NORDONIA IS THE FIRST

CANTON — Nordonia claimed the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s first state flag football championship on Saturday with a 20-19 win over Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame in the final.

Nordonia arrived at the final by beating Berkshire 38-20 in the semifinal. Mount Notre Dame was a 21-19 winner over Midview in its semifinal. Midview eliminated West Branch in the Cleveland Browns championship quarterfinals.

MOUNT MAKES SUPER REGIONAL

ALLIANCE – The no. 12 nationally ranked Mount Union softball team beat Christopher Newport twice to win the NCAA Regional Championship on Saturday and advance to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in program history, as it won the first game 9-1 and and the second game 6-1.

West Branch graduate Sydney Mercer was named to the all-tournament team as she had a double and single with an RBI in the first game and a double and home run with three RBIs in the second game.

Mount Union (33-7) will host UMass Dartmouth at 2 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on Friday in the Super Regional.

CHESTER ROUTS JAMESTOWN

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown 50-plus baseball defending champions Chester Old-timers opened the season with a 9-0 win over Jamestown (New York) on Saturday at Pemberton Park.

Dave Smith got the win and had a double at the plate. Eric Sampson had two doubles and a single. Shawn Allen added three singles and Bobby Vaughn had two singles. Chester hosts Salem at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Oak Glen High School.

PIRATES SWEPT AT HOME

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Zack Wheeler pitched seven sparkling innings, and Bryce Harper hit a home run off ace Paul Skenes on Sunday to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of the three-game series.

Wheeler (3-0) gave up four hits while striking out eight and walking one. His ERA is 1.99 in six starts since beginning the season on the injured list while recovering from surgery to have a blood clot removed from his upper right arm.

Jonathan Bowlan and Tanner Banks pitched one inning each to finish the five-hitter.

CREW FIRE FIRST-YEAR COACH

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Columbus Crew fired coach Henrik Rydstrom on Sunday, less than halfway through his first season.

The Crew also fired assistant coach Theodor Olsson and analyst Mak Pakhei. Laurent Courtois will be the interim head coach.

Rydstrom was hired last Dec. 31, and the Crew have struggled throughout his debut season. The team is 3-7-4 and is 13th in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference and 26th in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

Courtois was Montreal’s coach in 2024, leading the team to its first playoff berth since 2022. He played for West Ham United, Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

SOLO HOLDS OFF IRON HONOR

LAUREL, Md. (AP) — Napoleon Solo reemerged as a colt to watch with a victory in the Preakness Stakes.

Now trainer Chad Summers wants a shot at Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, whose absence left an underwhelming field at Laurel Park this weekend.

“We wish he was here in the Preakness. We were rooting for them when they were thinking about it,” Summers said. “Unfortunately they didn’t make it here. That’s fine. Hopefully we can see him down the road somewhere.”

Napoleon Solo held off Iron Honor down the stretch on Saturday, rebounding from a pair of fifth-place showings for his first victory of the year. Golden Tempo was held out of the race, leaving a wide-open field of 14 horses to contest the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which was held at Laurel Park this year because Pimlico in Baltimore is being rebuilt.

Taj Mahal was the top choice at 9-2 — the longest odds for a Preakness favorite since the race moved to its current distance of 1 3/16 miles in 1925. Iron Honor had been the morning line favorite at 9-2, but he was an 8-1 shot by the time the horses entered the starting gate.

Taj Mahal broke to the lead early and covered the first quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds, but the pace quickly slowed and trainer Brittany Russell’s unbeaten colt couldn’t hold on. He was passed by Napoleon Solo (7-1) near the top of the stretch. Iron Honor was a threat late but came up 1 1/4 lengths short.

“He was a bit wide on both turns and it probably took the starch out of him a little bit when it mattered late,” said Chad Brown, Iron Honor’s trainer.

Chip Honcho (11-1) was third.