Finch mows down China in shutout
Stacey Nuveman homered and Jennie Finch threw a one-hit shutout as the United States beat China 7-0 Sunday in an exhibition game at Oklahoma City stopped after five innings because of the run rule.
Nuveman gave the U.S. a 4-0 lead with a three-run shot to left-center field in the second inning, and the Americans tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning off Chinese starter Li Qi.
Finch struck out five and lost her perfect game on a ground single to left field by Li Chun Xia with two outs in the fifth.
Nuveman holds NCAA career records with 90 home runs and a .947 slugging percentage, and was a member of gold-medal winning U.S. teams in 2000 and 2004.
Track and field
Chambers racing again
With an appeal against his lifetime Olympic ban pending, Dwain Chambers was just outside “A” qualifying time for the Beijing Games in a 100-meter race on Sunday.
In his second 100-meter race back from a two-year doping ban, the ex-European champion sprinter won in 10.28 seconds at the British League meet in Birmingham on Sunday.
Chambers recently completed a two-year ban by the International Association of Athletics Federations for testing positive for the steroid THG. While his times have been good enough to qualify for Britain’s trials for the Beijing Games in August, Chambers is barred for life from the Olympics under guidelines set down by the British Olympic Association.
He will appeal that ban to London’s High Court.
cycling
Leipheimer wins trial
Levi Leipheimer of the United States won the prologue of the Dauphine Libere cycling race in Avignon, France.
Leipheimer finished the 3.5-mile time trial in 6 minutes, 10.05 seconds, with Norwegian rider Thor Hushovd coming in second at 6:11.42. Spain’s Alejandro Valverde was third in 6:16.29.
The eight-day French race is a traditional warmup for the Tour de France. Today’s stage takes riders on a 120.5-mile route from Avignon to Privas. The race ends Sunday.
Miscellany
Olympians take title
Olympic beach volleyball qualifiers Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won their third straight Hermosa Beach Open title, beating Casey Jennings and Matt Fuerbringer 21-14 and 25-23 in Los Angeles.
Dalhausser and Rogers have won 10 of the last 12 tour events they have played, including winning six of seven this year.
•Jeremy Starks won the Bassmaster Elite Series’ Southern Challenge at Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala. for his first series victory, hauling in 21 pounds. Starks, from Charleston, W.Va., finished with a four-day total of 78-10. He earned $100,000 and moved into 70th place in the season standings.
•Horst Skoff, a former Austrian tennis player who won four ATP Tour titles, died during a business trip to Hamburg, Germany. He was 39.
Austria’s tennis federation said Skoff died of a heart attack.