In brief: Texas beats UC-Irvine 1-0 in College World Series, meets Vandy next
College baseball: C.J. Hinojosa broke the College World Series’ long home run drought in the seventh inning, Chad Hollingsworth and Travis Duke limited UC Irvine to four hits, and Texas beat the Anteaters 1-0 in an elimination game Wednesday night in Omaha, Nebraska.
Hinojosa became the first player to homer at the CWS in 115 innings, since Mississippi State’s Hunter Renfroe did it against Oregon State on June 21, 2013. It was Hinojosa’s second homer of the season.
The Longhorns advance to meet Vanderbilt on Friday. They would need to beat the Commodores twice to reach next week’s best-of-three finals.
UC Irvine went 1-2 in its surprise CWS appearance that came about after it upset No. 1 national seed Oregon State as a No. 3 regional seed and swept Oklahoma State on the road in super regionals.
Ronaldo OK to go against U.S.
Soccer: Cristiano Ronaldo is fully fit to play against the United States in their crucial Group G match at the World Cup, a Portugal teammate said Wednesday.
Ronaldo needed an ice pack for his troublesome left knee during the day’s earlier training session, once again raising concerns about the world player of the year’s fitness.
“Cristiano is 100 percent fit to play. Every match, if he starts to play, it is because he is fit to play, he’s ready to play,” backup goalkeeper Beto insisted. “He loves football but his body is the most important thing for him … so if he starts a match he is ready, he is fit, so I don’t think that is a problem.”
Ronaldo has been hampered by tendinitis and a muscle injury since before the tournament.
• Oxlade-Chamberlain out for England: England coach Roy Hodgson says Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is not fit enough to face Uruguay at the World Cup today.
The 20-year-old Arsenal midfielder injured knee ligaments two weeks ago in a warm-up match against Ecuador.
Hodgson said that Oxlade-Chamberlain is “at the limit and we could have taken a chance of him tomorrow” but added that he won’t take a risk on his fitness.
• Uruguay’s Lugano also out: Uruguay captain Diego Lugano has been ruled out of the World Cup match against England with a knee injury.
The Uruguay federation says Lugano’s left knee strain has intensified in recent days, preventing “normal sporting performance.”
Medical scans showed that the 33-year-old defender does not currently require surgery.
Modolo wins Tour de Suisse stage
Cycling: Sacha Modolo timed his sprint to perfection to win the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse as Mark Cavendish was involved in a crash on the final corner.
Modolo and others avoided the crash just behind them and the Italian cyclist edged out Peter Sagan on the line after racing for four hours.
John Degenkolb was third on the 114-mile leg from Ossingen to Buren an der Aare.
Tony Martin retained his six-second advantage over Dutch cyclist Tom Dumoulin, with Sagan 10 seconds behind the German.
• Wiggins withdraws from race: Bradley Wiggins has withdrawn from the Tour de Suisse with bruising and swelling in his right thigh, a day after crashing during the fourth stage.
Wiggins’ Sky Team doctor, Steve Baynes, says on the team website that the 2012 Tour de France champion’s injuries require treatment back in Britain.
• Quintana won’t race Tour de France: Movistar has confirmed Giro d’Italia champion Nairo Quintana will skip the Tour de France.
Last year’s Tour runner-up wasn’t included in Movistar’s preliminary 13-man squad. It will trim the squad to nine before the July 5-27 race.
Van Dyken-Rouen grateful
Miscellany: Tears flowed as Amy Van Dyken-Rouen talked about the all-terrain vehicle accident that left her paralyzed just below the waist.
But these were tears of joy – for what Van Dyken-Rouen still has, not what she lost.
The six-time Olympic gold medalist severed her spinal cord in an ATV accident June 6 near Show Low, Arizona.
She’s still paralyzed 12 days after the crash, but after 12 days in a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital, the 41-year-old is headed to the next phase of her recovery. She loaded into a medical flight Wednesday to Denver, where she will continue rehabilitating in her hometown.
• Wimbledon seeds announced: Defending champion Andy Murray has been seeded third for Wimbledon, two places above his current world ranking.
Novak Djokovic was given the No. 1 seeding by the All England Club, moving up from his No. 2 ranking.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, coming off his ninth French Open title, is seeded No. 2 for the grass-court Grand Slam, which starts Monday.
The women’s seedings stuck to the WTA rankings, with Serena Williams at No. 1, followed by Li Na, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Sharapova.
• Canadiens to retire Lapointe’s jersey: Guy Lapointe’s No. 5 will hang from the Bell Centre rafters beginning next season when the Montreal Canadiens retire his jersey.
Lapointe will become the 18th player to be honored by the Canadiens with a jersey retirement.