SPORTS digest

MV Racecourse has 8 races Saturday

Austintown

Live thoroughbred racing returns to Mahoning Valley Racecourse Saturday. Eight races featuring 75 horses are on the opening day program.

Post time for every Saturday is 12:15 p.m.

Live racing is also on display Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Post time for weekdays is 12:45 p.m.

Opening day features many familiar faces in the jockey colony. Christian Pilares returns to defend his title.

Pilares has been the leading jockey for the previous three seasons. After a solid summer in Cleveland, he should be positioned well for another run at the title.

Jaime Rodriguez, third in his first season here last meet, may prove to be the danger to Pilares’s title defense. Rodriguez rides four morning line favorites on opening day and other logical contenders as well.

OHSAA punishes Hubbard soccer team

HUBBARD

The Hubbard High School girls soccer team has been punished by the OHSAA for using an ineligible player.

The program violated the enrollment and attendance by-law and forfeited two victories in which the ineligible student participated.

The OHSAA board approved a running clock in the second half of basketball tournament games if the score differential reaches 35 points. The running clock will remain in effect unless the score differential falls under 30 points.

Correction

The Crestwood High School volleyball team defeated Cardinal Mooney in three games on Wednesday. A scorebox in Thursday’s edition incorrectly credited another school with the victory.

YSU soccer team sets Senior Night

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown State women’s soccer team (4-12-1, 0-8 Horizon League) closes out the 2017 regular season tonight against Green Bay and will celebrate Senior Night.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Farmers National Bank Field in the Covelli Sports Complex.

The Penguins will be honoring Betty Anane, Nicole Dembie, Courtney Lavin, Kyler Lum, Marissa Martin, Sophie McFarland and Meghan Wallace.

Green Bay enters the match with an overall record of 2-11-1 and 1-5-1 in the Horizon League.

Indians name Willis pitching coach

CLEVELAND

Carl Willis had other job offers, none like the one with the Indians.

Following two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Willis has been hired by Cleveland to replace Mickey Callaway, who helped mold one of baseball’s best pitching staffs before leaving to manage the New York Mets.

This will be the second stint in Cleveland for Willis, who was contacted by several other teams. However, he chose to return to the Indians and oversee a staff that had two 18-game winners (Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco), a 17-game winner (Trevor Bauer), the likely Cy Young winner (Kluber) and one of the game’s best bullpens.

Yankees fire Girardi for Series drought

NEW YORK

Joe Girardi was fired as New York Yankees manager Thursday after a decade that produced just one World Series title for a team that expects to win every year.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced the move five days after New York lost to Houston in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.

An intense and driven former All-Star catcher, Girardi was at the end of his four-year contract and said last weekend he had to speak with his family before deciding whether he wanted to return. New York made the decision for him.

Girardi’s 910-710 regular-season record with the Yankees is sixth in victories managing the team behind Joe McCarthy (1,460), Joe Torre (1,173), Casey Stengel (1,149), Miller Huggins (1,067) and Ralph Houk (944).

Staff/wire report