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1-seed South Carolina got off to a hot start in the Columbia Regional, trouncing 4-seed Central Connecticut State 19-1 on Friday night to advance to the winner’s bracket.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Gamecocks cashed in on another bases loaded situation in the second. Gavin Casas singled to lead off, Dylan Brewer knocked a base hit with one out, and Will McGillis walked to fill up the bases before Ethan Petry walked with two outs, forcing in a run. USC added several more runs in the next inning. Talmadge LeCroy doubled to start things off, then Casas also doubled with one out to bring LeCroy in and make it 2-0. Will Tippett got hit by a pitch, then McGillis hit a homer to put the Cocks on top 5-0.

Carolina broke things all the way open in the fourth, scoring a total of 11 runs. Petry reached on an error to lead off the inning, LeCroy walked with one out, and Michael Braswell singled to load the bases. Casas followed with a base hit that brought in two runs, making it a 7-0 game, then Tippett walked to re-load the bases and Dylan Brewer singled to get Casas and Braswell home and push the lead to 9-0. After that, McGillis walked to fill the bases yet again, then Braylen Wimmer walked too to force in another run, making the score 10-0. With two outs, Cole Messina doubled to bring McGillis and Brewer in and put the Gamecocks up 12-0. LeCroy then walked and Braswell doubled to clear the bases, making it 15-0, and he later scored on a base hit by Tippett to extend the lead to 16-0.

USC’s final three runs of the game came in the fifth. Wimmer started things off with a single, then Petry homered to make the score 18-0. Messina walked after that and later came home when Braswell hit into a fielder’s choice, giving the Cocks a 19-0 lead. The Blue Devils’ only run of the game came in the eighth on a wild pitch.

South Carolina starter James Hicks worked five innings and allowed one hit and no runs. He also didn’t walk any batters, struck six out, and got the win, making him 9-1. Will Sanders, Austin Williamson, and Connor McCreery combined to go the rest of the way for the Gamecocks. Central Connecticut State starter Jake Neuman pitched 3.1 innings and gave up eight hits and nine runs. He also issued four walks, struck out four batters, and took the loss, making him 6-3.

Casas led USC at the plate with three hits, while he, Petry, McGillis, and Braswell tallied three RBI each. Jimmy Sullivan had two hits to pace the Blue Devils.

The Cocks are now 40-19, while Central Connecticut State is 36-13. Carolina will play 3-seed North Carolina State on Saturday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. at Founders Park.

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A dentist who owns a chain of clinics in Connecticut has settled in a federal and state false claims case.

|Updated Thu, Oct 1, 2020 at 11:13 pm ET

MANCHESTER, CT — A dentist who owns a chain of clinics in Connecticut and a major imaging center in Manchester has reached a six-figure settlement in a federal and state false claims case, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said Thursday that Dr. Abbas Mohammadi, and his businesses, Columbia Dental and Columbia Oral and Maxillocacial Imaging, have entered into a civil settlement agreement with federal and state authorities and paid $300,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts.

Mohammadi, a dentist and oral surgeon, owns 15 Columbia Dental clinics throughout Connecticut, and Columbia Oral Maxillofacial Imaging in Manchester.

Mohammadi and both corporations are enrolled as providers in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, which includes the state’s Medicaid program, Durham said.

Mohammadi is accused of billing Medicaid for dental restoration services that were not provided or were not medically necessary from January 2012 through February 2016, Durham said.

Find out what's happening in Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Case records show that Mohammadi is also accused of billing Medicaid for x-ray services that were not provided by individuals who had been certified by the Dental Assisting National Board to take x-rays from January 2014 through November 2015.

To resolve the allegations under the federal and state False Claims Acts, Mohammadi, CDPC and COMILLC paid $300,000 in order to reimburse the Medicaid program, Durham said.

A complaint against Mohammadi, CDPC and COMILLC was filed in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the both the federal and state False Claims Acts, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government, according to Durham.

The whistleblower provisions of both the federal and state False Claims Acts provide that the whistleblower is entitled to receive a percentage of the proceeds of any judgment or settlement recovered by the government.

The whistleblower, Brittany Ames Mahoney, a former employee at CDPC, will receive $45,000, Durham said.

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To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to [email protected].

Middle school bullies sparked Stevie Coleman’s interest in boxing.

Coleman grew up on a family farm in Eastern Connecticut and some boys at school called her something akin to a stupid hayseed.

“I actually punched one of them,” she said.

She told her father about it and he said she could vent her anger and defend herself by learning to box.

Now at age 19, Coleman is an up and coming amateur fighter with a 7-3 record, a good jab and the drive to go far, her coach, Paul Cichon of Manchester Ring of Champions Society (ROCS), said.

“She’s got a lot going for her. She’s fast, strong, definitely determined,” Cichon said. “And she’s just a good person. She’s a beast when the bell rings, but when she gets out of the ring, she’s just a sweet person.”

The work ethic that Coleman absorbed on the farm has served her well in training, Cichon said. In stark contrast to many boxing wannabes whose interest dissolves when they see how hard they have to train, Stevie shows no signs of quitting, Cichon said.

“She’s just determined — that beats out skill,” he said. “She is determined to learn… and she’s fearless.”

Coleman has been feeding and watering animals from the age of five and showing her sheep and beef cows at up to 14 fairs a year. Her mom, Ivy Coleman, said the family still raises their own food and makes their own soap and bug repellent. It’s not a living — Ivy is a school custodian and Stevie’s father, Stephen Coleman, is a heavy equipment operator. But with their gardens and stock of laying hens, cattle, pigs, sheep and a goat named Charlie, the family tries to be as self reliant as possible, Ivy Coleman said.

Stevie attended local schools and graduated last year from Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, where she wrestled, ran track and played basketball, softball and soccer. She had hefted heavy sheep shears since she was little, her father said, and none of her high school hoops opponents could get the ball away from her.

Stephen Coleman had boxed a bit in his youth and he and a partner started a boxing club in Coleman’s barn in 1998. Stevie’s four brothers all learned to box in the hayloft gym.

So when Stevie said she would like to learn, Stephen Coleman said he told her, “Ok, let’s see how much you like it.” He gave her the basics and started her on a training regimen — jump-roping, bag work, running.

At first, Ivy Coleman said, she and her husband thought their daughter’s interest in the sport was just a phase, but Stevie kept at it.

“She just reshaped herself; she wants to be a fighter,” Ivy Coleman said.

“She fell in love with it,” Stephen Coleman said.

Stevie started formal training in Hartford at age 15 and about two months ago began working with Cichon at her father’s suggestion.

“It was like an instant connection,” she said. “He’s the real deal. He wouldn’t bull—- me.”

She is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and fights in the 152-pound open class. Bouts have been on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Coleman said she will continue training and fighting with the goal of going professional at age 21. She also is due to complete the massage therapy program at the American Institute in West Hartford in September.

Asked if she is ever scared in the ring, Coleman said, “I really don’t get nervous. If you train hard, you don’t have to be worried.”

She sticks with the sport, in part because it provides “an escape from everything else.” When she’s in the ring, Coleman said, her focus is complete.

“She’s wicked tough,” Ivy Coleman said. “She’s a beautiful girl.”

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at [email protected]

COLUMBIA — A bobcat bit a man and then aggressively approached his neighbor, who had to beat the growling, hissing animal before it left his garage, local and state officials and one of the residents involved said Tuesday.

A neighbor of the victim who was hauling a generator out of his garage due to a power failure said he heard screaming and soon after saw the bobcat near his own house. The 70-year-old man, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified, said he was on crutches due to a broken right ankle. The bobcat walked into the garage and approached within about 4 feet.

The man said he hit the animal 10 or 12 times with his crutches as he put weight on the broken ankle for the first time since October. The cat was growling, hissing, and swatting at the crutches as the man and his wife yelled at it. She threw a piece of plywood at the animal, and it sauntered away, the woman said.

"It was in no hurry," she said.

In another incident, Walter said, DEEP notified local animal control that a man walking a dog in Mono State Park reported a bobcat approached "uncomfortably close" Friday, prompting him to leave the park. Walter said he did not know if it was the same animal that bit the man on nearby Hunt Road. The town alerted residents about the attack via an email and on the town website and Facebook page.

Bobcat attacks are rare in Connecticut and usually are due to a sick animal. The cats typically steer clear of humans.

Considered a threat to livestock and game, bobcats were subject to a bounty in the state from 1935 to 1971. Since being named a protected species in 1972, the cats have been resurgent across Connecticut. A DEEP biologist estimated the statewide population in 2019 at 800 to 1,000.

Bobcats are adept at finding scrubby habitats, even in densely populated areas, where they hunt squirrels, rats, turkeys, rabbits, woodchucks and other prey. Their territory often includes wetlands and brushy areas, even along highways and rail lines.

In the first half of this year, nearly 2,500 bobcat sightings were reported to DEEP from just about every town in the state. People might not see them, but they are there, lurking in shadows, tall grasses and thick brush, waiting to pounce on prey, state wildlife biologist Jason Hawley told Hearst Connecticut Media in July.

Females grow to about 20 pounds, while males can weigh up to 35 pounds. The Columbia residents said the cat they confronted in their garage was on the larger side. Hawley said bobcats don’t hunt house pets, which is generally the work of coyotes.

Rabid bobcats, however, do come after pets and people. In January 2021, Southbury animal control reported that a rabid cat attacked two people and their dog. Officials said the dog was up to date on its rabies vaccinations.

In the summer of 2020, a bobcat attacked a family’s dog in Preston, then entered their home, according to Fox61. When they were unable to get the bobcat out of the house, officials euthanized the animal. The bobcat tested positive for rabies, according to the Day of New London.

In December 2019, a 12-year-old boy in Fairfield was in his backyard when he was attacked by what was believed to be a bobcat. The animal ran into the woods after the boy suffered a minor finger scratch and a torn shirt, police said at the time.

In April 2019, a golfer at the Mohegan Sun golf course was injured by a bobcat. Officials said the bobcat also attacked a horse. The animal was euthanized and tested positive for rabies.

Middle school bullies sparked Stevie Coleman’s interest in boxing.

Coleman grew up on a family farm in Eastern Connecticut and some boys at school called her something akin to a stupid hayseed.

“I actually punched one of them,” she said.

She told her father about it and he said she could vent her anger and defend herself by learning to box.

Now at age 19, Coleman is an up and coming amateur fighter with a 7-3 record, a good jab and the drive to go far, her coach, Paul Cichon of Manchester Ring of Champions Society (ROCS), said.

“She’s got a lot going for her. She’s fast, strong, definitely determined,” Cichon said. “And she’s just a good person. She’s a beast when the bell rings, but when she gets out of the ring, she’s just a sweet person.”

The work ethic that Coleman absorbed on the farm has served her well in training, Cichon said. In stark contrast to many boxing wannabes whose interest dissolves when they see how hard they have to train, Stevie shows no signs of quitting, Cichon said.

“She’s just determined — that beats out skill,” he said. “She is determined to learn… and she’s fearless.”

Coleman has been feeding and watering animals from the age of five and showing her sheep and beef cows at up to 14 fairs a year. Her mom, Ivy Coleman, said the family still raises their own food and makes their own soap and bug repellent. It’s not a living — Ivy is a school custodian and Stevie’s father, Stephen Coleman, is a heavy equipment operator. But with their gardens and stock of laying hens, cattle, pigs, sheep and a goat named Charlie, the family tries to be as self reliant as possible, Ivy Coleman said.

Stevie attended local schools and graduated last year from Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, where she wrestled, ran track and played basketball, softball and soccer. She had hefted heavy sheep shears since she was little, her father said, and none of her high school hoops opponents could get the ball away from her.

Stephen Coleman had boxed a bit in his youth and he and a partner started a boxing club in Coleman’s barn in 1998. Stevie’s four brothers all learned to box in the hayloft gym.

So when Stevie said she would like to learn, Stephen Coleman said he told her, “Ok, let’s see how much you like it.” He gave her the basics and started her on a training regimen — jump-roping, bag work, running.

At first, Ivy Coleman said, she and her husband thought their daughter’s interest in the sport was just a phase, but Stevie kept at it.

“She just reshaped herself; she wants to be a fighter,” Ivy Coleman said.

“She fell in love with it,” Stephen Coleman said.

Stevie started formal training in Hartford at age 15 and about two months ago began working with Cichon at her father’s suggestion.

“It was like an instant connection,” she said. “He’s the real deal. He wouldn’t bull—- me.”

She is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and fights in the 152-pound open class. Bouts have been on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Coleman said she will continue training and fighting with the goal of going professional at age 21. She also is due to complete the massage therapy program at the American Institute in West Hartford in September.

Asked if she is ever scared in the ring, Coleman said, “I really don’t get nervous. If you train hard, you don’t have to be worried.”

She sticks with the sport, in part because it provides “an escape from everything else.” When she’s in the ring, Coleman said, her focus is complete.

“She’s wicked tough,” Ivy Coleman said. “She’s a beautiful girl.”

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at [email protected]