Smyrna-Clayton started the Senior League softball District I tournament with a 20-9 win over Camden-Wyoming on Thursday evening.

The SC Little Lass squad faces hosts Dover on Friday at 7 p.m. in the three-team, double-elimination tourney in Little League’s age division for 14-16 year olds.

Camden-Wyoming will take on the loser of the contest on Saturday night. The district champion advances to the state tourney at Suburban in New Castle County.

8-10 tournament

MOT 11, Smyrna-Clayton 2: MOT advanced to the championship game of the District I tournament with the win on Thursday night.

The Middletown-Odessa-Townsend all-stars (2-0) will play in the finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Camden-Wyoming.

Pitcher Harper Jacob allowed only two hits and struck out eight in four innings before reliever Brynleigh Bennett surrendered just one hit over the last two innings.

Ella Austin, Harper Jacob, and Molly Frantz led MOT offensively with three RBI apiece while Gia Gambino added the other two RBI.

Smyrna-Clayton pitcher Alivia Fox had eight strikeouts in six innings.

MOT 5, Milford 0: MOT opened the tournament with the shutout win on Wednesday night at Camden-Wyoming.

Brynleigh Bennett pitched a six-inning one-hitter with no walks and 12 strikeouts for the Middletown-area squad. Avery Olsen scored with Gia Gambino, Kaelyn Berich, and Molly Frantz adding MOT’s other runs.

Milford’s Ryenn Sapp struck out 17 in six innings.

Baseball

Senior League

Georgetown in states: Georgetown downed Cape, 10-5, on Wednesday night to win the District III championship in Senior League.

Georgetown will host the state tournament, which starts on Saturday. In the first game, Dover will face New Castle County’s District II champion at 7 p.m.

Local golf

Garnsey second in girls Juniors: Wild Quail’s Reagan Garnsey finished second in the girls’ division as the DSGA Junior Championsips concluded on Thursday.

Garnsey, who will be a sophomore at Caesar Rodney High in the fall, shot rounds of 78 and 77 to finish at 155 for the two-day tournament played at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club. DuPont’s Meredith Finger won the girls’ title with a 76-73-149.

Wilmington’s Matthew Homer won the boys’ division with two rounds of 68 for a six-under par total of 136. Homer’s brother, Jeffrey, placed second at 67-71-138. Bayside’s Braden DeCapite placed fifth at 144.

Local running

Stampede on tap Saturday: The 43rd Annual Great Wyoming Buffalo Stampede will be held this Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at Wyoming Park.

The event includes both a 5K run/walk or a 10K run. Wooden buffalo awards will go to the top age-group finishers.

A traditional post-race party and awards ceremony will be held at Brown’s Tavern.

Registration fee is $30 for the 5K and $35 for the 10K. Race-day registration is available.

For more information about the race or to request special accommodations please contact buffalostampederace@yahoo.com. The Buffalo Stampede benefits the DDSR Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to local Kent County high school students annually.

Lifeguard

Rehoboth to host regionals: Rehoboth Beach will host the U.S. Lifesaving Association’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on July 13.

Lifeguards from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia will compete in ocean and sand events to qualify to compete in the USLA National Championships in Hermosa Beach, Calif., August 11-13.

“This is a great tradition,” said Capt. Jeff Giles, who heads up the Rehoboth Beach Patrol. “The competition can be really intense, but it’s a lot of fun, too. This is a great opportunity for our lifeguard-athletes — and Rehoboth Beach — to shine.”

Competition will begin at 10 a.m. with the 2K beach run. All competitions will take place on the beach, mostly between Baltimore and Maryland avenues.

That section of the beach will be closed for beach-going purposes, but the public is welcome to come cheer on the athletes.

College basketball

UD to provide extra benefits: The University of Delaware will begin to provide its men’s and women’s scholarship basketball student-athletes with new benefits.

The move is a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in NCAA v. Alston.
All men’s and women’s scholarship basketball student-athletes will be eligible to earn up to $5,980 annually if they meet the academic requirements set forth by the university. This program will go into effect for the 2022-23 school year.

“We’re proud to be able to offer this to our basketball student-athletes based on their academic success”, said UD athletic director Chrissi Rawak. “We need to continue to be competitive in the ever-changing basketball landscape.”

The Alston decision, which came out in June of 2021, granted institutions the opportunity to provide student-athletes with additional education-related benefits and direct financial support in the form of academic achievement awards.