YSU

YSU
Softball
CANFIELD -- Youngstown State dropped a 9-1 decision to Kent State Thursday in a non-league game.
The Golden Flashes (14-20) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but YSU (10-20) tied it in the bottom half of the inning when Amanda Berry doubled home Zetta Dumkrieger.
Kent State put the game out of reach when it scored seven runs in the third.
Katie Marsh (1-3) was handed the loss.
On Wednesday, Lacey Reichert drilled a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to give YSU a 3-2 win over Robert Morris in the first game of a doubleheader. YSU won the second game, 8-2.
Women's tennis
PITTSBURGH -- Youngstown State won its second straight match, 4-3 over Duquesne Wednesday.
YSU (9-8) picked up victories at the final four singles spots, including a tie-break victory at No. 4 by Sarah Rothenberg, 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 over Carrie Bygard. Also, Anne Marino beat Katie Riedinger 6-4, 6-2; Jenn Meister beat Lauren Demeyer 6-0, 6-3 and Jenny Vodhanel defeated Julie Wagner 6-2, 6-0.
Recruiting
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gary Hinkson of Hermitage, Pa., Charles Schultz of Columbus and Eric Shaffer of Akron have signed letters of intent to play baseball at Youngstown State.
Hinkson is a left-handed outfielder from Hickory High, Schultz is a right-handed pitcher from Thomas Worthington High, and Shaffer is a left-hander from Garfield High.
Mark Posta of Sandusky has signed a letter of intent to play tennis at YSU.
Posta, of Sandusky Saint Mary's High, is 98-7 in three seasons and is a three-time state qualifier.
LOCAL
Gymnastics meet
BOARDMAN -- Youngstown Gymnastic Center will host a meet Saturday and Sunday, with 260 gymnasts from northern Ohio expected to participate.
Thirty of the athletes will be from the Youngstown area. Each gymnast had to win preliminary competition in order to qualify for the meet and their ages range from 9 to 22.
Competition begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the last session at 7:50. Sunday's competition begins at 10 a.m. with a second session at 4 p.m.
REGION
ONN to cover draft
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio News Network will present a sports special on Saturday, recapping the NFL draft for the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, from 9 to 9:30 p.m.
NATION
NBA news
* The Phoenix Suns re-signed coach Frank Johnson to a three-year contract.
* Attendance at NBA games topped 20 million this season, increasing about 1 percent from 2000-01. There were 482 sellouts.
* Sportscasters Marv Albert and Mike Fratello will miss the start of NBC's playoff coverage after being injured when their limousine hit a stalled truck on a New Jersey interstate.
Kerr, Sandersshare LPGA lead
LINCOLN, Calif. -- Cristie Kerr and Sara Sanders, both winless on the LPGA Tour, shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead in the Longs Drugs Challenge.
WORLD
Tennis roundup
* Within minutes of losing her third-round match to qualifier Stephanie Foretz in the Family Circle Cup, Monica Seles had to cut short her shower when shards of glass from a traffic accident fell on a tournament tent.
Seles was taking a shower in the clubhouse at the time.
There were no injuries at the tournament and play was suspended for 35 minutes, but not before the second-seeded Seles became the latest upset victim. Only four of 16 seeded players reached Friday's quarterfinals.
* Andy Roddick was knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters, losing to Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 6-2 in the third round.
* Top-seeded Martina Sucha of Slovakia beat Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Budapest Grand Prix.
Vindicator staff/wire reports