WJPA Sports

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — TreVeyon Henderson ran for a 39-yard touchdown in his season debut, Elijah Ponder added a 19-yard fumble recovery for a score and the New England Patriots’ defense smothered Aaron Rodgers on the way to a 20-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the victory, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel avoided just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career. Romeo Doubs had a 63-yard catch in the third quarter to set up Andy Borregales’ second field goal of the game. Drake Maye finished 14 of 22 for 208 yards and an interception. Rodgers struggled to deal with the Patriots’ defensive pressure. The 42-year-old quarterback fumbled twice, including the one that led to Ponder’s score.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rafael Flores Jr. hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning to help the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday and complete a series sweep. After Ryan O’Hearn led off with a single to center, Flores sent a slider from Nate Pearson (2-3) into the left-field bleachers for his 10th homer this season. Pittsburgh rallied with a two-run homer in the eighth for a second straight day. Brandon Lowe had his 33rd of the season in a 6-5 win Saturday. Carmen Mlodzinki (8-7) got the win. Mason Montgomery earned his 16th save

The  season has come to an end for the Washington Wild Things.  They fell to Evansville 9-6 defeat in a decisive Game 5 of the Frontier League Midwest Conference Finals at EQT Park.  Evansville built a 6-0 lead against starter Kelvin Perez.   Washington was able to respond quickly, scoring on an RBI single by Jeff Liquori in the third inning and on an RBI single by Antonio Monroy in the fourth to cut it to 6-2.  The Otters grabbed two more in the sixth before an Isaias Quiroz solo homer made it 8-3 Evansville in the bottom of the sixth.  Washington pounded out 14 hits and had the tying run on deck but couldn’t get closer. Jeff Liquori led the offense with four singles, capping his playoff run at 19-for-32 with 16 RBI.

Mississippi has moved into the top five of the AP Top 25 college football poll with its win over LSU. The Tigers remain in the top 10, and Florida and Mississippi State joined the rankings, giving the SEC 10 teams in the latest poll. The Rebels jumped to No. 4 after defeating LSU 32-24. LSU slipped to No. 10. Texas holds the top spot for the second week, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Indiana. Louisville made the biggest gain, rising to No. 16. Texas A&M fell to No. 23 after losing to Kentucky.