Former Notre Dame High School baseball standout Sam Eberle from Chattanooga was the “Top Star” of the first Northwest League All-Star Game since 2004 on Tuesday in Everett, Wash., with a fourth-inning home run and three runs scored in the South Division’s 8-7 win over the North. His leadoff single in the ninth inning began the winning rally from a 7-5 deficit. “We were just really relaxed in the dugout. We weren’t really pressing too much,” Eberle, who plays for Salem-Keizer in the professional minor league, was quoted in an MiLB website writeup. “We were having fun, and luckily we came through there at the end.” After his single, Eberle advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on an error, and he scored on a hit as the comeback continued. He went to the all-star break batting .265 with five home runs, 10 doubles, three triples, 26 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 41 games. Eberle was picked by the San Francisco Giants out of Jacksonville State University in the 25th round of the 2012 draft.
Auto Racing
- Expected rain may not allow it, but Boyd’s Speedway is scheduled to host its annual “Sprint Car Mania” program tonight with the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour. The race featuring the alcohol-burning, 700-horsepower winged open-wheel cars weighing 1,300 pounds will award points in two USCS regions, the Mid South and the Southern Thunder, as well as the national standings if held. The main event is a 30-lap race. Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing will start at 7.
Tennis
- Sisters Jenny and Lindsey Liles and former Girls Preparatory School standout Bronte Goodhue from Chattanooga from Sewanee were among the 2013 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Americans announced Thursday. Jenny Liles, the 2013 Sewanee valedictorian, was an automatic qualifier for reaching the singles round of 16 in the NCAA Division III tournament last spring, and she and her sister were doubles All-Americans after reaching the national quarterfinals together. Goodhue, who played No. 1 for the Tigers and was the Southern Athletic Association player of the year, earned her All-America status with a No. 20 ranking in the final ITA singles poll.
Volleyball
- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was one of 130 NCAA Division I programs honored Wednesday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for academic excellence last school year. The Mocs had a 3.32 aggregate grade point average for the 2012 fall semester, led by Academic All-American Christina Teter and 2013 graduate Heather Parman with a 4.0 semester GPA.