NILES — The Niles McKinley High School baseball team had a plan against Salem in their Division II sectional bracket final, and coach Mike Guarnieri swore it wasn’t to wear out the Quakers left fielder. The Red Dragons scored three times in the first inning thanks to four consecutive hits ...
BEREA — Odell Beckham Jr.’s current part-time employment isn’t bothering the Browns. Not yet, anyway. The star wide receiver did not practice Wednesday after showing up Tuesday for Cleveland’s voluntary offseason program, ending an excused — if not questionable — monthlong ...
CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS — Claire Miller stood in the throwers circle and slapped one leg, then the other. The Mathews High School sophomore took the shot put in her right hand. A quick turn toward the crowd lined up along the 4-foot high chain link fence showed her intensity. Miller was in ...
BEREA — Once he found the courage, Kareem Hunt watched the infamous video of him shoving a woman and then kicking her while she was on the ground. Like millions of others, he was disturbed. “I was like, ‘Wow, it’s pretty bad. That’s not me,’” he said, recalling his reaction. ...
LEAVITTSBURG — As the debate goes on concerning the most dominating high school athletic program in area history, there is no question that the team playing softball in Champion cannot be left out of the discussion. The two-time defending state champion Golden Flashes (24-2) advanced to ...
PHOENIX — Zack Greinke pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning before exiting with abdominal tightness and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed Chris Archer and the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-1 on Wednesday. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Greinke would get an MRI on Friday. Greinke ...
BAZETTA — The Mathews Mustangs softball program is familiar with deep playoff runs. “We’ve been in the district final six out of the last nine years, and we’ve gone to regionals six out of the last nine,” Mathews coach Jim Nicula said. But to get back to that familiar place, the ...
BAZETTA — The Bristol Panthers return to the Division IV Warren District final for the second year in a row after taking down Badger, 10-0, on Wednesday. “It took us a little bit to get going with the bats,” Panthers coach Alisha Kugler said. “Once we did, they were fired up. We made ...
NORTH JACKSON — “I just went up to bat thinking I didn’t want my senior season to be over, because these girls, they deserve it.” That’s how Sierra Schrader said she felt after ripping a walk-off line drive Wednesday to send McDonald to the Division IV Jackson-Milton District final, ...
BASEBALL Hubbard won an epic slugfest over Poland, 11-10, as the seventh-seeded Eagles upset the No. 2 Bulldogs in a Division II sectional bracket final. Hubbard (17-12) advanced to the district semifinal for the first time since 2010, with the Eagles playing Niles at 5 p.m. Monday at Cene ...
CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Luplow hit two of Cleveland’s five homers, Carlos Carrasco cruised through seven innings and the Indians pounded the Chicago White Sox 9-0 on Tuesday. Roberto Perez, Jake Bauers and Jose Ramirez also went deep as the light-hitting Indians muscled up against Manny ...
NILES — A crowd of roughly 1,500 people flocked to Eastwood Field Tuesday to watch Youngstown State host Ohio State, as this was the Buckeyes first time to the Mahoning Valley since 2015. The Penguins took an early lead, but walks and other minor miscues cost YSU as it fell to Ohio State, ...
YOUNGSTOWN — Greg Morgione kept trading forehands with Jake McDivitt as about 25 of the 75 people lining the north end of Volney Rogers Courts migrated to watch two of the best singles players northeast Ohio has to offer. Morgione won his first set and desperately wanted the second. The ...
PHOENIX (AP) — Josh Bell homered twice and Joe Musgrove allowed one hit through seven strong innings as Pittsburgh Pirates beat Arizona, 6-2. Phoenix native Cole Tucker hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to cap off the victory. The Pirates snapped a nine-game losing ...
CORTLAND — Mike Johnson has some nervous habits that tend to surface during close games, but the Lakeview baseball coach prefers to keep them private — for reasons he chose not to disclose. Maybe there was a bat throw or some baseballs kicked during the Bulldogs’ early-season ...
BEREA — Odell Beckham Jr.’s excused, debated absence is over. He’s run a comeback route to the Browns. The star wide receiver practiced with his new teammates for the first time Tuesday after skipping Cleveland’s voluntary workouts last month. Beckham, who was acquired in a ...
The Warren G. Harding Raiders basketball program has a new, but familiar face guiding the program. Keelyn Franklin is that face. Franklin has worked in the school district since 2014 and has served as a freshman, junior varsity and assistant varsity coach at Warren G. Harding before being ...
LEAVITTSBURG — The Division III LaBrae District softball tournament features local schools as the top three seeds. The host Vikings, seeded second, faced off with No. 3 seed Newton Falls on Tuesday afternoon with a trip to the district title game on the line. LaBrae, the 2013 and 2014 ...
BASEBALL Nate Bencetic was 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Hubbard past Girard, 8-1, in a Division II sectional first-round game. Bencetic and Dylan Durkos each had two RBI singles to lead a four-run fifth inning. Today, Hubbard plays Poland in a sectional bracket final. Harrison Lay hit a ...
BOARDMAN — Armand Nannicola lofts the small yellow tennis ball in the air. The force of his racquet launches it to his opponent. It lands in the service square diagonal from him as the opposition tries to make a forehand return. The ball takes a quick kick and spins out of the player’s ...