Off the wire

Pennsylvania advances to U.S. title game

Baseball

Left-hander Adam Cramer struck out 13 in five innings, and undefeated Lewisberry, Pa. — the closest thing to a home team in the Little League World Series — beat Pearland, Texas, 3-0 on Wednesday night in Williamsport, Penn., for a berth in the U.S. bracket title game.

Cramer allowed three hits and got only two outs other than by strikeout — a fly ball and a comeback grounder.

Pearland plays Bonita, Calif., today for a spot in the U.S. title game Saturday against Lewisberry. The winner faces the International bracket winner for the World Series title Sunday.

Thousands of fans made the two-hour drive from Lewisberry for the game. The crowd estimated at 35,000 packed Lamade Stadium, leaving no room to cardboard slide down the grassy slope beyond the outfield wall.

In Wednesday’s earlier game, Tokyo was down to its final strike before tying it in the bottom of the sixth inning with a single, then rallied again to overcame a two-run deficit in the eighth for a 5-4 victory over Venezuela and a berth in the International bracket title game.

Venezuela will play Mexicali Baja California, Mexico, today. The winner of that game faces Tokyo on Saturday for the International championship and a chance to play the U.S. winner.

Shingo Tomita tied it 2-2 with a two-out, RBI single on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth. Venezuela hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the eighth, but Tokyo pulled it out with two doubles, a single, an intentional walk and Yugo Aoki’s bases-loaded single with one out.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Ohio State WR out for season

• Ohio State wide receiver Noah Brown injured his left leg during practice Wednesday and will miss the season. Ohio State released a statement saying Brown would have surgery today and is expected to make a full recovery. The 6-2, 222-pound Brown saw limited playing time in 13 games as a freshman last season and had 1 reception for 9 yards. He was vying for a starting spot for the defending national champions and having a strong preseason. Coach Urban Meyer said last week that Brown was one of the most improved players in training camp. The Buckeyes were already planning to be short-handed at receiver because of suspensions to wideout Corey Smith and H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson.

• Duke cornerback Bryon Fields will miss the season with a torn knee ligament. Coach David Cutcliffe said Wednesday that Fields tore his right anterior cruciate ligament Tuesday during practice. Cutcliffe said he has “all the confidence in the world in Bryon’s dedication and perseverance” to return. Fields was a returning starter who had 112 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery in 2 seasons at Duke. He did not redshirt as a freshman in 2013.

TENNIS

Anderson advances

• Second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and No. 13 seed Steve Johnson of the U.S. were among four seeded players to advance Wednesday to the quarterfinals at the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Open. Anderson, ranked 15th in the world, beat 2014 finalist Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 7-6 (2), 6-4 at the Wake Forest Tennis Center. Johnson, the lone American remaining, beat third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4).

• Seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat France’s Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to the Connecticut Open quarterfinals in New Haven, Conn. “I’m just very happy to finish the match in two sets,” Radwanska said. “She’s a great fighter, so I knew it was going to be a long match. She can really play everything and you can expect everything from her side.” Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark outlasted Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (9-7), and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic topped Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk 6-4, 6-1.

HOCKEY

Ex-Blackhawk Maki dies

Ron “Chico” Maki, a member of the Chicago Blackhawks 1961 Stanley Cup champions, has died. He was 76. A notice on the Blackhawks’ website said Maki died Monday at his home in Port Dover, Ontario. The right wing spent 15 seasons with the Blackhawks (1961-76), playing in three All-Star games. Maki had 143 goals and 292 assists in 841 regular-season NHL games. He had 17 goals and 53 points in 113 playoff games.

HORSE RACING

Da Big Hoss wins at Saratoga

Skychai Racing’s Da Big Hoss made a sweeping move on the outside nearing the stretch and sprinted down the center of the track to win the $100,000 John’s Call by 2 lengths Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course. Trained by Mike Maker, Da Big Hoss ran 1 5/8 miles in 2:44.37 over a firm turf course in his stakes debut. It was the third victory of the day for meet-leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., who has won Saratoga’s feature three consecutive racing days. A 4-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid, Da Big Hoss paid $8.50, $3.70 and $2.90 as the 3-1 second choice in a field of eight older turf horses. Holiday Star closed late and returned $4.90 and $3.80 for second. Manchurian High paid $7.30 to show. Global Strike, the 6-5 favorite, was fourth.

BASEBALL

Twins pitcher heads to DL

• The Minnesota Twins have placed right-hander J.R. Graham on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation one day after he earned his first major league victory. Minnesota also reinstated reliever Blaine Boyer from the 15-day DL prior to Wednesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. Boyer had missed 15 games because of right elbow inflammation. Graham gave up one run over two-thirds of an inning in the Twins’ 11-7 victory over the Rays on Tuesday night. The Rule 5 draft pick went 1-1 with a 5.15 ERA in 34 games, including 1 start. Boyer was 2-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 51 games before going on the DL.

• Tampa Bay Rays catcher Curt Casali was placed on the 15-day disabled list one day after straining his left hamstring running the bases following his own home run in Tuesday night’s 11-7 loss to Minnesota. Casali’s leg started getting tight on his way to first base following his 10th home run — the ninth since the All-Star break — in the fifth inning. He slowly finished his trip around the bases with a slight limp before heading toward the clubhouse. “It’s not a tear,” said Casali, who hopes to be back in mid-September. “I’ve got to take it day by day. I’m going to do my best to get back as soon as I can.” Casali first experienced hamstring tightness last weekend and will be shut down from working out for four or five days.

• Don Orsillo is out as the Boston Red Sox’s television play-byplay voice after this season. Orsillo wasn’t offered a new contract with NESN, and will be replaced by Dave O’Brien. Orsillo first broadcast Red Sox games on NESN in 2001 and became the full-time play-by-play man in 2005 when the network acquired rights to all local telecasts. O’Brien, currently part of Boston’s radio broadcast team, is expected to continue calling college basketball games for ESPN.

MOTOR SPORTS

Vautier docked three points

Tristan Vautier lost three points, was fined $10,000 and will miss the first two hours of practice Friday at Sonoma — penalties for taking himself and championship contender Graham Rahal out of the race Sunday at Pocono. Indy-Car officials said Wednesday that Vautier could have avoided contact with Rahal, who is second in the standings. Vautier was put on probation for a similar violation June 27 at Fontana. Points leader Juan Pablo Montoya was fined $3,000 for making contact with an air hose, his third offense this season. Carlos Munoz was fined $500 for the same infraction. Jack Hawksworth was docked $2,500 for causing a hazardous condition with a loose tire. Honda lost 20 points for engines that did not reach their 2,500-mile life cycles. Chevrolet leads the manufacturer’s standings 1,429-1,083.

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