“THE SCOREBOARD”
NBA PLAYOFFS
Eastern Conference
All times Eastern Standard Time
• Game 1: Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Tuesday, May 7 (7 ET, TNT)
• Game 2: Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Thursday, May 9 (7 ET, ESPN)
• Game 3: Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Saturday, May 11 (8:30 ET, ABC)
• Game 4: Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Monday, May 13 (7 ET, TNT)
• Game 5: Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Wednesday, May 15 (TBD, TNT) *
• Game 6: Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Friday, May 17 (TBD, ESPN) *
• Game 7: Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Sunday, May 19 (TBD, TBD) *
Series tied 0-0
* = If necessary
• Game 1: Pacers vs. Knicks, Monday, May 6 (7:30 ET, TNT)
• Game 2: Pacers vs. Knicks, Wednesday, May 8 (8 ET, TNT)
• Game 3: Knicks vs. Pacers, Friday, May 10 (7 ET, ESPN)
• Game 4: Knicks vs. Pacers, Sunday, May 12 (3:30 ET, ABC)
• Game 5: Pacers vs. Knicks, Tuesday, May 14 (TBD, TNT) *
• Game 6: Knicks vs. Pacers, Friday, May 17 (TBD, ESPN) *
• Game 7: Pacers vs. Knicks, Sunday, May 19 (TBD, TBD) *
Series tied 0-0
* = If necessary
Western Conference
All times Eastern Standard Time
(1) Oklahoma City vs. (5) Dallas
• Game 1: Mavericks vs. Thunder, Tuesday, May 7 (9:30 ET, TNT)
• Game 2: Mavericks vs. Thunder, Thursday, May 9 (9:30 ET, ESPN)
• Game 3: Thunder vs. Mavericks, Saturday, May 11 (3:30 ET, ABC)
• Game 4: Thunder vs. Mavericks, Monday, May 13 (9:30 ET, TNT)
• Game 5: Mavericks vs. Thunder, Wednesday, May 15 (TBD, TNT) *
• Game 6: Thunder vs. Mavericks, Saturday, May 18 (8:30 ET, ESPN) *
• Game 7: Mavericks vs. Thunder, Monday, May 20 (8:30 ET, TNT) *
Series tied 0-0
* = If necessary
• Game 1: Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 99
• Game 2: Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, Monday, May 6 (10 ET, TNT)
• Game 3: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Friday, May 10 (9:30 ET, ESPN)
• Game 4: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Sunday, May 12 (8 ET, TNT)
• Game 5: Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, Tuesday, May 14 (TBD, TNT) *
• Game 6: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Thursday, May 16 (8:30, ESPN) *
• Game 7: Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, Sunday, May 19 (TBD, TBD) *
Minnesota leads series 1-0
* = If necessary
NHL PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Date Time (ET) Florida [A1] vs. Boston [A2] Networks
Monday, May 6 8 p.m. Boston at Florida ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Wednesday, May 8 7:30 p.m. Boston at Florida ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Friday, May 10 7 p.m. Florida at Boston TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS
Sunday, May 12 TBD Florida at Boston TBS, MAX, truTV, SN, TVAS
+Tuesday, May 14 TBD Boston at Florida TBD
+Friday, May 17 TBD Florida at Boston TBD
+Sunday, May 19 TBD Boston at Florida TBD
Date Time (ET) NY Rangers [M1] vs. Carolina [M2] Networks
Sunday, May 5 FINAL Carolina 3 @ NY Rangers 4
Tuesday, May 7 7 p.m. Carolina at NY Rangers ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
Thursday, May 9 7 p.m. NY Rangers at Carolina TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS
Saturday, May 11 TBD NY Rangers at Carolina TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS
+Monday, May 13 TBD Carolina at NY Rangers TBD
+Thursday, May 16 TBD NY Rangers at Carolina TBD
+Saturday, May 18 TBD Carolina at NY Rangers TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Date Time (ET) Dallas [C1] vs. Colorado [C3] Networks
Tuesday, May 7 9:30 p.m. Colorado at Dallas ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS
Thursday, May 9 9:30 p.m. Colorado at Dallas TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, TVAS
Saturday, May 11 TBD Dallas at Colorado TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN1, TVAS
Monday, May 13 TBD Dallas at Colorado ESPN, TVAS
+Wednesday, May 15 TBD Colorado at Dallas TBD
+Friday, May 17 TBD Dallas at Colorado TBD
+Sunday, May 19 TBD Colorado at Dallas TBD
Date Time (ET) Vancouver [P1] vs. Edmonton [P2] Networks
Wednesday, May 8 10 p.m. Edmonton at Vancouver SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS, ESPN
Friday, May 10 10 p.m. Edmonton at Vancouver SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS, TNT, MAX, truTV
Sunday, May 12 TBD Vancouver at Edmonton SN, SN360, TVAS, TBS, MAX, truTV
Tuesday, May 14 TBD Vancouver at Edmonton TVAS, ESPN
+Thursday, May 16 TBD Edmonton at Vancouver TBD
+Saturday, May 18 TBD Vancouver at Edmonton TBD
+Monday, May 20 TBD Edmonton at Vancouver TBD
+ if necessary
TBD – To Be Determined
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
PITTSBURGH 5 COLORADO 3
WASHINGTON 11 TORONTO 8
NY YANKEES 5 DETROIT 2
TAMPA BAY 7 NY METS 6
CLEVELAND 4 LA ANGELS 1
BOSTON 9 MINNESOTA 2
TEXAS 3 KANSAS CITY 2
SEATTLE 5 HOUSTON 4
CHICAGO WHITE SOX 5 ST. LOUIS 1
CHICAGO CUBS 5 MILWAUKEE 0
MIAMI 12 OAKLAND 3
ARIZONA 11 SAN DIEGO 4
BALTIMORE 11 CINCINNATI 1
LA DODGERS 5 ATLANTA 1
PHILADELPHIA 5 SAN FRANCISCO 4
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INDIANAPOLIS 8 BUFFALO 3
LAKE COUNTY 6 FT. WAYNE 0
LANSING 8 SOUTH BEND 7
COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES
Notre Dame 8 Pittsburgh 6
Xavier 12 Butler 7
Indiana 5 Purdue 4
Navy 9 Penn State 1
Minnesota 6 Nebraska 2
Illinois 12 Ohio State 2
Iowa 6 Northwestern 5
Michigan 10 Michigan State 8
Milwaukee 7 Purdue Fort Wayne 6
Milwaukee 15 Purdue Fort Wayne 6
Virginia Tech 11 Ohio 2
Akron 8 Central Michigan 5
Western Michigan 11 Bowling Green 0
Toledo 11 Eastern Michigan 1
Ball State 13 Northern Illinois 10
Miami Ohio 9 Kent State 8
Indiana State 6 Belmont 4
Evansville 9 Valparaiso 0
Southern Indiana 13 Southern Illinois Edwardsville 9
COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES
MICHIGAN STATE 2 PURDUE 1
OHIO STATE 2 MICHIGAN 1
IOWA 6 ILLINOIS 5
MINNESOTA 7 NEBRASKA 5
MARYLAND 4 WISCONSIN 3
NORTHWESTERN 4 INDIANA 2
BALL STATE 5 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 2
OHIO 9 BOWLING GREEN 3
TOLEDO 5 BUFFALO 4
MIAMI 5 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 2
OHIO 2 BOWLING GREEN 0
ILLINOIS STATE 4 EVANSVILLE 1
NORTHERN IOWA 4 VALPARAISO 2
SOUTHERN INDIANA 5 WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
UFL
PANTHERS 28 RENEGADES 27
DEFENDERS 18 BRAHMAS 12
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
COLORADO 2 NY CITY 0
LOS ANGELES 0 SEATTLE 0
TOP NATIONAL SPORTS RELEASES AND NEWS REPORTS
NBA NEWS
DONOVAN MITCHELL SCORES 39 POINTS AS CAVALIERS PUSH PAST MAGIC 106-94 IN GAME 7 TO GET BOSTON NEXT
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points, Caris LeVert added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a potentially franchise-shifting loss by rallying for a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday in Game 7 to advance in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Cavs trailed by 18 in the first half and were in danger of being knocked out in the first round for the second year in a row — a scenario that may have led to firings.
But Mitchell, who scored 50 in a Game 6 loss at Orlando and has been battling a left knee injury for months, put the Cavs on his back. He carried them past an up-and-coming-fast Orlando team whose playoff inexperience showed in the second half.
Evan Mobley grabbed 16 rebounds and Darius Garland hit a critical 3-pointer in the fourth for Cleveland, which won its first playoff series without LeBron James since 1993.
The Cavs will now begin the second round on the road against the top-seeded and well-rested Boston Celtics in Game 1 on Tuesday.
In the closing minutes, Cleveland’s towel-waving crowd chanted “We want Boston!” — a matchup that didn’t look likely an hour earlier.
Paolo Banchero scored 38 — just 14 after halftime — and added 16 rebounds to lead the Magic, who grew up in the series but couldn’t figure out how to win in Cleveland as both teams held serve on their floors.
Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs went a combined 3 of 28 from the field.
Down by 10 at halftime, Cleveland raised its defensive intensity in the third quarter and outscoring Orlando 33-15. The Magic went just 4 of 24 from the field in the period and seemed hesitant while waiting Banchero to do more.
The Cavs were up 85-77 in the fourth when Garland, who showed frustration earlier in the half before getting a pep talk on the bench from Mitchell, drained a 3-pointer from the corner to put Cleveland up 11.
After his shot dropped and Orlando called a timeout, a relieved Garland hugged Mitchell, who was acquired in a trade two years ago from Utah to hopefully get Cleveland closer to another championship.
The Cavs took another step with him.
Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed the final three games in the series with a painful rib injury sustained from an errant Magic elbow.
Before he got hurt, Allen was Cleveland’s most consistent player against the Magic, getting 20 rebounds in Game 2 while giving the Cavs a defensive presence underneath to at least deter Orlando drives.
NHL NEWS
RANGERS HOLD ON TO BEAT HURRICANES IN 2ND-ROUND OPENER
NEW YORK (AP) — Mika Zibanejad helped the New York Rangers get off to a strong start in their first game in a week, and they held on to get a big win in their second-round series opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Zibanejad had two goals and an assist, Artemi Panarin also scored and the Rangers beat the Hurricanes 4-3 on Sunday in Game 1.
Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist, and Chris Kreider had two assists as the Rangers, playing for the first time since completing their first-round sweep of Washington one week earlier, won their seventh straight including the regular season.
“We really wanted to have a good start, especially at home, Game 1,” Zibanejad said. “Been off for a few days and been able to rest, and I thought that was most noticeable. Guys were excited to play and when we’re able to score on our chances early on and get a little bit momentum, that was good.”
Igor Shesterkin stopped 22 shots to become the third goalie in franchise history to open a postseason with five straight wins, joining Dave Kerr (1937) and Mike Richter (1994).
“A week out from the last time you played, I thought the start was really good and we followed that through right through the game,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.
Jaccob Slavin, Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis each had a goal for Carolina, which last played Tuesday night when it finished its first-round win against the New York Islanders. Frederik Andersen finished with 19 saves.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night.
The Hurricanes had the second-best power play in the NHL during the season and the top penalty-killing unit. However, they went 0 for 5 with five shots on goals during the advantages against a Rangers team that was third on the PK. New York was 2 for 2 on its power plays that totaled 23 seconds.
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. ”On a couple of (penalty) kills we didn’t quite execute right and they did. … We were just a step off and that’s the difference. It’s tough because we played pretty hard. Overall, as the game went on we got a little better.”
Necas got in alone on Shesterkin early in the third period and quickly put it through the goalie’s legs to pull the Hurricanes to 3-2 at 2:48.
Panarin beat Andersen from the left circle at 8:21 to restore the Rangers’ two-goal lead. It was his third of the playoffs after finishing with a career-high 49 in the regular season.
Carolina pulled Andersen for an extra skater with 3 minutes to go, and Jarvis scored from the left side with 1:45 remaining.
Shesterkin made a glove save on Andrei Svechnikov with just under a minute remaining to preserve the Rangers’ lead.
Jacob Trouba was sent off for cross-checking 2 1/2 minutes into the second period. The Hurricanes got one shot on goal during the advantage. After the penalty expired, the Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal had a breakaway but his attempt was gloved aside by Shesterkin.
The Hurricanes got another power play with 4:46 left in the period, but did not get a shot on goal during the advantage. ‘
Zibanejad got the Rangers on the scoreboard on the game’s first shot on goal 2:46 into the game. Jack Roslovic skated around the back of the net and sent a pass in front and Zibanejad put it past Andersen.’
Slavin tied it 1:02 later on the Hurricanes’ first shot as he fired a shot from the left point that bounced and went over Shesterkin’s right shoulder.
Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei sent a shot off the right post 20 seconds later.
The Hurricanes got the first power play of the day when Kreider was sent off for boarding at 6:14. A little more than a minute later, Necas skated in on Shesterkin from the right side and hit the left post.
New York went on the power play midway through the period when former Ranger Tony DeAngelo was sent off for roughing. New York needed just 9 seconds to take advantage as Kreider got the puck on the right doorstep and sent a no-look pass to the left to Zibanejad, who fired it in.
The Rangers got their second power play with 3:46 remaining, and needed just 14 seconds to score as Trocheck backhanded the rebound of Zibanejad’s shot in front past Andersen to make it 3-1.
“First game, new round and the crowd was into it,” Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said. “We need a better start.”
It was Trocheck’s fourth of the playoffs and gave him a goal in four straight games and a point in five straight.
“He’s somebody that we just count on for both sides of the puck, offensively and defensively,” Laviolette said. “Tonight was more just a reflection of the regular season.”
Zibanejad has an 11-game point streak, including the regular season, with five goals and 13 assists in the stretch. Roslovic extended his point streak to six games.
RADEK FAKSA SCORES IN RETURN, STARS OUST DEFENDING STANLEY CUP CHAMP GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2-1 IN GAME 7
DALLAS (AP) — Radek Faksa made a promise to his 2 1/2-year-old son when they were playing together before the Dallas Stars took the ice for Game 7.
Faksa did indeed score in his return to the lineup after missing four games because of an undisclosed injury. His go-ahead goal came on a backhander 44 seconds into the third period, after his son had been taken home, and Dallas beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Sunday night to wrap up the first-round series.
“I’m happy I did,” Faksa said. “And so I can show him the video in the morning, and we can watch it together.”
Only captain Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have played longer for the Stars than Faksa, a fourth-liner in his ninth season who got his goal from the circle to the left of goalie Adin Hill. Dallas also got another Game 7 goal from 20-year-old Wyatt Johnston.
Jake Oettinger had 21 saves in his second Game 7 victory. He also had the Stars’ only penalty, though they killed that off after he was called for tripping Ivan Barbashev in front of the net midway through the third.
“The last period was a clinic. Just so proud of the guys of how we responded,” Oettinger said. “It’s a long playoffs and you’re going to need different guys to step up at different times. A lot of hockey left so hopefully a lot more heroes. It’s going to be a run ride.”
The Stars, the No. 1 seed in the West, move on to play well-rested Colorado in the second round. Game 1 is in Dallas on Tuesday night, a week after the Avalanche wrapped up their series against Winnipeg with a Game 5 victory.
Brett Howden scored for Vegas, which couldn’t pull off another series winner in Dallas, where last year the Knights wrapped up the Western Conference Final with a win in Game 6. Hill had 22 saves in his third game of this series after Logan Thompson started the first four.
The visitor won the first four games in this series until the home teams held serve the last three games.
“There’s probably a lot of doubters out there. After Game 2, they probably thought we couldn’t come back,” Benn said. “A lot of believers in this room, in this organization. And we showed ’em.”
Dallas has won Game 7s in each of its first two postseasons for coach Pete DeBoer, who is now 8-0 in his career in such games with four different teams. That includes the Knights’ only Game 7 wins in 2020 and 2021 when he was their coach.
Johnston scored his series-high fourth goal on a wrister from the top of the slot with 5:26 left in the first period after picking off a clearing pass by Shea Theodore that his teammate, Tomas Hertl, missed when taking a twisting swipe at it.
A day after his 20th birthday last May, Johnston became the youngest player in NHL history with a game-clinching goal in a Game 7. He gathered a puck that ricocheted off the back boards in the third period of the Stars’ 2-1 win over Seattle in that second-round series.
The goal Sunday against came in quick succession after Vegas had two scoring chances. Oettinger made a tough save to deny Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault then shot the rebound off the left post, and got a hit on Johnston before the Dallas youngster skated to the other end and scored about 10 seconds later.
“I think a couple of our players will probably not sleep tonight, because if you look at what transpired in the game,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We hit a post, take them down, they score 10 seconds later. We miss an open net at the end of the second, and they score on the first shift of the third. … It’s a little bit of hockey sometimes when two close teams play.”
The series ended with both teams scoring 16 goals.
Vegas, which returned 22 of its 27 players from the Stanley Cup-winning roster, tied it in the second period when Michael Amadio made a crossing pass to Howden, who poked the puck into the open left side of the net behind Oettinger.
The only coach other than DeBoer to win eight Game 7s is Darryl Sutter, who was 8-3 in such games over 182 playoff games over 15 postseasons with four teams.
The Knights are 2-2 in Game 7s. DeBoer was also the opposing coach in their other loss, to San Jose in 2019.
It was only the second time of 16 that the Stars won a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games. The only other was the very first playoff series in franchise history, when the Minnesota North Stars were down 0-2 before beating the Los Angeles Kings in seven games to open the 1968 playoffs.
BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: RED SOX EXTINGUISH TWINS’ 12-GAME WIN STREAK
Ceddanne Rafaela and Rafael Devers hit two-run home runs and the Boston Red Sox pulled away for a 9-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Vaughn Grissom and Dominic Smith added two-run doubles for Boston, which avoided a three-game sweep in the series finale. Rob Refsnyder had an RBI double.
Ryan Jeffers hit a solo home run for the Twins, whose 12-game winning streak ended. Trevor Larnach went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Minnesota lost for the first time since falling at home on April 21 against the Detroit Tigers. The 12-game winning streak was the Twins’ longest since a franchise-best 15-game streak in 1991.
Red Sox left-hander Brennan Bernardino (1-1) earned the win out of the bullpen after recording the final two outs of the fifth inning. Minnesota starter Joe Ryan (1-2) gave up three runs on four hits in six innings.
Rays 7, Mets 6 (10 innings)
Jonny DeLuca’s walk-off, two-run triple in extra innings propelled Tampa Bay to a win and a series sweep of New York in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Jake Diekman (1-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit in the extra inning for New York, which has lost three straight and five of its past seven. The Mets had gone ahead 6-5 in the top of the 10th, as Harrison Bader scored when Brandon Nimmo reached on a missed-catch error by first baseman Yandy Diaz.
Randy Arozarena tied it at 5-5 for the Rays in the ninth with a two-out solo home run to left-center field. Rays reliever Erasmo Ramirez (1-0) got the win.
Dodgers 5, Braves 1
Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs, Teoscar Hernandez also went deep and left-hander James Paxton pitched into the seventh inning as host Los Angeles finished off a three-game sweep of Atlanta.
Paxton (4-0) gave up a run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts and two walks.
Marcell Ozuna hit a home run and Max Fried (2-1) gave up four runs on four hits over seven innings after delivering a complete-game shutout and six no-hit innings in his previous two starts.
Yankees 5, Tigers 2 (8 innings)
Juan Soto hit a go-ahead, three-run double in the seventh and host New York completed a three-game series sweep by defeating Detroit in a game that was called early due to rain.
Aaron Judge homered one day after his first career ejection. Oswaldo Cabrera added two hits and an RBI. Yankees starter Nestor Cortes was charged with two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings while recording nine strikeouts, and Victor Gonzalez (2-1) picked up the win in relief.
Detroit starter Tarik Skubal struck out a career-high 12 in six innings while allowing two runs and six hits. Spencer Torkelson had two doubles and an RBI to lead the Tigers’ offense. Shelby Miller (3-4), Detroit’s second pitcher, took the loss.
Nationals 11, Blue Jays 8
Eddie Rosario’s seventh-inning two-run homer broke an 8-8 tie and host Washington went on to beat Toronto.
Luis Garcia Jr. had four hits, including a home run, and drove in four runs while Jesse Winker had a three-run homer and a double for the Nationals, who took two of three games from Toronto.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a grand slam for the Blue Jays, who have lost four of their past five. Alek Manoah, making his first start in the majors since last August, was given a 6-1 lead but could not hold it. He went four innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits.
Pirates 5, Rockies 3
Oneil Cruz doubled and hit a two-run homer as Pittsburgh rallied from an early deficit to edge visiting Colorado in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Rowdy Tellez, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jack Suwinski each drove in a run for Pittsburgh, which trailed 3-0 after two innings. Pirates starter Bailey Falter allowed three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings before Luis L. Ortiz (2-1) followed with 1 2/3 perfect innings.
Jacob Stallings and Sean Bouchard hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning for the Rockies. Bouchard, Elias Diaz and Brendan Rodgers each had two hits.
Guardians 4, Angels 1
Jose Ramirez hit a slump-busting, go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth, then scored two innings later on Josh Naylor’s home run as Cleveland downed visiting Los Angeles.
Mired in an 0-for-19 drought, Ramirez crushed the 10th pitch of his at-bat against Los Angeles starter Griffin Canning (1-4) well over the right-center-field wall to put Cleveland ahead 2-1. It was the sixth homer of the season for Ramirez.
Cole Tucker had a pair of hits for Los Angeles, which has dropped 13 of its past 16 and fell to 3-25 at Cleveland since the start of the 2015 season.
Mariners 5, Astros 4
Cal Raleigh slugged a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning as Seattle rallied to knock off host Houston in the rubber match of a three-game series, claiming its sixth consecutive series win.
Raleigh homered for the second time in as many games, drilling a sinker from Astros closer Josh Hader (1-3) for his eighth home run of the year. The Mariners rallied from a 4-3 deficit after coughing up a three-run lead. Andres Munoz (2-2) recorded the final four outs to secure the victory.
Kyle Tucker and Jon Singleton hit two-run homers for the Astros. Singleton and Jose Altuve had two hits apiece.
Rangers 3, Royals 2 (10 innings)
Nathaniel Lowe delivered a 10th-inning RBI single, lifting visiting Texas to a victory over Kansas City.
The Rangers rallied with single tallies in the eighth and ninth to tie the game at 2-2. With one out in the top of the 10th, Lowe lined a 1-2 pitch into center field to score Leody Taveras with the go-ahead run, completing the come-from-behind win.
The Royals grabbed a 2-0 lead, as their first four hits went for extra bases against Texas starter Jon Gray. Bobby Witt Jr. tripled and scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s sacrifice fly in the first to open the scoring. With two outs in the third, Witt and Pasquantino hit consecutive doubles.
White Sox 5, Cardinals 1
Paul DeJong had two doubles, two runs and an RBI against his old team as visiting Chicago defeated St. Louis.
Eloy Jimenez hit a solo homer and Bryan Ramos got his first career RBI for the White Sox, who won two of three games to earn their second series victory of the season.
Willson Contreras hit a solo home run for the Cardinals, who mustered just four hits while losing for the fourth time in five games.
Cubs 5, Brewers 0
Nico Hoerner sparked a three-run fifth inning to break a scoreless stalemate while Javier Assad pitched six shutout innings in Chicago’s victory over visiting Milwaukee.
Dansby Swanson added his fourth home run of the season as the Cubs took the three-game series 2-1. Assad (3-0) gave up just four hits and three walks, striking out four.
Milwaukee only had five hits on the afternoon as Chicago posted its third shutout win of the year. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (3-1) was pulled after five innings. He allowed three runs on three hits, with five strikeouts and six walks.
Marlins 12, Athletics 3
Nick Gordon collected two singles, a double and a home run, drove in three runs and scored twice as Miami avoided an interleague series sweep at the hands of host Oakland.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Jesus Sanchez and Christian Bethancourt all scored a pair of runs for the Marlins, who rebounded from a 20-4 shellacking by the streaking A’s one day earlier. Burch Smith (2-0), who worked a scoreless fifth in relief of Sixto Sanchez, was credited with the win.
Gordon’s homer capped a four-run first against Athletics starter Joe Boyle (2-5), who completed the inning but then left because of back soreness. Boyle set up the big frame by walking the first three batters of the game, throwing nine straight balls in one stretch.
Diamondbacks 11, Padres 4
Jake McCarthy went 3-for-4 with three runs as Arizona topped San Diego in Phoenix to avoid being swept in a three-game series.
McCarthy was one of five Diamondbacks to drive in two runs, with Ketel Marte and Joc Pederson contributing two-run home runs. Arizona had lost eight of its past 11, while San Diego had a four-game winning streak snapped.
The Padres’ Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer for his second long ball of his rookie season. Luis Arraez went 1-for-5 in his second game with San Diego.
Orioles 11, Reds 1
Dean Kremer allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings as visiting Baltimore completed a three-game sweep of punchless Cincinnati.
Kremer (3-2) was the latest Orioles pitcher to blank an anemic Cincinnati offense, allowing only a sharp single in the fifth, followed by a walk, to win his third straight start. Baltimore’s Anthony Santander belted his third career grand slam, had three hits and drove in five, while Jordan Westburg and Ryan McKenna added homers.
For the second straight contest, the Reds avoided a shutout in the ninth and have scored a total of just eight runs in losing five straight games.
Phillies 5, Giants 4
Bryce Harper hit a three-run home run and J.T. Realmuto had three hits to lead Philadelphia to a win over visiting San Francisco.
Alec Bohm doubled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 18 games for the Phillies, who won their fifth straight game and are 9-1 over their past 10. Philadelphia has won the first three contests of the four-game series and owns the best record in baseball at 24-11.
Thairo Estrada smacked a two-run homer for the Giants, who have lost five of their past six games. San Francisco ace Logan Webb (3-3) allowed five runs (four earned) and six hits over four innings.
GOLF NEWS
TAYLOR PENDRITH OUTLASTS BEN KOHLES AT BYRON NELSON FOR MAIDEN WIN
Taylor Pendrith of Canada birdied the par-5 18th hole to beat Ben Kohles and win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in a dramatic finish on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
Pendrith was stuck on 22 under for five straight holes, parring Nos. 13-17 while playing partner Kohles made impressive birdies at the 16th and 17th greens to tie and then pass him for the lead.
But Kohles missed the 18th fairway and came up short of the green, landing between two bunkers. He couldn’t get his third shot up onto the green, and once he finally did, he missed a 5-foot par save. That reopened the door for Pendrith, whose lag putt from 41 feet left him 3 feet for the winning birdie and his first career PGA Tour victory.
Pendrith posted a final-round 67 to go 23-under 261 for the week. Kohles’ 66 powered him to the runner-up finish, and Swedish veteran Alex Noren placed third at 21 under after a Sunday 65.
SCOTT DUNLAP WINS INSPERITY INVITATIONAL AFTER WEATHER KOS FINAL ROUND
Scott Dunlap recorded his second career PGA Tour Champions victory after weather affecting the greater Houston area both overnight and Sunday morning forced the cancellation of the third round at the Insperity Invitational.
In accordance with the tour’s regulations, the results of the first 36 holes would stand as final.
The field was forced to play those 36 holes on Saturday after Friday’s action was postponed due to rain accumulation at The Woodlands Country Club.
Dunlap’s victory was his first on the PGA Tour Champions since the 2014 Boeing Classic.
He carded a 7-under-par 65 through his first 18 holes before polishing off his Saturday with a 2-under showing. His 9-under 135 was one stroke better than the total of both Joe Durant and Australian Stuart Appleby.
Dunlap didn’t card a bogey until his 33rd hole of the day — the par-5 sixth. He also had one at the par-4 ninth to close his second round.
Defending champion Steven Alker of Australia and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand finished in a tie for fourth at 7-under, one stroke side ahead of Canadian Mike Weir.
Champions legend Bernhard Langer, in his first start since tearing his Achilles on Feb. 1, finished in a tie for 31st at 1-under 143 after shooting rounds of 69 and 74. He has won the Insperity Invitational four times.
Durant said after play Saturday that he was glad to get the two rounds in, but he foreshadowed that there might not be a third one.
“Just a long day,” Durant told the Houston Chronicle after two rounds of 4-under 68s. “I’m just amazed we were able to play quite honestly with the amount of rain we’ve had. Hope we get to play one more round, but we’ll see. Mother Nature wins every time.”
NASCAR NEWS
KYLE LARSON BEATS CHRIS BUESCHER BY 0.001 SECONDS IN KANSAS THRILLER
Kyle Larson made the decisive move off Turn 4 and nipped Chris Buescher at the finish line Sunday, earning the checkers in a historic photo-finish NASCAR overtime to win the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.
Larson beat Buescher by 0.001 seconds — officially the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.
Denny Hamlin led with seven laps to go when fifth-place Kyle Busch spun for the race’s seventh caution, five of them coming for incidents in Stage 3.
After the top eight cars took two tires in the pits, Larson passed Hamlin in the two-lap shootout, went high on Buescher’s No. 17 and edged Buescher for his second win this season and 25th of his career.
It was Chevrolet’s seventh win and kept Ford winless in 2024.
Finishing the top five were Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Hamlin.
After a three-hour rain delay, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota led a front row with Ross Chastain, whose No. 1 Chevrolet took the lead early from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
Hamlin, last week’s winner, asserted himself with about 15 laps to go, swiped the lead from Larson and took the point. It was his 16th consecutive race leading at least one lap.
The JGR driver went on to beat Chastain and Larson to score Stage 1’s full bonus points on Lap 80, his third segment win of 2024.
In nearly full sunshine and on a warmer track after the earlier rain, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports car came alive and pulled away from the field in the second stage before green-flag pit stops began on Lap 118.
Despite a slow pit stop with a problem on the left front tire change, Larson rebounded to chase down Buescher in the closing laps, but the No. 17 RFK Racing driver held on for his first stage win while Larson’s No. 5 and Hamlin’s No. 11 followed.
However, Buescher had two problems on his pit stop — two of his crew members were over the wall too soon and his tear-off stuck on his Ford’s roof — sending him to the back of the field.
The 267-lap race’s first accident occurred in Turn 1 when Jimmie Johnson, Corey LaJoie and Austin Hill tangled on Lap 176.
The fourth caution flew shortly after the next restart when Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell wrecked on the backstretch.
Harrison Burton and Joey Logano were involved in single-car incidents for the next two yellows.
FORMULA ONE NEWS
LANDO NORRIS OUTDUELS MAX VERSTAPPEN TO WIN MIAMI GRAND PRIX
Lando Norris took advantage of a timely caution, scored his first career victory and handed Max Verstappen his first South Florida defeat, taking the win Sunday in the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Fla.
After the rest of the field pitted before the halfway point, Norris stayed out until Lap 30 after Landon Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen collided in Turn 3, bringing out the safety car.
Norris, 24, pulled away from Verstappen by 1.5 seconds two laps into the restart and eventually grew the lead to over five seconds with 10 circuits remaining.
He beat Verstappen by 7.612 seconds for his first win in 110 career starts for McLaren.
Norris’ win broke Verstappen’s six-race winning streak in the U.S.
Verstappen failed to win in the Miami Grand Prix for the first time in its three races.
Charles Leclerq, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez rounded out the top five.
Round 6 of the 2024 F1 World Championship opened with a near-miss right away.
Polesitter Verstappen had a poor start to begin the 57-lap event and watched teammate Perez pull away as they sped into Turn 1.
However, the Mexican driver overcharged the turn and pushed up — nearly clipping the rear of Verstappen’s car — and relinquished the lead.
Verstappen held the point through the first circuit, marking yet another first-lap lead.
The last time the Dutch driver did not lead Lap 1 was Oct. 22 in Austin, Texas.
TOP INDIANA SPORTS RELEASES AND NEWS REPORTS
INDIANA PACERS
GAME PREVIEW: PACERS VS KNICKS (GAME 1)
One of the most historic NBA Eastern Conference playoff rivalries is set to start its next chapter.
After advancing past the Milwaukee Bucks to start their 2024 playoff run, the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers will take on the No. 2 New York Knicks in Game 1 of the East Semifinals on Monday at Madison Square Garden.
PLAYOFF CENTRAL: Follow Indiana’s Postseason Run at Pacers.com/Playoffs >>
In the first round, both the Pacers and Knicks held home court to keep their championship aspirations alive.
Indiana beat Milwaukee 4-2 to open its postseason, including a game-clinching 120-98 win on Thursday in Indianapolis. The Pacers claimed a Game 2 road victory in the seven-game series before winning their final three games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
New York also clinched its first-round series 4-2 on Thursday, as the Knicks eliminated reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid and the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers 118-115. The Knicks’ lone road win came in Game 4, and just one point separated the Knicks and Sixers when their series closed.
Indiana and New York play two different styles on the hardwood: the Pacers like to play fast and free-flowing action while the Knicks rely on half-court sets and gritty defense.
The Pacers led the NBA in pace for almost the entire regular season, while the Knicks finished last. Additionally, the Pacers had the No. 1 scoring offense (123.3 points per game), while the Knicks gave up the second-fewest points nightly (108.2).
Indiana won its regular season series with the Knicks 2-1, which included a 14-point win at MSG on Feb. 10 and a 140-126 victory on Dec. 30. Ne York’s lone win was a close contest, 109-105, on Feb. 1 at MSG.
Two All-Star guards in the East will face off in the series, as Pacers maestro Tyrese Haliburton will continue to command the Blue & Gold while high-volume scorer Jalen Brunson will lead the Knicks.
RELATED: New Faces Take Center Stage as Pacers, Knicks Renew Postseason Rivalry >>
Haliburton averaged 16 points, 9.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds across 36.3 minutes in his first-ever playoff series. His most memorable outing was a triple-double performance — where he also hit the game-winning shot — in an overtime win over the Bucks in Game 3.
Brunson is coming off a historic series against the Sixers, as he averaged 35.5 points and 9.0 assists per game in six contests — making him the first player since Michael Jordan in 1993 with at least 39 points in four straight playoff games. His 35.5 points per game in the first round are the most by a Knicks player in franchise playoff history, and in the Knicks’ game-clinching Game 6 win against the Sixers, Brunson finished with 41 points and 12 assists.
Pacers second-year guard Andrew Nembhard and starting forward Aaron Nesmith will likely be tasked with guarding Brunson. In the first round, Nembhard slowed down All-Star MVP guard Damian Lillard and Nesmith trailed sharpshooter Khris Middleton.
Former Indiana University standout OG Anunoby, who was acquired by the Knicks midseason from Toronto, will likely pick up the responsibilities of guarding Haliburton and his former teammate Pascal Siakam. Anunoby didn’t play against the Pacers during the regular season, as he dealt with an elbow injury.
Siakam will look to remain steady in the semis, coming off a series in which he averaged 22.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Throughout the playoffs, Siakam — who won a championship with the Raptors in 2019 — has served as one of the most vital voices in the Pacers locker room thus far, helping the young group not get too high or low following wins and losses.
A key area of concern for the Pacers will be on the glass, as the Knicks ranked No. 1 in offensive rebounding while the Pacers finished 28th overall on the boards.
Inside, Pacers center Myles Turner and Siakam will battle with Knicks 7-footers Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson. Turner was sensational for much of the first-round series against Milwaukee, averaging 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, while Hartenstein (10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks) and Robinson (7.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks) provided a dominant presence in the paint for the Knicks.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle and Knicks skipper Tom Thibodeau approached their bench units much differently during the season, which has bled into the playoffs. The Blue & Gold often rely on depth, at minimum putting out eight players in each game, while the Knicks typically play heavy minutes with their starters.
RELATED: A Pacers-Knicks Playoff History Primer >>
Indiana will hope the solid Game 6 play of second unit players Obi Toppin —who was traded from the Knicks to the Pacers in July — and T.J. McConnell will carry over into their series with the Knicks. After an up-and-down start to the playoffs, Toppin logged a team-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and McConnell supplied a personal playoff best 20 points and nine assists — the first Pacers bench duo to ever record 20 points each in a playoff game.
On the injury front, New York will be without former Pacer Bojan Bogdanovic (foot) and All-Star forward Julius Randle (shoulder) in the series. The Knicks have been without Randle since January, and Bogdanovic’s injury occurred during Game 4 against the Sixers.
New York will host Games 1 and 2 on Monday and Wednesday before the series shifts to Indianapolis. The Pacers will host Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Andrew Nembhard, F – Aaron Nesmith, F – Pascal Siakam, C – Myles Turner
Knicks: G – Jalen Brunson, G – Donte DiVincenzo, F – Josh Hart, F – OG Anunoby, C – Isaiah Hartenstein
Injury Report
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton – questionable (lower back spasms), Bennedict Mathurin – out (right shoulder labral tear)
Knicks: Bojan Bogdanovic – out (left foot surgery), Julius Randle – out (right shoulder surgery)
Last Meeting
Feb. 10, 2024: Myles Turner scored 23 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting night to lead the Pacers past the Knicks 125-111 at Madison Square Garden.
The Pacers led 61-58 at halftime and didn’t give up the lead in the final 24 minutes.
Indiana shot a superb 61 percent from the field, while the Knicks made 47.6 percent of their shots. The Pacers also won the rebounding margin 41-32 and points in the paint differential 62-54.
After Turner, Tyrese Haliburton logged 22 points and 12 assists and Pascal Siakam chipped in 19 points and six rebounds for the Blue & Gold.
Jalen Brunson topped New York with 39 points (14-for-25 shooting) and Alec Burks scored 22 points off the bench for the Knicks. Knicks 7-footers Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson both didn’t play due to injuries.
Noteworthy
- The Pacers are playing in their first Eastern Conference Semifinals since 2014.
- Indiana and New York are entering their eighth ever playoff series against each other. The Pacers have won four of their seven series thus far against the Knicks all-time, including their last two (2000, 2013).
- Indiana owns a 22-19 postseason record against New York.
- Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle coached Jalen Brunson on the Dallas Mavericks from 2018 to 2021.
- Pascal Siakam (27th, 2016) and OG Anunoby (23rd, 2017) both were drafted by Toronto and played for the Raptors until they were traded this past season to the Pacers and Knicks. They won a championship together in 2019.
- The Pacers had an assist/turnover ratio of 3.07 against the Bucks, the highest mark for any team in any series in at least the last 30 years.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: TNT – Broadcasters TBA
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Tickets
The Pacers will host the Knicks for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 10. Find Tickets >>
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANS BULLPEN FLOURISHES IN SERIES-CLINCHING VICTORY
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians tallied three runs in the first inning to defeat the Buffalo Bisons in Sunday’s series finale at Victory Field, 8-3. The Indians are now 13-5 at home with three series wins.
Following an RBI single by Orelvis Martinez to give Buffalo (18-14), an early lead, Indianapolis took over in its first chance at the plate. Nick Gonzales smacked a line-drive double off former Indian Beau Sulser (L, 0-1) to jumpstart the offense, his first of two doubles in the game. He then scored on a sacrifice fly courtesy of Malcom Nuñez. Two batters later, Matt Gorski singled home Jake Lamb to take the lead.
In the fourth, the Indians (16-14) boosted their lead after a Bisons pitching change when Luis Quinones allowed Dustin Peterson to score on a wild pitch. Gonzales followed with a ground-rule double over the center-field fence to score Andrés Alvarez.
Buffalo scored one run in the fifth inning, but it was soon erased by three additional runs scored by Indianapolis.
Paul Skenes, making his seventh Triple-A start, gave up his first home run of the season to Will Robertson and surrendered two earned runs in 4.1 innings with four strikeouts. Ben Heller (W, 1-0) struck out each of his five batters faced in relief of Skenes. Heller, Carmen Mlodzinski, Geronimo Franzua and Brent Honeywell combined for 4.2 innings of two-hit ball with eight strikeouts.
Dustin Peterson highlighted Indy’s offense with three hits for his first multi-hit game of the season and his most hits in a single game since July 2, 2022, with Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Syracuse.
The Indians have Monday off before heading to Louisville for a six-game series with the Reds-affiliated Bats. First pitch of the series from Louisville Slugger Field will be at 6:35 PM ET on Tuesday. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher.
INDIANA SOFTBALL
INDIANA FALLS AT NO. 20 NORTHWESTERN
EVANSTON, Ill. ––– Indiana dropped a close game at No. 20 Northwestern, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
With the loss, the Hoosiers finish the regular season with a 37-17 record and 12-11 mark in Big Ten play.
INDIANA 2, NO. 20 NORTHWESTERN 4
KEY MOMENTS
• Indiana opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when junior Sarah Stone had a sac bunt to score junior Brianna Copeland and put the team up 1-0.
• In the top of the second, Indiana would extend their lead to 2-0. Junior Taylor Minnick hit a line drive to left field to score Benson.
• Northwestern’s Lindsey doubled to left center and brought Cunnea home to make it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the second.
• The Wildcats would take the lead in the bottom of the third on a three-run home run from Raye, making it a 4-2 game.
• Neither team would score from the fourth through the sixth innings.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Copeland accounted for all three outs in the inning, striking out three Northwestern hitters.
• Indiana threatened to score with two outs in the top of the seventh as the Hoosiers drew three walks to load the bases. Northwestern would end the game on a groundout at second, though.
NOTABLES
• Copeland threw six strikeouts, bringing her season count to 157.
• Minnick went 2-for-2 at the plate in addition to drawing two walks and an RBI.
• Stone’s RBI puts her at 42 on the season.
• Benson’s double was her 11th of the season.
UP NEXT
Indiana’s regular season is now finished with the attention turning to the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 seed Purdue in the opening round on Wednesday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. (CT). The entire tournament will be held at the University of Iowa.
INDIANA WOMEN’S GOLF
INDIANA HEADS TO EAST LANSING REGIONAL
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana women’s golf team will continue postseason play with the 2024 NCAA East Lansing Regional at the Forest Acres Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich. Play will begin on Monday, May 6, and run through Wednesday, May 8.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
2024 NCAA East Lansing Regional • East Lansing, Mich.
Forest Acres Golf Course
Par 72 • 6,370 yards
Live Results: GolfStat.com
TEAMS COMPETING (12)
Augusta, Denver, Florida, Illinois State, INDIANA, Kentucky, Michigan State, Northwestern, Oakland, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, USC
INDIANA LINEUP
1. Caroline Craig
2. Caroline Smith
3. Faith Johnson
4. Chloe Johnson
5. Dominika Burdová
Sub: Maddie May
TOURNAMENT NOTES
• USC is the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 6 in the latest Scoreboard Rankings powered by clippd. Indiana ranks 59th with an overall record of 64-60-3.
• Northwestern (8), Florida (18), Pepperdine (21), Michigan State (30), Kentucky (32), Denver (41), and Oklahoma State (43) round out the top-50 teams competing in the field.
• The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site will advance to play in the championships at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
• The appearance in the regional marks the first since 2019 when the Hoosiers finished sixth in the East Lansing Regional. IU advanced to the NCAA Championship and placed 21st that season.
INDIANA BASEBALL
CLUTCH HITTING LEVELS SERIES IN WEST LAFAYETTE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After struggling at the plate through the first six innings, the bats broke out for the Indiana Baseball team (26-19-1, 11-6 B1G) to the tune of six runs and seven hits in the seventh inning to blow open a tight contest.
A pair of singles from juniors Josh Pyne and Nick Mitchell chased the starter before IU delivered three-straight, two-strike hits, capped off by a massive three-run home run from junior Carter Mathison. In total, IU had 13 hits and 10 runs, cruising to a 10-2 victory on Saturday (May 4th) at Alexander Field.
Redshirt freshman Joey Brenczewski had the game-tying single through the left side before junior first baseman Brock Tibbitts put the next ball in the same spot. But it was the home run from Mathison, who had been struggling in Big Ten play, that really did the most damage.
The Saturday duo of sophomore Connor Foley and sixth-year senior Ty Bothwell (W, 6-2) joined forces again, combining to throw all nine innings. The pair gave up just two runs (one earned) while scattering seven hits. Foley hadn’t pitched in three weeks but gave IU four strong innings. Bothwell finished off the final five, working the last three with a comfortable lead.
IU added four more runs in the ninth inning, including a big two-run single from Mitchell, to really blow the game open for good. The Hoosiers have scored 10+ runs on 19 occasions and are 18-1 in such games. Eight of those contests have come in Big Ten play.
Today’s win sets up a massive series finale and rubber match between IU (11-6, B1G) and Purdue (12-5, B1G) on Sunday (2:00 PM) afternoon. The Hoosiers are looking for a fifth-consecutive conference series win, something that hasn’t happened since 2019. IU hasn’t won a weekend series in West Lafayette since 2002.
Scoring Recap
Bottom Fourth
Purdue struck first on Saturday with Keenan Spence lacing a two-strike, two-out single up the middle to score Cooper Caskenette.
Purdue 1, Indiana 0
Top Seventh
The Hoosiers finally got the offense going in the seventh, doing most of the damage with two outs. Josh Pyne and Nick Mitchell each had singles to get runners on. After a pitching change, Tyler Cerny laced a line drive right at the first baseman, Luke Gaffney. Joey Brenczewski began a trend of two-out hitting with a single through the left side to score Pyne. Brock Tibbitts followed that with another single in the same spot to take the lead. Carter Mathison got down two strikes but struck a massive three-run home run to extend the advantage. After another pitching change, Jake Stadler and Jasen Oliver exchanged doubles to add the sixth run of the day. Purdue finally got the final out on the 11th batter of the inning.
Indiana 6, Purdue 1
Top Ninth
Insurance came for pitcher Ty Bothwell in the ninth. Stadler reached on an error with Pyne bringing him home on a double. Mitchell had a single to left field off the new pitcher to score a pair before Cerny doubled into left field to score the 10th run of the game for IU.
Indiana 10, Purdue 1
Bottom Ninth
Purdue was able to get an unearned run in the ninth. Thomas Green reached on an error, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a single up the middle from Couper Cornblum.
Indiana 10, Purdue 2
Top Hoosier Performers
#3 Mathison, Carter
1-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI
#5 Taylor, Devin
2-4, 1 R, 1 BB
#41 Bothwell, Ty
5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 K
Notes to Know
• The Hoosiers scored double-digit runs (10) for the 19th time this season. IU is 18-1 in those contests and is a perfect 8-0 in Big Ten play when putting 10+ on the board. IU has scored 10+ runs in 8 of its past 10 conference victories.
• Josh Pyne tallied the 55th double of his career in the ninth inning on Saturday. He now sits in a tie for sixth with former big leaguer Sam Travis (2012-14) on the program’s all-time doubles list. He is now No. 22 in IU history with 206 hits. He needs 10 more for top-20 all-time.
• Carter Mathison hit home run No. 41 of his career on Saturday. He moves past Kyle Schwarber (2012-14) and into sole possession of No. 6 on the all-time IU list. Next up in the career ranks is the No. 4 spot which is occupied by Vasili Spanos (2000-03) and Alex Smith (1982-86) with 43 each.
• Brock Tibbitts is up to 184 hits for his career. After missing the entire month of April, the junior inches towards becoming the 25th member of the 200-hit club. His teammate, Pyne, recently joined and Tibbitts could reach the mark over the final nine games of the regular season.
• Connor Foley and Ty Bothwell combined to throw all nine innings on Saturday. In game’s started by Foley this year, IU is 9-1. The Hoosiers are 11-3 on Saturdays and move to 11-1 in the second game of a three-game series this year. IU is also 6-0 in Saturday contests played in the Big Ten this year.
Up Next
A massive rubber match awaits the Hoosiers and Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon at Alexander Field. The game, with a first pitch of 1:00 PM, will be streamed on BTN+ and can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
PURDUE SOFTBALL
RIVALRY RENEWS IN BIG TEN SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – One of the oldest rivalries in the nation will meet for a third time this season as the Big Ten Conference office announced the softball tournament bracket, which begins Wednesday in Iowa City, Iowa, with No. 9 seed Purdue (25-26, 11-12 Big Ten) taking on No. 8 seed Indiana (37-17, 12-11 Big Ten). The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT / Noon ET on Big Ten Network.
The two teams met at Indiana just 18 days ago in a doubleheader, which was split with a 1-5 loss followed by a 6-5 victory. Meanwhile, the upcoming clash will mark just the second time the two teams have faced off in the Big Ten Tournament. In that 2014 battle, the Boilermakers won 4-2 in Evanston, Illinois.
The winner of Purdue vs. Indiana will go on to play Thursday at 11 a.m. CT / Noon ET against the Big Ten regular-season champions and No. 1 seed Northwestern (33-10, 19-3 Big Ten). Both teams picked up a win against the Wildcats during the regular season.
The Big Ten tournament seeding was determined by the conference standings. The tournament, hosted by the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, will run Wednesday, May 8 through Saturday, May 11. It is a single elimination tournament with the top 12 teams in the Big Ten standings receiving a spot. The championship game is set for
Purdue’s ninth-place finish in the regular season is its best since 2017, when it also finished ninth in the league.
BOILERMAKERS FALL SHORT IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In the regular season finale, the Purdue softball squad fell to Michigan State, 1-2, despite a near walk-off which included runners on the corners. With the result, Purdue (25-26, 11-12 Big Ten) will set its sights on the Big Ten Tournament, which will begin Wednesday in Iowa City, Iowa. The league will announce the bracket later today following the conclusion of all regular-season games.
Despite the loss and one Boilermaker error, Purdue put on a stellar fielding performance which included two double plays, and 12 assists which set a Big Ten play season-high.
The action came in the fourth inning when the Spartans scored both their runs on a pair of homers. Purdue responded in the bottom of the frame with two runners on base and Kate Claypool recording a sac fly to score Tyrina Jones from third.
Starting pitcher Julia Gossett (9-12) received the loss, allowing five hits, including the two homers. Madi Elish closed the final 4.0 innings, allowing just two hits and no runs. The pitching staff allowed no walks in its 26 batters faced.
Purdue was out-hit 3-7 in the outing, with Khloe Banks, Hailey Hayes and Sage Scarmardo each notching a single. Meanwhile, Banks and Jade Moy each registered a stolen base.
The Boilermakers fought to the very end, with a walk-off attempt in the seventh inning. With two outs, Olivia McFadden earned a walk, then pinch hitter Sage Scarmardo singled through the right side as McFadden rounded the bases to third.
The Boilermakers close out the regular season with 11 Big Ten wins, the most since 2014 (excludes Big Ten-only season in 2021 due to COVID-19).
PURDUE BASEBALL
HOOSIERS RALLY IN THE 9TH TO STEAL RUBBER GAME AT ALEXANDER
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kyle Iwinski shined with six scoreless innings and Purdue Basbeall enjoyed a four-run lead when it went to the bullpen, but Indiana rallied for four runs in the ninth inning to steal the rubber game of the series 5-4 Sunday at Alexander Field.
The Hoosiers (26-19-1, 12-6 Big Ten) enjoyed a combined 15-1 scoring edge over the final three innings in their two victories in the series. That advantage carried IU to its first series win in West Lafayette since May 2002. It also marked the first time the road team won a series since Purdue took two of three in Bloomington in May 2010.
Purdue (31-17, 12-6 Big Ten) and Indiana will go into the penultimate weekend of Big Ten play in a three-way tie for second place with Nebraska – the trio all one game behind first-place Illinois (13-5 Big Ten). Iowa (13-8) is tied with Illinois in the win column but has only one conference weekend remaining. The Hawkeyes visit Champaign and the Hoosiers go to Lincoln next weekend. The Boilermakers play at Michigan (11-7).
Indiana sent nine men to the plate in its four-run ninth inning, capitalizing on three walks (two with the bases loaded) and a two-out error to take the lead. Consecutive one-out singles from Brock Tibbitts and Carter Mathison ignited the rally.
After a bases-loaded walk to pinch hitter Andrew Wiggins put the go-ahead run on base, Devin Taylor hit a hot shot off the leg of pitcher Aaron Suval for an infield single. Suval regrouped and struck out IU’s 2-hole hitter with the tying run still at third. But another bases-loaded walk followed, with Nick Mitchell extending the game via the base on balls. Suval (3-1) induced a check swing comebacker off the bat of Tyler Cerny, but the ball ricocheted off his glove and spun into no man’s land between first and second base, allowing Wiggins to score the go-ahead run.
In the seventh inning, a diving catcher in center field by Couper Cornblum was overturned by a replay review. It came with a runner on first and no outs in the inning. Purdue’s primary argument after the catch was reversed and the batter called safe was the runner should be out at second on a force out. The Boilermakers had already tagged the second base bag while holding the ball before the runner arrived. But the umpires overruled the potential force out, indicating the play was dead once the catch was incorrectly ruled an out against the batter.
That runner ended up scoring IU’s first run of the game when shortstop Thomas Green made a nice play to get an out at third base on a chopper deep in the hole with the bases loaded and one out.
Iwinski put together his finest performance of the season, working a trio of 1-2-3 frames over six innings of four-hit ball. He retired 14 of 15 batters from the final out of the first inning through the first out of the sixth inning. It was shades of Iwinski’s excellence at Alexander Field a year ago when he compiled a 2.06 ERA and .214 batting average against in 35 innings over his five starts.
Fellow Indiana native Keenan Taylor enjoyed a day to remember. He reached base safely in all three of his plate appearances and made a pair of diving catches in right field, delivering the web gems in consecutive innings. The second catch came with two on and two outs in the sixth inning, robbing a likely game-tying, two-run double.
Mike Bolton Jr. and Taylor connected for a leadoff double in each of the first two innings. Bolton scored on an RBI single from Connor Caskenette and Taylor came home on a squeeze bunt by Green.
The Boilermakers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth without the luxury of a hit. Two walks and two hit batters ended the day of reliever Aydan Decker-Petty, who took the mound with one out in the second inning. Decker-Petty plunked Taylor to force in a run. Green later delivered a sac fly to left field.
Jacob Vogel (1-0) worked four innings of scoreless relief, including a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth vs. Purdue’s 3-4-5 hitters, to earn the victory in relief.
Sunday’s game was played in front of a crowd of 2,257. Fans packed Alexander Field with crowds of over 2,200 in all four games this week as Purdue welcomed 9,671 through the gates for the week, resetting the attendance record Wednesday and Saturday.
The Boilermakers are back in action Tuesday for their midweek finale at UIC. First pitch in Chicago is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Mike Bolton Jr. – 27-game on-base streak; 24-game on-base streak in Big Ten play (since 4/29/23); 17-game on-base streak at home; 12-game hit streak in Big Ten play; 9-game hit streak in Big Ten play
• Connor Caskenette – 11-game hit streak in Big Ten play; 16-game on-base streak in Big Ten play; 8-game hit streak in all games
• Couper Cornblum – 101 consecutive games started (since start of 2023)
PURDUE WOMEN’S GOLF
VIVA LAS BOILERS: WOMEN’S GOLF HEADS TO LAS VEGAS FOR NCAA REGIONAL
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The quest to the NCAA Championships begins for Purdue Women’s Golf, as the Boilermakers travel to Las Vegas to battle 11 other teams at Spanish Trail Country Club for the NCAA Las Vegas Regional (May 6-8).
The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site will advance to play in the NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California (May 17-22).
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, May 6: Round 1 (Tee Times starting at 11 a.m. ET)
Tuesday, May 7: Round 2 (Tee Times starting at 11 a.m. ET)
Wednesday, May 8: Round 3 (Tee Times starting at 11 a.m. ET)
THE LINEUP
Momo Sugiyama – Jr.
Second Team All-Big Team, earning the accolade for the second time
Making her 24th appearance as a Boilermaker after playing in all 12 tournaments a season ago and all 11 tournaments so far this season
Holds a team-best 72.28 stroke average and is No. 135 in the national rankings
Tied for 10th for the first Top 10 by a Boilermaker at the B1G Championships since 2019; also produced the lowest 54-hole score (71-73-71—215) by a Purdue golfer in the tournament since 2018
Has five Top 10 finishes, including a fourth-place performance at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (72-75-70—217) for her best placing of the season
Tied for 13th at The Show at Spanish Trail earlier this year (71-74-72—217)
Has finished in the Top 20 in six of the seven spring tournaments, including a tie for seventh at the Briar’s Creek Invitational (74-71-70—215)
Her two-round 145 (75-70) at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational was the seventh-best 36-hole total in school history
Began the spring by leading the Boilermakers at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic, placing eighth with a career-low 211 (67-73-71) that featured a personal-best round of 67 (-5)
Tied for ninth at the Boilermaker Classic with a 1-under 215 (73-69-73) to help Purdue claim the tournament title to start the season
Tied Purdue’s single-season record with six rounds in the 60s last year, while leading the team in stroke average (73.31), team-low round (14), rounds in the 60s (6) and pars (410)
Held a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout the 2022-23 school year, collecting several academic accolades: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten
Jocelyn Bruch – Sr.
Making her 32nd appearance as a Boilermaker, second most on the team
Holds a 74.22 stroke average
Has appeared in the lineup in all 11 tournaments this season
Tied for 14th at the B1G Championships, securing her best showing and 54-hole total (73-71-72—216) of the spring and joining Sugiyama with Purdue’s only par-or-better three-round scores in the tournament since 2018
Fired a career-low 209 (69-70-70) at the Schooner Fall Classic for the 10th-best three-round total in school history
Ten of her 32 rounds have been par-or-better, including three rounds in the 60s
Paced the field in par-4 scoring (-3) to help the Boilermakers win the Mary Fossum Invitational, tying for seventh on the individual leaderboard for her second career Top 10 (76-70-71—217)
Cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career, tying for sixth with a 4-under 212 (69-69-74) to help Purdue win the Boilermaker Classic
Earned a 2024 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Two-time Academic All-Big Ten
Jasmine Kahler – Fr.
Making her 10th collegiate tournament appearance but cracking the Purdue lineup for the third time
Holds a 74.46 stroke average
Collected a Top 20 finish in her Big Ten Championships debut, ending the tournament with a 1-under 71 to finish 2-over for the week (75-72-71—218); made 40 pars to rank third in the 84-player field
In her debut in the Boilermaker lineup, tied for 19th at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (78-74-72—224)
Competing as an individual, tied for 6th at The Bruzzy, her best finish as a Boilermaker, with a career-low 213 (73-70-70); the 213 was the eighth-best 54-hole total be a freshman in program history
Tied for 25th at the Briar’s Creek Invitational (72-71-77—220)
In her Purdue debut, tied for 22nd as an individual in the Boilermaker Classic (73-72-76—221)
In high school, won the San Diego Section CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) at Torrey Pines and led her team to a fifth-place finish at the CIF State Championship to become the 2022 CIF San Diego Player of the Year
Ashley Kozlowski – Sr.
Second Team All-Big Ten
Playing in her 40th tournament as a Boilermaker, totaling 112 rounds, more than anyone on the current team
Has carded five rounds in the 60s this season, one away from tying a single-season school record
Ranks second on the team with a 72.47 stroke average and is nationally ranked at No. 137
Has appeared in the lineup in all 11 tournaments this season and has led the Boilermakers in five different events, a team high
Has recorded a team-best 100 birdies
Tied for seventh to lead Purdue at The Show (73-70-71—214) Spanish Trail earlier this year; led the field in par-4 scoring (-4) and ranked second in birdies (13)
Tied for seventh at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (74-74-70—218) for her fourth Top 10 of the season
Finished fifth to pace the Boilermakers at the Briar’s Creek Invitational, which featured a final round 67 (-5) to end the tournament 4-under par (73-72-67—212)
Paced the Boilermakers with a 208 (72-70-66) at the Schooner Fall Classic, the seventh-best 54-hole total in program history; her final round 66 was a new career low and the fifth-lowest for a Boilermaker
Led Purdue to a win in the Mary Fossum Invitational, finishing runner-up individually for the second time in her career with a 214 (73-71-70)
Stars in the classroom as an aeronautical and astronautical engineering major, earning several academic honors: WGCAA All-American Scholar Team, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Academic All-Big Ten
Natasha Kiel – Jr.
Making her 12th appearance as a Boilermaker, but playing in her 24th collegiate tournament
Has made four of Purdue’s eight eagles this season
Holds a 73.97 stroke average
Has appeared in the lineup in all 11 tournaments this season
Tied for 19th at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (75-74-75—224) for her third Top 20 of the season
Tied for 20th at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational (76-70—146)
Tied for 29th at the Schooner Fall Classic with a 213 (71-72-70), her best 54-hole total as a Boilermaker
Ranked second in par-4 scoring (-1) and tied for ninth (73-72-73—218) to help the Boilermakers win the Mary Fossum Invitational
Transferred to Purdue after two seasons at Vanderbilt
Last season, played in eight tournaments and produced a 74.4 stroke average
THE FIELD
1. #4 UCLA
2. #9 Arkansas
3. #16 Arizona
4. #19 Florida State
5. Cal
6. Purdue
7. Baylor
8. Oklahoma
9. Colorado State
10. Kent State
11. Xavier
12. Dartmouth
THE COURSE
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., Spanish Trail Country Club features three 9-hole, par 36 courses for a 27-hole layout.
The tournament will be contested on the Canyon Course and the Lakes Course, measuring 6,665 yards.
The Canyon Course is the longest of the three tracks, while water comes into play for six of the nine holes on the Lakes Course.
THANKFUL FOR THE SHOW
Purdue is no stranger to Spanish Trail Country Club, having competed in The Show the past two seasons.
Earlier this year (March 4-5), the Boilermakers tied for fourth alongside No. 23 Pepperdine, playing the course at 12-over as a team through 54 holes. Four of the five Boilermakers in the lineup for the NCAA Regional competed in the tournament.
Ashley Kozlowski led the Boilermakers, tying for seventh. The senior made 13 birdies, ranking second in the 77-player field and ending the tournament 2-under par following a final round 71 (-1). Kozlowski dominated the par 4s, playing those holes 4-under to lead the field. Her final round featured five birdies, including four of the 10 par 4s.
Momo Sugiyama added another Top 20 to her Purdue resume, ending The Show 1-over par to tie for 13th. She made four birdies throughout the final round, playing the last 10 holes 3-under.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
The Boilermakers have reached an NCAA Regional for the 26th time out of the 27 renditions of the NCAA Championships.
Purdue advanced to the championship stage 18 of those times, including in 2022 as a No. 8 seed after beating Northwestern in a sudden-death playoff at Stanford.
In 2010, the Boilermakers captured the national championship with the second-lowest four-round team score in NCAA Championships history.
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
The Boilermakers earned their ninth straight NCAA Regional berth in the second season under head coach Zack Byrd, producing two wins and four Top 3 finishes throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Capturing the Boilermaker Classic and the Mary Fossum Invitational, Purdue won multiple tournaments in a season for the first time in seven years.
The Boilermakers also produced two of the lowest five team totals (54 holes) in school history, a program-best 837 at the Schooner Fall Classic and an 852 (fifth) at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic.
Heading into NCAA Regionals, Purdue placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships with an even-par 864, the Boilermakers’ best score in the league tournament since 2016.
The quartet of Momo Sugiyama, Ashley Kozlowski, Natasha Kiel and Jocelyn Bruch has competed in all 11 tournaments for the Boilermakers.
ALL-B1G BOILERS
Purdue golfers Ashley Kozlowski and Momo Sugiyama earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, following a vote from the league’s coaches. Sugiyama collected All-Big Ten accolades for the second straight season, matching her amount of years as a Boilermaker. Kozlowski, producing the best season of her career, earned all-conference honors for the first time
Continuing with the successful tradition of Purdue Women’s Golf, at least two Boilermakers landed on the All-Big Ten list for the 16th time over the past 22 years. Since the conference went to two All-Big Ten teams in 2003, 61 Boilermakers have earned all-league distinction.
Sugiyama has led the team in stroke average (72.78), Top 10 finishes (5) and rounds of par-or-better (16).
A senior leader, Kozlowski has had her best season as a Boilermaker with a 72.47 stroke average. She has led Purdue in five tournaments, while her five rounds in the 60s and 100 birdies are also team highs.
RANKED BOILERMAKERS
Purdue enters the NCAA Regional ranked 33rd in the national rankings thanks to a pair of tournament titles and five Top 3 finishes throughout this season.
Two Boilermakers, Momo Sugiyama (No. 135) and Ashley Kozlowski (No. 137), are ranked in the Top 150 of the national rankings.
B1G RECAP
Behind a final round 283 (-5), Purdue placed fourth at
Purdue led the field in total pars (210) and par-4 scoring (+6) throughout the tournament, while ranking fourth in birdies (53). The final round was the Boilermakers’ best round in the B1G Championships in five years.
Momo Suigyama ended the tournament in red figures (-1), tying for 10th for the first Top 10 by a Boilermaker at the B1G Championships since Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri won the 2019 conference title.
Jocelyn Bruch finished the tournament at even par. The Carmel, Indiana, native tied for 14th, securing her best finish and 54-hole total (73-71-72—216) of the spring. Bruch joined Sugiyama as posting the lowest 54-hole scores by Boilermakers at the B1G Championships since Inez Wanamarta (215) in 2018.
Freshman Jasmine Kahler collected a Top 20 finish in her Big Ten debut. She improved each day, ending the tournament with a 1-under 71 to finish 2-over for the week (75-72-71—218). Despite making just her second appearance in the Purdue lineup, she remained steady throughout the three rounds by recording 40 pars to rank third in the 84-player field.
100 ROUNDS AS A BOILERMAKER
Ashley Kozlowski reached a milestone at Spanish Trail back in March. The senior played her 100th round as a Boilermaker, firing a 1-under par 71 to pace the Boilermakers and secure a Top 10 finish (T-7th) on the individual leaderboard.
Kozlowski’s 112 career rounds are a team high, with 36 of those rounds at par-or-better.
Her lowest round was a 66 at this year’s Schooner Fall Classic, tied for the fifth-best round by a Boilermaker in program history.
Kozlowski has played in 39 tournaments (and counting) throughout her Purdue career, producing 13 Top 20 finishes and nine Top 10 performances.
TOP 20 MOMO
Since the flip of the calendar to 2024, Momo Sugiyama has been a fixture in the Top 20 of tournaments.
Sugiyama has cracked the Top 20 in eight of Purdue’s 11 tournaments this season, including five Top 10 performances, both team highs.
Last time out, she paced Purdue at the Big Ten Championships by tying for 10th and becoming the first Boilermaker to finish under-par in the conference tournament since 2018.
Sugiyama finished 13th at The Show and tied for seventh at the Briar’s Creek Invitational for her fourth consecutive Top 20.
She led the Boilermakers at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational (72-75-70—217) for her best finish of the season, tying for fourth.
The junior placed eighth at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic to begin the spring before tying for 16th at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational. She led Purdue in both events.
FLYING HIGH WITH BYRD
Victorious in two of their four fall tournaments, the Boilermakers have won multiple tournaments in a season for the first time in seven years.
Winning the Boilermaker Classic and the Mary Fossum Invitational, Purdue won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The last time Purdue won its first two tournaments of the season was the start of the 2005-06 campaign.
Purdue already has three tournament titles in just the second season under head coach Zack Byrd; the Boilermakers won three tournaments over the previous six seasons before Byrd’s arrival.
Ten of the 50 lowest team rounds in program history have occurred under Byrd, including the school record 270 (-18) at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic as well as the second-best round, a 274 at the Schooner Fall Classic.
This season, the Boilermakers have produced two of the lowest five team totals (54 holes) in school history, a program-best 837 at the Schooner Fall Classic and an 852 (fifth) at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic.
SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON
Entering the final round eight shots back of host Michigan State, Purdue flipped the script and fired a final round 284 (-4) to win the Mary Fossum Invitational by 10 strokes.
Purdue was 6-under (290-284-284—858) on the par 72 West Course at Forest Akers GC, the only team to finish under par and just one shot off the tournament record. The Boilermakers defeated a field of 14 other teams that included five Big Ten programs. The three-round total also cracked the Top 10 for one of the lowest 54-hole scores in program history.
The Boilermakers played the par 4s a combined 5-over to lead all teams, including 16 shots better than Michigan State. Purdue also paced the field in par-3 scoring (-2) and birdies (47).
Four Boilermakers finished in the Top 10 of the individual leaderboard. Ashley Kozlowski led the way, ending the tournament at 2-under to place runner-up for the second time in her career. Jocelyn Bruch tied for seventh (+1) for her second Top 10 of the 2023-24 campaign.
HOME COURSE PROTECTED
Purdue protected its home course, starting the 2023-24 season by beating 14 other teams to win the Boilermaker Classic (Sept. 4-5).
The Boilermakers finished the 54-hole event 12-under par (296-270-286—852) on the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Complex, six shots ahead of runner-up Alabama.
fired a 270 (-18) in the second round to break the program record for team-low round by five strokes, besting the previous record of 275 shot by the 2011 Boilermakers at the Administaff Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate.
Jocelyn Bruch cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career. She placed sixth with a 212 (69-69-74).
Momo Sugiyama finished another tournament in red figures, firing a 215 (-1) with a 69 sandwiched in between rounds of 73. Starting her second season as a Boilermaker, she tied for ninth on the individual leaderboard.
NOTRE DAME MEN’S LAX
IRISH EARN TOP SEED IN 2024 NCAA TOURNAMENT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team earned the No. 1 national seed and will welcome the winner of Wednesday’s game between Albany and Sacred Heart to South Bend for the first round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 12.
The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET at Arlotta Stadium and it will air on ESPNU.
Notre Dame (12-1) is coming off a successful weekend at the ACC Championships in Charlotte, recording top-10 wins over Virginia and Duke to claim the title. The Irish will enter the NCAA Tournament winners of 10 straight.
The Irish will be the overall No. 1 seed in the tourney for the second time in program history, also earning the top seed in 2015.
The winner of Notre Dame’s first-round contest will take on the winner of the first-round tilt between No. 8 seed Georgetown and Penn State in the quarterfinals. The Irish are in the Hempstead, New York quarterfinal, which will be played on Saturday, May 18.
NOTRE DAME IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Irish won their first national title in program history last season, claiming the 2023 NCAA Championship in Philadelphia.
Notre Dame owns a 25-25 record in 26 previous trips to the NCAA Championship.
The Irish have now made 17 of the last 18 NCAA Championship fields.
Notre Dame is 20-11 over its last 12 NCAA Championships.
The Irish have advanced to at least the NCAA Championship quarterfinals in 11 of its last 12 appearances.
This is the 15th time overall–and 14th time in the last 16 seasons–the Irish have earned one of the eight national seeds for the NCAA Championship.
The Irish also were seeded for the 2001 (5th), 2008 (6th), 2009 (7th), 2011 (4th), 2012 (4th), 2013 (2nd), 2014 (6th), 2015 (1st), 2016 (3rd), 2017 (4th), 2018 (7th), 2019 (7th), 2021 (6th) and 2023 (3rd) tournaments.
Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA championship weekend in 2001, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 and played in the title game in 2010 and 2014 to go along with the 2023 title.
The 17-team NCAA Championship field consists of eight automatic-qualifying teams and eight at-large squads. The top eight teams in the bracket are seeded. Four of the top six teams in the tourney all come from the ACC as No. 2 Duke, No. 4 Syracuse and No. 6 Virginia join the Irish as the top-seeded teams.
The tournament’s semifinals and finals will be held May 25 and 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. For more information on the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, including a complete bracket, go to ncaa.com.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S LAX
IRISH TO HOST NCAA TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUNDS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team has earned the No. 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play host to Coastal Carolina on Friday, May 10.
The Irish finished the regular season with a 14-2 record and earned the highest ACC finish in program history as the second-seeded team in the conference tournament.
The winner of Notre Dame/Coastal Carolina will go on to face the winner of Michigan/Mercer on Sunday afternoon for the regional final.
Tickets for both first round games and the regional final can be purchased here.
NOTRE DAME SOFTBALL
IRISH EARN THE 10-SEED IN ACC TOURNAMENT
SOUTH BEND, IND. – The University of Notre Dame softball team earned the 10th and final seed for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Tournament, hosted by the Duke Blue Devils. The Fighting Irish will begin tournament action Wednesday, May 8th at 3:30 p.m. against the seventh-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Irish concluded the 2024 regular season a week ago, earning a 26-22 overall record, and a 9-15 mark in ACC play. The road to an ACC Championship leads the Irish into a maximum of four more games against conference opponents in the single elimination tournament. For full details, visit the tournament website page here.
Notre Dame competed against the Tar Heels in a three-game series in March, with the Irish taking one of three games.
The host Blue Devils earned the top seed in 2024, winning the ACC Regular Season with a 20-4 record. Florida State is the two seed (19-5), followed by Virginia Tech, (18-6), Clemson (15-9), Virginia (15-9), Georgia Tech (12-12), North Carolina (10-14), Syracuse (9-15) and Boston College (9-15).
NOTRE DAME BASEBALL
NOTRE DAME TAKES SERIES WITH 8-6 WIN OVER PITT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame (25-21, 9-18 ACC) took the series win with an 8-6 victory over Pitt (19-25, 6-18 ACC) on Sunday.
OF David Glancy stole the show in the series, batting .583 on the weekend with seven hits, three doubles, a home run, five RBI and six putouts in the outfield, including two game-defining snags on Sunday, both in the seventh inning.
Sunday’s victory was a group effort at the plate, as Glancy, INF Estevan Moreno and INF Connor Hincks all posted multi-hit games, with Moreno hitting two doubles.
RHP Rory Fox started for Notre Dame, going five innings with three strikeouts to earn the win. RHP Nate Hardman pitched the ninth inning to close the game for the Irish, dealing two strikeouts and earning his fifth save of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pitt led off with two singles, but Fox struck out the next batter. A flyout and tag-out on a fielder’s choice sent the Irish to bat. Glancy drew a walk to lead the Irish off and got to second on a groundout. Moreno doubled to score Glancy and put the Irish on the board. Hincks singled to put Moreno on third, and INF Simon Baumgardt singled to bring Moreno in. Both Hincks and Baumgardt advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch, and OF Tito Flores walked to load the bases. OF Brady Gumpf then doubled to score Hincks and Baumgardt, putting the Irish up four. Later in the inning, Flores sped home on a passed ball, and the inning ended with the Irish up 5-0.
Fox forced a three up, three down for Pitt in the second, ending the top of the inning on another strikeout. Having batted through the lineup in the first, Glancy again led off in the second, singling through the left side. Penney forced an error, and both runners were safe on base. Moreno then sent his second double to score Glancy, and Hincks followed with a single to score both Penney and Moreno, giving the Irish an 8-0 lead heading to the third.
After an out in the third, Pitt singled and took a HBP. Fox dealt another strikeout, but an ensuing double scored two runs for the Panthers. Notre Dame went three up, three down in the bottom of the inning to keep the score at 8-2.
Fox and the Irish sat Pitt down in order in the fourth. Glancy led off the fourth with a single but was tagged out on a fielder’s choice. Two strikeouts ended the inning.
Pitt led off the fifth with a single, but the next batter lined out to Moreno, who dished to Hincks at first for the double play, Notre Dame’s 42nd double play of the season (Hincks leads all ACC players with 41 fielding double plays). Notre Dame went three up, three down in the bottom of the inning.
RHP Caden Spivey entered to pitch for the Irish to begin the sixth. After a popup, Pitt singled, followed by two walks to load the bases. A third walk brought in a run, and a single scored another. The Panthers hit a sac fly for their third run of the inning, and RHP Bennett Flynn entered to pitch for Notre Dame. After a walk, a flyout ended the top of the sixth at 8-5. The Irish were unable to extend the lead in the bottom half.
Pitt drew a walk and notched a single in the seventh, but was unable to score due to two impressive plays by Glancy in left field. The catch to end the inning came on a leaping grab up the wall. Notre Dame was also held scoreless in the bottom of the inning.
The Panthers doubled to lead off the eighth, and the runner took third on a groundout. Another groundout scored Pitt’s sixth run of the day, and a flyout ended the inning. The Irish sat down in order in the eighth.
Hardman entered to close the game, delivering two strikeouts while sitting Pitt down in order to secure the 8-6 win.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame heads into its final week at home with a weekend series vs. Toledo. All games will be broadcast on ACCNX. On Saturday, May 11, the Irish will celebrate Degree Day, honoring all student-athletes who will earn their degree this year. Those individuals will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
INDIANA WOMEN’S TENNIS
IRISH FALL AT NO. 3 MICHIGAN
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team saw its 2023-24 season come to a close at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor. The Fighting Irish battled with the third ranked Wolverines, forging ahead early, but couldn’t hold off one of the top teams in the country. The Irish finished the regular season 18-10 overall, tying the most wins in a season since the 2016-17 season.
How It Happened
After falling at No. 2 doubles, the pairing of Carrie Beckman and Julia Andreach tied up the doubles results with a 6-3 upset win over the ninth-ranked tandem of Jaeden Brown and Kari Miller. No. 3 doubles decided the opening point. The Michigan pairing tied the match at five before Nibi Ghosh and Yashna Yellayi took the next two sets. Yellayi hammered home an overhead to put the match away and give the Irish the early advantage.
Michigan took control of the match during singles action. Andreach dropped just her second match of the season, falling to ninth-ranked Kari Miller at the top flight, 6-3, 6-1. No. 5 singles put the Wolverines ahead before Page Freeman tied it back up. Freeman tallied a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2 to even the match. Both flights four and six went into the third set. Akari Matsuno earned a 6-2 win to start the match but fell 6-2, 6-3 over the next two as Michigan took the clinching point and the victory.
Up Next
With the team season over, the Irish will wait until the end of the month before Andreach will take the court again. Andreach qualified for the NCAA Individual tournament, hosted by Oklahoma State May 20th-26th.
BUTLER SOFTBALL
SEEDING AND SCHEDULE SET FOR 2024 #BIGEASTSB CHAMPIONSHIP
NEW YORK – The Villanova Wildcats earned the top seed in the upcoming 2024 BIG EAST Softball Championship Presented by JEEP, scheduled for May 8 through 11 at Glay Field on the campus of Providence College.
Seeding was determined based on team winning percentage throughout the BIG EAST regular season. Villanova earned the premiere position with a 19-5 mark (.792) against league competitors.
UConn earned the second seed with a 16-8 record (.667) followed closely by Creighton who shared the 16-8 mark. The Huskies edged the Bluejays for the second seed behind a series victory over the latter in mid-April.
The reigning BIG EAST Champions, Seton Hall, earned the four-seed with a 14-10 result in conference play (.583). The Pirates will open the 2024 Championship, meeting No. 5 St. Johns (13-11, .542) in the tournament’s first game at 12 p.m. on Wednesday.
Butler clinched the sixth and final seed in the championship behind a 2-1 series victory over #1 Villanova during the final weekend of conference play.
Seeding
#1 Villanova
#2 Connecticut
#3 Creighton
#4 Seton Hall
#5 St. John’s
#6 Butler
2024 BIG EAST Softball Championship Schedule
all times eastern
Wednesday, May 8
Game 1 (12 p.m.): #4 Seton Hall vs. #5 St. John’s BEDN
Game 2 (3 p.m.): #3 Creighton vs. #6 Butler BEDN
Game 3 (6 p.m.): Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 BEDN
Thursday, May 9
Game 4 (12 p.m.): #1 Villanova vs. Winner of Game 1 BEDN
Game 5 (3 p.m.): #2 UConn vs. Winner of Game 2 BEDN
Game 6 (6 p.m.): Winner of Game 3 vs. Lower seed Loser of 4/5 seed BEDN
Friday, May 10
Game 7 (12 p.m.): Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 FS2
Game 8 (3 p.m.): Winner of Game 6 vs. Higher Seed Loser of 4/5 FS2
Game 9 (6 p.m.): Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser of Game 7 FS2
Saturday, May 11
Game 10 (4:00 p.m.): Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 FS2
Game 11 (6:30 p.m.): If Winner of Game 9 Wins Game 10 FS2
BUTLER BASEBALL
BUTLER TAKES 12-7 SETBACK TO XAVIER
INDIANAPOLIS – The Xavier Musketeers collected a 12-7 win at Butler on Sunday to sweep the weekend series at Bulldog Park. Five of their 12 runs were scored in the top of the second inning. With the win, Xavier moves to 25-22 overall. BU is now 17-30 this season.
Connor Misch homered to left to open up the scoring and Xavier would string together five additional hits to open up a 5-0 lead.
Butler got right back in the game after Ethan Vecrumba cleared the bases with a double to left in the bottom half of the inning. The ball carried over the outfielder and allowed Carter, Parks, and Choi to score.
Xavier added two runs in the third off a single from Luke Hammond, but the Bulldogs would climb back within one run after Carter Dorighi’s double to right in the sixth. Momentum shifted back to the visitors in the seventh as Hendrickson homered to left.
BU would score their final run of the game in the seventh off a wild pitch. Kade Lewis hustled home to make the game 8-7, but insurance runs would come home for Xavier in the eighth and ninth to seal the win.
Ethan Vecrumba had a nice day going 2-for-3 from the dish with a team-high four RBI and a run scored. Carter Dorighi went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Multi-hit games also went to Jack Moroknek and Ian Choi.
Butler used five arms in the Sunday showdown. Ben Whiteside got the start and tossed the first two innings. Colin Dailey and Grant Brooks each recorded one out on the hill for BU. The heavy lifting came from Cole Graverson. The senior struck out seven over 6.1 innings.
Whiteside was hit with the loss and the win went to Alex Vera (4-1). Luke Hoskins got the start for Xavier but was taken out of the game after four innings. Nolan Hughes was also an impact arm on the mound for Xavier. He led the team with four strikeouts.
Butler will return to action on Tuesday, May 7 with a game at Ball State. The 3 PM first pitch will stream on ESPN+.
BALL STATE SOFTBALL
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND: SOFTBALL TOPS CMU TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – – The Ball State softball team locked up the No. 6 seed in next week’s Mid-American Conference Championship by closing the regular season with a 5-2 victory over Central Michigan Sunday afternoon at Margo Jonker Stadium.
Needing a win to keep its season alive, the Cardinals (25-27; 12-13 MAC) jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first on a two-out RBI single to right from junior right fielder Maddie Weaver. It was the first of two runs in the inning, as redshirt sophomore designated player Jessica Hoffman smashed a liner off the glove of a diving Chippewas (16-31; 13-12 MAC) third baseman to plate the second.
After a scoreless second, the Cardinals would add three more in the top of the third to take control of the contest. The biggest hit was a solo blast to right field by Hoffman to extend BSU’s lead to 5-0.
That was all the run support the Ball State pitching staff would need as senior Francys King picked up right where she left off Saturday by retiring the first three batters she faced to extend her perfect streak versus CMU to six innings. While CMU opened the second with its first hit off the Mechanicsburg, Ohio, native, King would go on to claim her 13th win of the season by holding the Chippewas to nine hits and two runs over her 5.1 innings of work. She also chalked up two more strikeouts.
Sophomore Bridie Murphy would enter to close the game, picking up her second save of the season by retiring five of the six batters she faced over her 1.2 innings of work. The lone blemish was a walk to the first batter she faced in the bottom of the sixth.
SCORING SUMMARY – Ball State 5 – Central Michigan 2
T1 | Weaver gets the Cardinals on the board with an RBI single to right field, driving in graduate second baseman Jazmyne Armendariz who reached on a fielder’s choice (1-0)
T1 | Hoffman picks up her first RBI of the game with a hard shot to the third base side, bringing home redshirt sophomore shortstop McKenna Mulholland who singled to left center (2-0)
T3 | After doubling to right field to open the third, redshirt junior catcher McKayla Timmons scores on a pair of wild pitches (3-0)
T3 | A sac fly from Mulholland brings home freshman pinch runner Maia Pietrzak who entered following a bunt single from Armendariz, stole second and advanced to third on the second wild pitch (4-0)
T3 | Hoffman blasts her ninth home run of the season to right field, giving BSU a five-run cushion (5-0)
B6 | A two-run double by Caitlyn Britton brings home both CMU runs (5-2)
UP NEXT:
The Ball State softball team opens the 2024 MAC Championships at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when it battles No. 3 seed Western Michigan at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
BALL STATE BASEBALL
CARDINALS TAKE SLUGFEST AT NIU TO CLINCH FIFTH STRAIGHT MAC SERIES WIN
DeKALB, Ill. – The Ball State baseball team rode a big offensive performance from Hunter Dobbins and lockdown relief pitching by Nate Blain to a 13-10 win at Northern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field.
The Cardinals (27-19-1, 14-10 Mid-American Conference) got out to a 4-0 advantage after an early homer barrage with Dobbins drilling a two-run shot in the first inning and Dylan Grego and Michael Hallquist going deep in the second and third, respectively, for the edge.
Northern Illinois (16-31, 10-14 MAC) responded with a trio of tallies in the bottom half of the third inning, but the visitors rallied to put five runs on the board in the fourth to rebuild a 9-3 edge. Clay Jacobs hit an RBI triple to get the scoring going before an RBI single from Nick Gregory and a three-run homer by Dobbins to cap it off.
The host Huskies put together a seven-run rally of their own in the bottom of the fourth to take their only lead of the game at 10-9. Blain came in to finish the inning and allowed only one hit and no walks in his final five frames of work to earn his second win of the weekend.
Ball State scored twice in the sixth on a Dobbins sac fly and RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Blake Bevis to go ahead 11-10. Decker Scheffler worked a pair of sac flies, one in the seventh and one in the ninth, for insurance runs.
Blain improved to 2-4 with the win and struck out seven while allowing three runs (none earned) in 6.0 innings. For the week, the right-hander tossed 9.2 innings without allowing an earned run.
Dobbins went 2-for-5 at the dish with the pair of home runs and a career-high six RBI in his fifth career multi-homer game (third this year). A total of seven Cardinals scored runs and seven Cardinals drove in runs to power the team to their fifth straight MAC series win.
“Nate Blain put our team on his back,” head coach Rich Maloney said. “Hunter Dobbins had a big day offensively and defensively. Our boys stayed the course through some adversity to win the series.”
Ball State returns to Muncie to host Butler at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and begin a five-game homestand.
INDIANA STATE BASEBALL
SEARS DRIVES IN GO-AHEAD RUN, BULLPEN SHARP AS SYCAMORES SECURE SERIES SWEEP OVER BELMONT
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Mike Sears connected on the go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning and Cam Edmonson and Simon Gregersen combined for 5.1 innings of scoreless relief as Indiana State secured the series sweep over Belmont with Sunday’s 6-4 win at Bob Warn Field.
ISU (34-10, 17-4) tied the game up at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning on Sears’ RBI single scoring Parker Stinson as the Sycamores battled back against Bruins (22-25, 9-12) throughout the contest. Edmonson kept the Belmont bats at bay going 2.2 innings of one-hit relief before turning the ball over to Gregersen (1-0) in the top of the seventh.
Gregersen forced an inning-ending double play to limit Belmont’s chances in the frame, before the Indiana State bats came through in the bottom of the inning against Belmont reliever Hank Liss (2-3). Stinson drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch setting the stage for Sears.
The Sycamore third baseman drove a 1-1 pitch into the left center gap one-hopping the wall allowing Stinson to score on the one-out double to put Indiana State ahead 5-4. Grant Magill followed with a single to shallow center and the Belmont centerfielder misplayed the ball allowing Sears to score on the play to give ISU the two-run advantage.
Gregersen pitched around a one-out walk in the top of the eighth inning and retired the final five batters he faced to close out the contest and pick up his first win of the 2024 campaign.
Sears, Randal Diaz, and Carlos Pena all posted multi-hit efforts on Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores connected on 10 hits in the win. Sears and Pena both doubled twice on the day, while Stinson scored three runs.
Luke Hayden went the first 3.2 innings in the Sunday start allowing four hits and four runs (two earned), while striking out five. Edmonson went the next 2.2 innings striking out three, while Gregersen went the final 2.2 frames with a strikeout to close out the contest.
Sam Slaughter and Blake Barton both homered for Belmont on Sunday afternoon to highlight a Bruin offense that connected on five hits in the game. Brodey Heaton added a pair of RBI singles in the loss.
Joe Ruzicka went the first 5.0 innings allowing six hits and four runs (one earned) while striking out four in the no-decision. Liss went the final three innings allowing four hits and two runs while striking out a pair.
How They Scored
Sam Slaughter put Belmont ahead on the first pitch of the game with a solo home run to right field to give the Bruins the early 1-0 lead.
Blake Barton led off the top of the second inning with a solo home run over the camera well in center field to put Belmont ahead 2-0.
The Sycamores rallied back to take the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Josue Urdaneta drew a bases-loaded walk and Randal Diaz followed with a two-run single up the middle scoring Adam Pottinger and Grant Magill to give ISU the 3-2 lead.
Brodey Heaton connected on a two-run single in the top of the third inning as Belmont took advantage of a Sycamore error to take the 4-3 lead.
Mike Sears tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth inning with a line drive single through the left side of the infield scoring Parker Stinson to even the contest at 4-4.
Sears continued to have the hot bat at the plate with an RBI double that one-hopped the wall in left center scoring Stinson from second base in the bottom of the seventh inning and Sears came around to score on Grant Magill’s single to make it a 6-4 ballgame.
News & Notes
Randal Diaz extended his hitting streak to 17 consecutive games and on-base streak to 23 games following his two-run single in the bottom of the second inning. He finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk.
Josue Urdaneta extended his on-base streak to 33 consecutive games after drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second inning.
Parker Stinson extended his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games after singling in the bottom of the second inning. He finished the day 1-for-2 with a walk, hit by pitch, and three runs scored.
Indiana State moved to 16-0-1 in the final game of a Missouri Valley series dating back to the end of the 2022 season, including a 7-0 mark in the third game of the conference series in the 2024 season.
The Sycamores are 43-7-1 over their last 51 Missouri Valley conference games.
Indiana State was held without a home run in Sunday’s contest marking the first game the Sycamores went homerless since April 9 at Purdue, breaking a 12-game streak for the ISU batters.
The ISU pitching staff combined to post a 4.32 ERA over the three-game series allowing 20 hits over 25.0 innings, while limiting Belmont to a .222 batting average.
ISU moved to 9-0 all-time against Belmont following Sunday’s win.
Up Next
Indiana State closes out their six-game home stand next weekend as the Sycamores welcome Evansville to Bob Warn Field for a three-game series over May 10-12. First pitch in Friday’s opener is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU and 105.5 The Legend.
Friday’s game day giveaways include a Rally Towel Giveaway, while also including the final set of the Indiana State Baseball Trading Cards (sponsored by Refreshment Services Pepsi).
PURDUE FT. WAYNE BASEBALL
MILWAUKEE TAKES TWO FROM MASTODON BASEBALL
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne lost both ends of a Horizon League baseball doubleheader on Sunday (May 5) to Milwaukee 7-6 and 15-6 at Mastodon Field.
GAME 1 | Milwaukee 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 6
The Mastodons took a 5-4 lead into the eighth inning, but could not hang on as the Panthers scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth.
Carter Sabol started the ballgame and went 5.1 innings, surrendering four runs, three earned, on five hits, walking one and striking out six. He earned a no-decision.
In the batter’s box, the Mastodons were paced by Camden Karczewski, who went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Brooks Sailors was 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
The ‘Dons led 3-0 after two innings thanks to scoring one in the first and two in the second. Sailors knocked in one in the second and Karczewski scored on a wild pitch in the inning.
Milwaukee came back to tie the ballgame at three before Purdue Fort Wayne reclaimed a 5-3 advantage in the fourth inning. It was punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of Karczewski.
Down by two in the ninth, the ‘Dons put runners on second and third with one out. Nate Simpson knocked in one run to make it a 7-6 game but saw the tying run stranded at third to end the game.
The Mastodons out-hit the Panthers at a 13-10 clip. The ‘Dons had five stolen bases including two by Grant Thoroman.
Teige Lethert had a home run for Milwaukee. Keagon Kaufmann threw 2.2 scoreless innings to get the win. Johnny Kelliher earned the save, his third of the year. For 1.1 innings of work.
GAME 2 | Milwaukee 15, Purdue Fort Wayne 6
The ‘Dons fell behind 5-0 but tied it at six in the bottom of the fifth. The big hit was a two-run home run by Jackson Micheels. Sean Tillmon had a three-RBI double in the next half inning to give the Panthers the lead for good.
Lethert was 2-for-3 with a home run for the Panthers. Gavin Theis (2-2) got the win for Milwaukee with six innings of work.
Thoroman had two hits a walk and two runs in the game.
Purdue Fort Wayne is now 16-30 (9-15 Horizon League). The Panthers are now 16-29 (11-13 Horizon League). The ‘Dons host Bowling Green on Wednesday.
EVANSVILLE BASEBALL
BASEBALL BLANKS BEACONS, 9-0, FOR SIXTH-STRAIGHT VALLEY SERIES WIN
VALPARAISO, Ind. – University of Evansville senior pitchers Shane Harris and Jakob Meyer combined on a three-hit shutout on Sunday, and the Purple Aces launched three home runs, as UE posted a 9-0 shutout victory over the Valparaiso Beacons at Emory G. Bauer Field in Valparaiso, Indiana.
“What a great bounce-back effort today, as I thought that we got a total team effort,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Share Harris and Jakob Meyer were outstanding on the mound, and I thought that offensively, we had a lot of different guys step up and provide quality at-bats today.
“Today’s game was an important game for us. We needed this win before going into a very important stretch going into the conference tournament in two weeks.”
After giving up a lead-off double in the first inning, Harris (5-5) retired 14 of the next 15 Valparaiso hitters in order to set the tone for the day. Harris would limit the Beacons to just three hits and a walk in a career-high 7.0 innings of work, with a career-best eight strikeouts to earn the victory. Overall, 18 of Harris’ 21 outs were recorded either via strikeout or on the infield on the afternoon.
His teammates would give him all of the offensive support he would need in the second inning, as graduate third baseman Brent Widder launched a solo home run, his 10th of the year, and junior outfielder Ty Rumsey drove in two runs with a single and a Valparaiso error to give UE a 3-0 lead.
Rumsey would add a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to push the UE lead to 4-0, while graduate first baseman Chase Hug would add a two-run single in the seventh inning to move the UE advantage to 6-0. Rumsey then belted a two-run home run to right-center field in the eighth inning, and graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger added his team-leading 14th home run of the year two batters later with a solo shot to cap the scoring.
Meyer worked the final two innings without giving up a hit to finish off the shutout for UE. His strikeout to end the game capped UE’s first shutout since a 1-0 victory at Illinois State on May 6, 2023, almost one year to the day of Sunday’s shutout.
Rumsey led UE offensively by going 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. Senior designated hitter Kip Fougerousse also added three hits, and Shallenberger, Hug, and junior second baseman Cal McGinnis had two-hit days as well. Senior shortstop Simon Scherry also recorded his 250th career hit with a single in the sixth inning.
With the victory, Evansville improved to 27-20 overall and 14-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference, as the Purple Aces earned their sixth-straight MVC series victory. Valparaiso, meanwhile, dropped to 14-31 overall and 6-15 in the MVC with the loss. Evansville will now briefly return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium on Tuesday night to host crosstown rival Southern Indiana in a mid-week contest. First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. and tickets for Tuesday’s game can be purchased by calling Logan Belz in the UE athletic ticket office by phone at 812-488-2623.
EVANSVILLE SOFTBALL
LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT IN WEEKEND FINALE
NORMAL, Ill. – Lacy Smith and Jess Willsey recorded two hits apiece, but the Illinois State defense turned three doubles players on their way to a 4-1 win over the University of Evansville softball team on Sunday afternoon at Marian Kneer Stadium.
Jess Willsey picked up the first hit of the game in the top of the second with a double play later ending the threat. Illinois State countered in the bottom of the frame with the first run of the game scoring on an RBI groundout. Two sacrifice flies by ISU pushed the lead to 3-0 as the third inning came to a close.
Brooke Voss added a single in the top half of the fourth before the Redbirds plated the fourth run of the game on a single in the bottom of the inning.
With one out in the fifth, Lacy Smith hit a home run to left field to get Evansville on the board. Zoe Frossard, who reached on a walk earlier in the game, added a hit as UE worked to get closer in the fifth.
Still trailing by a 4-1 score, UE made a late rally with Hannah Hood and Smith leading off with singles. A double play got the Redbirds back on track and they recorded the final out to take the win.
The pitching staff for the Purple Aces had a solid day. Sydney Weatherford, Mikayla Jolly and Megan Brenton tossed two innings apiece. Weatherford allowed one run on two hits while Brenton threw a scoreless final two frames. Paige McLeod allowed one run on eight hits in the complete game for ISU.
UE is set for the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Championship, which opens on Wednesday in Normal, Ill.
SOUTHERN INDIANA BASEBALL
EAGLES OVERPOWER COUGARS, COMPLETE SWEEP
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball overpowered Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 13-9, and completed a three-game sweep Sunday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles are 22-26 overall and 11-10 OVC, while Cougars go to 18-28-1, 10-11 OVC.
USI moves above the .500 mark in the OVC for the first time since the first week of April and are tied for fifth in the league standings. The Eagles also remain within two games of conference-leading Morehead State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which are 13-8 in the league, with six conference games remaining.
SIUE scored four runs in its first two at-bats before the USI bats came to life in the bottom of the second. The Eagles cut the deficit to 4-3 when junior leftfielder Adam Euler (Evansville, Indiana) smashed a three-run blast to right field.
After the Cougars bounced back with a run in the top of the third to lead, 5-3, USI exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third to take its first lead of the game, 8-5. USI senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) put the Eagles into the lead, 6-5, with a three-run blast to center field.
Junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) sent USI’s seven run across the plate with a RBI-single to center, while sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) finished the scoring with a sacrifice fly for the 8-5 lead.
SIUE rallied to tie the game in the top of the fourth, 8-8, with three runs on three hits, including a two-run home run of its own. The Cougars would slide back into the lead, 9-8, with a tally in the top of the fifth.
The Eagles rallied back into the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a four-run frame. Senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan), who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, banged a bases-loaded off the center field wall to make the score 11-9. Tachioka finished the scoring in the fifth by stealing third and rounded the bag to score on the wild pitch to put the Eagles up 12-9.
USI finished the scoring in the sixth when Niehaus scored on an error for the 13-9 win.
On the mound, junior right-hander Peyton Brown (Clemmons, North Carolina) picked up the win in relief. Brown (1-1) threw three innings, allowed one run on two hits, while striking out three.
Up Next for the Eagles:
USI travels across town to play the University of Evansville Tuesday at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
The Purple Aces are 27-20 after winning a series at Valparaiso University with a 9-0 victory today. UE has won 17 of its last 21 games and is tied for second in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Aces lead the all-time series with USI, 33-20, but the Eagles won the last meeting in 2018, 5-3.
Following the midweek game at UE, the Eagles continue on the road with a trip to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for a OVC three-game series. The series runs May 10 at 6 p.m. and continues May 11 at 4 p.m. before concluding May 12 at 1 p.m.
The Trojans are 26-20 overall and 13-8 in the OVC after defeating Western Illinois University on the road today, 8-3. Little Rock, which visits Oral Roberts University Tuesday before hosting the Eagles, are tied for first in the OVC.
Coming up this month:
The final series of the season will be Alumni Weekend when USI hosts Western Illinois University (May 16-18). The Eagles will have Senior Day and will honor the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship team prior to the 1 p.m. game May 18.
SOUTHERN INDIANA SOFTBALL
USI SOFTBALL EARNS NO. 4 SEED FOR OVC TOURNAMENT
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball will be the 4-seed at the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Championship Tournament. Southern Indiana will play Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., awaiting the winner between No. 5 University of Tennessee at Martin and No. 8 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
The winner between USI and UTM/SIUE will go on to face Eastern Illinois University, who earned the regular season title and the No. 1 seed, on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
Southern Indiana is making its second consecutive appearance at the OVC Tournament, debuting last year as a top-four seed and earning the program’s first-ever OVC postseason win.
The tournament begins Wednesday morning and runs through Saturday (May 8-11) at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois. This marks the first time the Championship will be held at the neutral site.
All games will be streamed with a subscription to ESPN+. All USI games can also be heard on The Spin 95.7 FM. Additional coverage links can be found on the USI Softball schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
2024 OVC Softball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 8
*Game 1: #6 Lindenwood vs. #7 Tennessee Tech, 10:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
*Game 2: #5 UT Martin vs. #8 SIUE, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 3: #3 Tennessee State vs. Winner Game 1, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4: #4 Southern Indiana vs. Winner Game 2, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 9
Game 5: #2 Southeast Missouri vs. Winner Game 3, 10:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 6: #1 Eastern Illinois vs. Winner Game 4, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 4, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 8: Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 3, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, May 10
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 11: Loser Game 10 vs. Winner Game 9, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 11
Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 13: IF NECESSARY, 30 Minutes After (ESPN+)
*Please note Games 1 and 2 are single elimination
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
VALPO SOFTBALL
BEACONS DROP EXTRA-INNING AFFAIR TO UNI TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON
For the second straight day, a standout pitching performance from freshman Sydney McDermott (Stout, Ohio/Portsmouth West) helped the Valpo softball team stay pace-for-pace with second-place UNI, but unlike Saturday’s walk-off heroics, Sunday saw the Beacons come out on the wrong end of a 4-2 final score in nine innings.
How It Happened
UNI plated a pair of runs in the top of the first with the assistance of a seeming wall of wind which kept a fly ball to center from traveling as far as anticipated, resulting in a two-run single.
The Beacons went hitless in the first three innings, but broke through in the fourth. Senior Alexis Johnson (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) led off the inning with a single, and three batters later, fellow senior Emily Crompton (Salem, Ill./Christ Our Rock Lutheran) knocked a run-scoring single into center to halve the deficit.
Valpo tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, but a couple bad breaks kept the Beacons from potentially taking the lead. Johnson got the rally going with a one-out single and stole second before senior Regi Hecker (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Blue Springs South) laced a shot to straightaway center. The line drive looked destined for the other side of the fence, but didn’t get quite high enough, hitting just inches from the top of the fence and falling for an RBI double to tie the game at 2-2.
Crompton followed with a single, and a walk to sophomore Kim Rodas (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) loaded the bases with two outs. Sophomore Lexi Szostak (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) stepped in and hit a looping liner straight back up the middle, which improbably hit the second-base bag at the exact angle to ricochet directly into the glove of UNI’s shortstop, whose momentum ranging toward the middle carried her right into the base for the force.
McDermott didn’t allow the tough luck to get to her, setting down the Panthers in order in the seventh and navigating a one-out single in the eighth. Valpo was retired in order in both frames as the game reached the ninth.
An RBI groundout and a two-out RBI double for UNI in the top of the ninth accounted for the final margin. Crompton and Szostak picked up singles in the bottom of the ninth to put the potential tying runs on base with one out, but the Panthers went to ace Samantha Heyer out of the bullpen and registered the final two outs in order.
Inside the Game
Valpo acquitted itself well against the Valley’s regular season runner-up all weekend long. The Beacons actually outhit the Panthers over the three-game series, 21-19.
The Beacons notched seven hits on Sunday afternoon, three of which came off the bat of Crompton for her second career three-hit game in her final appearance at the Valpo Softball Complex.
Johnson went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored in her final home game as well. Her sixth-inning stolen base was her 16th of the season, leaving the senior just one steal shy of cracking the program’s single-season top-10.
Hecker tallied a double and an RBI in her final home game, while senior Kayla Skapyak (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) reached base once via walk as well.
One day after going six innings out of the bullpen, allowing just four hits and two runs, to pick up the win, McDermott was just as strong on Sunday. After giving up a pair of runs in the first inning, the freshman kept the Panthers off the board for seven consecutive innings before getting tagged for a pair in the ninth.
Next Up
Valpo (9-39, 3-20 MVC) heads to the MVC Tournament in Normal, Ill. this week. The Beacons’ tournament journey opens Wednesday at 1 p.m. against fifth-seeded Bradley. All tournament games can be seen on ESPN+.
VALPO BASEBALL
BASEBALL DROPS RUBBER MATCH WITH EVANSVILLE
The Valparaiso University baseball team dropped Sunday’s series finale against Evansville 9-0 at Emory G. Bauer Field.
How It Happened
A home run by Brent Widder started the scoring in the second, and the Aces went on to get two more in that frame.
Neither team scored again until the sixth when UE added a single tally before tacking on two in the seventh.
Home runs by Ty Rumsey and Mark Shallenberger in the top of the eighth helped Evansville put the game out of reach.
Valpo starter Bryce Konitzer (Mukwonago, Wis. / Mukwonago) logged five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) while giving up six hits and no walks. Trent Turzenski (Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth.
Inside the Game
Evansville owned a 14-3 edge in the hit column.
The lone extra-base knock for the Beacons was a double by Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo) to lead off the bottom of the first. That was one of the team’s best scoring chances of the day as he was stranded at third. The Beacons also left a man 90 feet away in the fifth.
Up Next
Valpo (14-31, 6-15) will host Western Michigan on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field. The game will air on ESPN+.
UINDY MEN’S LAX
MEN’S LACROSSE SNEAKS INTO FIFTH STRAIGHT NCAA TOURNAMENT, VISITS LIMESTONE WEDNESDAY
INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy men’s lacrosse team continues to dance into May, earning its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, as announced Sunday evening.
The Greyhounds, seeded sixth for the second straight season, visits No. 3 seed Limestone on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. faceoff. The Saints knocked the Hounds out of the NCAA tournament a year ago in the national quarterfinals.
Limestone holds the edge in the all-time series over UIndy, 5-1, including a pair of postseason wins in 2019 and 2023. The Greyhounds’ lone win came in 2018 season finale. Half of the teams’ battles have been decided by two goals of less.
The winner heads to second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne on Sunday in Hickory, N.C. The Hounds visited the then-No. 1 Bears back in February, dropping the road decision for their first loss of the spring.
UIndy joins fellow GLVC members Lewis and Maryville, which will square off in the other first round contest scheduled for Wednesday. The Greyhounds split with the fourth-seeded Flyers during the season. The GLVC began sponsoring the sport of men’s lacrosse in 2018, with this season marking the first time in league history that three programs have earned a berth into the national tournament.
The Greyhounds earned five top-20 in-region RPI wins, including victories over out-of-region Mercyhurst and Seton Hill at home. In addition, UIndy boasts one of the nation’s best strengths of schedule, ranking first in the South Region in in-region opponents average winning percentage. The Hounds finished the regular season with an 11-5 record.
Coverage links will be provided soon. Stay up to date for more information regarding the Greyhounds’ NCAA tournament run on UIndyAthletics.com.
UINDY SOFTBALL
SOFTBALL FALLS IN EXTRAS IN GLVC FINAL
EAST PEORIA, Ill. – The No. 1-ranked UIndy softball team wrapped up a lengthy stay in East Peoria, Ill., Sunday. Playing their fourth game in four days, the top-seeded Greyhounds ended the week on the short end of a 3-2 final in eight innings versus No. 7-seed Missouri S&T.
Four Hounds landed on the all-tournament team, including Jocelyn Calvin, Emily O’Connor, Lexy Rees and Kenzee Smith.
UIndy now awaits the release of the 2024 NCAA DII Midwest Region field. The announcement will be made on NCAA.com on Monday, May 6 at 10 p.m. ET. The Greyhounds are in the driver’s seat to host one of two upcoming Midwest Regionals, scheduled for May 9-11.
INS & OUTS
Despite entering the day with zero losses in the tourney to S&T’s one, Sunday’s championship featured a winner-take-all single game.
With a solo shot from Rees in the second and an RBI double by Calvin in the fifth, the Hounds clung to a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh inning. But the Miners scratched across a critical game-tying score with a sac fly to knot it up.
After a scoreless bottom half of the seventh, UIndy quickly got two outs to open the eighth, but S&T’s Trista Grobe connected on a 1-0 pitch for the go-ahead home run—the Miners’ only extra-base hit of the contest.
A one-out walk by O’Connor gave the Hounds life in the bottom of the eighth, but there she would ultimately be stranded as S&T got the final two outs to hang on for its first-ever GLVC softball title.
UIndy ace Kenzee Smith tossed all eight frames, striking out five and walking only one. The loss dropped her to 32-2 on the year, snapping a personal win streak of 16 games.
Rees was the only Hound with two hits, O’Connor finished for three free passes and Grace Mosele added a run scored.
UINDY WOMEN’S TENNIS
FIVE IN A ROW! WOMEN’S TENNIS DOWNS ROCKHURST IN GLVC TITLE MATCH
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – For the fifth time in as many years, the UIndy women’s tennis team is Great Lakes Valley Conference Champions.
The Hounds, who have run the GLVC in women’s tennis action for the past half a decade, completed the perfect sweep of the conference for the second year in a row, going 5-0 in the regular season and now 3-0 in the tournament, with the finale coming with a 4-1 victory against the Rockhurst Hawks.
The No. 29-ranked Greyhounds leave this year’s tournament with a 13-5 record earning Head Coach Malik Tabet yet another GLVC Coach of the Year honor for his trophy case.
With the job done at the conference tournament, the Hounds will next turn their energy to the NCAA Regional which they sit in great position to host once again.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Action early favored the Hounds as they jumped to a 1-0 lead after doubles play. Maria Fiacan and Benedetta Sensi led the force at the top of the lineup, going 6-4 for the win. Tyffaine Pais and Ana Hollweg, the pair of the All-GLVC First Teamers, kept that power with a 6-2 win to secure the point.
The Hawks fared much better in singles action than any other GLVC team thus far. They were able to even the score quickly against Valentin Colin with a straight-sets victory at court five. But as one Hound fell, two others came to the rescue, scoring big wins at No. 6 and No. 2 courts was Jimena De Pablos Hernando and Sensi, retaking the lead and bringing it to 3-1.
The onus to seal the chip fell on the rook’, Hollweg. She was more than up to the task as well, bouncing back from a 6-4 first set loss to rattle off a 6-2 second and eventually an energy filled final set to clinch and send the Hounds home to Indy with yet another trophy for the UIndy Tennis Center to display.
UP NEXT
As previously said, the Hounds are not done just yet. With the GLVC title locked up, the Hounds will turn their attention to the NCAA Regional where they saw their season end last season. They await to see if they will host once again and who they will face in the beginning of the NCAA tournament. The selection show will take place 8:30 p.m., stay tuned to @UIndyAthletics on social media and the UIndyAthletics.com website for details about who the Hounds will take their next steps against.
UINDY MEN’S TENNIS
#8 MEN’S TENNIS CAPTURES SECOND-CONSECUTIVE GLVC TITLE
SPRINGFIELD, Mo – It’s back-to-back titles for UIndy men’s tennis now as they swept their way to the 2024 GLVC Men’s Tennis Championship! The Hounds in the title match broke down the No. 24 ranked Drury Panthers 4-0 to retain their title.
The No. 8 Greyhounds now have captured 13 GLVC titles. Alongside the conference chip, Malik Tabet earned his second consecutive GLVC Coach of the Year honors as this year’s champion.
The Hounds are now hot, having won their last 10 matches as they will look ahead towards the NCAA Regional Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles action was the beginning of the affair between the two squads. While No. 2-ranked Tom Zeuch and Matthieu Derache were in a deadlock atop of the card, it was the steady forces at No. 2 and No. 3 to get the job done. Pedro Franca and David Simeonov, the senior & freshman combo, rolled through to a 6-1 win. Erwan Momo Andre and Louis Picaud had equal success, going 6-4 to give the Hounds a lead.
With a lead, Zeuch sent a message to the Panthers. The No. 1-ranked player in the country dropped Yaroslav Sharyy, the top player for the Panthers and No. 16 player in DII in back-to-back 6-0 sets, setting the tone for singles action.
After the GLVC Player of the Year’s domination, it was his doubles partner, Derache at the six-spot who slid by with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to bring the match to a ledge.
The clincher, as poetic as ever, was Momo Andre. The senior from Paris, France delivered the death blow to the match, going 6-4, 6-4 and ensuring a happy trip back to Naptown for the Greyhounds.
UP NEXT
The Hounds, who came into the weekend the No. 1-seed in the Midwest Regional Rankings, will await to see who they will welcome into the Circle City for this year’s NCAA Regionals. Stay tuned to @UIndyAthletics and UIndyAthletics.com for details.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
“SPORTS EXTRA”
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
3 – 5 – 22 – 7 – 8
May 6, 1915 – The Sultan of Swing, Future Baseball Hall of Fame hitter, Babe Ruth smacked his first MLB home run as a member of the Boston Red Sox, ironically against his future employer the New York Yankees. Ruth pitched 12 long innings of the extra inning contest to suffer a 4-3 Red Sox loss to the Yankees.
May 6, 1925 – Detroit Tigers legend, Ty Cobb hit his fifth Home Run in just two games, whic tied a record set by Cap Anson in 1884.
May 6, 1934 – The Boston Red Sox scored 12 runs in just the 4th inning including a record 4 consecutive triples hit by Carl Reynolds (Number 5), rookie Moose Solters (Number 22), Rick Ferrell (Number 7), and Buck Walters (Number 8). Each of them to right center. It helped Reynolds reach a mark of having 21 RBIs in 16 ballgames.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
Hall of Fame Birthdays for May 6
Here are the bios on some birthday boys that are either in the College Football Hall of Fame or the Pro Football Hall of Fame that were born on this day. There is plenty more about them to read by either clicking their high-lighted name or at the top of this page clicking the “On This Day in Football History” and going to May 6 Football History.
May 6, 1907 – Richmond, Indiana – The only coach that won World Championships in both the AFL and the NFL, Weeb Ewbank was born. The head man and his legacy will endure as the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Weeb Ewbank in 1978.
Born May 6, 1907, in Richmond, Indiana, was the only coach that won World Championships in both the AFL and the NFL, Weeb Ewbank. Think about that for a second, and couple it with the fact that he accepted his first head coaching job at the age of 47, and what a small window that was to accomplish so much! Weeb’s 1958 and 1959 Baltimore Colts won the NFL Title both seasons and the New York Jets that Ewbank led won Super Bowl III! Ponder that, His Teams won the Greatest Game Ever Played and the Namath’s Promise of the Jets upsetting the Colts! Those two victories each changed the NFL forever and spurned its growth in popularity in amazing ways. Weeb was best known for using the process of building winning teams patiently around great quarterbacks and Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath thrived in his system. Coach won 130 professional football games walking the sidelines as the head man and his legacy will endure as the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Weeb Ewbank in 1978.
May 6, 1922 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Wisconsin Badgers fullback from the era of 1941 to 1942, Pat Harder was born. Pat Harder’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1993.
May 6, 1957 – Fairview Park, Ohio – Tom Cousineau the Ohio State Buckeye linebacker from 1975 to 1978 was born into the world. Tom Cousineau received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1903 The White Stockings win the Southside Park contest, 10-9, with more errors (12) than hits (10), beating the Tigers in the Southside Park contest, 10-9. Chicago’s dozen miscues tie the major league mark accomplished by the Tiger in 1901, and the teams combine to establish a new record with 18 errors, the most ever committed in a big-league game.
1906 At Pittsburgh’s Exposition Park, the Pirates become the first team to cover the grass to prevent it from getting wet during a rainstorm. A canvas tarp keeps the infield dry for tomorrow’s contest against the Cubs.
1915 At the Polo Grounds, Red Sox rookie pitcher Babe Ruth collects three hits, including his first home run. Homer number one, and his second round-tripper, hit two weeks later, comes off Yankees’ hurler Jack’ Crab’ Warhop.
1917 For the second consecutive day, a Browns’ hurler throws a no-hitter when Bob Groom keeps the White Sox hitless in the team’s 3-0 victory in the nightcap. The 32-year-old right-hander also pitched two hitless innings in the first game of the twin bill, earning a save in the Sportsman’s Park contest.
1918 After Boston’s GM Ed Barrow reluctantly agrees, Babe Ruth finally plays his first big-league game as a position player, starting at first base in the Red Sox’s 10-3 loss to the Yankees. The 23-year-old southpaw, known for his prowess on the pitching mound, collects two hits in four at-bats, connecting for a two-run home run, the 11th of his career, off left-hander George Mogridge in the fourth inning of the Polo Grounds contest.
1925 Ty Cobb hits his fifth home run in two games, tying 1884 Cap Anson’s record. The Tiger outfielder paces his club to an 11-4 victory over the Browns at Sportsman’s Park.
1929 The American League announces the discontinuation of the league’s MVP award. In 1931, the Junior Circuit resumes the honor, naming A’s southpaw Lefty Grove (31-4, 2.06) its most valuable player.
1931 Future baseball legend Willie Mays is born in Westfield, Alabama, the son of Annie Satterwhite and William Mays. The Say Hey Kid’s dad, called Cat due to his quick reflexes, was named after William Taft, the U.S. president elected in 1912, the same year Willie’s father was born.
1934 At Fenway Park, Carl Reynolds, Moose Solters, Rick Ferrell, and Bucky Walters hit four consecutive triples. The quartet of three-baggers comes in the Red Sox’ 12-run fourth inning en route to the team’s 14-4 rout of Detroit.
1937 Dodgers and Giants fans at the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field are thrilled to have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Hindenburg when the passenger airship appears over New York, nearing the end of its maiden voyage of the season from Germany. A few hours later, the majestic German zeppelin explodes on a landing strip in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 passengers.
1946 A’s rookie Bobby Shantz is sensational in his second appearance, tossing nine hitless innings of relief in a 13-inning, 5-4 win over Detroit at Briggs Field. The 23-year-old southpaw, who made his major league debut five days ago, pitching two-thirds of an inning against Washington, gives up two hits and a run in his tenth inning of work but gets the victory because Wally Moses had a two-run home run in the top of the frame.
1947 In a small office high up behind home plate at Ebbets Field, National League president Ford Frick meets with seven Cardinal players individually, revealing he is aware of their secret plan to strike as a protest to Jackie Robinson playing for the Dodgers. The usually non-confrontational leader of the Senior Circuit makes his position clear about their planned boycott, telling the Redbird conspirators they will encounter quick retribution from his office, including suspensions from baseball.
1951 Cliff Chambers becomes the first southpaw in franchise history to throw a no-hitter when he beats Boston, 3-0, in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Braves Field. The 29-year-old left-hander is also the first Buc hurler to accomplish the feat on the road.
1953 In his first major league start, Alva Lee Holloman throws a no-hitter as a rookie, beating the A’s in his first big league start, 6-0. The Browns’ freshman will never pitch another complete game, and ‘Bobo’ will win just three games in his one-year career in the majors.
1956 The Reds sweep the Phillies in a doubleheader at Crosley Field, 10-2 and 11-9. Cincinnati outfielder Gus Bell takes right-handed reliever Bob Miller deep in both ends of a doubleheader.
1962 Jim Bouton blanks the Senators at Yankee Stadium in his first major league start, 8-0. The right-handed rookie will describe the contest in his iconic book Ball Four as “the worst shutout in the history of the game,” the 22-year-old, nearly removed from the game after 11 of his first 12 pitches missed the strike zone, gives up seven hits and walks seven.
1964 Dave Nicholson hits a tape-measure home run, landing on the back of the left-field roof before bouncing out of Comiskey Park in the White Sox’s 6-4 victory over Kansas City. The outfielder’s monstrous shot becomes the source of a great exaggeration when unidentified team officials announce the ball traveled 573 feet, landing outside the Chicago south side ballpark.
1968 Larry Colton makes his only major league appearance, allowing one run on three hits in a two-inning relief stint for the Phillies in a 10-1 loss to Cincinnati at Crosley Field. The 25-year-old right-hander will author Counting Coup, a book detailing a true story of basketball and honor on the Little Big Horn that will earn a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2000.
1968 Giants’ reliever Lindy McDaniel sets a National League record, playing his 225th consecutive game without committing an error. The streak includes 108 chances handled successfully since June 16, 1964.
1972 The Angels make quick work of Milwaukee, beating the visitors at Anaheim Stadium, 2-0. Andy Messersmith completes his two-hit masterpiece in one hour and thirty-one minutes, making the contest the quickest nine-inning game in franchise history.
1974 A’s pitcher Paul Lindblad’s major league streak of 385 consecutive errorless games ends when he makes an errant pick-off throw in the first inning of a 6-3 loss to the Orioles. The southpaw will make only six errors during his 14 years in the major leagues, covering over 1200 innings on the mound.
1978 Lee Lacy becomes the first major leaguer to pinch-hit home runs in consecutive at-bats when he homers leading off in the top of the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss to the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. The LA super-sub, who went deep as a pinch-hitter four days ago, continues the streak on May 17, hitting another round-tripper in his third straight appearance off the bench.
1981 The Mariners replace manager Maury Wills, reportedly dealing with personal issues, with Rene Lachemann, the skipper of their Triple-A team in Spokane. The 48-year-old, the third black manager in major league history, compiled a 6-18 record this season, the worst start in the team’s brief five-year history.
1981 In Rene Lachemann’s first game as manager after replacing Murray Wills, the Mariners beat the Brewers at the Kingdome, 12-1. The victory stops right-hander Mike Parrott’s 18-game losing streak, one loss shy of the AL record shared by Robert Groom (1909 Senators) and John Nabors (1916 A’s).
1982 Gaylord Perry becomes the 15th major league player to win his 300th victory when he beats the Yankees at the Kingdome, 7-3. The ‘Ancient Mariner’ will end his 22-year career with 314 victories.
1983 In a 4-2 California victory over Detroit at Tiger Stadium, Rod Carew, with his 3-for-4 performance, raises his current batting average to .500 (48-for-96). The Angels’ first baseman will finish the season at .339, second-best in the A.L., when Wade Boggs leads the league with a .361 pace.
1984 Cal Ripken becomes the second Oriole player to hit for the cycle, joining Brooks Robinson, who accomplished the feat in 1960. The Baltimore shortstop completes the rare event with a ninth-inning home run off Dave Tobik in the team’s 6-1 victory over Texas at Arlington Stadium.
1994 The Cubs’ 10-1 victory over the Pirates ends Anthony Young’s 27-game losing streak as a starter and snaps Chicago’s record 14-game drought at home. The hard-luck pitcher, who set a major league record with 27 consecutive losses while pitching for the Mets, 14 in a starting role and 13 as a reliever, had also made 27 straight starts without a win, although he threw 13 quality games in which his teams posted a 4-23 record.
1998 In his fifth major league start, the Cubs’ rookie Kerry Wood, throwing 122 pitches, ties a major league record when he strikes out 20 batters in nine innings, limiting the Astros to one hit in the team’s 2-0 win at Wrigley Field. In addition to matching Red Sox fireballer Roger Clemens’ feat (Mariners-1986 and Tigers-1996), the 20-year-old Texan breaks the National League record of 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game shared by Steve Carlton, David Cone, and Tom Seaver.
2005 In a 6-5 win over the Cardinals, Trevor Hoffman becomes the third closer in major league history to save 400 games. The Padres reliever joins Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424) as the other bullpen artists who have reached this milestone.
2007 The fans hear Roger Clemens will be a Yankee again, thanks to a dramatic seventh-inning announcement from the owner’s box. The 44-year-old right-hander agrees to a one-year, $28-million contract, the highest single-season salary ever paid to a major-league player, to come out of retirement again and pitch in pinstripes for the remainder of the season.
2008 Tim Wakefield, 42, throws eight scoreless innings, and 41-year-old Mike Timlin does not allow a run in the ninth in the Red Sox’ 5-0 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. The game marks the first time in the post-1900 era two teammates over 40 years of age have combined to toss a shutout.
2008 Gavin Floyd loses his second no-hit bid in less than a month as Joe Mauer doubles with one out in the ninth in the White Sox’ 7-1 victory over the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago right-hander, who leaves the contest to a standing ovation from the crowd with Bobby Jenks getting the last two outs, also flirted with a no-no 24 days ago against the Tigers, which ended when Edgar Renteria singled with one out in the eighth inning.
2009 With a 10-3 victory over Washington, the Dodgers break the major league mark for consecutive victories at home to open a season with their 13th straight win in L.A. The previous record of 12 was established in 1911 by the Tigers.
2010 Wade McGilberry wins a million dollars playing the video game Major League Baseball 2K10. The 23-year-old Mobile, Alabamian becomes the first gamer to pitch a perfect game in the Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s product, accomplishing the feat in just an hour and a half.
2010 From 7 a.m. till midnight, more than 10,000 Tigers fans, some of whom waited more than eight hours in line at Comerica Park, pay their respect to the beloved broadcaster Ernie Harwell. The open casket is placed near the ballpark’s life-sized statue of the Hall of Famer, depicting the announcer with a microphone in his hand, with the inscription, “The Tigers’ broadcasting legend and masterful storyteller for 42 seasons.”
2011 The Royals sell ten thousand walk-up tickets on the day Royals’ rookie Eric Hosmer makes his much-anticipated major league debut at Kauffman Stadium. The 21-year-old first baseman, who received the largest signing bonus in franchise history, goes hitless in his two official at-bats in a 3-2 loss to the A’s, but he is walked twice and steals a base.2011 Jordan Zimmerman becomes the 30th National League hurler to throw an immaculate inning, needing only nine pitches to strike out the side in the second frame of the Nationals’ 3-2 victory over the Marlins. The Washington right-hander, facing the 5-6-7 batters in the Sun Life Stadium contest, fans Giancarlo Stanton and Greg Dobbs swinging, getting a quick third out when John Buck looks at a third strike.
2012 For the first time since 1902, two position players get a decision in the same game with Chris Davis, who pitches two scoreless frames, winning the Orioles’ 9-6 victory over the Red Sox. Boston outfielder Darnell McDonald is tagged with the loss when Adam Jones takes him deep for a three-run homer over the left-field wall for the eventual winning runs in the 17-inning contest at Fenway Park.
2012 A performance of the Harvard baseball team lip-synching with choreographed dance moves to Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song “Call Me Maybe” is posted on YouTube. The video, made for their own entertainment to fight the boredom during road trips, will quickly go viral in a few days, bringing national attention to the players of the Crimson squad.
2012 After being drilled deliberately by Cole Hamels, Bryce Harper, gets even by swiping home plate when the Phillies starter makes a casual pick-throw to first base. Baseball suspends the left-hander, who admits his intention to hit the 19-year-old National rookie sensation, for five games for the incident with Washington’s general manager Mike Rizzo fined for his incendiary comment when he labels Hamels as “gutless” for throwing at his player.
2012 Omar Vizquel becomes the oldest player to play shortstop in major league history when he starts in the Blue Jays’ 4-3 loss to L.A. in Anaheim. The 45-year-old infielder surpasses Bobby Wallace, who played a dozen games with the Cardinals at 44 in 1918.
2014 The Pirates win the first instant-replay walk-off game in history when a replay review reverses umpire Quinn Wolcott’s out call of Starling Marte trying to score, which, if correct, would have sent the game into extra innings. The PNC Park crowd enthusiastically cheers the Replay Operations Center’s decision, giving the Bucs a dramatic 2-1 victory.
2015 “People who are listening to the ballgame, I know what you’re thinking. He’s ready for the home. He’s cooked. It’s finally happened. He’s seeing ladders and doors without handles.” – BOB UECKER, explaining being trapped radio broadcast booth’s door for several innings thanks to a broken lock on its door. Bob Uecker, fellow broadcasters Joe Block and Jeff Levering, longtime engineer Kent Sommerfeld, and his assistant, Mary Burns, become trapped for several innings due to a broken lock on the Miller Park’s radio broadcast booth door. Using a ladder positioned on the loge level, a crew of workmen climbed into the booth to remove the door from its hinges while the announcers’ play-by-play continued to detail the action of the Brewers and Dodgers game on the field.
2015 Bryce Harper becomes the youngest player (22 years, 202 days) to hit three homers in one game in 45 years when he goes deep three times in Washington’s 7-5 win over the Marlins at Nationals Park. In 1969, Red Sox right fielder Joe Lahoud accomplished the feat at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium, 149 days younger than the Nats’ slugger.
2019 At Great American Ball Park, Giants relievers Pat Venditte and Sam Dyson tie a major league record when they combine to plunk four batters in the sixth inning of the team’s 12-4 loss to the Reds. San Francisco becomes the first team to hit four batters in the same inning since the Pirates accomplished the feat against the Boston Braves on Aug. 19, 1893.
2021 The Angels designated Albert Pujols, hitting .198 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 86 at-bats, for assignment, releasing the aging superstar after he clears waivers. The reigning World Champion Dodgers will sign the 41-year-old future first-ballot Hall of Famer to a one-year deal for the prorated share of the $570,500 league minimum, with the $30-million remaining in his 10-year, $240-million contract the responsibility of the Halos.
2021 In the sixth inning, three Barons relievers issue 13 base on balls, including at least one to each hitter in the visiting Biloxi Shuckers lineup, hit a batter, and throw two wild pitches, allowing 12 runs to score on just one hit. The Chicago White Sox farm team threw 87 pitches in the frame, 24 for strikes, in their 14-6 loss to the Brewers’ Double-A team at Regions Field in Birmingham (AL).
BASEBALL YEAR IN REVIEW: 1995 (BASEBALL ALMANAC)..
Off the field…
A massive bomb inside a rental truck exploded outside the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, demolishing half of the nine-story structure and killing one-hundred sixty-eight people. Timothy McVeigh, a former U.S. soldier turned domestic terrorist, was later convicted and sentenced to death for his crime in 1997.
Big business got even bigger in 1995 as several mega-media companies merged including ABC and Disney, Westinghouse and CBS and Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner.
Pro Football Hall of Famer and television celebrity O. J. Simpson went on trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The media circus surrounding the event as well as one-hundred thirty-three days of televised courtroom testimony turned countless viewers into Simpson trial junkies.
In the American League…
The “Iron Man” finally roped the “Iron Horse” as Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken Jr. matched Yankee great Lou Gehrig by appearing in his 2,130th consecutive game. The amazing record spanned 16½ years and validated the shortstop as modern baseball’s most durable, hard-working and determined player. Amidst a finale of fireworks, play is stopped for twenty-two minutes as Ripken takes a celebratory lap around Camden Yards.
On September 8th, the Cleveland Indians clinched the American League Central Division after their one-hundred twenty-third game of the season. The feat marked the fastest that any team had ever won a title and moved the Tribe ahead in the American League race by a staggering 23½ games over their closest competitor, the Kansas City Royals.
The Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees, 8-0 as the Beantown Bombers scored all eight of their runs on grand slams in back-to-back innings (John Valentin and Mo Vaughn). According to a SABR statistician, it was the only game ever to finish with two grand slams accounting for all of the runs scored.
In the National League…
Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese player to appear in the Major Leagues since 1964 when he tossed five innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 13-inning, 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
On May 6th, seven National League games resulted in a combined one-hundred eighteen runs that tied the record for the highest-scoring day in National League history. Seven of the fourteen teams scored at least ten runs, led by the Los Angeles Dodgers who totaled seventeen in their win over the Colorado Rockies. Ten days later, the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Pittsburgh Pirates all tossed shutouts.
The St. Louis Cardinals were awarded the first forfeit victory in the Major Leagues since July 12, 1979 after fans bombard the field with more than two-hundred balls that they had received as souvenirs for August 10th’s “Ball Day” at Dodger Stadium. The near riot was in reaction to the ejections of Raul Mondesi and manager Tommy Lasorda in the bottom of the ninth.
Around the League…
The ’94 strike continued into the ’95 season as the players’ union chief Donald Fehr declared all eight-hundred thirty-five unsigned Major League players to be free agents in response to unilateral contract changes made by the owners. Five bills aimed at ending the baseball strike were introduced into Congress and both players and owners were ordered by President Clinton to resume bargaining and reach an agreement by February 6. After the deadline passed with no compromises, the use of replacement players for spring training and regular season games was approved by baseball’s executive council. Finally on April 25th, the two-hundred thirty-four day strike ended although the opening games were played with replacement umpires. The regular officials continued to be locked out until May 3rd.
In September, a three-judge panel in New York voted unanimously to uphold the injunction that brought the end to the strike. Although the owners had appealed the decision, the panel determined that the Players Relations Committee had illegally attempted to eliminate free agency and salary arbitration.
The Commerce Comet, baseball legend Mickey Mantle died at age sixty-three in Dallas, Texas. The Mick had recently received a liver transplant at Baylor University Hospital and during the surgical procedure doctor’s discovered that he had contracted an inoperable form of liver cancer.
In September Major League Baseball signed a $1.7 billion, five year deal with Fox, NBC, ESPN, and Liberty Media.
HISTORY OF THE TWINS (BASEBALL ALMANAC)
It’s easy to understand why some Washington baseball fans might be confused.
Their original team, the Washington Senators, played in the National League until 1899. Then they became an American League team in 1901, called by the new ownership the Nationals so as not to have them confused with the old Senators.
But fans kept calling them the Senators, while the team kept calling itself the Nationals, and everybody else nicknamed the team the “NATS,” although nobody was sure whether that was short for NATionals or SeNATors. It wasn’t until 50 years later the team began officially calling itself what the fans had been calling it all along.
To top it off, the team moved to Minnesota in 1961 to become the Twins. But a new franchise stayed in Washington called the Senators, until that franchise moved to Texas to become the Rangers in 1972 and was replaced by another new Washington team called the Nationals, which relocated from Montreal after the 2004 season.
Got all that? Here it is again, only a little slower, and with more detail.The National League operated a franchise in Washington until 1899. That team, called the Senators, folded and the new American League took Washington as an original franchise city when it began play in 1901. This team, called the Nationals, opened with a 5-1 win against Philadelphia’s Athletics on April 26, 1901.
The team had nothing but second division finishes in its first decade, the worst coming in 1904 when it compiled a 38-114 record. The biggest event during this time was the debut in 1907 of a true prodigy — a right hander with otherworldly talent named Walter Johnson. He would retire 21 years later as arguably the greatest pitcher in the game’s history.
In 1912-13, Johnson had perhaps the best back-to-back seasons any pitcher has ever had. In so doing he single handedly pulled the Nats into the first division for the first time. In 1912 he went 32-12, with a 1.39 ERA and 303 strikeouts. In 1913 he was a staggering 36-7, with a 1.14 ERA and 243 strikeouts in 346 innings.
In 1920, Clark Griffith bought the team, beginning a 72-year association between his family and the franchise. He enjoyed his greatest success when the team won the 1924 championship — the only World Series triumph for a Washington team. Bucky Harris played second base and managed the team, while Hall-of-Famer Goose Goslin drove in 129 runs and hit .344. Johnson did his part, turning in a stellar 23-7 season to lead the pitchers.
Washington faced the New York Giants in the World Series, and it went seven games. Having already pitched two games, Johnson took the mound in relief in Game Seven with the score tied, the bases loaded and no one out. He got out of the jam and shut down the Giants until Washington plated the winning run in the 12th inning, set up by Johnson’s single.
Washington repeated its league triumph in 1925, but lost the Series to the Pirates — this time blowing a 3-1 lead in games. An exhausted Johnson was battered for nine runs in the decisive game. It was Johnson’s last taste of postseason baseball.
Johnson retired after winning 417 games, second most in history, for a team that rarely finished in the first division or with a winning record. His career ERA was 2.17. He struck out a then-record 3,508 batters in an era when few players, even sluggers, struck out frequently. His strikeout record lasted 60 years, and his total of 110 career shutouts still stands.
After a string of mediocre seasons, Hall-of-Famer Joe Cronin led the Nats to the 1933 pennant as manager and shortstop. He had lots of help from Hall-of-Famer Heinie Manush (.336 with 95 RBIs). The Nats lost the Series to the Giants again — this time in five games.
After 1933, the Nats went into a long decline. They were rarely in contention, leading to the birth of the mantra that “Washington was first in war, first in peace and last in the American League.” In fairness to the franchise, the Nats weren’t all that horrible – they finished last six times between 1934-1960.
The absence of a contending team, shrinking fan support, an aging stadium and the lure of greener pastures in the upper Midwest convinced Griffith to move the franchise to Minnesota. Washington lawmakers would not let him go until the American League agreed to award one of its 1961 expansion franchises to the nation’s capital. The original Nats played their last game in Washington on October 2, 1960, losing 2-1 to Baltimore. A new expansion franchise, which everyone agreed would be called the Washington Senators, began play in 1961.
MINNESOTA TWINS
Meanwhile, the team now named for the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, won its first game, 6-0, at Yankee Stadium. But with slugging stars Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison soon joined by shortstop Zoilo Versalles and outfielder Tony Oliva, the Twins became a contending franchise again. Collecting pitching talent such as Camilo Pascual, Jim Kaat, Jim Perry and Jim “Mudcat” Grant the next few years made sure they stayed that way for several years.The 1964 Twins finished fifth, but there were signs of what was to come — Killebrew clouted 49 dingers (his fourth consecutive 40-plus home run season) and rookie Oliva hit a league-leading .323.
The Twins won the 1965 pennant as Oliva led the league again at .321 (the only player to win batting titles his first two seasons) and Versailles had an MVP year. Ironically, the Twins clinched the flag with a 2-1 win against the new Washington Senators. The Twins bowed to the Dodgers in a pitching-rich seven game Series.
With Billy Martin at the helm, the Twins won the first American League West title in 1969 paced by Killebrew’s 49 home runs and 140 RBIs. However, Martin left after losing the playoff to Baltimore. Bill Rigney led the Twins to a 1970 encore but he also lost to the Orioles.The Twins lost Killebrew after 1974 and Oliva after 1976, but they still had Rod Carew, who made the American League batting crown his personal property with seven titles. His most noteworthy season was 1977, when he flirted with a .400 average before finishing at .388.The Twins left cozy Metropolitan Stadium for the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome after the 1981 season. Two years later the Griffith family ended their seven decade control of the franchise, selling to local businessman Carl Pohlad.
It would take a relatively unknown manager in Tom Kelly cultivating a new generation of sluggers in homegrown Kent Hrbek (34 home runs and 90 RBIs), Kirby Puckett (.332, 28 homers and 99 RBIs) and Gary Gaetti (31 homers and 109 runs-batted-in) to bring the Twin Cities back to the World Series and a seven game triumph against the Cardinals in 1987.Four years later they repeated behind a veteran pitching staff led by Scott Erickson’s 20-8 record and Jack Morris’ 18 wins. Morris turned in a Series performance for the ages in Game Seven, shutting out the Braves on seven hits for 10 innings until his team scored in the bottom of the 10th for a 1-0 win.
The Twins fell on hard times with eight consecutive losing seasons until 2001 when they returned to the top of their division. And in 2002 they were division champions under the steady hand of new manager Ron Gardenhire and led on the field by fearless centerfielder Torii Hunter and pitcher Johan Santana (Cy Young Award winner in 2004 and 2006). When those two left later in the decade, a new crop of players led by homegrown catcher Joe Mauer (three batting titles, 2009 MVP), first baseman Justin Morneau (MVP in 2006) and pitcher Francisco Liriano led the Twins to Central Division titles in 2009-10.
The Twins also benefitted financially by moving back outside to Target Field in 2010, setting a franchise record as more than 3.2 million fans clicked through the turnstiles.
THE MEN OF BASEBALL
MARK BELANGER
When the Orioles traded shortstop Luis Aparicio after the 1967 season, they replaced him with his roommate, Belanger. The slender “Blade” didn’t relinquish the position until 1982. An eight-time Gold Glove winner, he played in 43 postseason games during a decade of strong Baltimore teams and holds several ALCS defensive records for shortstops. Seldom spectacular, Belanger rarely fielded a ball one-handed or sidearmed a throw, but he moved around short with sure-handed ease and grace. Although an unimpressive hitter, he had the distinction of swatting a home run in the first ALCS game played, versus Minnesota (10/4/69). That year was his best offensively, as he hit .287 with 50 RBI.
Granted free agency after 1981, Belanger signed with the Dodgers for his final season. A longtime player representative with Baltimore, he became a special assistant with the Major League Baseball Players Association after retiring as a player.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1895 — African American jockey James “Soup” Perkins guides Halma to a wire-to-wire victory in the Kentucky Derby. The 15-year-old joins fellow African American jockey Alonzo Clayton as the youngest jockey to ride a Derby winner.
1915 — Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth hits his first MLB home run.
1917 — Bob Groom of the Browns duplicates teammate Ernie Koob’s feat of the previous day by pitching a 3-0 no-hit victory against the Chicago White Sox in the second game of a doubleheader in St. Louis.
1944 — Pensive, ridden by Conn McCreary, wins the Kentucky Derby going away by four and a half lengths ahead of Broadcloth. Pensive, who clocks 2:04.2, is third entering the stretch and wears down Broadcloth and Stir Up.
1967 — 93rd Kentucky Derby: Bobby Ussery on Proud Clarion wins in 2:00.6.
1970 — European Cup Final, San Siro, Milan: Feyenoord beats Celtic, 2-1; first time title won by a Dutch club.
1973 — The New England Whalers beat the Winnipeg Jets 9-6 to win the first World Hockey Association championship.
1976 — Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach ties an NHL playoff record, scoring five goals in the Flyers’ 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins. Maurice Richard and Darryl Sittler also accomplished the feat.
1978 — Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, holds off Alydar’s late charge for a 1½-length victory in the Kentucky Derby. This is Affirmed’s easiest race against Alydar en route to the Triple Crown. aA1988 — Rick Stiner is 6-for-8 with 11 RBIs and three home runs and Matt Hyde is 6-for-9 with two homers and seven RBIs as Grand Canyon College sets a college scoring record with a 45-15 victory over Denver.
1982 — Seattle Mariners Gaylord Perry becomes 15th pitcher to win 300 games.
1987 — Mario Andretti sets one-lap speed record at Indy at 218.204 MPH.
1991 — Sergei Bubka of the Soviet Union breaks his world outdoor pole vault record and Seppo Raty of Finland smashes the world javelin record during the Toto International Super Track and Field Meet in Japan. Bubka clears 19 feet, 11 inches, breaking his outdoor record of 19-10½. Raty hurls the javelin 301 feet, 9 inches, breaking the world record of 298-6 set.
1992 — Werder Bremen of Germany win 32nd European Cup winner’s Cup against AS Monaco of France 2-0 in Lisbon.
1994 — Lennox Lewis TKOs Phil Jackson in 8 for heavyweight boxing title.
1997 — Rick Pitino becomes coach of Boston Celtics.
1998 — Rookie Kerry Wood ties the major league record with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game, pitching a one-hitter to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Houston Astros 2-0.
2000 — Fusaichi Pegasus, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, is the first favorite to win Kentucky Derby since 1979. Fusaichi Pegasus pays $6.60, becoming the first favorite to win the race since Spectacular Bid.
2001 — Scott Dixon, a 20-year-old rookie, becomes the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing when he holds off Kenny Brack by 0.366 seconds to capture the CART Lehigh Valley Grand Prix.
2006 — Barbaro storms into the lead at the top of the stretch and wins the Kentucky Derby victory convincingly. Barbaro, ridden by Edgar Prado, wins his sixth consecutive race 6½ lengths ahead of Bluegrass Cat and is the sixth undefeated winner of the Derby.
2006 — Phoenix is the eighth team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1 with a 121-90 victory over Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of its Western Conference opening-round series.
2010 — Johan Franzen scores a natural hat trick in a 3:26 span of the first period, scores a fourth goal in the third, and sets a Red Wings playoff record with six points as Detroit stays alive with a 7-1 rout of the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.
2011 — James Hylton, at age 76, becomes the oldest driver to make the field in NASCAR’s top three series by qualifying for the Nationwide event at Darlington Raceway. Hylton surpasses his own mark for racing longevity set three years ago when the then-73-year-old started the Nationwide event at Daytona.
2012 — Dustin Brown scores two goals and the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings finish an improbable four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 3-1 victory, advancing to the conference finals. The Kings become the first No. 8 seed in NHL history to eliminate their conference’s top two seeds in the same postseason. After steamrolling past top-seeded Vancouver and second-seeded St. Louis with eight wins in nine games.
2018 — Marc-Andre Fleury makes 28 saves in his fourth shutout of the playoffs and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Western Conference Final in their inaugural season after beating the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in Game 6 of their second-round series. Vegas becomes the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season.
2019 — Pablo Sandoval becomes second MLB player since 1900 to throw a scoreless outing, hit a home run and steal a base in the same game in SF Giants’ 12-4 loss in Cincinnati; joins Christy Mathewson 1905.
TV SPORTS MONDAY
| MLB REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| San Francisco at Philadelphia | 4:05pm | NBC Sports-Bay Area NBC Sports-Philadelphia MLB.TV Fubo |
| Detroit at Cleveland | 6:10pm | Bally Sports-Detroit Bally Sports-Great Lakes MLB.TV Fubo |
| LA Angels at Pittsburgh | 6:40pm | Bally Sports-West ATTSN-Pittsburgh MLB.TV Fubo |
| Chi. White Sox at Tampa Bay | 6:50pm | NBC Sports-Chicago Bally Sports-Sun MLB.TV Fubo |
| Milwuakee at Kansas City | 7:40pm | Bally Sports-Wisconsin Bally Sports-Kansas City MLB.TV Fubo |
| Seattle at Minnesota | 7:40pm | Root Sports Bally Sports-North MLB.TV Fubo |
| San Diego at Chi. Cubs | 7:40pm | Padres.TV MARQ MLB.TV Fubo |
| NY Mets at St. Louis | 7:45pm | SNY Bally Sports-Midwest MLB.TV Fubo |
| Texas at Oakland | 9:40pm | MLBN Bally Sports-Southwest NBC Sports-California MLB.TV Fubo |
| Miami at LA Dodgers | 10:10pm | MLBN Bally Sports-Florida SNLA MLB.TV Fubo |
| NBA PLAYOFFS | TIME ET | TV |
| East Semifinals Game 1: Indiana at New York | 7:30pm | TNT Fubo |
| West Semifinals Game 2: Minnesota at Denver | 10:00pm | TNT Fubo |
| NHL PLAYOFFS | TIME ET | TV |
| East Semifinals Game 1: Boston at Florida | 8:00pm | ESPN |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Serie A: Salernitana vs Atalanta | 12:00pm | Paramount+ Fubo |
| Super Lig: Konyaspor vs Fenerbahçe | 1:00pm | beIN Sports Fubo |
| Serie A: Udinese vs Napoli | 2:45pm | Paramount+ Fubo |
| EPL: Crystal Palace vs Manchester United | 3:00pm | USA Fubo |
| Ligue 1: Lille vs Olympique Lyonnais | 3:00pm | beIN Sports Fubo |
| Brasileirão: Juventude vs Atlético Goianiense | 7:00pm | Paramount+ Fubo |