BASEBALL

Nick Yorke capped a seven-run fourth inning with a three-run homer and finished with five RBI, and the Portland Sea Dogs overcame a six-run deficit Thursday as they slugged their way to a 13-7 victory over the Akron RubberDucks in an Eastern League game at Hadlock Field.

Yorke was 3 for 5, including a two-run single in the eighth, when the Sea Dogs pulled away with a four-run outburst. Everyone in Portland’s lineup had at least one hit. Niko Kavadas drove in three runs with a double and a single, and Ceddanne Rafaela extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a home run in the sixth inning.

Relievers Ryan Miller (2-2), Ryan Fernandez and Luis Guerrero held Akron scoreless over the final five innings after the RubberDucks built a 7-1 lead.

NECBL: Nicholas Roselli broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run triple in the eighth inning, and the Sanford Mainers opened their season with an 8-5 win over the Keene Swamp Bats in Keene, New Hampshire.

Cameron Johnson added a two-run single for the Mainers.

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Sanford’s fourth pitcher, former Thornton Academy standout Cody Bowker, was credited with the win. Former Greely star Zach Johnston got the final three outs for a save.

BASKETBALL

NBA: More than seven weeks after a serious hand injury, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro still has not been cleared to return to game action, Coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday.

Herro fractured his right hand just before halftime of Game 1 of the first round against Milwaukee. The Heat trail Denver 2-1 in the NBA Finals after a 109-94 loss Wednesday night.

WNBA: DeWanna Bonner, scored a career-high 41 points to set a franchise record and the Connecticut Sun beat the previously unbeaten Las Vegas Aces, 94-77, in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Bonner topped her previous high of 38, set in 2016. The previous franchise record was 35, by Shannon Johnson in 2000 when the organization was the Orlando Miracle.

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GOLF

PGA: Corey Conners shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 to share the first-round lead at the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto.

Conners is seeking to become the tournament’s first Canadian winner in 69 years. Also at 67 were Aaron Rai, Justin Lower and Chesson Hadley.

Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy opened with a 71.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Yannik Paul of Germany and Niklas Norgaard of Denmark set the pace with 7-under 65s in the first round of the Scandinavian Mixed event in Stockholm, Sweden, as women and men played on the same course for one prize fund and trophy.

The leading female player was Trichat Cheenglab of Thailand, who was in a four-person group a stroke off the lead after a round of 66.

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The co-sanctioned event on the men’s European tour and the Ladies European Tour features a field of 78 men and 78 women playing in the same groups, but off different tees.

KORN FERRY: Michael Feagles made a 25-foot birdie putt on his final hole to shoot a 12-under 59 in the first round of the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Korn Ferry Tour in Greer, South Carolina.

It was the ninth sub-60 score in the history of the developmental tour, and the second this year.

Feagles is a nephew of Jeff Feagles, who played 22 seasons as a punter in the NFL.

COLLEGES

SOFTBALL: Jordy Bahl threw three innings of perfect relief and Oklahoma won its third straight Women’s College World Series title and seventh overall, beating Florida State 3-1 for a two-game sweep in Oklahoma City.

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The Sooners finished 61-1 and extended their Division I-record winning streak to 53 games. They have won six titles since 2016.

NOTRE DAME: Jack Swarbrick will step down as Notre Dame’s athletic director next year after a 16-year run in which he helped the school maintain the football program’s independent status amid unprecedented realignment by some of the top conferences in the nation.

Notre Dame announced that NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua will succeed Swarbrick. Bevacqua, a 1993 Notre Dame alumnus, will join the university July 1 as a special assistant to the president for athletics before taking over the athletic department sometime in the first quarter of 2024.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Noah Gragson will miss Sunday’s Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway in California because of concussion-like symptoms from a crash last weekend.

Legacy Motor Club said Truck Series driver Grant Enfinger will make his Cup debut as Gragson’s replacement in the No. 42 Chevrolet.

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INDYCAR: Ryan Hunter-Reay will return to the IndyCar Series as Conor Daly’s replacement at Ed Carpenter Racing, the team announced.

Daly was let go a day earlier. Team owner Ed Carpenter cited performance issues for the split with Daly, who was ranked 20th in the IndyCar standings, with a season-best finish of eighth in the Indianapolis 500.

Hunter-Reay was out of IndyCar last season but returned this year for the Indy 500 and finished 11th. He will make his debut in the No. 20 Chevrolet next weekend at Road America.

SOCCER

U-20 WORLD CUP: Uruguay beat Israel 1-0 in La Plata, Argentina, to advance to its third Under-20 World Cup final.

Anderson Duarte scored from close range in the 61st minute.

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Uruguay’s opponent in Sunday’s final will be Italy, a 2-1 winner over South Korea.

HOCKEY

NHL: The rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks locked in one of their top scorers, agreeing to a two-year, $8.5 million contract with forward Andreas Athanasiou.

Athanasiou, 28, tied for the team lead with 20 goals and ranked third with 40 points in his first season with Chicago.

 

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