SPORTS DIGEST || Ex-Buckeye Hartline promoted to WR coach

Ex-Buckeye Hartline promoted to WR coach

COLUMBUS

Former Ohio State star Brian Hartline has been promoted to interim wide receivers coach on Urban Meyer'S staff.

He succeeds Zach Smith, who was fired Monday amid allegations of domestic abuse. Hartline was on the staff as a quality control coach with receivers last season.

Hartline had 90 catches for 1,429 yards and 12 touchdowns for Ohio State from 2005 to 2008 and spent seven seasons in the NFL. He inherits a veteran receiver corps, with the Buckeyes' top six pass-catchers from 2017 returning.

Meyer on Thursday also promoted third-year program assistant Corey Dennis to a senior quality-control position, working with the wide receivers and quarterbacks. Dennis is married to Meyer's daughter, Nicki.

Angels trade C Martin Maldonado to Astros

ANAHEIM, Calif.

The Houston Astros acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Los Angeles Angels in a trade Thursday.

The Angels received left-hander Patrick Sandoval and international bonus pool money in return.

Maldonado's contributions behind the plate helped the Angels' starters post a 3.77 ERA, which ranks fifth in the American League despite numerous injuries and significant inexperience in their rotation. A Gold Glove winner last season, Maldonado is also hitting .223 with 32 RBIs in 78 games.

Maldonado, who signed a one-year contract in January to avoid arbitration, understood that a trade was possible given the Angels' struggles to stay in contention in the top-heavy American League West.

Florida man accused in golf cart fire

MIAMI

A 20-year-old man is accused of arson after police say he set fire to a Miami golf course where David Beckham hopes to build a soccer stadium.

The Miami Herald reports Carlos Crespo was arrested late Wednesday. Police said around 40 golf carts were found burning Tuesday night at the Melreese Country Club.

Beckham and Miami billionaire Jorge Mas want to build a soccer and retail site for a Major League Soccer franchise on the land. The Miami City Commission agreed last week to let voters decide whether the golf course should be developed into a soccer stadium.

No one was injured in the fire.

Crespo is charged with arson and burglary. He remains in jail Thursday with bond set at $15,000. Jail records don’t list a lawyer for him.

YSU baseball team adds two transfers

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown State baseball program has added a pair of transfers, right-handed pitcher Cade Negley and first baseman Trevor Wiersma, to its 2019 signing class, Penguins head coach Dan Bertolini announced on Thursday.

Negley, who was a sought-after recruit coming out Butler, Pa., joins the program after spending his freshman campaign at Santa Clara University in 2018. The YSU coaching staff expects Negley to be a major contributor to the team’s pitching staff right away in 2019.

Wiersma, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, comes to YSU by way of Division II Concord University in West Virginia, where he was a standout for the Mountain Lions over the past three seasons. He is expected to serve as a key bat in the middle of the team'S order, filling a major need for a left-handed hitter.

YSU athletes earn USTFCCCA honors

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State track and field student-athletes Chad Zallow, Jaynee Corbett and Abby Jones received U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic honors the organization announced on Thursday.

Additionally, both the men’s and women’s programs were named All-Academic Teams for 2017-18.

Staff/wire report