The No. 2 seed Parkland (Ill.) CC baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat CCBC Essex, 6-5, in the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series on Sunday in Enid, Okla. The No. 10 seed Knights (30-25), making their first NJCAA World Series appearance since 1992, will face Scottsdale (Ariz.) in the losers' bracket today at noon. Essex beat the Fighting Artichokes, 7-6, in the opening round of the 10-team, double-elimination tournament, which ends Saturday. Trailing 3-1 entering the ninth, the Knights took a 5-3 lead when sophomore shortstop Julio Creazzola hit an RBI single, sophomore infielder Luke Schaffer (John Carroll) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Creazzola scored on an error. But Parkland walked off in the bottom half with a two-out, two-run single.
Et cetera
Weather forces Pimlico to cancel final six races
A severe thunderstorm swept through the Baltimore area in the midafternoon, bringing heavy rain and lightning and forcing the Maryland Jockey Club to cancel the balance of Sunday's 10-race program at Pimlico Race Course. The storm produced 11/2 inches of rain in a short time, and its intensity caused the main track to be uneven in spots. After a lengthy delay, and with the forecast calling for more rain, the decision was made to cancel the final six races. Nine races are scheduled on today's Memorial Day holiday card, which concludes the 12-day Preakness Meet at Pimlico and features mandatory payouts in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, 50-cent Late Pick 5 and $1 Super Hi-5 wagers. The Rainbow 6 (races 4-9) will have a jackpot carryover of $279,837.20, with two races in the sequence scheduled for the turf and the featured $42,000 entry-level allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up going 6 furlongs on the main track in Race 8. The Late Pick 5 (races 5-9), which offers just a 12 percent takeout, begins with a carryover of $8,173.87.
More horse racing: Jockey Alex Cintron and trainer Michael Matz teamed up for a pair of winners before Sunday's cancellation, with C C Rider ($8.40) in the second race and Daddy's Cozy ($2.40) in the fourth ... Heading into today's closing day, jockey Feargal Lynch leads all riders with nine wins, three more than Horacio Karamanos and Rosario Montanez. Trainer Kieron Magee is tops with five wins, with five trainers tied at four apiece.
WNBA: Kristi Toliver (Maryland) had 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and Washington's backups scored 58 points to help the host Mystics overcome an 18-point deficit and beat the Minnesota Lynx, 90-78. Rookie Myisha Hines-Allen had season highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and fellow reserves Natasha Cloud (Maryland, Saint Joseph's) Ariel Atkins scored 14 points apiece for the Mystics (4-0). Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (Maryland) added nine points on 4-for-4 shooting in five minutes off the bench. The defending champion Lynx swept the Mystics last year in the league semifinals.
National Women's Soccer League: The visiting Washington Spirit fell, 3-2, to the Houston Dash (3-4-4). Estefania Banini scored in the 54th minute and Ashley Hatch added a goal in the 99th for Washington (2-6-2).
Women's college soccer: As part of her Women's Soccer Award of Excellence from Women and Girls in Soccer, Navy women's soccer coach Carin Gabarra was allotted a gift to honor an organization whose mission worked to advance women in the game of soccer. Recently, she chose to donate the $6,500 award to United Soccer Coaches and the Charlotte Moran Fund. Charlotte Moran, who died in 2009 from pancreatic cancer, served as an advocate, coach and mentor for soccer clubs and coaches across the country, and as a coaching mentor to Gabarra. "She was just special because she did this out of the goodness of her heart," Gabarra said. "She was a huge friend, advocate, role model, mentor and just hero to many of us."
- David Broughton, Baltimore Sun Media Group
Major League Soccer: Darren Mattocks scored in the 84th minute to help visiting D.C. United pull even with 10-man Los Angeles FC for a 1-1 draw Saturday night. Los Angeles scored in the 39th minute when Diego Rossi pounced on a loose ball in the middle of the area and buried it into the right side. LAFC went down a man in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Dejan Jakovic was shown a red card for a reckless challenge. Los Angeles (6-3-2) has one loss in its past eight games, and D.C. (2-5-2) has one win in its past 11 road games.