Sports briefs

Tigers' Willis designated for assignment

DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers designated starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis for assignment after Saturday night's loss to the Oakland Athletics.

The move made room for pitcher Max Scherzer, who is returning from Triple-A Toledo to start Sunday's game against Oakland.

If Willis clears waivers, the Tigers have 10 days to release him, trade him or assign him to the minor leagues. Willis has won two games for Detroit since joining the team before the 2008 season, while making $29 million.

Willis is 1-2 this season with a 4.98 ERA in nine games.

Japanese woman plays pro baseball

CHICO, Calif. — An 18-year-old knuckleballer from Japan has become the first woman to play professional baseball in the United States in a decade.

Eri Yoshida made her debut against former major leaguer Ivan Ochoa of the Tijuana Cimarrones on Saturday night in the independent Golden Baseball League. Yoshida missed on her first two pitches before getting a called strike. Ochoa then bunted for a hit, drawing jeers from the crowd.

By pitching for the Chico Outlaws, Yoshida is the first woman since Ila Borders in 2000 to play professionally in the United States. The 5-foot-1, 115-pound Yoshida is also the first woman to play professionally in two countries. The pitcher dubbed the "Knuckle Princess" also pitched last year in an independent league in Japan.

Borders pitched in independent leagues in the United States from 1997-2000.

Klitschko successfully defends title

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine defended his WBC heavyweight championship belt Saturday night with a 10th-round knockout of Albert Sosnowski.

Klitschko improved his record to 42-2 (38 KOs) after the ring referee called the 12-round bout following a left-right combination to Sosnowski's head at the 2 minute, 30 second mark of the 10th round.

The Warsaw native, looking to become the first Polish heavyweight world champion, was gradually worn down by the taller and heavier Klitschko and dropped to 45-2-2 (27 KOs).

Virginia eliminated in men's lacrosse

BALTIMORE — With one flick of his stick, Duke's Max Quinzani ended Virginia's gallant bid to put a positive finish on a season clouded by sadness.

Quinzani scored the tie-breaking goal with 12 seconds left, and the Blue Devils defeated the top-seeded Cavaliers 14-13 Saturday night to advance to the NCAA men's lacrosse national championship game.

Fifth-seeded Duke (15-4) will play unseeded Notre Dame (10-6) on Monday for the title. Notre Dame earned a berth in the finals for the first time with a 12-7 victory over Cornell.

This was an incomparable season for the Cavaliers, for reasons that have little to do with lacrosse. Everything changed May 3, when UVA women's player Yeardley Love was found beaten to death in her campus apartment.

George Huguely, a senior on the men's team, has been charged with first-degree murder.