LLWS:
Jude Abbadessa was 5 for 5 with six RBIs to lead Endwell, New York past Bowling Green, Kentucky 13-10 on Wednesday night for a place in the U.S. championship game of the Little League World Series.
Abbadessa hit a two-run homer to center field to give New York a 4-3 lead in the second inning. Conner Rush walked with two outs, got to second and third on wild pitches, and scored on Jack Hopko's single for a 5-3 lead.
New York put runners on first and third with two outs in the third to chase Kentucky starter Devin Obee. On the second pitch from the reliever, Abbadessa had a RBI double to left field for a 6-4 lead and scored on Rush's bases-loaded, two-run single.
Abbadessa sent a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth to give New York a 10-8 lead.
New York had runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth when Jordan Owens hit it off the glove of the pitcher to score Hopko. Michael Mancini sent the next pitch to center, driving in Jayden Fanara from second for a 12-10 lead. Two pitches later, Abbadessa had an infield single to score Owens.
Kentucky faces Tennessee in an elimination game on Thursday.
MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, the Yankees shut out Seattle 5-0, Tampa Bay edged Boston 4-3 in 11 innings, Detroit won against Minnesota 9-4, the Angels bested Toronto 8-2, and it was Oakland over Cleveland 5-1.
In interleague play, Baltimore beat Washington 10-8, Houston edged Pittsburgh 5-4, Texas won against Cincinnati 6-5, Miami blanked Kansas City 3-0, and it was Philadelphia over the White Sox 5-3.
In the National League, St. Louis topped the Mets 8-1, the Cubs doubled up San Diego 6-3, Milwaukee won against Colorado 7-1, Arizona slid past Atlanta 10-9 in 11 innings, and it was the Dodgers over San Francisco 1-0.
Apparently the Chicago White Sox think they will change their luck by changing the name of their stadium. The ballpark currently called U.S. Cellular Field will become known as Guaranteed Rate Field starting in November under a 13-year naming rights deal. Terms were not disclosed.
The Miami Marlins have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur from Atlanta in a three-team trade. Miami is contending for an NL wild-card spot and isn't sure whether star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will return this season from a severe groin strain. Francoeur was hitting .249 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs in 99 games for the Braves. The 32-year-old plays left field and right field and is known for a strong arm.
In other baseball:
— Angels closer Huston Street has undergone season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair a torn meniscus. The surgery puts an end to the least impressive season of Street's 12-year career. The three-time All-Star is 3-2 with a career-low nine saves and a 6.45 earned run average.
__ Yoenis Cespedes says he has no plans to exercise an opt-out clause in his contract with the New York Mets. The outfielder from Cuba is in the first year of a three-year, $75 million deal that has an escape clause after the first season.
— The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed with team president and chief executive officer Derrick Hall on an eight-year contract extension.
Tennis:
Defending champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic advanced to the Connecticut Open quarterfinals, beating Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 last night. Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon winner and a bronze medalist in the Rio Olympics, won 10 straight games after falling behind 3-1 in the first set. She will face Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.
Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens beat France's Caroline Garcia 7-6 (3), 7-5 to set up a match against top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Radwanska advanced Tuesday. Second-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy topped Croatia's Ana Konjuh 6-2, 6-2. Vinci will face Sweden's Johanna Larsson, a 7-6 (1), 6-4 winner over American Shelby Rogers 7-6 (1), 6-4.
MLS:
The San Jose Earthquakes tied New England 0-0 last night, extending the Revolution's winless streak to five games. David Bingham had his sixth shutout of the season. Bingham had three saves — including a stop on Diego Fagundez's shot in the 86th minute. The Revs haven't scored since a 3-1 victory over Chicago on August 9th, a stretch of more than 270 minutes.
NFL:
The Washington Redskins have acquired center Bryan Stork from the New England Patriots for an undisclosed draft pick. Stork appeared in 21 games the past two seasons, but started just six in 2015 after spending time on the physically unable to perform list with concussion and neck issues. The 25-year-old started the Super Bowl for New England two seasons ago.
A visibly shaken Giants owner John Mara says he's fine with the NFL's suspension of placekicker Josh Brown for one game, despite allegations that Brown abused his ex-wife as many as 20 times prior to the Giants signing him to a two-year extension last spring. Brown was arrested in May 2015 and charged with fourth-degree domestic assault. Five days later, the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence.
Geno Smith remains the New York Jets' Number 2 quarterback and will play after starter Ryan Fitzpatrick in the preseason game against the Giants on Saturday night. There had been some uncertainty about the pecking order of the backups after Bryce Petty had a good performance and Smith struggled against Washington.
NCAA:
St. Bonaventure men's basketball coach Mark Schmidt has agreed to a one-year contract extension that locks him up through the 2021-22 season. Athletic director Tim Kenney announced yesterday that Schmidt and his staff have also earned pay raises, which are being funded through private donations.
Olympics:
Olympic triathlon gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen will run her first marathon in November in New York. On Saturday, the 30-year-old Jorgensen became the first American to win the Olympic triathlon title when she crossed the finish line first in Rio de Janeiro. Four days later, she announced that she'll run the New York City Marathon on November 6th.
NASCAR:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been cleared by doctors to return to racing and will miss at least two more races as he recovers from a concussion. Hendrick Motorsports has announced Earnhardt is out of the races at Michigan and Darlington.
Alex Bowman, who drove for Earnhardt at New Hampshire, will return to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet at Michigan this weekend. Jeff Gordon will fill in at Darlington. He has driven the past four races for Earnhardt.
NBA:
The Lakers have signed top pick Brandon Ingram, who was the second overall pick in the draft. The contract for the former Duke player is expected to be worth more than $23 million over four years. The Lakers have also signed Chinese NBA veteran Yi Jianlian (EE tee-an-LEE'-an). He hasn't played in the NBA since the 2011-12 season with Dallas. The 28-year old has been playing in China and played for his country in the Rio Olympics.
FIFA:
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he will accept the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in his appeal against his six-year ban from football's governing body, with the hearing beginning Thursday.
Both Blatter and Michel Platini, the former head of European football's governing body UEFA, were banned for a $2 million payment to Platini that Blatter approved, claiming it was money owed for consultancy work.
Arriving at the hearing, Blatter said he hoped the CAS panel "will understand that the payment made to Platini was really a debt that we had against him, and this is a principle, if you have debts you pay them."
He added he "will accept the verdict. I do hope it will be positive for me."
NHL:
The Arizona Coyotes have hired Dawn Braid as skating coach and say she is believed to be the first full-time female coach in NHL history. Braid has a long association with the NHL. She worked part-time for the Coyotes last year and has served as a skating consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames.
Free agent right wing Jiri Hudler has signed a $2 million, one-year deal with the Dallas Stars. A veteran of 11 NHL seasons, he had 46 points in 72 games combined for Calgary and Florida last season. Hudler has appeared in 83 career playoff games and went to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with Detroit in 2008 and 2009.
Soccer:
U.S. women's goalkeeper Hope Solo is suspended for six months by U.S. Soccer for disparaging comments about Sweden following the Americans' early departure from the Rio Olympics. Solo called the Swedes "a bunch of cowards" for focusing on defense rather than attacking the three-time defending champion U.S. team. Sweden eliminated the Americans 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw in a quarterfinal Olympic match. The 35-year-old Solo, who was previously suspended for 30 days early in 2015 for her conduct, will not be eligible for selection to the national team until February.
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