THE INDIANA SRN “SPORTSPAGE” TUESDAY APRIL 9, 2024

INDIANA BASEBALL RANKINGS

4A

1 CENTER GROVE

2 CARMEL

3 NOBLESVILLE

4 EVANSVILLE NORTH

5 FLOYD CENTRAL

6 LAKE CENTRAL

7 MOORESVILLE

8 PENN

9 WESTFIELD

9 FISHERS

3A

1 ANDREAN

2 GUERIN CATHOLIC

3 BREBEUF

4 BISHOP CHATARD

5 NEW PRAIRIE

6 PRINCETON

6 SILVER CREEK

8 SB ST. JOSEPH

9 EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL

10 JASPER

2A

1 FOREST PARK

2 HAGERSTOWN

3 MITCHELL

4 PARK TUDOR

5 ILLIANA CHRISTIAN

6 CASCADE

7 NORTH POSEY

8 TRITON CENTRAL

9 PROVIDENCE

10 LAPEL

1A

1 LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC

2 BARR REEVE

3 WES DEL

4 NORTH DAVIESS

5 FW BLACKHAWK

6 LOOGOOTEE

7 LUTHERAN

8 KOUTS

9 BORDEN

10 WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

INDIANA BASEBALL SCORES MONDAY

https://www.maxpreps.com/in/baseball/scores/?date=4/8/2024

INDIANA SOFTBALL SCORES MONDAY

https://www.maxpreps.com/in/softball/scores/?date=4/8/2024

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

UCONN 75 PURDUE 60

NBA SCOREBOARD

NO GAME SCHEDULED

STANDINGS:

https://www.foxsports.com/nba/standings

NHL SCOREBOARD

TORONTO 3 PITTSBURGH 2 OT

VANCOUVER 4 VEGAS 3

STANDINGS: https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/standings

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

CLEVELAND 4 CHICAGO WHITESOX 0

NY YANKEES 7 MIAMI 0

PITTSBURGH 7 DETROIT 4

CINCINNATI 10 MILWAUKEE 8

TORONTO 5 SEATTLE 2

NY METS 8 ATLANTA 7

LA DODGERS 4 MINNESOTA 2

PHILADELPHIA 5 ST. LOUIS 3 (10)

HOUSTON 10 TEXAS 5

COLORADO 7 ARIZONA 5

LA ANGELS 7 TAMPA BAY 1

SAN DIEGO 9 CHICAGO CUBS 8

WASHINGTON 8 SAN FRANCISCO 1

STANDINGS: https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/standings

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

UFL SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

STANDINGS: https://www.foxsports.com/ufl/standings

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES

LEHIGH AT PENN STATE CANCELED

COLLEGE BASEBALL POLL-D1BASEBALL

1. ARKANSAS
2. CLEMSON
3. TEXAS A&M
4. TENNESSEE
5. OREGON STATE
6. FLORIDA
7. VANDERBILT
8. DALLAS BAPTIST
9. DUKE
10. NORTH CAROLINA
11. VIRGINIA TECH
12. EAST CAROLINA
13. ALABAMA
14. FLORIDA STATE
15. VIRGINIA
16. UC IRVINE
17. KENTUCKY
18. LSU
19. NORTH CAROLINA STATE
20. COASTAL CAROLINA
21. WAKE FOREST
22. SOUTH CAROLINA
23. MISSISSIPPI STATE
24. NEBRASKA
25. CENTRAL FLORIDA

COLLEGE BASEBALL POLL-BASEBALL AMERICA

1. ARKANSAS
2. CLEMSON
3. TEXAS A&M
4. TENNESSEE
5. VANDERBILT
6. DUKE
7. FLORIDA STATE
8. OREGON STATE
9. VIRGINIA
10. KENTUCKY
11. UC IRVINE
12. EAST CAROLINA
13. DALLAS BAPTIST
14. NORTH CAROLINA
15. MISSISSIPPI STATE
16. ALABAMA
17. OREGON
18. WAKE FOREST
19. CENTRAL FLORIDA
20. VIRGINIA TECH
21. NEBRASKA
22. COASTAL CAROLINA
23. OKLAHOMA STATE
24. LOUISIANA
25. SOUTH CAROLINA

COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

NATIONAL SPORTS RELEASES/HEADLINES

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

UCONN BECOMES 1ST BACK-TO-BACK CHAMP IN 17 YEARS

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A basketball beatdown. A coaching clinic. A double-digit domination.

Take one guess who finished off a romp through college basketball again. You bet, it’s UConn — a program built to win now, and often, and by a lot every time the Huskies take the court.

UConn delivered the latest of its suffocating hoops performances Monday night, smothering Purdue for a 75-60 victory to become the first team since 2007 to capture back-to-back national championships.

Tristen Newton scored 20 points for the Huskies, who won their 12th straight March Madness game — not a single one of them decided by fewer than 13 points.

UConn was efficient on offense but won this with defense. The Huskies (37-3) limited the country’s second-best 3-point shooting team to a mere seven shots behind the arc and only a single make, while happily allowing 7-foot-4 AP Player of the Year Zach Edey to go for 37 points on 25 shot attempts.

UConn won its sixth overall title and joined the 2006-07 Florida Gators and the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils as just the third team to repeat since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and ’70s.

“Can’t even wrap your mind around it,” coach Dan Hurley said. “You just know how hard this tournament is.”

But is it?

The 2024 Huskies are the sixth team to win all six tournament games by double-digit margins. They won those games by a grand total of 140 points, blowing past the 1996 Kentucky team, which won its six by 129.

In a matchup of two top seeds, they wore down the Boilermakers (34-5), who made it this far a year after becoming just the second No. 1 seed in the history of March Madness to fall in the first round. But Purdue left the same way it came — still looking for the program’s first NCAA title.

In what was supposed to be a free-for-all in this new age of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals, UConn has figured out how to dominate.

“We just recruit really talented NBA players that are willing to not make it about themselves, and to be part of a winning group, to go for all the championships,” Hurley said.

Cam Spencer, a transfer from Rutgers, Stephon Castle, a blue-chip freshman, and Alex Karaban, a sophomore from last year’s team, spent the night guarding the 3-point line and making life miserable for Purdue’s guards.

“They just made a decision — we can defend the perimeter, and we can take this away from you, you’re going to get the ball to your best player, he’ll be 1-on-1, and that’s that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “They were going to live with that.”

This was only the second time this season Purdue didn’t put up 10 3-point attempts, and how ’bout this final score: Edey 37, the rest of the Boilermakers 23.

How serious was Hurley about defending the perimeter? When Braden Smith wiggled loose for a semi-open look to make Purdue’s first 3 of the game with 2:17 left in the first half, the coach bolted onto the floor and called timeout.

And that was that from behind the arc.

With his Xs-and-Os masterpiece, Hurley joins former Florida coach Billy Donovan in the back-to-back club, and is in company with Bill Self and Rick Pitino as only the third active coach with two championships.

Nobody will say the UConn coach didn’t work for this one. In the first half, he begged with, swore at generally berated the refs about over-the-backs, elbows and hip checks that weren’t called.

Once, when that didn’t work after Edey set a hard (and probably legal) pick against Castle, Hurley started in on Edey himself as the center walked toward the Purdue bench for a timeout.

But the coach’s best work came in whatever hotel room he used to draw up the game plan. How did he deliver it to the Huskies?

“The message was that we were the best team in the country,” Hurley said. “Purdue was clearly the second-best team in the country. Play to our identity, be who we’ve been the whole year, and we’ll be champions.”

It’s no slight on Edey, who battled gamely, finishing with 10 rebounds to record his 30th double-double of the season. But this game proved the number crunchers right. UConn let Edey back in and back down all night on 7-2 Donovan Clingan, giving up difficult 2s in the post in exchange for any 3s.

Meanwhile, as the big fella started wearing down, the Huskies took the ball right at him. Castle finished with 15 points and both Spencer and Clingan had 11. UConn made a modest six 3-pointers, which was right at its season average.

REPORT: ARIZONA C OUMAR BALLO TO ENTER TRANSFER PORTAL

Arizona center Oumar Ballo is entering the NCAA transfer portal, CBS Sports reported Monday.

Ballo led the Wildcats in rebounds (10.1 per game) and was second in scoring (12.9 points) this season.

The 7-footer from Mali was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and was named to the conference’s all-defensive team.

He has one year of eligibility remaining.

In 109 career appearances (72 starts) with Arizona, Ballo is a 64.6 percent shooter with averages of 11.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. All of his starts came in the past two seasons, when he averaged at least 26 minutes per games in each season.

Arizona (27-9, 15-5 Pac-12) lost to Clemson 77-72 in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

REPORTS: KENTUCKY FROSH AARON BRADSHAW TO ENTER PORTAL

Kentucky 7-foot-1 freshman Aaron Bradshaw, a former five-star recruit, will enter the transfer portal, multiple outlets reported Monday.

The reports came hours after the news that head coach John Calipari is finalizing a deal to become the new coach at Arkansas.

Bradshaw played in 26 games (10 starts) under Calipari this season, averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.

Calipari landed Bradshaw out of Camden, N.J. The 247Sports composite listed Bradshaw as the No. 1 center and No. 4 overall player in the 2023 class.

TAKE 5: TOP KENTUCKY CANDIDATES TO REPLACE JOHN CALIPARI

A stunning domino effect has left Kentucky searching for a coach to replace the embattled John Calipari, who is reportedly leaving the Wildcats for SEC rival Arkansas.

In some ways, it may be ripping the band-aid off a situation where Calipari had lost significant faith from both athletic director Mitch Barnhart and a rabid fan base. But who replaces the 65-year-old, who led Kentucky to a national title and three other Final Four appearances, may turn out to be far more complex than one would anticipate for one of the nation’s most prestigious programs.

Several potential marquee candidates either have buyouts that could prove problematic or aren’t expected to be drawn to the job — think former Villanova coach Jay Wright, Gonzaga’s Mark Few and UConn’s Danny Hurley.

The ripple effect began when SMU fired Rob Lanier following a 20-win season, leading Andy Enfield to surprisingly bolt Southern California for the ACC-bound Mustangs. That in turn created an opening with the Trojans that Eric Musselman jumped at, opening the door for Calipari to be lured by well-backed boosters with whom he has ties.

The next domino to fall is now likely to be who Kentucky sets its sights on — and who is interested in taking on the massive spotlight that constantly shines on the Wildcats’ program. Here are five potential candidates:

5. Rick Pitino, St. John’s: That the 71-year-old is even on this list speaks to the hurdles Kentucky may find itself navigating. Pitino led the Wildcats to the national title in 1996 and nearly repeated the feat the following year. He then bolted for the NBA and has made sixth other stops since. Most recent is St. John’s, which narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth this season. It’s a longshot, but not impossible to see the Wildcats going back to the well here.

4. Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls: Whether Donovan is interested in returning to the college scene is a big unknown. If he is, the 58-year-old could quickly leap to the head of the pack. Donovan won a pair of national titles while at Florida along with two other Final Four appearances. He also has ties to Kentucky, where he began his coaching career as an assistant under Pitino from 1989-94. However, does he want to return to a college basketball recruiting scene driven by the transfer portal and NIL deals?

3. Mark Pope, BYU: Pope played under Pitino and Donovan on the 1996 title team and his ties to Kentucky run very deep. He’s not the biggest name on the Wildcats’ likely list of candidates, but Pope has rebuilt the BYU program into one that qualified for this year’s NCAA Tournament. Kentucky has the resources to attract the attention of far bigger names on the national stage and typically swings big in its coaching searches. But if the interest from marquee names doesn’t prove to be mutual, Pope could emerge as a legitimate contender.

2. Nate Oats, Alabama: Oats is fresh off a Final Four run with the Crimson Tide, but he also has an $18 million buyout. The 49-year-old Oats took over the Crimson Tide in 2019 after five years with Buffalo. After a 16-15 record in his first season, Alabama has reached the NCAA Tournament each of the past four seasons, including a pair of Sweet 16 appearances before this year’s Final Four run.

1. Scott Drew, Baylor: Prying Drew away from Baylor may prove a significant challenge. He took over the program in 2003 after a short stint at Valparaiso following his legendary father, Homer Drew, and has led the Bears to a pair of Big 12 regular-season titles the past three years along with the national championship in 2021. Drew also recently turned down Louisville.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NEWS

GUARDIANS RHP SHANE BIEBER ‘NOT READY TO SAY’ PITCH CLOCK CAUSING INJURIES

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber refused to ride the current of criticism pointing to the pitch clock as the reason for an increase in season-ending arm injuries.

Bieber, one of several prominent power pitchers injured in the first two weeks of the 2024 MLB season, decided to have Tommy John surgery following two dominant starts, with 20 strikeouts in 12 scoreless innings. He’s also in the final year of his contract in Cleveland, which brought a storm of emotion when he was asked about the contributing factors on Monday.

“I’m not ready to say that that’s the reason that it happened,” Bieber said of whether the pitch clock helped cause his injury.

“From a conditioning and cardiovascular standpoint, that hasn’t affected pictures, I don’t think. So it’s hard to say what’s going on in the inner workings of the elbow and the arm.”

Braves ace Spencer Strider has UCL damage in his right elbow and is scheduled for more testing after the initial results brought red flags.

“It wasn’t good,” manager Brian Snitker confirmed Sunday.

Bieber, Miami’s Eury Pérez and Oakland’s Trevor Gott are among the hard-throwers facing uncertain futures because of arm injuries.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark directly blamed the advent of the pitch clock last season for the increase in elbow issues for pitchers.

“Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the Commissioner’s Office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades,” Clark said in a statement. Since then, our concerns about the health impacts of reduced recovery time have only intensified. The league’s unwillingness thus far to acknowledge or study the effects of these profound change is an unprecedented threat to our game and its most valuable asset — the players.”

MLB fired back quickly, claiming “empirical evidence” and historical trends are entirely ignored in Clark’s assertion.

The 28-year-old Bieber had been offered a long-term deal by the Guardians but was making a bet on himself entering his free agency season.

“It’s unfortunate the timing of everything,” Bieber said. “As athletes, you can’t control some of these things. So we do what we can. We stay positive. I’ve got an amazing support system with my family, with my teammates, with everybody around here.

“I’m excited to keep my head down, move forward, and it’s easy to keep things in perspective. Things could be a lot worse, I’ll put it that way.”

MARINERS RHPS CODY BOLTON, COLLIN SNIDER LAND ON IL

The Seattle Mariners placed right-handed relievers Cody Bolton and Collin Snider on the 15-day injured list among a series of moves Monday.

Bolton’s injury was listed as a “general medical issue,” retroactive to Saturday, while Snider is dealing with a contusion on his left knee.

The Mariners called up right-handers Brett de Geus and Tyson Miller from Triple-A Tacoma to replace Bolton and Snider in the bullpen.

Seattle also reinstated first baseman Ty France from the paternity list, optioned infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor to Tacoma and designated right-hander Ty Adcock for assignment.

Bolton, 25, has no decisions and a 3.00 ERA in four relief appearances this year. Snider, 28, has no decisions and a 6.00 ERA in three relief appearances. Both are in their first season with the Mariners.

MLB ROUNDUP: PADRES RALLY FROM 8-RUN DEFICIT TO BEAT CUBS

Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning, capping the San Diego Padres’ comeback from an eight-run deficit as they stunned the visiting Chicago Cubs 9-8 on Monday.

Jackson Merrill started the San Diego eighth by working a walk from reliever Hector Neris. Neris and closer Adbert Alzolay (1-1) retired the next two hitters before Tatis drilled a hanging slider an estimated 376 feet into the seats in left field for his fourth homer of the year.

The long ball made a winner out of reliever Wandy Peralta (1-0), who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Robert Suarez worked a 1-2-3 ninth to garner his fourth save of the year, handing Chicago just its second loss in the past eight games.

Cubs starter Javier Assad allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in five-plus innings, whiffing seven. Padres starter Yu Darvish lasted only three innings, permitting four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four.

Reds 10, Brewers 8

Elly De La Cruz drilled a 450-foot home run to center and added an electrifying inside-the-parker to help Cincinnati hold off visiting Milwaukee.

After seeing his 13-game hitting streak dating back to last season come to an end on Sunday, De La Cruz had three hits for his first multi-hit game of the season. His inside-the-park homer in the seventh provided the Reds with a much-needed lift after they watched an 8-0 lead dwindle to one run, 9-8, entering the bottom of the seventh.

Graham Ashcraft (1-1) was dominant over the first four innings, allowing only an infield single. Ashcraft was then tagged for six runs (five earned) on eight hits in his final 1 2/3 innings.

Nationals 8, Giants 1

Trey Lipscomb stole home as part of a three-run second inning, Lane Thomas bombed a two-run home run and visiting Washington spoiled Blake Snell’s Giants debut by beating San Francisco.

Trevor Williams (2-0) and three relievers combined on a six-hitter for the Nationals, who won their second straight in the opener of a nine-game trip.

Snell (0-1), who didn’t pitch in spring training after waiting until March 19 to sign with the Giants, was pulled after three innings, during which he allowed three runs and three hits.

Yankees 7, Marlins 0

Anthony Volpe and Juan Soto hit three-run homers in a six-run fourth inning, Nestor Cortes pitched a career-high-tying eight innings and host New York cruised to a victory over Miami.

After a solar eclipse postponed batting practice, the Yankees improved to 9-2 to match their best 11-game start in team history and are off to their best start since 2020. It is the eighth time in team history New York has opened with nine wins in 11 games. Alex Verdugo added an RBI single for the Yankees, who have scored 24 runs in their three-game winning streak. Cortes (1-1) allowed two singles and pitched eight innings for the third time in his career after posting a 6.30 ERA in his first two starts.

Miami’s Jesus Luzardo (0-2) tied a career worst by allowing seven runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He also gave up seven runs against the Yankees last August in Miami and tied a career worst by issuing five walks.

Phillies 5, Cardinals 3 (10 innings)

Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott drove in 10th-inning runs as visiting Philadelphia outlasted St. Louis.

Phillies starter Spencer Turnbull allowed two hits in six shutout innings while walking one and striking out six. Jeff Hoffman (1-0) blew his save opportunity by allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but he earned the victory. Gregory Soto tossed a scoreless 10th for his first save. Brandon Marsh (2-for-4, homer, two runs), Trea Turner (3-for-5, RBI) and Johan Rojas (3-for-4, RBI) paced the Philadelphia offense.

Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas gave up two runs on six hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Ryan Helsley (1-1) allowed two runs, one earned, in the 10th inning to take the loss.

Angels 7, Rays 1

Tyler Anderson threw seven scoreless innings and got offensive support from Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Anthony Rendon in Los Angeles’ victory over Tampa Bay in Anaheim, Calif.

Anderson (2-0), who threw seven scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins in his previous start, made it a clean sweep of the Florida teams with Monday’s performance. He became the first pitcher in Angels history to begin the season with consecutive starts of seven or more scoreless innings. Ward had three hits — all singles — and three RBIs, while Trout homered, tripled and singled.

Rays starter Zach Eflin (1-2) gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings. He struck out five.

Astros 10, Rangers 5

Yordan Alvarez homered in a three-hit game, Victor Caratini slugged a three-run shot and Houston rallied to earn a split of the four-game series in Arlington, Texas.

Alex Bregman and Alvarez both went 3-for-5 for the Astros. Four Houston relievers threw a combined 8 2/3 scoreless innings after spot starter Blair Henley got just one out in his major league debut. Henley filled in for Framber Valdez, a late scratch due to elbow discomfort.

Texas starter Andrew Heaney (0-2) allowed six runs on four hits over 3 2/3 innings. Corey Seager finished 3-for-5.

Mets 8, Braves 7

DJ Stewart snapped a season-long hitless streak by delivering a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning as New York overcame an early four-run deficit win at Atlanta.

New York’s Brandon Nimmo hit the first of his two game-tying homers, a three-run blast in the fifth inning, before Travis d’Arnaud put the Braves ahead with a run-scoring double in the sixth. Nimmo hit a solo homer to center in the seventh. Nimmo finished 4-for-4 and with a career-high five RBIs.

Stewart, who had been hitless in 19 plate appearances before his homer, allowed Jake Diekman (1-0) to get the win after he gave up one run in one inning of relief.

Blue Jays 5, Mariners 2

Jose Berrios pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings as Toronto won its home opener at the renovated Rogers Centre, defeating Seattle.

Vladimir Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a double and Davis Schneider was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Blue Jays, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Berrios (2-0) gave up just four hits.

J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh homered and Ty France went 3-for-4 for the Mariners, who dropped their second game in a row. Seattle ace Luis Castillo (0-3) lasted five innings and allowed four runs for the third time in as many starts this season.

Dodgers 4, Twins 2

Shohei Ohtani went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a home run and Los Angeles rallied for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.

James Outman also homered for the Dodgers, who won for the ninth time in 13 games to start the season. Freddie Freeman and Will Smith added one RBI apiece. Los Angeles left-hander James Paxton (2-0) held the Twins to two runs on three hits in six innings.

Manuel Margot hit a two-run home run for Minnesota, which dropped its third straight game. Twins right-hander Jay Jackson (0-1) took the loss after giving up two runs on two hits in one inning of relief.

Guardians 4, White Sox 0

Triston McKenzie threw 5 2/3 shutout innings to help Cleveland Guardians to a win against visiting Chicago in the opener of their three-game series.

McKenzie (1-1) allowed three hits, struck out two and walked four. Jose Ramirez hit a two-run home run and Steven Kwan had three hits and a run for the Guardians.

The White Sox used a string of relief pitchers, starting with left-hander Tanner Banks (0-1), who allowed one run and two hits in 2 1/3 innings. Chicago, which finished with four hits, has lost nine of its first 10.

Pirates 7, Tigers 4

Bryan Reynolds hit his 100th career home run and Mitch Keller picked up his first win of the season as host Pittsburgh won its third straight game, beating Detroit.

Connor Joe and Jared Triolo each had two hits and two RBIs for Pittsburgh, which improved to 9-2, its best start to a season since 1992. Keller (1-1) gave up two runs on five hits over six innings.

Colt Keith and Matt Vierling each had two hits and an RBI for Detroit, which took its third defeat in a row. Reese Olson (0-1) gave up six runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 5

Charlie Blackmon homered and tripled, Ryan McMahon had three hits and Colorado held off Arizona in Denver.

Peter Lambert (2-0) tossed two scoreless relief innings for Colorado. Nick Mears gave up a run and loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before Jake Bird entered and retired Eugenio Suarez on a fly ball to right field for his first career save.

Christian Walker and Corbin Carroll had two hits apiece for Arizona, which has dropped five straight to keep manager Torey Lovullo at 499 career wins. Arizona starter Zac Gallen yielded three runs on eight hits, struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter in five innings.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

COLLEGE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: TENNESSEE’S PRODIGIOUS HOME RUN HITTING ON DISPLAY AGAINST AUBURN

It’s midseason and, well, Tennessee’s offense is in midseason form.

The Volunteers hit 14 home runs in a weekend series win at Auburn, with six in the second game and six more in the third.

“It’s a saying I’ve heard since I was little: hitting is contagious,” said Cal Stark, who homered twice Sunday and was among eight Vols to connect in the series. “We showed it these past two games. Whenever everybody starts clicking on all cylinders, it keeps rolling like these last two games, and it makes it extra fun in the dugout.”

Coach Tony Vitello has made the long ball the focal point of his offense. The Vols’ 500 homers since 2020 are most in the country. Tennessee and Georgia are national co-leaders this season with 87. The Vols’ 10.4 runs per game is second in the country behind Wofford’s 11.4.

Christian Moore homered in all three games against Auburn and has a team-leading 13, and four of his teammates have double-digit homers.

The Vols lost the series opener 9-5 and rebounded to win 12-2 and 19-5 in games ended by the 10-run rule after seven innings.

“I think the guys were pretty well locked in all weekend, except when we got punched in the gut Friday. Maybe needed to respond better there a little bit,” Vitello said. “But to win a series on the road is huge in the SEC.”

The Vols (26-6, 7-5), ranked as high as No. 4 this week, are third in the SEC East, four games behind Kentucky and one behind Vanderbilt.

No player had a bigger weekend than Stark, who has started just 13 games at catcher and appeared in 19 games. He has had a knack for getting clutch hits. He hit a grand slam against Eastern Kentucky on March 12 and doubled and had a bunt-single in a series-clinching win over Georgia on March 31. He drove in seven runs while going 3 for 3 on Sunday, and he’s 7 for 13 in his last four games.

“It feels awesome being able to contribute on that side of the ball, the offensive side,” Stark said. “Whenever all of us are swinging the bat like we did this week, it makes us a dangerous team.”

IN THE POLLS

Arkansas, Clemson and Texas A&M remain the top three teams in polls by D1Baseball.com and Baseball America.

The Razorbacks (27-3) swept Mississippi over the weekend and are out to their best 30-game start in program history. At 11-1 in conference games, they have their best 12-game start since they joined the SEC in 1992. They’ve won a program-record 21 straight at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Clemson (28-3) have won six straight after sweeping Notre Dame, winning Sunday’s game 13-12 in 11 innings.

Texas A&M (28-4) extended its win streak to eight games before it lost 6-5 at nationally ranked South Carolina on Sunday.

ANTEATERS ON MISSION

UC Irvine (24-4) is playing as if it wants to leave no doubt it belongs in the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters’ 38-win team was among the first four teams left out of the tournament in 2023. They won two of three against nationally ranked UC Santa Barbara, sit No. 18 in the RPI and visit Big West defending champion San Diego after meeting Southern California on Tuesday.

STRUTTING PEACOCKS

Long-suffering Saint Peter’s recorded its first series sweep in 10 years with its three home wins against Manhattan over the weekend. The Peacocks clinched the sweep with an 8-5 win Sunday, using a five-run eighth inning to erase a 4-3 deficit. Saint Peter’s (10-22) hasn’t had a winning season since 1990 and hadn’t swept an opponent since doing it against Rider on April 12-13, 2014.

NFL NEWS

FALCONS SIGN FORMER PACKERS CB KEVIN KING

The Atlanta Falcons signed free agent cornerback Kevin King on Monday. Terms were not disclosed.

King, 28, was a second-round pick by Green Bay in 2017 but has not played in the NFL since 2021.

In five seasons with the Packers, he had seven interceptions and 197 tackles in 51 games (42 starts).

King sat out the 2022 season to focus on his mental health, then tore an Achilles tendon getting ready for 2023.

REPORT: COWBOYS WR CEEDEE LAMB TO SKIP OTAS

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is not expected to attend offseason training activities barring a lucrative contract extension, the Dallas Morning News reported Monday.

The Cowboys begin the voluntary portion of their spring workout program on April 15.

Lamb, who turned 25 on Monday, is due to earn $17.99 million under a fifth-year team option in 2024. That’s a bargain-basement price for a player coming off a record-setting All-Pro season in 2023.

Lamb broke Michael Irvin’s single-season franchise marks with an NFL-high 135 catches and 1,749 yards, adding a career-high 12 touchdown catches in 17 starts.

The three-time Pro Bowler’s agent, Tory Dandy, did not respond to the Morning News’ request for comment on whether Lamb would join his teammates next week.

The Cowboys will hold six OTA practices starting on May 24. Player attendance is not mandatory until the June 4-6 minicamp.

Drafted 17th overall in 2020, Lamb has racked up 395 catches for 5,145 yards and 32 touchdowns in 66 games (61 starts) for the Cowboys.

BEARS HOST OHIO STATE WR MARVIN HARRISON JR.

Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. visited the Chicago Bears at Halas Hall on Monday, representing one of the franchise’s “top 30” visits permitted by the NFL prior to the April 25 draft.

Harrison is projected as a top-10 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. The debate of the No. 1 receiver in the class centers on LSU’s Malik Nabers, who has also visited the Bears, and Harrison, the progeny of Pro Football Hall of Famer and longtime Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

The younger Harrison shredded the Big Ten for 155 receptions, 2,613 yards and 31 touchdowns in three seasons. He set the Buckeyes’ career record with 15 100-yard receiving games.

He was a back-to-back All-American in 2022 and 2023 and a Heisman Trophy finalist last year, but Harrison has been mostly idle on the pre-draft circuit. He didn’t run at the Scouting Combine or his pro day but most teams reserve the right to request a complete workout when prospects visit the team facility.

The Bears hold the first and ninth picks in the first round with most of the doubt around the No. 1 pick erased as Chicago continues to signal USC quarterback Caleb Williams is the selection, barring a significant trade offer.

NFL DRAFT PROFILES

ZACH FRAZIER

WEST VIRGINIA · IOL · SENIOR

Frazier is a very physical center with average size and length. In the pass game, he is quick out of his stance, plays with a wide, firm base and immediately anchors. He has the lateral quickness to redirect and mirror while playing with excellent eyes/awareness. He will occasionally get overaggressive, duck his head and put himself in a tough spot, but he’s athletic enough to recover. In the run game, he locks on with strong hands, rolls his hips and uproots defenders. He is quick to the second level and adjusts well in space. He is a bulldog, collecting one knockdown after another to finish plays. Frazier was a four-time state wrestling champion in high school and he carries that tenacity over to the football field. He will be a Day 1 starter and tempo setter for the team that drafts him.

KAMARI LASSITER

GEORGIA · CB · JUNIOR

Lassiter is a lean, athletic cornerback with inside/outside positional flexibility. In press man, he isn’t very physical, but he is patient and avoids putting himself in a bad position. He’s a fluid athlete and rarely gets out of phase at any level of the route. He has enough speed to carry go routes down the field. He can turn, find the ball and make a play on it down the field. He is very competitive as a tackler, especially from the nickel position. He stays square and wraps up cleanly. Overall, Lassiter has a lot of value because of his ability to line up at multiple spots and compete against the pass and run.

BRADEN FISKE

FLORIDA STATE · DT · SENIOR

Fiske is an explosive, versatile defensive lineman. He aligns up and down the defensive front and he’s very disruptive in every game I’ve studied. As a pass rusher, he has a quick first step and he jolts blockers with his powerful hands. He doesn’t have long arms, but he still keeps blockers away from his chest. He flashes the ability to bull rush, but most of his wins come by working through the edges of opponents and not through their chest. In the run game, he has the balance/strength to hold up against double teams and the quickness to shoot gaps for negative plays. I love his effort/tenacity. Overall, Fiske is a competitive, athletic and impactful defensive lineman capable of starting right away.

DARIUS ROBINSON

MISSOURI · EDGE · SENIOR

Robinson is a big, long and versatile defensive lineman. He lined up all over the Tigers’ defensive front. As a pass rusher, he wins on the edge primarily with a violent push/pull move. He will flash some other means to get home, including a club/rip maneuver or a pop/separate/close move. He doesn’t have a dynamic first step, but his raw power showed up in every game I studied. As an inside rusher, he loves to use a swooping arm-over move, but he needs to improve his pad level. He plays too high at times and gets stuck. Against the run, he dominates. He sets a physical edge and can shed blockers to get in on tackles. His evaluation is similar to Arik Armstead’s coming out of college. He can do a lot of things well, and teams will have different visions for how to best use his abilities.

RICKY PEARSALL

FLORIDA · WR · SENIOR

Pearsall is a loose, smooth wideout with outstanding hands and toughness. He is quick in his release and he understands how to change gears as a route runner. He is fluid getting into and out of breaks. He has outstanding hands. He attacks the ball at the highest point and makes some circus catches (SEE: one-handed gem vs. Charlotte). After the catch, he is quick to transition up the field and has the elusiveness to make defenders miss in space. He has a lean frame, but he plays with excellent toughness and competitiveness. Pearsall followed up an excellent 2023 season with a solid week at the Senior Bowl and should have a starting role from Day 1 for his drafting team.

PAYTON WILSON

N.C. STATE · LB · SENIOR

Wilson is a height/weight/speed linebacker with excellent instincts and playmaking ability. He has the tools to play stacked in the box or as the hole defender in space. Against the pass, he is fluid in his zone drops. He relies on his eyes to jump routes and get his hands on the ball. He has the speed/agility to mirror backs and tight ends. To see his ball skills and playmaking ability, check out his pick-six against Clemson. Against the run, he uses his length to stack and shed blocks. His hands are strong and violent. He is quick to key, read and flow to the ball. He is a firm chest-up tackler with a high batting average. The major concern with Wilson is durability. He’s suffered a multitude of injuries during his career, but he’s always managed to come back and play at a high level. 

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS

IOWA DB COOPER DEJEAN HEALTHY, CERTIFIES ‘FREAK’ STATUS AT PRO DAY

Versatile Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean proved his health and certified his celebrated “freak” status at a pro day workout on Monday.

DeJean spent most of the pre-draft circuit rehabbing his left leg after a season-ending broken fibula in November. Since that practice injury in Iowa City, he was unable to participate in all-star games and the NFL Scouting Combine, instead setting up a private workout for scouts and then blowing them away.

DeJean weighed 202 pounds at just under 6-foot-1, ran in the 4.4s and posted a 10-foot-4-inch broad jump and 38.5-inch vertical, according to results posted by NFL Network from the event.

An All-American cornerback at Iowa, DeJean also starred as a kick returner. Some NFL teams view him as a safety and others anticipate a hybrid role blending responsibilities of a safety, cornerback and slot corner.

“I feel like I have the ability to play multiple different positions on the back end,” DeJean said at the Combine in February.

Speed and suddenness are trademarks that made him one of the top playmakers for the Hawkeyes, whose coaches long advertised DeJean as one of the “freaks” of the program.

NHL NEWS

MCCABE, MATTHEWS POWER LEAFS PAST PENGUINS

TORONTO (AP) — Jake McCabe scored at 1:30 of overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Monday night.

Auston Matthews got his NHL-leading 65th goal of the season to go along with an assist, while Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves.

In the extra period, McCabe took a pass from Auston Matthews after a near mix-up at Toronto’s bench between Mitch Marner and Tyler Bertuzzi and buried his eighth goal of the season.

“I was waiting to see what Mitch and Bert were gonna do,” McCabe said. “Auston found me on the backside.”

Rickard Rakell and Drew O’Connor scored for Pittsburgh, which is now 6-0-3 over its last nine to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. Alex Nedeljkovic had 20 saves.

The Penguins are tied with Detroit for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, and trail the New York Islanders by one point for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Matthews gave Toronto a 2-1 lead on the power play at 1:22 of the third period when he ripped a one-timer 3 seconds into the man advantage. Matthews has scored six times in the last five games, and remains on pace to put up 69 goals with five games left in the season as he looks to become the first player to hit 70 in more than three decades.

“You know, 60 was crazy. … 65 it’s … you look at it in awe,” Knies said. “It’s pretty incredible what he can do. … Cross my fingers. I want to see 70.”

Matthews’ 65 goals matched Alex Ovechkin’s total from 2007-08 — the most by an active player and the NHL’s high-water mark since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.

“He’s going about it the right way,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He’s trusting that his ability is going to shine through — he’s going to be able to score — and however it works out in the end, I think he’ll be content. … Certainly should be proud of what he’s done, how he’s handled himself, all the way through.”

However, Pittsburgh tied it with 6:42 remaining when Drew O’Connor swatted home his 14th off a scramble in the crease.

The Penguins sat nine points below the playoff cutline on March 27, but have dragged themselves back into the race thanks to its nine-game point streak — and some pedestrian performances from the teams above and around them in the standings.

“Close game,” said Crosby, who had a skate issue and never saw the ice in OT. “We’ll look at this as hopefully an important point here down the road.”

Toronto killed off two Pittsburgh power plays, including a great chance off the stick of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, in a sleepy opening period for the Maple Leafs.

Evgeni Malkin took advantage of a turnover by Ilya Lyubushkin and fed a pass to Rakell, who kicked the puck to his stick before spinning and firing home his 14th with former Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting creating a screen with 1:54 left in the first period.

Toronto, which has already secured a postseason berth started the second period with a couple of dominant shifts in the offensive zone before T.J. Brodie found Knies at the lip of the Pittsburgh crease to redirect his 15th past Nedeljkovic.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host Detroit on Thursday night to open a three-game homestand.

Maple Leafs: At New Jersey on Tuesday night.

GARLAND SCORES TWICE AS CANUCKS BEAT GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4-3

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Conor Garland scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Monday night.

Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, and J.T. Miller had three assists. Arturs Silovs finished with 20 saves in his third start of the season.

Jack Eichel scored twice and Noah Hanifin had a goal and an assist for Vegas. Logan Thompson finished with 26 saves.

The Canucks remain atop the Pacific Division, five points up on the Edmonton Oilers while the Golden Knights hold on to the Western Conference’s second wild card.

Both sides put their special teams to use, with Vancouver going 2 for 3 with the man advantage and Vegas 2 for 4.

The Golden Knights called for a timeout with 1:55 left on the clock and pulled Thompson in favor of an extra skater. Elias Pettersson sent a clearing attempt off the boards near the penalty box and the puck ricocheted down the ice, narrowly missing the far post of Vegas’ empty net.

Eichel opened the scoring on a power play 1:51 into the game as he fired a shot from the high slot and the puck went off the leg of Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov before sailing in over Silovs’ left pad.

Eichel made it 2-0 at 8:06 with his second of the night and 29th of the season. Jonathan Marchessault got around Pettersson and sliced a pass across to Eichel. Stationed alone at the bottom of the faceoff circle, Eichel fired a shot past Silovs.

The Canucks got on the scoreboard with a power-play goal as Hughes fired a shot toward the Vegas net and, while Thompson stopped the initial shot, Garland got to the loose puck and swept it in from the side of the crease to make it 2-1 with 8:10 left in the first. It was his 100th regular-season goal.

Hughes tied it with 5:34 left in the opening period as his shot from just inside the blue line got through traffic and beat Thomspon for his 17th.

Hanifin regained the lead for the Golden Knights on the power play at 9:33 of the second for his 13th. Tomas Hertl, making his Vegas debut after being acquired from San Jose on March 8, had an assist on the play.

Boeser tied it 3-3 with 6:50 left in the secondwith a shot from the high slot. It was his 40th of the season, marking the first time Boeser has hit the milestone.

The Canucks took their first lead of the night with 89 seconds to go in the second. Thompson stopped a shot from Miller but couldn’t hang on to the puck and Garland — playing in his 400th NHL game — came around the back of the net to tip it in for his second goal of the night and 18th of the season.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: At Edmonton on Wednesday night to finish their regular season road schedule.

Canucks: Host Arizona on Wednesday night to finish a two-game homestand.

INDIANA SPORTS RELEASES/NEWS

INDIANA PACERS

GAME PREVIEW: PACERS AT RAPTORS

Entering their final full week of regular season games, the Indiana Pacers have control over whether they make the playoffs or Play-In Tournament to start postseason play.

Three games remain on the Pacers’ calendar, starting with a matchup against the Toronto Raptors (24-53) on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena.

The Pacers (45-34) sat in sixth place in the Eastern Conference on Sunday night – the final automatic playoffs bid – after a big win over the Miami Heat (43-35) in Indianapolis. The middle of the East is tight, as just 2.5 games separate the sixth-place Pacers and second-seeded Milwaukee Bucks (47-31).

The Pacers’ magic number to secure a playoff berth is down to two. They can secure a spot with two more wins, two losses by the Miami and the Philadelphia 76ers, or with one win and one loss by the Heat and Sixers.

Toronto has been mathematically eliminated from the postseason, and is just 1-9 over their last 10 games. On Sunday, the Raptors topped the Washington Wizards 130-122.

The Pacers, winners of four of their last five games, are hitting their stride heading into their last stretch of games. The Pacers have averaged 119.2 points per game on 49.5 percent shooting during their recent five-game stretch, while allowing just 108.6 points nightly.

While several members of the Blue & Gold have put together outstanding performances, Pascal Siakam, who was traded from Toronto to Indiana in January, has put up 20.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game over their last five games, and T.J. McConnell has averaged 14.4 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds off the bench.

The Raptors will likely be without All-Star Scottie Barnes on Tuesday, who has been sidelined with a fractured left hand on March 1. Barnes recorded a triple-double in a win against the Pacers in February .

Since the Raptors traded Siakam to the Pacers in January for Bruce Brown and draft picks, RJ Barrett has emerged as the team’s top scorer, averaging 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. After Barrett, Immanuel Quickley has averaged 18.3 points per game, 6.8 assists, and 4.8 rebounds since joining the Raptors.

After the trip to Canada, the Pacers will play in Cleveland on Friday before wrapping up their 2023-2024 campaign on Sunday at home against the Atlanta Hawks.

Projected Starters

Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Andrew Nembhard, F – Aaron Nesmith, F – Pascal Siakam, C – Myles Turner

Raptors: G – Javon Freeman-Liberty, G – Gary Trent Jr., F – RJ Barrett, F – Ochai Agbaji, C – Kelly Olynyk

Injury Report

Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin – out (right shoulder labral tear)

Raptors: Gradey Dick – questionable (right groin contusion), Scottie Barnes – out (left hand fracture), Chris Boucher – out (right knee partial MCL tear), D.J. Carton – out (right ankle sprain), Jakob Poeltl – out (torn ligament, fifth finger left hand), Jontay Porter – out (personal reasons), Immanuel Quickley – out (rest)

Last Meeting

Feb. 26, 2024: Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes logged his fourth triple-double of the season and RJ Barrett chipped in 24 points in a 130-122 win over the Pacers.

Indiana trailed Toronto 67-76 after three quarters, and the teams went back-and-forth in the final frame before a 10-2 run late in the period helped Toronto to a 112-104 lead. From there, the Raptors held on.

Seven players scored in double digits for the Raptors, with Barnes finishing with 21 points, 12 assists, and 12 rebounds.

Pacers second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin matched a career-best 34 points in the loss, while Pascal Siakam dropped 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists against his former team.

The Raptors outshot the Pacers 55.2 to 46.0 percent, outrebounded the Blue & Gold 45-43, and outscored the Blue & Gold 78-50 in the paint.  

Noteworthy

The Raptors own a 2-1 regular season series lead over the Pacers.

Pascal Siakam was drafted by Toronto in 2016 and played for the Raptors until he was traded to Indiana in January, earning two All-Star and two All-NBA selections during his time in Toronto.

Indiana is the only team in the NBA averaging more than 30 assists per game. On Sunday, the Pacers set a new franchise record for total assists in a season (2,411).

Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)

TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)

Tickets

The Pacers close out the regular season by hosting Dejounte Murray and the Atlanta Hawks for the annual Fan Appreciation Game presented by Kroger on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 PM ET.

INDIANA BASEBALL

BASEBALL CENTRAL: BALL STATE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –  After picking up three top-35 RPI wins last week, including a series victory at Maryland, the Indiana Baseball team (18-15, 3-3 B1G) returns home with four opportunities at Bart Kaufman Field. Ball State visits Tuesday before Penn State comes to town for an important Big Ten weekend.

IU received an offensive explosion (51 runs in four games) and held opponents to seven-or-fewer runs in all four games last week. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny (Big Ten Player of the Week) and redshirt freshman Joey Brenczewski (Big Ten Freshman of the Week) were instrumental in helping the Hoosiers get back on track.

The Hoosiers are two wins away from 200 all-time victories at Bart Kaufman Field (opened in 2013). IU could accomplish that this week as it attempts to keep stacking wins towards a potential at-large bid. The Big Ten race is also wide open with Nebraska (5-1) and Illinois (7-2) leading a long list of contenders so far.

Tuesday’s contest will have a first pitch of 6:00 PM at Bart Kaufman Field. It will be the first of two matchups in three weeks with the Cardinals. The game on April 23rd will be held at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

Gameday Info

vs. Ball State (Tuesday, April 9th  – 6:00 PM)

Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ

Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio

Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX

Probable Starters

Indiana vs. Ball State

• TBD (IU) vs. TBD (BSU)

Player and Stat Trends

Closing in on 200

• Josh Pyne (188) is closing on 200 hits through his time in Bloomington. He just needs 12 more to join the club. 23 players in program history, which dates back to the 1890’s, have recorded 200-career hits. Only nine players have ever reached 200 hits in their first three years on campus.

200 of His Own

• Ty Bothwell is also searching for 200 … strikeouts. He is 11 away from becoming the 10th member of the 200-strikeout club at IU. He is currently second on the team with 40 punchies, behind only Connor Foley’s 64.

Racking Up Hits

• Tyler Cerny (50) is one of just two players, along with Rutgers’ Josh Kuroda-Grauer, in the Big Ten with 50 hits this season. The only player in program with 100+ hits in a season was Alex Smith (1985). Phillip Glasser was close with 95 in 2023.

Notable

Big Week Gets IU Back on Track

• Heading into the month of April, IU needed anything to go its way. It got that and more with three top-35 RPI wins including a win over top-20 RPI team Indiana State and a series victory over Maryland.

• That helped the Hoosiers climb into the top-60 of the RPI (56) and back into the Big Ten race, just two games off the leaders Nebraska. The Hoosiers still have eight home games remaining in April including four this week.

Cerny Heating Up

• Tyler Cerny went on a tear this week, hitting .450 across four games enroute to Big Ten Player of the Week honors. He had six-straight multi-hit games across the past two weeks and hit a game-tying grand slam against Indiana State

• On the week, he had nine hits, 11 runs scored, six RBIs, three doubles and one home run. He didn’t make a single error in the field and hit cleanup in the absence of slugger Brock Tibbitts. Cerny is among the top-10 in multiple Big Ten categories including hits (2nd), runs scored (3rd), RBIs (2nd) and doubles (2nd).

The Path Ahead

• The journey to the NCAA and Big Ten Tournament is straight forward: get hot in the month of April. IU got back on track and now needs to continue to play well over the final six weeks of the regular season to put itself in a prime spot for an at-large bid.

• With a more settled rotation and an offense that’s starting to figure it out, IU will look to start stacking wins with important Big Ten series looming over the next few weeks.

Stepping Up

• Without the services of start catcher/first baseman Brock Tibbitts and sophomore AJ Shepard, IU is stretched thin at those two positions. Redshirt freshman Joey Brenczewski (1B) and redshirt junior Jake Stadler (C) have stepped up massively to fill the void. Their offensive production has been great and have both settled in nice defensively.

Foley’s Big Year

• No one’s draft stock is rising more than the draft-eligible sophomore from Jasper. Foley, the Big Ten leader in strikeouts, has begun his conference campaign with 13 scoreless innings, three hits allowed and 20 punchouts. He has been a force on Saturday’s, IU is 7-1 in his starts, and continues to make a case for All-Conference and All-American honors.

Play the Kids

• No one has been more known to play his talented freshmen than Jeff Mercer. Since he’s arrived to Bloomington in 2019, nine different players have earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Jasen Oliver and Joey Brenczewski have done so in back-to-back weeks and Andrew Wiggins has become a talented option at DH for the Hoosiers.

Scouting the Opponent

Ball State (20-13, 7-8 MAC)

• The Cardinals have won seven of their last 10 after taking two of three from Miami (Ohio) this last season. Ball State made the NCAA Tournament, joining IU in the Lexington Regional. The two teams didn’t play in the postseason.

• Michael Hallquist is mashing the baseball, leading Ball State in average (.348), hits (46), home runs (11) and RBIs (34). Decker Scheffler (.323) and Nick Husovsky (.317) are also batting over .300.

• Ball State has a collective 5.91 earned run average and has allowed 211 runs this year. IU is averaging over 8.5 runs per game this season.

Inside the Series

Indiana vs. Ball State

• The in-state foes are quite familiar with each other, having met in 63 all-time matchups. IU has won the past five including a pair of close victories in 2023.

• Four of the past five matchups have been decided by three-or-fewer runs including a 14-inning marathon game at Bart Kaufman Field in 2018. The contest lasted nearly six hours.

BIG 10 BASEBALL

INDIANA AND NEBRASKA SECURE WEEKLY BASEBALL HONORS

Player of the Week
Tyler Cerny, Indiana
So. – SS — Greenwood, Ind. — Center Grove

• Helped Indiana become the first team to win a Big Ten series at Maryland since 2019
• Batted .450 (9-for-20) with a home run and six RBI
• Scored 11 runs in four games for the Hoosiers, who outscored their opponents, 50-19, on the week
• Recorded four hits in Indiana’s 16-7 win over 25^th-ranked Indiana State on April 2
• Collects his first Big Ten Player of the Week accolade
• Last Indiana Player of the Week: Devin Taylor (Feb. 26, 2024)

Pitcher of the Week
Brett Sears, Nebraska
Sr. – S-RHP — Westphalia, Iowa — Western Illinois

• Pitched a complete-game shutout for No. 22 Nebraska in a 3-0 win over Ohio State on April 5 in Lincoln, Neb.
• Held the Buckeyes to two hits while striking out nine and facing 28 batters, one over the minimum
• Limited OSU to a .071 batting average, allowing no walks, hit batters or errors
• Became first NU pitcher to record seven consecutive quality starts since 2002
• The Golden Spikes Watch List recipient receives his first Big Ten pitcher award
• Last Nebraska Pitcher of the Week: Emmett Olson (April 10, 2023)

Freshman of the Week
Joey Brenczewski, Indiana
Fr. – 1B — Fishers, Ind. — Fishers

• Batted .375 and reached base at a .524 clip for an Indiana team that went 3-1 on the week
• Drove in six runs and crossed the plate seven times for the Hoosiers, who scored 14+ runs in three consecutive games for the first time since 1992
• Struck out just once in 16 at-bats and connected for four hits in the series-opening win
• Registered 24 putouts and an assist at first base filling in for an injured starter
• A first-time winner, becomes the second Hoosier in as many weeks to earn freshman honors
• Last Indiana Freshman of the Week: Jasen Oliver (April 1, 2024)

BIG 10 SOFTBALL

INDIANA, RUTGERS, NORTHWESTERN AND PENN STATE EARN BIG TEN SOFTBALL WEEKLY AWARDS

Player of the Week

Sarah Stone, Indiana 

Jr. – IF – Bedford, Ind. – Bedford North Lawrence High School – Major: Liberal Studies  

• Helped lead Indiana to a 3-0 series sweep over Michigan State  
• Hit .600 for the weekend with five RBI, two home runs, scoring five runs and tallying two walks and a stolen base  
• In the Friday win against the Spartans (6-2 F/8), Stone went 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and two home runs. Her second home run of the game was a three-run go-ahead homer to put Indiana up 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning  
• Last Indiana Player of the Week: Cora Bassett (May 1, 2023) 

Pitcher of the Week

Mattie Boyd, Rutgers

Gr. – RHP – Sachse, Texas – Sachse – Major: Master’s Digital Marketing 

• Held a 1.17 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched, earning complete game victories on both Saturday and Sunday to help lead the Scarlet Knights to their first-ever series win over Wisconsin 
• Fanned 16 batter and allowed just two runs on four hits, keeping Wisconsin to a .103 batting average  
• Allowed one run and two hits while striking out five in Rutgers’ 12-1 run-rule win over the Badgers  
• Followed up that performance with her 12th complete game of the season in Rutgers’ 4-1 win to improve to 13-6 inside the circle behind 10 strikeouts, one shy of her career high  
• On the year, Boyd has tossed a conference-leading 121.1 innings across 24 apperances with a 2.54 ERA 
• Last Rutgers Pitcher of the Week: Alyssa Landrith (March 30, 2015) 

Co-Fresman of the Week

Izzy Cunnea, Northwestern 

OF – Oak Lawn, Ill. – Marist – Major: Undeclared  

• Hit .375 with an extra-base hit in each of Northwestern’s three games as the Wildcats swept Michigan in a weekend series  
• Led the Wildcats with two runs, five RBI and a 1.250 slugging percentage on the week 
• Hit her first career home run in the third inning of Friday’s 9-1 run-rule victory 
• Homered for a second consecutive game, hitting a first inning grand slam in an eventual 8-5 victory for Northwestern in Saturday’s doubleheader 
• Went 1-for-3 with a double in the sixth inning in a 5-4 win in the second game of the DH 
• Last Northwestern Freshman of the Week: Kansas Robinson (April 10, 2023) 

Co-Freshman of the Week

Bridget Nemeth, Penn State

RHP – Glendora, Calif. – Glendora – Major: Agribusiness Management  

• Earned a pair of complete-game victories en route to Penn State’s third straight Big Ten series win over Nebraska on the road  
• Tossed 17.0 innings combined, including a complete seven-inning game in Friday’s series opener and a 10-inning game in the series clincher on Sunday  
• Scattered 12 hits and yielded five earned runs for a weekend ERA of 2.06, totaling 18 strikeouts with three walks for an opponent batting average of .188 
• Tallied a career-best 14 strikeouts in the series finale at Nebraska, helping lead the Nittany Lions to their best start to Big Ten play since 2016  
• Logged a 2-0 individual record, improving her conference-leading record to 17-1 on the season 
• At the plate, Nemeth recorded her first hit, home run, RBI and run scored all in one swing with a two-run shot to center field which forced extras to lead Penn State to a 6-5 victory  
• Last Penn State Freshman of the Week: Bridget Nemeth (March 26, 2024) 

PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL

PURDUE FALLS SHORT TO UCONN IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

No. 1-ranked UConn stopped Purdue’s quest for its first National Championship with a 75-60 setback to the Huskies, in front of 74,423 fans – the third-largest championship game crowd ever.

The Boilermakers finish the season with a 34-5 record, setting the school record for wins in a season (34).

The senior class of Zach Edey, Mason Gillis, Ethan Morton, Lance Jones, Chase Martin and Carson Barrett finish their careers with a 110-29 overall record (.791), the most wins by a senior class in school history.

Purdue lost for the first time this season to a nationally-ranked team, ending the year with a 10-1 record against nationally-ranked squads.

Zach Edey’s 37 points are tied for the fourth most in a National Championship game (44 – UCLA’s Bill Walton, 1973; 42 – UCLA’s Gail Goodrich, 1965; 41 — Kentucky’s Jack Givens, 1978). It was the most points scored by a player in the National Championship game in 46 years.

Edey is one of two players to have at least 37 points and 10 rebounds in National Championship game history (Bill Walton, Lew Alcindor).

Edey’s 177 points in the NCAA Tournament are tied for the second most in an NCAA Tournament, behind Glen Rice’s (Michigan) 184 points in 1989. Edey’s seven straight double-doubles in NCAA Tournament play are the longest in NCAA Tournament history.

Zach Edey ended the season with 983 points and 474 rebounds. Edey and Houston’s Elvin Hayes (1968) are the only players in NCAA history to finish a year with those numbers.

Edey’s 983 points end as the second most in both Purdue history and Big Ten history in a single season, behind Glenn Robinson (1994).

Edey’s 474 rebounds are the second most in Big Ten history behind Ohio State’s Jerry Lucas (499; 1962).

Zach Edey’s 436 free throw attempts are tied for the second most in a season in NCAA history, tied with LSU’s Pete Maravich in 1970, and only behind Furman’s Frank Selvy (400; 1954).

Edey’s 30 double-doubles are tied for the fourth most in a season in NCAA history (31 – Navy’s David Robinson, 1986; 31 – North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, 2022; 31 – Akron’s Enrique Freeman, 2024).

Edey finished his career with 90 straight double-figure scoring games and 116 double-figure games in his career, tying E’Twaun Moore for the school record for career 10-point games.

Edey finished the season with 84 blocked shots, tied for the fifth most in a season in school history.

Edey and Shaquille O’Neal are the only players in NCAA history to average at least 25.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and shoot 60.0 percent from the field in a single season.

Edey finished his career with 2,516 points and 1,321 rebounds. Edey is one of six players in NCAA history to have those numbers in a career (Lionel Simmons, Oscar Robertson, Elvin Hayes, Michael Brooks, Dickie Hemric).

Braden Smith recorded 12 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds, setting the Big Ten record for most assists in a season (292), passing Michigan State’s Cassius Winston (291; 2019).

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Tristen Newton scored 20 points for the Huskies, who won their 12th straight March Madness game — not a single one of them decided by fewer than 13 points.

UConn was efficient on offense but won this with defense. The Huskies (37-3) limited the country’s second-best 3-point shooting team to a mere seven shots behind the arc and only a single make, while happily allowing 7-foot-4 AP Player of the Year Zach Edey to go for 37 points on 25 shot attempts.

The 2024 Huskies are the sixth team to win all six tournament games by double-digit margins. They won those games by a grand total of 140 points, blowing past the 1996 Kentucky team, which won its six by 129.

In a matchup of two top seeds, they wore down the Boilermakers (34-5), who made it this far a year after becoming just the second No. 1 in the history of March Madness to fall in the first round. But Purdue left the same way it came — still looking for the program’s first NCAA title.

Cam Spencer, a transfer from Rutgers, Stephon Castle, a blue-chip freshman, and Alex Karaban, a sophomore from last year’s team, spent the night guarding the 3-point line and making life miserable for Purdue’s guards.

This was only the second time this season Purdue didn’t put up 10 3-point attempts, and how ’bout this final score: Edey 37, the rest of the Boilermakers 23.

How serious was Hurley about defending the perimeter? When Braden Smith wiggled loose for a semi-open look to make Purdue’s first 3 of the game with 2:17 left in the first half, the coach bolted onto the floor and called timeout.

And that was that from behind the arc.

Hurley earned every penny in this one. In the first half, he begged with, swore at and generally berated the refs about over-the-backs, elbows and hip checks that weren’t called.

Once, when that didn’t work after Edey set a hard (and probably legal) pick against Castle, Hurley started in on Edey himself as the center walked toward the Purdue bench for a timeout.

SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETICS

INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/

EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/

WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/

FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/

ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/

ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index

TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index

BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/

DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/

HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/

MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/

HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/

OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx

ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index

IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/

IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/

IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/

PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/

INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx

GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/

ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/

GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/

HOY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php

TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/

VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index

“SPORTS EXTRA”

NUMBERS IN SPORTS

21 – 7- 14 – 32 – 9 – 16

April 9, 1931 – Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, Cy Wentworth nets the game winner against the Montreal Canadiens at 13:50 of 6th period as Chicago took the lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

April 9, 1959 – Bill Sharman, Number 21 drained an NBA record 56th consecutive foul shot as he and his Boston Celtic teammates captured the NBA title in a four game sweeep over the Minneapolis Lakers 118-113.

April 9, 1965 – The first ever game at is played at the Astrodome. The Houston Astros in their new confines defeated the visiting New York Yankees 2-1 in an exhibition game as Mickey Mantle, Number 7 hit the first unofficial MLB indoor homerun.

The website of NBA.com offers these nuggets of history for the day.

April 9, 1957 – Number 14, Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics assisted a then NBA Finals record 19 helpers in the Celtics’ 124-109 win over the St. Louis Hawks in Game 5. Magic Johnson (Lakers Number 32) set the current NBA Finals record of 21 assists in Game 3 of the 1984 NBA Finals, during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 137-104 win over Boston.

April 9, 1958 – Number 9, Bob Pettit of the St Louis Hawks made 19 free throws in his team’s 102-100 Game 5 victory over Boston. Pettit set an NBA Finals record for most free throws made in one game.

April 9, 1959 – The Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers 118-113 in Minneapolis in Game 4 of the 1959 NBA Finals to complete the first sweep in Finals history and capture their first of eight consecutive NBA Championships.

Here are a couple of items from the Vintage Hockey Jerseys website

April 9, 1942 – The Detroit Red Wings outlasted the Toronto Maple Leafs by the score of 5-3 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Wings were powered by the prowess of Eddie Bush, who set a new NHL record for points by a defenseman in a Stanley Cup finals game with 5. It wasn’t all rosey for the Detroit club that year though, as the Red Wings blew a 3-0 series lead in that Stanley Cup final to lose the Stanley Cup to Toronto. Bush played in 26 career NHL games (scoring four goals and 10 points) and 12 playoff games (7 points), but he never scored another point after his record night and played again in the NHL following the 1942 Stanley Cup collapse.

April 9, 1946 – The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 6-3 in the fifth game of the finals, to become the 1946 Stanley Cup Champions. Number 16, Elmer Lach led the way with a goal and added two assists.

April 9, 1980 – Number 9, Gordie Howe scored his last career NHL goal, in an 8-4 Hartford Whalers’ loss at Montreal, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Preliminary Round. Gordie’s final tally was his 68th career playoff goal. This game also marked the only time all three NHL Howe’s scored a point in the same game with Gordie and Marty Howe each with a goal and assist and Mark Howe adding two assists.

FOOTBALL HISTORY

April 9 Football History Headlines

SEC’s First Football Game

April 9, 1880 – Old Stoll Field, Kentucky – In what is considered to be the first football game of the SEC per secsports.com, Kentucky A&M, which went onto become the University of Kentucky organized a football team and played a three game series with the University of Transylvania in November 1881.

April 9, 1945 – The NFL required players to wear long stockings. ESPN tells the story that Commissioner Elmer Layden, decided that NFL players have must wear Their socks up their lower legs. I believe it was truly only an aesthetic thing, just to make the players all be in lock step uniforms. This rule, still on the books, is why NFL players wear high socks while so many NCAA teams still play bare-legged. DOn’t show your bare calves in the National Football League or you will get a hefty fine from New York! 

April 9, 1997 –  NFL announced it will give $3M to CFL & possible “World Classic Bowl”. The agreement was to lessen hostilities of the CFL when the NFL would schedule games in Toronto to try and expand its reach. After all Toronto is the third largest city in North America. The NFL reached a five-year partnership agreement with the CFL in 1997, which included a $3 million loan to the financially struggling Canadian league. Therefore the NFL received the CFL’s blessing to hold an annual preseason or regular season game in either Toronto or Vancouver for the duration of the agreement per the Seattle Times.

April 9, 2015 –  Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu retired after 12 seasons with the Steelers per the NFL.com archives. Polamalu was selected to eight Pro Bowls and named first-team All-Pro four times. The two-time Super Bowl champion (Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII) and 2010 AP Defensive Player of the year played for the Steelers from 2003 to 2014.

April 9 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays

April 9, 1871 – Clearfield County, Pennsylvania – The great Penn Quakers fullback from 1894 to 1897, John “Jack” Minds was born. Jack is credited with one of the most influential in game innovators in football. The National Football Foundation states that Minds came up with the concept that kicking a stationary ball at the goal posts for points was a heck of a lot more accurate than using the somewhat unpredictable dropkick approach. Historians tell us Jack Minds converted the first kick from placement, a feat he often repeated during his illustrious career at Pennsylvania.  When Minds was a starter at Penn  the team was 55-1, losing only to Lafayette, 6-4, in an 1896 contest. The Penn teams of 1894 and 1895 were undefeated National Champions. Minds was a master of the game and actually played five positions at different points during his collegiate career. He operated at guard, tackle, end, halfback and fullback. Jack Minds collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1962.

April 9, 1898 – Green Bay, Wisconsin – Earl Curly Lambeau the great Notre Dame full back and co-founder/coach of the Packers was born per the NFL.com Archives.

April 9, 1898 – Princeton, New Jersey – The fantastic End from Rutgers in the 1915 to 1918 seasons, Paul Robeson arrived for his date of birth. Robeson was a powerful contributor to the excellent record of Rutgers in that time frame of 22-6-3 under their legendary coach G. Foster Sanford according to the FootballFoundation.org.  Paul had some fantastic plays that he made such as in the 1915 contest against Rensselaer he recovered an opponent’s fumble and set up a touchdown. In 1917 he scored on 40-yard and 37-yard pass plays against Fort Wadsworth. That same season against Syracuse Robeson caught passes on two key plays and, on defense, intercepted a pass.  One of Robeosn’s greatest games was in 1917  against Newport Naval Reserve played Nov. 24. Newport was undefeated and heavily favored because it had an all-star line- up of former college stars.  Paul rose above all of the stars that day as he caught a touchdown pass, and was outstanding on defense leading Rutgers to a 14-0 victory. Frank Menke named him All- America in 1917 and 1918. Walter Campfor some reason did not recognize him in 1917 but agreed with Menke the next year and picked him to the Walter Camp All-America team in 1918. The National Football Foundation selected Paul Robeson for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. 

April 9, 1921 – Detroit, Michigan – Vince “Bananas” Banonis the University of Detroit’s great center from 1939 to 1941 set his born on date. The NFF preserves the legacy of Banonis by sharing Staying in his hometown he went to the University of Detroit where he was named a 1941 All- American by Grantland Rice, the Associated Press, United Press and others. During his three years in college his teams went 19-7-1. In a game against Villanova he made seven consecutive tackles. His greatest play of all was against Oklahoma State. Banonis centered the ball, ran down-field, took a lateral pass from a teammate, then threw a lateral pass himself, and blocked out two men so another teammate could score a touchdown. The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Vince Banonis into their legendary museum in 1986. Vince had a great 10 year pro career as he played on three world championship teams, first with the 1947 Chicago Cardinals and later with the 1952 and 1953 Detroit Lions.

April 9, 1966 – Atlanta, Georgia – The standout defensive tackle from 1985 to 1988 of the Auburn Tigers Tracy Rocker was born. Rockers was a dominant beast on the field as he earned the honor of a unanimous First Team All-America selection in 1988 and consensus pick in 1987. Rocker earned First Team All-Conference honors three times and became the first SEC player ever to win both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in the same season, in 1988. Rocker’s 354 career tackles are the most by any down lineman in school history and got him recognized by placing him on Auburn’s Team of the Century and Team of the Decade for the 1980s. According to the NFF Tracy also recorded 48 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and 21 career sacks. Tracy Rocker’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 2004. Rocker played for three seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and after he hung up the helmet he has been found in the coaching profession as a defensive line coach.

TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1913 — Ebbets Field opened in Brooklyn and Philadelphia defeated the Dodgers 1-0 before a crowd of 10,000. The stadium, which cost $750,000 to build, was named after Charles Ebbets, the club’s principal owner.

1947 — Dodgers manager Leo Durocher was suspended for one year by commissioner Happy Chandler for “the accumulation of unpleasant incidents” detrimental to baseball.

1959 — The Baltimore Orioles, playing against the Washington Senators, became the first team in history to execute a triple play on opening day. The Senators won the game, 9-2.

1965 — The Houston Astrodome opened with an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and Astros. President Johnson attended and Gov. John Connally threw out the first ball. Mickey Mantle hit the first home run, but the Astros won 2-1 in 12 innings.

1969 — Billy Williams of Chicago hit four consecutive doubles to lead the Cubs to an 11-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

1974 — San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc criticized his club over the public address system during the eighth inning of a 9-5 loss to the Houston Astros! “Ladies and gentlemen, I suffer with you,” Kroc told the crowd of 39,083 for the home opener. Kroc added, “I’ve never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life.”

1981 — Fernando Valenzuela made his first major league start a stunning success by pitching a 2-0, five-hit triumph over the Houston Astros in Los Angeles. He would go on to win his first eight games.

1985 — Chicago’s Tom Seaver made his 15th opening day start to break Christy Mathewson’s record. Seaver pitched 6 2-3 innings and was credited with the victory as the White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2.

1987 — Gary Carter drives in his 1,000th career run.

1989 — Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees gets his his 800th career stolen base.

1993 — The Colorado Rockies beat the Montreal Expos 11-4 for their first win and set a National League record for attendance in their home debut. The crowd of 80,227 broke the record of 78,672 set on April 18, 1958, by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

1994 — Recently-retired NBA legend Michael Jordan makes his professional baseball debut by going hitless for AA Birmingham.

2000 — In a 13-7 win over Kansas City, Minnesota’s Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy hit consecutive home runs. The Royals’ Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Mike Sweeney repeated the feat, marking the first time in major league history that both teams hit three consecutive home runs in the same game.

2006 — Cory Sullivan tied a major league record by hitting two triples during a seven-run fifth inning, helping Colorado rout San Diego 10-4.

2012 — Prize Japanese signee Yu Darvish, making his major league debut for the Texas Rangers.

2021 — It took a record 8,206 games, but someone has finally pitched a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres: off-season acquisition Joe Musgrove defeats the Rangers, 3 – 0.

BASEBALL YEAR IN REVIEW: 1969 (BASEBALL ALMANAC)

Off the field…

Apollo 11 astronaut, Neil Armstrong, became the first man to walk on the moon after landing the lunar module, known as the “Eagle” at Tranquility Base on July 16^th. Armstrong made his historic descent to the surface live on television making the now historic statement: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Twenty-one hours and thirty-six minutes later (after conducting several experiments and planting the U.S. flag) the Eagle returned safe and sound to the Columbia for its return flight to Earth on July 24^th.

On the night of August 9^th, several members of a hippie cult led by self-proclaimed messiah Charles Manson brutally murdered actress Sharon Tate and four others in her Beverly Hills mansion. The next evening Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, wealthy owners of a grocery chain, were also brutally attacked in their Los Angeles home. Initially the crimes were not connected even though victims in both cases had suffered from multiple stab wounds and the words “pig” and “Helter Skelter” were written in blood all over both crime scenes.

The Woodstock Music and Art Festival was held at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York representing the culmination of the counterculture of the 1960’s and the high point of the “hippie era.” Although 10,000 to 20,000 people were expected, well over 400,000 showed up and crashed the gate as music’s biggest names including Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Joe Crocker, The Who and the Grateful Dead came together for three days of “music, peace and love”.

In the American League…

On March 1^st, “The Commerce Comet” also known as Mickey Mantle announced his retirement after eighteen years in professional baseball. During his Hall of Fame tenure with the New York Yankees, “The Mick” batted .298, hit five-hundred thirty-six home runs and appeared in an amazing sixty-five World Series games in which he tallied a record eighteen home runs and forty RBIs.

As Major League Baseball celebrated its Centennial season, two New York Yankees topped the commemorative list of the games greatest. “Babe” Ruth was unanimously crowned as the “Greatest Player Ever” and Joe DiMaggio was christened as the “Greatest Living Player”.

Reggie Jackson hit two home runs and drove in a whopping ten runs as the Oakland Athletics regained first place in the American League West with a 21-7 romp over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 14^th. Jackson doubled home a run in the first, homered in the third and fifth, singled in two in the seventh and drove in three more with a single in the eighth. The whopping twenty-one run total set a team record that wouldn’t be matched until the 2000 season.

In the National League…

In the first regular season Major League Baseball game ever to be played outside of the borders of the United States, the Montreal Expos defeated the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 8-7. Both teams were introduced to the capacity crowd of 29,184 in both English and French Canadian.

St. Louis Cardinals ace Bob Gibson set a National League record on August 16^th (reaching two-hundred strikeouts for the seventh season) after an 8-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.

On May 13^th, Ernie Banks, of the Chicago Cubs, hit seven RBIs (including his one-thousand five-hundredth) with two, three-run home runs and a double during a 19-0 massacre over the San Diego Padres. The blowout tied the mark for the largest shutout margin in the history of the modern National League.

Around the League…

Ted Williams was named Jim Lemon’s replacement as manager of the Washington Senators after the Capital’s franchise finished in last place with a miserable 65-96 record. “Teddy Baseball” was reported to have signed a five-year contract for $75,000 a season and ten percent in the team’s stock.

Both leagues agreed to try the new “designated pinch hitter” rule during spring training, but under two different variations. The American League allowed the optional use of a DPH only for the home team while the National League required home managers to obtain the visiting skipper’s approval for the experimental substitution.

Bowie Kuhn, a forty-two year old lawyer whose firm had handled all of the National League’s legal affairs was unanimously elected as the new Commissioner of Baseball. Two other top candidates; Mike Burke of the New York Yankees and Charles Feeney of the San Francisco Giants had been previously deadlocked resulting in Kuhn’s nomination.

In an effort to prevent an impending strike, Major League Baseball and the Players Association finally settled on a new revised pension plan. The tenure for qualifying was shortened from five years to four and the minimum age requirement was also lowered from fifty to forty-five. The players also agreed to get $5.45 million per year (retroactive to 1959) as well as a percentage of all televised game revenues.

BASEBALL’S GREAT PITCHERS

TOM SEAVER

As baseball has often been described as a game of numbers, fans, reporters, and students of the game would most certainly recognize the preceding list of significant digits. These were the career accomplishments forever linked to the respective immortals Pete Rose, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Cy Young, and Ty Cobb. To that list, another number should be added to commemorate a feat of equal important to longevity in base hits, home runs, strikeouts, wins, and batting average.

On January 7, 1992, that was the percentage by which Tom Seaver was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. To that time, no player ever received a higher approval rating by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Few players were ever more connected as a “franchise” player than Tom Terrific with the New York Mets. No member of the team was as intricately associated with their meteoric rise from cellar dwellers to world champions.

READ MORE: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tom-seaver/

TODAY IN NBA HISTORY

April 9, 1957

Bob Cousy of Boston dished off a then NBA Finals record 19 assists in the Celtics’ 124-109 win over St. Louis in Game 5. Magic Johnson set the current NBA Finals record of 21 assists in Game 3 of the 1984 NBA Finals, during the Lakers’ 137-104 win over Boston.

April 9, 1958

Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks made 19 free throws in his team’s 102-100 Game 5 victory over Boston. Pettit set an NBA Finals record for most free throws made in one game.

April 9, 1959

The Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers 118-113 in Minneapolis in Game 4 of the 1959 NBA Finals to complete the first sweep in Finals history and capture their first of eight consecutive NBA Championships.

April 9, 1978

Denver’s David Thompson made 13 field goals in the first quarter of a 139-137 loss at Detroit to set an NBA record. Thompson finished the game with 73 points, at the time the most points ever scored in an NBA game by a guard. But that night, George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs scored 63 points and edged Thompson 27.22 ppg to 27.15 ppg to win the NBA scoring title in the closest scoring race ever.

April 9, 1978

John Havlicek played his final game at Boston Garden and was the leading scorer with 29 points as the Celtics defeated Buffalo 131-114.

April 9, 1982

Boston retired Jo Jo White’s No. 10 jersey in Boston Garden. White played all but 120 games of his 837-game NBA career with the Celtics.

April 9, 1990

The Phoenix Suns sank an NBA record 61 free throws (out of 80 attempts) in beating the Utah Jazz 119-115 in overtime.

April 9, 1998

Seattle coach George Karl recorded the 500th victory of his NBA coaching career.

April 9, 2002

In defeating the Washington Wizards 101-88, the New Jersey Nets won their first division title since joining the NBA in 1976 and set an NBA franchise mark with their 50th victory. The Nets won 58 games in 1974-75 as a member of the ABA.

April 9, 2017

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder scores 50 points in a 106-105 win over the Denver Nuggets.

April 9, 2019

Dirk Nowitzki, 40, scores 30 points in a 120-109 win against the Phoenix Suns. After the game, the 14-time All-Star tells the crowd assembled for his last home that season that he will be retiring at season’s end. “This is obviously super, super emotional. Just too many people to really thank,” Nowitzki said. “I put you guys on a helluva ride with a lot of ups and downs, and you guys always stuck with me and supported me, so I appreciate it.”

April 9, 2019

Jamal Crawford scored 51 points, one off his career high, in a 120-109 Phoenix Suns loss to the Dallas Mavericks. In doing so, he became the oldest player to reach the 50-point plateau.

April 9, 2019

Before and after the Miami Heat’s 122-99 win against the Philadelphia 76ers, Dwyane Wade took the spotlight. In a pregame ceremony, the Heat honored their former Finals MVP with a lengthy tribute, which included videos and a speech from Wade. After the game — in which he scored 30 points — Wade spoke to the home crowd as he looked forward to his retirement from the NBA after a storied career.

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1912 — 1st exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park.

1946 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 6-3 to win the Stanley Cup in five games.

1947 — Leo Durocher, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is suspended for one year by Commissioner A.B. “Happy” Chandler for “conduct detrimental to baseball.” Durocher is linked to gambling interests.

1950 — Jimmy Demaret wins his third Masters, by two strokes over Jim Ferrier.

1959 — 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games.

1960 — The Boston Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks 122-103 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for their third NBA title in the last four years. Frank Ramsey leads the Celtics with 24 points and Bill Russell scores 22 points and grabs 35 rebounds.

1962 — Arnold Palmer wins a three-way playoff, beating Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald in the Masters.

1966 — Anaheim Stadium for California Angels opens.

1972 — 36th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus leads wire-to-wire to win the 4th of his 6 Masters titles.

1978 — Gary Player shoots a final-round 64 to win his third Masters, edging Hubert Green, Rod Funseth and defending champion Tom Watson by a shot.

1978 — Denver’s David Thompson, battling San Antonio’s George Gervin for the NBA season scoring title, scores 73 points against the Detroit Pistons. It’s the third-highest output ever in an NBA game. Gervin, not to be outdone, later scores 63 against the New Orleans Jazz. It’s just enough to give Gervin the scoring crown, 27.22 points per game to Thompson’s 27.15, the tightest one-two finish ever.

1981 — LA Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela’s 1st start.

1987 — For 3rd time, Wayne Gretzky, scores 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in a Stanley Cup game and passes Jean Béliveau as all time playoff scoring champ.

1989 — Britain’s Nick Faldo makes a 25-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Masters. Runner-up Scott Hoch missed a 2-foot putt for par on the first hole of the playoff that would have given him the title.

1995 — 59th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Crenshaw wins his 2nd Masters title.

1997 — Major League Soccer announces Miami & Chicago as expansion teams.

2000 — Fiji native Vijay Singh meets every challenge to win the Masters, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Ernie Els.2001 — Australia sets a record for the most one-sided international win in FIFA history, beating Tonga 22-0 in an Oceania Group One qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup.

2005 — The United States beats Canada 3-1 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless regulation and 20-minute overtime to win the Women’s World Hockey Championship. The win ends the defending champions’ run of eight straight titles.

2006 — 70th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson wins his 2nd green jacket.

2013 — 32nd NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Louisville, 93-60.

2016 — Manny Pacquiao returns from the biggest loss of his career with a bang, knocking down Timothy Bradley twice on his way to a unanimous 12-round decision in their welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.

2017 — Sergio Garcia overcomes a two-shot deficit with six holes to play and beats Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff at the Masters for his first major after nearly two decades of heartache. No one ever played more majors as a pro — 70 — before winning a major for the first time.

2017 — Russell Westbrook breaks Oscar Robertson’s 56-year-old record with his 42nd triple-double of the season, then he breaks the Denver Nuggets’ hearts with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 106-105 victory. Westbrook has 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in breaking Robertson’s record of 41 triple-doubles that stood since the 1961-62 season. With his triple-double in the books, Westbrook scores his team’s final 15 points, including a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounds after a timeout with 2.9 seconds left.

2021 — San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove no-hits the Texas Rangers.

TV SPORTS TUESDAY

COLLEGE BASEBALL

7 p.m.

ESPN2 — Florida at Florida St.

SECN — Alabama St. at Auburn

8 p.m.

PAC-12N — BYU at Utah

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

6 p.m.

BTN — Michigan at Michigan St.

7 p.m.

ACCN — Liberty at Virginia

ESPNU — Clemson at South Carolina

8 p.m.

BTN — Northwestern at Illinois

IIHF HOCKEY (WOMEN’S)

11 a.m.

NHLN — World Championship Group Stage: Germany vs. China, Group B, Utica, N.Y.

MLB BASEBALL

1:30 p.m.

MLBN — Baltimore at Boston

7 p.m.

MLBN — Regional Coverage: Seattle at Toronto OR NY Mets at Atlanta

10 p.m.

TBS — Chicago Cubs at San Diego

NBA BASKETBALL

7:30 p.m.

TNT — Boston at Milwaukee

TRUTV — Boston at Milwaukee (BetCast)

10 p.m.

TNT — Golden State at LA Lakers

TRUTV — Golden State at LA Lakers (BetCast)

NBA G-LEAGUE BASKETBALL

8 p.m.

ESPNEWS — G-League Finals: Oklahoma City at Maine, Game 1

NHL HOCKEY

7 p.m.

ESPN — Washington at Detroit

9:30 p.m.

ESPN — Minnesota at Colorado

SOCCER (MEN’S)

2:55 p.m.

ESPN2 — English League Championship: Sunderland at Leeds United

3 p.m.

CBS — UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich at Arsenal, Quarterfinal – Leg 1

7 p.m.

CBSSN — USL Championship: Louisville City FC at Charleston Battery

8 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Champions Cup: Tigres UANL at Columbus Crew, Quarterfinal – Leg 2

10:30 p.m.

FS1 — CONCACAF Champions Cup: New England Revolution at Club América, Quarterfinal – Leg 2

SOCCER (WOMEN’S)

1 p.m.

CBSSN — European Qualifier Group Stage: Sweden vs. France, Group A, Gothenburg, Sweden

4 p.m.

TBS — SheBelieves Cup: Japan vs. Brazil, Third-Place Match, Columbus, Ohio

7 p.m.

TBS — SheBelieves Cup: U.S. vs. Canada, Final, Columbus, Ohio

9 p.m.

CBSSN — European Qualifier Group Stage: Spain vs. Czech Republic, Group A, Burgos, Spain (Taped)

TENNIS

5 a.m.

TENNIS — Monte Carlo-ATP Early Rounds

6 a.m.

TENNIS — Monte Carlo-ATP Early Rounds

5 a.m. (Wednesday)

TENNIS — Monte Carlo-ATP Early Rounds

6 a.m. (Wednesday)TENNIS — Monte Carlo-ATP Early Rounds