Sports Digest || Fitch grad named Marines’ top female

Fitch grad named Marines’ top female

QUANTICO, Va.

First Lieutenant Kaitlin (Kempe) Koplin was selected as the U.S. Marine Corps Female Athlete of the Year for 2010.

Koplin, a Fitch High graduate, was the Marines’ female cross country champion and a member of the U.S. Armed Forces team that competed in the 2010 Conseille International du Sport Militaire cross country championship in Ostend, Belgium.

A graduate of the Naval Academy, Koplin also competed during the 2010 season in the Plymouth Half-Marathon with a time of 1:26:01, the Annapolis 10-miler, which she won with a time of 1:02:16, the Marine Corps marathon (3:10:11) and numerous other smaller races.

Her father, Rich, coaches track and cross country at Fitch.

Mercer Raceway

Mercer, PA

The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series will make its encore appearance Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park.

Leading the way will be the defending champ Tim Shafffer and former champ Dale Blaney.

Also, Danny Smith and Cap Henry, touring pros, have already captured feature wins at the park in 2011.

Bob Felmlee and Rod George, currently running first and second in a battle for the track championship will be on hand to defend their home turf.

PA beats Georgia, 7-5

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.

The Pennsylvania party rolled on at the Little League World Series.

The hometown favorites from Clinton County overcame a rocky start with a six-run first inning then held on for a 7-5 win Tuesday night over Warner Robins, Ga., before another raucous crowd under the Lamade Stadium lights.

Brandon Miller got the offense going again with a leadoff single before coming around to score on Landon Breon’s two-run single. Miller, Pennsylvania’s 12-year-old sparkplug, finished the scoring in the frantic first with an RBI infield single.

Rhode Island prevails

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.

Cumberland, R.I., scored its final four runs on two errors and a hit batter in the bottom of the sixth to rally from four runs down and beat Rotterdam, Netherlands, 8-7 Tuesday in a Little League World Series consolation game.

Colin Cannata scampered home with the winning run after the Netherlands committed an error trying to pick runner James Belisle off first following a line-drive out.

Japan tops Canada

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.

Japan has moved one step closer to defending its title at the Little League World Series.

Hamamatsu City starter Shoto Totsuka combined with relievers Hiroyasu Sugiura and Takuya Okamoto to five-hit Langley, British Columbia in a 4-0 win Tuesday. Japan moves on to play either Mexico or Venezuela on Thursday.

A team from Tokyo won the World Series last year.

Isner captures debut

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

Local favorite John Isner won in his Winston-Salem Open debut on Tuesday, beating Dudi Sela 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second round.

The No. 4-seeded Isner, a native of nearby Greensboro who is 28th in the ATP rankings, will face either Denis Istomin or 13th-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the third round.

Kyle Busch pleads guilty to speeding

STATESVILLE, N.C.

NASCAR points leader Kyle Busch lost his driver’s license for 45 days on Tuesday in a case stemming from his high-speed joy ride in a luxury car.

The Sprint Cup star pleaded guilty to speeding and no contest to reckless and careless driving in North Carolina District Court in Iredell County. Busch, who doesn’t need a license to compete in NASCAR, also was fined $1,000, sentenced to 30 hours of community service and put on one year of probation.

Busch addressed the court before his sentencing by District Court Judge H. Thomas Church, apologizing again for driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone in a bright yellow 2012 Lexus on May 24.

Vindicator staff/wire reports