MOST, Czech Republic – Lasse Soerensen fended off Giorgio Maggi to win Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ELITE 2 event at Autodrom Most.

The two battled for the lead for 14 laps, with Soerensen emerging as the victor.

Soerensen started from second and took over the lead in the first corner of the race. The Dexwet-df1 Racing driver survived pressure from Maggi during the entire race, but kept him at bay to take his fourth win of the season.

In his first six NASCAR Whelen Euro Series starts, the Soerensen always finished in the top-three. With Sunday’s win, Soerensen climbed up to third in the overall standings and reduced his gap from Maggi to 33 points.

“It was a really tough race, but I had a good start and I was able to overtake Giorgio on the outside of turn one,” said Soerensen. “It seemed that I was faster in the first one and a half sectors and he was better on the rest of the track. We had an almost identical pace. I think I had him under control, I’m happy for the whole team and my sponsors back home.”

Maggi, who started from the pole, spent the entire race on Soerensen’s rear bumper. After winning the inaugural ELITE 2 race at the Autodrom Most Saturday, Maggi ended up second Sunday to increase his championship lead to 16 points on Vittorio Ghirelli, who got a one championship point penalty for not giving back a position after a turn one shortcut.

“It’s great to expand the championship lead,” said Maggi. “The start was okay, but Lasse was able to overtake me. I tried a few times to make a move in turn one. He blocked very well, so there was nothing I could do. I tried to force him into a mistake but he was very consistent. In the end I’m happy with the second place. I’m looking forward to Venray as I have some experience there. It’s something new for me and I’m very excited.”

PK Carsport driver Ghirelli ended up third under the checkered flag.  Nicholas Risitano finished fourth and American Myatt Snider gained six positions on track to complete the top-five.

Ian Eric Waden won the battle in the Legend Trophy class by finishing 12th ahead of Michael Bleekemolen and Mirco Schultis, who closed the top-three in the classification for drivers 40 and over. Arianna Casoli won the Lady Trophy by securing a 17th-place finish.

United States international Weston McKennie has signed an extended contract with Bundesliga side Schalke.

Earlier this year, reports linked the Texas-born midfielder with a move to Liverpool.

?? He's here to stay ?✍️@WMckennie has signed a contract extension until 2024! ?⚒️⚪ pic.twitter.com/HUL6TErIn8

— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) June 30, 2019

But on Sunday Schalke announced that the 20-year-old, who turned professional at FC Dallas before making the switch to Germany in 2016, had extended his contract until 2024.

"The decision was very easy for me, because I've constantly been able to enjoy the unbelievable support of our fans," McKennie was quoted as saying on Schalke's website.

"The board have likewise always stood behind me. I'm looking forward to what the future holds."

McKennie is in America, playing for the national team in the Gold Cup. They take on Curacao in the quarterfinals.

Manchester United are ready to make Marcus Rashford one of their highest paid players after a breakthrough in contract talks, sources have told ESPN FC.

Rashford is close to signing a new five-year deal, with the terms of the agreement set to reflect his importance at Old Trafford.

Sources have told ESPN FC that Rashford's new wage will not match Alexis Sanchez's £391,000-a-week deal but will see him earn around £200,000 a week.

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United have been aware of interest in the England international from clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City, but there is growing confidence they have done enough to tie the 21-year-old down to a fresh contract.

An academy graduate who has been at the club since the age of seven, Rashford is central to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's vision for the future.

Another former academy star, Jesse Lingard, has been pencilled in for the next round of contract renewals, although formal talks have not yet started.

Rashford is still on the terms agreed after his breakthrough season under Louis van Gaal in 2016. He has scored 45 goals in 170 appearances since making his senior debut in February that year, winning 32 England caps.

Months of negotiations could conclude soon, with an announcement before the start of the season in August.

It is a boost for Solskjaer, who has made Rashford one of his key players since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December.

That has seen Romelu Lukaku fall down the pecking order, and sources have told ESPN FC that Lukaku would be open to working with Antonio Conte at Inter Milan if a fee can be agreed. United are holding out for £80 million.

Meanwhile, former United striker Wayne Rooney, now at D.C. United, praised Van Gaal for his approach at Old Trafford.

"Van Gaal is by far the best coach I have worked with," said Rooney, who has revealed he plans to go into management when his playing career ends.

"His tactical skills, his way of preparing and his attention to the finest of details I found amazing. I admired that in him. I had never looked at stuff like that before."

The Zimbabwe women team have pulled out of their tour of Ireland, citing funding and logistical issues. They were due to arrive in Ireland on Sunday ahead of a one-day and T20 series double-header with the men's side, who are already in Ireland, but did not travel. The ongoing impasse between Zimbabwe's Sports and Recreation Commission (ZSRC) and the suspended Zimbabwe Cricket board appears to be the cause of the cancellation.

"We received correspondence late this afternoon from Zimbabwe Cricket in which we were informed that due to a funding issue, Zimbabwe Cricket will not be sending their women's team to Ireland," Cricket Ireland (CI) chief executive Warren Deutrom said in a statement.

"With the team due to arrive on Sunday, there is clearly no time to find an alternative and, after urgent consultation with the ICC to seek clarification, we regret to confirm the women's tour has been cancelled. This will not, however, impact upon the men's tour which will proceed as scheduled," Deutrom added.

The T20 part of the series was supposed to have provided vital preparation for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier, for both Ireland and Zimbabwe, and CI have been left scrambling for an alternative. "We will look into alternative arrangements so our senior women's team will not be completely disadvantaged by these disappointing circumstances," Deutrom said.

The cancellation of the women's tour is yet another chapter of the turmoil that has engulfed Zimbabwean cricket since the SRC, who are the governing body of all sporting associations in Zimbabwe, suspended the Tavengwa Mukuhlani-led ZC board and installed an interim committee in their place.

The SRC has alleged that the suspended officials have sought to intimidate the remaining ZC staff into vacating their roles, and ZC's offices have been virtually empty over the past week.

While the SRC claim to be acting in the best interests of cricket in the country, the suspension and subsequent power struggle are threatening to completely disrupt the sport and Zimbabwe are in danger of losing their ICC membership. Both the former and current ZC leadership are understood to be in contact with the ICC, who are yet to comment on the matter.

"It is not without coincidence that staff continue not to return to work despite clear messages from both the SRC and the interim committee that they should do so," SRC board chairman Gerald Mlotshwa said earlier this week. "The absence from work on Monday has severely compromised the ladies (team) preparations for their tour of Ireland.

"There continues to be a clear and deliberate effort to sabotage Zimbabwe Cricket by some of the suspended ZC officials. A formal police report has now been made regarding these shenanigans. It appears that every effort is being made to frustrate an inquiry into the financial affairs of Zimbabwe Cricket, key amongst these issues being the assessment of a debit of some US$2.8 million on ZC's account with a local banking institution with historical ties to it.

"The police have been alerted to this issue as well, as it is clear that no co-operation will be forthcoming from those with knowledge of the details and reasons for this historical debit," said Mlotshwa.

Softer than marshmallow, slower than a tortoise, Sri Lanka's middle order has had a poor tournament. Across five team innings, Sri Lanka have five half-centuries, but two each are from openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera. Nos. 4-7, in 20 combined innings, have contributed only one fifty: Angelo Mathews' unbeaten 85 against England.

Worse even than that output, has been their rate of scoring. Between Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva and Jeevan Mendis, the best tournament strike rate belongs to Kusal Mendis, who has gone at 63.52. Jeevan, meanwhile, has struck at 37.25.

Against South Africa, several batsmen in the middle order attempted to hit out, but were not only unsuccessful in their attempts to raise the strike rate, they also frequently lost wickets playing big shots. So modest is their collective form, captain Karunaratne admitted, that like the turtles on their eco-friendly team shirts, some Sri Lanka batsmen have retreated into shells.

"Our middle order han't scored a lot of runs, and they don't have that confidence," he said. "If you don't have runs behind you, there's always a doubt in your mind as to whether you're going to get out when you go for a big shot. It's important to get settled before you go for those shots. What South Africa did in the last game was keep those fielders up. When we tried to hit out, it didn't work - we lost wickets in a row.

"We have to know how to handle those situations and how to escape from those traps. I haven't told everyone that same advice, but we are trying to work with some players on getting out of situations like that. In a big tournament like this, when you have a must-win match on the line, maybe it's better to have a more positive mindset."

The top three - meanwhile - consisting of Karunaratne, Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando - have largely been able to find runs somewhere. Karunaratne has accumulated, while Kusal Perera and Fernando have been aggressive, often piercing gaps in the infield, or hitting aerial boundaries. Their contributions have not been enough to get Sri Lanka to even a single score in excess of 250, however - their 247 against Australia, in pursuit of 335 having been their highest total.

"We know that we weren't able to make a score in excess of 250 - that's the biggest factor in our team performance so far in the tournament," Karunaratne said. "If two or three batsmen get set, then we can definitely get to 250. It's very difficult when you only make 200, 220 to tell the bowlers to then take the opposition wickets. We need to take responsibility as a batting unit and make a big score."

Before the defeat to South Africa, Sri Lanka had the chance to make it to 12 points with three consecutive victories, but with a ceiling of 10 points now, several other results must go their way if they are to make it through. If England win at Edgbaston, Sri Lanka's window shuts completely.

"Now we have to wait for other results," he said. "We're not a side who should be in this position. We have talent, and skill to compete with anyone. But we only performed in certain games. It's our bowlers who mainly performed as well. Our batting line up hasn't fired altogether yet."

BALTIMORE -- Manager Brandon Hyde says his young Baltimore Orioles are a fun team to watch, regardless of how much they've been struggling.

The Orioles certainly put on a show the past two nights against the Cleveland Indians.

Andrew Cashner threw seven innings of three-hit ball, Renato Nunez had two of Baltimore's four home runs and the Orioles clinched their first series win since April with their second consecutive 13-0 victory over Cleveland on Saturday.

The Orioles became the first team in major league history to record back-to-back shutouts while scoring at least 13 runs in each game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

"To win a series obviously feels great," Hyde said. "I just want our guys to play well. I'm concerned about how we play. I'm concerned about how we play the game, and just the last two games we played really good baseball. It began with our starting pitching."

Anthony Santander etched his way into Camden Yards' history when he hit the 100th home run, and 45th by an Oriole, to land on Eutaw Street since the stadium opened in 1992.

"It's an honor to hit the 100th home run onto Eutaw Street. It's just unbelievable," Santander said through a translator. "Hopefully tomorrow we can sweep them."

Chance Sisco also homered for Baltimore, which entered the series with the worst record in the majors. The Orioles will go for their first three-game sweep of the season Sunday.

Cashner (8-3) was scratched moments before the scheduled 4:05 p.m. first pitch as thunderstorms passed through the area. When the start of the game was announced for 5:10 p.m., Cashner was reinserted into the lineup.

He finished with six strikeouts and just one walk and has won four of his past five decisions.

"It was kind of a cluster, but thank God the weather came when it did," Cashner said.

The Orioles earned back-to-back shutouts for the first time since September 2016 against the Yankees.

Trey Mancini had three hits and drove in three runs for the Orioles, who had not won a series since April 22-24 against the White Sox. Baltimore had lost its previous 18 series.

"They hit better than us. They played better than us. They pitched better than us. They managed better than us," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "This game will make you laugh sometimes and it will make you shake your head. Sometimes it will make you cry."

Nunez tied a career high with four RBIs.

Baltimore took a 1-0 lead in the second on a double by Hanser Alberto off Indians rookie Zach Plesac.

Cashner retired 11 consecutive batters before allowing a bloop single to Carlos Santana.

The Orioles broke open the game with six runs in the fourth. Santander started the rally with a 410-foot solo homer. Jonathan Villar and Mancini later added back-to-back RBI doubles. Nunez ended Plesac's afternoon with a solo shot to center.

Plesac had his shortest start over seven outings this season, allowing seven runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks over 3⅔ innings.

Mancini had another two-run single in the fifth that provided a 9-0 margin. Sisco added a two-run home run off A.J. Cole in the sixth. Sisco hit the 99th ball to land on Eutaw Street the previous night.

Nunez got his 17th homer of the season off Mike Freeman.

Baltimore won consecutive games for the first time since May 4-6. The Indians have been shut out seven times this year.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Indians: 3B Jose Ramirez will be activated off the paternity list for Sunday's game. "He will be ready to play," Francona said. ... RHP Danny Salazar (right shoulder) will throw 30 to 35 pitches in a simulated game Sunday in Arizona. Salazar has not pitched at the major league level since 2017 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery. ... RHP Jefry Rodriguez (right shoulder strain) was held back from the team's eight-game road trip.

UP NEXT

Indians: Shane Bieber (6-3, 3.83 ERA) earned his first career shutout May 19 against the Orioles, allowing five hits with 15 strikeouts.

Orioles: Gabriel Ynoa (0-5, 6.75 ERA) has given up 13 runs in his past two starts (7⅔ innings).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Toronto Blue Jays rookie star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will become the youngest player in major league history to compete in the Home Run Derby.

Major League Baseball confirmed Sunday that Guerrero, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell and Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Santana will participate in the midseason power showcase, filling three spots in the eight-player field.

Brewers star Christian Yelich and Mets rookie Pete Alonso -- who rank first and second, respectively, in the majors in homers -- already had been announced as participants.

The Home Run Derby will be held July 8, when Guerrero will be 20 years, 114 days old. Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was the previous youngest player in Derby history, at 20 years, 230 days old in 1990.

Guerrero will become the third player to compete in the Derby at the age of 20, joining Griffey and Bryce Harper (2013).

Guerrero has eight homers in 53 games this season with the Blue Jays. He became the youngest player in Blue Jays history to hit a homer on May 14, when he homered against the Giants at 20 years, 59 days old.

Bell, 26, is enjoying a breakout season with the Pirates, batting .303 with 22 homers and 70 RBIs. The switch-hitting Bell leads the majors in RBIs and is tied for ninth in home runs.

Santana, also a switch-hitter, is batting .291 with 18 homers.

British teenager storms to fast time in Mannheim as she sets world U18 best and breaks Dina Asher-Smith’s UK junior record

Amy Hunt’s 22.42 at the Mannheim junior international in Germany on Sunday not only smashed Dina Asher-Smith’s British under-20 record but it was a world under-18 best. Remarkably, she only turned 17 in May too.

Hunt is a prodigious teenage talent but her time in Mannheim shocked even those familiar with her ability. Her PB prior to the event was 23.17, which she ran into a slight headwind at Loughborough earlier this summer, whereas her 22.42 was aided by a tailwind of 1.7m/sec as she beat Asher-Smith’s junior best of 22.61.

What’s more, the time puts her No.3 on the UK all-time senior rankings behind Asher-Smith and Kathy Cook.

Hunt grew up in Grantham and initially ran middle and long distance as a child before finding her talent as a sprinter and being coached by Ian Richards and Andy McMahon at Grantham AC.

Soon she began to develop a winning habit, clocking 26.4 for 200m in 2014 to top the UK under-13 rankings that year in her before winning her first English Schools sprints title in 2015 as a first year under-15

She then went unbeaten in 2016 against athletes from her age group as a 14-year-old in 2016 and ended the season with AW featuring her in our young athlete column.

On that occasion the AW writer, Emily Moss, wrote too many words for the space on the page but apologised by saying: “It is a bit longer than usual, but she is a talent!”

Sport runs in the family as her father is a keen triathlete and she also played netball, hockey and rounders.

But her performances have really taken off lately as she has joined Charnwood AC and is coached in Loughborough by Joe McDonnell – a coach known for developing para-athlete sprinters Sophie Hahn, Libby Clegg and Thomas Young.

From that 26.4 in 2014 she has improved each year to 25.47 (2015), 25.22 (indoors in 2016), 24.33 (2017) and 23.17 (2018).

At 100m the tall, long-striding youngster has run 11.31 – and she has already been selected to race that distance at the European Under-20 Championships in Boras, Sweden, in July, where she will surely start red-hot favourite.

HOUSTON - Gerardo "Tata" Martino will be suspended for Mexico's Gold Cup semifinal against Haiti on Tuesday and has questioned why there is no VAR at the competition.

Mexico defeated Costa Rica 5-4 on penalties, after tying 1-1 over 180 minutes, but Martino was shown a yellow card in the second half and was livid on the touchline after a decision to award Los Ticos a penalty after half-time. It was his second card of the tournament, following his caution during the 3-2 victory over Martinique in the group stage.

"The officiating was bad, what else can I say?" said Martino in a news conference after the game. "I'm going to miss the next game and the referee could go on to officiate the final of the tournament."

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Martino was also unhappy that a Panamanian referee had been chosen for the game against Costa Rica because the Panamanian national team is still in the competition and asked why VAR is not in use, stressing that he was making the points in order to help the tournament improve in the future.

"It is impossible with the technology there is today and with VAR used in Mexico and in the United States that there isn't VAR in this tournament," said Martino.

"In the Copa America they stop the game 200 times for VAR, they've pulled back four goals because of VAR and we don't have VAR."

Martino's Mexico struggled at times against a tough Costa Rica side, but the Argentine coach was happy with his team's display.

"Today Mexico brought the football, we deserved to win the game thanks to our football," said Martino. "Guillermo Ochoa made the save of the game, but the game that all [the players] played was sensational."

El Tri will travel on Sunday ahead of Tuesday's semifinal in Glendale, Arizona.