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LISBON WILL PLAY ON MONDAY
LISBON -- Lisbon and Dalton had their Div. VI sectional baseball tournament game on Friday postponed due to rain.
The two teams will play at 5 p.m. Monday at Lisbon.
EAST PALESTINE HAS TO WAIT
UNITY -- The East Palestine-Mogadore Div. VI sectional baseball tournament game scheduled for Friday was postponed due to rain.
It will be made up at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Ace of Diamonds.
Due to Ace of Diamonds having planned travel team tournaments through the weekend and a Mogadore coach having to fly to Florida for a wedding, the team decided not to play it on the weekend.
ACE FOR HEATER
CALCUTTA -- Scott Heater hit a hole-in-one at Beaver Creek Meadows on Friday.
He aced the 210-yard 12th hole. It was witnessed by Maddox Heater.
CRESTVIEW VOLLEYBALL CLINIC
COLUMBIANA -- A volleyball clinic will be held at Crestview High School on Saturday, June 13, from 8 a.m. to noon.
The camp is run by Crestview coaches as well as current and former players.
It is open to all girls entering grades K-8.
Cost is $30, which includes a T-shirt and snack.
MOUNT UNION TO WORLD SERIES
ALLIANCE -- The 12th-ranked Mount Union softball team swept two game from UMass Dartmouth in the Super Regional on Thursday to advance to the NCAA Division III College World Series for the first time.
The Purple Raiders posted wins of 5-2 and 4-1 at the 23rd Street Softball Complex.
Mount Union (35-7) is among the eight teams that advance to the World Series, which will be held May 28 to June 3 at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia.
Senior shortstop Lydia Brunner from Minerva hit a two-run triple in the sixth inning of the second game after getting a single in the opener.
Sophomore second baseman Allison Jones from Western Reseve had a bunt single in the first game and senior first baseman Sydney Mercer started both games. Sophomore Lindsay Jones from Western Reserve was a defensive replacement in right field both games.
AGE-BASED MODEL POSSIBLE
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The NCAA’s Division I cabinet discussed possible implementation of an age-based eligibility model should it be approved and signaled it would consider voting on it at its meeting next month.
The NCAA said on Friday that athletes whose fourth year of college eligibility was completed by spring 2026 would not be given any more eligibility under the new model. It also would give flexibility to currently enrolled athletes with eligibility after the 2025-26 academic year to apply the age-based model or continue previous eligibility rules, whichever is more beneficial to that individual.
The NCAA Eligibility Center also would review any prospects who graduated high school before spring 2026 but are not yet enrolled in college. All other high school prospects would have to adhere to the age-based model.
The age-based eligibility model would give athletes a window of five years to compete in Division I starting immediately after their high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes first. It also would eliminate waivers for extended eligibility except for pregnancy, religious missions or active-duty military service.
PIRATES RECALL VALDEZ
TORONTO (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled prospect Esmerlyn Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis after a recent hot streak and had him in the lineup in right field Friday night for their game at Toronto.
Valdez was 0 for 3 with a groundout, two strikeouts and a walk in his major league debut, a 6-2 Pirates loss.
Valdez, 22, hit five home runs in the last five Triple-A games and was batting .355 with seven extra-base hits, 10 RBIs, a .903 slugging percentage and 1.315 OPS in his last eight.
Valdez hit .253 with 10 homers, 10 doubles and 29 RBIs in 46 games with Indianapolis this season. He also has 33 walks.
The right-handed hitter is the organization’s No. 9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He led Pittsburgh’s minor league system with 26 home runs last season and represented the club at the All-Star Futures Game.
Valdez was signed by Pittsburgh as a nondrafted free agent on Jan. 15, 2021.
Pittsburgh optioned outfielder Billy Cook to Indianapolis following Thursday’s game at St. Louis.