The Delaware South softball squad got off to a fast start in the Carpenter Cup tournament before rain brought the day to a halt.

Sussex Central High’s Madge Layfield allowed just a leadoff single before striking out 10 in four innings as Delaware South opened the tourney with a 13-0 win over Chester County. Pa. on Tuesday afternoon.

With the downstaters’ final two games of the day postponed by the wet weather, Delaware South will return to Philadelphia’s FDR Park Wednesday morning. It is slated to face Jersey Shore at 10 a.m. and Mid Penn at noon.

The top two teams in each of the tourney’s two brackets will then begin the double-elimination portion of the event. Whatever games aren’t completed on Wednesday will be finished on June 28.

Delaware South took control of Tuesday’s victory with five runs in the first inning before capping it off with four runs in the fifth.

Couri Smith (Laurel) went 3-for-3 with Josie Hollamon adding a triple and double. Carlie Venables (Laurel), Kandice Schlabach (Delmarva Christian), Kate Evick (Sussex Central) and Zoey Coco (Delmar) also had hits.

Kylee Hill (Laurel) struck out two while pitching the last inning of the five-inning shutout.

Delaware North won its two games on Tuesday, beating Philadelphia PCCAF, 16-1 and SOL, 10-3. The upstate squad is slated to face Mercer County on Wednesday at 8 a.m.

Local golf

Ergood still leads in Del. Amateur: Plenty of players remain in contention after the second round of the 70th annual DSGA Delaware Amateur golf tournament on Tuesday.

University of North Carolina golfer Douglass Ergood still holds the lead but his advantage is down to one shot after carding a two-under-par 69 at Newark Country Club.

The 21-year-old native of Mount Laurel, N.J. is at seven-under par (135) for the tournament going into Wednesday’s final two rounds of the event. But the top eight players are all within eight shots of the lead.

Carlo Pizzano, a 20-year-old Virginia resident who plays for Loyola, matched the lowest score of the tourney with a 66 on Tuesday. He’s now tied for second with Ford Bennett at six-under par (136), one stroke behind Ergood.

Fourth-place Rij Patel (137) is two shots back, fifth-place Troy Vannucci (138) trails by three and Fieldstone’s Mark Doughty is in sixth (139). Rehoboth Beach’s Jay Whitby, the four-time champion, is in seventh (140) after shooting a second-round 71.

The top 34 players made the cut for today’s two rounds at 12-over 154 or lower. The first player tees off his third round at 8 a.m. on Wednesday with the leaders slated to start at 10:24 a.m.

College football

Two Blue Hens honored: Delaware senior offensive lineman David Kroll and junior safety Kedrick Whitehead (Middletown) have been selected to the Athlon Sports’ FCS Preseason All-America Team.

Both Kroll and Whitehead earned first-team All-American honors after the spring season.

Kroll has appeared in 42 career games since arriving to Newark and helped pave the way for CAA Offensive Player of the Year Dejoun Lee.

Whitehead played a key role in the Blue Hens’ turnover success with an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He totaled 31 tackles on the season, including two for a loss and earned first-team All-CAA honors.

College baseball

UD’s Baker wins CAA award again: Delaware baseball captain and six-year letter-winner Kyle Baker has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Baseball Leadership and Sport Excellence Award recipient for the second-consecutive year.

The awards, which are voted on by the CAA’s Faculty Athletic Representatives, are given to the student of each sport who represents the highest standards of teamwork, integrity, leadership and sportsmanship in his or her academic and athletic achievements.

Baker graduated from UD in 2019 with a degree in finance before earning his MBA while finishing his career. He hit .335 during his time in Newark, was a three-time captain and helped the Blue Hens win their first-ever CAA Tournament championship in 2017.

The Hockessin native finished his undergraduate degree with a 3.46 GPA and a carried a 3.73 GPA through graduate school. He is just the 38th player in program history to eclipse 200 career hits and sits tied for 29th with 220.