LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Arizona State’s Marisa Stankiewicz and Tulsa’s Emily Watson were named Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for games played March 26-April 1. Stankiewicz powered the seventh-ranked Sun Devils to four more wins in non-conference action last weekend. The senior infielder hit .625 with five hits, three leaving…

Oil prices dropped more than 3 percent on Tuesday with main crude benchmarks, Brent and WTI, trading at the lowest levels in more than a year. Forecasts of record US shale oil output triggered worries about global oversupply. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell nearly 3.5 percent to $48.22 a barrel, its weakest since September…

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Japan won its second-straight World Cup of Softball title in the first major international competition among national teams since the return of softball to the Olympics was announced last August. In a matchup of the top two ranked teams in the world, Japan edged the United States, 2-1, behind Minami Sato’s two-run single…

At least seven people have been killed and four others injured, while the fate of dozens remains unknown, after a gas explosion shattered a 10-story residential building in downtown Magnitogorsk in Russia’s Urals. The blast rocked the apartment complex on Monday at around 6am local time, completely collapsing one of its sections, videos from the…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Westminster College’s Jazmyn Rohrer and Centenary College’s Anna Dunn captured this week’s Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Pitcher and Player of the Week honors, respectively. Senior right-hander Rohrer went 5-0 in six appearances and four starts in the circle, striking out 64 over 33.1 innings. The Purcellville, Va., native fanned a career-best…

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau says he’s confident he’ll win re-election next fall by sticking to a positive, thoughtful approach to difficult issues, in contrast to the Conservatives whom he accuses of resorting to bumper sticker slogans that prey on voters’ fears and prejudices. Although recent provincial elections suggest Canada is not immune to the anti-immigrant…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dabecka Kirk of La Monte High School, Villa Grove Elite’s Floyd Fisher and Mount San Antonio College head coach Ruby Rojas are the 2017 winners of the inaugural Diamond Kinetics/NFCA Technology Scholarship. The recipients were announced at the conclusion of JT Gasso’s (Oklahoma) Technology’s Role in Building Elite Hitters” presented by Diamond…

Circling around the Earth twice, the first Soviet orbital spaceplane ‘Buran’ landed safely 30 years ago, all while having no crew inside. Its launch was the pinnacle of the nation’s space program but also ended up being its last. By the mid-1970s, the Soviets were looking to create reusable orbiters for spaceflights, and that is…

CALGARY — Canada’s immigration minister says he is confident a growing backlog of asylum claims will be addressed as the refugee system undergoes some changes. Just over 64,000 refugee claims — including nearly 35,000 irregular arrivals and those from various other streams — are awaiting a decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board. Refugees are…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Makenna Aycock of Texas Wesleyan has been named the NAIA National Softball Pitcher of the Week and teammate Bailey Terry has been named the NAIA National Softball Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Aycock and Terry were selected based on their performances from April 2 – 8, and were chosen out of a pool…