Sports briefs 5/6
Girls lacrosse
Sophomore Abby Yates scored six goals, powering Peters Township to a 22-16 shootout win over North Allegheny in nonsection play Monday night.
Julia Platt added four goals, and freshmen Emme Shanafelt and Layney O’Brian, and junior Jules Leach each had a hat trick for the Indians.
Diggs found not guilty
Former New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs was found not guilty Tuesday of assaulting his personal chef in a case marked by conflicting accounts of what happened inside his home after disputes over money and their relationship.
His trial lasted two days and the jury deliberated for less than two hours.
The charges stemmed from a Dec. 2 incident at his house in Dedham, where Jamila Adams, a former live-in personal chef known as Mila, testified that Diggs slapped and choked her during an argument. He had pleaded not guilty to a felony strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge.
Diggs’ attorneys said the alleged assault never happened and challenged Adams’ credibility, arguing the dispute was about money or relationship tensions — including a disagreement over a planned trip to Miami — rather than a violent attack.
They pointed to financial demands she made and testimony from friends and employees who said she did not appear injured in the days after the encounter, while prosecutors argued the case rests on her account of what happened inside the home.
Defense attorney Andrew Kettlewell told jurors during closing arguments that prosecutors had not presented “a single shred of credible evidence” that an assault occurred.
Golf
Tiger Woods is officially out of the PGA Championship. Ditto for Phil Mickelson, who has played only one LIV Golf event this year as he copes with a family health matter and withdrew shortly after the list of 154 players was announced Tuesday for Aronimink Golf Club.
And the big surprise was Dustin Johnson, who was extended one of the special invitations to the PGA Championship next week despite his eligibility running out last year.
“Very excited,” Johnson said from LIV Golf Virginia, “I want to play in all the majors. I feel like my game is still good enough to compete with everyone and still can win. The PGA was nice enough to give me an invitation. So yeah, I’m very, very happy and thankful for that.”
The PGA of America held back two spots in case the winners of two PGA Tour events, the Truist Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic, are not already eligible.
Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion at the second major of the year, which returns to Aronimink for the first time since Gary Player won in 1972.
Baseball
The Milwaukee Brewers announced Tuesday that left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa will have season-ending ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in his left elbow next Monday.
Zerpa, who was acquired from Kansas City in a trade that sent outfielder Isaac Collins and right-hander Nick Mears to the Royals in December, was 0-2 with a 6.39 ERA and two saves in 12 appearances. The 26-year-old lefty allowed at least one earned run in each of his last three outings.
Zerpa was placed on the 15-day injured list last week, retroactive to April 26.
His last outing came in the 10th inning of a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 25.
Football
The New York Giants are signing defensive tackle D.J. Reader to a two-year contract worth $12.5 million, according to a person familiar with the move.
Reader, who turns 32 on July 1, fills the void left by trading Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati prior to the draft last month. The Giants hosted Reader for a workout on April 13 while there was uncertainty about Lawrence’s future with the team.
He started all 17 games for the Detroit Lions last season and made 28 tackles.