CENTRAL INDIANA BASEBALL SCORES
MOORESVILLE 12 CASCADE 2
BISHOP CHATARD 14 RIVERSIDE 2
CLINTON CENTRAL 9 TRADERS POINT CHRISTIAN 1
PLAINFIELD 8 MONROVIA 1
COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/IN/BASEBALL/SCORES/?DATE=4/21/2023
CENTRAL INDIANA SOFTBALL SCORES
IRVINGTON PREP 7 INDIANAPOLIS TECH 4
TRI 20 MONROE CENTRAL 4
TRI-WEST 10 CASCADE 0
ELWOOD 3 HAMILTON HEIGHTS 2
CASTON 1 WESTFIELD 0
COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/IN/SOFTBALL/SCORES/?DATE=4/21/2023
NBA PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD
ATLANTA 130 BOSTON 122
NEW YORK 99 CLEVELAND 79
DENVER 120 MINNESOTA 111
BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NBA/SCOREBOARD.ASP
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (1) VS. MIAMI HEAT (8)
• GAME 1: HEAT 130, BUCKS 117
• GAME 2: BUCKS 138, HEAT 122
• GAME 3: BUCKS VS. HEAT | SAT., APRIL 22 | 7:30 ET (ESPN)
• GAME 4: BUCKS VS. HEAT | MON., APRIL 24 | 7 OR 7:30 ET (NBA TV OR TNT)
• *GAME 5: HEAT VS. BUCKS | WED., APRIL 26 | 9:30 ET (NBA TV)
• *GAME 6: BUCKS VS. HEAT | FRI, APRIL 28 | TBD
• *GAME 7: HEAT VS. BUCKS | SUN., APRIL 30 | TBD
SERIES TIED 1-1
BOSTON CELTICS (2) VS. ATLANTA HAWKS (7)
• GAME 1: CELTICS 112, HAWKS 99
• GAME 2: CELTICS 119, HAWKS 106
• GAME 3: HAWKS 130, CELTICS 122
• GAME 4: CELTICS VS. HAWKS | SUN, APRIL 23 | 7 ET (TNT)
• GAME 5: HAWKS VS. CELTICS | TUES., APRIL 25 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 6: CELTICS VS. HAWKS | THURS., APRIL 27 | TBD
• *GAME 7: HAWKS VS. CELTICS | SAT., APRIL 29 | TBD
CELTICS LEAD SERIES 2-1
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (3) VS. BROOKLYN NETS (6)
• GAME 1: 76ERS 121, NETS 101
• GAME 2: 76ERS 96, NETS 84
• GAME 3: 76ERS 102, NETS 97
• GAME 4: 76ERS VS. NETS | SAT., APRIL 22 | 1 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 5: NETS VS. 76ERS | MON., APRIL 24 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 6: 76ERS VS. NETS | THURS., APRIL 27 | TBD
• *GAME 7: NETS VS. 76ERS | SAT., APRIL 29 | TBD
SIXERS LEAD SERIES 3-0
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (4) VS. NEW YORK KNICKS (5)
• GAME 1: KNICKS 101, CAVALIERS 97
• GAME 2: CAVALIERS 107, KNICKS 90
• GAME 3: KNICKS 99, CAVALIERS 79
• GAME 4: CAVALIERS VS. KNICKS | SUN., APRIL 23 | 1 ET (ABC)
• GAME 5: KNICKS VS. CAVALIERS | WED., APRIL 26 | 7 ET (NBA TV)
• *GAME 6: CAVALIERS VS. KNICKS | TBD
• *GAME 7: KNICKS VS. CAVALIERS | TBD
KNICKS LEAD SERIES 2-1
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DENVER NUGGETS (1) VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (8)
• GAME 1: NUGGETS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 80
• GAME 2: NUGGETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 113
• GAME 3: NUGGETS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 111
• GAME 4: NUGGETS VS. TIMBERWOLVES | SUN., APRIL 23 | 9:30 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 5: TIMBERWOLVES VS. NUGGETS | TUES., APRIL 25 | 9 ET (NBA TV)
• *GAME 6: NUGGETS VS. TIMBERWOLVES | THURS., APRIL 27 | TBD
• *GAME 7: TIMBERWOLVES VS. NUGGETS | SAT., APRIL 29 | TBD
NUGGETS LEAD SERIES 3-0
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (2) VS. L.A. LAKERS (7)
• GAME 1: LAKERS 128, GRIZZLIES 112
• GAME 2: GRIZZLIES 103, LAKERS 93
• GAME 3: GRIZZLIES VS. LAKERS | SAT., APRIL 22 | 10 ET (ESPN)
• GAME 4: GRIZZLIES VS. LAKERS | MON. APRIL 24 | 10 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 5: LAKERS VS. GRIZZLIES | WED., APRIL 26 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 6: GRIZZLIES VS. LAKERS | FRI., APRIL 28 | TBD
• *GAME 7: LAKERS VS. GRIZZLIES | SUN., APRIL 30 | TBD
SERIES TIED AT 1-1
SACRAMENTO KINGS (3) VS. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (6)
• GAME 1: KINGS 126, WARRIORS 123
• GAME 2: KINGS 114, WARRIORS 106
• GAME 3: WARRIORS 114, KINGS 97
• GAME 4: KINGS VS. WARRIORS | SUN., APRIL 23 | 3.30 ET (ABC)
• GAME 5: WARRIORS VS. KINGS | WED., APRIL 26 | 10 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 6: KINGS VS. WARRIORS | FRI., APRIL 28 | TBD
• *GAME 7: WARRIORS VS. KINGS | SUN., APRIL 30 | TBD
KINGS LEAD SERIES 2-1
PHOENIX SUNS (4) VS. LA CLIPPERS (5)
• GAME 1: CLIPPERS 115, SUNS 110
• GAME 2: SUNS 123, CLIPPERS 109
• GAME 3: SUNS 129, CLIPPERS 124
• GAME 4: SUNS VS. CLIPPERS | SAT., APRIL 22 | 3:30 ET (TNT)
• GAME 5: CLIPPERS VS. SUNS | TUES., APRIL 25 | 10 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 6: SUNS VS. CLIPPERS | THURS., APRIL 27 | TBD
• *GAME 7: CLIPPERS VS. SUNS | SAT., APRIL 29 | TBD (TNT)
SUNS LEAD SERIES 2-1
* IF NECESSARY
NHL PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD
NY ISLANDERS 5 CAROLINA 1
BOSTON 4 FLORIDA 2
MINNESOTA 5 DALLAS 1
LOS ANGELES 3 EDMONTON 2
BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NHL/SCOREBOARD.ASP
NHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
BOSTON BRUINS (A1) VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS (WC2)
BRUINS LEAD SERIES, 2-1
GAME 1: BRUINS 3, PANTHERS 1
GAME 2: PANTHERS 6, BRUINS 3
GAME 3: BRUINS 4, PANTHERS 2
SUN., APRIL 23: BRUINS AT PANTHERS, 3:30 P.M. ET, TNT, SN1, TVAS
WED., APRIL 26: PANTHERS AT BRUINS, 7 P.M. ET; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
*FRI., APRIL 28: BRUINS AT PANTHERS, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: PANTHERS AT BRUINS, TBD
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (A2) VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (A3)
SERIES TIED 1-1
GAME 1: LIGHTNING 7, MAPLE LEAFS 3
GAME 2: MAPLE LEAFS, 7, LIGHTNING 2
SAT., APRIL 22: MAPLE LEAFS AT LIGHTNING, 7 P.M. ET, TBS, SN, CBC, TVAS
MON., APRIL 24: MAPLE LEAFS AT LIGHTNING, 7:30 P.M. ET, TBS, SNE, SNO, SNP, CBC
THUR., APRIL 27: LIGHTNING AT MAPLE LEAFS, 7 P.M. ET; SN, CBC, TVAS
*SAT., APRIL 29: MAPLE LEAFS AT LIGHTNING, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: LIGHTNING AT MAPLE LEAFS, TBD
CAROLINA HURRICANES (M1) VS. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (WC1)
HURRICANES LEAD SERIES, 2-1
GAME 1: HURRICANES 2, ISLANDERS 1
GAME 2: HURRICANES 4, ISLANDERS 3 (OT)
GAME 3: ISLANDERS 5, HURRICANES 1
SUN., APRIL 23: HURRICANES AT ISLANDERS, 1 P.M. ET, TNT, SN360, TVAS
TUE., APRIL 25: ISLANDERS AT HURRICANES, 7 P.M. ET; ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS
*FRI., APRIL 28: HURRICANES AT ISLANDERS, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: ISLANDERS AT HURRICANES, TBD
NEW JERSEY DEVILS (M2) VS. NEW YORK RANGERS (M3)
RANGERS LEAD SERIES, 2-0
GAME 1: RANGERS 5, DEVILS 1
GAME 2: RANGERS 5, DEVILS 1
SAT., APRIL 22: DEVILS AT RANGERS, 8 P.M. ET, ABC, ESPN+, SN1, CITY, TVAS
MON., APRIL 24: DEVILS AT RANGERS, 7 P.M. ET, ESPN, SN360, TVAS
*THUR., APRIL 27: RANGERS AT DEVILS, 7:30 P.M.; ESPN2
*SAT., APRIL 29: DEVILS AT RANGERS, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: RANGERS AT DEVILS, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
COLORADO AVALANCHE (C1) VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN (WC1)
SERIES TIED 1-1
GAME 1: KRAKEN 3, AVALANCHE 1
GAME 2: AVALANCHE 3, KRAKEN 2
SAT., APRIL 22: AVALANCHE AT KRAKEN. 10 P.M. ET, TBS, SN360, TVAS
MON., APRIL 24: AVALANCHE AT KRAKEN, 10 P.M. ET, TBS, SN360, TVAS
WED., APRIL 26: KRAKEN AT AVALANCHE, 9:30 P.M. ET; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS
*FRI., APRIL 28: AVALANCHE AT KRAKEN, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: KRAKEN AT AVALANCHE, TBD
DALLAS STARS (C2) VS. MINNESOTA WILD (C3)
WILD LEAD SERIES, 2-1
GAME 1: WILD 3, STARS 2 (2OT)
GAME 2: STARS 7, WILD 3
GAME 3: WILD 5, STARS 1
SUN., APRIL 23: STARS AT WILD, 6:30 P.M. ET, TBS, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS
TUE., APRIL 25: WILD AT STARS, 8 P.M. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2
*FRI., APRIL 28: STARS AT WILD, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: WILD AT STARS, TBD
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (P1) VS. WINNIPEG JETS (WC2)
SERIES TIED 1-1
GAME 1: JETS 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1
GAME 2: GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, JETS 2
SAT., APRIL 22: GOLDEN KNIGHTS AT JETS, 4 P.M. ET, SN, CBC, TVAS, TBS
MON., APRIL 24: GOLDEN KNIGHTS AT JETS, 9:30 P.M. ET, SNW, TVAS, ESPN
THU., APRIL 27: JETS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS, TBD
*SAT., APRIL 29: GOLDEN KNIGHTS AT JETS, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: JETS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS, TBD
EDMONTON OILERS (P2) VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS (P3)
KINGS LEAD SERIES, 2-1
GAME 1: KINGS 4, OILERS 3 (OT)
GAME 2: OILERS 4, KINGS 2
GAME 3: KINGS 3, OILERS 2 (OT)
SUN., APRIL 23: OILERS AT KINGS, 9 P.M. ET, SN, CBC, TVAS, TBS
TUE., APRIL 25: KINGS AT OILERS, 9:30 P.M. ET; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
*SAT., APRIL 29: OILERS AT KINGS, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: KINGS AT OILERS, TBD
* IF NECESSARY
TBD — TO BE DETERMINED
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCOREBOARD
MIAMI AT CLEVELAND POSTPONED
HOUSTON 6 ATLANTA 4
BOSTON 5 MILWAUKEE 3
WASHINGTON 3 MINNESOTA 2
SEATTLE 5 ST. LOUIS 2
TAMPA BAY 8 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 7
BALTIMORE 2 DETROIT 1
OAKLAND 5 TEXAS 4
LA ANGELS 2 KANSAS CITY 0
CHICAGO CUBS 13 LA DODGERS 0
PITTSBURGH 4 CINCINNATI 2
PHILADELPHIA 4 COLORADO 3
ARIZONA 9 SAN DIEGO 0
NY METS 7 SAN FRANCISCO 0
BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/MLB/SCOREBOARD.ASP?META=TRUE
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
MEMPHIS 8 INDIANAPOLIS 4
PEORIA 5 FT. WAYNE 3
PEORIA 3 FT. WAYNE 2
SOUTH BEND 7 GREAT LAKES 3
TOP NATIONAL NEWS
NBA PLAYOFFS
YOUNG SCORES 32, HAWKS BEAT CELTICS 130-122 TO CLOSE TO 2-1
ATLANTA (AP) Trae Young never lost confidence in himself, even after a run of dismal playoff performances.
Finally, he looked like that charismatic point guard who carried the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference final two years ago.
Young scored 32 points in his best playoff game since 2021 and the Atlanta Hawks gave themselves a glimmer of hope, beating the Boston Celtics 130-122 Friday night to close the gap to 2-1 in the opening-round series.
Young hit a step-back 3-pointer from the corner with 2:21 left and knocked down another huge basket on a floater in the lane with 45 seconds remaining after Jaylen Brown missed a 3-pointer that would’ve tied it for the Celtics.
The seventh-seeded Hawks will try to even the series against the second-seeded Celtics in Game 4 on Sunday night at State Farm Arena.
“I knew I could play like this,” Young said. “I wasn’t worried.”
Maybe not, but much of the A-T-L was sure doubting if he was truly a franchise player.
Young washed out in an opening-round loss to Miami a year ago, averaging just 15.4 points a game while recording more turnovers (31) than assists (30). He wasn’t much better during the first two games in Boston, connecting on 14 of 40 shots.
But, working in perfect sync with fellow guard Dejounte Murray, Young knocked down 12 of 22 attempts, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds, while committing only four turnovers.
“The guards are supposed to be in control of the game,” Young said. “We consider ourselves two pretty good guards.”
They sure played the part in this one. Murray had another big game for the Hawks with 25 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining that helped Atlanta protect its lead. He added six rebounds and five assists.
“They were talking to each other, figuring out what the other was thinking and playing off each other,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said of his starting backcourt. “At one point, I just told myself to be quiet and let them do it.”
The duo was really at its best when it counted most. Young scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and Murray chipped in with 7, accounting for 22 of Atlanta’s 30 points in the period.
They were the first Hawks teammates to each have at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a playoff game since Lenny Wilkens and Bill Bridges in 1966, when the franchise still called St. Louis home.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 points to lead Boston, which was barely challenged in the first two games of the series.
“We knew it wasn’t to be easy,” said Marcus Smart, who added 24 points for the Celtics.
In Boston, the Celtics pushed out to big leads and cruised to a pair of 13-point victories. In Atlanta, the Hawks finally put up a fight.
With Derrick White forced to the bench in the early going with two quick fouls, the Hawks took advantage of a chink in the Boston defense to get things rolling. Atlanta knocked down 30 of 46 shots (65.2%) in the first half.
Smart said that’s where the Celtics essentially lost the game, allowing the Hawks to gain some much-needed confidence.
“You get that extra boost when you’re back home,” he said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of making things tough on them.”
Pumped up by a standing-room-only crowd, the Hawks built a 14-point lead – their biggest of the series – late in the first half.
But the Celtics responded with eight straight points and went to the locker room down 74-67.
It was Atlanta’ first victory over Boston this season. The Hawks dropped all three regular-season meetings.
HIGH SCORING
The Hawks put up their most points in a playoff game since a 137-125 victory over Detroit in an opening-round series in 1986. They also had seven players in double figures, matching their franchise high in the postseason.
TIP-INS
Celtics: White played only 9:58 in the first half after being whistled for a pair of fouls before the game was five minutes old. … Smart landed hard on his tailbone with about 2 1/2 minutes left, but stayed in the game. “It’s sore,” he said. “We’ll see how it feels in the morning.”
Hawks: Bogdan Bogdanovic took a shot to the face on Malcolm Brogdan’s lay-in early in the fourth quarter. Bogdanovic kneeled over in the pain and was subbed out during a timeout. … Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins felt ill before the game and did not serve as an analyst on the Hawks regional telecast. Brian Oliver took Wilkins’ usual spot.
LONG ODDS
The Celtics still have the odds in their favor. The Hawks are 0-26 in playoff series when losing the first two games over the franchise’s 74-season history.
KNICKS ROMP PAST CAVALIERS 99-79, TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
NEW YORK (AP) Back when the NBA playoffs were always part of the springtime schedule at Madison Square Garden, this is what they looked like.
Tough to score. Even a little tough to watch.
And on Friday night, the fans loved it.
Jalen Brunson scored 21 points, RJ Barrett broke out of a slump with 19 and the New York Knicks held the Cleveland Cavaliers to the lowest point total in the NBA this season, rolling to a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series with a 99-79 victory.
The Knicks emphatically bounced back from a loss in Game 2 and moved halfway to their first series victory since 2013. They led by 27 points in the fourth quarter, when a sold-out crowd of 19,812 was so loud there was little chance of hearing much of what the public address announcer was saying – especially as seldom-used veteran Derrick Rose was checking into the game to a huge ovation.
“It was what I expected for sure,” Knicks All-Star Julius Randle said. “A lot of, lot of energy and we were able to feed off it, so I love it.”
Josh Hart added 13 points for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who host Game 4 on Sunday. They became the first team to allow fewer than 80 points during the regular season or postseason.
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points for the Cavaliers, who never gave themselves a chance with their most inept offensive performance of the season, rattled perhaps by the Knicks on the court and the fans surrounding it.
“Not being able to make shots definitely hurts as well, but it’s one of those things where we’ll be good,” Mitchell said. “Like, kind of breathe and relax and calm down.”
Darius Garland, who scored 32 points in Game 2, managed just 10 on 4-for-21 shooting. Caris LeVert, moved into the starting lineup after scoring 24 in that 107-90 victory, missed all six shots in the first half before coming on late for 17 points.
Barrett was 6 for 25 in the first two games but his shot was falling and he aggressively drove to the basket to get himself going. Plus, some of the Cavs’ 21 turnovers sent Barrett and the Knicks off to easy transition baskets.
It was just the second time the playoffs came to Madison Square Garden in the last 10 years and it looked like something played by the beloved 1990s Knicks, who had the Garden rocking deep in many springs with their rugged brand of basketball.
“As a basketball player you kind of grow up thinking about moments like these,” Barrett said. “It was electric in there and happy we get to come back Sunday.”
Bodies crashed to the floor or into each other, and once in a while the ball went into the basket.
The Cavs had 13 baskets and 12 turnovers at halftime, when the Knicks’ 4-for-19 shooting from behind the arc looked practically hot compared to the Cavs’ 2-for-19 effort.
The teams combined to miss 20 of 23 3-pointers in a first quarter that ended tied at 17, and Garland (0 for 8) and Randle (0 for 5) couldn’t hit from anywhere. The Cavs’ worst previous effort this season was also against the Knicks, 81 points on Dec. 4.
“It was nasty, like a lot of games have been with them this season,” LeVert said.
The Knicks ran off six straight points in the second to open a 38-27 lead when Brunson stole the ball from Mitchell and dunked it, then got the final five of the half on a 3-pointer by Immanuel Quickley and another dunk off a Mitchell turnover, this one by Barrett, to make it 45-32.
The offenses got going in the third quarter, with both teams shooting above 50% and LeVert scoring 11 points. The Cavs got within single digits before the Knicks closed the period on an 8-0 run to take a 72-55 lead.
It was a rough first playoff game back home for Mitchell, who was born in Elmsford, New York, not far from where the Knicks practice, and thought he might be a Knick last summer before Utah instead traded him to Cleveland.
He said he cut off communication with some friends who were Knicks fans and left some group chats so there would be no distractions. Usually warmly received in the arena, the fans even turned on the All-Star guard, loudly chanting “airball! airball!” when he was well off on a 3-pointer in the second quarter.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Garland left the game for a time in the fourth quarter after hurting his ankle when he stepped on a photographer behind the basket. … The Cavs matched their worst first half in a playoff game, also scoring 32 in an 81-76 loss to the Knicks in Game 3 of 1996 playoffs. … Isaac Okoro was benched for LeVert after shooting 1 for 7 in the two games in Cleveland.
Knicks: Randle and Quickley each scored 11 points. … Backup big man Jericho Sims was out with a sore right shoulder. He hasn’t played in the series.
JOKIC HAS TRIPLE-DOUBLE, NUGGETS BEAT T-WOLVES FOR 3-0 LEAD
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets delivered the type of disciplined performance that’s a prerequisite for lasting a long time in the NBA playoffs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves sure aren’t there yet.
Jokic had his seventh career triple-double in the playoffs with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists and the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 120-111 on Friday night to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
“We didn’t want to give them life,” said Jokic, the two-time reigning NBA MVP who led the league with 29 triple-doubles this season. “We wanted to be the aggressor. We wanted to punch them first.”
Michael Porter Jr. had 25 points and nine rebounds and Jamal Murray added 18 points and nine assists as Denver withstood another dashing game by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards to send a loud crowd of white-shirt-wearing fans home from another frustrating postseason loss.
“Proud of the group,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “They handled their business like they’re supposed to, like mature teams do.”
Edwards scored 36 points to raise his series total to 95, Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points after totaling only 21 points over the first two games and Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves, but a defensive lapse here and a rushed 3-pointer there was enough to seal their fate against this Nuggets team finally healthy enough for another run at the NBA finals.
“Our decision-making on offense just kind of let us down,” coach Chris Finch said.
Bruce Brown had 12 points to lead Denver’s 29-10 edge in bench points, and the Nuggets shot a hard-to-beat 57% from the field.
Game 4 is here Sunday.
“No disrespect to the T-wolves, this is about us, but we don’t want to go back to Denver,” Malone said.
With the Nuggets holding their first 2-0 lead in nine playoff series under Malone, their message from the coach was to keep the throttle on full and not give the underdog Wolves extra confidence.
The Western Conference’s top team shot like its seeding depended on it and outjumped the Wolves for just about every long rebound. The Nuggets had two 9-0 runs in the first half and started the second quarter by making 12 of their first 16 shots on their way to a 13-point lead.
Edwards, who had 41 points in Game 2 for the franchise playoffs record, single-handedly brought the Wolves back with the kind of starburst only players like him are capable of.
After a bad pass by Towns was picked off by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Edwards hustled for the block and quickly converted a Euro-step layup on the other end. The Wolves kept up the momentum and cut the lead to 61-55 right before halftime. They were still within six points at the end of the third quarter.
The Wolves won their play-in game here a week ago on the backs of Towns and Gobert, the unlikely big-man pairing they created when former Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly bolted for the same job in Minnesota and swung a blockbuster trade for Gobert.
The Wolves attacked the basket better than they did in the first two games, and Towns drew Jokic’s fourth foul with 5:51 left in the third quarter, but the 7-foot Serb is just too skilled – and too much of a load – to get beat that way.
“The offense looks a little different when ‘Joke’ isn’t out there, but we’ve been making it work,” Porter said. “We’ve just got a lot of dudes who can do a lot of different things.”
SCREEN SHOT
Finch, asked before the game about Jokic’s impact on making space for Murray and his shot, took a subtle swipe at how he feels Jokic – who has 14 fouls in the series – is officiated.
“He does a really good job of screening, and moving and screening at the same time, those types of things,” Finch said in his best deadpan.
Gobert made light at his introductory news conference last summer of Finch’s allegations of his illegal screening with Utah.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Caldwell-Pope had 11 of his 14 points in the second quarter. … Murray, who went 10 for 20 from deep in the first two games, was 1 for 6.
Timberwolves: Towns, who shot 8 for 27 from the field in the first two games, went 10 for 17. He’s 5 for 16 from 3-point range in the series.
NHL PLAYOFFS
ISLES SCORE 4 FASTEST GOALS IN PLAYOFF HISTORY, TOP CANES
NEW YORK (AP) The Islanders were locked in another tight game with the Carolina Hurricanes until a big goal late opened a record-setting scoring outburst and helped New York get a big home win after a pair of one-goal losses on the road.
Kyle Palmieri and Matt Martin scored 44 seconds apart late in the third period and the Islanders beat the Hurricanes 5-1 Friday night to cut their first-round series deficit to 2-1.
Casey Cizikas, Scott Mayfield and Anders Lee also scored as New York got four goals in a 2:18 span late – the fastest four goals in Stanley Cup playoff history – to pull away. Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots for the Islanders.
“We knew every game would be a battle,” Palmieri said. “We stuck with it and found a way to come through at the end.”
Jesper Fast scored for the Hurricanes and Antti Raanta finished with 32 saves.
“It’s a tough ending,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It was a close game and then got away there at the end. We’ll regroup and come back the next one.”
Game 4 is back at the UBS Arena on Sunday.
The Islanders had two power plays in the first half of the third period, but couldn’t manage many scoring chances. Raanta then denied an in-close try from Bo Horvat with 6 1/2 minutes remaining to keep it tied 1-1. The Hurricanes goalie then made a sliding, sprawling save on a try by Noah Dobson about 40 seconds later.
With 1 second left on another Islanders power play, defenseman Sebastian Aho fired a shot from the right point that Palmieri deflected out of the air past Raanta with 3:51 left.
“The puck is going wide but he tipped it,” Raanta said. “Those are the goals that happen in the playoffs. Tough to make a save when the puck is going wide. It’s a good tip. … At the end of the day, it’s a loss and you have to learn from it.”
Martin then made it 3-1 just 44 seconds later as he got a pass from Palmieri and quickly beat Raanta from the left circle.
The Hurricanes pulled Raanta for an extra skater with about 2 1/2 minutes remaining and Mayfield scored a long empty-netter with 1:49 left. With the goalie back in, Lee added to the lead 16 seconds later and the Islanders made playoff history with the four-goal outburst.
“I thought we were playing really well,” Cizikas said of the Islanders’ play leading up to the scoring burst. “We were doing what we set out to do from the start. We didn’t shy away from it. We kept rolling four lines, we kept going after them.”
A game that was physical from the start saw a lot of pushing and shoving in the final minute, with Lee and Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield earning misconduct penalties.
Carolina had three power plays over an 11 1/2-minute stretch carrying over from the final minute of the first period into the middle of the second, but mustered only three shots on goal during the advantages.
“(The penalty-kill) was big in the second period,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. “The game could have changed momentum, but we definitely did a good job.”
Cizikas then gave the Islanders the 1-0 lead as he got a pass from Ryan Pulock after the defenseman kept the puck in the offensive zone and beat Raanta from the right side with 7:11 left in the second.
The Hurricanes tied it with a short-handed goal with 3:04 left on a 2-on-1 rush as Jordan Staal fed Fast on the right side and he redirected it into Sorokin. The puck was in the crease rolling toward the goal line when trailing Islanders forward Brock Nelson appeared to tip the puck in. It was Fast’s second of the series after he got the overtime winner in Game 2.
The raucous home crowd was loud from puck drop in the first postseason game at the second-year UBS Arena. The crowd erupted in a roar when Carolina’s Shayne Gostisbehere was whistled for hooking 7:50 into the game to put the Islanders on their first power play since late in the third period of Game 1. New York had no power plays in Game 2, while the Hurricanes went 1 for 6.
Sorokin smothered an attempt by Jesperi Kotkaniemi on the left doorstep 4 minutes in and had a kick save on a shot by Martin Necas from the left side with 8:12 left in the first. Sorokin also made a pair of big saves on Brent Burns early in a Carolina power play with about 30 seconds left in the first period.
REFEREE INJURED
Referee TJ Luxmore left the game early in the second period after he was cut on the left leg by the skate of the Hurricanes Brady Skjei, when the defensemen slid into him along the end boards. Substitute referee Wes McCauley briefly replaced Luxmore until he returned several minutes later.
BRUINS RECLAIM HOME-ICE EDGE, TOP PANTHERS 4-2 IN GAME 3
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) The Boston Bruins don’t lose often. And losing two in a row, that’s been almost unheard of for this team this season.
Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, Linus Ullmark stopped 29 shots and the Bruins topped the Florida Panthers 4-2 in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Friday night.
Boston took a 2-1 lead in the series – looking nothing like the team that gave up six goals on home ice on Wednesday. They thwarted Florida for two periods, with 19 of the Panthers’ 31 shots coming amid a desperate third-period rally try.
“We saw Boston Bruins hockey today,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said.
The Bruins – who had the best regular season in NHL history – flexed all sorts of muscle in Game 3. They took a 4-0 lead before a pair of late goals only made the scoreboard look better, chased Panthers starter Alex Lyon in the third, and reclaimed the home-ice edge that they’d lost two nights earlier.
Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak and Nick Foligno also had goals for the Bruins, and Dmitry Orlov had a pair of long outlet passes that became assists.
“It’s all about us … but it doesn’t end with this one,” Ullmark said.
Lyon stopped 23 of 26 shots for Florida, the Pastrnak goal with 11:28 remaining chasing him and having Florida send in Sergei Bobrovsky. That might mean the Panthers have a big decision to make regarding a starter before Game 4 in Sunrise on Sunday afternoon – but Florida coach Paul Maurice said it was simply time to get Bobrovsky some work.
“He needs a little bit of action. That’s all that was,” Maurice said. “It was not a critique of Alex’s game.”
Gustav Forsling and Sam Reinhart had goals for Florida, which didn’t get anything past Ullmark until 5:19 remained. Boston improved to 50-3-0 this season when allowing no more than two goals and 15-2-1 after a loss.
The Bruins were again without captain Patrice Bergeron, out with an upper-body injury. He won’t play in Game 4 either, with the Bruins believing he will be ready to play when the series returns to Boston for Game 5 next week.
Florida is built to let shots fly. There have been three teams in NHL history to take more than 3,000 shots in a season – the 1970-71 Bruins are one of them, and the other two are the 2021-22 Panthers, and the 2022-23 Panthers.
That makes what Boston did even more impressive than it looked on the stat sheet.
The Bruins held Florida to four shots in the second period – matching the Panthers’ fourth-lowest total for any of their 254 periods this season to that point.
“For the most part, playoff hockey, you forget and move on, maybe learn from it a little bit,” Reinhart said. “Every day’s a new challenge. We’re going to come back Sunday ready to go.”
Hall opened the scoring 2:26 into the game by sending a shot from just a stride or two inside the blue line over Lyon’s glove for a 1-0 lead.
The 2-0 edge came at 6:00 of the second. Brad Marchand sent a wobbling puck toward the net from the right point, and Coyle – positioned in front of the net – chopped down at it as it sailed toward the goal. The puck bounced off the ice and past Lyon.
Pastrnak got the second of the long Orlov assists, getting behind the defense to beat Lyon for a 3-0 lead, and Foligno made it 4-0 by tipping a pass by Bobrovsky with 8:15 left.
AROUND THE RINK
Florida has not been shut out at home in 109 consecutive games, going back to Feb. 24, 2021. … Ullmark was a game-time decision after Boston’s morning skate, but showed no ill effects of anything in Game 3. … Florida briefly lost D Aaron Ekblad with 11:11 left in the second after he collided with Boston’s Charlie McAvoy. Ekblad immediately grabbed for the top of his helmet and went directly to the locker room after getting off the ice. He returned less than three minutes later, but didn’t finish the contest. “He’ll get checked out tomorrow,” Maurice said.
ZUCCARELLO SCORES 2, WILD BEAT STARS TO TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Wild had a short memory after a lopsided loss in Dallas, and insist they’ll move on quickly from their latest victory.
Mats Zuccarello scored twice and Ryan Hartman had a three-point game as the Wild beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
“Tonight when you get home, the game is over. It’s a race to four,” Zuccarello said. “This game, too, we’ve got to forget quick because they come quick here. Get some rest tonight and tomorrow, and we know these guys are going to be ready to go on Sunday, so we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go.”
Zuccarello scored Minnesota’s first goal on a backhander at 16:45 of the first period and beat Stars goalie Jake Oettinger on a breakaway at 14:07 of the third to bring the sellout crowd to its feet.
Marcus Johansson, Marcus Foligno and Hartman also scored for the Wild. Filip Gustavsson, who did not play in a 7-3 Game 2 loss in Dallas, made 23 saves.
Luke Glendening scores his first goal of the series at 2:25 of the second period for Dallas. Oettinger, a Minnesota native, stopped 20 shots.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday at the Xcel Energy Center.
“We’ve got a chance to get a split here and get our home ice back with a big effort next game, so that’s what we’re looking to do,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said.
The Wild opened the scoring late in the first period. John Klingberg, playing in his first game of the series, fired a shot from the point that wound up in front of the net. After the puck bounced around, Zuccarello corralled it and scored past Oettinger.
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead early in the second when Johansson made a move to get past Colin Miller and beat Oettinger on the stick side.
Eleven seconds later, Glendening controlled a bouncing put and fired past Gustavsson, cutting Dallas’ deficit to 2-1.
Foligno made it 3-1 on a power play goal that was initially waved off for a high stick. A review by the officials deemed his stick was at the crossbar level, meaning Minnesota regained its two-goal lead with 8:36 left in the second period.
“I don’t have a problem with the replay and the goal. I had a problem with the original penalty is my problem with that,” DeBoer said. “I didn’t think we should have been short-handed to have that goal scored on the power play.”
The Wild got forward Joel Eriksson Ek back for the game. Sidelined since April 6, Eriksson Ek missed the first two games of the series with a lower-body injury. His return Friday was shortlived.
Eriksson Ek, who had 23 goals and 38 assists during the regular season, left the ice during his first shift of the first period and did not return. That left Minnesota short a forward for nearly the entire game.
Wild coach Dean Evason didn’t provide any updates on Eriksson Ek after the game.
“Disappointing, obviously. We all know who he is, outside and more importantly inside, and his will to get back out there with his teammates was tremendous,” Evason said. “So, yeah, it’s a tough one for sure.”
Hartman and Klingberg each earned assists on both of Zuccarello’s goals.
Hartman scored an empty-net goal with 1:50 to play.
SHAW FIRES UP CROWD
Wild forward Mason Shaw, who tore his ACL for the fourth time in his career earlier this month, performed the “Let’s Play Hockey!” chant that takes place just before puck drop at every Wild home game. Shaw was on two crutches and wearing his green No. 15 jersey as he drew a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. The 24-year-old Shaw had 17 points in 59 games this season.
OETTINGER BACK HOME
Oettinger grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, about 25 miles from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. He said prior to Friday’s game that he bought about a dozen tickets for friends and family.
“There’s worse things you can spend your money on than tickets for your family,” Oettinger said. “So I’m just happy they get to be here and to watch (me) play live in the playoffs.”
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MLB ROUNDUP: CUBS’ DREW SMYLY FLIRTS WITH PERFECTION VS. DODGERS
Drew Smyly took a perfect game into the eighth, allowed one hit and struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings while Nico Hoerner and Patrick Wisdom clubbed three-run homers during a seven-run fifth as the Chicago Cubs routed the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 13-0 on Friday.
Smyly (2-1), who also beat the Dodgers on Sunday in Los Angeles, fanned six straight at one point. The only baserunner he allowed in the 24 batters he faced came when David Peralta reached on a broken-bat infield single, which barely made it halfway down the third-base line, to open the eighth. That was the only hit for the Dodgers, who managed three baserunners all day.
Hoerner had four hits with four RBIs, and Trey Mancini homered for one of his three hits and three RBIs for Chicago. Ex-Dodger Cody Bellinger also went deep for the Cubs, who, according to Marquee Sports Network, tied a franchise record by scoring at least 10 runs in six of their first 19 games.
Los Angeles starter Julio Urias (3-2) allowed five runs, seven hits (including two homers) and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. Seven of Urias’ 10 earned runs allowed this season have come against Chicago.
Angels 2, Royals 0
Shohei Ohtani struck out 11 over seven innings to lead Los Angeles past Kansas City in Anaheim, Calif.
Ohtani (3-0) threw 102 pitches, walked two and gave up two hits — a leadoff single by Edward Olivares in the third inning and a one-out single by Vinnie Pasquantino in the fourth. He lowered his ERA to 0.64.
The Angels didn’t muster much offense against four Kansas City pitchers, totaling six hits. However, one of those hits was a two-run homer by catcher Chad Wallach in the third inning off Royals reliever Ryan Yarbrough (0-2).
Mets 7, Giants 0
Pete Alonso hit his 10th homer of the season and drove in four runs, Joey Lucchesi threw seven shutout innings in his return to the majors and New York made it seven of eight on its tour of California by blanking host San Francisco.
Jeff McNeil had two hits and scored twice for the Mets. Lucchesi (1-0) allowed four hits, walked two and struck out nine. He was pitching in the majors for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2021.
Brooks Raley and Tommy Hunter each pitched a scoreless inning to complete the Mets’ second shutout of the season. Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani (1-1) yielded four runs in five innings.
Phillies 4, Rockies 3
Edmundo Sosa hit the go-ahead single in the eighth inning and host Philadelphia rallied past Colorado.
Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including a solo home run, and Jake Cave added an RBI single for the Phillies. Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola tossed a season-high seven innings and allowed four hits and three runs with three strikeouts and three walks.
Ryan McMahon hit a three-run home run for the Rockies, who managed only four hits.
Astros 6, Braves 4
Yordan Alvarez’s two-run home run in the ninth inning completed the comeback for Houston, opening its weekend road series against Atlanta.
Alvarez’s game-winning home run – his fifth round-tripper of the season – came on a full count with two outs in the top of the ninth, driving in Mauricio Dubon. Ryan Pressly came on to sew up the win, recording a strikeout in his first save of the season in the Astros’ third win in four games.
Bryce Elder went six innings for the Braves, giving up only one run on five hits and struck out six, but did not get the decision thanks to a huge top half of the seventh for Houston. A.J. Minter (1-1) took the loss. Atlanta has lost two straight following an eight-game winning streak.
Pirates 4, Reds 2
Mark Mathias drove in two runs as host Pittsburgh won its fifth game in a row, defeating Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (2-0) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, with five strikeouts and a walk. It was the team’s 11th straight quality start. David Bednar pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Nick Senzel had an RBI single for the Reds, who have lost four in a row and five of six.
Rays 8, White Sox 7
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning to lift Tampa Bay to a win against Chicago in the opener of their three-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Reynaldo Lopez (0-2) took a two-run lead into the ninth but gave up a leadoff home run to Christian Bethancourt and a two-run blast to Lowe without recording an out. Harold Ramirez had two hits, including a two-run homer, and scored two runs, and Josh Lowe had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays, who are 11-0 at home.
Andrew Benintendi had two hits and an RBI, Yasmani Grandal had two hits and two runs and Eloy Jimenez homered for Chicago.
Mariners 5, Cardinals 2
AJ Pollock hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth inning and four pitchers combined on a three-hitter as Seattle defeated visiting St. Louis in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Teoscar Hernandez hit a double and a home run and scored three times for the Mariners, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Seattle starter George Kirby (2-1) allowed two runs on three hits in six innings. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.
Cardinals lefty Steven Matz (0-3) was charged with four runs on four hits in 5 1/ 3 innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Toronto cruised past host New York.
Guerrero hit his 11th career homer in his 32nd game at Yankee Stadium after saying before the game how much he enjoys hitting there but reiterating how he will never play for the Yankees. Brandon Belt hit a two-run shot and a two-run double for the Blue Jays, who are 11-5 in their past 16 games. Yusei Kikuchi (3-0) allowed one run on four hits in six innings.
Oswaldo Cabrera homered for the Yankees, who dropped their fifth straight series opener. Domingo German (1-2) surrendered four runs on five hits in six innings while striking out six and walking two.
Red Sox 5, Brewers 3
Alex Verdugo had a two-run homer and Nick Pivetta pitched effectively into the sixth inning to pace visiting Boston to a victory over Milwaukee in the opener of the three-game series.
Pivetta (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven with one walk. Josh Winckowski followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, fanning four, and Kenley Jansen finished with a perfect ninth, including two more strikeouts, for his fifth save.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (2-2) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out four with two costly walks.
Orioles 2, Tigers 1
Adam Frazier brought home the game-winning run on a ninth-inning fielder’s choice as host Baltimore eked out a win over visiting Detroit for its eighth win in its last 10 games.
Ryan Mountcastle scored the winning run and Austin Hays had a solo homer for Baltimore. Tyler Wells tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and striking out five. Felix Baustista (1-2) got the win after blowing the save when Javy Baez snapped the Orioles’ 34-inning scoreless streak with a ninth-inning RBI single.
Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen gave up three hits and a walk and struck out four in five innings. Jason Foley (0-1), the Tigers’ fifth pitcher, entered with one out in the ninth. Mountcastle greeted him with a single and advanced to third on Anthony Santander’s base hit before Frazier’s grounder.
Nationals 3, Twins 2
Joey Meneses homered in the seventh inning and Washington produced rare offense of late with a two-run rally in the eighth to squeak past Minnesota in cold Minneapolis.
The Nationals, who had been shut out in back-to-back games, won for just the second time in their last eight games. Erasmo Ramirez (1-1) was the winning pitcher in relief. Hunter Harvey, who struck out the side in the eighth, and Kyle Finnegan, who notched his fourth save, also each logged a shutout inning.
The Twins have dropped five of their last six. They led early on Joey Gallo’s fifth home run of the year and Max Kepler’s sacrifice fly, both in the third inning. Griffin Jax (1-2) took the loss.
Athletics 5, Rangers 4
Pinch hitter Jordan Diaz made his first major league home run a memorable one, belting a tiebreaking solo shot with one out in the ninth inning as Oakland ended a seven-game losing streak by beating Texas in Arlington, Texas.
Tony Kemp added a solo homer for Oakland. Zach Jackson (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning, and Jeurys Familia picked up his first save. In the top of the ninth, Jose Leclerc retired leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz before Will Smith (0-1) came on to face Diaz. He deposited a 1-2 slider over the left field fence.
Jonah Heim hit a three-run homer for the Rangers, who had two on with no outs in the eighth before Jackson retired the next three batters in order. Rangers starter Jon Gray gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits with five walks and two strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. A’s starter JP Sears struck out a career-high 11 two walks over six innings. He allowed four runs on five hits.
Diamondbacks 9, Padres 0
Zac Gallen stretched his scoreless innings streak to 21 2/3 with seven shutout innings as Arizona blanked visiting San Diego.
Gallen allowed two hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts to improve to 3-1 on the season. He hasn’t allowed a run since April 4. Gabriel Moreno went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a two-run single in the Diamondbacks’ seven-run eighth.
Gallen came out on top in a pitching duel with the Padres’ Seth Lugo (2-1), who gave up two runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES
INDIANS BASEBALL
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Redbirds launched back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to seal a series win against the Indianapolis Indians on Friday night at AutoZone Park, 8-4.
With a three-run lead in the bottom half of the fourth frame, major league rehabber Paul DeJong and Moises Gómez – the 2022 minor league leader in home runs – hit consecutive dingers for the Redbirds (14-5) second such pair of home runs in the series. The home runs extended Memphis’ lead to 7-1, putting the game out of reach for Indianapolis (7-12).
The first two Indians batters reached safely to open the contest, leading to an early lead for Indy. On the first pitch of the game, Nick Gonzales singled to right field and Josh Bissonette reached on a four-pitch walk in the following at-bat. Cal Mitchell grounded into a force out to set up runners on the corners, and Miguel Andújar sent the first run of the game across with a two-out RBI single.
The Redbirds wasted no time tying the game in the second inning. DeJong recorded his first of six total RBI with a single to score Juan Yepez following a one-out double. Memphis then took the lead in the bottom of the second and never looked back, sending three across courtesy of a DeJong double to left field to make it 4-1.
Following the three-run fourth inning from the Redbirds, Chavez Young hit his first longball of the season for the Indians in the fifth. Ryan Vilade sparked a comeback in the top of the sixth with a two-run shot to right field, but the threat ended there. Memphis tacked on one more run in the bottom half of the inning, capping the scoring at 8-4.
Indians starter Quinn Priester (L, 1-2) gave up five hits with four runs and three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work. James Naile (W, 3-0) went 5.0 innings, surrendering two runs on four hits with five punchouts for Memphis.
The Indians and Redbirds will face off in the penultimate game of the series tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 PM ET. Osvaldo Bido (1-0, 0.75) will take the hill for Indianapolis and Gordon Graceffo (0-1. 3.27) will counter for Memphis.
INDY FUEL
TOLEDO – The Fuel began their playoff journey tonight in Toledo, Ohio facing off with their division rival, the Walleye. While the score remained tied 1-1 through two periods, Indy ultimately fell to Toledo 4-1 with all five goals in the game coming on the power play.
1ST PERIOD
Toledo got to work early with five shots to start the game before the Fuel’s first penalty, a high sticking call on Chase Lang at 7:11.
Despite a lot of big saves from goaltender Mitchell Weeks, the Walleye capitalized on the power play with a goal by Seth Barton.
Quickly, the Fuel went back to the penalty kill as Alex Wideman took a holding penalty. The Fuel killed off that penalty but allowed four more shots before registering one of their own.
With 5:46 left in the first frame, the Fuel earned their first power play with a penalty on Donovan Sebrango. Indy’s Colin Bilek scored the first goal for the Fuel to tie the game at one each on the power play with a long range shot assisted by Zach Vinnell and Wideman.
Soon after, Vinnell took a hooking penalty at 16:05 but the Fuel were able to kill it off. At the end of the first frame, Toledo was outshooting Indy 12-5 but the score was tied with one power play goal each.
2ND PERIOD
Just 1:42 into the second period, Colin Bilek and Charlie Curti took a roughing minor a piece after some extracurricular activity at center ice. Soon after, Toledo’s Gordi Myer took a tripping call that they were also able to kill off.
Indy was certainly able to put more pressure on the Walleye to begin the second frame than they were in the first, but Sebastian Cossa stood strong in Toledo’s net.
With a lot of back-and-forth chances on both sides, time ticked down quickly and the second period ended just as the first did with a score of 1-1.
3RD PERIOD
The first five minutes of the third went by quickly without many whistles. At 5:14, Bilek took his second penalty of the game and just like the first, it resulted in a power play goal for the Walleye to put them up 2-1. It came from Gordie Green with the help of Trenton Bliss and Kirill Tyutyayev.
At 7:42, the unpleasantries between both teams came to a boiling point with a brawl next to the Toledo net that resulted in two minute roughing minors for Indy’s Maxim Golod and Toledo’s Sebrango and Riley McCourt as well as a four minute roughing minor for Indy’s Chase Lang.
At 9:08, Toledo’s Brandon Hawkins capitalized on that power play and scored to make it 3-1 Walleye. Tyutyayev took an interference penalty a few minutes later giving the Fuel a big opportunity on the power play but the Walleye were able to kill it off.
At 15:08, the Fuel went back on the power play after a delay of game call on TJ Hensick. Indy came close to scoring but ultimately, the Walleye killed off that penalty.
Weeks made a series of big saves with under two minutes to go but due to some extracurriculars in front of the net, Indy’s Seamus Malone took a cross-checking penalty forcing the Fuel to finish regulation on the penalty kill.
17 seconds later, Trenton Bliss netted the Walleye’s fourth goal and fourth power play goal of the game to make it 4-1. After the goal there were four more penalties handed out, including a ten minute misconduct on Andrew Bellant and a double major on Lang for roughing that sent him to the locker room.
The chippiness continued but time expired on the period and the Walleye took the win in the first game of the series 4-1.
INDY ELEVEN
#INDvMB Preview
Indy Eleven vs. Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 22, 2023 – 7:00 p.m. ET
IUPUI Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis, Ind.
Follow Live:
Local TV: MyINDY-TV 23 (Indy DMA), WLMO 2 (Ft. Wayne) & WHME 46 (South Bend)
2023 USL Championship Records:
Indy Eleven: 1W-2L-2D (-3 GD), 5 pts.; T-7th in Eastern Conference
Monterey Bay F.C.: 2W-2L-2D (+2 GD), 8 pts.; 5th in Western Conference
Community Health Network Sports Medicine Indy Eleven Injury Report:
OUT: None
QUESTIONABLE: None
Discipline Report:
IND: none
MB: none
While it’s early in the season, Saturday’s return home to IUPUI Carroll Stadium to face Monterey Bay F.C. has a ”potential turning point” feel for an Indy Eleven squad looking to reverse its recent offensive fortunes.
One goal was enough for Indy to get positive results to start the season at Tampa Bay (1-1 D) and Detroit City FC (1-0 W). However, a scoreless draw followed against Las Vegas, and two additional shutouts later against Oakland and Orange County and the Boys in Blue find themselves weighted down by a 298-minute scoreless streak heading into the weekend.
Indy is accomplishing the “ball dominance” portion of the game that Head Coach Mark Lowry desires, as its whopping 66% possession leads the USL Championship by a fairly ridiculous six percent. And while its output of 10.4 shots/game and 3.4 shots on goal/game are below the league’s averages (11.1 shots/gm and 3.7 shots on goal/game), they are not off to an extent where the attack can be considered anemic. Even its resultant 43.6% shot on target accuracy ranks 14th, almost smack dab in the middle of the league.
Is the problem as simple as … just needing to finish better? A league-low 5% goal conversation rate on shots points in that direction, but it’s more complex than that. The Eleven’s five big chances created are fourth fewest in the league, while an 18% crosses/corners accuracy rate is third to the bottom. For all the possession that Indy has gobbled up, in the end it hasn’t resulted in quality chances in complementary numbers, which is leading to frustration in front of goal.
As Lowry stresses, it’s #ElevenTogether – this is not one player’s or position group’s issue to fix, but a team one – and one can hope a return to Carroll Stadium, where the Eleven had won seven of eight games across all competitions before its loss to Oakland two weeks ago, can be a part of the cure for the offensive ails.
On the flip side, outside of that 0-3 loss to Oakland, the Eleven have registered two shutouts and two games with just one concession. So, on one hand Indy’s possession edge maybe hasn’t shown up on the attacking side of the ball like many would expect … but on the other hand, leaving the opposition less than one-third of the game with the ball has certainly paid off defensively.
Monterey Bay enters the match the opposite of Indy in many ways – while the Eleven’s five games have seen a combined seven goals, Monterey Bay’s six matches have seen 22 balls hit the back of the net. MBFC’s 12 goals are tied for the most in the league, and it’s been finishing with efficiency, their incredible 36% conversion rate (12 goals on a second-to-league-last 42 shots) ranking a full 14 percentage points ahead of second-place Charleston in the category. That’s not a rate that can hold up across a season – but try convincing current USL Championship Golden Boot leader Hugh Dixon (6 goals on 7 shots) of that.
What gives Indy more than enough hope for offensive success on Saturday is MBFC’s 10 goals allowed, tied for the second most concessions in the USLC in the early going. After Cameroonian netminder Gerold Ngnepi let in seven goals across their first four contests, the switch was made to rookie 25-year-old Mexican goalkeeper Carlos Herrera, who has conceded thrice across a 4-2 home win over New Mexico United and last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Phoenix Rising FC.
One more added wrinkle to the contest? The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup’s Third Round, which will take place midweek. While both Indy and Monterey Bay will want to be mindful of saving legs for the squads they’ll look to field against MLS competition next week, that task will be tougher for MBFC as it has to travel cross-country and will have one less day of rest before squaring off Tuesday against the San Jose Earthquakes (yes, it must be said, in the “Frank Yallop Bowl”). Meanwhile, Lowry and Indy get one extra day of rest and a heckuva lot less miles traveled for next Wednesday’s meeting at Columbus Crew SC – which means he might be able to get more mileage out of his squad on Saturday evening.
IND Last Time Out:
Orange County SC 1 : 0 Indy Eleven
Saturday, April 15 | Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, Ca.
Recap & Highlights | Stats
Milan Iloski’s penalty kick conversation on the half hour stood tall for the home side last weekend in Southern California. While Indy Eleven dominated possession (63%-37%), crosses (42-9), and corner kicks (11-2), the Boys in Blue failed to push one across for the third straight contest while falling to a second straight defeat.
MB Last Time Out:
Phoenix Rising FC 1 : 1 Monterey Bay F.C.
Saturday, April 15 | Phoenix Rising Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz.
Stats & Highlights
Monterey Bay F.C. stayed undefeated on the road with its second away draw in two outings, this time splitting the spoils in Phoenix. Rising FC had the better of the chances across the opening hour, but it was MBFC going on top first in the 63rd minute via Alex Dixon penalty kick conversion. The lead was short lived though, as Kevon Lambert’s header squared things at 1-1 just four minutes later. Both sides had golden chances to push ahead in stoppage time, but Rocco Rios Novo’s tip save of Christian Volesky’s header in the 91st minute frustrated the visitors, while Carlos Harvey’s last gasp effort for Rising FC in the 96th minute missed inches wide, forcing the sharing of the points.
Series vs. Monterey Bay F.C.:
USL Championship regular season: 0W-1L-0D (0 GF/5 GA)
Away record: 0W-1L-0D (0 GF/5 GA)
Saturday marks the second match against Monterey Bay F.C. in as many seasons of play for the new California club that enjoyed its expansion campaign in the USL Championship last year.
In their first meeting out west last September 17 it was all MBFC, which used Chase Boone’s first-half brace (31’, 43’) to race out to a lead that mushroomed to an eventual 5-0 win at Cardinale Stadium courtesy of second half goals from James Murphy (49’), Sam Gleadle (50’), and Christian Volesky (66’).
#INDvMB Familiar Faces
As far as we can find, there are no players on either squad that have suited up for either side … which is no surprise given MBFC’s brief history.
That said, any fan of American soccer will be familiar with Monterey Bay Head Coach Frank Yallop, the Canadian soccer legend who was a fixture in MLS coaching circles for nearly 15 seasons (San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy & Chicago Fire) before helming four different USL Championship Western Conference squads (Arizona United/Phoenix Rising FC, Fresno FC, Las Vegas Lights FC & Monterey Bay) since 2016. His assistants will also be familiar to Bay Area soccer fans, as both Ramiro Corrales and Joe Cannon played for Yallop during his two stints with the Earthquakes.
Eleven Player to Watch: MF Jack Blake
When the goals start arriving – and they will arrive – one likely source to either set them up or finish them off will be the man patrolling the right side of midfield. Blake currently leads the squad with 10 shots (including blocks) and 5 shots on goal, proving the Englishman’s willingness to give it a go and pick up some slack in the attack.
Meanwhile, Blake is depended on to play provider as well, and his ranks towards the top of the team in total passes, long passes, and passing percentage shows proof that his strength as a distributor is as advertised when he came to the club from San Diego Loyal SC.
COLTS FOOTBALL
In just a few days, subterfuge season will finally end. On Saturday evening teams will, finally, speak openly about the 2023 NFL Draft – once all 259 selections are made, of course.
“Everybody is lying,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said on Friday. “I might be the most honest, unfortunately. But everybody is lying.”
Ballard took the questions he was asked and mostly tiptoed around them – “today, I’m a dancer,” he said – but there were some notable takeaways less than a week before the Colts go on the clock Thursday night in Kansas City.
How what happens ahead of the Colts in the draft impacts their strategy
The only guarantee in this year’s draft seems to be that the Carolina Panthers – who traded several high draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears to move up to No. 1 overall – will take a quarterback. Who that quarterback is, and what happens after that quarterback is taken, is still anyone’s guess, despite some recent media buzz Carolina is leaning toward Alabama’s Bryce Young.
So, no, the Colts – just like the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals and 29 other teams – cannot say for certain what’ll happen over the first few picks of this year’s draft.
“No idea, and I don’t think anybody does,” Ballard said. “Everybody thinks they do. I mean of course, everybody thinks they do and everybody has an inside source who is giving them information of what’s going to be done. Just look at the mock drafts and tell me how accurate they are after the draft.
“Nobody knows. Nobody is giving out information.”
Ballard generally avoids pre-draft media coverage and focuses he and his football operations team on building their draft board, while not worrying about how teams like the Texans or Cardinals maybe stacking theirs.
“Everybody’s draft board is a little different,” Ballard said. “Who we have ranked high, they might not have ranked high. So you don’t know that. We’re not in those draft rooms. So no, we line them up, and how they fall is how we take them.
“… I think if you polled 32 teams, you might get 32 different answers of how they would have them lined up.”
All that uncertainty may seem daunting, especially with as much riding on the Colts’ first-round pick as there is this year. If the Colts don’t trade down, this’ll be the franchise’s first top-five pick since 2012; the Colts have only had one top-five pick in the last 20 NFL Drafts. For reference: They’re one of nine teams to have zero or one top-five pick in the last 20 NFL Drafts, along with the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens (0), and the Panthers, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks (1). The Panthers, Colts and Seahawks all have top-five picks this year.
But Ballard is able to brush aside the weight of that pick because of the work he, his scouts, Colts coaches, football ops staffers, etc. have done over the last year.
“I think you all feel the pressure more than I do sometimes,” Ballard said. “When you do the work, the pressure is not as great as what people make it out to be. It doesn’t mean you’re always going to be right. But when you put the work in there’s not a lot of angst within you. I don’t know if that makes sense to you all. We were all in college at some point and there was at some point where we went to take a college test and we didn’t do squat. Like we didn’t prep for it – we didn’t do anything. Well damn right. There are beads of sweat. You are trying to BS your way through the test and hope you can get a C. When you study for the test, you walk in, you do it and you do really well.”
What options the Colts may have at quarterback
Ballard, of course, didn’t tip his hand on if the Colts like or dislike any of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. But he also didn’t really even have to try to dance around that question because of his head coach.
Shane Steichen’s experience developing offenses for Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts – three completely different types of quarterbacks – means the Colts are not pigeonholed into needing to add a certain quarterback to fit into a certain style of offense.
“That broadens the field for you,” Ballard said. “That’s a good thing and I think as we’ve gone through the process of all the evaluations and coming down to what we think will be best for the Indianapolis Colts – whoever we end up taking is going to be that guy and he’ll make it work.”
That being said, Ballard said evaluation of this year’s quarterbacks hasn’t changed in the months since Steichen was hired – but how they could fit with the team’s new head coach has perhaps changed a bit.
“I just always love to read the reports that the Colts love this guy, and they love this guy and they’re dialed in on this guy,” Ballard said. “Like, who’d that come from? It didn’t come from me. Who’s it coming from? Who’s telling them who we love and who we don’t love? They don’t know.”
A yearly reminder
One last thing: Roster building does not stop at the conclusion of the NFL Draft. There’s usually a bubble-up of veteran free agent signings right after the draft, when unrestricted free agent signings are no longer tied to the NFL’s compensatory pick formula. There are undrafted free agents to add to the 90-man roster. And there are always moves to be made to improve your roster before the cut to 53, whether it’s May, June, July or August.
So if the Colts come out of the 2023 NFL Draft having not addressed certain positions with high draft picks, there will be opportunities to still add to the roster via other avenues. For example, Ballard was asked on Friday about a need at cornerback with Stephon Gilmore traded to the Dallas Cowboys and Brandon Facyson returning to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.
“I think it’s always a position that you want to have as many cover guys as you can,” Ballard said. “That’s a position we’ve got our eye on, both – and we think there’s still some free agents out there too that can help us if need be.”
Or, offensive line: “We still think there’s some players in free agency and in the draft,” Ballard said. “It’s a good O-line draft.”
Ballard said the Colts have 17 players with first-round grades this year, and outside of offensive line mentioned this year’s draft being deep for cornerbacks, tight ends and defensive linemen.
“(There are) players that are going to go in spots, fourth, fifth round that are going to play and be really productive, good players,” Ballard said.
INDIANA TRACK
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Despite being forced to move indoors due to weather, Jessica Mercier made the most of the opportunity, clearing 4.14m/13-7 in the pole vault to move into seventh in program history.
It was her first time clearing four meters since jumping 4.19m/13-9 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in February. She improves greatly on her outdoor season’s best of 3.90m/12-9.5 from last week in Louisville.
Nathan Stone followed her efforts by clearing 5.49m/18-0 in a battle with Michigan State’s Trevor Stephenson, the current Big Ten leader. Stone’s marks sits No. 16 nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten, just short of his personal best at 5.50m/18-0.5.
Noah Koch threw the shot put for the first time in three weeks, recording a personal best of 18.36m/60-3. His efforts made him just the sixth 60-foot shot putter outdoors in program history and just one of two Hoosiers in program history to throw 182 feet in the discus and 60 feet in the shot put.
He moves into No. 6 in program history in the shot put and already sits No. 7 in program history in the discus in his debut season for IU.
Jayden Ulrich returned to competition after a weekend off, throwing 16.78m/55-0.75 on Friday evening. Makayla Hunter followed with a mark of 14.92m/48-11.5 while Emily Herndon tossed a personal best of 14.22m/46-8.
Alyssa Robinson and Antonio Laidler were victorious across 200 meters to open Friday’s festivities in Bloomington. Laidler ran a season’s best 21.05 to win the men’s section while Robinson crossed the line in 24.15 to lead the women.
Shaton Vaughn led four Hoosiers under 54 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 52.67. Micah Camble came across in 53.01 with David Olowookere (53.64) and John Colquitt (53.85) all among the top-six competitors.
A pair of Carmel, Ind. natives, Keelan Grant and Phoebe Bates, each ran personal bests across 1500 meters, stopping the clock in 3:50.79 and 4:32.79 respectively.
Bates lowered her lifetime best by over seven seconds while Grant has seen his season progression drop from 4:00.86 to 3:50.79 in the span of two weeks.
Tori Schmidt continues to run well for the Hoosiers, throwing down a personal best for the second-consecutive week. Paced by Claire Overfelt, Schmidt lowered her lifetime best by eight seconds across 5000 meters in 17:21.04.
Robert Blue was victorious in the long jump once again, recording a mark of 7.21m/23-8 on Friday night.
The Hoosiers continue action at home tomorrow with featured events in the 800 meters, discus and triple jump.
Indiana Invitational: April 21st
Event Athletes: Mark
Hammer Throw (M) 14. Hunter Smith: 49.32m/161-10 | Personal Best
Pole Vault (W) 5. Jessica Mercier: 4.14m/13-6.75 | No. 7 School History
Pole Vault (M) 1. Nathan Stone: 5.49m/18-0
4. Tyler Carrel: 5.19m/17-0.25
6. Riley Johnston: 5.09m/16-8.25
9. Tyler Sierks: 4.79/15-8.5
Long Jump (W) 3. Serena Bolden: 5.77m/18-11.25
8. Kelly Moran: 5.53m/18-1.75
Long Jump (M) 1. Robert Blue: 7.21m/23-8
Shot Put (W) 3. Jayden Ulrich: 16.78m/55-0.75
5. Makayla Hunter: 14.92m/48-11.5
6. Emily Herndon: 14.22m/46-8 | Personal Best
Shot Put (M) 1. Noah Koch: 18.36m/60-3 | Personal Best, No. 6 School History
10. Adam Strouf: 15.09m/49-6.25
200 Meters (W) 1. Alyssa Robinson: 24.15
12. Olivia Gee: 25.40
17. Lauren Thomas: 25.80 | Personal Best
21. Kaylee Lane: 26.40
200 Meters (M) 1. Antonio Laidler: 21.05
6. Trelee Banks: 21.83
15. Gage Pratt: 22.64 | Personal Best
16. Jaylen Grimes: 22.69 | Personal Best
400mH (M) 1. Shaton Vaughn: 52.67
4. Micah Camble: 53.01
6. David Olowookere: 53.64
7. John Colquitt: 53.85
3000 Meters (M) 2. Skylar Stidam: 8:26.58
1500 Meters (W) 6. Jenna Barker: 4:29.60
10. Phoebe Bates: 4:32.79 | Personal Best
13. Alyssa Skorge: 4:35.06
25. Audrey Mendrys: 4:51.80
27. Mikaela Ramirez: 4:52.75
1500 Meters (M) 6. Dustin Horter: 3:50.25
8. Keelan Grant: 3:50.79 | Personal Best
24. Nico Colchico: 4:05.90
5000 Meters (W) 15. Tori Schmidt: 17:21.04 | Personal Best
5000 Meters (M) 9. Abe Eckman: 14:19.79 | Personal Best
INDIANA BASEBALL
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – With two runners on base in a one-run game, freshman Connor Foley entered on the mound and held the game-tying run at third base in the Indiana baseball programs 9-8 victory over Ohio on Friday (April 21) at Bart Kaufman Field.
Ohio (15-18) scored one run in the first and one in the second inning, while Indiana (28-11) scores two runs in each of the first three innings to send the game to the fourth inning at 6-2 in favor of the home team. The Bobcats made it a one-run game with two in the fourth and one in the sixth inning, before a three-run sixth by the Hoosiers made it 9-5. A single Ohio run in the seventh was followed by two in the ninth, before Foley shut the door.
It was the first career save for Foley (1), who stranded two inherited runners and one runner of his own to help IU win a series opener for the first time in its last four weekends. He struck out two and hit one batter.
Sophomore Ryan Kraft (4-0) earned the win with 4 2/3 innings of work, his 19th career relief outing of two-or-more innings. He struck out five and allowed four runs – three earned – on eight hits. Junior Brooks Ey allowed our runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings in his second start in the cream and crimson.
Offensively, senior Phillip Glasser posted his 20th multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-5 night at the plate and in the process gives him 60 hits on the year. His three RBIs marked his seventh multi-RBI game of the season and moved his reached base streak to 39 games.
With his 10th home run of the season, freshman Devin Taylor joined a select group of Hoosiers. In reaching double-digit home runs, Taylor joins the list of Carter Mathison (19; 2022), Alex Dickerson (13; 2009), Micah Johnson (11; 2010) and Mike Sabo (11; 1985) as the only IU freshmen to hit 10-of-more home runs in their rookie campaigns. In all Taylor homered, drove in two RBIs and walked once to move his hitting streak to eight games and reached base streak to 28 games.
Redshirt junior Bobby Whalen chipped in his second three-hit game of the season and sophomore Brock Tibbitts moved his hitting streak to seven games and drove in an RBI in his third straight contest with a sacrifice fly.
Three Ohio hitters posted three-hit games as the Bobcats out-hit Indiana, 16-11, on the night. Alec Patino had three hits and drove in two RBIs, Cole Williams doubled twice and scored two runs as part of his three-hit effort, and Trevor Lukkes homered and scored twice in a three-hit game. Starting pitcher Luke Olson (3-2) took the loss with six runs – five earned – on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two.
Scoring Recap
Top First
AJ Rausch singled to start the game and stole second base. He moved to third on a Mason Minzey base hit and came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Will Sturek.
Ohio 1, Indiana 0
Bottom First
A one-out base hit from Bobby Whalen was followed by a two-run home run from Devin Taylor.
Indiana 2, Ohio 1
Top Second
Nick Dolan singled with one out and stole second base with two outs. Alec Patino doubled to score the run.
Indiana 2, Ohio 2
Bottom Second
Hunter Jessee singled and Tyler Cerny walked with one out. The runners moved up a base on a Peter Serruto flyout, before both runs scored on a Phillip Glasser double down the left field line.
Indiana 4, Ohio 2
Bottom Third
The first three batters reached base and a Josh Pyne fielder’s choice and Jessee groundout plated single runs.
Indiana 6, Ohio 2
Top Fourth
A double from Cole Williams started the frame and Trevor Lukkes singled to put runners on the corners. After a strikeout and a walk, Patino singled to drive in the first run and a wild pitch scored the second run of the inning.
Indiana 6, Ohio 4
Top Sixth
Rausch doubled and Patino was hit-by-pitch to start the frame. A one-out single from Sturek brought in one RBI.
Indiana 6, Ohio 5
Bottom Sixth
Four straight singles started the inning, with Glasser and Whalen each driving in RBIs with base hits. Brock Tibbitts brought in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
Indiana 9, Ohio 5
Top Seventh
After a Williams single, Lukkes walked, and Dolan’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. Rausch grounded out to drive in one RBI.
Indiana 9, Ohio 6
Top Ninth
A leadoff home run from Lukkes was followed by a pair of errors, the second of which scored the second run of the inning. After a base hit put two runners on base, Connor Foley entered on the mound. A strikeout was followed by a hit batter to load the bases. Foley then struck out the next batter and got a flyout to end the game.
Indiana 9, Ohio 8
Up Next
Indiana and Ohio will meet for the second game in the series at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. The game can be found on B1G+ and heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network
INDIANA SOFTBALL
Share:
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Freshman Cassidy Kettleman blasts her first career home run as the Hoosiers (32-15, 10-5 B1G) win game one over Rutgers (30-18, 7-8 B1G), 7-3, on Friday afternoon at the Rutgers Softball Complex.
INDIANA 7, RUTGERS 3
KEY MOMENTS
• Sophomore Sarah Stone singled up the middle as she earned two RBI and put the Hoosiers up in the top of the first.
• Rutgers added a run in the bottom of the inning to keep it close, 2-1.
• In the second, the Scarlet Knights gave the Hoosiers three free passes walking sophomore Kinsey Mitchell, junior Brooke Benson earned senior Cora Bassett to load the bases.
• Freshman Taryn Kern was hit by the pitch earning an RBI as Mitchell scored. Sophomore Taylor Minnick hit a base hit off the right field wall, earning two RBI sending Benson and Bassett home.
• Stone stepped up to the plate again earning another RBI on a sac fly to center field to score Kern.
• In the bottom of the third, freshman Avery Parker made a diving catch as she flashed some leather, but the Scarlet Knights scored another run on the sac fly, 6-2.
• Kettleman provided some momentum for the Hoosiers in the fifth as she hit a home run deep into center field to extend the lead, 7-2. IU’s defense faced three batters to close out the inning.
• RU scored in the bottom of the sixth before Indiana shut down
NOTABLES
• Kettleman hit her first career home run.
• The Hoosiers tallied seven RBI bringing their season total to 300.
• Indiana earned nine walks against the Scarlet Knights.
• Sophomore Brianna Copeland earned her 16th win on the season.
UP NEXT
Indiana will face Rutgers for game two at 3:00 p.m. ET at the Rutgers Softball Complex.
PURDUE BASEBALL
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The five Boilermakers comprising the five through nine portion of the bottom half of the lineup all recorded multiple hits and an RBI, producing a combined seven RBI and seven runs scored on 12 hits to propel Purdue baseball to a 10-8 series-opening win at Maryland on Friday.
The Boilermakers (19-18, 8-5 B1G) extended their season-best win streak to five consecutive games and became the first visiting team to win on a Friday at Turtle Smith Stadium since May 2019. Purdue is 4-1 on Fridays in Big Ten play this season.
Khal Stephen struck out seven over six-plus innings of five-hit ball, out dueling Maryland ace and All-American Jason Savacool. Both runs Stephen (5-2) allowed over the first six innings came on solo home runs. He struck out UMD’s 6-7-8 hitters in order after giving up a homer to open the sixth inning.
Jackson Dannelley closed out the victory via his second seven-out save of the week, surrendering just one hit vs. 10 batters faced. The Terrapins (23-15, 6-4 B1G) stranded the tying and go-ahead runs when Dannelley brought the seventh inning to a close.
The Boilermakers threw out the tying run at the plate for the second out during UMD’s five-run seventh inning. In both the seventh and eighth innings, Purdue managed to tack on an insurance run after the Terps retired the first two batters of the inning.
Mike Bolton Jr. connected for an opposite-field home run in the third inning and stole his 68th career base, moving within two of the program’s all-time record that has stood since 1991.
Jake Parr, Paul Toetz, Jo Stevens, CJ Valdez and Evan Albrecht were a combined 12-for-22 and also drew three free passes. Toetz and Albrecht both had three hits. Valdez’s two-run double highlighted a four-run rally in the top of the sixth. He accounted for three of quintet’s combined seven RBI. Toetz scored three times. Albrecht registered his 17th three-hit game since the start of the 2022 season.
Parr extended his on-base streak to 11 consecutive games and hit streak in Big Ten play to eight straight games. Connor Caskenette’s two-out double in the eighth inning extended his on-base streak to 15 consecutive games and led to a pair of insurance runs.
Couper Cornblum, Albrecht, Parr, Valdez, Toetz and Stevens all delivered a two-out RBI single in the win. The Boilermakers were 9-for-18 with two outs and 9-for-17 with runners in scoring position; UMD finished the night 3-for-12 and 4-for-13 in those same situations.
First pitch of Saturday’s game 2 of the series has been moved up to noon ET.
PURDUE TRACK
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Junior Alex Frey and sophomore Nathan Walker earned their second top-10 times in program history in the last two weeks as the Purdue track & field team opened competition at the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana, on Friday.
Frey and Walker entered the record book in the 5,000-meter event, 13 days after they debuted on the school top-10 list in the 1,500m. Fifth-year Johnny Vanos added a win in the hammer throw.
On a cool and damp afternoon and evening at IU’s Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex, the Boilermakers began their penultimate meet of the regular season with six personal-best marks and eight top-five finishes. The two-day meet will conclude on Saturday afternoon.
Under the lights on Friday night, Frey finished in 14:00.81, the fifth-fastest time in Purdue history. Walker was just behind him in 14:06.69, which is 10th in the record books. Frey was the runner-up in the event as he set a new collegiate-best time by nearly 24 seconds, and Walker was fourth with a PR by more than 15 seconds. Both times are in the top-15 in the Big Ten this season, at No. 9 and No. 14.
Friday’s top-10 times come after Frey and Walker ran the ninth- and 10th-fasestst 1,500m times in school history on April 8 at the Fighting Illini Challenge. Frey finished in 3:47.41, just ahead of Walker’s 3:47.42.
Purdue’s day in Bloomington opened with the hammer throw, where Vanos picked up his second victory in the event this season. His winning throw of 65.08 meters came on his fifth attempt, though a mark of 64.51m on his third throw also would have been good enough for the win. Vanos was one of two competitors to eclipse 60.00m, and he was the only one to top 61.00m more than once, which he did three times.
Senior Kerris Roberts was the runner-up in the 200m, thanks to a time of 24.18, and junior Caleb Williams was second in the 3,000m steeplechase. Williams had a personal-best time of 9:12.97 to earn the top finish among collegiate competitors.
Third-place showings were recorded by juniors LJ Hill in the long jump, with a mark of 7.01m, and Jahn Riley, with a 21.70 in the 200m.
Personal-bests also were achieved by fifth-year John Pieper (1,500m, 3:50.46), sophomore Alison Casey (pole vault, 3.54m) and freshmen Seth Allen (hammer throw, 51.69m), Christel Elkins (1,500m, 4:35.57) and Leo Maxwell (shot put, 15.75m). Sophomore Brady Yoder added a season-best 1,500m mark of 3:54.10.
The Indiana Invitational concludes on Saturday, as the women’s discus begins the day at 12:30 p.m. ET. Purdue’s first event on the track is the women’s 100m hurdle prelims at 1:10 p.m. The meet concludes with the men’s javelin at 5 p.m.
PURDUE WOMEN’S GOLF
PITTSBURGH – Making her Big Ten Championship debut, Purdue Women’s Golf sophomore Momo Sugiyama fired a 2-under 69 to grab a share of the clubhouse lead in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Boilermaker joined Isabel Sy (Illinois) and Emily Lauterbach (Wisconsin) as the only three golfers to record rounds in the 60s at the difficult par 71 Fox Chapel Golf Club on Friday.
Along with sitting atop the leaderboard. Sugiyama recorded her sixth round in the 60s this season to tie five other Boilermakers for the program’s single-season record. Maria Hernandez (2007-08), Maude-Aimee Leblanc (2009-10), Paula Reto (2012-13), Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri (2018-19) and Micaela Farah (2018-19) all produced six rounds in the 60s over a single single.
As a team, Purdue carded a 297 (+13) to sit in seventh place but within striking distance. The Boilermakers are just three strokes back of third-place Maryland (+10) and only five shots behind No. 24 Ohio State (+8) in second place. Illinois holds a six-shot lead over the Buckeyes after a 2-over 286 in the opening round. The Boilermakers made 62 pars throughout Friday, pacing the field.
Sugiyama played her first 14 holes bogey free, making four birdies along the way. The Australian took advantage of the par-5 second with a birdie to get into red figures before a deuce at the par-3 third pushed her to 2-under. Making six straight pars to conclude the front, Sugiyama remained at 2-under as she made the turn. Birdies at No. 12 and No. 14, a pair of par 4s, allowed her to soar to 4-under before her first miscue of the day. Despite a double bogey at the 15th, she got one stroke back at No. 16 with her fifth birdie. After playing the par 4s 1-under to lead the field in par-4 scoring, Sugiyama tackled the par-3 17th and the par-5 18th enough to secure her round in the 60s.
Another Boilermaker making her Big Ten Championship debut, redshirt-freshman Jade Gu followed Sugiyama with a 75 (+4). She finished strong as the wind picked up in the afternoon, going 1-over on her final 13 holes and making a pair of birdies along the way. Gu found herself in the top quarter of the leaderboard, tied for 22nd.
Jocelyn Bruch and Ashley Kozlowski contributed to the team’s score, carding rounds of 76 (+5) and 77 (+6), respectively. Both Boilermakers made one birdie throughout their rounds. Bruch birdied the par-5 eighth, while Kozlowski drove the par-4 seventh that led to a 2-putt birdie.
Despite rain in the forecast, the second round of the B1G Championship is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Boilermakers will be paired with Nebraska (+16) and Minnesota (+17), teeing off the first hole.
For updates throughout the remainder of the conference championship, follow Purdue Women’s Golf on Twitter @PurdueWGolf.
BOILERMAKERS
T1. Momo Sugiyama: 69 (-2)
T22. Jade Gu: 75 (+4)
T33. Jocelyn Bruch: 76 (+5)
T43. Ashley Kozlowski: 77 (+6)
T57. Kan Bunnabodee: 78 (+7)
T73. Danielle du Toit: 80 (+9)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Illinois: 286 (+2)
2. #24 Ohio State: 292 (+8)
3. Maryland: 294 (+10)
T4. #15 Northwestern: 295 (+11)
T4. Wisconsin: 295 (+11)
6. Indiana: 296 (+12)
7. Purdue: 297 (+13)
8. Nebraska: 300 (+16)
T9. Michigan: 301 (+17)
T9. Minnesota: 301 (+17)
11. Michigan State: 302 (+18)
12. Iowa: 303 (+19)
13. Penn State: 307 (+23)
14. Rutgers: 311 (+27)
PURDUE SOFTBALL
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a game of home runs, the Purdue Boilermakers (21-24, 4-11 Big Ten) took down Ohio State (28-15, 8-7 Big Ten) 6-3 at Buckeye Field. The victory was notched in thanks to infielder Olivia McFadden’s grand slam in the fifth inning.
Purdue responded to Ohio State’s third inning three-run homer with six unanswered runs.
In the fourth inning, Alex Echazarreta notched a two RBI shot past the left field wall, scoring Tyrina Jones on the play. The homer was the seventh of the season and the second consecutive game for the fifth year to hit one out of the park.
Olivia McFadden followed it up in the fifth inning with her first career grand slam, including the second homer of the season. Not only did the Boilermakers load the bases after Outs one and two were recorded, the sophomore registered the eventual game-winner with two strikes on the board.
Purdue was out-hit 4-9 in the outing. In addition to going errorless, the Boilermakers made multiple catches, including an SC-Top 10-worthy catch by center fielder Kiara Dillon in the fifth.
Echazarreta recorded the complete game victory, improving her record to 7-11 on the year.
Game 2 of the series is set for 2 p.m. ET tomorrow at Ohio State, followed by the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both games will be streamed on B1G+.
BUTLER MEN’S TENNIS
The Bulldogs opened play at the 2023 BIG EAST Men’s Tennis Championship in convincing fashion, taking a 4-1 win over DePaul Friday afternoon.
The BIG EAST quarterfinal matched the fourth-seeded Bulldogs with the No. 5 seed DePaul in Cayce, S.C.
Butler captured the doubles point with wins on the first and third courts to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.
Freshman Nicolas Arts made quick work of DePaul’s Sven Moser on the sixth court, posting a 6-1, 6-3 win that gave the Bulldogs their second team point.
Alvaro Huete Vadillo produced another straight-set win for the Bulldogs with a 7-5, 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot. His win put Butler a single point away from the team win.
The remaining four matches all featured split sets as the tension began to build. DePaul’s Pablo Torres Almeida got the Blue Demons on the board with a win at No. 4 singles.
The clinching point came from the first court as senior Thomas Brennan rebounded after losing the first set to take a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Aleksa Krivokapic.
Brennan’s win sent the Bulldogs into Saturday’s semifinals where top-seeded Creighton awaits.
With the result, Butler is now 14-9 on the season.
Saturday’s semifinals are scheduled to be played at 1 p.m. Georgetown and St. John’s will meet in the semifinal opposite Butler and Creighton.
Live scoring is available through the iOnCourt app with a link available at ButlerSports.com.
Doubles
Brennan/Huete (Butler) def. Huck/Almeida (DePaul), 6-4
Miralles/Arts (Butler) and Verma/Moser (DePaul) were tied, 6-6 (unfinished)
Konakanchi/Joss (Butler) def. Jona Gitschel/Elias Anwar (DePaul), 6-1
Singles
Thomas Brennan (Butler) def. Aleksa Krivokapic (DePaul), 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Alvaro Huete Vadillo (Butler) def. Leon Huck (DePaul), 7-5, 6-3
Borja Miralles (Butler) led Matteo Iaquinto (DePaul), 6-4, 4-6, 4-3 (unfinished)
Pablo Torres Almeida (DePaul) def. Rahulniket Konakanchi (Butler), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Patrick Joss (Butler) led Shourya Verma (DePaul), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 1-0 (unfinished)
Nicolas Arts (Butler) def. Sven Moser (DePaul), 6-1, 6-3
BUTLER MEN’S GOLF
Butler made a move up the leaderboard late Friday afternoon as second-round play at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate began a day early due to rain in the weekend forecast.
After the first 18 holes, Butler was tied with BIG EAST rivals Xavier and Villanova at 303. The Bulldogs then got off to a torrid start in round two, climbing into a tie for ninth when play was halted about dinner time as showers approached.
Butler’s players completed an average of eight holes Friday afternoon before second-round play was suspended.
Will Horne is tied for 14th at two-over. He is through eight holes in the second round.
Results through the completed first round can be found here.
Entering Saturday’s resumption of play, host Ohio State holds a one-shot lead over Kent State. The Buckeyes are at four-under, which includes being five shots better than par through the first half of the second round on the Scarlet Course on the Ohio State campus.
Play is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning depending on weather overnight.
BUTLER BASEBALL
SOUTH ORANGE – Butler scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to earn their first BIG EAST win of the season on Friday night at Seton Hall. Six players came up with a clutch hit in crunch time to allow BU to rally and win the game by the final score of 6-2.
The ninth inning started off with a Scott Jones single and Kollyn All would find room in center allowing Jones to move around to third base. With one swing of the bat Garret Gray would give BU the lead as his double scored each base runner to put BU in front 3-2.
Kyle Van Liere gave Butler an insurance run with a sac fly to left and the Bulldogs would send Ryan O’Halloran to the plate as a pinch hitter. O’Halloran singled to right then stole second and he would come around to score on a Jake DeFries single.
Seton Hall made a pitching change and DeFries would take second base with Gillen on the bump. DeFries would score the final run of the ninth off a single to left from Joey Urban.
The Bulldogs enjoyed the four-run advantage and would send Cole Graverson out to the mound to get the final three outs. Graverson didn’t allow a hit to help BU close out the victory.
Dawson Taylor got the win for BU while Allmer was hit with the loss. Taylor improved to 2-1 on the season after pitching two innings vs. the Pirates. Nick Miketinac got the start and would throw three innings. Jon Vore also pitched three innings for the ‘Dawgs.
These two teams will go at it again tomorrow at 2 PM.
IUPUI WOMEN’S TRACK
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The IUPUI women’s track and field team set 11 new personal bests on Friday night (Apr. 21) on day one of the Indiana Invitational. Freshman Madelynn Denny led the way with a pair of personal bests, doing so in the 200m dash and shot put.
The Jaguars started well as both Modupe Awosanya and Denny set new personal bests in the 200m dash with Awosanya crossing at 25.57 seconds and Denny clocking a time of 27.37. Both shed nearly a full second off their prior bests. In the 400m hurdles, sophomore Katie Moore placed third overall in a time of 1:03.10 and Jada-Marie Davis continued her ascent with a time of 1:05.06. Freshman Skyler Sichting also notched a personal best time of 1:09.86 as all three notched PRs.
In the shot put, Denny threw a personal best 9.23m (30′ 3.5”), outpacing her previous best by nearly three feet.
In the 3,000m event, Hannah Sale finished third overall with a personal best time of 10:33.64 while fellow distance specialists Ellie Cates and Julie Smith recorded personal bests in the 1,500m event. Cates crossed at 4:39.33 to take a second off her prior best while Smith finished at 4:47.23, taking 11 seconds off her previous best.
The night ended with both Claire Mehling and Kara Krol clocking new personal bests in the 5,000m event. Mehling spun a time of 18:29.88 to take almost a full minute off her previous best and Krol turned in a time of 18:53.47 to shed 11 seconds off her former best.
“I was not sure what I was capable of going in, but it was a great night to race,” Mehling said. “Conditions were perfect and I was inspired by all my teammates gutsy performances earlier in the evening. Once the gun went off, we just tried to run our race and fight to stay strong and composed until the finish, which resulted in some pretty significant PRs for Kara and myself.
“I’m super happy and thankful about how tonight went and excited for conference.”
In the long jump, Olivia Martinez was the team’s top performer on Friday with a best jump of 5.14m (16′ 10.5”).
The Jaguars will continue the two-day meet on Saturday with a smattering of entrants competing.
IUPUI MEN’S TRACK
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – IUPUI head coach Justin Roeder made a late adjustment to his schedule, adding a trip to Bloomington so selected members of his squad could benefit from ideal conditions in an effort to land fast 5,000m times on Friday (Apr. 21).
Mission accomplished.
Nate Kaiser shed four seconds off his previous best and came within a whisker of breaking the school record in the 5K and teammates Mitchell Gits and Grant Moon also returned with new personal bests. Kaiser logged a time of 14:20.33 against a stout field, falling less than a half second off the current school record.
Gits spun a winning time of 14:39.52 in his heat of the 5K to shave six seconds off his previous best and Moon clocked a time of 14:43.63 to take eight seconds off his personal best.
“Seeing Gits win his heat and Moon ball out gave me confidence a good one was possible,” Kaiser said. “Great weather and surrounded by close friends and family made it a special night. Everyone is trending the right direction with conference in a couple weeks.”
Kaiser moved to No. 2 on the program’s all-time list in the event while Gits missed moving into the top-10 by less than a second.
The Jaguars will return to action next weekend when they compete at the RedHawk Invitational in Oxford, Ohio, on Apr. 28-29.
BALL STATE WOMEN’S GOLF
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Ball State women’s golf team was back in action on Friday for round one of the Mid-American Conference Championship at the Kalamazoo Country Club. Madelin Boyd and Jasmine Driscoll led the Cardinals and are tied for 12th.
The Cardinals are currently tied for third with a team score of 304 (+16). Kent State leads with a 291 (+3), while Western Michigan 303 (+15). Central Michigan is tied with Ball State with a 304 (+16).
Boyd opened the championship with a round of 75 (+3). She birdied the par-4 fourth. She is currently tied for 12th.
Driscoll utilized two birdies on the back nine to finish with a 75 (+3). She finished round one tied for 12th.
Sarah Gallagher sits inside the top-20, in a tie for 19th. She recorded two birdies on the back nine and posted a score of 76 (+4).
Kiah Parrott finished round one on fire, as she birdied three of the final four holes. She notched an opening round tally of 78 (+6) and is tied for 27th.
Peyton Broce is tied for 33rd with a score of 80 (+8). She produced a birdie on the par-5 16th.
The Kalamazoo Country Club is a par-72, 6,011-yard course. The second round will begin at 9:30 a.m. The Cardinals will tee off beginning at noon from hole one. Ball State will be joined by Western Michigan and Kent State. Live stats can be found on golfstat.com or by clicking here.
Team Standings
1. Kent State – 291 (+3)
2. Western Michigan – 303 (+15)
T3. Ball State – 304 (+16)
T3. Central Michigan – 304 (+16)
5. Northern Illinois – 305 (+17)
6. Akron – 307 (+19)
7. Toledo – 310 (+22)
8. Eastern Michigan – 312 (+24)
9. Ohio – 317 (+29)
10. Bowling Green – 325 (+37)
BALL STATE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
THE ROAD TO THE MIVA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP: Ohio State (21-9), the No. 3 seed in the 2023 Midwestern Collegiate Volleyball Association Tournament, knocked off Lindenwood (3-0) and Mckendree (3-1) to advance to Saturday’s title match against Ball State. The Cardinals need to on the lookout for freshman Shane Wetzel led the Buckeyes in kills, the most recent a 19-kill effort vs. McKendree in the MIVA Semifinals last Wednesday in Columbus. Junior Jacob Pasteur was named the MIVA Player of the Year by the league coaches. Wetzel earned Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-MIVA Second Team. Both Pasteur and sophomore Cole Young earned All-MIVA First Team honors. Against Ball State this year, Ohio State split with the Cardinals with each teams winning on its home court. Ohio State fell 3-0 in Muncie before winning 3-2 in Columbus. The latter win started the Buckeyes on their current 10-match win streak. Ball State (20-8) knocked off Quincy and Lewis 3-0 to get repeat a shot of the MIVA Tournament Championship. The Cardinals have won eight-straight matches. Tinaishe Ndavazocheva has led Ball State thus far in the tournament totaling 28 kills while averaging 4.6 kills per set.
15 TIMES: Ball State has won the MIVA Tournament title a total of 15 times (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2022).
CRUZ’S FIRST MEMORABLE SEASON: The Cardinals are looking to build off a historic 2022 season which saw Donan Cruz, in his first year at the helm, lead Ball State to a 23-4 overall record and the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship. BSU was also ranked third in the final NVA/AVCA Men’s Division I-II Coaches Poll: the highest ranking in program history. Ball State was also the 2022 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season and tournament champions. Cruz was named the 2022 AVCA Coach of the Year last season and MIVA Coach of the Year.
THE LAST TIME BALL STATE AND OHIO STATE MET IN THE TITLE MATCH: The last time the Cardinals and the Buckeyes met in the MIVA title match was in 2009. Ball State fell to Ohio State 0-3 that year. The Cardinals last defeated the Buckeyes in the MIVA championship in 1995 which was a 3-0 sweep for BSU.
NO. 10 MEN’S VOLLEYBALL PLACES FOUR ON ALL-MIVA FIRST & SECOND TEAM: The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season champion Ball State men’s volleyball team had four players earn All-MIVA First and Second Team honors. Graduate senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness was tabbed to the All-MIVA First Team for the fourth-straight season along with sophomore outside attacker Tinaishe Ndavazocheva who also received First Team honors as well, which is a first for Ndavazocheva. Graduate senior middle attacker Felix Egharevba was selected to the All-MIVA Second Team for his third-straight season while teammate senior setter David Flores also earned the same award for the first time in his career. Jenness, was tabbed preseason All-MIVA prior to the start of the season. Jenness currently ranks 15th in the nation in kills per set (3.72). He leads the Cardinals in kills (327), digs (138) and points (369.5). Jenness has turned in a double-digit performances 19 times this season including a season best 21-kills at Loyola Chicago (2/16) and UC San Diego (3/5). Jenness recently earned MIVA Player of the Week honors on April 11. Currently Jenness ranks second all-time in kills at Ball State with 1,185.Ndavazocheva has turned in quite the rookie season for the Cardinals. He earned MIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors and Off the Block National Honors on Feb. 7. He turned in a career high 27 kills against Lewis (2/9) and has had 19 double digit kill performances this season. Ndavazocheva currently ranks second on the team in kills (299) and in points (343.5). A force to be reckoned with on defense, Egharevba has been tabbed to the All-MIVA Second Team for the third time in his career. Egharevba leads the Cardinals with 90 blocks which includes 10 block solos and 80 block assists. He ranks 16th nationally in blocks per set (1.011). This season, Egharevba has turned in one double digit block performance with 10 against UC San Diego (3/5). Egharevba has 319 total blocks for his career at Ball State which is good for ninth all-time. For the first time in his career, Flores has earned a postseason All-MIVA honor after being named to the Second Team. Flores recently was tabbed the Off the Block Setter of the Week along with earning MIVA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance last weekend against Loyola Chicago and Purdue Fort Wayne. Flores dished out a season best 53 assists against BYU (2/2/23) and currently ranks eighth in the nation in assists per set (10.17).
NOTRE DAME BASEBALL
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take down No. 8 Virginia in game one of the series on Friday, April 21 at Frank Eck Stadium. An electric night at the plate for the Irish would give them the 10-7 win with a season-high six home runs on the night. The Irish advance to 21-15 and 9-10 in the ACC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cavalier offense struck first as they scored in the first inning to take the 1-0 lead. While the Irish were scoreless through the first inning, Jack Penney homered in his first at bat as he sent it deep over the fence in center field to make it even 1-1 after two. Penney continues to lead the Irish in home runs this season as he recorded his eighth homer of the year in the second inning.
A four-run inning lifted UVA to a 5-1 advantage in the top of the fourth, but the Irish weren’t going anywhere. Two runs were scored in the bottom frame as DM Jefferson notched his first career home run, scoring Penny and closing the gap to two with a score of 5-3.
It was three up, three down for Virginia in the top of the fifth and the Irish offense continued to surge as Notre Dame tacked on another three runs in the bottom frame to take the lead. Estevan Moreno led off with his first home run of the day as his solo homer made it a 5-4 ballgame. Zack Prajzner and Carter Putz tallied back-to-back singles as the Putz base hit would score Prajzner to tie it up at 5-5. Vinny Martinez would send it down the left field line for his second hit of the day as his RBI double sent home Putz to give Notre Dame the first lead of the day at 6-5.
The Irish had another strong defensive frame as the Cavalier offense went three up, three down again in the top of the sixth. Aidan Tyrell recorded his eighth strikeout of the day in the sixth frame as he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits.
Moreno tallied his second homer of the day in the bottom of the sixth as he sent it to deep left field to give the Irish the 7-5 advantage.
Radek Birkholz took the mound to start the seventh for the Irish, recording his first strikeout of the day as both the Irish and the Cavaliers hung zeros in the inning.
Virginia closed the gap to one after scoring another run in the top of the eighth to make it a 7-6 ballgame. The Irish bats were at it again though in the bottom frame as the Notre Dame home run derby continued. Martinez led off with a single up the middle as Casey Kmet came in to pinch run for the designated hitter. He was scored by a Brady Gumpf home run to left field, which was the fifth Irish home run of the game. Gumpf’s first homer of the season extended the Irish lead 9-6. The freshman second baseman was back up to plate and did it again. Moreno crushed it to deep left field for his third home run of the night. This is the first time an Irish player has recorded three home runs in a game since Jake Shepski did it on March 24, 2016 at Virginia Tech.
Leading 10-6 heading into the ninth, Virginia would homer to right center field, but the Irish would close out the game with a 10-7 victory over the No. 8 team in the country. Tyrell advanced to 7-1 on the year and Birkholz took home his first save.
NOTRE DAME SOFTBALL
BOSTON – The University of Notre Dame softball team dropped a 4-1 contest to the Boston College Eagles Friday night at the Harrington Athletics Village. All the scoring was done in the first two innings as both pitchers threw complete games. The Fighting Irish got runners on base, but couldn’t find the hit it needed push runs across the plate. The Irish fall to 27-13-1 overall and 9-9-1 in the ACC.
Payton Tidd started in the circle, throwing 6.0 innings. She allowed just five hits, four runs, one earned and struck out three in the loss.
The offense had six hits in the contest, led by a 3-for-4 effort from Joley Mitchell. Carlli Kloss, Macie Eck and Mickey Winchell each added a hit in the contest.
How It Happened
The Eagles jumped on top early, taking advantage of a couple defensive miscues. Lead-off hitter Aleyah Terrell knocked a ball into the left center field gap that rolled to the wall for a triple. A single to shallow right brought her in before a throwing error put runners on the corners. Meghan Schouten lifted her third homer of the year over the wall in left center to take a 4-0 lead after the first inning of play.
The Irish got a run back in the top of the second. A lead-off single from Eck got the rally going as a single from Kloss put runners on the corners. Mitchell drove a single up the middle to bring in Eck and cut the lead to 4-1.
Notre Dame threatened throughout the night, but couldn’t break through to take the lead. The Irish left 11 runners on base, including bringing the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning.
Up Next
The Irish are back in action tomorrow as they’ll play Boston College for two games beginning at 2 p.m. on the ACC Network.
NOTRE DAME MEN’S TENNIS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Less than a week after they played to end the regular season, the University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team met again in the second round of the ACC Championships played at the Cary Tennis Park in North Carolina. But while the match was closer and would come down to the final match, the outcome would again go the way of the #36 ranked Cardinals.
The Fighting Irish came out firing in doubles and got a pair of 6-2 wins at the top two spots. Connor Fu and Jean-Marc Malkowski got down 0-1, 15-40 on Fu’s serve before digging out a hold. From there, they would lose just one more game en route to a win at the #1 position. At #2, Sebastian Dominko and Matt Halpin, who won a the same position last week against Louisville, repeated a winning performance and clinched the doubles point to give the Irish the lead heading in to singles.
After Louisville would tie up the contest with a quick win at #6 singles, Dominko, who checks in this week at #14 in the country in the ITA singles rankings, dispatched his #79 ranked opponent 6-4 6-2 to reclaim the lead 2-1. This was Dominko’s first singles match since Boston College almost three weeks ago. The next point would go to the team from Kentucky with a win at #2 singles but the senior Fu would put his team back in the lead with a 6-3, 6-4 win at #4 singles to put the Irish within one of the victory.
Needing just one more match, all focus would turn to #4 and #6 singles who were battling next to each other. Both Malkowski and Yu Zhang dropped the opening set and would need to flip the match to extend their contest. Malkowski would push his opponent to a second set tiebreak just as he did last week but ultimately fall in a tiebreak to knot up the match one last time at 3-3. Zhang, who came through as the last match clincher earlier this year against Western Michigan, couldn’t come through this time as he lost in straight sets giving Louisville the 4-3 win.
Up Next:
Freshman phenom Sebastian Dominko will participate in the NCAA Individual Singles tournament beginning May 20th at the USTA National Center in Lake Nona, Florida. He and doubles partner Connor Fu are ranked #25 in the country with a chance to qualify for the NCAA Doubles tournament as well. Selections will be made after the conclusion of all conference tournaments next weekend.
Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @NDMensTennis
Instagram: @ndmenstennis
#58 Notre Dame 3 – #36 Louisville 4
Doubles
Fu/Malkowski(ND) def. Donnet/Wesbrooks(UL) 6-2
Halpin/Dominko(ND) def. Salle/Mizrahi/(UL) 6-2
Lee/Zhang(ND) vs. Hernandez/Rodriques(UL) 4-4 DNF
Order of Finish(1, 2)
Singles
#14 Dominko(ND) #79 Rodrigues(UL) 6-4, 6-2
#34 Donnet(UL) def. Che(ND) 6-2, 6-2
#61 Salle(UL) def. Malkowski(ND) 6-2, 7-6(4)
Fu(ND) def. Hernandez(UL) 6-3, 6-4
Steinbach(UL) def. Zhang(ND) 6-4, 6-2
Mizrahi(UL) def. Corsillo(ND) vs. 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish(6, 1, 2, 4, 3, 5)
NOTRE DAME MEN’S LAX
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 1 Notre Dame caps off the home portion of its regular-season schedule with an ACC tilt against No. 15/14 North Carolina at noon ET on Saturday, April 22 at Arlotta Stadium. Admission is free. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
GAME DETAILS
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Arlotta Stadium
Schedule: April 22 — Noon ET
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
Gameday Info: Click Here
PARKING
With the ongoing construction in the Joyce parking lots please plan and both the Blue & Gold Game and baseball having a home game on Saturday, please plan on arriving early for the game. Parking in the Stadium Lot will be extremely limited due to construction and event closures of the Compton, Joyce, and Baseball Lots. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and park in the Gold (White Field) or Bulla lots, and utilize our free shuttle service in operation from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
THE UNC SERIES
• Saturday will be the 22nd meeting all-time between Notre Dame and UNC.
• The Irish trail in the series with the Tar Heels by a close margin, as Notre Dame has a 10-11 record in the matchup.
• The matchup has been extremely competitive, as 15 of the 21 games in the series have been decided by two goals or less.
• Notre Dame won the most recent matchup, earning a 12-5 victory last season on April 21.
• Entnemann was masterful in last season’s win, making 14 saves while allowing just five goals. Eric Dobson paced the attack with four goals and Jake Taylor added three in the victory.
PAT KAVANAGH: TEWAARATON FAVORITE
• Pat Kavanagh leads the nation in points per game (5.67) despite facing some of the best defenders in the country week in and week out.
• The senior has 51 points on the season off 17 goals and 34 assists.
• Kavanagh’s average of 3.78 assists per game ranks first in the country.
• The attackman also ranks second on the team in ground balls (25), trailing only Irish FOGO Will Lynch.
• Kavanagh has had a pair of monster performances against teams currently ranked in the national polls, tying his own ND record for points in a game with 10 (4G, 6A) against Michigan and posting eigh (3G, 5A) in the win over then No. 1 Duke.
• The senior also has delivered in some of the biggest moments, scoring the game winner against No. 4 Maryland in triple OT to snap the Terrapins’ 22-game home win streak.
• Kavanagh is currently playing his best lacrosse of the season, as he has posted 27 points over his last four games, all coming against teams currently ranked in the top 20 of the USILA and IL polls.
BEATING THE BEST
• The matchup against No. 15/14 UNC will be Notre Dame’s seventh game this season against a team ranked in the top 20 in the InsideLacrosse poll at the time of the game.
• Notre Dame has recorded wins over then No. 15 Georgetown, No. 4 Maryland, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 20 Michigan and No. 1 Duke.
• The Irish have a record of 44-39 against top 10 teams since the start of the 2010 season, including a record of 3-1 this season.
STRONG STARTS
• The Irish have wasted no time jumping on opponents early in games this season, outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 41-23 in first quarters.
• Notre Dame has scored on its first possession in seven of its eight games this season
• Eric Dobson has scored Notre Dame’s opening goal in five games this season.
• Chris Kavanagh and Eric Dobson have thrived in first quarters, as Dobson leads the Irish with nine goals and Kavanagh has added eight on the season in the opening 15 minutes of play.
FITTING RIGHT IN
• Notre Dame welcomed four transfers to the 2023 roster and each player made has made significant contributions through two games.
• Chris Fake and Chris Conlin have each earned starts as defensemen in every game this season, combining for 18 caused turnovers and 37 ground balls.
• Brian Tevlin and Jack Simmons have played major minutes in the midfield, as Simmons has nine goals and five assists while Tevlin has seven goals and three assists while adding 22 ground balls.
• Tevlin has also traded his short stick in for a long stick on the Irish man-down unit at times this season.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Irish enter the weekend allowing just 9.78 goals per game, leading the ACC and ranking sixth in the country.
• Notre Dame ranks eighth in the country in caused turnovers per game this season, averaging 9.89.
• The Irish have recorded at least 10 caused turnovers in six of nine games this season.
• Notre Dame has posted a shutout quarter in five games this season against Marquette (3rd), Georgetown (2nd), Maryland (2nd), Ohio State (3rd) and Michigan (2nd).
• ND recorded a season-high 14 caused turnovers in the win over No. 10/9 Ohio State.
ENTENMANN IS ELITE
• Senior Liam Entenmann has cemented his status as one of the top goalies in the country with his play in 2023.
• Entenmann leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the country in goals against average, allowing just 9.39 goals per game.
• The senior has a save percentage of .559 (104 saves, 82 goals allowed), ranking eighth in the country.
• Entnemann has made double-digit saves in each of the last seven games, including a season-high 15 in the win over No. 1 Duke.
• Entenmann currently ranks seventh on the ND all-time saves list with 457 in his career and is 40 saves shy of Shane Doss who is in sixth (497).
• He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks following his performances in wins over No. 4 Maryland and No. 10/9 Ohio State.
SHARING IS CARING
• Notre Dame’s ball movement has been dizzying at times this season, as the Irish have dished out 81 assists this season.
• ND ranks sixth in the country in assists per game, averaging 9.0.
• Pat Kavanagh leads the Irish in assists per game (3.78) and ranks first in the nation.
• Fifteen different players have recorded at least one assist this season.
• Pat Kavanagh is the program’s all-time career assist leader, tallying 117 in his career.
ATTACKING MIDFIELD DEPTH
• Despite the Kavanagh brothers earning much of the national headlines, the Irish midfield units have been very productive in 2023.
• The starting midfield trio of Eric Dobson, Quinn McCahon and Reilly Gray have combined for 44 goals in 2023.
• Dobson leads the group with 21 goals, while Gray has 12 and McCahon has added 11.
• The second midfield has combined for 22 goals, as Jack Simmons has scored nine while Brian Tevlin has seven and Bryce Walker has chipped in six.
CASHING IN ON THE EMO
• Notre Dame had one of the greatest man-up units in recent memory during the 2022 season, leading the country in efficiency.
• The Irish enter the weekend 14-for-22 (.609) on the EMO through this season, leading the ACC and ranking second in the country.
• Chris Kavanagh is ninth in the nation in EMO goals with six despite being the only player in the top 25 that has played fewer than 10 games this season.
• The Irish EMO unit cashed in on 21-of-31 chances (.677) during the 2022 season.
THE BROTHERS KAVANAGH
• Pat Kavanagh became the fourth Tewaaraton Finalist in program history in 2021 and his brother Chris joined the 2022 squad as an attackman.
• The two brothers have combined for 91 points this season, Pat totaling 51 (17G, 34A) and Chris recording 40 (31G, 9A).
• Chris and Pat became the first set of ND teammates to each record eight or more points in the same game in program history, each posting eight, in the win over Cleveland State.
• The brothers have linked up on 23 goals during their career, with one assisting the other’s goal.
• Pat led the team during the 2022 season in points (64) and assists (39). He was second in goals (24), caused turnovers (12) and ground balls (39) while Chris was second in points (33) and assists (11) while tied for third in goals (22).
• In just 12 games in the 2022 season, Pat became the all-time single-season ND assist record holder with 39, breaking his own record from the 2021 season.
• Pat owns the single-game points record at ND, recording 10 points in a game three times in his career, twice against Syracuse and this season again against Michigan.
• The brothers also excel in the ground ball aspect of the game, combining for 48 on the season.
CORRIGAN ALL-TIME DI PROGRAM WINS LEADER
• With the win over No. 1 Duke on April 10, 2021, Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan broke the NCAA record for most wins at a DI program with 311, passing Bob Shillinglaw (Delaware).
• Corrigan became just the third coach in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse history to reach the 300-win mark at a single school with the win over Marquette on April 10, 2019.
• Corrigan is one of just four active Division I coaches to reach the 300-win mark in his career.
• Corrigan has an overall record of 338-173 in his 37 seasons of coaching.
• The head coach is 328-158 in his 35 seasons at Notre Dame.
• Corrigan is the longest tenured men’s lacrosse coach at the DI level.
INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Cassie Thomerson’s two-out base hit to left field scored pinch-runner Morgan Goodrich to lift the Sycamores over Murray State, 1-0, in 12 innings on Friday afternoon at Price Field.
Indiana State (23-21, 11-7 MVC) got 12 shutout innings from Lexi Benko, her second extra-inning complete game of the season. The Racers (28-16, 12-6 MVC) started Hannah James who gave up one hit across four innings followed by Jenna Veber who gave up one run in 7.2 innings of relief.
The Sycamores finished with six hits while Murray State had 11 on the afternoon.
The Action
Lexi Benko had to work out of trouble in the second inning, getting a strikeout to retire the side and strand runners on second and third after a Racer single and a double.
Abi Chipps put the Sycamores in the hit column for the first time with an infield single in the bottom of the third but the score would remain 0-0 after three complete frames.
Murray State would again threaten to score in the top of the fourth, putting runners on second and third with just one out but Benko was able to escape the jam, getting a strikeout and a groundout to keep the game scoreless.
After another scoreless frame from Benko in the top of the fifth, the Racers replaced starter Hannah James with Jenna Veber who sat the Sycamores down in order to end the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Abi Chipps picked up her second hit of the game followed by an Olivia Patton single to give the Sycamores a pair of runners with nobody out. Murray State got a double play and a lineout to escape without any damage.
Kennedy Shade doubled off the wall in center with one out in the seventh but the Sycamores again were kept off the scoreboard as the game would enter extra innings.
Murray State had a runner in scoring position in the eighth and ninth inning but Benko continued to fight out of any damage. The Sycamores went down in order in the ninth to send the game to the 10th inning.
For the third-straight frame, the Racers put a runner in scoring position as they had runners on first and third with two outs but Benko got a groundball to retire the side.
Neither team had much action in the 11th, sending the game to a 12th inning where Benko again kept the Racers off the scoreboard, recording her 12th shutout inning of the contest.
With one out in the bottom of the 12th, Annie Tokarek dropped in a single to shallow center field and would advance to third as an errant throw went out of play, granting Tokarek extra bases. Morgan Goodrich would come on to pinch run for Tokarek. Veber got Kennedy Shade to pop up, bringing up Cassie Thomerson with two outs in the frame. After getting up 2-1 in the count, Thomerson sent a single to shallow left field, scoring Goodrich to walk-off the Racers with a 1-0 victory.
Lexi Benko improved to 11-6 with the complete game victory, striking out nine while walking just two hitters.
Up Next
The Sycamores will host Murray State for game two of the three-game series on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m. ET at Price Field.
INDIANA STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men’s basketball head coach Josh Schertz announced Friday the signing of graduate transfer Jake Wolfe out of Morehead State.
The 6-5 Aurora, Ill. native spent three years at Lipscomb before playing the last two seasons at Morehead State where he helped lead the Eagles to the OVC regular season title in 2023 followed by their first-ever NIT win that same season. He also appeared in the OVC Tournament Championship game with the Eagles in 2022.
“Jake is a terrific player, but most importantly to me, he’s an elite winner,” said Coach Schertz. “Everywhere he’s been, his teams have won at an exceptionally high level. His combination of skill, savvy, toughness, and versatility on both ends of the floor is the perfect fit for this group. His championship experience, competitiveness, and leadership qualities will positively impact the Championship DNA we are working to build inside of our program.”
In two seasons at Morehead State, Wolfe appeared in all 68 games with 66 starts. He averaged 9.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a redshirt senior and shot .362 from three, which was tied for third best on the team. He led the Eagles in 3-point shooting percentage his redshirt junior year with a clip of .480.
At Lipscomb, Wolfe was a member of the 2018-19 team that advanced to the championship game of the NIT in New York City and won 29 games. He was a part of 60 wins in three seasons and played in two Atlantic Sun Conference championship games.
In 2020-21, Wolfe averaged 6.7 points while hitting 40 percent from the floor in 26 games with 21 starts. He had back-to-back breakout performances against fellow Ohio Valley Conference team Southeast Missouri where he scored 22 and 26 points. He also had four other double-figure scoring games and made 75 percent of his free throws.
He was off to a solid start his sophomore season, averaging 5.1 points and 1.7 assists in eight games before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He played in 35 games as a freshman, helping Lipscomb to a regular season ASUN title. He had season-bests of 16 points and seven rebounds in a win over Stetson.
Wolfe is a product of Aurora (Ill.) Christian School, where he was a two-time all-district and all-region pick playing for head coach Dan Beebee. He was named all-state in 2016-17 and twice helped his team win its region championship.
INDIANA STATE BASEBALL
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State is back home this weekend as the Sycamores welcome Southern Illinois to Bob Warn Field in a matchup that features the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference to date.
The weekend slate has already been updated with the Sycamores and Salukis now scheduled to play on Saturday (2 p.m.), Sunday (3 p.m.), and Monday (2 p.m.). Saturday and Monday’s games are scheduled to be on ESPN+, while Sunday’s 3 p.m. contest will be carried live on ESPNU. All three games will also be carried on 105.5 The Legend.
Weekend Promotion Schedule
Saturday, April 22 – Mini Sycamore Bat Giveaway (while supplies last)
Sunday, April 23 – Kids Day/Youth Sports Day (8th Grade and Younger get in free with jersey – Parents/Family $4 tickets), Concessions Combo Special
Indiana State enters the weekend on an 11-game winning streak and winners of 15 of their last 16 dating back to the March 25-26 series sweep over Valparaiso. Most recently, the Sycamores topped No. 4 Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field on Tuesday night, 10-2, to extend one of the nation’s longest current winning streaks heading into the weekend.
ISU’s 11-game stretch is the second-longest in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era sitting one game behind a 12-game streak set back in the 2014 season. The streak is just the 17th time in program history Indiana State has won double-digit games in a row dating back to 1923-24.
The Sycamores return to Bob Warn Field winners of their last eight games in Terre Haute to sit tied for the seventh-longest current home winning streak and tied for second for the longest road winning streak with seven consecutive wins.
The Sycamore winning streak has come at the right time as Indiana State made their 2023 debut in the top 25 in the national baseball polls this week. Indiana State entered the week sitting No. 22 in the Collegiate Baseball Division I poll and is receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the second consecutive week.
The recognition marked the first time the Sycamores have been ranked since April 2021 when ISU was ranked in five national baseball polls (No. 19 Perfect Game, No. 21 D1Baseball, No. 24 Baseball America, No. 24 USA Today, No. 27 NCBWA).
Following Tuesday’s win, ISU’s RPI has hit a season-best at No. 12 in the rankings as announced by the NCAA and WarrenNolan.com on Wednesday. The Sycamores have been in the top-35 in the rankings for the six consecutive weeks. ISU remains the Missouri Valley leader in RPI with Evansville (72), Southern Illinois (79), Valparaiso (85), and Missouri State (92) all sitting among the top 100 in the country heading into the weekend.
The Sycamores have earned the high RPI mark this year with ISU playing the toughest non-conference strength of schedule in the country to date according to WarrenNolan. The Sycamores are back in the top spot entering the weekend after sitting second over the last two weeks. Indiana State held the top overall ranking for nearly the entire month of March prior to the start of conference play.
ISU has played or is scheduled to play against top-50 RPI opponents in Kentucky (1), Vanderbilt (7), Indiana (14), Miami (15), Missouri (22), and Northeastern (42). Other top-100 opponents on the schedule include Iowa (57), Florida Gulf Coast (67), Michigan State (70), Evansville (74), Southern Illinois (79), Valparaiso (85), Illinois (89), Missouri State (92), and Ball State (99).
ISU’s win over No. 4 Vanderbilt marked the first Sycamore win over a ranked opponent since topping then-No. 20 Florida Atlantic twice early in 2021 season. The win over the Commodores also marked ISU’s highest-ranked win since Indiana State defeated then-No. 1 Vanderbilt back in 2015.
The Sycamores enter the weekend leading the Missouri Valley Conference with an 11-1 mark in conference play including a 6-0 mark at home at Bob Warn Field. ISU swept both Valparaiso and Illinois State in their two weekend home series with this weekend’s series against Southern Illinois and the May 12-14 weekend against Murray State still on schedule.
Aiding Indiana State in conference play as been the awakening of the bats (.301 team batting average) and strong pitching (2.75 team ERA) over the first 12 conference games. As a team, the Sycamore hitters dot the Valley leader board in conference-only numbers sitting second in slugging percentage (.492), second in hits (128), second in home runs (19), and third in doubles (24). Likewise, the pitching staff has also been impressive sitting second in opponent batting average (.226), second in strikeouts looking (29), first in saves (4), first in pickoffs (5), and first win walks allowed (33).
The Sycamore pitching staff continues to be dominant over the 11-game winning streak. Including Tuesday’s game, ISU has posted a 1.89 ERA over the last 100.0 innings on the mound with an 82:31 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Seven pitchers have posted sub-1.00 ERAs over the stretch and ISU has allowed opposing hitters to hit just .217 from the plate.
Seth Gergely remains ISU’s top hitter coming into the weekend as the redshirt senior is hitting .328 on the season through 35 games. Gergely boasts a pair of 15-game on-base streaks in 2023 and has reached base safely in 33 of the 35 contests to date this season. He leads the team with 41 hits and 28 runs scores, while also sitting tied for the team lead with 19 walks and has been hit by 11 pitches.
Randal Diaz has come on strong late and leads the team with 18 extra-base hits on the year including seven home runs, while Mike Sears lead the Sycamores with 12 home runs and 34 RBI. Adam Pottinger has been among the best bats in the ISU lineup lately as well with a seven-game hitting streak and an 11-game on-base streak heading into the weekend.
Sixteen different Indiana State pitchers have seen time on the mound this year with the Sycamores boasting a team 4.45 ERA and a 305:133 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Matt Jachec and Connor Fenlong have recorded four wins in the 2023 season to lead ISU’s staff, while Holycross (1.38 ERA) and Lane Miller (1.95 ERA) are the staff’s ERA leaders. Jachec (57) and Jared Spencer (5 SV, 39 K) are the strikeout leaders.
The Sycamores continue to be elite defensively. Indiana State entered the week sixth in the NCAA and first in the MVC in fielding percentage. The Sycamores are fielding at a .983 clip on the season with four players posting perfect 1.000 percentages with at least 20 chances, while four others are fielding at .990 or higher.
Scouting the Opposition
Southern Illinois Salukis
Southern Illinois enters the weekend with a 23-14 overall record and sit second overall in the MVC standings with a 10-2 mark in conference play. The Salukis have won 12 consecutive conference weekend series dating back to the 2021 season. SIU is 8-9 away from Itchy Jones Stadium this season.
Nathan Bandy (.366) and Pier-Olivier Boucher (.348) lead an SIU offense that is hitting .289 from the plate this season. Boucher is the team leader in hits (54) and runs (31), while also added eight stolen bases on the year. Ryan Rodriguez (12) leads four SIU players who have connected on double-digit doubles this season, while Steven Loden is the team’s power threat with 11 home runs.
SIU’s pitching staff has posted a team 5.55 ERA on the season with 17 different arms making appearances on the mound in 2023. Jordan Bloemer (3-0, 3.82 ERA) is expected to be the series opener on the mound, while Tanner Lewis (2-1, 4.50 ERA) and Ben Chapman (3-1, 5.04 ERA) have both made multiple starts on the mound. Reliever Matthew Steidl (2-5, 6.33 ERA) is a name to watch this weekend out of the bullpen. Overall, SIU has posted a 277:168 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year with opponents hitting .271 from the plate.
Southern Illinois was slotted first overall in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. The Salukis received 93 total points and six first-place votes in the poll. Shortstop Kaeber Rog, outfielder Pier-Olivier Boucher, and reliever Matthew Steidl were all honored on the MVC Preseason All-Conference team.
The Salukis and Sycamores have lined up against several common non-conference opponents this season. SIU has taken on Kentucky (0-3), Illinois (1-2), and SEMO (1-0) so far this season. The Salukis are scheduled to take on SEMO a second time on April 25 with a return trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Indiana State – Southern Illinois History
Southern Illinois holds the 103-92 all-time advantage against Indiana State dating back to the two teams’ inaugural contest back in 1967. Southern Illinois was dominant early in the series winning 19 of the first 20 games between the two teams with ISU’s first win coming back in 1971 – a 9-7 win on April 24.
The Sycamores are 18-12 against the Salukis since 2014 but fell in all four contests against SIU last season including an elimination game in the 2022 MVC Championships.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE BASEBALL
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Wright State scored three late runs to edge Purdue Fort Wayne 6-4 on Friday (April 21) in Horizon League baseball play.
Caileb Johnson hit a second inning solo home run, his seventh of the season, to put the ‘Dons up 1-0. Wright State tied it in the top of the fourth, before the ‘Dons scored two of their own in the fourth to go up 3-1. Cade Fitzpatrick and Tyler Nelson each doubled in a run in the inning.
It was a four-all game in the ninth when Wright State scored two on a two-out home run by Andrew Patrick. The game would end 6-4 in favor of the Raiders.
Mac Ayres finished with a no decision, allowing three runs in 5.2 innings of work with six strikeouts. Kevin Fee (1-3) received the loss in relief. Jay Luikart threw the ninth for his fifth save of the year. Alex Theis is 3-3 after 1.1 innings of work in relief.
Jarrett Bickel had two of the Mastodons’ eight hits. He knocked in a run in the eighth. Cade Nelis had a hit to extend his on-base streak to 20 games.
The ‘Dons are now 10-29 (6-10 Horizon League). Wright State improves to 21-17 (11-5 Horizon). The two teams will play game two of the series on Saturday (April 22) at Indiana Wesleyan.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S TRACK
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The first day of Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Classic featured multiple weather delays as the Purdue Fort Wayne men’s track and field team opened the two day meet on Friday.
Aaron Martin use a throw of 60.12 meters in the javelin to take sixth. Charles Thiam ran 54 flat in the 400 hurdles for eighth. Austin Hall was 22nd in the 5000 meters, stopping the clock in 14:59.65. Andrew Whitinger ran the 1500 in a time of 3:58.50 for 24th in a field of 56.
The second day of the Jesse Owens Classic will be held on Saturday.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S TRACK
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Purdue Fort Wayne women’s track and field team battled a cold, windy and rainy first day of the Jesse Owens Classic on Friday (April 21). The meet, hosted by Ohio State, featured multiple weather delays.
Sophia Buck ran the 400 hurdles in 1:03.67 to earn seventh in a field of 24. Jesseca Hudson-Turpin was eighth in the 200 meters (24.78). Jai Reed was 11th (25.08) in the event.
The 5000 saw Brooke Neal earn ninth (17.23.50). Megan Sinnott had a ninth-place finish in the javelin (37.22 meters).
The second day of the Jesse Owens Classic will be held on Saturday.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE SOFTBALL
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne softball team dropped the first of a three-game Horizon League series against Northern Kentucky 4-0 on Friday (April 21) at Warrior Park.
The Mastodons and Norse were tangled in a scoreless stymie through four innings. Both teams had two hits each through that point.
NKU broke open the scoring in the fifth with a walk, single and triple to score a pair. In the sixth, the Norse scored one more on a first-pitch, lead-off solo home run. In the seventh, three singles were enough to score another.
Tori Countryman and Taryn Jenkins had the two hits for the ‘Dons. Countryman had a single in the second and Jenkins had a single in the third. Jenkins extends her on-base streak to 24 consecutive games.
Alanah Jones took the loss despite striking out 10 NKU batters. She threw all 7.0 innings. Lauryn Hicks went the distance as well, picking up the win to move to 6-7.
Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 16-25, 8-7 Horizon League while Northern Kentucky moves to 15-27, 10-7. These two teams will meet again on Saturday (April 22) for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. at the Purdue Fort Wayne Softball Field.
EVANSVILLE MEN’S TRACK
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Facing the stiffest competition of the outdoor season, University of Evansville senior thrower Zach Dove (Princeton, Ind./Princeton Community) and sophomore distance runner Adam Oulgout posted two of UE’s best individual finishes on Friday on the first day of competition at the Indiana Invitational at IU’s Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex in Bloomington, Indiana.
Dove had one of UE’s best individual finishes on the day, placing 12th overall in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 49.62 meters (162′ 9″). The toss was just over half a foot shy of his school-record mark in the hammer throw, set in UE’s last meet at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational on April 1. The field included some of the best throwers in both the Great Lakes and South regions this year. Dove also placed 14th overall in the men’s shot put with a toss of 13.77 meters (45′ 2.25″)
Oulgout had a strong showing in the men’s 1,500-meters, placing second in his heat and 22nd overall with a time of 4:03.68. He finished just 2.67 seconds behind Louisville’s JB Terrill in his heat. The top four times in Friday’s 1,500-meters ranked as four of the 15 fastest times in the Great Lakes region this year.
Elsewhere on the men’s side, freshman Cameron Gehlhausen (Evansville, Ind./North) placed ninth in the long jump with a leap of 4.91 meters (16′ 1.75″). Freshman Jose Ocampo (Monterrey, Mexico) also posted UE’s best time in the 200-meter race with a time of 23.61.
On the women’s side, graduate student Antonia Lamond (Nutley, N.J./Paramus Catholic) posted UE’s best individual finish of the day in the women’s hammer throw, placing 16th overall with a toss of 36.58 meters (120′ 0″). Freshman Gwen Darrah (Cleveland, Ohio/Orange) was not far behind in 17th place with a toss of 33.23 meters (109′ 0″). Lamond also posted UE’s best finish in the women’s shot put with a toss of 9.92 meters (32′ 6.5″).
On the track, junior Mallory Russell (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) edged sophomore teammate Magdalena Borisova (Sofia, Bulgaria) in the women’s 200-meter race by 0.06 seconds with a time of 35.41. Junior Hannah Bryan (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) also placed 19th in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:29.31.
The Indiana Invitational will continue on Saturday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. central time.
EVANSVILLE SOFTBALL
CHICAGO – With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Alannah Cran scored the game-winning run as UIC took a 7-6 win over the University of Evansville softball team on Friday evening at Flames Field.
Evansville had the early momentum with two runs scoring in the top half of the second. Jess Willsey stole home for the first run of the day before Hannah Hood crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Lacy Smith opened the third inning with a single before Alexa Davis launched a 2-run home run to double the lead and make it a 4-0 score. UIC cut into the deficit with two runs scoring in the bottom of the frame.
Two innings later, it was Smith getting the job done once again. After reaching on a 1-out walk, she scored on a triple from Marah Wood. Jenna Nink hit Evansville’s second home run of the game in the top of the 6th. Her solo shot pushed the advantage to 6-2.
In the bottom of the 6th, UIC made a furious rally, accumulating four runs on five hits to tie the game at 6-6. Hailey Cowing had the big hit, posting a 2-RBI single with two outs to cap off the rally. UE had a scoring opportunity in the 7th with Zoe Frossard and Davis reaching with two outs. Willsey followed with a single and the Aces turned the corner at third in an attempt to score the go-ahead run, but a throw from the outfield recorded the out at home.
UIC was kept off the board in the bottom of the 7th and the Aces responded with a threat in the 8th, putting two more runners on. The Flames escaped any damage and took advantage in the bottom of the frame. With two outs, Cran circled the bases on a UE error to give her team the 7-6 win.
The Aces picked up seven hits on the day with Willsey recording a pair. Smith scored twice for UE. The Flames picked up eight hits in the contest. Mikayla Jolly made the start, allowing five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Megan Brenton suffered the tough loss, allowing two runs, one earned, in 2 1/3 innings.
On Saturday, the series resumes with a 2 p.m. game.
EVANSVILLE MEN’S GOLF
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Illinois will be the scene of the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Championship with the University of Evansville men’s golf team set to chase the league crown.
Taking place Sunday through Tuesday, the tournament features 18 holes per day. Par is set for 71 while the yardage checks in at 6,760. Ten MVC institutions are set to participate including Illinois State, Valparaiso, Southern Illinois, Belmont, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Drake, Bradley, Murray State and Evansville.
In last week’s TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate, the Purple Aces put forth one of their best performances of the year. Michael Ikejiani carded a 4-under 67 in the final round to rally UE to a second-place finish in the team standings.
Ikejiani’s score gave him a 3-round score of 209, which tied him for the 5th position. Nicholas Gushrowski joined Ikejiani in the top ten. Shooting an even 71 in the final 18 holes, he posted a 211 to tie for 9th. Daniil Romashkin recorded a top 15 finish. Highlighted by a 2-under 69 in the second round, Romashkin tied for 12th with a score of 212.
Isaac Rohleder tied for 31st while Carson Parker tied for 36th in the tournament.
Last season, UE earned a 6th place finish in the MVC Championship, which was held in Paducah, Ky. Caleb Wassmer was the top finisher, coming home in 18th while Henry Kiel was one spot behind in 19th.
SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S TENNIS
PADUCAH, Ken. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis (4-15, 0-6 OVC) completed its first NCAA Division I season Friday afternoon after falling in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship to Eastern Illinois University, 4-0. The Screaming Eagles competed in DI athletics for the first time in program history, winning four matches under newly-hired head coach Chris Crawford.
Doubles: USI found no success in doubles play, dropping at number one and two while number three went unfinished.
Singles: Only numbers one, three, and five were completed as the Panthers took all three to sweep the Eagles. Despite not finishing, sophomore Abby Brown (Evansville, Indiana) held a 6-0, 5-2 lead until the match was called.
VALPO TRACK
The Valparaiso University track & field team completed another solid showing on Friday, wrapping up the Elaine Leigh Invite hosted by Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. Tristan Malatlian (Pfafftown, N.C. / Reagan) picked up an event win for the Beacons in the pole vault.
How It Happened
Malatlian established a new outdoor personal best in the pole vault by clearing 4.80 meters (15-9), a mark that ranks third in program history.
Maranda Donahue (Delton, Mich. / Delton-Kellogg) continued to run well, stopping the clock in the women’s 800 in 2:17.74, establishing a new personal record. She finished as the runner-up in a 29-athlete field. Donahue also finished seventh of 49 in the 1,500, completing the race in 4:39.91.
Elsewhere on the track for the Valpo women, Isabella Smith (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) placed eighth in the 400 with a PR of 1:00.69. Kai Dilosa (Merrillville, Ind. / Lake Central) finished the 200 in 26.70, setting a PR of her own while placing 11th of 30.
On the men’s side, Eric Carothers (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) achieved a top-10 finish in the 1,500 at 3:56.22, placing 10th of 51. He was followed closely by teammate Simeon Ehm, whose PR of 3:56.54 ranked 11th in that event.
Other top-10 finishes on the men’s track came courtesy of Lukas Sepulveda (Camano Island, Wash. / Stanwood), who was seventh of 25 at 23.12 in the 200, and Anthony Vassolo (Tinley Park, Ill. / Andrew), who PR’d with a 10th-place time of 51.50 in the 18-runner 400.
In the jumps, freshman Micah Mullings (Minesing, Ontario, Canada / Barrie North) finished third of 13 in the long jump at 7.01m (23-0). He also placed third of six in the triple jump at 13.40m (43-11.75).
The throws were highlighted by Tori Gerhardt (Westville, Ind. / Chesterton) finishing in the top 10 in three different events. Her shot put of 11.14m (36-6.75) helped her place seventh of 24. She covered 42.11m (138-2) with her hammer throw that ranked 10th of 24. Gerhardt’s highest finish was sixth of 20 in the discus, where she turned in a heave of 35.48m (116-5).
In the men’s throws, it was Reid Davis (Nashville, Ind. / Brown County) achieving a PR of 38.85m in the discus to place seventh of 24. Other top 10s came courtesy of Tommy Palmer (Saco, Maine/ Phillips Exeter Academy), who was fifth of 18 in the javelin at 45.25m (148-5), and Joe Irons, who was eighth of 17 in the hammer at 45.94m (150-8).
Click here for full results.
Up Next
Select distance runners will participate in the Drake Relays next week, while the remainder of the squad takes part in the Louisville Clark Wood Invitational.
VALPO BASEBALL
The Valparaiso University baseball team pounded out 17 hits including two key home runs to outslug visiting UIC 12-9 in Friday’s series opener at Emory G. Bauer Field. Matt Olive (Minneapolis, Minn. / Blake School) drilled a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth that proved to be the difference in the game, while Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) had a huge day with three hits and five RBIs including a big fly of his own.
How It Happened
UIC grabbed the early lead thanks to a solo home run in the opening inning, but a sac fly by Jake Skrine (Longmont, Colo. / Mead [Indiana]) in the bottom of the frame quickly leveled the score. Later in the inning, Maka unloaded a three-run shot to right, putting the hosts ahead 4-1.
After being touched by a long ball in the opening frame, Valpo starting pitcher Griffin McCluskey (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community) settled in and sent down the side in order in the second. In the bottom of that inning, Maka picked up his fourth RBI of the day with a two-out single up the middle to plate a run.
The Flames got within a run when Carson Roberts belted a three-run homer in the third to make it 5-4. UIC did not score in the fourth, then went down in order including a pair of strikeouts in the fifth, McCluskey’s final frame of work.
UIC tied the game on a two-out single in the sixth, but the potential go-ahead run was cut down at the plate trying to score on a pitch that got away from the catcher. That out ended the inning, and Valpo regained the lead in a blink of an eye in the bottom of the frame as Brady Renfro (Antigo, Wis. / Antigo) cracked a run-scoring double.
Josh Cottrill (Pewaukee, Wis. / Pewaukee) worked a scoreless top of the seventh and retired the side in order in the eighth.
Valpo exploded for six insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. The scoring in the big frame started on a Renfro run-scoring single and continued on a wild snap throw to third by the catcher that scored a run and an RBI double by Maka that made it 9-5. That set the stage for Olive, who drilled a three-run bomb in his first game back from an injury to break it open at 12-5.
UIC hit back-to-back jacks in the top of the ninth, the first of which was a three-run job. That shrunk the lead to three at 12-9, but the insurance home run by Olive proved pivotal as the Beacons held on for the win.
Inside the Game
Olive smashed his third home run of the season (in just 11 games) and the fifth of his collegiate career.
Maka’s dinger was the 10th of his career and his fifth this season, while his five-RBI output was just the second by a Beacon this season, joining Jake Skrine on April 15 at Bradley.
Renfro extended his on-base streak to 30, becoming the first Valpo player with a 30-game on-base streak since 2016, when Nolan Lodden reached base safely in 34 in a row. Renfro has reached in every Valpo game this season.
Renfro, Maka and Alex Thurston (Fowler, Ind. / Benton Central) all produced three-hit games. Six of the nine batters in the lineup had multiple hits. Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central) reached base five times (three walks, two hits) and scored four times.
This marked the team’s third straight double-figure run output in Valley play. The Beacons scored a season-high 12 in the first game of the April 15 doubleheader at Bradley, a total that was matched on Friday. Those two run totals were sandwiched around a 10-0 triumph in the series finale in Peoria.
The 17 hits tied a season high set twice during the late February series at UT Martin and marked the team’s highest hit total in Valley play since May 1, 2021 vs. Illinois State (18).
Cottrill earned the win in relief, the first decision of his collegiate career. He worked four innings of five-run, five hit ball while walking four and striking out three after McCluskey flipped five frames while allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Valpo batters only struck out twice in the entire game, tying a season best that was set on March 5 at Little Rock. This was the fewest times Valpo batters had struck out in a league game since the team struck out just once on May 16, 2021 vs. Evansville.
Up Next
Valpo (15-15, 6-7 MVC) and UIC will continue the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field. There is no video streaming of this series due to home softball, but links to live audio (UIC broadcast) and stats are available on ValpoAthletics.com.
VALPO SOFTBALL
Coming off back-to-back MVC series wins, the Valpo softball team was unable to get its series against Drake off on a winning note on Friday at the Valpo Softball Complex, as the visiting Bulldogs earned a 4-1 win.
How It Happened
Valpo had a strong scoring chance in its first time at the plate, thanks to a one-out double from fifth-year Taylor Herschbach (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township), before back-to-back strikeouts stranded her on second.
Drake took the lead for good in the top of the third, stringing together four singles and plating a pair of runs.
The Beacons got another runner into scoring position in their half of the third, as junior Autumn Acord (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone [Kent State]) worked a leadoff walk and was sacrificed up to second. But the Bulldogs got back-to-back outs to keep Valpo off the board.
Drake added an unearned run in the sixth and a successful squeeze resulted in the Bulldogs’ fourth run in their final turn at bat.
After striking for just one hit in the first six innings, Valpo got two within the first three batters of the bottom of the seventh, as junior Regi Hecker (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Blue Springs South) and senior Lauren Kehlenbrink (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) connected on well-hit singles to put runners on the corners with one out. An RBI groundout from pinch-hitter Kaia Garnica (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) scored Hecker for the Beacons’ first run before a strikeout ended the game.
Inside the Game
Herschbach’s double extended her on-base streak to eight consecutive games, matching a career best.
Herschbach’s two-bagger was also the lone extra-base hit for either team on the day, as despite Drake getting 10 hits off Valpo pitcher Easton Seib (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs South), all 10 base knocks were singles.
Seib went the distance in the circle on Friday, striking out five Drake batters and surrendering just three earned runs. It was the fifth time in her last eight starts the senior has thrown a complete game and her seventh complete game of the year.
Seib also cracked the program’s record book on Friday, as she appeared in the circle for the 93rd time in her Valpo career — a mark which ties her with Ashlyn Montgomery for 10th-most in program history.
The Beacons saw their four-game streak of errorless softball come to an end on Friday, as they committed three miscues defensively.
Next Up
Valpo (8-31, 4-14 MVC) aims for a rebound performance on Saturday afternoon, as the Beacons and Bulldogs play the middle game of the three-game series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., with the game streaming live on ESPN3.
VALPO MEN’S GOLF
The 2022-2023 Valparaiso University men’s golf season has featured a sense of excitement from the time the season’s first event teed off in early September.
Now, that excitement will reach its highest point yet as Valpo gets set to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, a three-day, 54-hole event that will begin on Sunday at the par-71, 6760-yard Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Ill.
The Beacons, who finished as the team runner-up at last year’s conference championship, have great reason for optimism heading into this year’s event, as they enter the weekend with a conference-best team scoring average of 290.13. Head coach Dave Gring’s team enters the championship with significant momentum after finishing as the team runner-up at Penn State’s Rutherford Intercollegiate, just one stroke behind the host Nittany Lions, who won their home tournament for an eighth straight season.
“Our team is excited to compete in this year’s championship,” Gring said. “It’s a crescendo to the entire golf season and every team works toward it throughout the year. One area that we can completely control is our preparation, and our guys have done an awesome job all spring preparing for this tournament. Our preparation includes playing in other spring tournaments leading up to the championship. It also includes steady workouts each week with our strength and conditioning coach, meeting with training personnel when necessary and consistent TPI stretches and workouts along with a good diet, drinking plenty of water and getting the necessary rest. All of this sounds really simple on paper, but our guys show discipline in their activities and they will be ready to compete.”
Valpo possesses a .744 winning percentage (99-34) in 2022-23 and is in position to shatter a modern program record for single-season team scoring average. The Beacons have finished in the top three on the team leaderboard in six of their 10 tournaments this season. The squad will take the course for a practice round on Saturday before the championship begins in earnest on Sunday.
“The practice round on Saturday will be the first time that any of us will have seen the course,” Gring said. “We have done our course review on Google Earth and we have a good game plan coming into the championship. The golf course is not particularly long at all, but the holes are tight and tree-lined pretty well. We are going to have to be very sharp off the tee, hitting fairways and giving ourselves clear shots to the greens in regulation. The golf course is pretty flat, with its ‘parkland design/layout,’ so we don’t have a lot of changes in elevation, hitting up or down to the greens. We anticipate the green speeds to be fast and we will get a good gauge of that in the practice round. The green complexes are challenging on some holes and pretty straight forward on others. The three Par 5s will give us great scoring opportunities and we’re going to need to play the Par 3s as close to par as possible.”
The Valpo lineup boasts the top two scoring averages in the conference and three of the top 10. Senior Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) leads The Valley with a 70.90 scoring average, while sophomore Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) – the defending MVC Championship medalist – is second at 71.47. Yianni Kostouros (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point [Ball State]) is the third Beacon in the league’s top 10 with a scoring average of 73.70.
“This will certainly be a good test for us,” Gring said. “We have played a wide variety of golf courses throughout the year and we are going to need to show up and play some really good golf. The team is playing some of its best golf all year at this time, so we will welcome the challenge and look forward to a great competition.”
U OF I MEN’S TRACK
MARION, Ind. – The UIndy outdoor track & field teams split forces on Thursday and Friday to continue the 2023 outdoor season. A large portion of the Greyhounds went to the Indiana Little State Championships on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University while three men’s student-athletes made the short trip over to the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.
INDIANA INVITATIONAL
In an event loaded with NCAA Division I talent, the men’s trio of AJ Goecker, Lucas Liard, and Alexandre Rio took the track in the 5,000-meter run. The final result saw Goecker collect 20th at 14:42.70 while Liard ended in 22nd (14:44.50) and Rio in 27th (14:51.60).
INDIANA LITTLE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Beginning on the women’s side, the Hounds brought home a pair of top marks as the dynamic field duo of Zoe Pentecost and Brittney Clark each claimed victories. Pentecost stepped up in the hammer throw and tossed a winning mark of 57.92 meters which was good enough for a provisional mark and a new outdoor personal record. Clark leapt over the bar at 3.75 meters in the pole vault and collected first place and a provo.
Along with the marks above, UIndy also added three runner-up finishes on the women’s side. Hallie Montgomery (200-meter dash, 25.49), Ellie Lengerich (400-meter hurdles, 1:04.12), and the 4×100-meter relay team of Montgomery, Olivia Brimmage, Joanna Fields, and Rebekah Mappes (48.24) all notched second-place marks in their respective events.
Similar to the women, the men’s team also added two first-place finishes during the two-day event at IWU. In the shot put, Keeton Adams launched a throw of 17.57 meters to win the event and earn a provo in the process. Then, the 4×400-meter relay team of Alexander Brown-Baez, Josiah Adams, Aaron Moody, and Tom Saint-Juvin teamed up and won with a time of 3:20.55.
Other notable marks for the men saw Saint-Juvin collect a new outdoor personal record and a runner-up spot in the 800-meter run (1:52.15). Treyton Arnold also added second in the pole vault with his mark of 4.70 meters.
OTHER NOTABLE FINISHES
3rd- Brianna Lawson, women’s 5000m
3rd- Ailliyah Reese, women’s 100m hurdles
3rd- Melissa Spencer, women’s 3000m steeplechase
3rd- women’s 4×400 (Ellie Lengerich, Emily Sonderman, Trinity Gleitz, Kaylin Casner)
3rd- Aaron Moody, men’s 400m hurdles
UP NEXT
The Hounds will return to action next Friday and Saturday with the Sycamore Open hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind.
U OF I BASEBALL
BOLIVAR, Mo – The opening contest of a four-game road series at Southwest Baptist started with a bang for the UIndy baseball team, going for seven doubles, four dingers and an outstanding 18 hits in the process of a 15-2 victory in seven innings.
Seth Spencer got the start on the bump, going five innings with only one earned run for his fourth win of the year. His despite handing out eight free passes, Spencer was quality, giving up only three hits in his series opener.
Offensively there were a plethora of Greyhounds to fill up the scorebook, but Caleb Vaughn and Isaac Bair stood out, each grabbing three RBIs. Vaughn utilized the longball, hitting his fifth AND sixth of the season with them accounting for all his RBIs. Bair had his best game of the season, going 3-4 from the plate with a pair of doubles and a dinger to his name.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hounds woke up feeling dangerous, and that showed in the first three frames of the contest. Bair was the first to the bomb party, crushing a ball to the left center to make it 2-0. Just a frame later Drew Donaldson would get his, going oppo. Seeing Drewby’s bomb, Vaughn had to match it, launching a ball over the left field wall making it three dingers in the same amount of innings.
The fourth saw the runs keep piling on for the Greyhounds with Easton Good playing some situational baseball, floating a ball into center for a sacrifice fly. Brandon DeWitt, Donaldson and Brady Ware were the closeouts for the inning, combining for three more runs in the fourth. The inning was bookended well, with Zack Williams earning a sacrifice fly just as Good had done to start the frame.
With a now 9-0 deficit, the Bearcats poking across one in the fourth and one in the fifth, but that was all the offense that would be had for the Cats. The Hounds piled on even further in the sixth, grabbing three more runs via another Z-Willy sac fly and a pair of singles by the left side of the infield in Nick Lukac and Good.
Ending the day, Vaughn added insult to injury, homering for the second time of the day for his first career multi-homer game this season.
UP NEXT
Doubleheader Saturday is on deck for the Hounds tomorrow, starting at 1 p.m. ET in Bolivar, Mo.
U OF I WOMEN’S LAX
INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy women’s lacrosse team hosted the annual One Love Game on Friday night at Key Stadium and took down the Quincy Hawks by a final of 15-3. With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 14-2 (5-0 GLVC) on the season.
In total, seven different UIndy players had one or more points on offense. Quinn Malcolm led the charge with six (four goals, two assists) while Megan Dunn was close behind with five (three assists, two goals). On defense, Mekayla Montgomery caused a team-leading five turnovers while also corralling a team-high six draw controls. Between the pipes, Audrey Moran picked up the win and notched three saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was all UIndy from the open whistle in the Circle City as the Greyhounds raced out to a 7-0 lead before Quincy could put a goal on the board in return. Little would change in the final 30 minutes of action with the Hounds outscoring the Hawks by five in that span of play.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-UIndy fired 32 total shots while Quincy answered with just nine.
-The Greyhounds scooped up 25 ground balls while the Hawks had 14.
-It was dominate effort in the draw control circle for UIndy, who won the battle at 15-7.
-Moran, Amy Vegh, and Olivia Grogan all had four ground balls to lead the team.
ABOUT ONE LOVE FOUNDATION
On May 3, 2010, Yeardley Love, a women’s lacrosse student-athlete at the University of Virginia who was three weeks away from graduating, was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend. The One Love Foundation is a non-profit organization that has a goal of ending relationship abuse while empowering young people with tools and resources to see the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships. Together, Sharon and Lexie Love founded the One Love Foundation and it is now the national leader in preventing relationship violence and abuse.
UP NEXT
The Hounds will prepare for Senior Day on Sunday at Key Stadium against Missouri Western. Action is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET.
U OF I MEN’S TENNIS
INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 5 University of Indianapolis men’s tennis team is moving onto the GLVC Tournament semifinals after dominating William Jewell in a 4-0 sweep. The victory marks the sixth straight sweep by the Hounds, all of which have come against conference foes. The Hounds will play on Saturday against the winner of Maryville and Rockhurst.
INS AND OUTS
The Hounds started barking early in doubles play, giving up only two sets across the action. The No. 1 pair of Tom Zeuch and Edgar Destouet worked quick, managing a 6-1 victory. Louis Picaud and Nikolaj Talimaa did the same, battling to a quick 6-1 dub.
Singles kept the pace as the Greyhound coaches preached aggressiveness. Zeuch was the first to get the job done, seeing only one game lost in the first set and giving up no games in the second. Picaud attempted to replicate the domination of Zeuch but settled with two 6-1 sets instead.
Rounding out the match and securing the victory was Destouet, the reigning GLVC Player of the Year. He proved why he deserved the crown, going 6-2, 6-3 to ice the match.
UP NEXT
The Hounds do not yet know their foe, just the time as the Hounds are currently scheduled to face either Maryville or Rockhurst tomorrow at Center Grove High School, with the match beginning at 2 p.m. Weather updates will be posted to @GLVCsports on Twitter.
U OF I WOMEN’S TENNIS
INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 9-ranked University of Indianapolis women’s tennis team opened their GLVC tournament with a 4-0 sweep of the Quincy Hawks to send them to a semifinal bout with the Southwest Baptist Bearcats on Saturday.
INS AND OUTS
The doubles bouts were the leadoff, and the Hounds were excellent to say the least. Aimee Reynoso and Lea Cakarevic were the first to finish, taking a 6-1 victory. The recently crowned GLVC Freshman of the Year Maria Fiacan and Margarita Andreuik finished off the point, winning 6-2.
With a lead to their name, the Hounds kept rolling. Fiacan was relentless out of the No. 3 slot, winning her first set 6-1 and finishing with a 6-2 final set, making it 2-0. Next on the victory train was Anna Novikova, who fought off an early Hawk offensive, to find a 6-3, 6-2 straight-set victory. Ending the match, Cakarevic sent the Hounds into the semis, winning 6-2, 6-2.
UP NEXT
The Hounds are going into the semi’s tomorrow, with them being scheduled for a battle with the SBU Bearcats at Center Grove Middle School North starting at 9 a.m.
MARIAN MEN’S TRACK
Marian Places Runner-Up at 118th Indiana Little State Championships
Marion, Ind. – The Marian men’s track and field team competed in the 118th Indiana Little State Championships on Thursday and Friday, finishing as the runner-up in the meet hosted by Indiana Wesleyan. The Knights had several top marks during the weekend, including Christian Rios moving to the No. 1 seed in the nation in the discus as part of his three-standard weekend, and the men’s 4x800m relay hitting an NAIA B standard.
In the field events on day two, Marian scored multiple points in the triple jump, with Chase Maxey winning the event at 13.74m. Eil Felton finished third at 13.26m, Van Lian finished fourth with a distance of 12.38m, and Brendan Oleksak finished fifth with an 11.96m. Sam Runholt placed 11th in the javelin for his second top-15 placement of the weekend, as the freshman hit 40.51m on his top throw.
Jacob Netral and Christian Rios headlined the shot put with respective second and third place finishes, as both hit the NAIA A standard. Netral hit 16.94m in his runner-up finish, while Rios hit the A standard for the first time this season with his 16.19m third place throw. Isaiah Tipping would score a team point with his eighth place finish, throwing 14.83m on his best throw.
On the track, Andrew McDade led Marian in the 800m with a 14th place finish, clocking a time of 1:56.68. Thomas Richards, Benjamin Moster, and Kenneth Hammell completed the circuit as Marian’s top-four runners. In the 200m Olivier Lifrange placed third overall with a 22.07 time, while Connor Maple finished ninth in 22.39 seconds. Kanye Wright finished 12th in the 200m and Myles Sisco finished 13th, with Eli Givens and Michael Hunter following in successive order in the final standings.
Marian next competed in the 400m, with Matthew Riehle finishing 12th overall with his 50.19 second time, while Lifrange finished 14th. Murray Ross-Harman finished 16th in the 400m, with Givens in 18th and Adrian DuValle in 22nd. Gus Martinez finished ninth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 58.01 seconds, with teammates Gregory Hueston finishing 15th in 61.51 seconds and AJ Wrenn finishing 16th in 64.45 seconds.
Owen Pittman led the Knights in the 1500m with a sixth place finish of 4:01.13, with Robin Aguilar-Gonzalez finishing 13th overall. Clark Chustz finished 17th in the 1500m. Grant Monnier finished 15th to lead Marian in the 5000m, with Nick Frank finishing just behind him in 16th.
Marian’s final event of the meet came in the 4x400m relay, with the group of Martinez, Riehle, DuValle, and Nic Novotny finishing fourth overall in a time of 3:29.95.
With the regular season winding down, the Knights will next travel to Indiana State on April 29, getting in their final meet before the Crossroads League Championships.
MARIAN WOMEN’S TRACK
MARION, Ind. – The Marian women’s track and field team competed in the Little State Championships at Indiana Wesleyan Thursday and Friday. The Knights were headlined by two first place finishes from Erin Oleksak and two school records broken from Arriana Benjamin. The duo also hit NAIA A standards as well as the 4×400 meter relay team joining them.
In the 100m, the Knights scored points from two different athletes as Giorgia Mameli finished in second after clocking in at the B standard time of 11.95, while Makayla Melvin finished fourth in a time of 12.14. Aya Dunn was next for the Knights with her time of 13.03, before DeJae Hudson at 13.52, and Sarah Strodtbeck at 14.13. In the 200m, Erin Oleksak won the event with a PR time of 25.42, while Mameli finished third in a time of 25.68. Melvin finished in 26.33, while Dunn clocked in at 28.01, and Emma Bock at 28.02. Laci Norfolk, Kylee Lewellen, and Sarah Strodtbeck all competed in the event as well.
Taylor Thomas took the top spot for the Knights in the 400m with an eighth place finish, finishing in a time of 59.02. Lewellen ran a 1:03.25 time, while Nora Steele finished in 1:04.20. Steele finished fourth in a time 2:22.57 in the 800m to lead the Knights. Sabrina Siems clocked a time of 2:28.36 to finish 16th, while Katie Woods had a time of 2:28.70, and Luci Woodrum finished in 2:33.30.
Marian had a number of runners compete in the 1500m with seven different Knights running. Liz Loichinger was the top finisher for the team with her 19th place finish in a 5:08.20 time, while Woods finished in 5:15.71, Siems in 5:17.45, and Woodrum in 5:17.96. Also running in the 1500m were Mari Hudson, Sam Sarvak, and Katie Hasty.
Oleksak led the charge in the 100m hurdles as she took home first place with her A standard time of 13.86, marking a season-best for the senior. Hudson clocked in at 15.30 for eighth, while Emma Bock finished in a 16.86 time. In the 400m hurdles, Arissa Boyd finished in 18th with her time of 1:20.53.
Lindsay Huston was the lone competitor for Marian in the 3000m steeplechase, as she earned a point for the team with her eighth place finish after clocking 12:26.63.
The team of Mameli, Melvin, Oleksak, and Thomas finished first with an A standard time of 3:53.93. In the 4×800 meter relay, the team of Thomas, Steele, Loichinger, and Woods finished fifth, clocking a time of 9:45.73.
In Thursday’s jumps, Oleksak was Marian’s top finisher in high jump as she took third with a jump of 1.65m, good for a B standard. Gina Butz finished two places behind Oleskak coming in fifth with her 1.60m jump. Oleksak also competed in the long jump, jumping the B standard 5.71m to finish fourth, while Hudson finished seventh after her 5.36m jump. Holli Reuter jumped 4.88m, while Bock jumped 4.87m, and Arissa Boyd 4.40m. Reuter and Anderson competed in the triple jump on Friday, with Reuter finishing sixth with a distance of 10.14m, and Anderson coming in seventh with a 9.93m jump.
Arriana Benjamin shattered the school record in the discus, hitting the A standard of 46.23m to finish fifth. Benjamin continued her dominance in the hammer throw as she finished second with another A standard mark and new school record of 51.82m. Also competing in the discus was Allie Miller, who finished in 20th as she threw 35.95m, while Landry Munoz had a throw of 32.20m, Nhaydia Watson 32.04m, and Keely Hughes 27.61m.Miller finished 13th in the hammer with her 42.93m throw, while Hughes threw 41.99m to take 14th, and Watson had a throw of 36.67m.
Wrapping up the throws on Friday night, Benjamin led once again with her first place finish after a 12.04m throw. Watson was next for the Knights as she threw 10.61m, before Munoz had a distance of 9.90m, and Bock with 8.08m.
MARIAN SOFTBALL
Spring Arbor, Mich. – The Marian softball team pulled out a pair of come-from-behind victories on Friday afternoon in Michigan, scoring runs in the final three innings of both contests as they swept Spring Arbor. Marian’s two wins improve the overall record on the year to 38-4, while jumping to 27-3 in Crossroads League play.
Game 1 | Marian 4-3 Spring Arbor
For the second time this season against Spring Arbor, the Knights fell behind in the opening inning of doubleheader against the Cougars, with the home team drawing first blood. After Emmalee Hamp picked up a pair of strikeouts against Marian in the top of the inning, Spring Arbor’s pitcher tagged Olivia Stunkel for a one-out double, coming in to score two batters later after a single and fielder’s choice moved her around the bases.
Marian attempted to match the run in the top of the second, but wasted an opportunity as Grace Meyer reached on a walk and Brenna Fink singled to left. Spring Arbor kept momentum going as they aimed to add to their lead in the home half as Stunkel walked the bases loaded, but the sophomore was able to get out of the self-inflicted jam with three strikeouts. Stunkel would not be as successful in the third inning however, as the Knights’ ace gave up a two-out, two-RBI double to Summer Ambler as the base hit vaulted the Cougars total to three runs on the game.
Stunkel got out of the jam, and after pitching a perfect fourth inning, Marian gave the pitcher help as they brought in three runs in the fifth. A second single in the game for Fink gave Marian a lead runner, and after a Savannah Baker and sacrifice bunt from Brooke Knox, an RBI single from Savannah Harweger drove in the Knights’ first run. Anna Pritchett would single to load the bases, and on a grounder hit to the shortstop by Abby Madere, both Baker and Harweger were able to score as the Cougars’ throw went wild, tying the game.
Marian would leave two runners on base to end the fifth and see the score tied at 3-3, coming back strong in the top of the sixth following a quick three-batter home side of the fifth. Grace Meyer doubled to left to start the frame, with Knox reaching on an error to extend the frame with two outs. Harweger dug in and spiked a single into left field as a hard hit ball bounced over the third baseman’s head, scoring Meyer from third to give Marian a go-ahead run.
Leading 4-3, Stunkel had to work to close the win, as Spring Arbor threatened in both the sixth and seventh innings to go in front. In the sixth the Cougars loaded the bases with a single and two walks, but came up empty as the Marian ace trusted her defense with flyouts to left and center field to leave three runners on. In the seventh Stunkel worked quickly to get the first two outs, however two runners would get on via an error and walk. With the winning run on first base, Stunkel left a ball over the plate for Summer Ambler, but her hard line drive to center field was snared by Anna Pritchett, with the freshman making the game-ending catch to close the game.
Stunkel’s complete game win came after allowing six hits and walking six batters, giving up three runs in the win. The sophomore managed five strikeouts in the win, as she moved her win total to 19 on the year. At the plate Marian had eight base hits with Harweger leading the way with three. Fink had two hits in the win, and Meyer had the only extra base hit.
Game 2 | Marian 3-1 Spring Arbor
Another low-scoring contest was on hands for the fans in game two of the doubleheader, as Sydney Wilson locked into a pitcher’s duel against Mackenzie Collins. Both of the pitchers yielded a hit before stranding a runner in the opening frame, while Wilson had to work around a lead-off single to pitch a scoreless second. Collins kept the Knights off the base path in both the second and third innings, and in the home half of the third inning Wilson again had to work, stranding a lead-off single at second base to keep the shutout in tact.
In the fourth inning Collins once again sat the Knights down in order as the bats cooled off after Anna Pritchett’s first inning single, and in the home half the shutout was snapped as Wilson got into a jam. After hitting the lead-off batter, Wilson and her defense was able to get the next two batters out on a pair of groundouts. One out away from ending the threat with a runner on third, Summer Ambler was able to leg out an infield single, driving in Grace Lentz for the game’s first run. Wilson got a strikeout to close the fourth, ending the inning trailing 1-0.
Both sides were retired in order in the fifth, leaving Marian with six outs to work with to try and tie the game. The comeback got started with the lead batters in the sixth inning, as Caroline Roop and Mackenzie Dalton roped back to back singles into right field. A fly ball from Savannah Harweger moved Roop 60 feet closer to the plate, and after Brenna Fink entered to pinch hit, the freshman hit a hard grounder to second base, breaking up a double play to tie the game as the catcher raced home. Anna Pritchett re-entered and quickly stole second to move into scoring position, scoring off the bat of Abby Madere who doubled to right center. A Sierra Norman RBI single directly after her teammate’s hit drove in Madere, pushing Marian in front 3-1.
With a lead at hand, Wilson worked quick in the sixth mowing down the Cougars lineup in order. In the seventh the senior picked up a quick strikeout, but saw a runner reach base on a dropped pop up. After getting a groundout back to the circle for the second out, Wilson repeated the formula for the third, fielding her position to make the final out of the night and win the game for Marian 3-1.
The senior pitcher gave up just four hits in the complete game win, earning her 16th victory of the season as she struckout four while additionally fielding her position three times. Marian managed just five hits total in the second game, with Roop and Dalton’s sixth inning singles starting Marian’s rally.
Marian will return home on Saturday for their senior day and alumni day celebrations, as they welcome Indiana Wesleyan to town on their final home Saturday of the season. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. with the ISC Sports Network anchoring the coverage.
MARIAN BASEBALL
Upland, Ind. – The Marian baseball team earned a win in game one of Thursday afternoon’s Crossroads League doubleheader, defeating the 21st-ranked Taylor Trojans 16-6 in seven innings to hand them their first run-rule defeat of the season. Marian came close to taking a second game from the Trojans in the second act, but fell 9-8 in the seventh inning, as they end the day with a split and overall record of 16-24. The Knights are 10-18 overall in CL action.
GAME 1 | Marian 16-6 Taylor | 7 Innings | Home Run Highlights
The Knights came out of the gates slow in the opener of Thursday’s doubleheader, making contact twice in a three-up, three-down trip to the plate to start the game, while Justin Johnson was roughed around giving up three hits that put up a pair of Trojan runs. Johnson, who was making his first start of the season, settled in after a two-out walk, and got a ground out to bring his offense back to the plate.
In the top of the second inning Marian flipped a switch, turning up the heat as JJ Rivera and Bryce Davenport each belted a solo home run to the identical spot in left-center field, tying the game on the frame’s first 10 pitches. Johnson limited the Taylor offense in the bottom of the second to just one runner as he settled into the game, and in the top of the third Marian patiently watched pitches, as the Trojan pitching staff walked or hit seven Knights in the frame.
Kameron Salazar led-off the inning with a walk, as Johnny Roeder was walked and Rivera was beamed to load the bases. After Trey Heidlage walked to score the go-ahead run, Davenport dug in, slamming the second pitch of his at-bat over the left field wall for a grand slam. Davenport’s bomb gave Marian a 7-2 lead and forced a pitching change, with Marian continuing to see pitches, getting Caden Jones to reach on an error while Dawson Estep walked. Salazar and Roeder would walk for the second time in the inning, setting up Dion Wintjes who crushed a double off the top of the center field fence to clear the bases. In total, Marian sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the third inning, scoring nine runs on two hits to take a commanding 11-2 lead.
Taylor would answer chip away with a run in both the third and fourth innings as Johnson surrendered two total hits, but the redshirt-freshman was able to get out of each inning relatively clean. Marian tacked on another run in the top of the fifth to move their total to 12 as the small ball strategy allowed Salazar to score on a sacrifice fly from Rivera. The run proved crucial in keeping the lead, as the Trojans challenged the Knights southpaw in the bottom of the inning, getting a pair of hits and two free passes that scored two runs. After allowing an RBI hit to Sam Gladd, Johnson was able to recover and strand two runners, getting Camden Knepp to strike out looking at the close of the fifth.
Leading 12-6, Marian sought out insurance runs to boost the bullpen for the closing innings. In the top of the sixth, the Knights found their fourth homerun of the game, as Caden Jones blasted a 2-0 fastball to dead center, hammering in Marian’s 13th run of the game. Marian would leave two runners on to end the sixth inning, but in the seventh went to the long ball two more times, as Max Steffen blasted a lead-off solo shot to right-center, while Davenport trotted the bases for the third time as the first baseman crushed a two-run homer to left field.
Davenport’s third home run of the game gave the Knights a commanding 16-6 lead, setting up a run-rule win in the bottom of the seventh inning. Reliever Seth Risley picked up for Johnson in the sixth inning, and after throwing a perfect three-up, three-down frame in his first inning of work, Risley made things interesting as he walked the bases loaded. With Taylor threatening to extend the game, the second-year Knight wound back and found a game-ending strikeout, leaving Knepp looking at the final pitch of the game to close the 16-6 victory.
Marian finished with 13 hits in game one to Taylor’s seven, with Marian hitting a whopping six home runs in the opening game. Davenport led all Marian players with a 4-5 game hitting three of the team’s six homers, totaling seven RBI. Rivera and Estep would finish with two hits in the win, and Steffen’s home run was his lone hit of the game. Johnson earned the win in his first start of the season, throwing five innings while allowing seven hits and six runs. Risley tossed two scoreless innings, striking out three to match three runners put on base.
GAME 2 | Marian 8-9 Taylor
In the second game of the day Marian didn’t take long to drive a run on the board, as a lead-off double from Salazar on the third pitch of the game turned into a run on Dion Wintjes’ RBI single. The Knights were unable to clean the base path as they left two men on, and in the bottom of the first inning a pair of base hits from Taylor against starter Chris Adams turned into a pair of runs, with the home team pushing in front 2-1.
Marian would strand a runner in the second inning while Adams faced the minimum after allowing a one-out walk, keeping the score a one-run game until the top of the third inning. In the third, Jackson Hogg collected a lead-off double to start a charge, with Wintjes following up with a single of his own to put runner’s on the corners. JJ Rivera plated the tying run as he doubled into left field, while Trey Heidlage followed with an RBI groundout, pushing Marian on top 3-2. The score held going into the bottom of the fourth as Adams faced the minimum once again in the third as his infield turned a double play. In the fourth the Marian pitcher was not as lucky after hitting the lead-off batter, with a wild pitch on a strikeout giving Taylor additional life, setting up a tying sacrifice fly.
Adams got out of the jam stranding a pair of Trojans with a strikeout, and held the game even at 3-3 through five innings as he faced the minimum with a pair of strikeouts helping his cause. With two innings to play the Knights offense turned it on again, getting a lead runner as Heidlage reached on an error. A stolen base and fly out would move the senior to third base, and with two outs Rylan Huntley delivered an RBI single to give Marian the lead. Dawson Estep followed with an RBI double to the center field fence three pitches later, jumping Marian in front 5-3. In the home half Adams got off to a poor start by hitting Kade Vander Molen, and after picking up the first out on a swinging punchout, the second-year man lost a eight-pitch battle to Sam Gladd, who belted a home run to right center field to tie the game. Adams would finish the inning by striking out the side, sending the game to the seventh tied 5-5.
Marian continued to stay hot at the plate despite the game reverting back to a tie, getting a lead single from Rivera while Heidlage was able to reach on his sacrifice bunt attempt thanks to an infield error. Two batters later Caden Jones delivered an RBI single to reclaim the lead, while Huntley followed with his second RBI hit of the game. A Salazar single gave Marian an 8-5 lead before the inning’s close, as the four hits put the Knights on top.
Joe Nelan was tasked with getting the save in the bottom half of the inning, and after walking the lead man was able to get a pair of quick fly outs to Caden Mason in center field. Nelan was unable to get the final out however despite the strong start, as Vander Molen and Mason David hit back to back doubles, bringing Taylor within a run. Gladd smacked a 2-1 pitch off the Marian southpaw into left field to tie the game at 8-8, and after Nelan allowed a single to Ben Kalbaugh, Taylor’s pinch-hitter Brennan Frickel found a gap to deliver a walk-off single, ending Marian’s upset opportunity in a 9-8 contest.
Despite the loss, the Knights had success at the plate recording 12 hits and scoring eight runs, with Huntley, Rivera, Wintjes, Salazar, and Hogg each picking up two hits. Adams allowed just three hits that scored five Taylor runs over six innings of work, striking out nine batters in his no-decision. Nelan would suffer the loss, allowing five hits in his two-thirds of an inning.
Marian will end their series with Taylor on Saturday afternoon, starting the twin bill at 1 p.m.
TAYLOR ATHLETICS | CONKEL SPOTLIGHTS TU EFFORT ON DAY TWO OF THE 118TH-ANNUAL LITTLE STATES
MARION, Ind. – Day two of the 118th-annual Indiana Little State Championships unfolded throughout the day on Friday, when junior Nate Conkel highlighted the Trojan effort by meeting an NAIA B-Standard in the 800-meters.
Conkel posted the best time of his collegiate career while hitting the national mark for the first time this season, claiming a fifth-place finish with a mark of 1:52.63 among a field of 60 runners.
Freshman, Luke Harber, claimed the only other top-five finish on Friday, finishing second in the 10,000-meters with a time of 31:55.78.
The Taylor men also posted a strong performance in the 400-meter hurdles, as Sammy Sommers and Braden Bixler respectively finished in sixth and seventh. One day after establishing a new TU program record in the long jump, Sommers posted Taylor’s season-best mark in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.41. Bixler then followed right on his teammate’s heals with a finish of 57.61.
12 other Trojans posted season-best finishes at day two of the Indiana Little States, including Jack Hammond with a team-season-best time of 10:07.57 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Meanwhile, freshman, Aidan Guckenberger, also claimed a team-season-best mark of 22.98 in the 200-meters, finishing 18th among 44 total runners.
The Taylor men’s track & field is slated to return to competition next Friday, April 28, when the Trojans will present participants in both the Drake Relays and the Lancer Invitational.
LITTLE GIANTS CELEBRATE SENIOR DAY WITH 8-1 WIN OVER TRINE
The Wabash College tennis team celebrated the career of senior Alvaro Alonzo-Sanchez Friday evening with an 8-1 victory over Trine University.
Alonso-Sanchez recorded his final home victory with a win at number one singles by scores identical 6-3 scores in two sets. Cole Shifferly picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win at number two singles. Cole Borden earned a three-set win at number three singles by scores of 6-0, 5-6, and 10-7. Augusto Ghidini won in straight sets at number four singles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Tharakesh Ashokar rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 20-4 three-set win at number five singles. Eduardo Werneck added a 6-4, 6-1 win at number six singles.
Ashokar and Shifferly combined for an 8-3 victory at number two doubles for Wabash (13-8). Ghidini and Ethan Koeneman won their number three doubles match 8-5.
Wabash will compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament at DePauw University beginning Friday, April 28.
LITTLE GIANTS PICKED IN FIFTH-PLACE TIE IN CONFERENCE GOLF POLL
The Wabash golf team tied for fifth place in the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Golf pre-championship coaches poll released before next week’s three-day tournament at the Westfield Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio.
The Little Giants received 29 points from the conference coaches, along with the College of Wooster, to tie for fifth place in the coaches poll. Wittenberg received seven first-place votes and 63 total points to claim the top spot in the poll. Kenyon scored the remaining first-place vote, earning 53 points and second place in the pre-championship rankings. Denison received 49 points in third place, followed by DePauw in fourth with 37 points. Ohio Wesleyan (19 points) and Hiram (9 points) completed the predictions by the conference coaches.
Wabash placed fifth at last year’s NCAC tournament played at the Westbrook Country Club in Mansfield, Ohio. The Little Giants turned in a three-round score of 946 after shooting rounds of 314, 310, and 322. Brayden Weiss earned First Team All-NCAC honors by finishing fourth overall in the tournament with a score of 226, 12 strokes off the winning score of 214 by Kenyon’s Nick Lust. Weiss enters this year’s tournament with a 75.40 scoring average. He earned medalist honors at the Music City Shootout in February and produced 11 top-ten finishes for the Little Giants this season.
Lewis Dellinger is coming off his best career round after shooting 74 Monday morning at the Emory Invitational and finishing tied with Weiss for the lowest score on the Wabash team. Both golfers tied for 21st place with final scores of 234. Dellinger averages 79.45 strokes a round heading into the championship tournament.
Freshman Sean Bledsoe owns the second-lowest average for the Wabash team this season at 77.10 strokes per round. The first-year player owns five top-ten finishes this season, including medalist honors with his first-place finish at the Forest Hills Invitational at the start of the season in September 2022. Mark Poole averages 78.80 strokes per hole with three top-ten finishes. Tim Neu scores at an average of 79.70 strokes per round.
The three-day championship event begins Friday, April 28, with the men starting at 9:30 a.m. after the women tee off at 8 a.m. Competition continues Saturday at noon, with the final round scheduled to begin Sunday at noon.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC SITES:
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/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
MLB STANDINGS
| American League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Tampa Bay | 17 | 3 | .850 | – | 11 – 0 | 6 – 3 | 5 – 2 | 4 – 0 | 3 – 0 | 7 – 3 | W 3 |
| Baltimore | 12 | 7 | .632 | 4.5 | 5 – 3 | 7 – 4 | 2 – 4 | 3 – 1 | 5 – 2 | 8 – 2 | W 4 |
| NY Yankees | 12 | 8 | .600 | 5 | 8 – 6 | 4 – 2 | 2 – 2 | 4 – 3 | 2 – 1 | 6 – 4 | L 1 |
| Toronto | 12 | 8 | .600 | 5 | 4 – 2 | 8 – 6 | 3 – 1 | 5 – 2 | 3 – 3 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Boston | 11 | 10 | .524 | 6.5 | 7 – 6 | 4 – 4 | 2 – 5 | 5 – 1 | 3 – 1 | 6 – 4 | W 2 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Minnesota | 11 | 9 | .550 | – | 4 – 3 | 7 – 6 | 3 – 4 | 5 – 1 | 2 – 1 | 5 – 5 | L 2 |
| Cleveland | 10 | 9 | .526 | 0.5 | 2 – 4 | 8 – 5 | 1 – 2 | 1 – 2 | 6 – 4 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Detroit | 7 | 11 | .389 | 3 | 4 – 4 | 3 – 7 | 1 – 9 | 2 – 1 | 2 – 1 | 5 – 5 | L 2 |
| Chi White Sox | 7 | 13 | .350 | 4 | 3 – 6 | 4 – 7 | 1 – 3 | 1 – 2 | 2 – 2 | 3 – 7 | L 2 |
| Kansas City | 4 | 16 | .200 | 7 | 1 – 12 | 3 – 4 | 1 – 3 | 0 – 3 | 1 – 6 | 1 – 9 | L 7 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Texas | 12 | 7 | .632 | – | 6 – 4 | 6 – 3 | 1 – 2 | 5 – 1 | 2 – 2 | 7 – 3 | L 1 |
| Houston | 10 | 10 | .500 | 2.5 | 6 – 7 | 4 – 3 | 2 – 1 | 4 – 6 | 1 – 2 | 6 – 4 | W 2 |
| LA Angels | 10 | 10 | .500 | 2.5 | 4 – 3 | 6 – 7 | 3 – 7 | 1 – 0 | 4 – 2 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Seattle | 9 | 11 | .450 | 3.5 | 6 – 8 | 3 – 3 | 0 – 0 | 3 – 4 | 1 – 2 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Oakland | 4 | 16 | .200 | 8.5 | 2 – 10 | 2 – 6 | 1 – 6 | 1 – 2 | 2 – 2 | 2 – 8 | W 1 |
| National League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Atlanta | 14 | 6 | .700 | – | 4 – 4 | 10 – 2 | 2 – 1 | 6 – 0 | 3 – 4 | 8 – 2 | L 2 |
| NY Mets | 14 | 7 | .667 | 0.5 | 4 – 2 | 10 – 5 | 5 – 2 | 0 – 3 | 6 – 2 | 8 – 2 | W 3 |
| Miami | 10 | 9 | .526 | 3.5 | 7 – 6 | 3 – 3 | 4 – 6 | 0 – 0 | 4 – 2 | 7 – 3 | L 1 |
| Philadelphia | 9 | 12 | .429 | 5.5 | 4 – 4 | 5 – 8 | 1 – 2 | 4 – 3 | 1 – 1 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Washington | 6 | 13 | .316 | 7.5 | 2 – 9 | 4 – 4 | 1 – 2 | 0 – 0 | 2 – 2 | 3 – 7 | W 1 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Milwaukee | 14 | 6 | .700 | – | 5 – 2 | 9 – 4 | 3 – 0 | 4 – 2 | 4 – 3 | 7 – 3 | L 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 14 | 7 | .667 | 0.5 | 5 – 3 | 9 – 4 | 0 – 0 | 5 – 4 | 3 – 0 | 7 – 3 | W 5 |
| Chi Cubs | 12 | 7 | .632 | 1.5 | 6 – 5 | 6 – 2 | 0 – 0 | 2 – 3 | 3 – 2 | 7 – 3 | W 1 |
| St. Louis | 8 | 12 | .400 | 6 | 5 – 8 | 3 – 4 | 0 – 3 | 3 – 4 | 3 – 3 | 5 – 5 | L 1 |
| Cincinnati | 7 | 13 | .350 | 7 | 6 – 6 | 1 – 7 | 3 – 7 | 3 – 4 | 0 – 0 | 3 – 7 | L 4 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Arizona | 12 | 9 | .571 | – | 6 – 3 | 6 – 6 | 1 – 2 | 4 – 2 | 7 – 5 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| LA Dodgers | 10 | 11 | .476 | 2 | 6 – 6 | 4 – 5 | 1 – 2 | 2 – 3 | 7 – 6 | 4 – 6 | L 1 |
| San Diego | 10 | 12 | .455 | 2.5 | 5 – 8 | 5 – 4 | 5 – 5 | 1 – 3 | 4 – 4 | 3 – 7 | L 1 |
| San Francisco | 6 | 13 | .316 | 5 | 2 – 6 | 4 – 7 | 1 – 4 | 0 – 0 | 1 – 2 | 2 – 8 | L 2 |
| Colorado | 6 | 15 | .286 | 6 | 3 – 7 | 3 – 8 | 3 – 3 | 1 – 5 | 2 – 4 | 1 – 9 | L 1 |
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1876 Three thousand fans attend the Philadelphia A’s’ 6-5 loss to the Boston Red Caps in the first game ever played in the National League. The Athletic Park contest becomes the new circuit’s inaugural event by default when rain washes out the other scheduled games.
1891 Exposition Park, which opened last year as the home of the Pittsburgh Burghers of the short-lived Players’ League, hosts its first Pirates game, a National League contest that the Bucs lose to Chicago, 7-6. The ballpark located on the north side of the Allegheny River, across from Pittsburgh’s downtown area, will be the team’s home until they move to Forbes Field in 1909.
1898 Today marks the first time two no-hitters occur on the same day when Orioles (NL) right-hander Jay Hughes and Reds southpaw Theodore Breitenstein keep their opponents hitless, beating the Beaneaters, 8-0, and the Pirates, 11-0, respectively. A double no-no on the same date will not happen again until June 29, 1990, when A’s Dave Stewart and Dodger Fernando Valenzuela accomplish the feat with gems against the Blue Jays and Cardinals.
1903 In the first game of franchise history, the New York Highlanders (later to be renamed Yankees) lose their opener to Washington at American League Park, 3-1. Jack Chesbro takes the loss, but the 28-year-old right-hander will finish the season with a 21-15 record (.583) and an ERA of 2.77.
1912 Similar to the looks of the Pirates, the Highlanders uniforms feature pinstripes for the first time. The Bronx Bombers will abandon the fashion statement for the next two seasons, returning to the style for good in 1915, changing the color from black to navy blue.
1914 Babe Ruth, in his first pro game, blanks Providence to give Baltimore a 6-0 International League victory. Eighteen of the 94 major league victories thrown by the future ‘Sultan of Swat’ will be shutouts.
1922 With George Sisler aboard each time, Browns’ left fielder Ken Williams hits three home runs, becoming the first American League player to accomplish the feat in a game. The outfielder’s three round-trippers lead St. Louis to a 10-7 victory over Chicago at Sportsman’s Park.
1925 In their home opener against Cincinnati at Sportsman’s Park, Branch Rickey’s Cardinals collect 12 hits in the first frame to establish a National League mark. The batting barrage accounts for 11 runs scoring in the inning en route to the Redbirds’ 12-3 rout of the Reds.
1947 The Phillies players, inspired by their Alabama-born racist skipper Ben Chapman, repeatedly shout racial epitaphs, throw beanballs, and intentionally spike Brooklyn’s rookie first baseman, the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. The incident is so severe that Philadelphia’s infielder Jeep Handley will later publicly apologize, and baseball commissioner Happy Chandler will chastise the team’s manager for his bigoted leadership.
1956 New York starter Don Larsen hits a grand-slam off Frank Sullivan in the Yankees’ 13-6 victory over Boston at Yankee Stadium. The 26-year-old right-hander, a good-hitting pitcher, will finish his 14-year career with 14 home runs and a .242 average.
1957 Entering the game as a pinch-runner, John Kennedy becomes the first black to play with the Phillies, the last National League team to integrate. The former shortstop for the Birmingham Black Barons and Kansas City Monarchs will bat only twice in the major leagues, striking out and reaching on an error.
1959 Although it takes extra innings, Whitey Ford ties the Yankees’ record for strikeouts, fanning 15 batters when he beats the Senators in 14 innings, 1-0. ‘Slick’ equals the mark established by Bob Shawkey in 1919, when the right-hander defeated Philadelphia in a nine-inning game, 9-2.
1959 Bill Skowron homers to deep left field off Chuck Stobbs in the top of the 14th inning, accounting for the lone run in the Yankees’ victory over the Senators at Griffith Stadium. Whitey Ford goes the distance for the win in the longest American League 1-0 game to be decided by a home run.
1959 In the seventh inning of a 20-6 rout of Kansas City, the White Sox score 11 runs on just one hit. The other Municipal Stadium baserunners get on thanks to two errors, ten walks, and one hit batsman.
1969 Rollie Fingers, best known as a reliever with the Athletics, Padres, and Brewers, throws a complete-game shutout in his third major league mound appearance, the first as a starter. The 22-year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander, who will compile two shutouts and have four complete games in 37 career starts, limits the Twins’ to five hits in Oakland’s 7-0 victory at Metropolitan Stadium.
1970 On the day he is presented with his Cy Young Award, Mets’ fireballer Tom Seaver whiffs 19 batters, tying the major league mark set last season by Cardinals’ southpaw Steve Carlton. Tom Terrific’s dominant performance includes striking out the final ten Padres he faces, establishing a new major league record in the team’s 2-1 win at Shea Stadium.
1973 Designated hitter Ron Lolich, Mickey’s cousin, hits the third of his four career home runs, a two-out walk-off grand slam, giving the Indians an 8-7 comeback victory. Boston had scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 deadlock.
1976 Taking two days to accomplish the feat, Tim Foli becomes the first Expo to hit for the cycle when he homers in the eighth inning of a suspended game. Before the umps halted the Wrigley Field contest yesterday because of darkness, the Montreal shortstop had stroked a single, double, and triple in the club’s eventual 12-6 victory over Chicago, in that order, for a rare ‘natural cycle.’
1988 Two weeks into the season, the World Champion Twins deal their reliable right fielder Tom Brunansky to the Cardinals for second baseman Tommy Herr. Minnesota had hoped their newly acquired switch-hitting infielder would be an ideal No. 2 hitter in front of Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, but the 32-year-old will hit .263, playing in only 86 games due to injuries.
1991 During the first night game in the new ballpark, Frank Thomas hits the first White Sox home run in Comiskey Park, contributing to Chicago’s 8-7 victory over Baltimore. In the south-side stadium debut three days ago, Jack McDowell surrendered the park’s first homer to Cecil Fielder in a 16-0 rout of the home team by Detroit.
1993 Mariner right-hander Chris Bosio walks the first two batters he faces in the Kingdome but is perfect after that, throwing the second no-hitter in franchise history when he beats the Red Sox, 7-0. The 30-year-old Seattle’s no-no is kept intact by several outstanding plays from his infielders, including shortstop Omar Vizquel’s barehanded play on a chopper hit by Ernest Riles for the game’s final out.
1996 The Mariners surpass the 1984 White Sox record for home runs hit by a team in April with their 39th round-tripper when Alex Diaz takes Paul Quantrill deep in the team’s 11-7 loss at the Kingdome. Seattle will extend the major league mark for the first full month of the season to 44 homers.
1996 Although he participates in 4 of the 5 of the team’s double plays, Shawon Dunston commits four errors in San Francisco’s 11-8 loss to the Astros at 3Com Park. The 33-year-old shortstop’s miscues, including an errant throw, are the most by a Giants fielder since Bob Brenly’s infamous game at the hot corner in 1986.
2000 After being hit by a pitch thrown by White Sox starter Jim Parque, Dean Palmer charges the mound, beginning a series of brawls that continue to erupt during the beanball-filled game at Comiskey Park. When the dust settles in Chicago’s 14-6 victory over the Tigers, Frank Robinson, baseball’s new disciplinary czar, suspends 16 individuals for a total of 82 games, fining 24 different players, coaches, and managers for their roles in the brawl.
2000 Homers by Mark McGwire and Fernando Tatis help establish a National League record for the most team home runs in April when the Cardinals go yard 42 times. The Braves had hit 41 home runs in April of 1998.
2000 Angels Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon, and Troy Glaus all go deep in the fourth inning against Devil Rays’ hurler Dwight Gooden, and then they again all homer off Roberto Hernandez in the ninth. It is the first time in major league history that the same three players homered in the same inning twice in a game.
2001 A new number, 455, will be added with 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 21, and 42 on the second deck in right field. The three-digit number will join the other previously Indian retired numbers to honor the fans for setting a sellout streak record, which lasted for 455 games over five years at Jacobs Field.
2006 Bill Hall, Damian Miller, Brady Clark, J.J. Hardy, and Prince Fielder all go deep in the bottom of the fourth frame at Miller Park, making the Brewers the fifth team to hit five home runs in one inning. Milwaukee joins the 1966 Twins, 1939 Yankees, 1949 Phillies, and the 1961 Giants to establish the major league mark.
2007 The Red Sox become the fifth big-league team to hit four consecutive homers in an inning when Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek go deep with two outs in the third inning at Fenway off Yankee starter Chase Wright. J.D. Drew was also part of the quartet of the 2006 Dodgers, who were the fourth major league team to connect for four straight round-trippers in one frame.
2008 In a scheduling oddity, both New York big-league teams play in Chicago, with the Mets playing the Cubs in a matinee and the Yankees taking on the White Sox in an evening tilt. This unusual occurrence marks the first time in 11+ years that two teams from one city have played as visitors in the same town on the same date, a quirk necessitated due to the Pope’s appearance at Yankee Stadium two days ago.
2008 Striking out Nationals second baseman Felipe Lopez on his signature split-finger fastball, John Smoltz becomes the 16th pitcher in big league history to achieve 3,000 career strikeouts. In the 6-0 Braves loss to Washington at Turner Field, the Atlanta ace fans ten batters for the 45th time in his 20-year career.
2010 At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Yankees turn their first triple play in 42 years when Alex Rodriguez steps on third to start a 5-4-3 around-the-horn play, resulting in three outs in the team’s 4-2 loss to the A’s. The team’s last triple killing occurred in June of 1968, on a 1-5-3 ground ball hit by Minnesota’s John Roseboro, a play started by pitcher Dooley Womack, continued by third baseman Bobby Cox, and finished by Mickey Mantle, who was playing first base.
2010 The Brewers, with a 20-0 rout at PNC Park, hand the Pirates their most-lopsided loss in the 124-year history of the franchise. The victory completes a three-game sweep of the Bucs in which the Brew Crew outscored their opponents, 36-1.
2014 Albert Pujols blasts his 500th career homer, after hitting his 499th, both off right-hander Taylor Jordan, to become the 26th and third-youngest major leaguer, trailing only Alex Rodriguez and Jimmie Foxx, to reach the milestone. The LA slugger’s offensive outburst, which drives five runs, contributes to the Angels’ 7-2 victory over Washington at Nationals Park.
2018 Brandon Belt works the most extended at-bat in major league history, seeing 21 first-inning pitches from LA’s Jaime Barria in the Giants’ 4-2 victory at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The San Francisco first baseman’s 12-minute and 45-second plate appearance, where he fouls off 16 balls, including 10 in a row, surpasses the 1998 duel between Indians right-hander Bartolo Colon and Astro infielder Ricky Gutierrez by one pitch.
TV SATURDAY
| COLLEGE BASEBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Vanderbilt at Tennessee | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Bayolr vs Texas Tech | 7:30pm | ESPNU |
| LSU at Mississippi | 3:00pm | ESPN2 |
| COLLEGE SOFTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Florida at Tennessee | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| Arkansas at Kentucky | 6:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Michigan St. at Illinois | 6:00pm | ESPNU |
| Mississippi St. at LSU | 8:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Arizona St. at UCLA | 11:00pm | ESPN2 |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| LIV Golf League | 1:00pm | CW |
| PGA Tour: Zurich Classic | 1:00pm | GOLF |
| LPGA Tour: Chevron Championship | 3:00pm | GOLF |
| PGA Tour: Zurich Classic | 3:00pm | CBS |
| LPGA Tour: Chevron Championship | 4:00pm | NBC |
| MLB REGULAR SEASON GAMES | TIME ET | TV |
| Toronto at NY Yankees | 1:05pm | MLBN Sportsnet YES |
| Washington at Minnesota | 2:10pm | MASN/2 Bally Sports |
| LA Dodgers at Chi. Cubs | 2:20pm | Spectrum MARQ |
| Chi. White Sox at Tampa Bay | 4:05pm | FOX Bally Sports NBCS-CHI |
| NY Mets at San Francisco | 4:05pm | FOX SNY NBCS-BAY |
| Colorado at Philadelphia | 4:05pm | NBCS-PHI ATTSN-RM |
| Miami at Cleveland | 6:10pm | Bally Sports |
| Cincinnati at Pittsburgh | 6:35pm | Bally Sports ATTSN-PIT |
| Detroit at Baltimore | 7:05pm | FS1 Bally Sports MASN/2 |
| Oakland at Texas | 7:05pm | NBCS-CA Bally Sports |
| Boston at Milwaukee | 7:10pm | NESN Bally Sports |
| Houston at Atlanta | 7:20pm | ATTSN-SW Bally Sports |
| San Diego at Arizona | 8:10pm | Bally Sports |
| Kansas City at LA Angels | 9:07pm | MLBN Bally Sports |
| St. Louis at Seattle | 9:40pm | MLBN Bally Sports Root Sports |
| MMA | TIME ET | TV |
| Raufeon Stots vs. Patchy Mix | 11:00pm | SHOWTIME |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| ARCA Menards Series Racing: General Tire 200 | 12:30pm | FS1 |
| Xfinity: Ag-Pro 300 | 4:00pm | FS1 |
| NBA PLAYOFFS | TIME ET | TV |
| East Quarterfinals Game 4: Philadelphia at Brooklyn | 1:00pm | TNT |
| West Quarterfinals Game 4: Phoenix at LA Clippers | 3:30pm | TNT |
| East Quarterfinals Game 3: Milwaukee at Miami | 7:30pm | ESPN |
| West Quarterfinals Game 3: Memphis at LA Lakers | 10:00pm | ESPN |
| NHL PLAYOFFS | TIME ET | TV |
| Game 3: Vegas at Winnipeg | 4:00pm | TBS |
| Game 3: Toronto at Tampa Bay | 7:00pm | TBS |
| Game 3: New Jersey at NY Rangers | 8:00pm | ABC |
| Game 3: Colorado at Seattle | 10:00pm | TBS |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| English Premier League: Fulham vs Leeds United | 7:30am | USA |
| La Liga: Osasuna vs Real Betis | 8:00am | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Salernitana vs Sassuolo | 9:00am | Paramount+ |
| Bundesliga: Mainz 05 vs Bayern München | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Hoffenheim vs Köln | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Bochum vs Wolfsburg | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Hertha BSC vs Werder Bremen | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| English Premier League: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest | 10:00am | USA |
| English Premier League: Leicester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers | 10:00am | Peacock |
| English Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Everton | 10:00am | Peacock |
| English Premier League: Brentford vs Aston Villa | 10:00am | Peacock |
| La Liga: Almería vs Athletic Club | 10:15am | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Auxerre vs Lille | 11:00am | beIN Sports |
| FA Cup: Manchester City vs Sheffield United | 11:45am | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Lazio vs Torino | 12:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| La Liga: Real Sociedad vs Rayo Vallecano | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| La Liga: Real Valladolid vs Girona | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Lanús vs Sarmiento | 2:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Arsenal vs Unión Santa Fe | 2:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Serie A: Sampdoria vs Spezia | 2:45pm | Paramount+ |
| La Liga: Real Madrid vs Celta de Vigo | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Lens vs Monaco | 3:00pm | beIN Sports |
| Brasileirão: Fluminense vs Athletico-PR | 3:00pm | Paramount+ |
| NWSL: OL Reign vs Chicago Red Stars | 3:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: San Lorenzo vs Platense | 5:00pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: São Paulo vs América Mineiro | 5:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Cuiabá vs RB Bragantino | 5:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Liga MX: Pachuca vs Atlético San Luis | 7:00pm | TUDN |
| NWSL: Washington Spirit vs Houston Dash | 7:00pm | Paramount+ |
| MLS: Cincinnati vs Portland Timbers | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: CF Montréal vs New York RB | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Charlotte vs Columbus Crew | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: New England vs Sporting KC | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: New York City vs Dallas | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Philadelphia Union vs Toronto FC | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Orlando City SC vs DC United | 7:30pm | MLS Pass |
| NWSL: NJ/NY Gotham FC vs North Carolina Courage | 7:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Belgrano vs Newell’s Old Boys | 7:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Argentina Primera División: Central Córdoba SdE vs Godoy Cruz | 7:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Brasileirão: Cruzeiro vs Grêmio | 8:00pm | Paramount+ |
| MLS: Nashville SC vs Los Angeles FC | 8:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Houston Dynamo vs Inter Miami | 8:30pm | MLS Pass |
| Liga MX: Guadalajara vs Cruz Azul | 9:05pm | Peacock |
| MLS: Real Salt Lake vs SJ EarthquakesFC | 9:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Colorado Rapids vs St. Louis City | 9:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Real Salt Lake vs SJ EarthquakesFC | 10:30pm | MLS Pass |
| MLS: Seattle Sounders FC vs Minnesota United | 10:30pm | MLS Pass |
| NWSL: Portland Thorns vs Racing Louisville FC | 10:30pm | Paramount+ |
| Liga MX: América vs Pumas UNAM | 11:10pm | Univision |
| XFL | TIME ET | TV |
| Orlando at St. Louis | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| D.C. at San Antonio | 3:00pm | ABC |