BASEBALL

Drew Thorpe, a second-round pick for the Yankees in 2022, allowed one run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings as the Somerset Patriots beat the Portland Sea Dogs 5-2 in an Eastern League game Thursday night at Hadlock Field.

Thorpe walked three and struck out nine to improve to 4-0.

Portland, which is tied for third with Reading, fell seven games behind Northeast Division-leading Somerset and four games behind second-place Binghamton. Portland finished August with a 10-17 record.

The Patriots pulled away with single runs in the first three innings to hand Portland its fourth straight loss. The Sea Dogs finished with four hits, two by Corey Rosier.

Anthony Seigler’s home run was one of five Somerset hits.

TRIPLE-A: Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee collapsed on the field during pregame ceremonies before a Triple-A game between the Worcester Red Sox and the Norfolk Tides. He walked off on his own and was laughing and talking in the dugout after, MassLive.com reported.

Lee was scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and sign autographs.

MassLive.com reported that the 76-year-old left-hander was playing catch in the outfield when he put his hands on his knees and fell backward. The website said Lee was immediately assisted by WooSox medical personnel and walked off the field to the dugout on his own. He appeared to be laughing as he sat in the dugout for about an inning into the game before he was taken to a hospital, it reported.

In a statement from the WooSox that was also read over the public address system at Polar Park, the team said that Lee “had a health scare.”

“While he seems to have recovered quickly, doctors have recommended checking him out at a nearby hospital just to be sure,” the statement said. “He has experienced such episodes before, and has been fine thereafter.”

Lee also collapsed on a Georgia field about a year ago while he was pitching for the Savannah Bananas, a novelty barnstorming team. Paramedics at that game resuscitated him with a defibrillator.

COLLEGES

WOMEN’S SOCCER: UMaine’s Abby Kraemer scored with a shot into the lower corner in the 52nd minute, but Merrimack’s Molly Murnane answered in the 56th in a 1-1 draw at North Andover, Massachusetts.

Kira Kutzinski stopped eight shots for Maine (3-0-2). Lily Morgan and Roo Sawyer split time in goal for Merrimack (1-2-1), combining for four saves.

GOLF

U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR: Todd White took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole and never trailed the rest of the way in a 4-and-3 victory over Joey Flanagan of Ireland at Truckee, California, for his second USGA title.

Flanagan was trying to become the first international winner and opened with a birdie at Martis Camp Club. That turned out to be the only hole he won.

The U.S. Senior Amateur is the only USGA championship that has only American winners.

White is a history teacher and coaches the golf teams at Spartanburg High School in South Carolina. He previously won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2015 with Nathan Smith.

White had to play 104 holes over six matches to claim the title. The victory gets him into the U.S. Senior Open next year at Newport Country Club.

LPGA: Perrine Delacour shot a 9-under 63 in morning rain at Columbia Edgewater to take the first-round lead in the Portland Classic at Portland, Oregon.

Winless on the LPGA Tour, Delacour opened with a birdie and ran off five straight on Nos. 3-7 in a front-nine 30. The 29-year-old Frenchwoman added birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 17 in the bogey-free round on the tree-lined layout.

Gina Kim was second after a bogey-free 64, the 23-year-old former Duke player’s best score on the tour. Also winless, she has missed five cuts in a row.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Matt Fitzpatrick began his bid to win a third European Masters title and seal an automatic place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team by shooting 7-under 63 to take a share of the first-round lead at Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

The 2022 U.S. Open champion had a bogey-free round and was tied with fellow Englishman Eddie Pepperell, Masahiro Kawamura of Japan, John Axelsen of Denmark, Gavin Green of Malaysia and Nacho Elvira of Spain.

Fitzpatrick requires a finish better than seventh alone to jump above Tommy Fleetwood, who is not playing this week, and take the third and final qualifying place on the World Points List.

SOCCER

AWARDS: Spanish soccer star Aitana Bonmatí used her acceptance speech at a UEFA awards ceremony to voice support for her teammate who was forcibly kissed by the country’s soccer federation president after the Women’s World Cup final.

Bonmatí was named women’s player of the year at the annual gala held amid a crisis for European soccer’s governing body caused by the behavior of its vice president Luis Rubiales at the Women’s World Cup final.

Rubiales has refused to resign as Spanish soccer federation president despite a furor over his behavior toward Jenni Hermoso at the trophy presentation after Spain’s victory over England in Sydney, Australia.

“As a society, we cannot allow the abuse of power in a working environment or disrespect,” Bonmatí said on stage as UEFA leaders watched in the convention hall in high-end Monte Carlo. “To all women who are suffering the same thing as Jenni, we’re with you.”

Rubiales could not attend the event because he was suspended Saturday by FIFA, two days after the world governing body opened a disciplinary case against him. UEFA has not taken any action against Rubiales, who gets paid 250,000 euros ($270,000) for his role as a vice president.

RETIREMENT: Two-time U.S. Soccer Player of the Year Julie Ertz has retired from soccer after a 10-year career that included back-to-back Women’s World Cup titles.

Ertz, 31, had already hinted at her retirement at this summer’s World Cup after the United States fell to Sweden on penalties in the round of 16, tearfully telling reporters it was likely her final match wearing the team crest. She made it official Thursday.

Ertz also retired from her club team, Angel City in the National Women’s Soccer League.

ARGENTINA: Lionel Messi was among three MLS-based players to be called up by Argentina for the opening rounds of South American World Cup qualifying.

Thiago Almada of Atlanta United and Alan Velasco of FC Dallas were also included by Coach Lionel Scaloni for games against Ecuador and Bolivia in September.

The 36-year-old Messi joined Inter Miami in July and has already scored 11 goals for the club.
World Cup champion Argentina will take on Ecuador at home on Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, before playing Bolivia away in La Paz five days later.

U.S. MEN: American midfielder Gio Reyna sustained a hairline fracture in a bone in his right leg during the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Canada on June 18, the U.S. Soccer Federation said.

The federation said the 20-year-old had injured a calf during the first half of the match. The USSF said it learned of the break several days later after Reyna returned to Borussia Dortmund.

BASKETBALL

WORLD CUP: Makoto Hiejima scored 23 points, Yuta Watanabe added 21 and Japan roared back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to beat Venezuela 86-77 in a classification-round game at Okinawa, Japan.

A win Saturday would give Japan its second consecutive Olympic berth. The team played in the Tokyo Games two summers ago as the host nation, but fans could not attend because of restrictions related to the pandemic.

WNBA: Natisha Hiedeman and Tyasha Harris each scored 18 points and the Connecticut Sun went 12 of 18 from 3-point range to beat the visiting Phoenix Mercury, 84-74.

UFC

ARREST: Police in Levant, Maine, arrested a 23-year-old on charges of attempting to break into the home of Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Police said they responded to the property in the early morning hours of Monday and the suspect had already fled in a vehicle. They said the property was occupied at the time of the attempted break-in, but no one inside had any contact with suspect.

Several tips aided police after video of the incident was shared through social media, police said. They said they then charged the suspect and referred the case to the district attorney’s office.

Levant is about 10 miles northwest of Bangor.

White has a longstanding connection to Maine and graduated from Hermon High School. He has been the president of the mixed martial arts competition since 2001.