Sports Briefs

March 26, 2008 10:19 am

— Lady Mustangs beat NE Lauderdale 5-1
SOSO — The West Jones Lady Mustangs softball team sent Northeast Lauderdale’s Lady Trojans with a 5-1 loss Tuesday night.
The West Jones squad scored their five runs in the fifth inning on three hits.
Kayla James hit a double and Brittany and Bridget Anderson both got singles for the Lady Mustangs.
Lindsay Jones pitched the complete game with two strikeouts and just one walk, and came within one last-inning wild pitch of throwing a shutout.
The West Jones team moves to 6-7 overall, 2-3 in district play. They will travel to Northeast Jones to take on the Lady Tigers Thursday evening beginning with the junior varsity contest at 5 p.m.

Hornets win first game of road trip at Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — David West had 35 points and 16 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets beat Indiana 114-106 on Tuesday night in the Pacers’ first game since CEO Donnie Walsh announced he was leaving the team at the end of the season.
Chris Paul had 31 points and 14 assists as the Hornets won their fourth straight to maintain the best record (48-21) in the Western Conference.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 26 points and nine rebounds against his hometown team, which had a four-game winning streak end.
Ramirez hits pair of two-run doubles to lead Red Sox over Athletics 6-5 in MLB season opener
TOKYO — Daisuke Matsuzaka’s homecoming was saved by Manny Ramirez.
Ramirez hit his second two-run double in the 10th inning, and the Boston Red Sox began their World Series title defense by beating the Oakland Athletics 6-5 in Tuesday night’s major league season opener.
Ramirez posed at the plate to watch his drive off Huston Street (0-1), thinking it was a three-run homer. Instead, the ball hit the center-field wall.
In the earliest major league opener, and the third in Japan, Jonathan Papelbon struggled before getting the save. He walked Daric Barton leading off the bottom of the10th and gave up a one-out RBI double to Emil Brown, who was tagged out in a rundown between second and third.
After a pair of singles, Kurt Suzuki hit a game-ending groundout, sealing the win for Japanese reliever Hideki Okajima (1-0).
Street gave up a tying homer in the ninth to Brandon Moss, who started because right fielder J.D. Drew was scratched with lower back tightness. It was Moss’ first major league homer.
Matsuzaka, former star of the Seibu Lions, allowed a pair of first-inning runs, one on a homer by Mark Ellis. He struck out six and walked five in five innings.
Jack Hannahan’s two-run homer off Kyle Snyder put Oakland ahead 4-3 in the sixth.
SEC announces refund for storm-marred men’s basketball tournament
ATLANTA — The Southeastern Conference will refund fans who had tickets for the final three sessions of its storm-altered men’s basketball tournament.
The refunds could cost the SEC and its 12 member schools some $2.5 million.
A tornado, which caused heavy damage in downtown Atlanta, struck the dome March 14 during overtime of the Mississippi State-Alabama quarterfinal. That game was finished after a one-hour delay, but the final game of the night between Georgia and Kentucky was postponed until the next day.
After inspecting the building, dome officials recommended that no more games be played in the facility, which seated 26,000 for basketball. The postponed game, as well as the semifinals and final, were shifted to Georgia Tech’s 9,191-seat campus arena.
Because of the disparity in seating, the SEC limited attendance the final two days to athletes’ families, cheerleaders, bands and other credentialed workers, such as the media. Georgia’s victory over Arkansas in the championship game was watched by an estimated 3,700 fans — far short of the 20,000 that likely would have attended at the Georgia Dome.
The SEC said it will issue full refunds to fans who had tickets for the final three sessions of the tournament — Friday evening, Saturday (March 15) and Sunday (March 16) — if they purchased them through the league, the Georgia Dome or one of the 12 member schools. The maximum refund is $125, $45 each for the quarterfinal and semifinal sessions, $35 for the championship game.
The league drew more than 20,000 to its second quarterfinal session, and was hoping to have similar crowds for the final two days.
To receive a refund, fans must mail their tickets to the original place of purchase, postmarked by April 18. Torn tickets will be honored for the March 14 session, since one game was played that night.
The SEC said it will issue refunds only to the original buyers, who will be credited through the same method they used to buy the tickets. Those who bought tickets through scalpers or the secondary market will not be eligible for refunds.
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Southeastern Conference: www.secsports.com

— From Staff and Wire Reports