a bases-loaded dropped third strike and a throwing error in the bottom of the eighth.
Calvin Hewett and Devin Bade had solo home runs for Sanford.
Bobby Zmarzlak had a three-run homer for Danbury to tie the game at 7-7 in the top of the seventh and force extra innings.
In the second game, Eddie Eisert hit a home run in the fourth inning for Sanford (5-6).
Ryan Dee pitched six innings, allowing four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Jack Mullen pitched the seventh for the save.
CWS: TCU used a four-run fifth inning to take control of the game and went on to beat Oral Roberts 6-1 in a College World Series elimination game at Omaha, Nebraska, ending the Golden Eagles’ surprising postseason run.
The Horned Frogs (44-23) will play Florida next and would need to beat the No. 1 national seed Wednesday and again Thursday to reach the best-of-three finals.
TCU avenged Friday’s 6-5 loss to the Golden Eagles and has won two straight to put itself in position to play for its bracket title.
It was a rough ending for ORU (52-14), the first No. 4 regional seed in 11 years to reach the CWS. The Eagles of the Summit League lost consecutive games for the first time since mid-March.
The rematch with the Horned Frogs was the most lopsided game of the CWS, and the Eagles’ 1-2 finish here was the same as that of the 1978 team that made ORU’s only other appearance.
• Nate Ackenhausen pitched six innings in his first start for LSU and combined with Riley Cooper for the Tigers’ nation-leading 11th shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory over Tennessee.
LSU (50-16) beat its Southeastern Conference rival for the fourth time in five meetings and will play No. 1 national seed Wake Forest on Wednesday night. The Tigers would have to beat the Demon Deacons in that game and again Thursday to reach the CWS finals.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Kevin Ollie, who guided UConn to a national championship, was among five assistants hired by the Brooklyn Nets for Jacque Vaughn’s first full season as coach.
Will Weaver, Jay Hernandez and Ronnie Burrell also were added to the staff, and Corey Vinson was hired as assistant coach for player development.
Ollie led the Huskies to the 2014 NCAA title, and most recently he has been the head of coaching and basketball development for two seasons for the Overtime Elite program that is expected to have twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson as top-10 picks in the NBA draft on Thursday.
• Kyle Kuzma will be a free agent when the league’s annual offseason shopping period starts next week.
Kuzma has declined his $13 million player option with the Washington Wizards for next season, a person with knowledge of his decision said, meaning he will be a free agent.
HOCKEY
NHL: Forward Zemgus Girgensons is returning to the Buffalo Sabres for a 10th season after signing a one-year, $2.5 million contract.
Girgensons is the team’s longest-serving active player and was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next month. The 29-year-old’s decision to return to Buffalo signals he believes the team finally is on the right track.
TENNIS
QUEENS CLUB: Playing for the first time at the Queen’s Club Championships, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz came from a set down to win 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) against lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech — a No. 83-ranked Frenchman who only found out he was playing following the withdrawal of Arthur Fils a couple of hours before the match.
Earlier at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in London, second-seeded Holger Rune of Norway beat big-serving American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) for his first grass-court ATP win, after losing three in the first round last year — including at Wimbledon.
Britain’s Andy Murray, on a 10-match winning run on the back of two straight grass-court Challenger Tour titles, lost 6-3, 6-1 to seventh-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia. That all but ends his hopes of being seeded in the draw for Wimbledon, where he is a two-time champion.
Frances Tiafoe won his first match as a top-10 player by defeating Botic van De Zandschulp 6-2 6-4.
Another American, third-seeded Taylor Fritz, beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 7-5.
BIRMINGHAM CLASSIC: Two days after winning a first WTA title at the Nottingham Open, Britain’s Katie Boulter lost in the first round of another grass-court event on home soil, falling 7-5, 7-5 to Lin Zhu of China at Birmingham, England.
Fellow Briton Jodie Burrage was the runner-up in Nottingham and also lost early in Birmingham, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to compatriot Harriet Dart.
Second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia beat Linda Noskova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, and top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova’s first-round match with Cristina Bucsa was held over until Wednesday.
VENETO OPEN: Tatjana Maria beat Swiss opponent Ylena In-Albon 6-3, 6-4 in the first round at Gaiba, Italy.
Second-seeded Sara Errani, last year’s runner-up, was beaten 7-5, 7-5 by Katie Swan of Britain.
BERLIN OPEN: German qualifier Jule Niemeier upset defending champion Ons Jabeur 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the first round.
The 120th-ranked Niemeier saved two set points at 5-3 down in the opening set, then won the last four points of the tiebreaker. Niemeier broke Jabeur in the first game of the second set and held on to her lead to win in 1 hour, 35 minutes for the 23-year-old’s third victory against a top-10 player.
Coco Gauff defeated Czech player Katerina Siniakov 6-3, 6-4 for the American teenager’s 23rd win of the year.
The fourth-seeded Gauff next faces big-hitter Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated fellow Russian Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-3.
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over veteran Vera Zvonareva in another all-Russian match.
RETIREMENT: Former second-ranked tennis player Anett Kontaveit will retire after Wimbledon because of a back injury.
Kontaveit’s best result in a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2020.
HALLE OPEN: Hubert Hurkacz withstood a strong challenge from American Christopher Eubanks before starting his title defense with a 6-4, 6-7 (11), 6-3 win at Halle, Germany.
Hurkacz next faces Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 7-5.
Third-seeded Andrey Rublev defeated Wu Yibing 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 to set up a second-round meeting with German wild-card entry Yannick Hanfmann.
Fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner defeated Richard Gasquet 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 and home favorite Alexander Zverev beat Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4.
Alexander Bublik, Roberto Bautista Agut and Lorenzo Sonego also advanced.
SOCCER
MLS: Lionel Messi is expected to make his Major League Soccer debut with Inter Miami at a July 21 home game, the team confirmed.
Owner Jorge Mas told selected outlets on Monday that his club and Messi have agreed to terms and are finalizing paperwork and a visa. The team confirmed certain details Tuesday to The Associated Press, including that Messi will be signing a contract through the end of the 2025 season with an option for 2026.
Messi’s contract will be worth $50 million to $60 million per year, the team said. He cannot sign until sometime in July, after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires.
Messi, 35, announced on June 7 that he was joining Miami. The Argentinian great’s first game in Fort Lauderdale would be against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: Joe Gibbs has sold a minority stake in his eponymous NASCAR team to prominent members of the group awaiting approval to take over ownership of the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
The deal said Joe Gibbs Racing has “received a significant investment” from Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment for the minority stake in the team. The private equity platform Arctos Partners will also be making a minority investment in JGR.
Gibbs, meanwhile, will become a limited partner in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, pending approval by the NBA and NHL. HBSE owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Josh Harris, the founder, is head of the ownership group for the Commanders.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.