CLEARWATER, Florida — Felicia Lennon recorded an RBI double and run-producing single to help the Maine Black Bears open their softball season with a 7-4 victory over Indiana University Purdue at Fort Wayne on Monday.
Lennon smacked the RBI double to score Erika Leonard in the first inning and added the RBI single in Maine’s three-run fourth inning when Janelle Bouchard and Alyssa Derrick each hit RBI singles.
The Black Bears also scored three runs in the second inning with Maddie Moore hitting a run-scoring single and Rachel Carlson driving in a run on an infield groundout. The other run came across on outfield error.
Jessica Murray recorded a double, single and RBI to lead IPFW (3-16). Lauren Watson chipped in with two singles and an RBI.
Molly Flowers, Nikki Misner and Erin Bogdanovich each pitched two innings for Maine with Bogdanovich giving up three runs and Misner allowing one. Flowers pitched didn’t allow a hit but walked two while striking out three.
Annie Kennedy earned a save by not allowing a run or hit in the seventh.
Husson earns split
At Kissimmee, Florida, the Husson University Eagles opened with a 2-1 win over Mount St. Joseph but then dropped an 8-0 five-inning game to Westminster (Pa.) on Sunday.
In the first game, Husson scored both of its runs in the top of the fifth when Casey Lopes drew a bases-loaded walk and the next run scored when the Eagles executed a triple steal. Allison Hill avoided a tag at home with Erika Parker at the plate. Sami Cyr and Lopes stole third and second, respectively.
Alannah Healy picked up her 12th career win for Husson after allowing five hits and one run over seven innings.
In the second game, Titans pitcher Jazmyn Rohrer threw a no-hitter for the win. She struck out 11 and was backed by a 16-hit offense.
Men’s Basketball
Kansas enters postseason at No. 1
The Kansas Jayhawks remained a near-unanimous No. 1 for the second straight week in the men’s college basketball poll released Monday.
Kansas (27-4) received 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel as most teams enter postseason play this week.
Michigan State (26-5), which got the other two first-place votes, is No. 2 for the second week in a row.
The same teams are in the Top 25 for a second straight week, the first time that has happened this season.
Villanova (27-4), Virginia (24-6), Xavier (26-4), Oklahoma (24-6), North Carolina (25-6), Oregon (25-6), West Virginia (24-7) and Indiana (25-6) round out the top 10.
Miami (24-6) is No. 11, followed by Utah (24-7), Purdue (24-7), Louisville (23-8), Arizona (24-7), Kentucky (23-8), Texas A&M (24-7), Maryland (24-7), Duke (22-9), Iowa (21-9), Iowa State (21-10), Baylor (21-10), Texas (20-11), California (22-9) and SMU (25-5).
College Football
Lovie Smith hired as Illinois head coach
Longtime NFL head coach Lovie Smith was named head coach at the University of Illinois.
“Naming Lovie Smith as the Illinois head football coach is the first step in taking this program to a place of national prominence,” athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement.
The Illini fired head coach Bill Cubit three-plus months after he signed a two-year contract. Smith has never been a head coach at the college level. He signed a six-year deal worth $21 million.
Smith, 57, coached the Chicago Bears from 2004-12 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014-15. He compiled an 89-87 regular-season record and a 3-3 postseason mark, leading the Bears to the Super Bowl following the 2006 season.
The Bucs fired him in January following a 6-10 season. He went 8-24 in three seasons in Tampa.