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The heat is on for spring training
PHOENIX (AP) -- Bringing the heat in spring training is supposed to be about hard-throwing pitchers, not triple-digit temperatures like those that will impact Major League Baseball spring training games in Arizona for several days this week.
Because of a forecasted heat wave in the Phoenix area, at least 10 Cactus League games at six different stadiums that had been scheduled for afternoon starts between Wednesday and Friday will instead begin just after 6 p.m. local time. A game Saturday between the Athletics and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Glendale is being moved up to 11 a.m. MST.
Temperatures are expected to reach or exceed 100 degrees by Wednesday, with forecast highs of up to 106 degrees through what will be the final weekend of spring training for the 15 MLB teams there. While expected during the summer in the Phoenix area, that kind of heat is unusual in March.
The previous record for the earliest day of the year above 100 in Phoenix was on March 26, 1988, which is also the only day that has hit 100 in March.
Cactus League officials said Monday that some ballparks are adjusting game day policies to allow fans to bring in water or other drinks, and are providing hydration stations.
"Facing an unprecedented March heat wave, Cactus League ballparks are showing their flexibility in moving some day games to the evening, when the temperatures are expected to be much cooler," Cactus League Executive Director Bridget Binsbacher said. "The Cactus League's No. 1 priority is the health and safety of all involved."
Ramirez needs rest
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez was feeling much better Monday after the seven-time All-Star left a spring training game the previous day because of a sore shoulder, according to manager Stephen Vogt.
"We're going to reassess him day by day. He should be just fine in a few days," Vogt said Monday. "He knows himself really well. … He came up from the on-deck circle and said, 'I'm done.' And that was really all I heard until later in the game."
After Sunday's game, Vogt said Ramírez had a sore left shoulder after jamming it while sliding into third for a stolen base. That came in the second inning after his double, and he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth.
The 33-year-old Ramírez has played his entire 13-year career in Cleveland and is a lifetime .279 hitter with 285 home runs and 949 RBIs in 1,609 games. The $175 million, seven-year contract he signed during the offseason is the largest in franchise history.
YSU women head to WNIT
YOUNGSTOWN -- After posting one of its best seasons in the last two decades, the Youngstown State women's basketball team's 2025-26 campaign will continue in the Postseason WNIT.
The 48-team field for the Postseason WNIT was announced on Sunday evening, and the bracket was released on Monday. Youngstown State earned a first-round bye, and it will play the winner between Wake Forest and Maryland Eastern Shore in the second round. The date, time and location for the second-round game have not been announced. The first-round contest between the Demon Deacons and the Hawks will be played at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Youngstown State earned the Horizon League's automatic bid as the conference's top team that was not selected for the NCAA Tournament or WBIT. This is Youngstown State's fifth appearance all-time in the WNIT, following previous bids in 2012-13, 2014-15, 2018-19 and 2021-22.
With the WBIT run by the NCAA, the independently run WNIT is a third-tier postseason tournament. Home sites are determined by which teams bid the most.
The Penguins are 24-9 this season, and they finished as the runner-up in the Horizon League tournament for the first time in program history.
Mercer helps Mount Union
ALLIANCE - Mount Union senior Sydney Mercer has been named the Ohio Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week.
Mercer -- a West Branch High School graduate -- helped lead the Purple Raiders to an 8-4 record during their spring break trip to South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia, including wins over No. 24 Belhaven, No. 13 Emory and No. 7 East Texas Baptist. She finished the week with a .400 batting average and a .550 slugging percentage, with four doubles, a triple and seven RBIs. Mercer also broke a pair of school records last week, becoming the new career leader for both runs and RBIs.
This is the first time this season and the third time in her career that Mercer has won the OAC award.
Busy week in Dayton
DAYTON -- An 11-day hectic schedule continues this week at the University of Dayton Arena.
The arena is hosting the Ohio High School Athletic Association girls and boys state championship games along with the NCAA First Four games.
The NCAA First Four opens tonight with Howard vs. UMBC and NC State vs. Texas and continues Wednesday with Lehgh vs. Prairie View and Southern Methodist vs. Miami (Ohio).
The arena will host two Ohio boys state semifinals on Thursday and two more on Friday and all seven state championship games from Friday through Sunday.
The Ohio girls state tournament also was held at the arena last week with four state semifinal games and all seven state championship finals.
Geiss races at nationals
BOSTON -- Heartland Christian senior Rebecca Geiss finished 98th out of 170 high school girls finishers in the New Balance Indoor Nationals on Friday.
Geiss ran 10:58.73 in the championship 2-mile high school race at the TRACK, which featured six of the eight fastest high school times in the nation this season.
Geiss has placed three times in the 3,200-meter run at the state meet, including a runner-up finish in 2023.
Teays Valley (Ohio) and Indiana University signee Katy Zang won with a meet-record time of 9:37.15. She broke the national high school indoor record of 9:38.68 set by Mary Cain in 2013. Cain set that mark in a pro field and finished third.
Zang has had a rapid rise. A week earlier, she became the first Ohio girl to break 10 minutes in the 3200 meters by winning the Ohio high school state indoor meet in 9:42.84, surpassing her previous best by 35 seconds.
Zang followed up Friday's record race by winning the championship girls mile on Sunday in 4:35.02, the sixth fastest indoor mile in high school history.
Last June, Zang was fifth in the Ohio Division I 3200 meters (10:37.59). She placed 30th at the Division I state cross country meet (18.58.57) in November.