“THE SCOREBOARD”
****INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SATURDAY SCORES****
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (KY) 49 NEW ALBANY 0
JENNINGS COUNTY 60 BROWN COUNTY 0
PIKE CENTRAL 49 TECUMSEH 14
SOUTHRIDGE 18 BOONVILLE 0
BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL 34 CHARLESTOWN 28
EASTERN PEKIN 48 CRAWFORD COUNTY 0
FLOYD CENTRAL 34 TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 33
GARY WEST 50 E. CHICAGO CENTRAL 6
HAMMOND CENTRAL 33 THORNTON FRACTIONAL SOUTH 6
MOUNT VERNON POSEY 28 S. SPENCER 14
NORTH HARRISON 34 SCOTTSBURG 20
OSCEOLA GRACE 20 HAMMOND NOLL 8
PROVIDENCE 47 LOUISVILLE HOLY CROSS 10
SEYMOUR 42 JEFFERSONVILLE 7
WASHINGTON 28 EDGEWOOD 0
WEST WASHINGTON 41 CLARKSVILLE 20
****INDIANA VOLLEYBALL SCORES****
SOUTH-CENTRAL 2 VICTORY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 0
SOUTH NEWTON 2 W. CENTRAL 0
PERRY CENTRAL 2 SOUTHRIDGE 1
NORTH POSEY 2 MOUNT CARMEL 0
SPRINGS VALLEY 2 FOREST PARK 0
WAPAHANI 2 SETON CATHOLIC 0
FRONTIER 2 CARROLL 0
OAK HILL 2 MUNCIE CENTRAL 0
COVINGTON 2 LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 0
EASTERN 2 LEWIS CASS 1
LOOGOOTEE 2 GIBSON SOUTHERN 0
ANDREAN 2 PIONEER 1
EAST NOBLE 2 LAKELAND 1
MISHAWAKA MARIAN 2 ELKHART 1
BELLMONT 2 WESTFIELD 0
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 2 WASHINGTON 0
VINCENNES RIVET 2 N. DAVIESS 0
WAPAHANI 2 ADAMS CENTRAL 0
MOUNT VERNON 3 WASHINGTON 2
TRINITY LUTHERAN 2 SEYMOUR 0
MADISON 2 S. DEARBORN 1
NORTHRIDGE 2 FORT WAYNE NORTHRUP 0
NEW ALBANY 3 LANESVILLE 0
JASPER 2 BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 0
LAWRENCEBURG 2 SALEM 0
LAWRENCEBURG 2 MADISON 1
TRI-COUNTY 2 N. WHITE 0
FRANKTON 2 WINCHESTER 0
WARSAW 2 PENN 1
BROWNSBURG 3 NORTHVIEW 1
HUNTINGTON NORTH 2 EASTBROOK 1
VINCENNES LINCOLN 2 SCOTTSBURG 1
GOSHEN HOMESCHOOL 2 ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 1
JENNINGS COUNTY 2 BROWN COUNTY 0
SCOTTSBURG 2 PAOLI 0
GREENCASTLE 2 WALDRON 1
FORT WAYNE NORTHRUP 2 LOGANSPORT 0
ADAMS CENTRAL 2 OAK HILL 0
EAST CENTRAL 2 MITCHELL 1
PERRY CENTRAL 2 HENRYVILLE 1
SOUTH-CENTRAL 2 CALUMET CHRISTIAN 0
FORT WAYNE SOUTH 2 FORT WAYNE NORTH 1
INDIANA DEAF 2 PURDUE POLY 0
BARR REEVE 2 PARKE HERITAGE 0
JASPER 2 SEYMOUR 0
MUNCIE BURRIS 2 WINCHESTER 0
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 3 FLOYD CENTRAL 0
CULVER ACADEMIES 2 SOUTH BEND ADAMS 0
LINTON STOCKTON 2 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 0
FAITH CHRISTIAN 2 ILLIANA CHRISTIAN 1
HAMMOND NOLL 2 STAGG 0
INDIAN CREEK 2 MARTINSVILLE 0
MACONAQUAH 2 FORT WAYNE WAYNE 0
MANCHESTER 2 LAVILLE 0
HARRISON 2 FAIRFIELD 1
RICHMOND 2 HAGERSTOWN 1
NORTH WHITE 2 EASTERN 1
VINCENNES LINCOLN 2 PAOLI 0
LANESVILLE 3 EVANSVILLE CENTRAL 2
JENNINGS COUNTY 2 EVANSVILLE NORTH 1
LINCOLN 2 WINCHESTER 0
UNITY CHRISTIAN 2 ILLIANA CHRISTIAN 1
GREENCASTLE 2 MOORESVILLE 1
NORTH DAVIESS 2 HANCOCK COUNTY 0
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 2 BARR REEVE 1
SETON CATHOLIC 2 SOUTHWESTERN 1
TRINITY LUTHERAN 2 BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 0
EDGEWOOD 2 VINCENNES RIVET 0
CANNELLTON 3 SEVEN OAKS CLASSICAL 0
FORT WAYNE SOUTH 2 MARION 1
HERITAGE 2 FORT WAYNE NORTHRUP 0
CULVER ACADEMIES 2 SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH 0
RICHMOND 2 TRITON CENTRAL 0
ADAMS CENTRAL 2 MUNCIE CENTRAL 0
YORKTOWN 2 MCCUTCHEON 0
BELLMONT 2 CROWN POINT 0
NORTH POSEY 2 OBLONG 0
FAITH CHRISTIAN 2 HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 0
LOOGOOTEE 2 EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN 0
WARSAW 2 NEW PRAIRIE 0
EASTBROOK 2 FORT WAYNE WAYNE 0
LAWRENCEBURG 2 CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 0
EASTERN 2 WINAMAC 0
INDIANA DEAF 2 CHRISTEL HOUSE 0
HUNTINGTON 2 MACONAQUAH 0
HARRISON 2 MISHAWAKA MARIAN 0
BENTON CENTRAL 3 NORTHVIEW 0
WESTVILLE 3 RIVER FOREST 0
SPRINGS VALLEY 2 EASTERN GREENE 0
SOUTH-CENTRAL 2 DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN 0
SOUTH-CENTRAL 2 WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP 0
STURGIS 2 LAKELAND 0
MADISON 2 FRANKLIN COUNTY 0
OAK HILL 2 SETON CATHOLIC 0
ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 2 SOUTH BEND RILEY 0
NEW ALBANY 3 EVANSVILLE CENTRAL 0
NORWELL 2 LAVILLE 1
CASTON 2 N. WHITE 0
EVANSVILLE HARRISON 2 GIBSON SOUTHERN 1
EDGEWOOD 2 HANCOCK COUNTY 0
MITCHELL 2 COLUMBUS EAST 1
FORT WAYNE SOUTH 2 LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 0
RITTER 2 PURDUE POLY 0
SALEM 2 WASHINGTON 1
EASTBROOK 2 MACONAQUAH 0
HEBRON 3 BOONE GROVE 1
INDIAN CREEK 2 EDINBURGH 0
LINTON STOCKTON 2 PIONEER 1
CROWN POINT 2 FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA 1
CARROLL 2 W. CENTRAL 0
NOBLESVILLE 3 GUERIN CATHOLIC 1
ILLIANA CHRISTIAN 3 HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 0
MOUNT VERNON 3 S. SPENCER 0
FAITH CHRISTIAN 3 UNITY CHRISTIAN 1
TELL CITY 2 SOUTHRIDGE 1
LOUISVILLE HOMESCHOOL 2 FORT WAYNE FALCONS 0
HUNTINGTON NORTH 2 FORT WAYNE WAYNE 0
ELKHART 2 FAIRFIELD 0
SOUTHWESTERN 2 MUNCIE CENTRAL 1
BELLMONT 2 FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA 0
CHRISTEL HOUSE 2 PURDUE POLY 1
BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL 2 MITCHELL 0
BENTON CENTRAL 3 BROWNSBURG 1
LOGANSPORT 2 FORT WAYNE WAYNE 0
YORKTOWN 2 MUNSTER 0
LOOGOOTEE 2 EVANSVILLE HARRISON 1
FORT WAYNE SOUTH 2 MARION 0
DE LA SALLE 2 HAMMOND NOLL 0
LINTON STOCKTON 2 ANDREAN 0
GIBSON SOUTHERN 2 EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN 1
RONCALLI 2 YORKTOWN 1
EDGEWOOD 2 N. DAVIESS 0
WARSAW 2 VALPARAISO 0
PRAIRIE HEIGHTS 2 LAVILLE 1
JASPER 2 TRINITY LUTHERAN 0
SOUTH NEWTON 2 CARROLL 0
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 2 PARKE HERITAGE 0
FORT WAYNE NORTHRUP 2 MACONAQUAH 0
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 3 PROVIDENCE 0
RISING SUN 3 MORRISTOWN 0
HENRYVILLE 2 SOUTHRIDGE 1
FRONTIER 2 W. CENTRAL 0
PIONEER 2 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 1
COLUMBIA CITY 2 LAKELAND 0
NORTH WHITE 2 CARROLL 0
RITTER 2 INDIANA DEAF 0
EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN 2 EVANSVILLE HARRISON 1
LAWRENCEBURG 2 WASHINGTON 0
BARR REEVE 2 COVINGTON 0
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 2 SEYMOUR 1
MISHAWAKA MARIAN 2 FAIRFIELD 1
WARSAW 2 CHESTERTON 0
WESTFIELD 2 CROWN POINT 0
NORTH DAVIESS 2 EASTERN GREENE 0
MCCUTCHEON 2 RONCALLI 1
CASTON 2 S. NEWTON 1
SPRINGS VALLEY 2 AUSTIN 0
TRI-COUNTY 2 FRONTIER 1
CULVER ACADEMIES 2 MISHAWAKA 1
SPRINGS VALLEY 2 EDGEWOOD 0
FAIRFIELD 2 N. POSEY 0
BELLMONT 2 RONCALLI 0
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 2 PIONEER 0
HERITAGE HILLS 2 SCOTTSBURG 1
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 2 E. CENTRAL 0
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 2 ROCK CREEK ACADEMY 0
HERITAGE 2 HUNTINGTON NORTH 0
SEYMOUR 2 MITCHELL 0
BEECH GROVE 2 WINCHESTER 1
LINTON STOCKTON 2 BARR REEVE 0
HARRISON 2 ELKHART 1
WESTFIELD 2 MCCUTCHEON 0
YORKTOWN 2 CROWN POINT 0
EVANSVILLE NORTH 2 SCOTTSBURG 0
JASPER 2 BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL 0
JENNINGS COUNTY 2 VINCENNES LINCOLN 1
TRINITY LUTHERAN 2 COLUMBUS EAST 1
HARRISON 2 CULVER ACADEMIES 1
VINCENNES RIVET 2 HANCOCK COUNTY 0
NEW CASTLE 2 JENNINGS COUNTY 0
MISHAWAKA 2 MISHAWAKA MARIAN 1
****INDIANA BOYS SOCCER SCORES****
FORT WAYNE NORTHRUP 8 FORT WAYNE WAYNE 1
DGNDGS (CO-OP) 4 N. CENTRAL 3
CHARLESTOWN 6 CORYDON CENTRAL 0
CARROLL 3 FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK 0
MISSISSINEWA 2 DELTA 1
HOMESTEAD 1 FORT WAYNE LUERS 0
KANKAKEE VALLEY 2 MERRILLVILLE 1
TELL CITY 3 N. POSEY 2
CONNERSVILLE 9 UNION COUNTY 0
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 3 NEW CASTLE 0
MORRISTOWN 6 WAPAHANI 1
DALEVILLE 2 ANDERSON PREP 1
CASCADE 7 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 2
GLENN 3 MICHIGAN CITY 1
OLDENBURG ACADEMY 5 TRINITY LUTHERAN 0
GREENCASTLE 9 BROWN COUNTY 0
SHELBYVILLE 4 SHORTRIDGE 3
JENNINGS COUNTY 4 SCOTTSBURG 1
PIKE 3 CATHEDRAL 1
RITTER 2 PROVIDENCE CHRISTO REY 1
FRANKLIN 5 DECATUR CENTRAL 1
PRINCETON 4 EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN 1
MUNCIE CENTRAL 6 MARION 1
WHITE RIVER VALLEY 9 SULLIVAN 0
WESTERN BOONE 7 N. MONTGOMERY 0
HANOVER CENTRAL 9 HEBRON 0
NORTH MIAMI 2 LAKELAND CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 0
BLOOMINGTON NORTH 9 BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE 2
CROWN POINT 11 HAMMOND MORTON 0
BETHANY CHRISTIAN 2 BREMEN 0
MARTINSVILLE 1 PLAINFIELD 1
PORTAGE 2 GRIFFITH 0
WARSAW 1 MISHAWAKA MARIAN 0
FORT WAYNE NORTH 2 FORT WAYNE LUERS 2
GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN 5 BETHESDA CHRISTIAN 0
JAY COUNTY 4 WOODLAN 1
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 1 BENTON CENTRAL 0
GREENWOOD 3 JEFFERSONVILLE 1
CHESTERTON 3 SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH 2
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 4 EVANSVILLE CENTRAL 4
DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN 3 ANDREAN 0
FORT WAYNE SNIDER 2 FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK 2
MUNCIE BURRIS 6 UNIVERSITY 2
VALPARAISO 5 HIGHLAND 1
PERRY MERIDIAN 3 RONCALLI 1
NORTHEAST DUBOIS 9 N. KNOX 0
INDIAN CREEK 1 W. VIGO 1
WHEELER 9 RIVER FOREST 0
MACONAQUAH 1 EASTBROOK 0
KOKOMO 3 OAK HILL 2
ELKHART 3 CULVER ACADEMIES 1
JASPER 6 NEW ALBANY 2
LAFAYETTE JEFF 1 FORT WAYNE SOUTH 0
TRINITY 9 ROCHESTER 0
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 6 PARK TUDOR 0
SOUTH KNOX 8 WASHINGTON CATHOLIC 1
EDGEWOOD 1 N. PUTNAM 1
LAKE CENTRAL 3 PENN 0
FORT WAYNE DWENGER 1 FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY 0
EVANSVILLE HARRISON 3 BOONVILLE 1
MORGAN TWP. 3 MARQUETTE CATHOLIC 0
COVINGTON 5 SOUTHMONT 2
TRINITY LUTHERAN 6 SETON CATHOLIC 1
TERRE HAUTE NORTH 3 EVANSVILLE CENTRAL 0
NOBLESVILLE 2 NEW ALBANY 1
MOUNT VERNON 2 SOUTHRIDGE 1
PIKE 6 DNGDGS (CO-OP) 2
HOMESTEAD 5 FORT WAYNE NORTH 0
CARROLL 4 FORT WAYNE SNIDER 0
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 1 EVANSVILLE REITZ 1
NORTH CENTRAL 2 CATHEDRAL 1
LAWRENCE CENTRAL 2 NEW PALESTINE 0
WESTVIEW 12 LAKELAND 0
PROVIDENCE 6 WASHINGTON 1
BREBEUF 2 GUERIN CATHOLIC 0
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 3 FRANKLIN CENTRAL 0
SOUTHPORT 4 BROWNSBURG 4
EAST CENTRAL 0 AVON 0
FISHERS 6 MCCUTCHEON 0
WEST NOBLE 1 WAWASEE 1
NORTHRIDGE 2 GOSHEN 1
BISHOP CHATARD 3 SCECINA 2
ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 5 CENTRAL NOBLE 1
TRINITY 3 EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL 1
****INDIANA GIRLS SOCCER SCORES****
LAVILLE 2 LOGANSPORT 0
CARMEL 2 FISHERS 0
PIKE 2 RITTER 0
FRANKLIN 3 DECATUR CENTRAL 0
FRANKFORT 9 TRI-CENTRAL 3
MANCHESTER 5 WESTERN 0
BETHESDA CHRISTIAN 4 GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 1
ILLIANA CHRISTIAN 3 HOBART 1
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 4 BENTON CENTRAL 2
WHEELER 8 RIVER FOREST 0
WEST VIGO 1 INDIAN CREEK 0
BOONE GROVE 2 VICTORY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 1
NORTHWOOD 1 BREMEN 0
MISSISSINEWA 6 WABASH 0
EASTBROOK 7 MACONAQUAH 0
JIMTOWN 3 ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 2
MERRILLVILLE 2 HAMMOND MORTON 1
FOREST PARK 4 N. HARRISON 0
BLACKFORD 9 ELWOOD 0
BEECH GROVE 3 CHRISTEL HOUSE 0
LAPEL 8 TWIN LAKES 1
NORTHWESTERN 4 OAK HILL 1
MUNCIE BURRIS 8 UNIVERSITY 7
PERRY MERIDIAN 3 SOUTHPORT 2
MADISON 6 CHARLESTOWN 3
TRITON CENTRAL 2 WARREN CENTRAL 0
CULVER 5 SOUTH BEND RILEY 0
PROVIDENCE 3 HERITAGE HILLS 0
MUNCIE CENTRAL 6 MARION 1
TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 4 MARTINSVILLE 1
CONCORD 8 WAWASEE 0
EDGEWOOD 3 N. PUTNAM 0
EASTERN 11 DELPHI 0
NORWELL 1 COLUMBIA CITY 1
TRINITY 9 ROCHESTER 0
MANCHESTER 2 LAVILLE 2
NEW PALESTINE 5 DELTA 1
JASPER 10 NORTHVIEW 1
FORT WAYNE NORTHRUP 8 ANGOLA 0
PLAINFIELD 3 TRI WEST 0
BETHANY CHRISTIAN 5 CENTRAL NOBLE 2
SOUTHMONT 2 COVINGTON 1
HIGHLAND 1 GRIFFITH 0
EVANSVILLE REITZ 2 CENTER GROVE 1
HARRISON 9 RICHMOND 0
ARGOS 2 GLENN 1
CASTLE 5 TERRE HAUTE NORTH 0
HOMESTEAD 4 MOUNT VERNON 2
LAWRENCEBURG 5 N. CENTRAL 0
PAGE 2 ZIONSVILLE 1
WEST LAFAYETTE 6 CULVER ACADEMIES 0
WHITE RIVER VALLEY 8 SULLIVAN 1
DANVILLE 5 LAFAYETTE JEFF 1
FLOYD CENTRAL 3 COLUMBUS NORTH 0
CROWN POINT 2 SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH 0
AVON 4 PENDLETON HEIGHTS 1
NEW PRAIRIE 7 WESTVILLE 1
HANOVER CENTRAL 10 FORT WAYNE SOUTH 0
FORT WAYNE CANTERBURY 6 FORT WAYNE LUERS 0
MONROVIA 4 SPEEDWAY 0
MORGAN TWP. 5 MICHIGAN CITY 1
LAPEL 6 FRANKFORT 3
FORT WAYNE SNIDER 2 FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK 0
PARK TUDOR 7 COLUMBUS EAST 0
YORKTOWN 1 HAMILTON HEIGHTS 1
CARMEL 1 CATHEDRAL 0
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 3 NOBLESVILLE 2
PENN 2 MUNSTER 1
GUERIN CATHOLIC 3 BREBEUF 1
HANOVER CENTRAL 6 ARGOS 1
WESTVIEW 4 LAKELAND 0
EAST CENTRAL 5 HIGHLANDS 0
****NFL PRE-SEASON****
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26
BUFFALO 24 CHICAGO 21
GREEN BAY 19 SEATTLE 15
KANSAS CITY 33 CLEVELAND 32
ARIZONA 18 MINNESOTA 17
NY JETS 32 NY GIANTS 24
WASHINGTON 21 CINCINNATI 19
JACKSONVILLE 31 MIAMI 18
TAMPA BAY 26 BALTIMORE 20
DALLAS 31 LAS VEGAS 16
DENVER 41 LA RAMS 0
SUNDAY, AUGUST 27
HOUSTON AT NEW ORLEANS (FOX), 8:00
*****WEEK 1 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE*****
DETROIT LIONS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (THU) 7:20P (CT) 8:20P NBC
CAROLINA PANTHERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
HOUSTON TEXANS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P CBS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
TENNESSEE TITANS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 12:00P (CT) 1:00P CBS
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 1:00P (ET) 1:00P FOX
GREEN BAY PACKERS AT CHICAGO BEARS 3:25P (CT) 4:25P FOX
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT DENVER BRONCOS 2:25P (MT) 4:25P CBS
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P CBS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 4:25P (ET) 4:25P CBS
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:25P (PT) 4:25P FOX
DALLAS COWBOYS AT NEW YORK GIANTS 8:20P (ET) 8:20P NBC
BUFFALO BILLS AT NEW YORK JETS (MON) 8:15P (ET) 8:15P ESPN/ABC
****MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL****
TORONTO 8 CLEVELAND 3
BOSTON 8 LA DODGERS 5
BALTIMORE 5 COLORADO 4
LA ANGELS 5 NY METS 3
SEATTLE 15 KANSAS CITY 2
TAMPA BAY 3 NY YANKEES 0
HOUSTON 9 DETROIT 2
CHICAGO WHITE SOX 6 OAKLAND 2
TEXAS 6 MINNESOTA 2
ATLANTA 7 SAN FRANCISCO 3
WASHINGTON 3 MIAMI 2
MILWAUKEE 5 SAN DIEGO 4
PHILADELPHIA 12 ST. LOUIS 1
CHICAGO CUBS 10 PITTSBURGH 6
CINCINNATI 8 ARIZONA 7 (11)
BOX SCORES: http://hosted.stats.com/mlb/scoreboard.asp
STATS: http://hosted.stats.com/mlb/index.asp
PLAYER NEWS: http://hosted.stats.com/mlb/news.asp
****MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL****
IOWA 4 INDIANAPOLIS 3
CEDAR RAPIDS 14 SOUTH BEND 5
FORT WAYNE 4 GREAT LAKES 2
****WNBA SCOREBOARD****
WASHINGTON 78 LAS VEGAS 62
NEW YORK 111 MINNESOTA 76
****MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER****
ATLANTA 4 NASHVILLE 0
CHARLOTTE 2 LAFC 1
CINCINNATI 3 NEW YORK CITY 0
COLUMBUS 2 TORONTO 0
PHILADELPHIA 3 DC 1
MONTRÉAL 1 NEW ENGLAND 0
MIAMI 2 NEW YORK 0
ORLANDO 2 ST. LOUIS 1
DALLAS 2 AUSTIN 0
KANSAS CITY 3 SAN JOSE 0
LA 3 CHICAGO 0
VANCOUVER 3 PORTLAND 2
*****COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE*****
WEEK 0
SATURDAY, AUG. 26
NO. 13 NOTRE DAME 42, NAVY 3 (DUBLIN, IRELAND)
MERCER 17, NORTH ALABAMA 7 (MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 17, UTEP 14
UMASS 41, NEW MEXICO STATE 30
SAN DIEGO STATE 20, OHIO 13
ALBANY 34, FORDHAM 13
JACKSON STATE 37, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 7 (ATLANTA, GEORGIA)
NO. 6 USC 56, SAN JOSE STATE 28
VANDERBILT 35 HAWAII 28
LOUISIANA TECH 22 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 17
WEEK 1
THURSDAY, AUG. 31
WAKE FOREST VS. ELON | 7 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
UCF VS. KENT STATE | 7 P.M. | FS1
GEORGIA STATE VS. RHODE ISLAND | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
WESTERN MICHIGAN VS. ST. FRANCIS (PA) | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
UCONN VS. NC STATE | 7:30 P.M. | CBSSN
MINNESOTA VS. NEBRASKA | 8 P.M. | FOX
MISSOURI VS. SOUTH DAKOTA | 8 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
UTAH VS. FLORIDA | 8 P.M. | ESPN
TULSA VS. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
UAB VS. NORTH CAROLINA A&T | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
ARIZONA STATE VS. SOUTHERN UTAH | 10 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
FRIDAY, SEPT. 1
EASTERN MICHIGAN VS. HOWARD | 6:30 P.M. | ESPN+
MICHIGAN STATE VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN | 7 P.M. | FS1
MIAMI (FLA.) VS. MIAMI (OHIO) | 7 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
GEORGIA TECH VS. LOUISVILLE (MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM IN ATLANTA) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
KANSAS VS. MISSOURI STATE | 8 P.M. | ESPN+
HAWAI’I VS. STANFORD | 11 P.M. | CBSSN
SATURDAY, SEPT. 2
IOWA VS. UTAH STATE | 12 P.M. | FS1
KENTUCKY VS. BALL STATE | 12 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
LIBERTY VS. BOWLING GREEN | 12 P.M. | CBSSN
MICHIGAN VS. EAST CAROLINA | 12 P.M. | PEACOCK
PURDUE VS. FRESNO STATE | 12 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
SMU VS. LOUISIANA TECH | 12 P.M. | ESPNU
TENNESSEE VS. VIRGINIA (NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE) | 12 P.M. | ABC
TCU VS. COLORADO | 12 P.M. | FOX
BOSTON COLLEGE VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS | 12 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
OKLAHOMA VS. ARKANSAS STATE | 12 P.M. | ESPN
OLE MISS VS. MERCER | 2 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
IOWA STATE VS. UNI | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
TEMPLE VS. AKRON | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
OHIO VS. LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY | 2 P.M. | ESPN+
AIR FORCE VS. ROBERT MORRIS | 2 P.M. | ALTITUDE SPORTS
OREGON VS. PORTLAND STATE | 3 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
INDIANA VS. OHIO STATE | 3:30 P.M. | CBS
AUBURN VS. UMASS | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
MARYLAND VS. TOWSON | 3:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
WISCONSIN VS. BUFFALO | 3:30 P.M. | FS1
WESTERN KENTUCKY VS. SOUTH FLORIDA | 3:30 P.M. | CBSSN
WASHINGTON VS. BOISE STATE | 3:30 P.M. | ABC
NOTRE DAME VS. TENNESSEE STATE | 3:30 P.M. | NBC
PITT VS. WOFFORD | 3:30 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
CINCINNATI VS. EASTERN KENTUCKY | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
TEXAS VS. RICE | 3:30 P.M. | FOX
APPALACHIAN STATE VS. GARDNER-WEBB | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN+
ARKANSAS VS. WESTERN CAROLINA | 4 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
MISSISSIPPI STATE VS. SE LOUISIANA | 4 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
NORTH TEXAS VS. CAL | 4 P.M. | ESPNU
SYRACUSE VS. COLGATE | 4 P.M. | ESPN+/ACCNX
GEORGIA VS. UT MARTIN | 6 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
CHARLOTTE VS. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS. MONMOUTH | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
GEORGIA SOUTHERN VS. THE CITADEL | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
JAMES MADISON VS. BUCKNELL | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
MARSHALL VS. ALBANY | 6 P.M. | ESPN+
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL VS. MAINE | 6:30 P.M. | ESPN+
USC VS. NEVADA | 6:30 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
TEXAS A&M VS. NEW MEXICO | 7 P.M. | ESPN
UL MONROE VS. ARMY | 7 P.M. | NFL NETWORK
VANDERBILT VS. ALABAMA A&M | 7 P.M. | ESPN+/SECN+
COLORADO STATE VS. WASHINGTON STATE | 7 P.M. | CBSSN
BAYLOR VS. TEXAS STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
HOUSTON VS. UTSA | 7 P.M. | FS1
KANSAS STATE VS. SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
OKLAHOMA STATE VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
MEMPHIS VS. BETHUNE-COOKMAN | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
SOUTHERN MISS VS. ALCORN STATE | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
TROY VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN | 7 P.M. | ESPN+
ALABAMA VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE | 7:30 P.M. | SEC NETWORK
ILLINOIS VS. TOLEDO | 7:30 P.M. | BIG TEN NETWORK
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. NORTH CAROLINA (CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
PENN STATE VS. WEST VIRGINIA | 7:30 P.M. | NBC
WYOMING VS. TEXAS TECH | 7:30 P.M. | CBS
LOUISIANA VS. NORTHWESTERN STATE | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN+
VIRGINIA TECH VS. OLD DOMINION | 8 P.M. | ACC NETWORK
TULANE VS. SOUTH ALABAMA | 8 P.M. | ESPNU
NEW MEXICO STATE VS. WESTERN ILLINOIS | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
UTEP VS. UIW | 9 P.M. | ESPN+
ARIZONA VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA | 10 P.M. | PAC-12 NETWORK
BYU VS. SAM HOUSTON | 10:15 P.M. | FS1
UCLA VS. COASTAL CAROLINA | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN
SAN DIEGO STATE VS. IDAHO STATE | 10:30 P.M. | CBSSN
SUNDAY, SEPT. 3
RUTGERS VS. NORTHWESTERN | 12 P.M. | CBS
SAN JOSE STATE VS. OREGON STATE | 3:30 P.M. | CBS
FLORIDA STATE VS. LSU (ORLANDO, FLORIDA) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
MONDAY, SEPT. 4
DUKE VS. CLEMSON | 8 P.M. | ESPN
****SATURDAY’S TRANSACTIONS****
BASEBALL
Major League Baseball
American League
MINNESOTA TWINS — Reinstated RHP Joe Ryan from the 15-day IL and his rehab assignment. Optioned RHP Jordan Balazovic to St. Paul (IL).
NEW YORK YANKEES — Agreed to terms with RHP Matt Givin on a minor league contract.
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Recalled LHP Jalen Beeks from Durham (IL). Optioned RHP Trevor Kelly to Durham.
TEXAS RANGERS — Recalled RHP Jonathan Hernandez from Round Rock (PCL). Optioned RHP Grant Anderson to Round Rock.
National League
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Reinstated RHP Zach Davies from the 15-day IL. Optioned RHP Justin Martinez to Reno (PCL).
CHICAGO CUBS — Placed RHP Michael Fulmer on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 25. Selected the contract of LHP Jordan Wicks from Iowa (IL).
CINCINNATI REDS — Reinstated RHP Ben Lively from the 15-day IL. Placed LHP Alex Young on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 25.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Agreed to terms with RHP Hector Perez on a minor league contract.
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Placed SS Jake Croneworth on the 10-day IL. Recalled SS Matthew Batten from El Paso (PCL).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Selected the contract of OF Jacob Young from Rochester (IL). Transferred OF Stone Garrett from the 10-day IL to the 60-day Il. Optioned INF Jeter Downs to Rochester.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ATLANTA FALCONS — Released DT Justin Ellis, OL Jalen Mayfield, DL Delontae Scott and CB Blessuan Austin.
DETROIT LIONS — Released DL Christian Covington.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Waived QB Jake Luton, RB Cameron Peoples, WRs Gary Jennings and C.J. Saunders, OT Larnel Coleman, DT Antwuan Jackson, LB Bumper Pool, Ss Collin Duncan and Josh Thomas, CB Rejzohn Wright and K Matthew Wright.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Released TEs Dan Arnold and Tyree Jackson, OLs Dennis Kelly, Brett Toth, Josh Andrews and Tyrese Robinson and QB Ian Book.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Released CB Madre Harper, LBs Kuony Deng and Forrest Rhyne, DB Nevelle Clark, DL James Nyamawaya, K B.T. Potter, LS Rex Sunahara and WR Dan Chisena.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION — Transferred G Djordje Petrovic to English Premier League club Chelsea Football Club for an undisclosed fee. Signed G Tomas Vaclik to a one-year contract through the 2024 season with an option for 2025 pending receipt of his P-1 visa.
TOP NATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES/PRESS RELEASES
NFL NEWS
NFL ROUNDUP: AARON RODGERS MAKES JETS DEBUT IN WIN VS. GIANTS
Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass in his first action with the New York Jets in a 32-24 preseason victory over the New York Giants on Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Taking preseason snaps for the first time since 2018, Rodgers played the first two possessions and finished 5-of-8 passing for 47 yards, including a 14-yard TD pass to Garrett Wilson.
After Zach Wilson (11 of 18, 107 yards) took over for Rodgers, third-string QB Tim Boyle came on and was 9 of 11 for 107 yards, including a pair of TDs to Alex Erickson. On the other side of the ball, Brandin Echols returned an interception 67 yards for a Jets score.
Down 14-0 after the first quarter, the Giants (1-2) went to the half trailing 14-13 but couldn’t overtake the Jets (2-2) in the second half. Backup QB Tommy DeVito finished 19-of-29 passing with one touchdown and one interception and was sacked four times.
Chiefs 33, Browns 32
Harrison Butker’s second field goal, a 44-yarder with 1:48 remaining, provided the edge as Kansas City rallied to beat visiting Cleveland.
Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes did not play, but Browns starter Deshaun Watson did and went 5 of 10 for 92 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown to David Njoku. John Kelly Jr. later rushed 2 yards for a score as Cleveland (1-2-1) led 22-3 after the first quarter.
A third Chiefs quarterback, Chris Oladokun, threw an 11-yard TD pass to Matt Bushman in the third quarter to give the team a 30-29 lead. Cleveland’s Cade York answered with a 40-yard field goal for a 32-30 advantage with 4:19 left in regulation. Kansas City finished the preseason 2-1.
Bills 24, Bears 21
Josh Allen went 5 of 7 for 49 yards in his final tune-up before the start of the regular season and visiting Buffalo went on to a victory over Chicago.
Kyle Allen went 18 of 34 with 162 yards and a touchdown for the Bills (2-1), while Darrynton Evans rushed nine times for 65 yards and a score. Buffalo will travel to face the New York Jets in their season opener on Sept. 11.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields had one last tune-up as well, completing 2 of 6 passes for 51 yards. PJ Walker and Tyson Bagent also saw time at quarterback for Chicago (1-2), with the trio combining to go 15 of 31 for 152 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
Packers 19, Seahawks 15
Nate McCrary scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 1:56 remaining and Benny Sapp II intercepted a pass with 13 seconds left as Green Bay pulled off a victory over visiting Seattle.
Jordan Love was 9-of-15 passing for 63 yards and a touchdown for the Packers (2-1), while Alex McGough was 4 of 5 for 69 yards. Green Bay’s Emanuel Wilson had 17 carries for 49 yards, while McCrary rushed seven times for 24 yards.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock was 16 of 25 for 150 yards and a touchdown. Seattle QB Holton Ahlers led a late drive but could not deliver the victory after he was intercepted by Sapp in the end zone. The Seahawks went 2-1 in the preseason.
Cardinals 18, Vikings 17
David Blough and Clayton Tune combined to pass for 158 yards and a touchdown as Arizona used a second-half rally to defeat Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Arizona’s Matt Prater made two field goals, including a 27-yarder with 6:20 remaining to put the Cardinals (2-1) ahead for good. Arizona’s defense recovered from a slow start to hold the Vikings (0-3) scoreless in the second half and to three points over the final three quarters.
Vikings quarterback Jaren Hall was 16 of 27 for 178 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Minnesota kicker Greg Joseph missed a 54-yard field-goal attempt with 2:28 remaining that would have given Minesota the lead.
Commanders 21, Bengals 19
Jake Fromm and Jacoby Brissett combined to throw for 240 yards and three touchdowns to lead Washington to a win over Cincinnati in Landover, Md.
The Commanders also rushed for 150 yards to cap their preseason at 3-0.
Trevor Siemian was 14-for-23 for 133 yards and an interception for the Bengals (0-2-1). Reid Sinnett threw a touchdown pass to Shedrick Jackson with 6:29 remaining, but Cincinnati missed the two-point conversion.
Buccaneers 26, Ravens 20
Kyle Trask threw for 192 yards and a touchdown, and Chase McLaughlin made all four of his field-goal attempts as host Tampa Bay topped Baltimore.
Trask completed 19 of 31 passes for Tampa Bay (2-1). Josh Johnson threw a 24-yard touchdown to Laquan Treadwell to give the Ravens (1-2) a 7-0 lead with 11:16 left in the first quarter, but the Buccaneers scored 20 of the game’s next 23 points to take control.
Owen Wright drew the Ravens within 23-20 with a 2-yard rushing TD with 9:17 left in the game, but McLaughlin responded with a 48-yard field goal with just over two minutes left to put the finishing touches on the victory.
Jaguars 31, Dolphins 18
Three rushers found their way to the end zone as host Jacksonville beat Miami.
Travis Etienne Jr., D’Ernest Johnson and JaMychal Hasty each scored a rushing touchdown for Jacksonville (3-0), which accumulated 413 yards of total offense. C.J. Beathard and Trevor Lawrence each completed 8 of 10 passes, with Beathard throwing for a team-high 134 yards and a TD.
Miami’s Skylar Thompson threw for 135 yards on 15-for-24 passing, but he was intercepted twice. Tua Tagovailoa went 4-for-6 with 67 yards. Chris Brooks scored twice on the ground for the Dolphins (1-2).
Cowboys 31, Raiders 16
Will Grier threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to lead Dallas to a win over Las Vegas at Arlington, Texas.
Grier, the odd man in the Cowboys’ quarterback room after the Trey Lance trade, played the entire game. He completed 29 of 35 passes for 305 yards and didn’t throw an interception. He rushed 10 times for another 53 yards. Dallas went 1-2 in the preseason.
Daniel Carlson connected on all three field-goal attempts — including a 62-yarder — for the Raiders, who finish their preseason 2-1. Damien Williams rushed for 54 yards on six carries and scored the lone Las Vegas TD.
Broncos 41, Rams 0
Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci combined for 353 passing yards and two touchdowns as Denver throttled visiting Los Angeles.
Jaleel McLaughlin, Tony Jones Jr. and Tyler Badie each rushed for 1-yard touchdowns, while Albert Okwuegbunam caught seven passes for 109 yards, including an 8-yard TD toss from Stidham. The Broncos (1-2) had lost their previous two preseason games.
While the Broncos’ offense totaled 494 yards, the defense limited the Rams (0-3) to just 88 passing yards and 159 total yards while notching a pair of interceptions and two sacks.
FALCONS RELEASE FORMER STARTING LEFT GUARD JALEN MAYFIELD AMONG 4 CUTS
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons released offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield, a third-round draft pick in 2021 who couldn’t win a job this preseason as a swing tackle, on Saturday.
Mayfield started 16 games at left guard as a rookie in 2021 but missed last season with a back injury. He focused on tackle in this year’s training camp, started at right tackle in a preseason game at Miami and was trying to win a roster spot behind starting tackles Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary.
Mayfield’s release came after Matt Hennessy, who was contending for the starting job at left guard, was lost for the season. Hennessey suffered an apparent knee injury and was placed on injured reserve on Aug. 16. Rookie Matthew Bergeron, a second-round pick from Syracuse, is expected to start at left guard.
Mayfield’s ability to provide depth at both guard and tackle wasn’t enough to earn the roster position.
Mayfield isn’t the first former starter to be cut by Atlanta. Mykal Walker, a starting linebacker in 2022, was released in a surprise move on Aug. 13.
The Falcons also released cornerback Bless Austin and defensive linemen Justin Ellis and Delontae Scott on Saturday.
TITANS COACH SAYS HE HASN’T SEEN ENOUGH TO PICK WILLIS OR LEVIS AS TANNEHILL’S BACKUP
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans know that veteran Ryan Tannehill is their starting quarterback this season.
His backup? That’s a decision the Titans aren’t ready to make yet with the preseason over and the season opener Sept. 10 in New Orleans coming up fast.
Asked Saturday if he had seen enough to choose either rookie Will Levis or Malik Willis as Tannehill’s backup for the opener, coach Mike Vrabel said, “I don’t think so.”
The Titans traded up to No. 33 overall to draft Levis out of Kentucky in April. He missed the final two preseason games with an injured left thigh. Levis practiced Wednesday, warmed up before Friday night’s 23-7 preseason finale win over New England and watched from the sideline as the Titans finished 2-1.
Willis also is a quarterback Tennessee traded up to draft at No. 86 overall in 2022 out of Liberty. Willis wound up playing essentially the past two exhibition games with Tannehill starting against New England and handing off three times before heading to the sideline for the rest of the game.
Willis completed 66.1% of his passes in three preseason games, throwing for 485 yards and three touchdowns. But Willis also had four interceptions — two against the Patriots with bad throws. One was behind rookie tight end Josh Whyle, and the second Willis threw directly to a wide-open linebacker.
The Titans are scheduled to practice twice around the NFL’s final roster cutdown day. Vrabel said they will get Levis back on the field this week.
“I thought that Malik took a big step (Friday night),” Vrabel said. “Unfortunately, you have the turnovers. But again, there was a lot of cool stuff that happened after that.”
Willis started 1 of 5 for 22 yards in the first quarter with the first interception. He rebounded by going 14 of 15 and finished with 211 yards passing and two touchdown passes, including a nice 26-yard TD pass to Kearis Jackson.
The second-year quarterback was drafted by then-general manager Jon Robinson, who was fired in December. Willis finished the preseason second on the team in rushing and showed off his ability, averaging 5.9 yards on 22 carries with one TD.
Willis showed more patience looking downfield for receivers before taking off. He also was sacked eight times, and Vrabel made clear Saturday the entire offensive line group needs “a big week.”
Levis played in only the preseason opener, a 23-17 loss at Chicago where he alternated every two series with Willis starting. Vrabel said they’ll see where Levis is when they return to practice.
“For young quarterbacks, they have to be able to play in football games,” Vrabel said of Levis’ limited playing time. “Whether that’s preseason games, that’s where you develop. We got to try to get him ready to go here through practice now.”
KICKER CAROUSEL
Vrabel said Tuesday when Michael Badgley joined the Titans as their latest kicker that they would likely look at others. Then Badgley banked his first of three made field goals off the left upright and hooked a 39-yarder wide left against the Patriots.
The Titans likely will be looking closely at that position as NFL teams waive kickers before the cut deadline Tuesday.
THE 49ERS’ HEAVY INVESTMENT IN TREY LANCE BACKFIRES, BUT IT HASN’T DESTROYED THE FRANCHISE
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Few teams have ever invested as much capital into acquiring as the San Francisco 49ers did when they traded three first-round picks to draft Trey Lance.
And few teams have ever cut ties with a highly drafted quarterback as quickly as San Francisco did with Lance, trading him away for a pittance before the start of his third season.
“Obviously we took our shot, and it didn’t work out,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “So, that’s on us for that. But I’m not going to say anything is a failure. That’d be too much of a negative toward Trey. I get our deal. We took a shot to go for that. We were hoping that he could be our guy, and that didn’t work out.”
A colossal miss of this nature could set back a franchise for years as the Niners traded away the 12th pick of the 2021 draft, first-round picks in 2022 and ’23 that ended up being 29th overall and a third-round pick to draft the untested Lance third overall in 2021.
They then paid him about $28 million to make four starts in two seasons before trading him to Dallas for a fourth-round pick after he wasn’t deemed good enough to beat out former draft bust Sam Darnold for the backup quarterback job on the 49ers.
San Francisco managed to make it to the NFC title game the past two seasons despite little contribution from Lance and no premium draft picks, and the Niners are tied for the fourth-best odds to win the Super Bowl this season, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, thanks in part to stumbling into a starting quarterback when they took Brock Purdy with the final pick of the 2022 draft.
“This thing’s not an exact science, but when you put that much into a player, it usually is really tough to rebound from,” general manager John Lynch said. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to continue to grow this team, to make this team better. We were very fortunate for Brock to become what he’s become. Now he’s got to continue to do it.”
The blunder didn’t come without a cost. Had the 49ers chosen to stand pat with oft-injured Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback in 2021 and drafted a key contributor with their No. 12 pick — All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons ended up going in that spot — they might have bested the Rams in the NFC title game that season.
Having late first-round picks the last two years could have bolstered key spots on the roster and put the Niners in even better shape to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl in nearly three decades.
“We took a shot with Trey because we believed he could (win),” Shanahan said. “We knew it would take some time, but in the meantime, we were going to have a pretty good team. The time that we did give him when he had his (opportunities), he missed those and those weren’t his fault. They weren’t our fault. That’s what happens in football.”
The 49ers drafted Lance even though he had started only 17 games at FCS-level North Dakota State after playing just once in the pandemic-altered 2020 season.
He spent his rookie season backing up Garoppolo, starting just two games as an injury replacement and being hampered by a finger injury on his throwing hand.
Lance was handed the starting job last season, but that lasted less than five quarters because he broke his ankle early in Week 2 and was sidelined for the rest of the season.
“We knew he wasn’t fully ready in every aspect, but we knew he had a skill set that we could put some stuff together to give him the chance to compete and grow with a good team as he developed as a full quarterback,” Shanahan said. “He got hurt in the first quarter of the second game, which kind of set that back.”
Purdy, taken with the last draft pick in 2022, came on late in the season and won his first seven starts to take over the starting role headed into this season.
San Francisco signed Darnold in free agency after he flamed out with the Jets and Carolina after also being drafted third overall, in 2018 by New York. Darnold ended up doing enough in practices and the first two preseason games to beat out Lance.
Lance’s four starts are the fewest for any quarterback taken in the top five of the draft in the common draft era for the team he made his debut on. Jack Thompson had the previous low, starting five games for Cincinnati after being taken third overall in 1979.
“He hadn’t played a ton of football, so we knew we were taking somewhat of a chance,” Lynch said. “But I believe to this day, if we hadn’t taken him, someone would’ve right behind us. I think the next pick. I don’t think we were the only ones seeing it. He’s a very talented young man. … I still think that story’s unwritten, so it didn’t work for us. … I still very much have belief that he’s going to become a player. Now it’s just not going to be for us.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
BIG TEN TO REQUIRE FOOTBALL GAME-DAY AVAILABILITY REPORTS
The Big Ten Conference will require its members schools to submit a player availability report no later than two hours before each football game this season.
The conference announced the rule on Friday, less than week before Minnesota and Nebraska become the Big Ten’s first teams to kick off the season on Thursday in Minneapolis.
In addition, the conference said in a news release that it is teaming with U.S. Integrity “to enhance monitoring efforts and provide additional educational resources to help prevent student-athletes, coaches, and staff from engaging in prohibited sports wagering.”
Over the past few months, football and baseball players at Big Ten program Iowa were among athletes nationwide to have been implicated in betting scandals.
“The well-being of our students, coaches, and staff, as well as the integrity of our competitions are of paramount importance,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said in the release. “Enhanced transparency through availability reporting and partnering with U.S. Integrity strengthens our efforts to protect those who participate in our games as well as the integrity of the games themselves. I’m grateful for the collaboration of our schools, coaches, and administrators.”
During the football season, any Big Ten team that doesn’t report its gameday injury and availability report will be subject to discipline from the conference.
U.S. Integrity partners with a number of pro sports leagues and college conferences to provide protection against fraud and corruption related to betting.
CALEB WILLIAMS SHINES AS NO. 6 USC DOUBLES UP SAN JOSE STATE
Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams passed for four touchdowns and No. 6 USC cruised past San Jose State, 56-28, in Los Angeles on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
Zachariah Branch caught a touchdown and returned a kickoff 96 yards for another in his college debut for the Trojans, who amassed 501 yards of total offense.
USC went into halftime holding a 21-14 lead after San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro found a wide-open Nick Nash for a 28-yard score just eight seconds before intermission.
But the Trojans struck for a pair of game-breaking touchdowns to open the second half. Austin Jones, who rushed for a team-high 54 yards on just six carries, scored the second of his two TDs on a 3-yard carry to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Jones had scored a 2-yard touchdown at the end of a 10-play, 52-yard drive in the second quarter.
USC pulled ahead 35-14 when Williams hooked up with Branch for a 25-yard touchdown with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Branch wasted little time finding the end zone again. After San Jose State scored on another Cordeiro pass to Nash, this time from 32 yards out, Branch took the ensuing kickoff the distance to snuff out any hope of a Spartans comeback.
The Trojans scored again when Williams threw the last of his four touchdown passes to Brenden Rice with 12:32 left in the game. Williams’ 18-of-25, 278-yard passing performance included a 76-yard scoring strike to Tahj Washington in the second quarter on a botched snap.
Williams took the ball off the bounce, evaded a would-be sack, then found Washington deep. The score followed a 13-yard touchdown toss to Dorian Singer that got USC’s scoring started.
San Jose State evened the count early in the second quarter as Kairee Robinson scored on a 1-yard run. The Spartans played from behind the rest of the way.
Cordeiro went 21-for-38 passing for 198 yards and three touchdowns, all to Nash. Nash caught six total passes for 89 yards.
OLE MISS, MIAMI PICK UP 4-STAR COMMITS
A pair of Power Five teams picked up four-star 2024 commitments from the state of Florida on Saturday.
Quarterback Trever Jackson, from Jones High School in Orlando, announced he’s headed to Ole Miss, while Zaquan Patterson of Hollywood committed to Miami.
“Who wouldn’t wanna play for one of the most explosive offenses in college football?,” Jackson said, per 247Sports, crediting head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. for his commitment.
Jackson is listed as the No. 15 overall quarterback in the 2024 class by the 247Sports composite, as well as the No. 222 player in the country and 32nd-ranked player in Florida. He had offers from schools that included Penn State, UCLA, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Jackson’s commitment moves Ole Miss to the No. 20 overall recruiting class, per the 247Sports composite.
Patterson is listed as the No. 3 safety and No. 77 overall prospect in the class, and No. 10 in the state. He is entering his senior season at Chaminade-Madonna Prep and had offers from blue-blooded programs of the Southeast, including Alabama, Auburn and LSU, as well as Oklahoma, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Miami and head coach Mario Cristobal now have the 14th-ranked 2024 class, per the 247Sports composite.
ACC FOOTBALL PREVIEW
Can Florida State take the next step to national prominence?
Some of us are old enough to remember when Florida State was a powerhouse program. But if you’ve only been watching college football for the last six years, that probably seems like complete fiction. Heading into last season, the Seminoles carried an abysmal 26-33 record since 2017 and fell further from the top of the ACC. There are signs that free fall is over, though, after Mike Norvell returned a very promising 10-3 record last year.
The heightened expectations in Tallahassee have the ‘Noles faithful thinking playoffs, with star quarterback Jordan Travis returning to lead what should be a potent offense. The Louisville transfer piled up over 3,600 total yards and 31 touchdowns against only five interceptions. That kind of production makes Travis a Heisman contender in his final year. Add in the return of leading rusher Trey Benson, top receiver Johnny Wilson and Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman and points won’t be an issue for Florida State.
The Seminoles were the top-ranked total defense in the ACC last year and boast the return of star edge-rusher – and future NFL first-round pick – Jared Verse. His ability to put pressure on the quarterback immensely helped a talented secondary rank fourth in the nation in passing yards allowed last year. Factor in talented corner Fentrell Cypress II from Virginia and the defense should be among the nation’s best yet again.
Florida State has to travel to Clemson in Week 4 for a blockbuster showdown but gets LSU in the opener in friendly Orlando and hosts both Duke and Miami this year. All signs point to the Seminoles taking the next step and re-cementing themselves as a national force.
Will Riley reignite Clemson’s offense?
Change is the key word for the Clemson attack this season, with two major differences from the opening of the 2022 campaign. It’s Cade Klubnik’s team now after DJ Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State, and the talented sophomore passer has Garrett Riley as his new offensive coordinator. The brother of USC coach Lincoln Riley comes over after his brilliant season running the attack for CFP runner-up TCU with the main task of getting the Tigers offense back to an elite level.
Gone are Clemson’s days as a perennial title contender thanks to elite offense and defense, as the attack has sputtered in recent years. The Tigers ranked outside the top 60 nationally in yards per play in the last two seasons following three straight campaigns inside the top 15 in that statistic. The offensive issues are virtually the sole reason the program failed to make the CFP in either season after six straight semifinal appearances.
Dabo Swinney certainly hopes the Riley-Klubnik combo can right that ship, and star running back Will Shipley’s return coupled with an experienced line eases the transition. Clemson’s defense is slated to be one of the best in the country again, but it’s up to Riley to return the Tigers to past glory with a huge improvement offensively.
Will Brohm instantly work his magic at Louisville?
Excitement once again pumps through Louisville football thanks to Jeff Brohm’s return to his alma mater. The former Purdue coach comes over after Scott Satterfield made the 105-mile trip up I-71 to take over at Cincinnati. Many will find it addition by subtraction, as Brohm has long been the apple of Louisville’s eye and now gets his chance to take over.
The 52-year-old took over a Purdue team that won a total of nine games in the previous four years and immediately turned in a 7-6 campaign. Brohm’s Boilermakers were the upset kings of college football, knocking off three different top-5 opponents in his time with the program.
Brohm will rely on a heavy load of transfers if he’s going to replicate Louisville’s early success. At least 25 new players join the Cardinals, including former Cal quarterback Jack Plummer who will get the nod as the starter.
Perhaps the biggest thing working in Brohm’s favor is an incredibly manageable schedule that features only three true road games. That should bring good returns in his first season on campus.
Can Maye still thrive for North Carolina with new coaching?
Drake Maye is undoubtedly one of the country’s top quarterbacks and almost a lock to be a top-10 pick in next year’s NFL draft. How the talented passer fares without his offensive coordinator and top two receivers from last year will go a long way in deciding North Carolina’s success in 2023. Expect new coordinator Chip Lindsey to lean on the talented running back duo of Elijah Green and Omarion Hampton and a veteran line to keep the offense cooking in Chapel Hill.
That brings us to the defense – an area that most North Carolina fans would likely have us avoid. The Tar Heels were 114th nationally in yards per play and 104th in points allowed last season. The front seven returns almost fully intact, but needs to drastically improve if North Carolina is going to make any noise.
Maye’s talent will likely shine through regardless of who calls the plays, but it’s worth watching whether he can produce at the level necessary to overcome the expected defensive issues that could plague North Carolina.
It can’t get worse for Miami, right?
It took exactly four games into Miami’s Mario Cristobal era for the air to come out of the balloon. A 17-9 road loss at Texas A&M in Week 3 was discouraging but a 45-31 blowout at home to Middle Tennessee State was downright embarrassing. The former Oregon coach’s 5-7 record in his first campaign sent shockwaves through the Hurricanes’ faithful.
The bad news? Despite the schedule not featuring divisions, Miami still sees Clemson, Florida State, NC State and North Carolina on the schedule. The non-conference game versus Texas A&M is the final straw in the very tough slate for the Hurricanes.
The good news? Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke should improve now that he’s clear of former coordinator Josh Gattis’ system. And Cristobal’s recruiting trail brilliance built a very talented roster to take the field this season.
How does Duke build off Elko’s brilliant debut?
After his unbelievable performance in 2022, it feels like Mike Elko’s genius might be wasted coaching football. The first-year coach took a program with only five combined victories the previous two years and delivered just the third nine-win season for Duke since World War II.
While Elko’s expertise is on the defensive side of the football, the offensive unit took the biggest leap in his first season. Riley Leonard developed into a star quarterback for the Blue Devils with over 3,600 total yards and 33 touchdowns on the year. He’s buoyed by the return of the top four pass-catchers from last year’s breakout group.
The biggest challenge for Elko will be keeping his defense at the level required to face the Blue Devils’ difficult schedule. Duke ranked eighth in the country in takeaways per game but lose coordinator Robb Smith and the top two tacklers from last season. With Clemson, North Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame all on the docket, another nine-win season could be a tall task for Duke.
Will Hafley save his job at Boston College?
Jeff Hafley’s career at Boston College got off to a promising start with a 12-11 record through two seasons, but a 3-9 mark last year has him on the hot seat entering 2023.
There were problems across the field but the Eagles’ biggest challenge last year was the offensive line’s health. The starting five missed a combined 33 games last season, thrusting inexperienced backups into key roles. That was addressed in the offseason with all five initial starters returning and transfers Kyle Hergel and Logan Taylor joining the fray. Coupled with standout guard Christian Mahogany’s return from injury, Hafley’s outfit should expect a huge improvement.
The first year without divisions offers the Eagles a favorable schedule as they avoid Clemson and play ACC opponents who went a combined 27-35 last year. Home wins against Northern Illinois, Holy Cross, UConn, Virginia and Virginia Tech are a must if Boston College is to become bowl eligible and save Hafley’s job.
Can Jurkovec addition offset major roster turnover?
The Pitt defense featured four standout performers last year which made that unit one of the ACC’s best. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Calijah Kancey, Erick Hallett II, Habakkuk Baldonado and SirVocea Dennis are all off to the NFL in 2023. While Pat Narduzzi’s history as a defensive coach will help, the Panthers need strong play from the offensive unit to keep the program competitive this year.
Narduzzi brought in a well-traveled passer in Phil Jurkovec to help with that, as the former Notre Dame and Boston College quarterback arrives in Pittsburgh. He won’t have star rusher Israel Abanikanda or top receiver Jared Wayne at his disposal, so different players need to step up to get the ball moving for the Panthers.
Jurkovec’s main issue at Boston College was staying healthy, but he was a solid performer on the field when he was available. If he can avoid the injury bug this season, Pitt should be able to take advantage of a Clemson-free schedule to remain among the ACC’s top teams.
Is the Virginia duo the answer to NC State’s offensive woes?
NC State’s offensive performance last year existed in two separate eras – with Devin Leary at quarterback and without him. The veteran passer helped the Wolfpack get off to a 5-1 start with the team averaging 30 points per contest. After injuries took Leary off the field for the season, NC State put up just 19 points per game and lost four of its last seven contests. With Leary gone to Kentucky, head coach Dave Doeren is leaning on a pair that experienced great success at Virginia to get things back on track.
The last time the coordinator-quarterback combo of Robert Anae and Brennan Armstrong teamed up at Virginia, it resulted in a 4,400-yard passing year and the nation’s ninth-ranked offense. Anae spent last season with Syracuse while Armstrong struggled under Virginia’s new regime. Both went to NC State hoping to dip back to the 2021 form and help Doeren fix his offensive woes.
Which Syracuse from 2022 will show up this season?
Syracuse’s efforts last season present a very clear dividing line. The Orange exploded off the start and raced out to their first 6-0 mark since 1987. After that, the wheels completely fell off and the team lost five in a row before a victory over Boston College in the season finale secured a 7-5 overall record. Last year’s volatility makes this season’s outfit difficult to predict.
The offense loses star rusher Sean Tucker but quarterback Garrett Shrader and standout tight end Oronde Gadsden II both return. The attack will heavily rely on Shrader to supply yards both on the ground and in the air, and his health will likely dictate how the Orange can navigate the season.
The three-week stretch versus Clemson, at North Carolina and at Florida State is a murderer’s row, but the Orange finish the campaign with five games against ACC opponents that went a combined 15-24 in conference play last year. That could make this season a reverse of last year’s performance with a rough start but a strong close.
How does Wake Forest replace Hartman, Perry?
It seems Dave Clawson adds to the degree of difficulty at Wake Forest each year as more standout players graduate or leave the program. This year might be his toughest task yet, as star passer Sam Hartman is gone to Notre Dame and electric wideout A.T. Perry is in the NFL. That duo produced 10,153 passing yards, 90 touchdown passes, 2,600 receiving yards and 27 receiving touchdowns over the past three seasons – near-impossible numbers to recreate.
It’s Mitch Griffis’ show at quarterback now and, while Perry is gone, there’s still quality talent at the skill positions. Donavon Greene, Jahmal Banks and Taylor Morin are all back after combining for 126 catches, 1,853 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. If Griffis can spread the ball around on Clawson’s attack, the Demon Deacons could maintain a similar clip on offense that we’ve grown accustomed to in recent years.
Can transfers fix the Virginia Tech offense?
There weren’t many teams in the Power 5 last year that were more difficult to watch than Virginia Tech. The Hokies failed to top the 30-point mark in any game and ranked 118th nationally in scoring, and 121st in yards per play. Brent Pry wasn’t left with much talent on the roster following Justin Fuente’s departure, but the second-year coach must do better if he hopes to see a third season.
The defense should continue its improvement from the end of last season, but Pry needs transfers to perform well if the offense is going to grow in 2023. Kyron Drones moves over from Baylor to challenge for the quarterback spot and a slew of new receivers will beef up the passing attack. Add in 1,300-yard rusher Bhayshul Tuten from North Carolina A&T and there’s room for optimism on offense.
Will Georgia Tech build off last year’s impressive finish?
Geoff Collins didn’t make it past the first month of his fourth season with Georgia Tech, as the school parted ways with the head coach following a 1-3 start with the losses coming by a combined 110-20 scoreline. Brent Key took over and cobbled together a remarkable 4-4 finish to secure the permanent job heading into 2023.
If the Yellow Jackets are going to build off that strong finish, the offense needs strong showings from new faces. Former Texas A&M passer Haynes King enters the mix for the quarterback slot and Trey Cooley moves on from Louisville to beef up the run game. Six new receivers and tight ends mean virtually a full makeover at the skill positions.
Keion White headlined three starters heading to the NFL, signalling a defensive revamp. Key utilized the portal to add Texas A&M’s Andre White Jr. and Minnesota’s Braelen Oliver.
Can Virginia’s offense do anything to help stout defense?
Virginia’s season was rocked by tragedy last year with the death of three players due to gun violence in November. It seems trivial to discuss the team’s performance on the field in Tony Elliott’s first season, but there will need to be a drastic improvement on the offensive side of the football to right the ship for the Cavaliers.
Elliott came over after he spent a number of seasons running the Clemson offense, but Virginia struggled mightily on that side of the ball in Year 1. The team averaged only 17 points per game, ranking a dismal 126th in the country. It might not be easier in 2023 as the team lost their starting quarterback, top three receivers and four starters from the offensive line.
Tony Muskett transferred from the FCS level at Monmouth to compete for the starting quarterback job. He will likely have to replicate his huge numbers from that league to give the Cavaliers any shot of making a jump this season.
BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: MARINERS BLAST 7 HOMERS IN 15-2 ROUT OF ROYALS
Teoscar Hernandez hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in a season-best six runs and the Seattle Mariners tied the franchise mark with seven homers while routing the visiting Kansas City Royals 15-2 Saturday afternoon.
Josh Rojas, Mike Ford, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Cade Marlowe also homered for the Mariners, who established a season high for runs. Logan Gilbert pitched seven strong innings for Seattle, which has won 10 of its past 11 games to move into a first-place tie with the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
Gilbert (12-5) allowed one run on two hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts. The only hits he allowed were a third-inning single by Dairon Blanco and Waters’ solo shot in the fifth.
Drew Waters went deep for the Royals, who have lost six of their past seven games. Jordan Lyles (3-15) was lifted after allowing seven runs in the third inning — including three homers. The right-hander gave up six hits, walked three and fanned four.
Nationals 3, Marlins 2
Washington, down to its last strike, got a game-tying single from Jake Alu and the go-ahead run on a passed ball later in the ninth inning in a win over host Miami.
Washington, which had been in last place for most of this season, has won five straight series. The Nationals are 11-3 in their past 14 games. Jake Irvin allowed four hits, three walks and one run in six innings. He struck out three.
Miami got a game-tying homer from Josh Bell in the sixth and a go-ahead dinger by Jorge Soler in the eighth. But closer David Robertson (4-5) couldn’t nail down the save, allowing two runs — one earned — in the ninth. Miami’s Eury Perez allowed just three hits, one walk and one run in six innings. He struck out seven.
Astros 9, Tigers 2
Alex Bregman had three extra-base hits, including a two-run homer, and drove in four runs as visiting Houston pounded Detroit.
Jose Abreu and Chas McCormick knocked in two runs apiece and Jose Altuve scored three runs. Detroit native Hunter Brown (10-9) was the winning pitcher. He allowed two runs, four hits and two walks in five innings while posting nine strikeouts.
Tigers starter Eduardo Rodriguez (9-7) was charged with four runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He also walked four batters and struck out one. Parker Meadows, who hit a game-winning, three-run homer on Friday, had two hits and an RBI for Detroit.
Brewers 5, Padres 4
Freddy Peralta pitched effectively into the sixth inning and Milwaukee extended its season-high winning streak to seven games, holding on for a victory over visiting San Diego.
Milwaukee scored five runs in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead, but Juan Soto pulled the Padres within 5-4 with a two-run homer in the eighth, his 25th, off Joel Payamps. Peralta (11-8) allowed two runs on two hits in 5 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts to win his fifth consecutive decision.
San Diego starter Pedro Avila (0-1) allowed five runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.
Angels 5, Mets 3
Shohei Ohtani had two hits, two runs and two stolen bases for visiting Los Angeles, which raced out to a big early lead and held on for a win over New York.
The Angels have won the first two games of the three-game series. Daniel Vogelbach homered for the Mets, who have dropped four straight and five of six. Ohtani doubled in the first and scored on Brandon Drury’s RBI single. Ohtani laced an RBI triple during a four-run second, when he scored on Drury’s double.
Angels starter Chase Silseth was hit in the head by an across-the-diamond throw and took a few steps before collapsing. After several minutes on the ground, the right-hander was able to walk off the field with assistance and was transported to a local hospital, according to Angels manager Phil Nevin.
Phillies 12, Cardinals 1
Zack Wheeler struck out 10 over seven-plus innings, Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh each hit three-run homers during a seven-run seventh inning, and Philadelphia beat visiting St. Louis.
Bryson Stott hit a solo homer and Bryce Harper added three hits and two RBIs for Philadelphia, which has outscored St. Louis 19-3 in the first two games of the series. The Phillies have gone deep 48 times in August, setting a franchise record for home runs in a month.
Wheeler (10-6) gave up three hits with no walks and reached the 10-win mark for the sixth time in his career. He has posted a 2.51 ERA over his last seven starts. St. Louis was held to four hits and lost for the eighth time in its last 10 games.
Blue Jays 8, Guardians 3
Davis Schneider had a two-run homer, three RBIs and three runs while going 3-for-3 with a walk as Toronto defeated visiting Cleveland.
Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu (3-1) allowed three runs (two earned) and four hits in five-plus innings as the Blue Jays gained a split of the first two games of a three-game series.
Jose Ramirez and Tyler Freeman hit solo home runs for the Guardians. Cleveland left-hander Logan Allen (6-7) allowed five runs, six hits and one walk in four innings.
Braves 7, Giants 3
Austin Riley and Orlando Arcia hit home runs, Max Fried pitched six strong innings and Atlanta beat host San Francisco to record its fourth straight win.
Matt Olson collected a double, two singles and two RBIs for the Braves. Wilmer Flores hit a two-run homer for the Giants, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
Fried (5-1) bounced back from Flores’ two-run blast, allowing no further scoring and a total of six hits. He walked two and struck out eight. Atlanta scored runs against all five Giants pitchers, including two in 3 2/3 innings off Sean Manaea (4-5), who took the loss.
Red Sox 8, Dodgers 5
Adam Duvall’s three-run home run in the sixth inning was the difference as Boston beat Los Angeles.
Alex Verdugo became the first player in Red Sox history to lead off three straight games with a home run, while Justin Turner also left the yard while going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs.
Duvall and Rob Refsnyder each had two hits.
Rays 3, Yankees 0
Tyler Glasnow threw 5 1/3 no-hit innings in a scoreless start in Tampa Bay’s two-hit shutout of visiting New York.
In an outing that required 85 pitches, Glasnow (7-4) allowed a lone single while striking out four and walking two.
The right-hander beat the Yankees for the second time in less than a month. Josh Lowe went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley (stolen base) each doubled and scored for the Rays.
Orioles 5, Rockies 4
Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the sixth inning and Baltimore went on to defeat visiting Colorado, winning for the seventh time in eight games.
It took some late-inning bullpen work to get the job done for the AL East-leading Orioles, who posted their fourth straight win.
Colorado lost its sixth game in a row. The first five in the skid included games the Rockies led or were tied in the eighth inning, but this time they never pulled even after the sixth.
White Sox 6, Athletics 2
Lenyn Sosa, Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi homered and Touki Toussaint pitched five shutout innings to boost Chicago over visiting Oakland.
After allowing seven home runs in losing the first two games of the series by a combined score of 20-9, the White Sox turned things around while out-hitting the A’s 9-4.
Toussaint won for the first time in five starts behind his best outing in a frustrating August. The right-hander improved to 2-6 after scattering two hits, three walks and four strikeouts in five innings.
Cubs 10, Pirates 6
Left-hander Jordan Wicks made a splash in his major league debut, giving up just one run in five innings and striking out nine in visiting Chicago’s win over Pittsburgh.
Wicks, 23, a 2021 first-round draft pick, gave up two hits and walked one to earn his first win.
Seiya Suzuki hit an RBI triple and two-run double, Ian Happ laced a two-run double, and Cody Bellinger and Jeimer Candelario each had an RBI single for the Cubs, who have won six of their past eight.
Rangers 6, Twins 2
Robbie Grossman and Leody Taveras drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to highlight a four-run ninth inning as visiting Texas beat Minnesota to end an eight-game losing streak.
Adolis Garcia hit his 32nd home run of the season and had two hits, and Mitch Garver also homered and had two hits for Texas, which remained in a tie for first place in the American League West with the Seattle Mariners.
Brock Burke (5-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning relief after starter Max Scherzer allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings. Scherzer walked one and struck out 10, the 113th time he has struck out 10 or more in a game.
Reds 8, Diamondbacks 7 (11 innings)
Cincinnati scored the winning run on a balk in the top of the 11th inning, snapping Arizona’s six-game winning streak in Phoenix.
With two outs in the 11th inning, Spencer Steer reached on an infield single against Nabil Crismatt (0-2).
Designated runner TJ Friedl moved to third base on the play and scored when Crismatt committed a balk.
ALL-STAR CLOSER FÉLIX BAUTISTA PLACED ON INJURED LIST BY ORIOLES WITH ELBOW INJURY
BALTIMORE (AP) — All-Star reliever Félix Bautista was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday by the Baltimore Orioles, who can only hope his ailing elbow won’t keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.
“Early indications are he has some degree of injury to the ulnar collateral ligament,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias said. “We have not firmed down any timetable or anything of that nature.”
Although a UCL injury can lead to Tommy John surgery, Elias expressed hope that the team’s closer can return to help the AL East leaders secure a playoff berth or perhaps provide aid in the playoffs.
If not, then the Orioles simply will have to proceed without him.
“A Félix Bautista absence, even if it’s a short one, is not something that’s easy to cover. He’s the best reliever in baseball right now,” Elias said. “But we do have many talented arms.”
The injury occurred Friday night in Baltimore’s 5-4 victory over Colorado. Bautista retired the first two batters in the ninth inning and had a 2-2 count on Michael Toglia before the right-hander walked off the mound in obvious discomfort following his 12th pitch.
After being examined by team trainers, Bautista left the game.
Elias believes the injury occurred on that final pitch and was not the result of throwing in discomfort.
“I don’t want to speculate, but it looked to me like that one particular pitch might have had some unfortunate movement pattern,” the GM said. “He was not having any issues prior to that pitch.”
Bautista this season has established himself as one of baseball’s most imposing and effective closers. The 6-foot-8, 285-pounder is nicknamed “The Mountain” because of his size, and his fastball regularly is clocked in excess of 100 mph.
Bautista took the loss for the AL All-Stars in July, allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning, but that hasn’t tarnished his accomplishments for the surprising Orioles, who own the second-best record in the majors (80-48 through Friday). Bautista is 8-2 with a 1.48 ERA with 33 saves in 39 opportunities.
The 28-year-old has 110 strikeouts and just 26 walks in 61 innings over 56 games.
“Félix has been such a massive part of our team. Best closer in the game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s been amazing to watch him do what he does. Last night sucked. Bottom line. Just hoping for the best for him.”
All-Star reliever Yennier Cano, veteran Danny Coulombe and left-handed rookie DL Hall — who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday to replace Bautista — are among those in the bullpen who will try to cover for the loss of Bautista.
“The group’s going to rally around itself. We’ll figure out how to do the best we can however long his absence is,” Elias said. “I’m most sad for Félix himself, because this was just a dream season he had, was having.”
The news comes on a night the Orioles were staging a Félix Bautista bobblehead giveaway, a promotion that was expected to draw a huge crowd for the second game of the series against the Rockies.
REDS PLACE LHP ALEX YOUNG ON IL, ACTIVATE RHP BEN LIVELY
The Cincinnati Reds on Saturday placed left-hander Alex Young on the 15-day injured list because of tightness in his left hamstring and activated right-hander Ben Lively from the same list.
The move on Young was retroactive to Friday and comes after his appearance Thursday night in a 3-2 loss at the Arizona Diamondbacks. Young walked Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, and one out later, gave up Corbin Carroll’s game-winning home run.
Young, 29, is 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA, 19 walks and 45 strikeouts and one save in 49 innings over 57 appearances in his first season with Cincinnati.
He has played in the major leagues for the Diamondbacks (2019-21), Cleveland Guardians (2021-22), San Francisco Giants (2022) and Reds. Young is 16-18 for his career with a 4.34 ERA in 154 games (25 starts).
Lively 31, has not pitched for Cincinnati since Aug. 1 because of a right pectoral strain. He is 4-7 this season with a 5.20 ERA, 19 walks and 64 strikeouts in 71 innings over 14 games (12 starts).
NBA NEWS
P.J. WASHINGTON AGREES TO A 3-YEAR, $48 MILLION CONTRACT TO REMAIN WITH THE HORNETS, AP SOURCE SAYS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to a three-year, $48 million contract with starting forward P.J. Washington, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because the deal is not expected to be signed and become official until early next week.
ESPN was first to report the deal.
The 25-year-old Washington was a restricted free agent and his new deal prevents him from hitting the unrestricted free agent market next summer.
The 12th pick in the 2019 draft, Washington has spent all four seasons with the Hornets following his career at Kentucky. He is coming off a season in which he started 73 games for Charlotte and averaged a career-high 15.7 points to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.
The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Washington averaged 2 3-pointers per game and shot just 34.8% from beyond the arc. He scored 43 points in March against Oklahoma City.
WORLD CUP BASKETBALL NEWS
U.S. OPENS WORLD CUP BY DOWNING NEW ZEALAND
Team USA got off to a sluggish start before pulling away from New Zealand for a 99-72 victory in their opening game of the FIBA World Cup on Saturday in Manila, Philippines.
New Zealand led 14-4 in the first five minutes as the U.S. missed five shots and committed four turnovers in its first 11 possessions.
Paolo Banchero came off the bench and scored six points in an 8-0 run for the Americans. Banchero, who plays for the Orlando Magic, finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor along with four rebounds and four blocks.
Anthony Edwards, one of the U.S. starters, contributed 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Austin Reaves each had 12 points, and Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton also reached double figures with 10 points apiece.
Reaves, a reserve who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, added six assists and three steals.
New Zealand was led by Reuben Te Rangi, who finished with 15 points.
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said New Zealand’s fast start was a good experience for his team.
“One of the things that we’ve talked to our team about is how excited everybody else is going to be to play against us,” Kerr said. “New Zealand came out and hit us in the mouth and they were great — that’s good, it’s good for us to feel.”
Up next for U.S. in Group C play is Greece on Monday. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is not playing in the World Cup for Greece after having offseason knee surgery.
RACING NEWS
FORMER CUP SERIES CHAMP KURT BUSCH FORMALLY RETIRES WHILE STILL RECOVERING FROM CONCUSSION
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR champion who stepped away from racing last season following a significant concussion, officially retired Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch, 45, held back tears as he called it quits while sitting on the same stage where he celebrated one of his most memorable Cup Series victories — the 2017 Daytona 500.
“My body is just having a battle with Father Time,” Busch said, adding he has dealt with arthritis and gout while trying to recover from a rear-impact collision he says rattled his brain.
“I’m very happy, complacent,” he said. “There’s nothing I look back on and regret about having this opportunity at the top level of NASCAR.”
His younger brother, Kyle, sat at the back of the media center during the announcement. NASCAR executives Jim France, Ben Kennedy, Steve O’Donnell and Mike Helton also were on hand along with countless Toyota brass and 23IX Racing drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.
“It’s time for a new journey, and I’m excited to get started,” Busch said.
The Las Vegas native suffered a life-changing concussion during a qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway last summer. After slamming into the wall backwards, the front end of his Toyota smacked it at a G-force that raised safety concerns about the Next Gen cars.
NASCAR spent much of the offseason tweaking its car to try to limit the effects of rear-impact collisions that wreaked havoc on drivers in 2022. Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman missed five races with a concussion, and multiple other drivers complained about the violence of routine hits and wondered if they too had suffered head trauma.
Busch said at the Saturday announcement that he continues to show incremental improvements and intends to return to racing one day but has no timetable for getting back behind the wheel.
“It’s not as bad as it was last summer and last fall,” he said.
Busch won 34 races in 776 starts over 23 years in the Cup Series. He landed as a consultant for his old 23XI Racing and Toyota. He counseled Travis Pastrana at last year’s Daytona 500 and has thrown his arms around anyone in the garage who needs advice.
“Racing at NASCAR’s highest level requires every bit of focus, heart, stamina and determination,” Busch said. “And I know right now I can’t give what’s required to compete at that level week in and week out.”
BUESCHER WINS AT DAYTONA, ELIMINATING ELLIOTT AND HELPING WALLACE LAND FINAL NASCAR PLAYOFF BERTH
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Chris Buescher has become a NASCAR title contender in less than a month.
Buescher won the Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, eliminating fan favorite Chase Elliott from playoff contention and sending Bubba Wallace into the postseason.
Buescher and teammate Brad Keselowski finished 1-2 for RFK Racing, the first for the team since 2014. It was Buescher’s third victory since late July, making him a championship favorite no one could have expected five weeks ago.
“We certainly got momentum on our side right now,” Buescher said.
Because Buescher had previously won this season, Wallace landed the 16th and final playoff spot on points.
“That was the most stress but also the most locked in I’ve ever been,” Wallace said. “Proud to be locked into the playoffs. We’ve gone through a lot of trials and tribulations. So proud of the effort we put in.”
Drivers had to regroup in the waning laps after Ryan Preece flipped about a dozen times and came to a halt in his mangled No. 41 Ford. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was able to get out with help before emergency personnel put him on a gurney and into an ambulance for a quick trip to the infield care center. He was later transported to a hospital for further evaluation.
NASCAR provided no immediate update, but Preece tweeted about two hours afterward “If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough. … I’m coming back.”
Preece made contact with SHR teammate Chase Briscoe, and his car started flipping when he slid across the infield grass. The crash sent the race into overtime. Buescher was out front for the restart with two laps to go, and Keselowski stayed in line to keep them 1-2 at the checkered flag.
“Second is the first loser,” Keselowski quipped. “But you could have ended up in a ball of flames in (turns) three and four, too, and that would have been pretty dumb. … It would have been really difficult to pull a move off without probably wrecking both of us.”
Aric Almirola finished third in another Ford, followed by Elliott and defending series champion Joey Logano.
Seventeen drivers, most notably Wallace and Elliott, started the night with hopes of securing the final playoff spot.
Elliott had been facing an uphill battle for months. He missed six races after breaking his left leg in a snowboarding accident in early March and was suspended for another for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin in May. Those absences left NASCAR’s most popular driver him trying to dig out of a hole all summer.
Elliott needed a victory that never came. He knew Daytona was a wild card, but he still managed to get to the front and lead two laps early. He was in the mix late but had little Chevrolet help around him.
“Yeah, it’s a bummer for sure,” said Elliott, who missed the playoffs for the first time in eight Cup seasons. “I appreciate everybody’s support through this season. Hasn’t been what I would want by any means. Certainly going to be some lessons taken from it, and I think we’ll be better for it on the other end.”
Martin Truex Jr. took the regular-season championship over Denny Hamlin, giving Truex an extra 15 playoff points. Truex and Hamlin were the only drivers vying for the regular-season title at Daytona.
The more notable race was for the final postseason spot. Seven of the drivers vying for the berth were eliminated in a 12-car melee a little past the midway point.
Ty Gibbs was one of those knocked out of contention. Christopher Bell was pushing Gibbs near the front of the field but got him sideways in Turn 4. Gibbs slammed into race leader Ryan Blaney, turning Blaney’s No. 12 Ford into the outside wall. Blaney hit so hard that at least two tires lifted off the ground.
“I feel like I got pushed in a bad spot,” Gibbs said.
At least nine others were collected in the crash, including Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric. NASCAR red-flagged the race for nearly 10 minutes to clean up the carnage.
“It stinks. A lot of cars got tore up. Not fun,” Blaney said.
KURT BUSCH RETIRES
Kurt Busch held back tears as he announced his Cup Series retirement Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. The 2004 series champion and 2017 Daytona 500 winner called it quits mostly because he’s been unable to shake lingering effects of a significant concussion that rocked stock car racing a year ago.
“My body is just having a battle with Father Time,” the 45-year-old Busch said.
UP NEXT
The Cup Series playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway next Sunday. William Byron won in May at the track, and Erik Jones won the postseason race there in 2022.
MEN’S GOLF NEWS
VIKTOR HOVLAND SHOOTS 66 FOR 6-SHOT LEAD AT TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP TO CLOSE IN ON FEDEX CUP TITLE
ATLANTA (AP) Viktor Hovland can’t remember playing this well with every aspect of his game, and he can’t think of a better time for it to all come together.
One more round of that and he’ll have $18 million to show for it, along with his name on the FedEx Cup trophy.
Hovland delivered another sterling performance Saturday in the Tour Championship, a 4-under 66 that allowed him to pull away from an All-Star cast of contenders and build a six-shot lead going into the final round of the season at East Lake.
“The list of names that’s been on that trophy is pretty special,” Hovland said. “It feels more like a sprint. Obviously, it’s a marathon getting into this week. But it’s hard to win the FedEx Cup if you haven’t played well the last few weeks.”
No one has played better.
He broke the course record at Olympia Fields on Sunday with a 61 that allowed him to surge past Scottie Scheffler and win the BMW Championship. He has not let up at East Lake, even in the extreme heat.
The Norwegian star was tied with Collin Morikawa to start the sunbaked third round, with Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele all lined up behind him. No one could keep pace, especially after a 90-minute stoppage because of storms in the area.
Hovland, who started at 8-under par as the No. 2 seed, was at 20 under.
Schauffele, who has never finished worse than seventh or shot worse than par in his seven years playing the Tour Championship, had a 68 and was at 14 under. All he could think about was a pair of 4-foot putts he missed on the back nine – for par at No. 15, for birdie on the closing hole – knowing how much ground he had to make up.
“Not good enough,” Schauffele said about his round.
Morikawa didn’t make a birdie until the 16th hole in his round of 73, leaving him seven shots behind with Keegan Bradley, who had to birdie two of the last four holes for a 70.
Scheffler only started making putts – only one for birdie – late in his round of 73 that tied him with Rahm (71), leaving both nine shots behind and out of contention for the FedEx Cup title.
Hovland still has one round left, and last year was an example that no lead is safe. Scheffler started the final round with a six-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, only to shoot 73 as McIlroy rallied for a 66 to beat him by one.
“I know what I need to do,” Schauffele said. “I need to go out and try and put as much pressure on him tomorrow on that front nine as I can, and hope for the best.”
Hovland played bogey-free on the front nine as so many contenders were slowed by mistakes.
Bradley had three bogeys in a four-hole stretch. Scheffler three-putted from 12 feet, missing his par putt from 30 inches on the par-5 sixth. Rahm drove into the water on No. 8 for a double bogey and didn’t make his first birdie until the 12th hole.
And then clouds began to appear on another day of extreme heat, leading to the 90-minute delay. When players returned, Hovland made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 12th and a 20-footer on the next hole.
At one point he stretched his lead to seven shots, and it looked as though that’s how he would end the day until he missed a 7-foot birdie putt as darkness fell on East Lake.
“He’s just playing unbelievable golf,” Schauffele said. “He’s been working really hard. I saw him working hard through the playoffs there. I was out late and he was one of the guys I always saw until dark as well. So, no surprise.”
The FedEx Cup comes with an $18 million bonus ($17 million in cash) and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. It also might be enough to at least merit consideration for Hovland as PGA Tour player of the year, having also won the Memorial and a FedEx Cup playoff event.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played this well before, with this stretch, just putting all the short game and stuff together,” Hovland said. “I’ve certainly hit the ball this good before. I feel like I’ve hit the ball better than I have this week and even last week.”
U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark had only one bogey in his round of 68 that left him in the group with Scheffler and Rahm.
McIlroy, who started six shots behind, had three bogeys on the front nine and didn’t make a birdie over his last seven holes for a 71. He was 11 shots back.
LEADERBOARD: http://hosted.stats.com/golf/final.asp?tour=PGA
WOMEN’S GOLF
CHASING FIRST LPGA TOUR VICTORY, MEGAN KHANG OPENS 3-SHOT LEAD IN CPKC WOMEN’S OPEN
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Megan Khang birdied four of the last five holes for a 4-under 68 and a three-stroke lead Saturday in the CPKC Women’s Open.
Seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, Khang rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12 with birdies on Nos. 14-16 and 18 – holing a 15-footer on the last.
“At the end of the day I’m just going to try my best to keep that same mindset, stay patient,” Khang said. “These fairways are tight and the greens are firm and really just kind of trust myself out there.”
The 25-year-old American had an 11-under 205 total at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, the challenging water-side layout with towering trees – and plenty of mosquitoes. While winless on the tour, she has 33 top-10 finishes, career earnings over $5 million and is ranked 27th in the world.
“Honestly, it’s a lot of like learning over the past few years to stay patient, don’t get you ahead of myself,” Khang said.
Three strokes ahead at the turn Saturday, Khang found herself two shots behind Sei Young Kim a few holes later before rallying with the birdie spree.
“I bogeyed 12 and then just like that I look at the leaderboard and I hear a roar,” Khang said. “Not knowing who it is I take a peek at the leaderboard and I see Sei Young’s name up at the top and I’m like, `Oh, here we go.’”
Kim was second after a 67. The 30-year-old South Korean player had a hole-in-one on the 175th-yard eighth with a 5-iron and made an 18-foot eagle putt on the 265-yard, par-4 14th.
“A lot of people like louder, so it sounded like it got in,” Kim said about the ace. “I was like, oh, my body is like goosebump.”
She won the last of her 12 tour titles in 2020.
Fellow South Korean player Jin Young Ko was third at 6 under after a 71. Ko won in 2019 at Magna outside Toronto. She has 15 LPGA Tour victories.
“Today was long day,” Ko said. “The last three holes I didn’t have energy.”
Georgia Hall of England and first-round leader Yuka Saso of Japan were 5 under. Hall had a 70, and Saso shot 72.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England was 4 under after a 67.
Canadian star Brooke Henderson was tied for 34th at 2 over after her second 75 of the week. The 2018 winner at Wascana in Saskatchewan, she is wearing glasses in competition for the first time.
“It was disappointing that I let some shots slip away,” Henderson said. “But looking at the leaderboard on 16 I was kind of relieved because everyone else seemed to be having some trouble, too, so that made me feel a little bit better about myself.”
SOCCER NEWS
FIFA SUSPENDS SPAIN FEDERATION PRESIDENT FOR KISSING PLAYER
FIFA suspended Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales for at least 90 days after he refused to step down following his unsolicited kiss of player Jenni Hermoso after the Women’s World Cup final.
Rubiales, 46, is banned from soccer-related activities at the national and international level. He also is to refrain from attempting to contact Hermoso or any parties close to her.
Also Saturday, Spain’s National Sports Council filed a formal complaint against him with a court that hears sports-related cases.
“We are ready for this to be the #MeToo of Spanish football and for this to be a change,” the group’s head, Victor Francos Diaz, said Friday, per The New York Times.
FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales on Thursday. Rubiales refused to resign, saying on Friday that the kiss was “mutual and with consent.”
Hermoso said in a statement that she did not appreciate being kissed.
“I felt vulnerable and was a victim of assault, what happened was sexist, impulsive, out of place, and non-consensual,” Hermoso said Friday.
Rubiales has remained defiant, claiming the kiss was consensual.
“Do you think this (incident) is so serious that I should go, after the best management in the history of Spanish football?” Rubiales said. “Let me tell you: I’m not going to resign. I’m not going to resign. I’m not going to resign.”
So far, Rubiales has the backing of Spain’s soccer federation, which said Friday that he did nothing wrong and that Hermoso has changed her account of the incident. It also is threatening legal action in the matter.
Hermoso, 33, said Friday that the federation had pressured her into making an initial statement “that had little or nothing to do with my feelings.”
On Friday, all 23 players who won the World Cup with Spain — backed by more than 50 other female soccer players — signed a statement vowing they won’t represent the nation again until Rubiales is refused.
TOP INDIANA PRESS RELEASES
INDIANS BASEBALL
GONZALES HOMERS AS INDIANS FALL TO I-CUBS, 4-3
INDIANAPOLIS – Nick Gonzales launched his eighth home run of the campaign and Aaron Shackelford scored on a little-league round-tripper off the wall as the Indianapolis Indians fell short of defeating the Iowa Cubs on Saturday night at Victory Field, 4-3.
Indianapolis (58-65, 25-24) erased an early 2-0 deficit, with Gonzales’ third-inning solo homer bringing the Indians within one. In the fifth, Shackelford cranked a triple off the top of the right-field wall and came into score on a throwing error by Cubs top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Miguel Andújar began the sixth with a leadoff double and later came around to score on a two-out single by Ryan Vilade, but the lead was short lived. In the top of the seventh, an RBI triple by Chase Strumpf and subsequent single by Crow-Armstrong against John O’Reilly (L, 3-5) gave the I-Cubs (69-53, 26-23) the lead they needed for the win.
Roansy Contreras took the hill for the Indians and fanned six over 5.0 two-run innings. Nick Neidert countered for Iowa and also went five, exiting with the game tied 2-2. Bailey Horn (W, 7-1) surrendered the go-ahead run for Indy before Iowa took back the lead.
After Indianapolis threatened in the eighth with Crow-Armstrong’s second error of the game, Michael Rucker (S, 1) stranded a two-out walk in the ninth to close out the contest.
The Indians will look to clinch a series win tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 PM ET at Victory Field. RHP Jared Jones (2-3, 5.91) will take the mound for Indianapolis against RHP Shane Greene (1-0, 2.84).
COLTS NEWS
COLTS’ DANNY PINTER TO MISS 2023 SEASON, HEAD COACH SHANE STEICHEN SAYS
Saturday afternoon, head coach Shane Steichen announced that backup offensive lineman Danny Pinter was going to miss the season after suffering a broken ankle.
“Danny is a really good player for us,” Steichen said. “To lose a guy like him is very unfortunate for us. I hope he has a speedy recovery.”
The injury occurred during the third quarter and led the former 2020 fifth-round pick to be taken off the field by a cart.
Throughout his career, Pinter has started seven games for the Colts, including three during the 2022 season.
Though Pinter had been largely playing with the second-team offensive line this preseason, he had shown off his versatility by playing both center and guard this offseason.
Though there is never a ‘good’ time for an injury to happen, the loss of Pinter adds a further level of complication with league-wide roster cuts taking place this Tuesday.
“Just looking at the back end of those guys [offensive linemen], we’re working through that right now,” Steichen said. “Wesley’s [French] took some snaps there at center. There’s a couple other guys we’re looking at without naming a whole bunch of guys. There’s gonna be some stiff competition there for those backup roles.”
For the players vying for one of those spots, they will have one more chance this weekend to make an impression as the team returns to practice this Sunday.
“We’ll have a good practice tomorrow before we make some decisions,” Steichen said. “It’ll be good to get another good day’s work in.”
INDIANA VOLLEYBALL
GEDDES OUTSTANDING IN SWEEP OF SOUTHERN INDIANA
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Senior outside hitter Morgan Geddes produced one of the best offensive outputs in the past 15 years enroute to a Saturday morning (Aug. 26) sweep of Southern Indiana at Wilkinson Hall.
IU (2-0, 0-0), less than 15 hours removed from a win over New Hampshire, held the Screaming Eagles to just .053 hitting as a team in a straight-set sweep (25-16, 25-14, 25-18).
Geddes, the Grove City, Ohio native went errorless in the match, providing 12 kills on 14 swings, an offensive clip of .857 in a morning where the Hoosiers hit .324 (44-11-102) as a team.
Over the past 15 years, since the 25-point rally era was implemented in 2008, only two Hoosiers have hit better in a single match while producing at least 12 kills. Samantha Thrower (15-0-15) hit perfect in a match against Buffalo in 2011 while All-American Ashley Benson hit .889 (17-1-18) in a match against Niagra in 2010.
Junior outside hitter Mady Saris led the way for IU with 14 kills and three digs while junior setter Camryn Haworth produced her first double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs. In her collegiate debut, freshman middle blocker Ava Vickers recorded seven blocks.
IU will look for the weekend sweep on Saturday with a match against Radford to close out the Indiana Invitational.
Stats and Notes
Team
• The Hoosiers hit .324 as a team, paced by 14 kills from Saris and 12 from Geddes. It was IU’s most efficient offensive output as a team since swinging .438 in a victory over Tennessee Tech in September of 2022.
• IU recorded 11 total team blocks, paced by an impressive seven blocks from Vickers, four from sophomore outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and three from Geddes.
• Southern Indiana managed just a .053 clip offensively, the lowest opponent output since holding Rutgers to .017 hitting last October.
#16 Geddes, Morgan
• The senior produced the most effective offensive game of her career, recording 12 kills and zero errors on 14 swings.
• Her .857 hitting percentage is third best among IU athletes with at least 12 kills in a single match since the 25-point rally era was implemented in 2008.
#10 Haworth, Camryn
• The junior setter recorded the 15th double-double of her career, compiling 33 assists and 10 digs in the three-set win.
• Haworth had two aces in the victory, pushing her to 97 for her career. She is just three aces away from becoming the 19th player in program history to eclipse the century mark.
#4 Saris, Mady
• The junior outside hitter led the way for IU with 14 kills on .257 hitting. Paired with her output from Friday night’s win over New Hampshire, Saris has gone for 10+ kills on 41 occasions in her career.
#10 Vickers, Ava
• Making her debut in an IU uniform, Vickers produced seven blocks to pair with four kills.
Scoring Recap
Set 1: Indiana 25, Southern Indiana 16
• Freshman libero dug six balls in the first set with her roommate Vickers grabbing three blocks to pace the Hoosiers.
• Haworth had 10 assists in the opening frame with Saris producing five kills and Geddes four enroute to a first-set victory.
Set 2: Indiana 25, Southern Indiana 14
• IU jumped out to a 10-3 lead and later took a lead as big as 20-9 in the second set with Saris adding six kills on a .385 clip in the frame.
• The Hoosiers hit .324 in the second set (14-3-34) and held Southern Indiana to just .030 hitting.
Set 3: Indiana 25, Southern Indiana 18
• Haworth served the first eight balls of the set as IU jumped out to a 7-0 lead which including a run of kills from Saris, Geddes and Vickers.
INDIANA FOOTBALL
ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR OHIO STATE SEASON OPENER
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana continues to build toward a football season opener to remember — next Saturday’s Memorial Stadium showdown against Ohio State — and all Cream & Crimson systems are go.
The Hoosiers have established their two-deep. Their defensive line is bigger, stronger, and more athletic. Their offensive line seems ready for a turnaround performance. There are difference makers at the key offensive and defensive skill positions, some established (think Jaylin Lucas, Cam Camper, and Aaron Casey), some ready to make their marks (consider Andre Carter and Lanell Carr Jr.).
“I feel good about where we are,” head coach Tom Allen says.
Poised for a breakthrough is 6-foot-1, 190-pound redshirt freshman cornerback Jamari Sharpe. He saw limited action in three games last year, but projects as one of IU’s top three cornerbacks. He’s recorded a 4.3-second time in the 40-yard dash after finishing as a state track place-winner in high school in Florida.
“He’s been one of the guys we targeted and say we’d like to see him step up and elevate,” Allen says. “He’s got length. He’s extremely fast. He was an elite sprinter in high school.
“We are encouraged by his progress. He’s right there. He’s one of our top two to three corners. He will play a lot and might even be a starter. He has those traits you’re looking for.
“He will have a chance to be tested at a high level on Week 1. It will be an opportunity for him to prove who he is.”
Quarterback intrigue looms for both IU and Ohio State. Neither team has named a starter and the Buckeyes might have two.
For IU, Tayven Jackson or Brandan Sorsby have battled throughout fall camp. Allen and offensive coordinator Walt Bell made a decision after the second scrimmage.
Allen says Jackson and Sorsby, who have a combined six college completions as redshirt sophomores, are talented, hard-working, and developing. Jackson is a little more mobile, but Sorsby can handle the running duties the Hoosiers envision for the quarterback.
“Both are guys we can win with,” Allen says.
Sorsby played sparingly for the Hoosiers last season. Jackson transferred from Tennessee last December.
“You’re looking for a guy to be able to command that side of the football, lead that side of the football, and that’s with leadership and production,” Allen says. “You’ve got to make plays and run the offense. When you don’t huddle you have to be able to command and make checks and adjustments, and articulate things and all the different roles that go into that. You’re looking for all those things.”
Evaluation came from charting every practice and scrimmage rep, as well as analyzing how each performed during live practice periods, even how they interacted with teammates. Allen says he challenged both of them on leadership, and both responded well.
“You go through all that and decide, who gives us the best chance to win?” Allen says. “I feel really good about the process we go through.”
Don’t forget Dexter Williams II. He had emerged as the starter last season until suffering a season-ending knee injury. The dual-threat quarterback is practicing, but isn’t likely to be ready until at least October.
“Dexter continues to progress, and it’s an ongoing thing,” Allen says. “Once he’s (available), then we’ll continue to see what he can do from a mobility perspective. He continues to throw, he’ll continue to develop, and he’ll practice with us, and do everything he can do to be able to be (back).”
Allen pushes the multiple-quarterback option. Can you blame him? The last Hoosier quarterback to play an entire season was Peyton Ramsey in 2018. Richard Lagow in 2016 and Ben Chappell in 2010 were the only others to play a whole season in the last 12 years.
“We have to have multiple quarterbacks,” Allen says.
For Ohio State, coach Ryan Day says Kyle McCord and Devin Brown both graded as champions coming out of its last scrimmage. He said his coaching staff was split 50-50 when asked who should start.
McCord was a four-star prospect out of Philadelphia in 2021 and spent last season as C.J. Stroud’s backup. Brown, a four-star prospect from Texas, arrived a year later. He was injured last spring, but made up ground over the summer and August camp.
Day has indicated both will play, which increases IU’s preparation time.
PURDUE WOMEN’S SOCCER
SEASON-OPENING HOMESTAND CONCLUDES VS. WAKE FOREST
By: Charlie Healy
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue soccer team wraps up its season-opening four-game homestand against Wake Forest on Sunday, August 27, at 1 p.m. ET, at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Admission is free for all fans to the contest and to each regular-season home game in 2023. Sunday is Camper Reunion and Educator Appreciation Day, and there will be a pom pom giveaway while supplies last. All soccer campers are invited back to Folk Field to cheer on the Boilermakers, and campers will be able to form a pregame tunnel for the team. A kids zone will have bounce houses and tailgate games for all kids. We also will honor educators of all levels for their dedication towards educating our communities. As a reminder to all fans, a clear bag policy is in effect for all Purdue Athletics events once again in 2023.
Sunday afternoon’s game will be broadcast live on B1G+, and live stats are available at PurdueStats.com. Updates also can be found by following and connecting with @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links to follow along are available on the schedule page at PurdueSports.com/Soccer.
The Boilermakers have won two in a row and are 2-1-0 on the season after a 4-1 victory over Valparaiso on Thursday night. Wake Forest, at 2-0-1, has not lost in 2023 following a 3-0 victory against Idaho State on Thursday. Sunday’s matchup is the Deamon Deacons’ first road contest of the campaign.
Purdue ranks No. 6 nationally with 13 assists, No. 9 with 37 points and No. 10 with 12 goals, all Big Ten-best marks. The Boilermakers also are third in the conference with a .510 shot accuracy and fifth with 2.67 saves per game. The Old Gold and Black have 51 shots, 26 on goal, and have allowed two goals in three games for a 0.67 goals-against average. Eight of Purdue’s 12 goals have come from different players, and four of those are first career goals.
Individually, senior midfielder Emily Mathews is eighth in the NCAA with three assists and junior forward Gracie Dunaway is 12th with 5.00 shots per game and 20th with three goals. Dunaway and sophomore forward Kayla Budish have six points, third-most in the Big Ten. Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Cyr has made eight saves for a .800 save percentage and a 0.72 goals-against average while starting all three games.
SCOUTING WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest is 2-0-1 in 2023 and unbeaten in its last 19 non-conference games. The Deamon Deacons own wins over Appalachian State (1-0) and Idaho State (3-0) around a draw to Army (1-1) to begin the season, all at home. WF is seventh in the country with 24.33 shots per game and 25th with a 0.333 goals-against average. The Deamon Deacons are fourth in the ACC with six assists and fifth with a .889 save percentage to go along with five goals scored, 16 points, eight saves and one goal allowed.
Caiya Hanks has a team-leading five points and has a squad-best two goals along with Olivia Stowell. Nikayla Small’s two assists pace the team, and she and Hanks have nine shots. Hanks and Stowell each have four shots on goal. Madison Howard has played two games in goal and has eight saves and one goal allowed for a .889 save percentage and a 0.50 goals-against average with a 1-0-1 record.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE DEAMON DEACONS
Sunday marks the first-ever matchup between Purdue and Wake Forest. The Boilermakers are 2-6-0 all-time against the ACC, with the most recent meeting a 3-1 home loss to No. 9 Notre Dame in 2022.
LAST TIME OUT: BACK-TO-BACK WINS
A pair of first career goals within the first 14 minutes powered Purdue to a 4-1 win over Valparaiso on August 24. On a hot and muggy evening at Folk Field, the Boilermakers took an early lead in the fifth minute for the second consecutive game and led 2-0 after 14 minutes. The goals, by freshman forward Lauren Omholt and freshman defender Zoe Cuneio, were the first of their careers. A pair of veterans, Mathews and Dunaway, scored in the second half to secure Purdue’s second consecutive win.
Purdue held a 19-5 advantage in shots and an 8-3 edge in shots on goal. Mathews added a pair of assists in addition to her goal, and Budish and freshman midfielder Lauren Adam also earned assists. Cuneio’s goal, from Adam, was the game-winner, which is the first game-winning goal and assist of their careers.
Dunaway had a game-high eight shots, and she and Cuneio both had two shots on goal. Cuneio registered three shots and Budish had two. Senior Charlotte Cyr made two saves to earn the win, while her Valpo counterpart stopped four shots.
A complete recap from the game is available at PurdueSports.com/Soccer.
UP NEXT: ON THE ROAD
The Boilermakers take to the road for the first time in 2023 with a trip to No. 24 USC and Colorado. The weekend begins in Los Angeles on Thursday, August 31, at 6 p.m. ET, as Purdue faces its future Big Ten foe. The trip concludes in Boulder on September 3 at 2 p.m. ET.
BUTLER MEN’S SOCCER
BUTLER MEN’S SOCCER LOOKS TO EVEN RECORD AT SIUE
The Butler men’s soccer team is looking to enter the win column on the road in a Sunday match at SIUE. The Bulldogs are coming off a 2-1, late-goal loss at No. 24 Saint Louis, while the Cougars most recently defeated Central Arkansas, 2-1.
Bulldog Bits
Palmer Ault was named the 2023 Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. He finished the 2022 season with the following BIG EAST and (national) rankings: game-winning goals-1st (6th), goals-2nd (25th), points-3rd (22nd), assists-6th (98th), .442 shot accuracy-8th, 2.26 shots per game-10th
The Bulldogs’ 2023 roster – which features 10 newcomers – includes players from 10 different states. Eight players are from Michigan, and there are three each from both Indiana and Illinois. There is also international representation from four different countries. There are three each from both England and the Netherlands and one each from France and Spain.
Butler’s 2023 schedule features five teams who were ranked in the Preseason Top 25 national rankings: No. 24 Saint Louis (8/24), No. 2 Indiana (9/19), No. 17 Georgetown (9/29), No. 8 Creighton (10/7), and No. 22 Akron (10/28).
In 2022, the Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 12 in the Sept. 4 poll. Butler went 1-2-1 vs. ranked opponents: No. 14 Marshall W, 1-0, No. 15 Indiana L, 1-2, No. 19 Xavier T, 3-3, No. 17 Georgetown L, 1-2 (2OT).
at No. 24 Saint Louis
Palmer Ault’s goal was his first of the season and the 11th of his career.
Jan Quispel’s assist was his first in a Butler uniform.
Caleb Norris made his second appearance and first start in goal for the Bulldogs.
The Matchup
SERIES RECORD: SIUE leads, 5-1-2
LAST MEETING: Feb. 5, 2021 – Westfield, Ind. – SIUE 2, Butler 1 (2OT)
Butler’s only victory in the series (2-0) came in 2016 in Indianapolis.
Later in 2016, the sides met in round one of the NCAA Tournament and were level, 0-0, after regulation. With no score after two overtime periods, SIUE ultimately advanced on PKs, 5-4.
Scouting SIUE
Previous match: at Central Arkansas W, 2-1
In 2022, SIUE finished with a 5-9-2 overall record, going 2-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Cougars are now competing in the Ohio Valley Conference, as 2023 is the first year the conference is offering men’s soccer as a championship sport.
Individual Statistics
Offensive standouts for SIUE include:
#21 Ignacio Abeal Pou (1g, 1a)
#11 Stephan Moreira (1g)
#1 Sam Gomez (1-0) tended goal for the Cougars in their first contest. He allowed one goal and made four saves.
BUTLER WOMEN’S SOCCER
BUTLER WOMEN’S SOCCER HEADS TO WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Butler women’s soccer team remains on the road, heading to Western Michigan for match on Sunday. The Bulldogs (1-2) are coming off a 4-1 loss at No. 12 Notre Dame, while the Broncos most recently defeated Eastern Kentucky, 2-1.
Bulldog Bits
vs. Illinois State
Norah Jacomen’s goal was the third of her career, and all three have come in the past two matches.
Becky Dean’s assist was her first of the season and the fifth of her career.
As in the first two matches, Butler utilized two goalkeepers in the contest. Anna Pierce tended the net in the first half, while Emma Martin took over in the second half.
The Matchup
SERIES RECORD: Butler leads, 3-0-0
LAST MEETING: Butler won, 5-0, in Indianapolis, August 18, 2022
This is the first meeting between the programs in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Bulldogs won the 2021 contest, 5-0, and the 2002 contest, 1-0. Both were played in Indianapolis.
Scouting Western Michigan
Previous match: Western Michigan defeated Eastern Kentucky, 2-1, in Richmond, Kentucky.
The Broncos also have a 1-0 win over Northern Kentucky.
Individual Statistics
Offensive standouts for Western Michigan include:
#9 Jen Blitchok (2g)
#5 Drew Martin (1g)
#2 Emily Pagett (1a)
#21 Heidi Thomasma (1a)
#8 Abby Werthman (1a)
Lauren Boafo (2-0) played both games in goal for the Broncos. She has conceded one goal and made six saves, with one shutout.
IUPUI VOLLEYBALL
JAGUARS OPEN 2023 SEASON WITH VICTORY OVER EAGLES
PEORIA, Ill. – The IUPUI volleyball team opened the 2023 season with a win against Eastern Michigan to begin the CEFCU Invitational at Bradley, 3-2. The marks Andrew Kroger first win as IUPUI’s head coach.
I’m so proud of the fight and grit our team showed today,” said Kroger. “It wasn’t always pretty, but we competed hard on every point despite facing multiple match points against us. Several freshman played great in their collegiate debuts and our upperclassman brought composure and leadership that was crucial to our success.”
Eastern Michigan came out strong, winning the first two sets, taking a 2-0 lead. Attack errors proved costly in the first set with the Jags committing seven compared to EMU’s two.
After losing the first two sets, IUPUI fought back with 14 kills in the third set to take set three, 25-22. Freshman Grace Purichia closed out the third set with a kill to seal the third set victory.
The fourth set was nothing short of exciting with Eastern Michigan and IUPUI exchanging the leads several times. The Eagles had set and match point at 24-22 when EMU committed an attack error and Emily Alan recorded a kill to tie the set at 24-24. After the Jags took a 25-24 lead, Morgan Ostrowski closed out the fourth set with an ace.
After a thrilling fourth set to tie the match at two sets each, Eastern Michigan took an early 4-1 lead in the fifth set. The Jags quickly recovered going on a 6-0 run with kills from Maia Long, Alan and Purichia. Brooke Phillips added a service ace to give the Jags a 7-4 lead. IUPUI closed out the fifth set at 15-12 due to a couple attack errors by the Eagles.
Freshman Long led the Jaguar attack with 14 kills followed by Ostrowski with 12 and Ava Harris with 11. Purichia added a team-high 39 assists and 14 digs while Phillips recorded three service aces and 14 digs. Junior Addie Evans collected 12 digs.
IUPUI starts the season 1-0 with coach Kroger earning his first win with the Jags. IUPUI will now face SIUE and Bradley tomorrow at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM.
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
IRISH CRUISE PAST MIDSHIPMEN 42-3
The University of Notre Dame football team began the 2023 in style by defeating Navy 42-3 in the 2023 Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Irish ripped off 42 consecutive points in the game before Navy managed a single field goal with 3:33 left in the game.
Graduate student Sam Hartman made the most of his Notre Dame debut, completing 19 of 23 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. The four scoring tosses match Ron Powlus (1994) and Jack Coan (2021) for the most by an Irish quarterback in his first game with the team.
Two of Hartman’s scoring tosses were caught by freshman Jaden Greathouse, including a 35-yard strike on the rookie’s first career touch. Deion Colzie also nabbed his first career touchdown reception while Jayden Thomas was the recipient of a touchdown pass as well.
The Irish defense held Navy to just 169 total yards with only 43 of those coming through the air. Jack Kiser paced the defense with 8 total tackles, followed by Marist Liufau with seven.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish offense scored on its first drive bolstered by three key third down conversions. The drive was kickstarted by a 19-yard reception by Jayden Thomas. Navy recovered to force the Irish into a third-and-10 situation and the Irish turned to Audric Estimé who rumbled 11 yards for the first down.
The Midshipmen forced another third down attempt and threatened a blitz, but the Irish offense adjusted and Hartman tossed the ball out to Estimé out of the back field who scampered 22 yards for a first down. Estimé eventually capped off the drive with a seven-yard run to the goal line followed by a one-yard plunge.
The Navy offense had its first turn and drove to the Notre Dame 37 yard line. A key third down stop by Jack Kiser put the Naval Academy in a fourth and third situation. Navy threw long but the ball fell incomplete around the eight-yard line.
Estimé started off the next Irish drive with a 13-yard rush, then Hartman hit Tyree for nine yards. Gi’Bran Payne converted the third down on a short run for a new set of downs followed by a Chris Salerno catch for nine yards.
After Payne converted the first down on a short run, Jadarian Price entered the game for the first time and on his first touch, rambled through the middle of the defense for a 19-yard touchdown run.
The Irish defense made another stop to force a Navy punt. Marist Liufau keyed this defensive stand, making a leaping tackle to force a fumble that ended up out of bounds then posting a key stop to force third down.
It only took four plays for the Irish to drive the length of the field after receiving the punt at the 22-yard line. Thomas grabbed a middle screen and ran through the Navy defense for 19 yards. Freshman Jeremiah Love then logged his first career touch with a seven-yard run.
Hartman stood in the pocket, took a hit and connected with Deion Colzie – who made a nice leaping catch – for 17 yards. With Navy on its heels, Hartman stepped back on a play action fake and connected with freshman Jaden Greathouse for a 35-yard touchdown toss.
The Navy offense started to find its way late in the second quarter and drove into Notre Dame territory with a series of short runs. Javontae Jean-Baptiste then decided that Navy had driven far enough. He made two back-to-back plays at the defensive line to force a third and long.
Navy attempted to pick up the first down with a quarterback run. Jordan Botelho was ready, made the stop and forced a field goal attempt which ended up wide right.
With 1:55 on the clock the Irish offense took over at their own 20-yard line focused on getting another touchdown before halftime. Hartman opened the drive with a 20-yard toss to Chris Tyree. Devyn Ford then posted his first two touches in a Notre Dame uniform, a two-yard rush then a nine-yard catch for a first down.
Hartman returned to Tyree for seven yards. On the next play, Payne stepped out of the backfield but fell on a tough catch for no gain. Greathouse returned to the fold for a third-down conversion covering 13 yards. On the next snap, Hartman looked to Tyree in the end zone but he was interfered with to give the Irish the ball at the Navy 14-yard line after the penalty.
After a short incompletion, Hartman threw a rope to Thomas for a 14-yard scoring strike and the fourth touchdown of the first half for the Irish.
Both teams then traded two non-scoring drives back and forth. Once the Irish got the ball back, they turned to their young running backs Price and Love. The duo combined for 37 rushing yards to set up a Hartman-to-Colzie 25-yard scoring strike. Colzie took a short pass, made a defender miss and cruised into the endzone.
Navy’s scoring drive saw the Midshipmen put together 15 plays and eventually drive all the way down to the four-yard line. Navy then tried a trick play throw back to the quarterback, but Rylie Mills sniffed it out and sacked the passer for a 10-yard loss.
The Midshipmen would end up settling for a field goal to spoil the defensive shutout.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S SOCCER
GAME 4: #10 ARKANSAS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 12 ranked Notre Dame women’s soccer squad (2-0-1) will get an early test when No. 10 Arkansas (2-0-0) rolls into town for a battle between two top-12 ranked and unbeaten teams. First touch is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 27, at 2 p.m. ET and it’ll air live on the ACC Network.
Sunday will also be Pups at the Pitch Day, with free admission for both you and your dogs!
REVENGE GAME IN MIND
It was an extremely physical battle that wasn’t forgotten. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament Third Round, the No. 3 seeded Irish traveled to Fayetteville to challenge No. 2 seeded Arkansas. Notre Dame rallied twice with equalizers to make it 2-2 with goals from Korbin Albert and Olivia Wingate; however, the Razorbacks found a game-winner in the 78th minute. That matchup was the first between the two programs as Sunday will mark Arkansas’ first visit to South Bend.
GAETINO ALREADY MAKING AN IMPACT
In the five halves that Gaetino has played, she and the rest of the Irish defense have only allowed six total shots on goal with two goals allowed (Unfortunately one of those was the Milwaukee one that went in with 30 seconds left from midfield).
Not only is she locking it down in the backfield, but she’s also making herself an offensive threat in the opponent’s box on set pieces. In fact, she has two goals already three games in – both off set pieces. She first scored off a corner kick against Ball State on Aug. 20, then got her second against Butler on Aug. 24 off a free kick from Mercado outside the box. Lastly, the two goals are a career best for Gaetino and they were both game-winners to boot. For her two game-winners rank 1st in the country.
MULTIPLE FRESHMEN STEPPING UP
In game one it was 5-8 center midfielder Morgan Roy. The Michigan native started in the season opener and finished off a beautiful goal in the 2nd half. Roy has started all 3 games thus far.
In game two vs Ball State it was Meg Mrowicki, who was subbed in late in the first half and made her presence known, finishing off a great low cross from Audrey Weiss.
In game three vs Butler, it was a freshman-to-freshman connection, as Chayse Ying registered her first career assist finding Mrowicki, as the latter continues to be a force coming off the bench. Thus, a freshman has scored in all three games this season.
Not to mention, freshman Charlie Codd has been dynamic coming off the bench and playing on the left side. She’s clocked 118 minutes on the pitch through three games.
GETTING THE SHOTS
In a similar storyline to last season, the Irish are getting plenty of shot opportunities, they just want their conversion rate in finding the back of the net to be a little bit better. Heading into game four, Notre Dame ranks 9th in the country in shots per game with 23.3. Now, they also rank 28th in shots on goal per game with 9.7.
In the game against Butler on Aug. 24, they were efficient, netting four goals on eight shots on goal. As a result, their scoring offense of 3.0 now ranks 32nd in the country. ND has posted a .414 SOG pct and is averaging a goal every 3.2 SOG. Mercado is leading the charge with 4.3 shots per game, which ranks 27th nationally, 3rd in the ACC.
HANDLING THE ADVERSITY
When the ending to game one was a surprise result and one that caught ND off guard, both Coach Norman and captain Eva Gaetino spoke to the team about handling adversity and raising the standard moving forward. The Irish answered the call with a dominant 3-0 win over Ball State. Then in game three vs Butler, the Bulldogs caught the Irish in a counter-attack and stole a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute. The response was swift – a goal less than 30 seconds later – three goals in the next 6.5 minutes – and a 4-1 victory over Butler.
STANDOUTS FROM BALL STATE
Junior Sophia Fisher received high praise from Coach Norman following the 3-0 win over Ball State on Aug. 20. Fisher earned her first career start and then played all 90 minutes at defensive mid, winning ball after ball. Fisher even tallied her first goal of the season in the 84th minute, putting away a rebound off a corner kick.
Also shout out midfielder Erin Hohnstein. The graduate came off the bench and posted her first multi-assist game of her career with two.
IRISH LYNCH-PIN
Irish fans will have to wait no more to see their hometown girl on the pitch this season. Florida State transfer, national champion, and Granger, Indiana, native, Kristina Lynch has started all 3 games thus far at ring-wing midfield. Lynch missed all of last season rehabbing an ankle injury sustained in the preseason.
At FSU, she was a two-time NCAA champion (2018 & 2021). She played in 77 games as a Seminole, including 51 starts. She scored a total of 12 goals, with three assists, good for 27 points.
Against Butler on Aug. 24, Lynch netted her first goal in an Irish uniform.
NEXT WOMAN UP
Four starting Irish turned pro after the conclusion of last season, including generational talent Korbin Albert.
Albert signed a three-year deal with Paris Saint Germain (PSG), turning pro after her sophomore season. A Mac Hermann Trophy finalist and First Team All-American, Albert led the Irish in scoring with 16 goals – tops for any midfielder in the country.
The Irish also lost All-American Olivia Wingate, who was drafted by the North Carolina Courage. Wingate poured in the second most goals with 14. Right-wing midfielder Bri Martinez was signed by the Orlando Pride and goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood was picked up by the Chicago Red Stars
SCORERS FROM ALL OVER
And with that last note, it’s a perfect segue into this fact – the Irish have tallied 9 goals on the year and it’s come from 7 different players: Gaetino (2), Mrowicki (2), Mercado, Van Zanten, Fisher, Roy and Lynch.
HOME AT ALUMNI
Alumni Stadium is becoming one of the most difficult venues for opposing programs to earn a result in. Since its creation in 2009, Notre Dame has gone 121-29-9. Over the last two seasons (plus this season) – an impressive 23-3-4 record inside Alumni. Last four-plus seasons – 34-6-5.
MAKING HER RETURN
Sophomore midfielder Laney Matriano is returning from a summer injury and got on the field for the first time against Butler on Aug. 24 in limited minutes. Matriano was 1-of-2 ND freshman last year who had a starting role for a majority of the games (started in 19 of 22 games played) – starting in center mid. Matriano scored her first collegiate goal in the NCAA Tournament, in the 2nd Round win over Santa Clara.
NOTRE DAME MEN’S SOCCER
MATCH 2 PREVIEW: IUPUI
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After an opening night 1-1 draw against No. 2 Indiana, the Irish remain at Alumni Stadium to welcome IUPUI for a Sunday showdown at 7 p.m. ET. The match will air on ACCNX.
THE IUPUI SERIES
• Notre Dame and IUPUI will face each other on Thursday evening for the sixth time in series history.
• The Irish are unbeaten against the Jaguars over the previous five outings, posting a record of 4-0-1.
• Notre Dame is a perfect 3-0-0 when facing IUPUI in South Bend.
• The Irish have outscored the Jaguars by a margin of 11-1 over the five meetings
• The most recent matchup came in South Bend during the 2001 season with the Irish winning by a score of 4-0.
LAST TIME OUT
• Notre Dame opened the season with one of the toughest opponents on its schedule in No. 2 Indiana and battled the Hoosiers to a 1-1 standstill at Alumni Stadium on Thursday evening.
• Paddy Burns scored the opener for the Irish in the 25th minute after finishing the 2022 campaign with a career-high five goals.
• KK Baffour picked up the assist, as he provided the service into the box for Burns’ header in the first half off a free kick.
• Despite being outshot for the match, Notre Dame came closest to scoring the winner in the second half with a number of near misses.
• In goal Bryan Dowd made four saves on the evening.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Fifteen returning Irish players registered at least one point in their Notre Dame career, as the team returns 79 points from last year.
• Eleven players scored a goal during the 2022 campaign, with seven scoring multiple goals.
• Senior Daniel Russo is the top returning goal scorer on the 2023 squad after firing in six goals during his junior campaign.
2023 CAPTAINS
• Paddy Burns and Ethan O’Brien will serve as the captains for this year’s Fighting Irish team.
• Burns is a senior defender from Northern Ireland and was selected to the 2023 ACC Preseason Watch List.
• Burns scored five goals last season as a left back and has nine goals and six assists in his Notre Dame career.
• After missing the entire 2022 season to an injury, O’Brien returns to the Irish midfield this fall.
• O’Brien had a breakout 2021 season with two goals and five assists, playing an integral role in the team’s College Cup run.
EXPERIENCE IN GOAL
• Bryan Dowd is back for his senior season after being the team’s primary goalie for each of the last two seasons.
• The shot stopper has 42 career starts while appearing in 43 matches over his previous three seasons in South Bend.
• Dowd has amassed 104 career saves.
FRESH FACES
• The Irish welcome seven freshman to the 2023 squad, totaling a 34-man roster.
• The seven freshman are Nico Bartlett (M), Jack Flanagan (F), Lukas Kamrath (D), Sean McDowd (D), Jack Ross (D), Nolan Spicer (M), Nate Zimmermann (F).
• Also joining the team is midfielder Wyatt Lewis, who was a practice player last season before making the 2023 team.
BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL TOPS PURDUE FORT WAYNE TO CLOSE OPENING WEEKEND
MUNCIE, Ind. – – In another dominating performance, the Ball State women’s volleyball team closed opening weekend with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-21) sweep of in-state rival Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday night in Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (2-1) rebounded from a morning loss to Oklahoma by controlling play from start to finish against the Mastodons (0-3). Junior setter Megan Wielonski led the way, running the offense at a .372 (44-9-94) clip, handing out 39 assists and guiding Ball State to its 20th match hitting at-or-above .300 in her collegiate career.
Wielonski and fifth-year middle Marie Plitt, who finished the nightcap with a match-high 10 kills, were named to the Ball State Invitational All-Tournament Team for their performance over the team’s three matches.
“After our match versus Oklahoma this afternoon, we had to reset and take this as a new opportunity, which I knew we were capable of doing,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “We’re still trying to figure out a lot of things as a team, with different people in different spots. I thought they responded well and that’s the whole point of these non-conference matches, to get a little better and experiment with some things so you are ready to go come conference play.”
Plitt was nearly unstoppable in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne, connecting at a .750 (10-1-12) clip, while also serving up an ace, adding two digs and recording a block assist.
Three other Cardinals chipped in nine kills, including redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy, sophomore opposite Madison Buckley and senior middle Lauren Gilliland. Kennedy’s nine kills were a career high, and she also hit .467 (9-2-15) in the win. Buckley connected for a .500 (9-1-16) rate of success, while Gilliland hit .350 (9-2-20).
In addition to her 39 assists, Wielonski added nine digs, two block assists and two more service aces. One of the nation’s top servers over the past two season, she served up six total aces in the tournament to raise her career total to 110.
In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates led all players with 16 digs, while junior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet registered nine to go along with a pair of service aces.
To open the day, the Cardinals capitalized on some strong serving from Wielonski to win the first set versus the Sooners (3-0). Unfortunately, Oklahoma would rally to take the next three sets and claim the tournament title.
With Ball State trailing 15-13 in the first frame, Wielonski went back to the line and served up 11 straight Cardinals points to give the hosts set point at 24-15. The rally included her fourth ace of the young season. After Oklahoma answered with the next three points, Buckley capped the frame with one of her eight kills on the afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Oklahoma’s Alexis Shelton would heat up from there, scoring 22 of her match-high 26 kills over the final three sets to help lead the Sooners to the win.
“We ran into a hot player this afternoon in Alexis Shelton,” Phillips said. “Shelton had 26 kills and we tired a variety of different blocking schemes and defenses to slow her down. She was unbelievable today and I felt like that really took the wind out of our sails, even offensively. We battled hard and were right with them late in set two, having an opportunity to go up two sets. It’s a good lesson for us to learn that you need to capitalize when you have those opportunities against great teams.”
Wielonski would lead all players with 24 service attempts in the match, while dishing out 31 assists and securing 11 digs for the 39th double-double of her collegiate career. She also scored six kills and hit .667 (6-0-9), while leading the Ball State offense to a .200 (44-17-135) rate of success.
Senior outside Cait Snyder led the Cardinals with 10 kills, while Plitt logged 10. The match also saw Kennedy score four kills and freshman outside Kendall Barnes collect two kills in their collegiate debuts.
In the backcourt, Seimet collected a career-high 11 digs, while Gates added 10. Seimet was also a perfect 20-for-20 in serve receive.
Meanwhile at the net, Gilliland tied for match-high honors with six total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs. The effort helped the Cardinals tally a season-high 10.0 total blocks for the match.
The Ball State women’s volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it opens play in the three-day Bluejay Invitational with a 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT showdown versus host Creighton.
INDIANA STATE VOLLEYBALL
SYCAMORES DOWN HORNETS FOR FIRST WIN OF SEASON
CINCINNATI – Karinna Gall led a balanced Indiana State attack with 18 kills and 15 digs Saturday afternoon, as the Sycamores defeated Alabama State in four sets (25-19, 20-25,25-13,25-19) inside Fifth Third Arena.
Kaitlyn Hamilton tallied 15 kills while nearly hitting .500 for the Blue and White, while Mallory Keller added 12 kills for the Sycamores, who hit .328 as a team. Hannah Baudin had 15 assists, while Macy Lengacher registered 16 digs.
Indiana State jumped out to a quick start, as the Trees hit .481 in the opening set. Gall and Keller had the hot hands early with two kills apiece in the opening stages, as the Trees led 7-4 in the early going. A six-point Sycamore run with Gall on serve pushed Indiana State’s lead to 18-10, with Gall adding a pair of aces during the run. Late kills by Hamilton and Keller helped the Trees take the first set 25-19.
The Sycamores continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal, as Gall, Baudin and Storm Suhre notched kills early on in the second set. Hamilton and Keller added kills midway through, along with a block assist by Suhre and Hamilton, as the Trees took a 15-13 lead. A kill by Hamilton made it 19-15 Indiana State, but Alabama State took 10 of the last 11 points to take the second set 25-20.
Indiana State quickly rebounded in the third, as four quick kills by Gall put the Trees ahead 7-2. Ella Scott added three kills in a four-point swing to make it 10-4, and the Sycamores kept things rolling from there. Emma Kaelin served up a ppair of aces, while Gall and Hamilton added on kills to make it a 20-9 Indiana State advantage. A tip-drill kill by Gall gave the Trees a 25-13 third-set win and put the Sycamores on the brink of their first victory.
Similar to the third set, the Sycamores got off to a roaring start by taking the first six points, which included a pair of service aces by Baudin. Alabama State made a charge of their own and tied things up midway through, but a kill by Keller started a five-point Sycamore run and the Trees never looked back. A service ace by Lengacher put the Trees up 22-15, and Scott closed out the Sycamores’ first win of the season with back-to-back kills.
Inside the Numbers
Kaitlyn Hamilton led the Sycamores with a .481 hitting percentage on 27 attempts, finishing with 15 kills compared to just two errors.
Karinna Gall and Kaitlyn Hamilton became the first Sycamore duo with 15 or more kills in a match since Hamilton and Mallory Keller accomplished the feat against Campbell on Sept. 9, 2022.
Hannah Baudin and Emma Kaelin both had three aces in the match, giving the Trees multiple players with three or more aces for the first time since Nov. 20, 2021.
Indiana State finished the match with 12 service aces, with four different Sycamores recording multiple aces.
The Sycamores finished the match with a .328 hitting percentage, recording 59 kills compared to just 16 errors.
News and Notes
Indiana State’s .328 hitting percentage for the match was the Sycamores’ best in a match under head coach Ashlee Pritchard.
Indiana State’s 12 service aces were the most under head coach Ashlee Pritchard and just the second time in the last two seasons the Trees recorded double-digit aces.
Indiana State took just two matches to win its first match of the 2023 season. Last season, it took until the third weekend before Indiana State won its first match.
The Sycamores went 1-1 against the two 2022 postseason teams they played this weekend.
Up Next
Indiana State closes its opening weekend of play Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Cincinnati.
INDIANA STATE WOMEN’S SOCCER
SYCAMORES OPEN THREE-MATCH ROAD TRIP SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT EASTERN ILLINOIS
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returns to the road this weekend as the Sycamores begin a three-game road trip starting on Sunday afternoon at Eastern Illinois University. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Panthers is set for 2 p.m. ET at Lakeside Soccer Field.
Sunday’s matchup will be carried live on ESPN+, while live stats will be provided via the link on the soccer schedule on GoSycamores.com.
The Sycamores enter Sunday’s match sitting with an 0-0-3 record in 2023 following Thursday night’s 1-1 draw against Marshall. ISU battled both the visiting Thundering Herd and the elements in the Sycamores’ home opener as start time was pushed back several times due to high field temperatures hovering in the triple digits.
The teams battled it out in the early going with ISU controlling the action early. Ella Gorrie had the Sycamores’ first chance on goal with a shot from 18 yards out early, but her attempt scooted wide to keep the contest scoreless.
ISU continued to press the attack with both Alexa Mackey and Mackenzie Kent controlling the midfield before the Sycamores finally struck in the 39th minute. Chloe Tesny connected on ISU’s first goal of the 2023 season after taking the feed from Carlie Jensen near the top of the box to give the Sycamores the 1-0 lead.
Marshall evened the match in the second half with a goal in the 55th minute in the eventual tie.
The draw marked the first time in program history that Indiana State has recorded a tie in each of the first three games. ISU opened the year with back-to-back 0-0 scores at both Louisville and Miami University.
The Sycamores defense has been huge over the opening three matches as ISU set a new mark for fewest goals allowed at just one over the 270 minutes. The previous mark was allowing just two scores through the first three matches of the 2017 season.
Tesny was the first Sycamore to find the back of the net in 2023, but Indiana State has featured a balanced offensive attack to date through the season. Kent leads ISU with three shots on the season, while Tesny, Anna Chor, and Gorrie have all posted two attempts this year.
Alexander has been one of the premier goalkeepers in the NCAA this season sitting in the top 40 in the nation in save percentage 0.944 and second in goalie minutes played (270:00). She’s tied for first in the NCAA in overall shutouts with two while leading the MVC in total saves with 17 on the season.
Eastern Illinois enters the weekend with a 1-2 mark overall on the season following this past Thursday’s 3-0 loss at Northern Illinois. The Panthers fell in their lone contest against an MVC opponent dropping a 2-1 decision at Valparaiso in the season opener. EIU recorded their lone win last Sunday in their home opener against Illinois Springfield with a 3-1 result.
Abby Reinl leads EIU’s offense with two of the Panthers’ four goals on the season. Katiebeth May and Alex Tetteh have also found the back of the net on the year with May’s win the game-winner against UIS.
Ashlyn Hoover is one of three EIU keepers to see time in the net this season lining up a team-high 123 minutes in goal. Ella Kratochvil and Lexi Prusow have also earned time between the pipes this year.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE VOLLEYBALL
GONZAGA TAKES NON-LEAGUE MATCH FROM ‘DONS
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne women’s volleyball team dropped its second match of the Ball State Invitational on Saturday (Aug. 26), falling to Gonzaga 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 28-26).
Gonzaga jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the first set after a 10-1 run. The ‘Dons responded with a pair of blocks from Ashby Willis, Panna Ratkai, Kennedy McCants and Iris Riegel, but the Zags returned the favor immediately after. LonDynn Betts had eight of her team-high 15 digs in the opening frame, helping hold the Bulldogs to .132 hitting.
Set two saw the Mastodons lead late with an 18-17 advantage. This came after a 4-0 run with two kills from Willis. Gonzaga had a late push with a 6-1 stretch to go up 23-19. The ‘Dons responded with three points in a row, two of which came on blocks from Jena Medearis, but the Zags took two of the last three. Medearis was an efficient 4-0-4 and had the two blocks in set two. Becky Barrett had seven of her 10 digs as well.
The third set was when the Mastodons were playing their best offensive volleyball of the morning. They hit .314 as a team. Despite a 9-2 Gonzaga run midway through the set, the ‘Dons made a comeback late in the set to push it to overtime. Savanna Rogers had an ace to bring it to a 23-all tie. Willis had a kill to stave off one of Gonzaga’s set points, but the Zags got two in a row to win the match.
Medearis finished with seven kills on nine attempts (.667). Ratkai led the team with 11 kills, while Willis was right behind with 10. Taya Haffner had 30 assists.
Gonzaga had three Bulldogs with double-digit kills.
EVANSVILLE VOLLEYBALL
CARDONA’S CAREER MATCH HELPS UE DEFEAT CMU
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Junior Giulia Cardona recorded a career-high 28 kills on Saturday to lead the University of Evansville volleyball team to a come-from-behind victory over Central Michigan in five sets inside Houck Field House.
Cardona’s unbelievable effort saw her hit .311 while adding 10 digs, six service aces and two block assists. Melanie Feliciano picked up 12 kills, eight digs and two blocks while Madisyn Steele tallied eight kills and a team-high six total blocks. Freshman Luana Gazda Kuhn completed the victory with seven kills and nine digs. Defensively, Ainoah Cruz had a match-high 15 digs. Pacing the Chippewas was Devon Bright, who had 14 kills and seven digs.
Game 1 – UE 25, CMU 17
It was Central Michigan taking the early 3-1 lead before Evansville took control. An 8-1 rally saw the Purple Aces take a 9-4 edge. Luana Gazda Kuhn registered two kills to put UE in control. The Chippewas battled back with four in a row to cut their deficit to 9-8 with the Aces quickly countering. Maddie Hawkins registered an ace with Madisyn Steele notching a kill to push the lead back to five points at 14-9.
Already up 19-14, Kora Ruff followed with an ace to give her team a 6-point advantage. Two more Steele kills and an ace by Giulia Cardona solidified a 25-17 win to give the Aces the early 1-0 match advantage.
Game 2 – CMU 26, UE 24
Another early start by the Chippewas gave them a 3-0 edge and their solid play continued with the lead going to seven points at 12-5. Evansville slowly chipped away at the deficit with Cardona picking up a pair of kills to chop the lead to four points (14-10).
After CMU countered to establish an 18-12 advantage, the Aces had an answer of their own. Utilizing a 7-1 stretch, UE stormed back to tie the game at 19-19. The defense for Evansville forced four Central Michigan errors while Melanie Feliciano added a kill and ace. Cardona added another kill that gave Evansville a 22-21 lead. The squads battled to a 24-24 tie and CMU was able to post the final two points to knot the match at 1-1.
Game 3 – CMU 25, UE 20
For the third game in a row, Central Michigan had the upper hand at the start. A pair of kills by Claire Ammeraal saw the Chippewas open a 7-3 edge. After Evansville got within three at 13-10, CMU responded with four in a row to take their largest lead of the frame. Despite cutting the deficit to three in the final moments, the Chippewas fended off the challenge, taking a 25-20 win to win their second set of the afternoon.
Game 4 – UE 26, CMU 24
Looking to finish the match, the Chippewas took the early 6-3 lead. Ainoah Cruz picked up an ace with UE tying things up at 7-7 and a Cardona kill put UE in front, 10-9. Tied up at 11-11, CMU posted three in a row before Evansville did the same, resulting in a 14-14 deadlock.
Over the ensuing stretch, Central Michigan continued to fend off the challenges and take multiple leads. A solo block put CMU up 22-20 and they would later have match point, up 24-23. Down to their final point, the Aces staged a clutch rally. A kill from Cardona and another ace by Cruz resulted in a 26-24 UE win to force a fifth set.
Game 5 – UE 15, CMU 12
Central Michigan started on a 3-1 stretch, but it was Cardona continuing her career day with two kills and two more aces to put UE on top – 5-4. After CMU rallied to tie the score at 8-8, Evansville put forth its most important stretch of the day. Two kills apiece from Feliciano and Cardona comprised a 4-0 rally. From there, UE held strong, taking a 15-12 decision to clinch the match.
Next up for the Aces is a home match against USI on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.
EVANSVILLE WOMEN’S SOCCER
WOMEN’S SOCCER HOSTS UNDEFEATED INDIANA SUNDAY AT 7 PM
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The home season will kick off in big fashion on Sunday night for the University of Evansville women’s soccer team, as the Purple Aces will host undefeated Big Ten member Indiana University at Arad McCutchan Stadium. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.
Sunday’s match will feature various storylines. Spearheaded by redshirt freshman forward Paige Radel, Sunday’s match will be dubbed “Kicking For A Cause,” as the UE squad is partnering with the non-profit group Samaritan’s Feet to try and raise funds to purchase shoes for local area students. As part of Sunday’s initiative, fans will have the ability to donate $25 to help supply a local student with a pair of socks and shoes (donations can also be made on-line at https://samaritansfeet.org/paigeradel). The UE players will be wearing “Kicking For A Cause” shirts during warmups to help spread awareness for the cause, as Radel has a goal to raise $25,000 over the course of the 2023-24 school year to try and help supply 1,000 pairs of shoes for students in the Evansville area.
On the field, Evansville and Indiana will meet in a battle of unbeaten teams which have taken two different paths to remain unbeaten. Evansville will enter Sunday night’s match at 0-0-2 on the year, after posting back-to-back scoreless draws at Mercer and Southeast Missouri State to open the season. It is the first time since 2001 in which UE has opened the year with consecutive shutouts.
Indiana, meanwhile, is 2-0-1 so far in 2023, with victories over Illinois State (3-1) and Morehead State (3-0) and a tie against Virginia Tech (0-0). The Hoosiers have scored six goals from five different players, with graduate student Paige Webber leading the way with two goals and an assist.
Sunday’s match will also feature a distinct Evansville flavor, as it will feature five players from the city. Evansville’s roster features four local players, with Evansville Memorial grads Ella Hamner and Ryleigh Anslinger teaming with former Evansville North standout Kaylee Woosley and Reitz High School star Taylor Johnson. IU’s roster also features former Evansville Memorial standout Kennedy Neighbors. Hamner and Neighbors helped Evansville Memorial to a Class 2A state title last year as co-Evansville Courier & Press Metro Player of the Year honorees.
Anslinger also played high school soccer alongside Hamner and Neighbors at Memorial, and actually began her collegiate career at IU before transferring to UE. She has been slowed this season while recovering from an injury suffered in a summer league match and has not yet appeared this year for UE.
Sunday’s match will mark the first time these two sides have met since August 19, 2011, when UE and IU battled to a 2-2 draw in Bloomington. Overall, Indiana leads the all-time series 5-1-1, but holds just a 2-1 advantage in matches played in Evansville, with two of the three matches being decided by a single goal.
Sunday’s match can be seen live on ESPN+.
SOUTHERN INDIANA VOLLEYBALL
EAGLES OVERWHELMED BY HIGH-POWERED HOOSIERS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-2) had a tough outing against power-five school, Indiana University, at Wilkinson Hall on Saturday morning as the Screaming Eagles were defeated, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-18). USI completed the Indiana Invitational with a 1-2 record, earning a 3-0 sweep in their first win of the season.
Big runs from the Hoosiers cost USI the opening frame, 25-16. The Eagles scored their first points off big kills from senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). With IU up 6-5, the Hoosiers tallied eight of the next 10 points to extend their lead to 13-7. Despite responding with a pair of points, USI watched IU score five straight points to go down by 10 points. Junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) stopped the run with a kill that rolled into a 6-2 surge for the Eagles after a few offensive miscues by the Hoosiers. Even after a last-second effort, USI could not overcome the large deficit. IU’s offense started off hot, earning 13 kills with only five errors In comparison to USI’s nine kills and eight errors.
An early deficit lifted the Hoosiers over the Eagles in a 25-14 second game. IU started off the frame with a 4-0 stint off three kills before adding another 4-0 surge to make it a 10-3 game. After an attacking error and an Anderson kill, the Eagles cut the margin to five until a short burst from IU extended the lead back to 16-6. Trailing 20-9, USI found a rhythm and scored three straight off a pair of kills from Weber. However, the Hoosiers capitalized on the early advantage and scored five of the last seven points to take a 2-0 match lead. USI struggled to get their offense working, throwing down a match-low eight kills with seven errors.
A powerful offensive attack from IU left USI in the dust, handing the Eagles a 25-18 third-set loss. The Hoosiers went up 7-0 to begin the frame with five points coming from kills. The Eagles bounced back and scored four straight thanks to a trio of kills and an ace. Despite the strong effort, IU punched back with an 8-2 sequence that made it 15-6. With the help of some offensive mistakes from the Hoosiers and a kill from sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois), the Eagles were within 16-10. USI stayed close after an ace from sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) and a kill from junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana), but it was not enough to stop IU from closing out the match. USI had their best offensive set after posting 10 kills, however, the Hoosiers responded with a better offensive approach, nabbing 17 kills with just three errors and a 0.452 hitting percentage.
Leah Anderson produced a team-leading 14 kills while junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) led the charge with 20 assists. In the first three games, Leah Anderson has tallied 10 or more kills while Sobieralski has totaled 20 or more assists in the same number of matches. Weber led the squad with nine digs and one ace while Bednar and Downing each had a pair of blocks.
As a team, the Eagles had 27 kills, 27 assists, and 42 digs with two blocks and two aces. The Hoosiers finished the match with 44 kills, 42 assists, and 46 digs with 11 blocks and two aces.
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles head back to Evansville, Indiana to match up with cross-town rival, the University of Evansville, on Tuesday Night at Meeks Family Fieldhouse. USI and UE faced in the regular season for the first time last season where the Purple Aces got the upper hand over the Eagles, 3-0.
SOUTHERN INDIANA WOMEN’S SOCCER
USI SET FOR HOME MATCH AGAINST PURDUE FORT WAYNE ON SUNDAY
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer returns home Sunday at 2 p.m. against Purdue Fort Wayne University. The home match is the back half of a USI soccer doubleheader at Strassweg Field.
Southern Indiana (0-2-1) is coming off a 2-1 road loss at Wright State University on Thursday evening. After a goal by Wright State in the 19th minute and one in the 54th minute, USI built momentum and provided some pushback at the Raiders. Down 2-0, USI scored in the 58th minute on the first career goal for freshman forward Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California). The Screaming Eagles had a few more chances late but could not find another breakthrough.
In the match at Wright State, USI had eight total shots on target. As a team, USI tallied its highest shot total of the season so far with 11 attempts. The Screaming Eagles outshot the Raiders 8-6 in the second half. Freshman midfielder Greta Ohlwein (Chicago, Illinois) joined Torres in leading USI with two shots on goal each.
On Thursday, junior midfielder Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) tallied another shot on goal for the Screaming Eagles. Duggan has five shots on goal in five of the last six matches she has played in dating back to last season. She has placed over 55 percent of her shot attempts on target during that stretch. What is interesting about the trend for Duggan is that she finished last season as a defensive outside back and moved into a holding midfield position this season, showcasing her versatility.
USI leads the all-time series 2-1-0 against the Mastodons. Last season, USI and PFW met for the first time since the 2000 season, as the Mastodons protected its home field in a 1-0 victory. The two schools previously met as Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents in 1999 and 2000. USI won both of those matchups, outscoring the Mastodons 14-0.
Purdue Fort Wayne, out of the Horizon League, is 1-2-0 this season. The Mastodons are coming off a 2-1 defeat against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. All three goals in the match were scored within the first 15 minutes of the contest. Senior forward Rylee Vruggink recorded the goal for Purdue Fort Wayne, her first of the season. Vruggink leads PFW with three assists in 2023 and is tied for a team-best five points with graduate forward Morgan Reitano. Reitano leads the Mastodons with a pair of goals.
Sunday’s match can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage links are on the USI Women’s Soccer schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
VALPO VOLLEYBALL
VALPO VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS ULM TO CLOSE OPENING WEEKEND
The Valpo volleyball team ended the EIU Volleyball Invitational in Charleston, Ill. on a high note Saturday afternoon, sweeping ULM (25-21, 25-19, 25-13) for its second victory of the weekend. Fifth-year Miranda Strongman (Wolverine Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central [LIU]) tied Valpo’s single-match record for service aces in the 25-point era with five and did so in awesome fashion, closing the match with five aces on her final six serves.
How It Happened
The first set was the tightest of the day, featuring 13 tie scores and five lead changes. Neither side led by more than two points until, trailing 16-15, the Beacons put together a 5-1 spurt — featuring kills from four different players — to go ahead 20-17.
ULM came back with consecutive points to close to within one, but Valpo responded with another 4-1 spurt — including a service ace by freshman Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) and a kill from freshman Kennedy Arp (Byron Center, Mich./South Christian) — to earn set point at 24-20. On their second chance, the Beacons closed the frame thanks to a kill by fifth-year Bella Ravotto (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian).
The story of the second set was the Valpo attack, as the Beacons hit a sizzling .483 for the frame with 16 kills and just two attack errors on 29 swings.
Despite the Valpo proficiency on the attack and the fact the Beacons led from the start, ULM stayed within striking distance until late, as the Warhawks were still within two at 20-18. Valpo closed the set on a 5-1 run, however, including kills on each of its final two points by sophomore Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Valpo took the lead for good early in set three, as Hickey posted two more kills around a service ace to make it 7-4 Beacons. Valpo led by as many as seven points passing the mid-point of the set.
The Beacon advantage was five at 18-13 when they regained the serve on an ULM service error. That sent Strongman back to the service line, where she served out the match in style. The first point came on a kill from sophomore Maddie Moan (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock [Milwaukee]), followed by consecutive aces by Strongman. An attack error by the Warhawks made it 22-13, and Strongman took care of the rest herself with three more aces in a row to finish up the sweep.
Inside the Match
There were numerous strong performances up and down the roster on Saturday, but Strongman’s late rush of service aces jumps off the page. The five aces match the most by a Valpo player in the 25-point era in any length match and are tied for fifth-most in a three-set match in any era at Valpo.
Again, it took Strongman a span of just six serves to dish up those five service aces.
The last Valpo player to rack up five aces in a single set was Ariel Cudney on Nov. 19, 2010 versus Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament. Similar to Strongman, Cudney’s five aces came as she served 11 straight points to end a set, but even Cudney needed 10 serves to rack up her five aces.
Strongman surpassed her previous career best of three aces with her quintet of aces Saturday.
Head coach Carin Avery utilized her depth throughout Saturday’s win, rotating players in and out of the lineup and playing some players in different roles. In all, 15 players saw action in the victory, 11 of those appearing in multiple sets.
Making her first start at outside hitter in college, Hickey looked right at home on the attack, racking up nine kills to tie for match-high honors while hitting at a .412 clip. The sophomore, who did shed the libero jersey for a set at outside hitter last season in the NIVC at Ohio, picked up nine digs defensively as well.
Hickey playing up front opened the door for junior Abby Boyle (Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) to make her first collegiate start at libero and she took advantage, easily leading all players with 17 digs to smash her previous career best of 10.
One day after making her collegiate debut, Arp started in the middle for Valpo and was stellar, matching Hickey with nine kills on just 12 swings to hit .750. She picked up a pair of blocks as well.
Making her Valpo debut, Moan needed just seven swings to rack up five kills as she hit .714. Redshirt sophomore Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) also notched five kills on .385 hitting, while Strongman hit .444 with four kills and five digs to go with her five aces.
Redshirt sophomore Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) handed out a match-high 18 assists and posted a .500 setting percentage, while senior Victoria Bulmahn (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) dished out 13 assists.
As a team, Valpo hit .344 for the match, the team’s best hitting percentage since hitting .356 on Sept. 9, 2022 against Morgan State.
The Beacons committed just eight attack errors in the victory, their lowest number of attack errors since committing just eight miscues in a sweep of DePaul on Aug. 31, 2018.
Next Up
Valpo (2-1) steps away from tournament action briefly for a midweek match at Illinois on Tuesday evening. First serve is slated for 6 p.m., and the match can be seen live on BTN+.
VALPO FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TO KICK OFF SEASON UNDER THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Valparaiso (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
at RV/RV/#23 Youngstown State (0-0, 0-0 MVFC)
Game #1 Thursday, Aug. 31, 6:30 p.m. CT
Stambaugh Stadium (21,630) – Youngstown, Ohio
This Week in Valpo Football: The 2023 Valparaiso University football season will kick off under the lights on Thursday evening in Youngstown, Ohio as the Beacons clash with full-scholarship, Missouri Valley Football Conference foe Youngstown State, a team receiving votes nationally in the Preseason FCS Coaches Poll and Preseason Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and ranked No. 23 in the Hero Sports Preseason Top 25. This marks the start of the fifth season of Landon Fox’s head coaching tenure, a regime that has seen the program take steps forward each year.
Previously: This will be Valpo’s second straight game against a full-scholarship opponent as the 2022 season finale was a game at New Mexico State on Dec. 3. That contest – the first against an FBS opponent in program history – was a late add to the schedule. The 2022 campaign produced Valpo’s third straight season with a record of .500 or better in Pioneer Football League play, the program’s first such stretch since 1998-2000.
Series Notes: This will mark the fourth matchup between the Beacons and Penguins with Youngstown State defending its home field with victories in each of the first three showdowns. Valpo fell at Youngstown State in 2011 (77-13), 2012 (59-0) and 2018 (42-7). The most recent matchup was the final season of the Dave Cecchini Era, so this will represent Valpo’s first visit to Youngstown during the Landon Fox regime.
Following the Beacons: Thursday’s game will air on ESPN+ with Drae Smith (play-by-play) and Chris Sammarone (analyst) on the call. In addition, the hometown radio call will be available on 95.1 FM WVUR, The TuneIn Radio App and ValpoAthletics.com with Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Brandon Vickrey (analyst) describing the action. For in-game updates, follow @valpoufootball on Twitter. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Landon Fox: Landon Fox (14-27) is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Valparaiso University football program in 2023. Over the last three seasons, Fox has led Valpo to 12 Pioneer Football League victories, the most in a three-year period in program history. The program finished with a PFL record of .500 or better for a third consecutive season in 2022, the first time that has occurred since 1998-2000. Prior to that, Valpo had not had a stretch of three straight years with a league record of .500 or better since 1961-1964. The program won four PFL games in the same season just once in the 26 seasons prior to Fox’s arrival. Now, the program has reached that threshold in three straight seasons and three of the first four years under his direction (Spring 2021, Fall 2021, 2022). During his four years in charge of the program, Valpo has boasted 43 All-PFL honorees and 22 academic all-PFL selections. During his second season at the helm in Spring 2021, Fox was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award – which is presented annually to the FCS National Coach of the Year – after guiding Valpo to its best winning percentage since 2003 and tying for the squad’s best winning percentage since 1999. He led his team to Pioneer Football League runner-up honors, the program’s highest finish in the league standings since the PFL championship season of 2003. Fox’s defensive roots paid dividends on that side of the football in his second year at the helm, as the team enjoyed its best defensive season in four decades. Valpo held opponents to 283.3 yards per game, the program’s best total defense in the last 40 years. In Year 1 of the Fox Era in 2019, Valpo ranked in the Top 5 in the PFL in scoring defense (32.0, fifth), total defense (381.6, fourth), rushing defense (184.2, fourth) and passing defense (197.3, fifth). After spending the previous 11 seasons as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Dayton, Fox was named the head football coach at Valpo prior to the 2019 season. He helped the Flyers finish with 10 winning seasons in his 11 years on staff and guided a defensive backfield that produced one All-American, four Academic All-Americans, two PFL Special Teams Players of the Year and three corners who were invited to NFL Rookie Minicamp. Prior to joining Dayton’s staff, Fox served as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Wayne State University in Detroit from 2005-2007. He also spent time as a defensive graduate assistant at Ball State University (2004), Dayton (2002-2003) and Lakeland College (2001). Fox began his coaching career as an assistant varsity coach at Preble Shawnee High School in Camden, Ohio during the 2000 season. During his playing days, Fox was a team captain and all-conference performer at Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio from 1995-1999 and graduated with a degree in physical education and health in May 2000 before earning his master’s degree in education from Lakeland in May 2002.
Thursday Night Lights
This will mark Valpo’s first Thursday night game since Aug. 29, 2019 at Eastern Kentucky, Landon Fox’s first game as Valpo head coach.
Prior to 2019, the team had not played on a Thursday since 2015, also at Eastern Kentucky.
The team also opened on a Thursday in 2014 at Western Illinois, 2013 at North Dakota and 2012 vs. Saint Joseph’s College, so the squad opened the season with Thursday night football in four straight seasons from 2012-2015 before doing so just once over the next seven years prior to this season.
Valpo is 0-7 all-time in games played on Thursday nights.
This will mark Valpo’s seventh all-time game in the month of August and first since the aforementioned 2019 opener at Eastern Kentucky. The team is 0-6 all-time in August.
Season Openers
Valpo started 2022 on a high note, besting Indiana Wesleyan 20-17 in the season opener at Brown Field.
That helped Valpo improve to 2-12 in season openers over the last 14 years, and the only win prior to last season in that stretch was the Spring 2021 slate at Butler. Before last season, Valpo hadn’t started a fall season in the win column since 2007. In most cases since 2007, Valpo has clashed with an opponent that offers athletic scholarships in the season opener.
This marks the 10th time in the last 11 years that Valpo has opened the season on the road, with last season vs. Indiana Wesleyan providing the lone exception during that stretch.
Valpo has lost the road opener in each of its last 15 traditional fall seasons. Valpo did start the unique Spring 2021 season with a road win at Butler, but prior to that, the Beacons last win in the first road game of a season came in 2006.
Valpo Versus The Valley
This will mark Valpo’s 10th game against a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent since the start of the 2010 season. In that time, the Beacons have matched up with North Dakota State, North Dakota, Western Illinois, Illinois State (twice) and Youngstown State (fourth time).
Valpo is seeking its first win over a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent.
Prior to last season’s seven-point loss at Illinois State, the closest Valpo had come to upstaging an MVFC team was a 42-7 loss at Youngstown State in 2018. Those eight games featured an average margin of defeat of over 50 points per game.
The defense was particularly commendable in the game against the Redbirds as the team allowed just 28 points after permitting an average of 56.3 points per game in the previous eight contests against Valley football programs. Furthermore, seven of Illinois State’s 28 points came on a special teams touchdown.
Last season was the 12th straight year (excluding the Spring 2021 campaign) where Valpo played a “guarantee game” (a road game that is not part of a home-and-home series), and the 28-21 setback to Illinois State marked the closest contest in that stretch. Previously, Valpo’s closest call in such a game was a 45-23 loss to Montana to open the 2017 season.
The Buckeye State
The game in Youngstown will mark a homecoming for a number of Valpo players as 14 members of the roster hail from Ohio.
Head coach Landon Fox is also an Ohio native and spent much of his life in The Buckeye State prior to taking over Valpo’s program in 2019.
Starting quarterback Michael Appel Jr. will play his second career game in his home state, and his first featured a career-high 323 passing yards on Oct. 29, 2022 at Dayton, Valpo’s best single-game passing performance since 2017.
Valpo hopes to snap an 11-game losing skid in games played in the state of Ohio that dates back to Oct. 11, 2003 at Dayton.
Preseason Picks
Valpo was picked sixth of 11 in the preseason poll.
WR Solomon Davis and TE Evan Jernegan were recognized with Preseason All-PFL honors.
Evan Matthes was named to the FCS Punter of the Year Award Watch List.
Six Valpo players earned Phil Steele First All-PFL honors – WR Solomon Davis on the first team; TE Evan Jernegan, DL Sam Hafner, DL Kevin Spelman and P Evan Matthes on the second team and LB Evan Annis along with Spelman (as a long snapper) on the third team.
2022 Valpo Football Feats
Winning on the road is never easy, but Valpo finished out a successful season in terms of Pioneer Football League games away from Brown Field with the 45-24 win at Marist in Week 11. The team finished 3-1 in league road games, the first time Valpo has won three PFL road games in the same season since the league was founded in 1993.
In addition, 2022 marks the first time Valpo has won three league road games in the same season since 1962.
Valpo finished with a PFL record of .500 or better for a third consecutive season. This is the program’s first such stretch since 1998-2000. Prior to that, Valpo had not had a league record of .500 or better in three straight years since doing so in four straight seasons from 1961-1964.
The program has won four PFL games in the same season for the third straight year and just the fourth time ever. Prior to the Spring 2021 season, Valpo had won four league games in a season just once since 1968, with the one instance coming in 2017.
To put the last note in further perspective, Valpo had won four Pioneer Football League games once in 26 seasons prior to Fox’s arrival. Now, the program has reached that threshold for league wins in three of his first four seasons. (Although, in fairness, the program played only four to five league games per year in each of its first 13 PFL seasons.)
Fox’s team achieved yet another program first with the Week 11 win at Marist. That marked the program’s first-ever win in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (previously 0-4) and the team’s second win over Marist in any location (previously 1-9, last win in 2017 at Brown Field.)
That one was the latest on a growing list of the program’s feats, as earlier in the season Valpo garnered the program’s first win at Morehead State since 2006.
Also during the Fox Era, Valpo has achieved its first-ever win at Drake, its first win over Drake in any location since 2003 and its first win over San Diego since 2003.
During the 2021 campaign, Valpo prevailed 47-3 in a game at rival Butler, setting a program record for margin of victory in a game against a Division-I opponent. Valpo and Butler are instate foes who play for the Hoosier Helmet rivalry trophy.
2022 PFL Postseason Plaudits
Seven members of Valpo’s program earned All-PFL First or Second Team status, while three others received Honorable Mention nods as the league announced its postseason awards on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Solomon Davis, fifth-year senior running back Aaron Dawson, redshirt senior offensive lineman Aaron Byrd and redshirt senior linebacker Ben Hines were named to the All-PFL First Team.
Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Sam Hafner, fifth-year senior defensive back Kohlton Sherman and redshirt senior punter Evan Matthes were tabbed to the All-PFL Second Team.
Redshirt freshman tight end Evan Jernigan, redshirt junior wide receiver Matt Ross and redshirt freshman defensive lineman and long snapper Kevin Spelman (at both positions) received PFL Honorable Mention.
All 10 players recognized were first time All-PFL honorees, with the exception of Byrd, who had earned All-PFL Honorable Mention twice previously but was a first time First Team choice.
MARIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER
KNIGHTS CRUISE PAST COUGARS WITH THE 4-0 SHUTOUT
KOKOMO, Ind. – The No. 2 Marian women’s soccer team had no troubles on the road, posting a solid 4-0 shutout against the Cougars of IU-Kokomo on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights put on a shooting clinic in Kokomo, tallying a total of 29 shots on the day, 16 of them being on goal.
Marian made an offensive threat to start by rattling off seven shots in the first 16 minutes of play, before Katie Koger put the Knights on the board to give them the early 1-0 lead. With Koger’s goal, the Knights continued to put the pressure on the Cougars with Kyle Conrad and Gretchen Mallin firing off shots.
At the 41-minute mark, Kinadee White found the foot of Laney Harshany who fired one off in back netting to give Marian the 2-0 lead going into halftime. Not only was the Marian offense a force to be reckoned with, but the Knights’ defense left IU-Kokomo searching for any bit of offense as they only managed one shot attempt in the half.
It would be a similar story in the second half as Koger made a pair of shot attempts, before Kiley Jones, Naomi Walters, and Grace Crawford all got in on the action with their attempts. The Knights found themselves with a three-goal lead after Walters worked the Cougar defense and put one past the keeper in the 70th minute.
With the 3-0 lead at hand, Marian never let up the pressure as they posted three more shots. It was with 10 minutes left that Conrad added a goal to her team’s lead, giving the Knights the 4-0 lead. IU-Kokomo had absolutely no answer for the Marian offense, with the Knights picking up 15 shots to the Cougars’ one attempt.
Marian would pick up the 4-0 win after a dominating performance on the pitch. Four different Knights scored, with Koger, Harshany, Walters, and Conrad registering a goal. In Marian’s 29 shots, 12 different players took a shot, while Koger and White each picked up an assist. Kristen Morgan played the full 90 minutes in goal for the Knights, making one save on the day and picking up the shutout win.
The Knights will return to the pitch on Tuesday for their home opener, hosting Indiana Tech at 7 p.m.
TAYLOR ATHLETICS
TROJANS BATTLE TOUGH IN DRAW WITH WARRIORS
SALEM, Ore. – The RV Taylor Trojans (2-0-1) erased an early 1-0 deficit with a dominant second-half performance, but it was not enough to emerge victorious in a 1-1 draw at Corban University (1-2-1) Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 10 minutes into the match thanks to a pass that just seeped through Taylor’s back line and set up an easy goal.
Corban threatened to score again with a minute left in the first half, but Hannah Brackenbury came out from the goal area to make an aggressive save. TU’s defense was then well positioned behind her to defend against a potential rebound shot to keep the score at 1-0 heading into the intermission.
The Trojans had some chances with five shots on goal in the first half, but never had a truly great look against the staunch Warrior defense.
That all changed after halftime when TU consistently pressured Corban’s defenders and generated several good scoring opportunities. Still, Taylor had nothing to show for it until after head coach Scott Stan made a mass substitution of five players during the water timeout midway through the half.
In the 70th minute, Morgan Fletemeyer, who was one of Stan’s recent subs, dribbled along the goal line and kicked a perfectly placed shot into the right corner of the net for the equalizer.
The ball continued to stay in Corban’s own end almost exclusively through the end of the match, but the Trojans simply could not net the game-winning goal.
TU’s impressive stat sheet by match’s end saw it hold advantages in shots (19-6), shots on goal (11-4) and corner kicks (5-0) over Corban.
Speaking of the mid-game adjustments for Taylor, Stan said that he challenged his team at halftime to “let the ball work for you.”
“[Our players] combined better, they found the gaps, and then they got excited because they were getting shots that were quality instead of weak like they were in the first half,” said Stan.
He also shared his thoughts postgame on his team’s trip out to Salem, Ore.
“We played two teams that won [a lot of] games between them last year. Northwest was a national tournament team, Corban won [11] games, so I learned we can go see different styles, play against other ranked or very-close-to-ranked opponents and get a good result on the road,” said Stan.
His team will have a chance to perform for its home crowd next Wednesday, Aug. 30, against the University of Northwestern Ohio (2-0-0) at Turner Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
VINCENNES VOLLEYBALL
TRAILBLAZERS CONTINUE TO ROLL, CLOSE OUT FIRST WEEK WITH TRI-MATCH SWEEP
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team continued their hot start to the 2023 season Saturday afternoon, hosting a tri-match with Region 24 opponent Lake Land College and Ancilla College.
The Blazers came away with the daily sweep, defeating Lake Land 25-19, 27-25, 25-13, before closing out the day by defeating Ancilla College 25-14, 25-10, 25-12.
The Trailblazers began the day with their third straight Region 24 matchup to begin the 2023 season, hosting Lake Land College in the opening match of Saturday’s tri-match.
VU got off to a hot start against the Lakers, taking an early 8-3 lead in the first set. Lake Land would respond back however to take the lead at 13-12.
Vincennes would again shift the momentum by going on a 7-0 scoring run to take a 19-13 lead.
The Lakers would again attempt a comeback but were unable to erase the deficit at VU took set one over Lake Land 25-19.
Lake Land was the first team to strike in set two, quickly building a 7-2 lead, before later growing their lead to 19-13.
The Trailblazers looked to rally late on their home floor, battling all the way back to even the game at 23-23 and later forcing overtime. VU closed out the second set by scoring three unanswered to take set two 27-25 and take a 2-0 match lead.
VU hoped to continue this momentum into the third set. The set began as a back-and-forth battle before VU broke the tie with a 6-0 scoring run to take a 15-10 lead.
The Trailblazers would continue to push and closed out the set by outscoring the Lakers 9-1, taking set three 25-13 and completing the Region 24 sweep.
This win increases the Trailblazers winning streak against Region 24 opponents to 27 matches.
“We really served extremely well,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “We were really hitting our targets and that really made their offense pretty predictable. They weren’t able to set the middle as much, which with our blocking, especially outside at the pins, it really plays into our hand when we are able to serve so strongly.”
“But there were still times when I thought we didn’t quite finish our blocks,” Sien added. “We would get touches at the net, but we weren’t always able to finish it and put the ball on their side of the court. It’s a little different than when we played Saint Mary of the Woods or Kentucky Wesleyan in the preseason, because they really hit the ball. It was almost like when we are at practice. We get some good blocks in practice because we have some really next-level hitters. I think sometimes when we don’t see that harder swing our timing might be a little bit off blocking.”
The Trailblazers were led offensively by another double-double by sophomore Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) who finished with 17 kills, 13 digs and two blocks.
Freshman Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) also reached double-digit kills, ending the first match with 10 kills, two blocks, one dig and one set assist.
Sophomore Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) and freshman Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) also hit tough, with Buis finishing with seven kills, 14 digs, three blocks and one ace, while Dias ended with five kills and two solo blocks.
Freshman Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) and sophomore Kennedy Sowell (Effingham, Ill.) rounded out the VU offensive attack, each recording a pair of kills, with Czyzewski leading VU with five blocks and Sowell adding three digs and one block to her totals.
Sophomore Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) continues to run the Trailblazer offense efficiently, ending with a team-high 25 set assists, to go along with one dig and one ace.
Freshman Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) also came through with 10 set assists in the match, while also adding three digs and a team-high two aces.
Sophomore libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) patrolled the back row to the tune of a team-high 19 digs and one set assist.
Freshman Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) also saw some time on the court against Lake Land, recording one dig and one set assist.
Vincennes looked to close out the first week of the season strong, facing Ancilla College in the final match of the day at the Physical Education Complex.
Set one began as a back-and-forth battle before VU really took control of the game behind a very impressive 11-0 scoring run served up by Audrey Buis.
The Chargers were unable to rebound from this lengthy scoring run as VU took set one over Ancilla College 25-14.
Vincennes then continued to ride this momentum in the second set, with Maecy Johnson serving tough to open the set on a 14-0 scoring run for the Blazers.
Ancilla would again look to answer back but were unable to put a big scoring run together as VU claimed set two 25-10 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
VU again came firing out of the gates in set three, using an 8-0 scoring run to take an early 10-2 advantage before Ancilla battled back to cut the deficit to three at 14-11.
The Blazers would then go on to outscore the Chargers 11-1 as the Trailblazers took set three 25-12 and completed the three-set sweep over Ancilla.
“We had some issues in the second set against Lake Land because of our serve receive,” Sien said. “Looking at how we played against Ancilla, we didn’t really allow them to get on any kind of a run, so that was nice to really take control of the match. The other side of that was just continuing to serve strong. We had a little different philosophy in both matches about serving. We had a bunch of aces against Ancilla, but we weren’t really looking to serve aces against Lake Land. We were more focused on controlling their passer and controlling their offense.”
“I think the whole day our serving game was pretty good,” Sien added.
Vincennes was again led Paige Parlanti offensively, finishing her day with 16 kills, giving her a very impressive 33 kills on the day, while also adding three digs, three aces and two solo blocks.
Laura Tavares added eight kills and two blocks to her day, while Audrey Buis finished with a very strong six kills, five digs, a team-high five aces, one block and one set assist.
Isadora Dias and Kennedy Sowell each finished with three kills, with Sowell also finishing off a solo block on the day.
Allison Czyzewski came through again at the net, with two kills, a team-high three blocks and one dig, while freshman Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) rounded out the VU offense with one kill, three digs and three set assists.
Maecy Johnson again ran the VU offense, recording 12 set assists and five digs in the match.
Libby Mehringer would add five set assists, while Morgan Netcott added three set assists and a team-high seven digs and Grace Flexter added two set assists and four digs.
The Trailblazers will hit the road to begin next week when VU heads to Hillsboro, Mo. to face-off against Jefferson College Tuesday, Aug. 29. That match is set to begin at 6 p.m. eastern.
VU will then close out the week by traveling to Perrysburg, Ohio to take part in the Owens Community College Tournament Friday, Sept. 1 and Saturday, Sept. 2.
“One thing that we’ve talked about all week, because in really three of our matches this week there were points when we just let the other team dictate our serve receive,” Sien said. “We usually do that well, serving tough, but when it happens to us, we have to make sure we only give them one or two and don’t give up these runs where they score three, four or more. Lake Land served us really tough today, give them credit.”
“More often than not, teams that don’t really matchup with us well on the front row, the damage they can do is to really serve us tough,” Sien added. “No matter how many good hitters we have, when they are taking these sets from the middle of the court, it’s really hard to put them away. That’s the part that we really have to sure up.”
“We’ll be tested this coming week,” Sien said. “It’s going to be a very difficult match Tuesday at Jefferson. They hosted a big tournament this past weekend and faced a couple of nationally ranked teams, so regardless of how they did against them, they are used to playing at a pretty high level. It’s going to be tough for us, especially with traveling around four hours to get there.”
“Then we go to Owens, which is always a good tournament,” Sien added. “They have five courts, around 25 to 30 teams there, a little bit more noise from the other courts, so it’s more of like a club-type tournament. But it’s good for us to experience that. The nice thing for us is that all four of our matches are on one of their main courts, which is wood. So, I can’t complain.”
“It will be good competition out there,” Sien said. “We are facing four teams from four different states and we are facing the defending Division II National Champions in Richard Bland in our first match out there, so we will be tested right away against them. Then there will be a couple more tough matches next weekend.”
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
*****MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STANDINGS*****
| American League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Baltimore | 81 | 48 | .628 | – | 40 – 24 | 41 – 24 | 26 – 15 | 18 – 7 | 16 – 10 | 7 – 3 | W 4 |
| Tampa Bay | 79 | 52 | .603 | 3 | 44 – 23 | 35 – 29 | 21 – 15 | 20 – 6 | 13 – 12 | 7 – 3 | W 1 |
| Toronto | 71 | 59 | .546 | 10.5 | 33 – 28 | 38 – 31 | 12 – 25 | 19 – 9 | 14 – 11 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Boston | 69 | 61 | .531 | 12.5 | 36 – 29 | 33 – 32 | 19 – 14 | 16 – 10 | 14 – 12 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| NY Yankees | 62 | 67 | .481 | 19 | 36 – 33 | 26 – 34 | 16 – 25 | 12 – 10 | 16 – 13 | 2 – 8 | L 1 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Minnesota | 67 | 63 | .515 | – | 38 – 27 | 29 – 36 | 12 – 17 | 23 – 19 | 13 – 9 | 5 – 5 | L 1 |
| Cleveland | 61 | 69 | .469 | 6 | 33 – 33 | 28 – 36 | 11 – 13 | 19 – 21 | 13 – 12 | 3 – 7 | L 1 |
| Detroit | 59 | 70 | .457 | 7.5 | 28 – 36 | 31 – 34 | 5 – 20 | 25 – 15 | 10 – 14 | 6 – 4 | L 1 |
| Chi White Sox | 51 | 79 | .392 | 16 | 27 – 37 | 24 – 42 | 8 – 17 | 19 – 17 | 11 – 21 | 3 – 7 | W 1 |
| Kansas City | 41 | 90 | .313 | 26.5 | 23 – 40 | 18 – 50 | 6 – 18 | 13 – 27 | 6 – 18 | 2 – 8 | L 2 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Seattle | 73 | 56 | .566 | – | 36 – 28 | 37 – 28 | 12 – 15 | 19 – 13 | 22 – 11 | 9 – 1 | W 2 |
| Texas | 73 | 56 | .566 | – | 42 – 24 | 31 – 32 | 14 – 11 | 18 – 7 | 21 – 15 | 2 – 8 | W 1 |
| Houston | 73 | 58 | .557 | 1 | 35 – 31 | 38 – 27 | 12 – 12 | 12 – 12 | 26 – 17 | 4 – 6 | W 1 |
| LA Angels | 63 | 67 | .485 | 10.5 | 32 – 33 | 31 – 34 | 13 – 13 | 14 – 8 | 18 – 22 | 4 – 6 | W 2 |
| Oakland | 38 | 92 | .292 | 35.5 | 20 – 45 | 18 – 47 | 7 – 22 | 11 – 13 | 6 – 28 | 5 – 5 | L 1 |
| National League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Atlanta | 84 | 44 | .656 | – | 44 – 22 | 40 – 22 | 27 – 8 | 16 – 6 | 15 – 10 | 8 – 2 | W 4 |
| Philadelphia | 71 | 58 | .550 | 13.5 | 38 – 25 | 33 – 33 | 16 – 19 | 13 – 8 | 16 – 14 | 6 – 4 | W 2 |
| Miami | 65 | 65 | .500 | 20 | 37 – 29 | 28 – 36 | 14 – 21 | 13 – 10 | 12 – 16 | 2 – 8 | L 3 |
| Washington | 61 | 69 | .469 | 24 | 29 – 36 | 32 – 33 | 15 – 23 | 12 – 14 | 14 – 14 | 8 – 2 | W 3 |
| NY Mets | 59 | 71 | .454 | 26 | 31 – 30 | 28 – 41 | 18 – 19 | 12 – 17 | 15 – 13 | 5 – 5 | L 4 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Milwaukee | 72 | 57 | .558 | – | 37 – 27 | 35 – 30 | 10 – 9 | 24 – 12 | 12 – 19 | 7 – 3 | W 7 |
| Chi Cubs | 68 | 61 | .527 | 4 | 35 – 30 | 33 – 31 | 11 – 17 | 23 – 15 | 9 – 8 | 7 – 3 | W 1 |
| Cincinnati | 68 | 63 | .519 | 5 | 31 – 34 | 37 – 29 | 13 – 16 | 16 – 23 | 17 – 11 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 58 | 72 | .446 | 14.5 | 32 – 35 | 26 – 37 | 10 – 10 | 17 – 22 | 16 – 15 | 4 – 6 | L 1 |
| St. Louis | 56 | 74 | .431 | 16.5 | 28 – 37 | 28 – 37 | 11 – 14 | 14 – 22 | 10 – 16 | 2 – 8 | L 2 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| LA Dodgers | 79 | 49 | .617 | – | 43 – 21 | 36 – 28 | 13 – 8 | 19 – 14 | 23 – 12 | 7 – 3 | L 1 |
| Arizona | 68 | 62 | .523 | 12 | 34 – 32 | 34 – 30 | 13 – 15 | 13 – 11 | 25 – 19 | 8 – 2 | L 1 |
| San Francisco | 66 | 63 | .512 | 13.5 | 35 – 30 | 31 – 33 | 12 – 18 | 18 – 9 | 18 – 11 | 3 – 7 | L 2 |
| San Diego | 61 | 69 | .469 | 19 | 35 – 33 | 26 – 36 | 15 – 14 | 8 – 17 | 17 – 22 | 4 – 6 | L 2 |
| Colorado | 48 | 81 | .372 | 31.5 | 28 – 33 | 20 – 48 | 14 – 17 | 11 – 13 | 8 – 27 | 2 – 8 | L 6 |
*****TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY*****
1897 Washington Senator (NL) 18-year-old right-hander Roger Bresnahan makes his major league debut, shutting out the St. Louis Browns, 3-0, en route to posting a perfect 4-0 record along with a 3.95 ERA this season. The teenager’s pitching time on the mound will be short-lived when the ‘The Duke Of Tralee’ switches to behind the plate to start a Hall of Fame career as a catcher.
1911 At Comiskey Park, Chicago hurler Ed Walsh, Sr. no-hits the Red Sox, 5-0. The future Hall of Famer’s son, Edward Arthur, will also pitch for the White Sox from 1928-1932.
1937 Dodger right-hander Fred Frankhouse holds the Reds hitless for 7.2 innings before a heavy downpour ends the Ebbets Field contest. The right-hander’s 5-0 victory will be one of the 31 “no-no’s” erased when MLB redefines a no-hitter in 1991 as a game in which a pitcher throws nine innings or more without giving up a hit.
1938 In the first game of a twin bill at the Bronx ballpark, Joe DiMaggio hits three consecutive triples. The Yankee Clipper’s offensive outburst helps the Bombers edge Cleveland, 8-7.
1938 Monte Pearson becomes the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium, beating the Indians, 13-0. Thanks to two double plays, the 29-year-old right-hander faces the minimum of 27 batters when he records his tenth consecutive victory.
1939 With a 13-3 complete-game victory over the Tigers at Briggs Stadium, Yankee right-hander Red Ruffing wins his 20th game, a feat he has accomplished in four consecutive seasons. The 34-year-old American League All-Star starting pitcher, who will miss several weeks late in the season, finishes the season 21-7 for the eventual World Champs.
1941 Dodger right-hander Fred Frankhouse holds the Reds hitless for 7.2 innings before a heavy downpour ends the Ebbets Field contest. The right-hander’s 5-0 victory will be one of the 31 “no-no’s” erased when MLB redefines a no-hitter in 1991 as a game in which a pitcher throws nine innings or more without giving up a hit.
1946 While traveling in a caravan to East Douglas (MA) for an exhibition game against the Indians, Ted Williams, along with his wife and two friends, is involved in an auto accident when his new Pontiac hits a car owned by George Doncaster. Although no one is seriously hurt, including Doncaster’s wife and daughter, the media widely reports the Red Sox outfielder’s crash in Holliston on Sherborn Road.
1946 A committee formed to study integration, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey delivers its secretive report during an Owners’ Meeting, defending the covert color barrier in professional baseball. The reasons cited include the black’s lack of fundamentals and skills, the respect of Negro League contracts, the reluctance to lose rental revenues from the Negro League teams, and the fear of white fans not attending games if black players attracted more minorities to the ballpark.
1951 A prolonged delay occurs at Olean’s (NY) Bradner Stadium when a skunk refuses to leave the infield during a Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League game between Batavia and the hometown Oilers. The minor leaguers try to shoo the crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk) mammal away but result in the players running off the field with the uninvited guest staying put for an hour before moving on, allowing the contest to resume, albeit with a lot fewer fans in the stands.
1951 Dodger right fielder Carl Furillo, in the top of the third inning in the team’s 5-0 victory over Pittsburgh at Ebbets Field, throws out Mel Queen by two feet at first base, after the Pirates pitcher had apparently singled into right field. The ‘Reading Rifle’ will lead the NL in assists for the second consecutive season, with opponents becoming increasingly reluctant to challenge the Brooklyn outfielder’s strong arm.
1951 Del Wilber hits three solo home runs in the Phillies’ victory over Cincinnati in the nightcap at Shibe Park, making it the first time a player has accounted for all the runs in a 3-0 game with round-trippers. The 32-year-old catcher will hit a total of only 19 homers during his major league career.
1952 The Dodgers set the National League mark for consecutive games with a double play when they complete a twin killing in their twenty-third straight contest, a 10-5 loss to Chicago at Wrigley Field. The fifth inning 1-4-3 DP (Clyde King-Jackie Robinson-Gil Hodges) leaves Brooklyn two shy of the major league record.
1955 In his second big league start, Sandy Koufax two-hits the Reds at Ebbets Field, 7-0. The 19-year-old bonus baby, displaying the dominance he will feature during the 1960s, goes the distance, striking out 14 Cincinnati batters.
1960 Ernie Banks knocks in his 100th run of the season when he grounds out in the first inning of the Cubs’ 5-4 victory over Philadelphia at Wrigley Field. The Chicago infielder, finishing the season with 117 RBIs, will be the last National League shortstop to reach the milestone until 1985, when Hubie Brooks accomplishes the feat with the Expos.
1974 Benny Ayala becomes 40th major leaguer and the first player in National League in 13 years to homer in his first major league at-bat, going deep off Astros’ hurler Tom Griffin in the second inning of New York’s 4-2 win at Shea Stadium. In 1961, Cubs rookie Cuno Barragan also accomplished the feat playing in the Senior Circuit, hitting what proved to be his only big-league home run.
1975 At Candlestick Park, nearly half the outs in the Giants’ 9-1 victory over the Expos come via the strikeout. John Montefusco, who goes the distance to get the win, strikes out 14 Montreal batters, and the ‘Count’ and his teammates reciprocate by whiffing 11 times, including the three times he goes back to the dugout with a bat in his hands.
1975 Craig Kusick gains the dubious distinction of being hit by a pitch three times in one game, tying a major league record. The 11th-inning plunking of the Twins’ first baseman leads to the decisive run in the team’s 1-0 victory over Milwaukee.
1977 In an 8-2 win at Yankee Stadium, Ranger teammate Bump Wills and Toby Harrah hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches. The pair of IPHRs marks the first time the oddity occurs in baseball history.
1978 Joe Morgan hits his 200th home run when he goes deep off Mike Krukow in the third inning of the Reds’ 5-1 loss to the Cubs at Riverfront Stadium. The Cincinnati second baseman becomes the first major leaguer to reach the milestone, having also stolen 500 bases.
1982 Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock’s 1974 single-season record of 118 stolen bases in the team’s 5-4 loss to the Brewers. The A’s outfielder, who will finish the season with 130, ends the day with 122 after swiping four bases in today’s County Stadium contest.
1986 With one out in the bottom of the eleventh inning and the visiting Mets ahead of the Padres, 6-5, Lenny Dykstra’s throw nails Gary Templeton at the plate when he tries to score from second base on Tim Flannery’s single to center field. Knocked on his back by the runner, catcher John Gibbons throws a strike from a prone position to Howard Johnson, who tags out Flannery, trying to get to third base, to end the game with an unusual 8-2-5 double play.
1988 Kansas City’s right-hander Mark Gubicza strikes out 14 Twins in the team’s 4-1 victory at Royals Stadium, establishing a franchise record that lasts for 21 years. The mark will be eclipsed in 2009 by Zack Greinke, who will fan 15 batters in a contest against the Indians.
1994 In a rain-delayed contest, Coquivacoa (Maracaibo, Venezuela) wins the Little League World Series defeating Northridge City (CA), 4-3. Ten-year-old Yusmeiro Petit, the champs’ backup second baseman, will become the first player to play on teams that win the Little League and Major League World Series when the Giants triumph in the 2012 and 2014 Fall Classics.
1997 In honor of first baseman Jim Thome’s birthday, the Indians pull up their socks just below the knees. The Tribe will win 17 of 27 games en route to clinching the American League East flag while sporting this new look.
1999 In a 4-1 Expos loss to the Reds at Olympic Stadium, Vladimir Guerrero’s hitting streak, the longest in the big leagues since 1987, ends at 31 consecutive games. The Montreal outfielder’s accomplishment sets a franchise record.
2000 The Angels become the first American League team to have four players hit 30 home runs in the same season when Tim Salmon goes deep in LA’s 10-9 victory over Cleveland at Edison Field. The Halos’ right-fielder joins Mo Vaughn, Garret Anderson, and Troy Glaus to reach the plateau.
2001 In the Nippon Ham Fighters-Fukuoka Daiei Hawks contest, Michihiro Ogasawara doubles and tallies on Yukio Tanaka’s single, breaking a 51-year-old Japanese record by scoring a run in 17 consecutive games. Indian Kenny Lofton (2000) and Yankee Red Rolfe (1939) share the major league record of 18 straight games.
2001 Cubs’ slugger Sammy Sosa, with his 17th dinger this month, ties the National League record for August homers, established by Willie Mays in 1965. Tiger first baseman Rudy York set the major league mark, going yard 18 times in the eighth month of 1937.
2005 Jeff Kent becomes the first player to hit 300 homers as a second baseman. The Dodger infielder, who surpassed Ryne Sandberg’s total of 277 last September, is the major league leader at this position, with Joe Gordon holding the American League record with 246 round-trippers.
2005 After losing a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning against the Yomiuri Giants earlier in the season, Fumiya Nishiguchi (16-4) sees his perfect game against the expansion Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles go into extra innings. The Seibu Lions right-hander gives up a hit and has to settle for a 10-inning complete-game shutout.
2007 Citing the need for a fresh start, Drayton McLane, owner of the last-place Astros, fires skipper Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. Bench coach Cecil Cooper is named interim manager, and long-time team executive Tal Smith is temporarily appointed Houston’s general manager.
2007 Jake Peavy becomes the Padres’ leader in career strikeouts when he whiffs Orlando Hudson looking at an inside fastball in the first inning of a 3-1 San Diego victory over the Diamondbacks at Petco Park. The right-handed fireballer, who fans 11 in the game, moves past Andy Benes, who had struck out 1036 batters, pitching for the Friars from 1989 to 1995.
2010 Braves starter Tommy Hanson, who begins the game without giving up a homer in his last 47.2 innings on the mound, sees his streak end when Marlin leadoff hitter Cameron Maybin drills the first pitch of the game into the left-field seats at Turner Field. Logan Morrison, the next batter, then connects off the Atlanta right-hander for his first major league round-tripper, making it the first time in franchise history that Florida has led off a game with back-to-back homers.
2010 The Nationals announce that 22-year-old right-hander Stephen Strasburg will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament, which will require about 12 to 18 months of rehabilitation. The rookie phenom, whose presence earlier in the season brought President Obama and his two daughters to Nationals Park to watch him pitch against the White Sox, finishes in his 12 starts with a 5-3 record, en route to striking out 92 batters in 68 innings and compiling an ERA of 2.91.
2011 Justin Verlander becomes the first pitcher to win 20 games before September since the D-Back’s Curt Schilling reached the milestone in 2002. The right-hander (20-5) gives up four runs on eight hits, strikes outs six, and walks three in six innings of work but is credited with a victory when the Tigers beat Minnesota at Target Field, 6-4.
2013 Marlon Byrd is traded by the Mets, along with John Buck and cash, to the Pirates for a player to be named later (Vic Black) and minor leaguer Dilson Herrera. Although the outfielder is no longer on the roster, the team follows through on its planned promotion, giving away Marlon Byrd T-shirts before tonight’s game.
2015 In their game against Seattle, the White Sox wear collared blue and white v-neck retro jerseys, reminding fans of the infamous look of the team during a few games in 1976 until the end of the 1981 season. The Throwback Thursday promotion at US Cellular Field features the unique uniforms designed by then-owner Bill Veeck, who believed his team, at the time, may not have been the greatest in baseball but could be the most stylish club in the major leagues.
2017 With his eighth-inning two-run shot off Padres’ southpaw Clayton Richard in the Marlins’ 6-2 victory, Giancarlo Stanton becomes the first National Leaguer to hit 50 home runs since Prince Fielder accomplished the feat playing for the Brewers in 2007. The Miami right fielder is the sixth player to reach 50 before September, but unlike the others, he doesn’t finish with at least 60 homers.
2017 The Mariners commit five errors in one inning in the team’s 10-1 loss at Yankee Stadium, equaling a feat last accomplished in 1977 by the Cubs. Seattle’s dubious defense, which includes three miscues by shortstop Jean Segura with contributions from third baseman Cory Seager and left-fielder Ben Gamel, opens the flood gates for a six-run first frame for the Bronx Bombers.
2017 En route to tying a franchise record by homering in five consecutive games, Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins sets a major league record when he smashes his 11th home run in his first 18 games, going deep off Koji Uehara. In addition to his outstanding offense, the 24-year-old outfielder’s diving catch of Javier Baez’s sinking liner in left field initiates a 7-4-3 triple play in the team’s 6-3 victory over the Cubs at Citizens Bank.
*****BASEBALL HALL OF FAME******
AL SPALDING
Executive
While the pyramids of Egypt would hardly qualify as “barns,” they did prove the setting of one of baseball’s great barnstorming trips.
Albert Goodwill Spalding led the way.
Following the 1888 season, the well-respected businessman and former pitcher led a group of 20 National League players on a “round-the-world” barnstorming sweep, visiting eight countries and returning home with just days to spare before the 1889 season. The logistics and travel burdens of such a journey were certainly challenging for the 19th century, but Spalding proved himself the man to take on the responsibility.
Spalding was 38 at the time. A native of Byron, Ill., he had helped support his widowed mother throughout his childhood, took in whatever schooling he could manage and fell in love with the game of baseball. With the birth of the National Association in 1871, Spalding joined Harry Wright’s Boston franchise and emerged as the team’s star pitcher and team captain. Boston won the pennant each year from 1872-75.
An early dose of exhibition baseball on foreign soil no doubt planted the seeds in Spalding’s mind for his world tour of 1888-89. The Bostons toured Canada in 1872 and then went to England in the winter of 1872-73, playing some of the first baseball games ever seen by the Brits. He brought the Philadelphia team with him as opponents.
In 1876, the National Association morphed into the National League, with Spalding helping to draft the new league’s constitution. In April – now wearing a Chicago uniform – Spalding beat Louisville 4-0 in the White Stockings’ first game. He went on to record a 47-13 record in that inaugural season, but with curveball pitching becoming the order of the day – something Spalding never was able to master – his playing days were limited. By the league’s second season, his time as an regular player drew to a close at age 26. He finished his career with a record of 252-65 over seven seasons, leading his league in wins in each of his six seasons as a regular pitcher.
During the 1876 season, Spalding and his younger brother opened a sporting goods store at 118 Randolph Street in Chicago. A.G. Spalding & Bros. took off, with Spalding providing uniforms and baseballs for the National League – buying advertising everywhere to celebrate it. The business thrived.
The following year they added a publishing division, putting out manuals, histories and guides to baseball and many other sports. The company produced baseballs for the American and National Leagues until 1976 and remains one of the best known brands in sports equipment.
In the 1880s, while running his business, Spalding also served as president of the White Stockings, best known for his record-setting sales of King Kelly and John Clarkson. From his vantage point in the game, and sensing the great adventure it could be, he began to conceive his “round-the-world” mission during the 1888 season. But assembling his roster and financing the mission would be challenges.
“To openly ask for volunteers was out of the question, because it would be certain to result in a deluge of applications from undesirable players in the fraternity,” Spalding said.
So he created, in his mind, a list of “All-American” types whose “clean habits would reflect credit upon the country and the game.”
The players would get a $50 week in salary and travel all expenses paid, first class, on what he hoped would be viewed as a paid vacation. Among the players who signed up were Cap Anson, Fred Pfeffer, and Ned Williamson from Chicago, and Ned Hanlon, and John Montgomery Ward for the “All-Americans,” who would serve as Chicago’s opponents. A party of 48 set sail in mid-November following 16 games en route to the Pacific via rail through seven states.
The group played on makeshift fields before reasonably good crowds in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Italy, France and finally 10 games in England/Scotland/Ireland.
“The welcome given our party on the return home by devotees of the game at New York was one of the great events of the remarkable tour,” Spalding wrote.
Spalding passed away on Sept. 9, 1915. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.
*****FOOTBALL HISTORY*****
The Green Bay Packers are accepted into the APFA; the Minneapolis Marines, Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen and the Evansville Crimson Giants join the League as well.
August 27, 1921 – The Green Bay Packers were admitted into the APFA (predecessor of the NFL) as J.E. Clair of Green Bay’s ACME Packing Company is granted a franchise.
August 27, 1921– Evansville Crimson-Giants franchise formed and played in the NFL’s early formation called the AFPA in the 1921-22 seasons. The nickname Giants was not too far off as the team was headed by the 6′-4″ , 250 pound star player and coach Franklin Fausch and Herb Henderson who according to reports could kick a ball 80 yards! The Crimson Giants were an early hit in the league as they competed with the best the AFPA had to offer but after a couple of crippling beat downs in Green Bay, some mismanagement of team funds and disinterest from the home fans, the Evansville Eleven had to fold in 1922.
August 27, 1921 – Tonawanda Kardex Lumberman franchise applies and plays in the AFPA only in the 1921 season. The “Jacks” played only one game, and have the distinction of the shortest lived franchise in NFL history. Their home was in a small town just north of Buffalo, NY. They were from the smallest town in the NFL with just over 10,000 in population and the team was only able to schedule away games on a week by week basis. This coupled with the hometown newspaper’s better coverage the semi-pro All-Tonawandans gave little support for the Kardex squad. What made it even worse was that other NFL teams felt that they could not get an attendance draw from playing the Jacks so they scheduled other more reputable teams in order to fill the stands with fans.
August 27, 1921 – Minneapolis Marines/Redjackets team joins the AFPA/NFL for the 1921-24 and again rejoined the NFL for the 1929 and 1930 seasons as the Minneapolis Red Jackets. According to the Pro Football Researcher Association’s Coffin Corner Publication 1998 Volume 20 article by Jim Quirk, the Marine squad formed in 1905 and had their height of success in the years prior to the AFPA and NFL forming. Quarterback Rube Ursella and tackle Walt “Big Boy” Buland were the Minneapolis star players that played as teens in the early years of the team right up through the professional ones in the early 1920s. A stout defense was what the Marines were known for as Ursella and Big Boy played both ways.
August 27, 1992 – The Canadian Football League strips the British Columbia Lions of their CFL franchise rights. This event occurred when Murray Pezim took control of the Lions team and then refused to pay bills that the club owed. Later on in September, Bill Comrie would purchase the franchise from the CFL and the Lions would roar again in the Canadian League.
August 27, 2015 – US Patent for Helmet Head Impact Tracking and Monitoring System (U.S Patent No. 2015/0238143 A1) is issued.
BIRTHDAYS
August 27, 1954 – Scott Studwell was a linebacker from the University of Illinois who was drafted in the 9th round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He enjoyed a 14 year career with the Vikes on their defense.
August 27, 1967 – Rob Burnett was a defensive end from Syracuse University that in the 1990 NFL draft was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 5th round. He went on to have a nice 12 year career with the Browns Ravens and the Dolphins finishing with 73 career sacks in 202 games played.
August 27, 1987 – Darren McFadden was a former running back from the University of Arkansas. He had a nice long career in the NFL after he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders and then played out the last 3 seasons of his decade long tenure with the Dallas Cowboys. McFadden twice finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting but won the Doak Walker Award twice, The Sporting News Player of the Year Award, the Walker Camp Award and the SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors in his college career. This great runner was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in the entry class of 2019 to remember his collegiate accomplishments.
*****INDIANA FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME*****
NORB ADAMS
Born on June 7, 1927
Hammond, IN
George Rogers Clark
1945
MVP as sophomore; led team in passing yardage and completion as junior and senior; Western Division Championship and State Football Runner-up 1944-1945; NIHSC Western Division First Team at fullback; All-State selection; held school record in shot-put and 1/2 mile relays; received 9 varsity letters in football, basketball, and track; member of National Honor Society; Harold Zimmer Memorial Award for Scholarship and Athletics.
Purdue University 1950; Purdue University MS
1953
Played varsity halfback at Purdue for 4 years on offensive and defensive teams; selected to AP Honorable Mention All-Midwest Team 1950; Cleveland Press First Team Offense on basis of rushing, pass receptions, and blocking; First Team Phi Delta Theta National Fraternity Football Team; Big Ten Medal winner; received offers to play with Cleveland Brown, N.Y. Giants, and San Francisco 49ers but opted to continue college education; graduated with distinction.
Served with AAF in Hawaii and won AAF football and All-Star Award with Hickam Field Bombers 1946; remained active in sports – played handball and won Calumet Region Championship in singles and doubles in 1959, 1960; elected President of Munster Pool Corp. 1967 and Highland Chamber of Commerce 1977; member of PU Alumni Association, John Purdue Club, and Indiana/Illinois Pharmacy Association; inducted into Hammond Sports Hall of Fame.
Wife, Ellen (deceased); children, Guy, Jeff, and Cathy.
******FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME******
TOM BECK
Position: Coach
Years: Illinois Benedictine (1970-74), Elmhurst [MI] (1976-83), Grand Valley State [MI] (1985-90)
Place of Birth: Chicago, IL
Date of Birth: Dec 21, 1940
For nearly 20 years, Tom Beck coached on the Division II and Division III levels at three different schools. The common thread running between all three coaching stops was his ability to take slumping programs to new heights. Prior to his arrival, Illinois Benedictine had recorded 18 consecutive losing seasons. In his five years, the Eagles went 37-12-1, were twice ranked in the nation’s top ten and led the nation in total offense two times. He moved to Elmhurst where the Bluejays had only two winning seasons in their last 23. There Beck went 50-22, won two conference titles and appeared among the nation’s top 15 teams five times. After a year as an assistant coach in the USFL, he returned to the college game at Grand Valley State. The Lakers were coming off an 0-10 season. In six years Beck went 50-18, with two conference crowns and two playoff appearances. Overall, Beck had a 137-52-1 record with four conference titles and four conference Coach-of- the-Year-Awards. In 1989, GVSU finished the regular season undefeated and was ranked third nationally.
******NUMBERS IN SPORTS******
11 – 16 – 32 – 18 – 11 – 1 – 8 – 29 – 35 – 20 – 22
August 27, 1909 – Future Baseball HOF pitcher Jack Chesbro’s final game for NY Highlanders; 17-6 loss to the Tigers at Bennett Park, Detroit
August 27, 1911 – Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh no-hit the Boston Red Sox, 5-0 at White Sox Park
August 27, 1937 – Brooklyn Dodger Fred Frankhouse, wearing Number 11 no-hit the Cincinnati Reds for a 5-0 victory in 7-2/3 innings.
August 27, 1938 – New York Yankees pitcher Monte Pearson, Number 16 no-hit the Cleveland Indians to lead the defense of the Yanks in a 13-0 route. From the plate Joe DiMaggio hit 3 triples to spark the offense for New York.
August 27, 1955 – Sandy Koufax (Number 32) sat down 14 Reds batters on strikes. Both teams combined for record 23 strikeouts in a great game from the mound
August 27, 1974 – New York Met Benny Ayala, Number 18 hit a HR in his 1st at bat
August 27, 1977 – Toby Harrah (Number 11) and Bump Wills (Number 1) hit back-to-back inside-the-park-homers off Yankee Ken Clay at Yankee Stadium, Rangers won 8-2
August 27, 1978 – Cincinnati Reds slugger Number 8, Joe Morgan is 1st to hit 200 HRs as well as having stolen 500 bases
August 27, 1978 – New York Yankee pitcher Catfish Hunter’s 6-2 win gives him a perfect 6-0 record in Aug 1978 wearing that Number 29 pinstriped iniform.
August 27, 1982 – Number 35, Rickey Henderson stole his 119th base of season breaking the record set by Lou Brock, the former Number 20 of the St Louis Cardinals
August 27, 1996 – Dino Ciccarelli was traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dino donned the Number 22 sweater for both clubs.
******TV SUNDAY******
AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
4 a.m.
FS2 — AFL — Greater Western Sydney at Carlton
AUTO RACING
8:55 a.m.
ESPN — Formula 1: The Heineken Dutch Netherlands Grand Prix, CM.com Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands
11:30 a.m.
FS2 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Qualifying, Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
1 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR ARCA Menards Series: The Sprecher 150, Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
2 p.m.
USA — IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The Michelin GT Challenge, Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Va.
3:30 p.m.
NBC — NTT IndyCar Series: The Bommarito Automotive Group 500, World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
4 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: The Clean Harbors 175, Playoffs – Round of 10, Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
2 a.m. (Monday)
CNBC — Pro Motocross Championship: The Ironman National, Crawfordsville, Ind. (Taped)
CFL FOOTBALL
7 p.m.
CBSSN — Ottawa at Edmonton
COLLEGE SOCCER (MEN’S)
7 p.m.
BTN — UNC-Greensboro at Maryland
COLLEGE SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
12 p.m.
ACCN — Wisconsin at Duke
2 p.m.
ACCN — Arkansas at Notre Dame
CYCLING
8 a.m.
CNBC — UCI: Vuelta a España, Stage 1, 9 miles, Barcelona, Spain (Taped)
10 a.m.
CNBC — UCI: Vuelta a España, Stage 2, 113 miles, Mataró to Barcelona, Spain
FISHING
8 a.m.
FS1 — Bassmaster Elite Series: The 2023 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, Clayton, N.Y.
GOLF
6 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: The D+D Real Czech Masters, Final Round, Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
12 p.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour: The TOUR Championship, Final Round, East Lake Golf Course, Atlanta
1:30 p.m.
CBS — PGA Tour: The TOUR Championship, Final Round, East Lake Golf Course, Atlanta
GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Ally Challenge, Final Round, Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Grand Blanc Township, Mich.
4 p.m.
GOLF — Korn Ferry Tour: The Albertsons Boise Open, Final Round, Hillcrest Country Club Inc., Boise, Idaho
7 p.m.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: The CPK Canadian Women’s Open, Final Round, Shaughnessy Golf Course, Vancouver, British Columbia
10 p.m.
GOLF — USGA: The U.S. Senior Women’s Open, Final Round, Waverley CC, Portland, Ore. (Taped)
GYMNASTICS
12 p.m.
NBC — USGA: U.S. Championships, Men’s Events – Day 2, Tampa, Fla. (Taped)
7 p.m.
NBC — USGA: U.S. Championships, Women’s Events – Day 2, Tampa, Fla.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
1 p.m.
ESPN — Our Lady of Good Counsel (Md.) at St. Edward (Ohio)
HORSE RACING
1 p.m.
FS2 — Saratoga Live: From Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
11 a.m.
ESPN — Little League World Series: TBD, Third-Place Game, Williamsport, Pa.
3 p.m.
ABC — Little League World Series: TBD, Championship, Williamsport, Pa.
MLB BASEBALL
12:05 p.m.
PEACOCK — LA Angels at NY Mets
1:30 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: LA Dodgers at Boston OR NY Yankees at Tampa Bay
4:30 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Cincinnati at Arizona OR Kansas City at Seattle (Joined in Progress)
7 p.m.
ESPN — Atlanta at San Francisco
ESPN2 — Atlanta at San Francisco (KayRod Cast)
NFL FOOTBALL
8 p.m.
FOX — Preseason: Houston at New Orleans
RODEO
12 p.m.
CBS — PBR: The Camping World Teams Series, Austin, Texas (Taped)
3 p.m.
CBSSN — PBR: The Camping World Teams Series, Austin, Texas
SOCCER (MEN’S)
9 a.m.
USA — Premier League: Manchester City at Sheffield United
11:30 a.m.
USA — Premier League: Liverpool at Newcastle United
4:30 p.m.
FOX — MLS: Minnesota United at Seattle
SOFTBALL
3:30 p.m.
ESPN2 — Athletes Unlimited: Team Denham vs. Team Flippen, Rosemont, Ill.
TRACK AND FIELD
12 p.m.
CNBC — World Championships: Men’s Marathon, Budapest, Hungary (Taped)
1 p.m.
NBC — World Championships: Final Day, Budapest, Hungary
2:30 p.m.
CNBC — World Championships: Final Day, Budapest, Hungary
WNBA BASKETBALL
1 p.m.
CBSSN — Los Angeles at Connecticut
4 p.m.
NBATV — Atlanta at Indiana
6 p.m. NBATV — Dallas at Phoenix