Serena Williams wins at Family Circle Cup

Serena Williams made the transition from hard courts to clay with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Camila Giorgi in her opening match Tuesday at the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C.

Williams looked sluggish at times and was broken in her second service game. But she soon figured out the clay and lost just two points on her serve the entire second set to win her 11th straight match in Charleston. Williams won the tournament the last two times she entered in 2008 and 2012 and is the top seed this year.

COLLEGES

Pierre Jackson had 24 points and 10 assists to lift Baylor back into the National Invitation Tournament title game for the second time in five years with a 76-70 win over BYU on Tuesday night in New York. Baylor’s Cory Jefferson scored 21 points and Isaiah Austin had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears. Tyler Haws scored 25 points for the Cougars, who couldn’t buy a shot from 3-point range for much of the game.

Sophomore RHP Jordan Richwood threw a three-hit shutout as Memphis won 2-0 in game two of a doubleheader over Belmont at Nashville. The Tigers (15-26) split the doubleheader after losing game one to the Bruins (12-17), 7- 0. Richwood (7-8) struck out seven and allowed just one walk in seven innings for her first shutout of the season and fourth of her career. It is the second shutout of the season for Memphis and snapped a program-high nine-game losing streak. Senior outfielder Lelani Bernardino went 2-for-4 and drove in both Memphis runs. Senior shortstop Laura Curtis and freshman outfielder Hannah Harrell also had a pair of hits for the Tigers in the win.

The Christian Brothers University Bucs rapped out five extra-base hits and scored in five of the game’s seven innings as they cruised to a 12-2 win over LeMoyneOwen Tuesday afternoon at Buc Field. The Bucs (8-23) opened the scoring in the top of the second inning, as they played as the visiting team since the game was originally scheduled to be the Magicians’ home game. Taylor Seaman earned the win, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out six batters in five innings before giving way to Michael Lartigue, who tossed two perfect innings of relief. Tyler Burnett went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Jarrett Jenkins, Charles Kelly and Will Wilson collected two hits each. The Bucs return to action Saturday at noon when they host Valdosta State for a doubleheader.

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