Sports briefs
Wild Things land outfielder
The Washington Wild Things announced Tuesday the addition of outfielder and former New York Mets farmhand Wagner Lagrange to the mix for the 2022 Frontier League season. Lagrange is fresh off splitting time between Class AA and AAA in 2021.
Lagrange, a native of the Dominican Republic, played in 12 games at the Triple-A level for Syracuse and went 9-for-28 with two doubles and five RBI. In 67 games with Class AA Binghamton, he hit .262 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 33 RBI.
“It was important to add a little bit more experience to our lineup and I feel that Wagner gives us just that,” said manager Tom Vaeth. “He’s been an organizational all-star a few times coming up in the Mets’ organization, reaching the Triple-A level last summer.”
Lagrange signed as an international free agent in 2015. In 2019, the Mets moved him to full-season Class A. He played in 71 games with Columbia and 36 games with St. Lucie and drove in a career-best 48 runs with 26 doubles, four triples and six home runs.
W&J is favorite in PAC baseball
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference released the results of its preseason baseball coaches poll Tuesday and Washington & Jefferson, under the direction of 20th-year head coach Jeff Mountain, earned nine first-place votes and 90 total points to secure the top spot.
The annual preseason poll collects votes from each of the league’s 10 head coaches.
Waynesburg was picked to finish eighth.
Boys basketball
Jack Vlasek scored a game-high 26 points and made five three-point baskets as Armstrong held off Trinity 65-63 in the Hillers’ season finale Tuesday.
Trinity (6-16) trailed 37-28 at halftime and 54-41 after three quarters. The Hillers’ full-court press then turned the momentum. Trinity erased the deficit and grabbed a brief lead in the fourth quarter.
A three-pointer regained the lead for Armstrong (11-11) late in the game and Trinity missed a half-court shot that bounced off the rim and backboard as time expired.
Dante DeRubbo led Trinity with 22 points and Connor Roberts tossed in 17.
- Landon Urcho and Cristian May each scored 18 points as Bentworth defeated Hillcrest Academy 49-27 Tuesday night in a non-section game.
The Bearcats (7-14) led 10-7 after one quarter and moved out to a 29-12 lead at halftime.
Girls basketball
Washington closed its season with a 71-17 loss at Albert Gallatin in non-section play.
Amarai Oakley led the Prexies (1-21) in scoring with eight points.
In college basketball
Seth Lundy hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:37 remaining and finished with 17 points as Penn State beat No. 19 Michigan State 62-58 Tuesday night.
John Harrar had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Jalen Pickett added 10 points for the Nittany Lions (5-9 Big Ten, 10-12), who beat a ranked team for the first time under first-year coach Micah Shrewsberry.
Julius Marble II scored 14 points and Max Christie had 10 for the Spartans (9-5, 18-7), who led for all but 4:42. Michigan State was up by 14 points with 13:20 to play.
In baseball
Four major league players testified Tuesday that they received oxycodone pills from a former Los Angeles Angels employee accused of providing Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to the pitcher’s overdose death.
Pitchers Matt Harvey, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian and first baseman C.J. Cron all took the stand and described bits and pieces of recreational drug use allegedly going on in and around the Angels three years ago, when they played for the team. They were with the Angels at some point from 2017-19. the years federal prosecutors say Eric Kay obtained drugs for players. Kay faces drug distribution and drug conspiracy charges.
• Longtime Washington Nationals star Ryan Zimmerman announced his retirement Tuesday, ending a decorated career in which he became the franchise leader in many major categories and boosted the team to its only World Series championship.
• Spring training is failing to start on schedule for the first time since 1995, victim of a lockout that stretches into its 77th day Wednesday as players and management squabble over how to apportion an industry with $10 billion annual revenue.
So instead of debating RBIs and ERAs, Major League Baseball has been reduced to disputing CBTs and AAVs.
Pitchers and catchers won’t be reporting to camp as scheduled, but MLB doesn’t plan to announce a disruption to spring training until Feb. 26 exhibition openers can’t be played.
In college football
Former Miami coach Al Golden is joining Notre Dame after a stint in the NFL to become defensive coordinator under new Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.