The new PWHL team in Hamilton, Ontario, has made its big acquisition.

Coach of the Year finalist Kris Sparre, who just led the Boston Fleet to a league record-tying 62-point regular season, has jumped to become Hamilton’s first coach. PWHL Hamilton general manager Meghan Duggan made the announcement Wednesday.

“I’m thrilled to have Kris as the first Head Coach in PWHL Hamilton history, bringing a combination of hockey knowledge, leadership, and player development expertise that make him an ideal fit,” Duggan said in a news release.

Sparre, 39, has extensive ties to Ontario. The Mississauga native grew up playing in the Ontario Hockey League and earned his first coaching job in the OHL. He and his family live in Burlington, Ontario, roughly 15 miles from Hamilton.

Sparre took over the Boston Fleet prior to the 2025-26 season and directed the team to a 16-5-4-5 record. That was a league-record 18 points better than the year before.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to build a foundation in Hamilton alongside Meghan, and moving closer to home and being near family makes this the right step for me personally and professionally,” Sparre said.

PWHL Hamilton was introduced as an expansion franchise on May 13. The league also has announced plans to add teams in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose to boost membership to 12 teams for the 2026-27 season.

–Field Level Media

Juan Soto hit his sixth homer in seven games and Carson Benge had a pair of two-out RBI singles to lead the New York Mets past the visiting Cincinnati Reds 4-2 on Wednesday.

In salvaging the finale of a three-game series, the Mets avoided being swept at home by the Reds for the first time since May 20-22, 2013. Entering Wednesday, the Mets had scored two or fewer runs in six straight games, and they had lost the past five.

The Reds fell for just the second time in seven games as they missed many scoring opportunities, stranding 17 runners on base. Mets closer Devin Williams walked the bases loaded with one out in the ninth but recovered for his eighth save in nine chances.

Williams struck out Dane Myers and Blake Dunn to end the game.

Soto belted his 12th homer of the season in the second inning off Andrew Abbott on a hanging curveball that caught too much of the inside part of the plate. The drive to the seats down the right field line gave the Mets their first lead of the series, 1-0.

Abbott was hit hard in the second inning. Elly De La Cruz made a diving snare of a Marcus Semien line drive that came off the bat at 106 mph before Eric Wagaman’s 415-foot solo home run down the left field line was estimated at 110 mph.

Abbott (4-3) had his personal four-game win streak snapped and took his first loss since April 12 despite recording a quality start. The lefty allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in six innings, striking out four and walking one.

The Reds put two runners on in each of the first three innings, finally breaking through in the third. Nathaniel Lowe singled up the middle off shortstop Bo Bichette’s glove, scoring De La Cruz, who reached on a throwing error by pitcher Jonah Tong.

Tong (1-0) took over for opener Huascar Brazoban, and he allowed one unearned run on three hits in 3 2/3 innings. He issued four walks and fanned one.

Benge knocked in a run in the fifth after De La Cruz committed a two-out error on a Brett Baty grounder.

The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the sixth against Tobias Myers and Brooks Raley before Sal Stewart chopped an RBI infield single to third, cutting New York’s lead to 3-2. Cincinnati left the bases loaded when Suarez flied out to center, bringing the Reds’ left on base total to 12 through just six innings.

Benge’s two-out single in the seventh made it 4-2.

–Field Level Media

Nyara Sabally scored a career-best 29 points Wednesday night to help the visiting Toronto Tempo defeat the Chicago Sky 111-104.

Sabally also had six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots as the Tempo ended a two-game losing skid while extending the Sky’s losing streak to three.

Marina Mabrey added 24 points and seven assists for the Tempo (4-4). Brittney Sykes scored 20 points, Kiki Rice chipped in 14 and Maria Conde tallied 12.

Sydney Taylor scored 27 points off the bench for the Sky (3-4). Skylar Diggins added 23 points with nine assists and two blocks for Chicago. Natasha Cloud had 18 points and nine assists. Elizabeth Williams added 11 points and Azura Stevens contributed 10.

The Tempo led by six points entering the fourth quarter. Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 8:42 to go in the fourth to cut the margin to four. Aicha Coulibaly’s putback layup brought Chicago to within three points at 96-93 with 4:48 remaining. Sykes answered with a layup.

Taylor’s 3-pointer cut the lead to two with 3:33 left. Sabally nailed a 3-pointer after Mabrey’s steal to give Toronto an eight-point lead with 1:43 to play.

The Sky took advantage of four early Tempo turnovers to take a 10-5 lead. Toronto used a 14-4 run to take a 23-20 lead with 1:02 to play in the first quarter. Toronto led 25-22 after one quarter.

Mabrey opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and hit another from beyond the arc to give Toronto an 11-point lead, 38-27, with 7:15 to go in the second quarter. The Sky rallied to climb to within five points on Cloud’s 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining. Toronto led 55-48 at halftime.

Chicago continued to struggle from 3-point range despite getting some good looks, going 3-for-16 (18.8%) in the first half while Toronto was 6-for-15 (40%). The Sky took advantage of eight Toronto first-half turnovers for a 13-0 lead in fastbreak points.

Toronto worked the lead to 12 on Sabally’s cutting layup with 8:21 left in the third quarter. Sabally converted two free throws to bump the margin to 14.

The margin dwindled to four on Taylor’s 3-pointer with 1:48 left as the Sky capitalized on defensive stops. Toronto led 80-74 after three quarters.

–Field Level Media