SPORTS digest

Mikovich, Smallcomb hit grand slams for YSU

Greensboro, N.C.

Sophomore Cali Mikovich and senior Katie Smallcomb each hit a grand slam and the Youngstown State softball team recorded 11 hits in a 15-6 win over UNC-Greensboro on Sunday afternoon. The Penguins also lost to Iona, 11-4, earlier in the day.

Smallcomb went 2-for-3 with five RBIs and juniors Alexandria Gibson and Maria Lacatena each had three hits to lead the offense for the Penguins, who improve to 4-4 on the year.

The Penguins take on Indiana State and Troy on Friday.

Timely hitting powers Fresno State over YSU

FRESNO, CALIF.

Fresno State had hits in just three different innings, but it scored in each of those innings to beat the Youngstown State baseball team 6-1 on Sunday at Pete Beiden Field.

YSU held a 7-6 edge in hits against the undefeated Bulldogs, but Fresno State made the most of its opportunities. They had three hits in a three-run second, two runs on two hits in the fourth and one run on one hit in the sixth.

Alex Larivee and Shane Willoughby both had a pair of hits, and Willoughby drove in YSU’s run in the top of the ninth.

Penguins starter Michael Semonsen surrendered five runs on four hits and three walks in 31/3 innings in his first career start, and three relievers held the Bulldogs to one run in 42/3 innings.

YSU’s Gerrad Rohan led off the ninth with a triple to left, and he scored two batters later on Willoughby’s infield single.

YSU will begin a three-game series at Belmont on Friday.

NFL salary cap set at $155.27 million for 2016

NEW YORK

The NFL’s salary cap for 2016 will be $155.27 million, an increase of nearly $12 million.

The NFL Players Association confirmed the figure Sunday, and will release the franchise and transition tag numbers on Monday. Free agency begins March 9, but teams must apply those tags by Tuesday.

Among the players whose contracts have expired and might wind up getting tagged are Super Bowl MVP linebacker Von Miller of Denver, and other All-Pros such as Carolina cornerback Josh Norman, Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin and Kansas City safety Eric Berry.

Since the 10-year labor agreement was reached in 2011, the cap has risen more than $35 million per team. The increase is the largest since 2006, when the salary cap went up from $85.5 to $102 million.

This year’s increase is based on several economic factors, including a new Thursday night TV package that includes both CBS and NBC. Other league revenues also exceeded projections in 2015.

Adding to the number last week was an arbitrator’s ruling that the NFL had misplaced certain revenues that should have been applied to the cap. That put another $50 million overall into the cap.

Source: Ex-49ers OL to file for NFL return

SAN FRANCISCO

Former 49ers right tackle Anthony Davis plans to file for reinstatement after he retired in June last year following a head injury, a person with direct knowledge of his decision said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no move had been completed. Davis had always left open the possibility of making a comeback after sitting out a year to get healthy, and San Francisco still has his rights.

The 49ers’ 11th overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Rutgers was affected by a concussion late in the 2014 season.

On June 5 at age 25, Davis announced his retirement from the Niners in another surprising 2015 offseason departure for the team. He became the fourth prominent 49ers player to retire in a three-month span — joining linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland and defensive end Justin Smith. The announcement came four days before the team’s mandatory June minicamp, and he hadn’t participated in the organization’s offseason program.

Staff and wire reports