Sep 29, 2020 5 min read

Wild Things re-sign Ward

The Washington Wild Things announced Tuesday they have re-signed infielder Nick Ward, a former standout for West Chester University.

Ward, a Kennett Square native, had a pod-leading .373 batting average this summer, which went along with five doubles, a triple and four home runs. Ward sported an on-base percentage of .481 in 18 games. He also stole four bases playing for the Slammin’ Sammies.

“It is refreshing to have players like Nick on roster,” said Wild Things president and general manager Tony Buccilli. “He is acutely aware of his strengths as a player and is willing to stay within himself to be productive. We expect Nick to be one of the premier middle infielders in the Frontier League in 2021.”

With Ward, West Chester won the NCAA Division II national title in 2017. He was drafted in the 34th round of the 2018 draft by the Oakland Athletics, playing two seasons in the A’s organization.

“I’m going to play hard every night and give everything I have,” Ward said. “I pride myself on playing the game the right way and having a lot of fun doing it.”

Girls soccer

Reagan Schreiber scored three goals, powering Bentworth to its sixth consecutive victory, 6-1 over visiting Charleroi in Section 2-A Tuesday night.

Bentworth (4-2, 6-2) led 2-1 at halftime and pulled away in the second half.

“It was our best game of the season,” Bentworth coach Tyler Hamtra admitted. “We keep getting better every day.”

The win was the 150th in Bentworth girls soccer history. The Bearcats are in their 15th season.

Mallory Schreiber, Emily Kisner and Kenzie Buttermore each contributed one goal for Bentworth.

n Ashley Horvath scored three goals, leading visiting Chartiers-Houston to an 8-0 victory over Beth-Center in Section 2-A.

Horvath led the C-H attack, which included two goals from Lexi Durkacs and one each from veronica Hess, Kayla Brose and Desiree Hancq.

Goalkeeper Maddie Smith had to make only two saves for the Bucs (3-3, 3-4).

Field hockey

Cassidy King scored three goals, assisted on two others and Peters Township blanked Mt. Lebanon 5-0 Tuesday night.

Ava Pugliano and Amy Wilson each contributed one goal for the Indians.

In college football

South Alabama called off its Saturday game with Sun Belt rival Troy because of COVID-19.

The school on Tuesday didn’t say how many players had been affected by the coronavirus, but the team was stopping workouts.

South Alabama, Troy and the league will try to find a makeup date.

Minor league baseball contraction begins

Major League Baseball started the process of eliminating minor league affiliates Tuesday, with the Appalachian League converted to a college summer circuit for rising freshmen and sophomores.

The agreement between MLB and the minor leagues expires Wednesday. MLB has proposed cutting the minimum guaranteed minor league affiliates from 160 to 120 next year, which leaves four per major league organization plus teams at their spring training complexes.

MLB views the new status of the Appalachian League as following through on its commitment to preserve baseball in the cities losing affiliated minor league teams. MLB said it consulted with top college coaches in the change.

“Fans are going to get to see top prospects right in their hometowns, communities are going to see an influx of new revenue opportunities and players are going to receive state-of-the-art training, visibility to our scouts and educational programming that’s designed to prepare them for careers as professional athletes,” Morgan Sword, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball economics and operations, said during a news conference.

Many teams from the Pioneer League and the New York-Penn League also are likely to become part of college summer leagues.

MLB and USA Baseball said the Appalachian League will become part of its Prospect Development Pipeline and that 320 players will be invited to play next year. Technology for evaluation such as TrackMan will be installed, and former big leaguers are likely to be among the instructors.

The Appalachian League had been an affiliated minor league with professional players since 1911.

Appalachian League commissioner Dan Moushon said his communities viewed the change positively and he anticipates facilities will continue to be upgraded.

West Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, appeared at the Zoom news conference to thank MLB and minor league officials.

“I think this is a great day for southern West Virginia,” Capito said. “Overall, I think it’s an exciting way for families to join together in an affordable way to join and watch great baseball.”

The 10 teams that were scheduled to be in the Appalachian League at the Rookie Advanced level in 2020 were:

Bluefield (West Virginia) Blue Jays; Bristol (Virginia and Tennessee) Pirates; Burlington (North Carolina) Royals; Danville (Virginia) Braves; Elizabethton (Tennessee) Twins; Greeneville (Tennessee) Reds; Johnson City (Tennessee) Cardinals; Kingsport (Tennessee) Mets; Princeton (West Virginia) Rays; and Pulaski (Virginia) Yankees

A large number of teams in the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League and the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League also were on an early list of those targeted to lose their affiliations but it is not clear whether those targeted by MLB have changed.

Among other changes MLB has announced, the independent American Association, Atlantic League and Frontier Leagues were designated as partner leagues.