SPORTS digest

Valley baseball players earn all-district team

A handful of Valley baseball players were represented on the Northeast Ohio All-District Baseball Team, as selected by the Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association Board of Directors.

Earning a spot on the Division II first team were West Branch’s Jerian Thomas, Kip DeShields and Jake Smith. They were joined by Ryan Cheslik of Canfield.

Named to the Division III/IV first team were Warren JFK’s Anthony Marzullo and Ryan Lee, as well as Crestview’s Michael McDonaugh. Making the second team were Greg Dunham and Ryan Miller of South Range and Kyle Harris and Austin DeGregory of Girard.

Gay in leadership role for Steelers’ secondary

PITTSBURGH

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback William Gay suddenly finds himself as the wise old veteran on a secondary in the midst of a youth movement.

The 30-year-old Gay is the longest tenured cornerback on the team following the retirement of Ike Taylor in the offseason. Gay is coming off a career year in which he returned three interceptions for touchdowns as the Steelers won the AFC North.

Gay’s picks were one of the few highlights for a defense that finished 27th against the pass. Gay says that number needs to improve in 2015 even as the Steelers try to work in rookies Senquez Golson, Doran Grant and Gerod Holliman.

Gay added “the sky is the limit” for the Steelers, who finish up spring drills with minicamp next week.

Indians draft switch pitcher Ryan Perez

CLEVELAND

The Indians have selected switch pitcher Ryan Perez in the 12th round of the baseball’s amateur draft.

The 21-year-old, taken by Cleveland with the 364th overall pick, played at Judson University, an NAIA school in suburban Chicago. He was 4-1 with a 4.61 record this season as a junior. He was Most Valuable Player in the Cape Cod League All-Game in 2014. Perez, a native of Hampshire, Illinois, has been clocked at over 90 mph from both sides. His selection comes the week after switch pitcher Pat Venditte made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics.

Wood’s late goal lifts US over Germany

COLOGNE, Germany

Bobby Wood scored a late goal for the second time in six days to give the United States its first victory at a European soccer power, lifting the Americans to a 2-1 win at World Cup champion Germany in an exhibition game Wednesday.

The 22-year-old from Hawaii entered in the 74th minute and scored in the 87th, swiveling and taking a touch before a 23-yard shot that went on a hop past goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler.

Wood scored in the 90th minute Friday to give Americans a 4-3 win over the Netherlands in Amsterdam. The U.S. had lost its previous two games against the Germans in Germany, 4-2 in 2002 and 4-1 in 2006.

Mario Goetze put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute, but Mix Diskerud tied the score in the 41st after trapping a precise long ball from Michael Bradley.

Nike to become NBA’s uniform provider

NEW YORK

The NBA says Nike will become the league’s official uniform provider beginning with the 2017-18 season.

The league said Wednesday it had agreed on an eight-year deal with Nike, which will become the first apparel partner to have its logo appear on NBA uniforms.

Adidas is the league’s current provider and has two years left on its contract. But Nike already has a significant presence through endorsement deals with many of the league’s biggest stars. Nike has also been a global marketing partner of the NBA since 1992, a marketing partner of the WNBA since its inception in 1997 and the exclusive apparel provider of USA Basketball since 2006.

Staff/wire reports