Sports

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Liam Welch threw four touchdown passes as Samford rolled to a 52-14 victory over Tennessee Tech in the season opener for both teams. Welch, the Southern Conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, was 33-of-44 passing for 370 yards. Montrell Washington made eight catches for 170 yards receiving, and he scored

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Ricky Person Jr. scored three first-half touchdowns and was one of two North Carolina State players to run for more than 100 yards in the Wolfpack’s 45-0 season-opening win against South Florida. It marked the Wolfpack’s first season-opening shutout victory in 17 years. Person ran

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Allisha Gray had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Arike Ogunbowale scored 17 points and the Dallas Wings beat the Atlanta Dream 72-68. Ogunbowale took an inbounds pass with 29.2 seconds left and dribbled down the clock before splitting two defenders at the top of the key. Her jumper was short, but

ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) — Carter Peevy threw for 139 yards and a touchdown and Tommy Pollack ran for 103 yards and two scores and Mercer beat NAIA-member Point University 69-0 in its season opener. The Bears’ total points established a new program record. Mercer amassed a total of 778 yards with 539 coming on the

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ian Corwin ran for two scores and passed for a third in the first half as Drake opened its season with a 45-3 win over Division II West Virginia Wesleyan. Corwin, who missed one game and struggled with injuries throughout the abbreviated spring season, engineered scoring drives on the Bulldogs’

By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Eduardo Rodriguez pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 4-0 for a split of their four-game series with AL East-leading Rays. Garrett Richards replaced Rodriguez with two on and no outs in the seventh, and the right-hander

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 17 points, Sylvia Fowles had 15 points and 17 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 66-57. Minnesota closed on a 17-4 run, highlighted by a long 3-poiner by Aerial Powers with 3:11 left for a five-point lead. Los Angeles was held to four points in

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Grayson McCall threw for 262 yards and a touchdown and No. 22 Coastal Carolina scored on its first seven possessions in a season-opening 52-14 victory over The Citadel on Thursday night. McCall was the Sun Belt Conference offensive player of year in 2020 and kept

STONY BROOK, N.Y. (AP) — Bret Edwards threw three touchdown passes, two to Brian Espanet, and New Hampshire held off Stony Brook for a 27-21 victory in a season and Colonial Athletic Association opener. Edwards sandwiched two short first-half TD passes to Kyle Lepkowski and Espanet around a 4-yard rushing score by Sean Coyne. Edwards

NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Marlins leadoff batter Miguel Rojas and New York Mets counterpart Jonathan Villar each homered on the first pitch they saw Thursday night, the first time that’s happened in a major league game since at least 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Statisticians at Elias were unable to go back

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Nine U.S. starters were set to make their World Cup qualifying debuts against El Salvador, matching the most since 1996. Matt Turner was in goal, with DeAndre Yedlin at right back, Miles Robinson and Tim Ream in central defense and Sergiño Dest at left back. Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie,

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani says he’s “sad and upset” for missing the next three rounds of World Cup qualifiers. He and other South American players in the Premier League were pressured by their clubs not to travel to the region due to COVID-19 protocols imposed by the British government. Premier League

By The Associated Press The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for first in the NL West heading into their weekend series in San Francisco. The rivals split their first 16 games this year, with each team scoring 68 times. The New York Mets hit the road without acting general manager Zack Scott, who

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have switched specialists again right before the regular season. They signed former Pittsburgh punter Jordan Berry and released punter Britton Colquitt. The Vikings also signed quarterback Sean Mannion to the practice squad for another backup option to Kirk Cousins. Mannion was released by Seattle this week. He was

By SCOTT ORGERA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Looking to bolster their bullpen for a late-season playoff push, the New York Mets have claimed reliever Brad Hand off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. A three-time All-Star with 126 career saves, Hand struggled badly with the Blue Jays after arriving from Washington in a

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees broadcaster John Sterling was helped out of his flooding car by Spanish radio play-by-play man Rickie Ricardo on Wednesday night after Sterling got stuck trying to drive home after a game. Sterling and Ricardo both called New York’s game at the Los Angeles Angels from Yankee Stadium because the radio