Star-Gazette FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2023 1B SPORTS As Buster Posey wrapped up a motivational talk with San Francisco Giants minor-leaguers this spring, he asked the gathering of prospects if anybody had any questions. Patrick Bailey, not one to miss a chance to pick the brain of a future Hall of Famer, did not hesitate. Posey is royalty in the Bay Area, a three- time World Series champion and now owner of a small slice of the franchise. His legacy began when, at 23, he was called up to the major leagues for good in May 2010 and was spraying championship champagne months later. Bailey, no fool, wanted to ask how a young catcher could quickly earn the respect of veter- an pitchers just as Posey did in bringing San Francisco its championship.
Flash forward months, and Bailey has already a portion of young legacy. major league debut came on May 10, nearly 13 years to the day Posey took over be- hind the plate in China Basin, and while Bailey has so much left to accomplish, so much heavy lifting has already been done. At 24, Bailey has the trust of a veteran pitch- ing A lock on the catching position in San Francisco, likely for as long as he wants. San Francisco catcher Patrick Bailey a really good memory. got an even, quiet according to Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
GETTY IMAGES MLB CATCH A GLIMPSE rookie backstop is inspiring awe, drawing some elite comparisons Gabe Lacques USA TODAY See BAILEY, Page 4B Villanova head coach Bridget Or- chard and Big East Player of the Year Tess Cites of Villanova, both former standouts in Section 4, will participate in the Train With Champions Softball Clinic presented by the Waverly Sports Complex. The clinic will be held Aug. 2 at East Waverly Park. A morning session for ages 8 to 12 will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. An afternoon session for ages 13 to 18 runs from noon to 2 p.m.
Cost is $50 per player. For more information or to sign up for the camp, email hoo.com or message the Waverly Sports Facebook page. About Orchard and Cites Orchard was a three-time all-state player at Binghamton High as Bridget Baxter and later starred at Villanova. As a coach, she has more than 900 victories at the college level. She guided Villano- va to its Big East championship and NCAA tournament berth in 2021.
Or- chard coached at Fordham for 17 sea- sons before coming to Villanova after the 2018 season. Cites was a two-time all-state pick for Horseheads High School and this past season at Villanova batted .378 with seven homers, 15 doubles and 45 RBIs in earning Big East Player of the Year honors, along with All-Mideast Re- gion second-team recognition. Also scheduled to participate in the clinic are Villanova assistant Chelsea Plimpton, Wildcats pitching coach Gab- by Luety, former Corning Community Orchard, Cites part of Waverly softball clinic Elmira Star-Gazette Horseheads High School graduate Tess Cites batted .378 with seven homers and 45 RBIs during the 2023 softball season for Villanova, earning Big East Player of the Year honors. VILLANOVA ATHLETICS See CLINIC, Page 2B WELLINGTON, New Zealand Do not make Lindsey Horan mad. The U.S.
captain scored on a thunder- ous header after a collision with Lyon teammate Danielle van de Donk on Thursday, salvaging a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands and keeping the U.S. wom- national hopes of winning Group alive. The two-time defending champs can claim the top spot and a road to the nal that likely include England, Germany or France by beating Portu- gal and maintaining their plus-2 goal dif- ferential against the Netherlands. The Americans looked after giving up a goal in the 17th minute, the time since the 2011 they have trailed in a World Cup game. They appeared disorganized and tentative, showing none of the cohesion they had to start the game.
But a hard tackle by van de Donk early in the second half changed everything. Horan crumbled to the and was down for several minutes. She was clear- ly angry when she got up. She had words with her Lyon teammate, and the two were pushing and shoving in the box after the USWNT was awarded a corner kick. Even the attempt to get the two to make nice calm Horan, who was still muttering when Rose Lavelle lined up in the corner.
Horan got the last word. Can grit rub off on USWNT? Maybe the U.S. women should try to make Lindsey Horan mad before every game. That from Horan, and the re- silience the young Americans had to show, could end up being a positive for the defending champions. A potentially header salvages draw for USWNT at World Cup Lindsay Schnell and Nancy Armour USA TODAY United States Lindsey Horan, right, and Netherlands Danielle van de Donk battle for a loose ball during the second half on Wednesday.
JENNA TODAY SPORTSSee USWNT, Page 2B.
