In brief: TCU defeats Pepperdine to advance to College World Series
BASEBALL: Kyle Bacak executed a suicide squeeze bunt to send home the tiebreaking run in the top of the ninth inning and TCU rallied to beat Pepperdine 6-5 Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, and advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska for the second time in five seasons.
The Horned Frogs started the ninth with three consecutive hits off Pepperdine closer Eric Karch that included Dylan Fitzgerald’s tying RBI double.
There was an infield popout before No. 9 batter Bacak bunted. Jerrick Suiter, who had reached on a high-chopping infield single, charged home from third.
• Sborz, Virginia knock off Maryland: Josh Sborz went seven shutout innings and Virginia used a pair of three-run innings early to beat Maryland 11-2 in Game 3 of the Charlottesville Super Regional in Charlottesville, Virginia, and advance to the CWS for the third time in six seasons.
Third baseman Kenny Towns drove in four runs on a triple and a single to force Maryland starter Bobby Ruse out of the game after 2 1/3 innings.
• Ole Miss earns trip to Omaha: Pinch-hitter Holt Perdzock hit a two-run double in the ninth inning and Mississippi ended a 42-year CWS drought by punching its ticket to Omaha with a 10-4 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the deciding game of the Lafayette Super Regional.
A throwing error on Perdzock’s double allowed another run to score and J.B. Woodman’s sacrifice fly scored Perdzock to complete the Rebels’ four-run rally.
Austin Anderson and Sikes Orvis homered in the Rebels’ three-run fourth.
Froome takes second stage of Dauphine
CYCLING: British rider Chris Froome showed he is in dominant form ahead of the Tour de France, beating main rival Alberto Contador to win the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in France.
Froome accelerated with 800 meters remaining and managed to hold off two-time Tour de France champion Contador on the 158.5-kilometer leg from Tarare to Col du Beal.
It was Froome’s second successive victory in the eight-stage race, following his win in the opening time trial. He has a 12-second advantage over Contador and is 21 seconds ahead of Kelderman.
Querrey, Hewitt advance at Queen’s
TENNIS: Former champions Sam Querrey and Lleyton Hewitt claimed contrasting victories to advance to the second round of the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament in London, a traditional warm-up event for Wimbledon.
Querrey, the 2010 winner at Queen’s, fired 31 aces and saved all four break points he faced but the American needed three tiebreakers to upset 14th-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5).
Australian veteran Hewitt went through 6-3, 6-3 against Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver as he began his bid for a record fifth title.
• Bencic, Date-Krumm win at Aegon Classic: The youngest and oldest women in the world’s top 100 won their opening matches at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, a grass court warm-up event for Wimbledon.
Seventeen-year-old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland defeated fellow teenager Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4, while Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm, more than a quarter of a century Bencic’s senior at the age of 43, overcame Paula Ormaechea 6-3, 6-1.
If both Bencic and Date-Krumm win their next matches, they’ll face each other. Bencic eliminated Date-Krumm in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.
• Kohlschreiber beats Seppi at Halle: Former champion Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.
The 30-year-old German, who won the grass-court tournament in 2011, struck nine aces and converted both his break point chances to win in 1 hour, nine minutes.
USA Swimming CEO apologizes to victims
MISCELLANY: USA Swimming CEO Chuck Wielgus has apologized for the first time to victims of sexual abuse within the program.
The apology was written in a blog posted on the organization’s web site. It comes more than four years after a much-criticized television interview in which Wielgus said he had no reason to apologize for the dozens of sexual abuse cases under his leadership.
Wielgus started his blog with two words: “I’m sorry.”
While Wielgus says the organization has made great strides with its Safe Sport Program, he has continued to face criticism from those who say he should step down if the USA Swimming is going to make real progress to protect athletes.