Friday, May. 30, 2008

Mammoth HR beats Gators

OKLAHOMA CITY — Holly Tankersley hit a solo home run to center field off NCAA wins leader Stacey Nelson in the eighth inning Thursday as Louisiana-Lafayette (52-13) opened the Women's College World Series with a 3-2 upset of top-seeded Florida (67-4).

Tankersley, who hit her 22nd home run of the season, became the first player to hit a ball into the new 34-foot tall outfield bleachers at Hall of Fame Stadium. She reached for a Nelson (45-4) pitch tailing away on the outside part of the plate and drove it into the front row of the stands.

Ashley Brignac struck out a career-high 15 hitters as the unseeded Ragin' Cajuns (52-13) put a damper on Florida's first trip to the double-elimination World Series.

The Ragin' Cajuns advance to a 4 p.m. game today against fifth-seeded Texas A&M (55-7), which beat Virginia Tech 1-0 behind Megan Gibson's five-hitter. Arizona State (62-5) made Alabama's Kelsi Dunne pay for intentionally walking Kaitlin Cochran a third time to lead off the seventh, rallying for a 3-1 win. Lesley Rogers doubled in Cochran, a .448 hitter, with one out and scored the winning run on Mandy Urfer's two-run double that nicked off third baseman Kelley Montalvo's glove as she dove into foul territory. ... UCLA (51-7) beat two-time defending champ Arizona 1-0 and plays Arizona State today at 6 p.m. UCLA got an unearned run off Taryne Mowatt while Bruins ace Anjelica Selden fired a three-hitter.

WNBA

Tan White scored 11 of her 20 points in the second overtime, and host Indiana held off Los Angeles 82-78. Sparks rookie Candace Parker had 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and five steals in a losing cause. The rookie from Tennessee scored six points in the final minute of the second OT to keep the Sparks in the game. It was a wild game that featured failed dunk attempts by both Parker and Lisa Leslie — Leslie, the only WNBA player to dunk in a regular-season game, had 19 points and nine rebounds. ... Seimone Augustus scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Minnesota beat host Chicago 75-69.

Tennis

Sven Davidson, Sweden's first Grand Slam winner and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has died of pneumonia at 79 in Arcadia. Davidson won the 1957 French Championships, the precursor to the French Open.

Horse Racing

Big Brown went for another gallop around Belmont Park on Thursday and according to his handlers remains "right on target" for the June 7 Belmont Stakes even though the slight crack in his left front hoof has not completely healed.

College Football

Charlie Weis joined a group of college football coaches on a trip to military bases in Germany and the Middle East to pump up the troops. They got plenty out of it themselves.

"I think we felt at least equally inspired by what we saw when we were over there," the Notre Dame coach said. "It was definitely a rewarding, educational experience. My only regret is that my son and every kid that's on my football team weren't there along with me to see the mental discipline of those 18- to 23-year-old kids."

Weis said he was struck by the troops' camaraderie and teamwork.

Soccer

FIFA, soccer's governing body lifted its international ban on Iraq to keep alive the World Cup qualifying hopes of a team that represents a rare symbol of national unity amid war and sectarian rivalries. Iraq was suspended by FIFA on Tuesday after a decree by the Iraq government dissolved the national Olympic Committee and all sports federations. The ban was provisionally lifted after FIFA received a letter from an Iraqi Cabinet official saying the Iraqi soccer federation had been "excluded" from the decree. ... FIFA ratified the World Anti-Doping Agency's revised drug code Friday, putting aside past differences. ... Second-half goals by Adam Cristman and Kheli Dube pulled host New England into a 2-2 tie with D.C. United in MLS action. ... Ecuadorean Christian Benitez set up one goal and scored another to rally Santos to a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul in the first leg of Mexico's Clausura championship finals in Mexico City.

Skiing

Nordic combined skier Hannu Manninen of Finland retired after a 12-year career. He won consecutive Nordict World Cups from 2004-07.

Wrestling

A doctor for a pro wrestler who killed his wife, their 7-year-old son and himself faces 175 charges in a new indictment that accuses him of conspiracy and improperly dispensing prescription drugs. The new indictment in Atlanta against Dr. Phil Astin replaces a seven-count indictment last July and involves 17 additional patients. Authorities have said Astin prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to wrestler Chris Benoit every three to four weeks for a year leading up to the killings.