YMUA to hold mechanics clinic

YMUA to hold mechanics clinic

Youngstown

The Youngstown Metro Umpire Association will hold a OHSAA baseball/softball mechanics clinic Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. at the WATTS building on the campus of Youngstown State University.

Umpires are reminded that they must attend four meetings to meet state requirements. Call John Mang at (330) 502-6665 for more information.

Penguins drop baseball opener to Gamecocks

Jacksonville, Ala.

Jacksonville State scored six runs in the first inning and got solid production throughout its lineup to beat Youngstown State 13-1 at Rudy Abbott Field in the season opener for both teams.

Preseason All-American Paschal Petrongolo went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a three-run homer, and Clayton Daniel also had three hits for the Gamecocks.

Junior catcher Jonny Miller, a transfer from Cypress College, was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored to lead Youngstown State. Jason Shirley and Frank Califano both reached twice for the Penguins. Kevin Yarabinec, making the first start of his career, allowed six runs in the first.

YSU’s run came with two outs in the sixth inning when Miller walked, advanced to third on Shirley’s single and scored on a balk. Yarabinec was charged with four earned runs on six hits in 3.2 innings.

The Penguins and Gamecocks will play a doubleheader on today at 1 p.m.

Glenn, broadcaster and golf historian, dies

Rhonda Glenn, the first female anchor on ESPN who became a USGA historian and tireless promoter of women’s golf, died after a long illness. She was 68.

Barbara Romack, a former U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, said Glenn died Thursday night in a hospital in Gainesville, Florida, near The Villages, a senior community built around golf. She had been battling cancer.

Glenn became the first woman to be a fulltime sportscaster for a national network when she sat behind the desk at SportsCenter in 1981 just two years after the 24-hour sports network was launched.

Glenn was a golf commentator for ABC Sports for 16 years, and she spent 17 years at the USGA. She was the authority on women’s golf, especially USGA championships. Glenn competed in 11 USGA championships, including twice at the U.S. Women’s Open and five times in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Unnecessary roughness changed for high school

INDIANAPOLIS

The National Federation of State High School Associations has changed a football rule involving unnecessary roughness to minimize the risk to players.

The association said Friday that its board of directors has approved revising the rule to ban unnecessary roughness against defenseless players. The group also has revised its spearing rule. That rule now bans players contacting an opponent at or below the shoulders with the crown of their helmets.

Brad Garrett is chair of the NFHS’s football rules committee. He says minimizing risk to players must be “at the forefront of the game.”

The association says its 2013-2014 survey shows football is the most popular high school sport for boys with more than 1.09 million players. About 1,800 girls played football during the 2013-2014 season.

Chapman, Reds agree to 1-year contract

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

Closer Aroldis Chapman and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to an $8.05 million, one-year contract, just before the scheduled start of their salary arbitration hearing.

The right-hander, who turns 27 on Feb. 28, was 0-3 with a 2.00 ERA and 36 saves in 38 chances last year in his fifth season with the Reds. He struck out 106 in 54 innings and led the majors with an average of 17.67 strikeouts per nine innings. According to fangraphs.com, he was first in average fastball speed at 100.2 mph.

Staff/wire reports