Northeastern edges Bethune-Cookman in elimination game of Tallahassee Regional

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. >> Gregory Bozzo hit a go-ahead home run with two outs in the ninth inning and Northeastern held off Bethune-Cookman 4-3 on Saturday in an elimination game of the Tallahassee Regional.

No. 2 seed Northeastern (49-10) awaits the loser of Saturday’s second game between top-seeded host Florida State and Mississippi State. The third-seeded Bulldogs beat Northeastern 11-2 in the regional opener to snap the Huskies’ 27-game win streak, which had been the nation’s longest current run.

Bozzo homered on a 0-2 pitch from Wildcats reliever Yoansell Diaz (5-5). Jack Doyle reached on a throwing error and moved to second on a balk before scoring on an infield single by Ryan Gerety for a two-run advantage.

Brett Dunham walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth. A fielding error led to an unearned run before Dunham struck out leadoff batter Darryl Lee with runners on second and third, and retired Andrey Martinez on a groundout for his sixth save.

Jordan Gottesman started for Northeastern and allowed a run on five hits in five innings with six strikeouts. Charlie Walker (4-0) allowed a run on two hits and struck out five in three innings of relief.

LSU Shreveport is the first college baseball team on record to go unbeaten

LSU Shreveport became the first college baseball team on record to go unbeaten, finishing 59-0 when it won the NAIA championship in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Pilots’ perfect season ended with a 13-7 victory over Southeastern (Florida) on Friday night and gave the 10,000-student school in northwest Louisiana its first national title in any sport.

For 25 years LSU Shreveport has been one of the top programs in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which governs sports at 241 mostly small colleges across the country.

The Pilots have appeared in the NAIA national tournament every year since 2005 and the NAIA World Series in 2021, 2022 and 2025. They’re 270-49 in six seasons under coach Brad Neffendorf, including 142-13 in Red River Athletic Conference play.

LSU Shreveport played only four games decided by one run this season, ranked second in the NAIA with 11.3 runs per game and third with a .361 batting average. The Pilots’ 2.38 ERA was more than a run better than the next-closest team, and they led the nation with a .982 fielding percentage.

Redemption for Yates on epic mountain climb as he closes in on Giro d’Italia title

SESTRIERE, Italy >> Simon Yates produced one of the greatest rides of his career on one of cycling’s most grueling climbs to all but win the Giro d’Italia on Saturday.

Yates started the penultimate stage in third, one minute, 21 seconds behind previous leader Isaac Del Toro, but the British cyclist launched a solo attack on the beyond-category climb to Colle delle Finestre — the same mountain that spelled heartbreak for him seven years ago — to ride clear of his overall rivals.

Yates was openly sobbing after he crossed the line more than five minutes ahead of Del Toro.

“When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let’s say,” an emotional Yates said, as he was trying to hold back tears.

“I maybe look relaxed but I also had doubts this morning, if I could really do something, but the guys they encouraged me and believed in me, so yeah, thanks to them.”

— The Associated Press