BASEBALL
Niko Kavadas and Chase Meidroth homered and Alex Binelas hit a two-run triple during a six-run second inning, and four Portland pitchers combined on a two-hitter as the Sea Dogs completed a doubleheader sweep against the Hartford Yard Goats with an 8-2 win at Hartford, Connecticut.
Brendan Nail allowed a two-run homer in the first inning, but relievers Jacob Webb, Dylan Spacke and Ryan Zeferjahn retired 15 of the last 16 Hartford batters.
In Game 1, Nathan Hickey capped a five-run rally in the sixth inning with a two-run homer as Portland rallied for a 5-4 win.
Portland’s comeback started with back-to-back Hartford errors. Nick Yorke loaded the bases with a single, Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a two-run single, and Kavadas hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3. Hickey then belted his third home run in eight games since his promotion to Double-A.
Brian Van Belle was credited with the win after allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Luis Guerrero pitched a perfect seventh inning for his seventh save.
COLLEGES
WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Colby took an early lead, then gave up six goals in the first quarter and was eliminated from the NCAA Division III tournament with a 12-7 loss to defending champion Middlebury in a regional final at Middlebury, Vermont.
Annie Eddy scored twice for the Mules (14-6), including the first goal of the game. Ally Franz also notched two goals, and Julia Jardina, Elizabeth Hennessey and Paige Saudek got one each.
Hope Shue and Susan Rowley scored three goals for Middlebury (21-0), the No. 1 seed.
BASEBALL: Wheaton (39-7) scored two runs in the 13th inning to eliminate Husson (25-19) from the NCAA Division III tournament with a 3-1 victory in New London, Connecticut.
Husson forced extra innings with a two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth. Jackson Curtis singled, took third on a double by Ethan Stoddard and scored on Akira Warren’s infield single, but Stoddard was thrown out at the plate as he tried for the winning run.
Earlier Sunday, Husson stayed alive in the double-elimination regional by scoring four runs in the seventh inning to defeat Tufts, 5-2. Tanner Evans put the Eagles in front with a three-run double, and Curtis drove in Husson’s other two runs.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: Kahleah Copper scored 15 points and the visiting Chicago Sky held on down the stretch for a 75-69 win over Britney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury.
Griner finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots in her first regular-season home game since being released after spending more than 10 months in a Russian prison.
• Breanna Stewart scored a franchise record 45 points and New York beat Indiana 90-73, handing the visiting Fever a 20th consecutive loss that matched the WNBA record for futility.
The Fever equaled the Tulsa Shock, who lost 20 straight games in 2011. Indiana lost 18 consecutive games to close out last season before falling to the Connecticut Sun on Friday in its season opener.
• DeWanna Bonner scored 21 points, and Alyssa Thomas had 14 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals to help the Connecticut Sun rally from a 12-point deficit to beat the Washington Mystics 80-74 at Uncasville, Connecticut.
TENNIS
ITALIAN OPEN: Daniil Medvedev beat rising 20-year-old Danish player Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 for the first clay-court trophy of a career that includes the 2021 U.S. Open title and a period at No. 1 in the rankings.
Medvedev has been known almost exclusively for his prowess on hard courts, with 18 of his previous 19 titles coming on that surface; the other was on grass. But he now must be considered a contender at the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
SOCCER
GERMANY: Sébastien Haller fired Borussia Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga with one round remaining by scoring two goals in a 3-0 win at 10-man Augsburg.
Dortmund is two points clear of 10-time defending champion Bayern Munich going into the final round. Dortmund ends its season at home next weekend against ninth-place Mainz.
ENGLAND: Evan Ferguson scored two goals as Brighton beat Southampton 3-1 in the Premier League to qualify for European competition for the first time in its history.
The win means sixth-place Brighton cannot finish lower than seventh and could still overtake Liverpool in fifth.
• Leeds is on the brink of relegation from the Premier League after a 3-1 loss at West Ham.
The Yorkshire club is two points adrift of 17th-place Everton going into the final game of the season.
SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior was subjected to racist abuse yet again, with the Brazil star saying the Spanish league “now belongs to racists.”
The latest abuse came in Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia, a match that had to be temporarily stopped after the Brazil forward said he was insulted by a fan behind one of the goals at Mestalla Stadium.
“It wasn’t the first time, or the second or the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The competition thinks it’s normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it,” Vinícius said on Instagram and Twitter. “The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi now belongs to racists … But I’m strong and I will fight until the end against the racists. Even if far from here.”
The 22-year-old Vinícius, who is is Black, has been subjected to racist abuse since moving to Spain five years ago.
FRANCE: Kylian Mbappé scored twice to reach a league-leading 28 goals this season as Paris Saint-Germain labored to a 2-1 win at relegation-threatened Auxerre to all but guarantee a record 11th French league title.
PSG remains six points ahead of Lens with two matches left and has a far superior goal difference, but mathematically needs one point next weekend at Strasbourg to clinch.
HOCKEY
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The United States routed France, 9-0 in Tampere, Finland, to maintain its perfect record.
Cutter Gauthier led the way with a hat trick as the U.S. improved to 6-0.
CYCLING
GIRO d’ITALIA: American cyclist Brandon McNulty won the 15th stage for his first victory in a Grand Tour, while Bruno Armirail kept hold of the leader’s pink jersey as the race enters its final week.
McNulty edged out Ben Healy and Marco Frigo at the end of the 121-mile route from Seregno to Bergamo.
Armirail’s overall advantage over Geraint Thomas cut to one minute, eight seconds.
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