CENTRAL INDIANA BASEBALL SCORES
TRITON CENTRAL 3 SCECINA 0
TRITON CENTRAL 6 SCECINA 4
WAPAHANI 29 RANDOLPH SOUTHERN 3
BETHESDA CHRISTIAN 21 HORIZON CHRISTIAN 0
COWAN 4 MONROE CENTRAL 3
MUNCIE CENTRAL 22 MUNCIE BURRIS 1
GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 21 EDINBURGH 0
ANDERSON 11 MARION 1
TRI 21 WALDRON 8
UNION CITY 4 NORTHEASTERN 3
SHENANDOAH 12 BLUE RIVER 2
SETON CATHOLIC 13 LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 3
SPEEDWAY 7 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 4
CRISPUS ATTUCKS 14 SHORTRIDGE 3
WARREN CENTRAL 15 LAWRENCE NORTH 1
NORTH CENTRAL 3 PIKE 2
MCCUTCHEON 8 KOKOMO 6
BEECH GROVE 3 CASCADE 1
MOORESTOWN 4 IRVINGTON PREP 2
BATESVILLE 12 MILAN 0
CENTERVILLE 4 KNIGHTSTOWN 3
RONCALLI 4 COVENANT CHRISTIAN 0
PARK TUDOR 14 INDY GENESIS 4
YORKTOWN 7 NEW CASTLE 1
EMINENCE 24 CHRISTEL HOUSE 3
PERRY MERIDIAN 5 GREENWOOD 2
EASTERN HANCOCK 6 DALEVILLE 5
NORTHWESTERN 6 HAMILTON HEIGHTS 5
GUERIN CATHOLIC 11 HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 1
DECATUR CENTRAL 10 PLAINFIELD 6
MOUNT VERNON 9 PENDLETON HEIGHTS 1
WESTFIELD 10 LAWRENCE CENTRAL 1
WHITELAND 11 MARTINSVILLE 3
FRANKLIN 7 MOORESVILLE 6
SHELBYVILLE 3 DELTA 1
LEBANON 7 TRI-WEST 6
BREBEUF 8 BISHOP CHATARD 3
NEW PALESTINE 13 GREENFIELD CENTRAL 1
COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/IN/BASEBALL/SCORES/?DATE=4/25/2023
CENTRAL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
COVENANT CHRISTIAN 2 BETHESDA CHRISTIAN 1
TRI 17 SOUTH DECATUR 1
COWAN 17 MONROE CENTRAL 2
ELWOOD 13 BLACKFORD 0
COLUMBUS EAST 13 JENNINGS COUNTY 7
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 16 GUERIN CATHOLIC 2
MOORESTOWN 11 PROVIDENCE CRISTO REY 1
NORTH CENTRAL 22 PIKE 1
RONCALLI 15 HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 0
IRVINGTON PREP ACADEMY 14 SHORTRIDGE 4
SHENANDOAH 18 WINCHESTER 0
INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON 16 PURDUE POLY 15
BEECH GROVE 25 RITTER 1
CASCADE 9 TRITON CENTRAL 1
EASTERN HANCOCK 15 DALEVILLE 1
TRADERS POINT CHRISTIAN 19 LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 9
MOUNT VERNON 7 LAPEL 3
LAWRENCE NORTH 17 WARREN CENTRAL 2
WESTERN BOONE 4 DANVILLE 3
PERRY MERIDIAN 14 GREENWOOD 4
TRI-WEST 9 LEBANON 0
CONNERSVILLE 17 BATESVILLE 0
UNION COUNTY 7 LAWRENCEBURG 3
RICHMOND 9 ANDERSON 4
PLAINFIELD 3 DECATUR CENTRAL 1
GREENFIELD CENTRAL 27 DELTA 10
NEW PALESTINE 21 NEW CASTLE 2
FRANKLIN COUNTY 12 GREENSBURG 6
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 4 NORTHWESTERN 2
FRANKLIN CENTRAL 6 ZIONSVILLE 4
AVON 6 BROWNSBURG 2
COLUMBUS NORTH 4 BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE 3
MOORESVILLE 7 FRANKLIN 0
COMPLETE SCOREBOARD: HTTPS://WWW.MAXPREPS.COM/IN/SOFTBALL/SCORES/?DATE=4/25/2023
NBA PLAYOFFS
ATLANTA 119 BOSTON 117
DENVER 112 MINNESOTA 109
PHOENIX 136 LA CLIPPERS 130
BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NBA/SCOREBOARD.ASP
EASTERN CONFERENCE
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (1) VS. MIAMI HEAT (8)
• GAME 1: HEAT 130, BUCKS 117
• GAME 2: BUCKS 138, HEAT 122
• GAME 3: HEAT 121, BUCKS 99
• GAME 4: HEAT 119, BUCKS 114
• GAME 5: HEAT VS. BUCKS | WED., APRIL 26 | 9:30 ET (NBA TV)
• *GAME 6: BUCKS VS. HEAT | FRI., APRIL 28 | TBD
• *GAME 7: HEAT VS. BUCKS | SUN., APRIL 30 | TBD
HEAT LEAD SERIES 3-1
]
BOSTON CELTICS (2) VS. ATLANTA HAWKS (7)
• GAME 1: CELTICS 112, HAWKS 99
• GAME 2: CELTICS 119, HAWKS 106
• GAME 3: HAWKS 130, CELTICS 122
• GAME 4: CELTICS 129, HAWKS 121
• GAME 5: HAWKS 119, CELTICS 117
• GAME 6: CELTICS VS. HAWKS | THURS., APRIL 27 | 8:30 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 7: HAWKS VS. CELTICS | SAT., APRIL 29 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
CELTICS LEAD SERIES 3-2
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (3) VS. BROOKLYN NETS (6)
• GAME 1: 76ERS 121, NETS 101
• GAME 2: 76ERS 96, NETS 84
• GAME 3: 76ERS 102, NETS 97
• GAME 4: 76ERS 96, NETS 88
76ERS WIN SERIES 4-0
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (4) VS. NEW YORK KNICKS (5)
• GAME 1: KNICKS 101, CAVALIERS 97
• GAME 2: CAVALIERS 107, KNICKS 90
• GAME 3: KNICKS 99, CAVALIERS 79
• GAME 4: KNICKS 102, CAVALIERS 93
• GAME 5: KNICKS VS. CAVALIERS | WED., APRIL 26 | 7 ET (NBA TV)
• *GAME 6: CAVALIERS VS. KNICKS | TBD
• *GAME 7: KNICKS VS. CAVALIERS | TBD
KNICKS LEAD SERIES 3-1
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DENVER NUGGETS (1) VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (8)
• GAME 1: NUGGETS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 80
• GAME 2: NUGGETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 113
• GAME 3: NUGGETS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 111
• GAME 4: TIMBERWOLVES 114, NUGGETS 108 (OT)
• GAME 5: NUGGETS 112, TIMBERWOLVES 109
NUGGETS WIN SERIES 4-1
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (2) VS. L.A. LAKERS (7)
• GAME 1: LAKERS 128, GRIZZLIES 112
• GAME 2: GRIZZLIES 103, LAKERS 93
• GAME 3: LAKERS 111, GRIZZLIES 101
• GAME 4: LAKERS 117, GRIZZLIES 111
• GAME 5: LAKERS VS. GRIZZLIES | WED., APRIL 26 | 7:30 ET (TNT)
• *GAME 6: GRIZZLIES VS. LAKERS | FRI., APRIL 28 | TBD
• *GAME 7: LAKERS VS. GRIZZLIES | SUN., APRIL 30 | TBD
LAKERS LEAD SERIES 3-1
SACRAMENTO KINGS (3) VS. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (6)
• GAME 1: KINGS 126, WARRIORS 123
• GAME 2: KINGS 114, WARRIORS 106
• GAME 3: WARRIORS 114, KINGS 97
• GAME 4: WARRIORS 126, KINGS 125
• GAME 5: WARRIORS VS. KINGS | WED., APRIL 26 | 10 ET (TNT)
• GAME 6: KINGS VS. WARRIORS | FRI., APRIL 28 | TBD
• *GAME 7: WARRIORS VS. KINGS | SUN., APRIL 30 | TBD
SERIES TIED 2-2
PHOENIX SUNS (4) VS. LA CLIPPERS (5)
• GAME 1: CLIPPERS 115, SUNS 110
• GAME 2: SUNS 123, CLIPPERS 109
• GAME 3: SUNS 129, CLIPPERS 124
• GAME 4: SUNS 112, CLIPPERS 100
• GAME 5: SUNS 136, CLIPPERS 130
SUNS WIN SERIES 4-1
* IF NECESSARY
NHL PLAYOFFS
NY ISLANDERS 3 CAROLINA 2
DALLAS 4 MINNESOTA 0
EDMONTON 6 LOS ANGELES 3
BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/NHL/SCOREBOARD.ASP
EASTERN CONFERENCE
BOSTON BRUINS (A1) VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS (WC2)
BRUINS LEAD SERIES, 3-1
GAME 1: BRUINS 3, PANTHERS 1
GAME 2: PANTHERS 6, BRUINS 3
GAME 3: BRUINS 4, PANTHERS 2
GAME 4: BRUINS 6, PANTHERS 2
WED., APRIL 26: PANTHERS AT BRUINS, 7 P.M.; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS
*FRI., APRIL 28: BRUINS AT PANTHERS, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: PANTHERS AT BRUINS, TBD
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (A2) VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (A3)
MAPLE LEAFS LEAD SERIES, 3-1
GAME 1: LIGHTNING 7, MAPLE LEAFS 3
GAME 2: MAPLE LEAFS, 7, LIGHTNING 2
GAME 3: MAPLE LEAFS 4, LIGHTNING 3 (OT)
GAME 4: MAPLE LEAFS 5, LIGHTNING 4 (OT)
THU., APRIL 27: LIGHTNING AT MAPLE LEAFS, 7 P.M.; TBS, SN, CBC, TVAS
*SAT., APRIL 29: MAPLE LEAFS AT LIGHTNING, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: LIGHTNING AT MAPLE LEAFS, TBD
CAROLINA HURRICANES (M1) VS. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (WC1)
HURRICANES LEAD SERIES, 3-2
GAME 1: HURRICANES 2, ISLANDERS 1
GAME 2: HURRICANES 4, ISLANDERS 3 (OT)
GAME 3: ISLANDERS 5, HURRICANES 1
GAME 4: HURRICANES 5, ISLANDERS 2
GAME 5: ISLANDERS 3, HURRICANES 2
FRI., APRIL 28: HURRICANES AT ISLANDERS, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: ISLANDERS AT HURRICANES, TBD
NEW JERSEY DEVILS (M2) VS. NEW YORK RANGERS (M3)
SERIES TIED 2-2
GAME 1: RANGERS 5, DEVILS 1
GAME 2: RANGERS 5, DEVILS 1
GAME 3: DEVILS 2, RANGERS 1 (OT)
GAME 4: DEVILS 3, RANGERS 1
THU., APRIL 27: RANGERS AT DEVILS, 7:30 P.M.; ESPN2, SN360, TVAS2
SAT., APRIL 29: DEVILS AT RANGERS, 8 P.M.; ABC
*MON., MAY 1: RANGERS AT DEVILS, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
COLORADO AVALANCHE (C1) VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN (WC1)
SERIES TIED 2-2
GAME 1: KRAKEN 3, AVALANCHE 1
GAME 2: AVALANCHE 3, KRAKEN 2
GAME 3: AVALANCHE 6, KRAKEN 4
GAME 4: KRAKEN 3, AVALANCHE 2 (OT)
WED., APRIL 26: KRAKEN AT AVALANCHE, 9:30 P.M.; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS
FRI., APRIL 28: AVALANCHE AT KRAKEN, 10 P.M., TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: KRAKEN AT AVALANCHE, TBD
DALLAS STARS (C2) VS. MINNESOTA WILD (C3)
STARS LEAD SERIES, 3-2
GAME 1: WILD 3, STARS 2 (2OT)
GAME 2: STARS 7, WILD 3
GAME 3: WILD 5, STARS 1
GAME 4: STARS 3, WILD 2
GAME 5: STARS 4, WILD 0
FRI., APRIL 28: STARS AT WILD, TBD
*SUN., APRIL 30: WILD AT STARS, TBD
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (P1) VS. WINNIPEG JETS (WC2)
GOLDEN KNIGHTS LEAD SERIES, 3-1
GAME 1: JETS 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1
GAME 2: GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, JETS 2
GAME 3: GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, JETS 4 (2OT)
GAME 4: GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, JETS 2
THU., APRIL 27: JETS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS, 10 P.M.; ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS
*SAT., APRIL 29: GOLDEN KNIGHTS AT JETS, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: JETS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS, TBD
EDMONTON OILERS (P2) VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS (P3)
OILERS LEAD SERIES, 3-2
GAME 1: KINGS 4, OILERS 3 (OT)
GAME 2: OILERS 4, KINGS 2
GAME 3: KINGS 3, OILERS 2 (OT)
GAME 4: OILERS 5, KINGS 4 (OT)
GAME 5: OILERS 6, KINGS 3
SAT., APRIL 29: OILERS AT KINGS, TBD
*MON., MAY 1: KINGS AT OILERS, TBD
* IF NECESSARY
TBD — TO BE DETERMINED
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
COLORADO 5 CLEVELAND 1
CINCINNATI 7 TEXAS 6
SEATTLE 5 PHILADELPHIA 3
DETROIT 4 MILWAUKEE 3
KANSAS CITY 5 ARIZONA 4
BOSTON 8 BALTIMORE 6
HOUSTON 5 TAMPA BAY 0
TORONTO 7 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 0
MINNESOTA 6 NY YANKEES 2
LA ANGELS 5 OAKLAND 3
LA DODGERS 8 PITTSBURGH 7
WASHINGTON 5 NY METS 0
ATLANTA 7 MIAMI 4
CHICAGO CUBS 6 SAN DIEGO 0
SAN FRANCISCO 5 ST. LOUIS 4
BOX SCORES: HTTP://HOSTED.STATS.COM/MLB/SCOREBOARD.ASP
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
INDIANAPOLIS 10 COLUMBUS 4
GREAT LAKES 4 FORT WAYNE 2
SOUTH BEND 3 PEORIA 2
COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES
MICHIGAN STATE 12 NOTRE DAME 5
EVANSVILLE 9 LIPSCOMB 3
EASTERN ILLINOIS 11 BUTLER 2
INDIANA 9 BALL STATE 8
VALPARAISO AT PURDUE CANCELED
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES
NFL NEWS
YOUNG? STROUD? PANTHERS REACH CONSENSUS ON NO. 1 DRAFT PICK
CHARLOTTE. N.C. (AP) Carolina Panthers coach Frank Reich says he and general manager Scott Fitterer have agreed on which quarterback the team will select with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
But Reich says the team won’t announce who that is until Thursday night, when the draft begins.
The Panthers are choosing between Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson in an effort to upgrade a quarterback position that has been in transition for the last five seasons.
Fitterer said last week he had waited to ask Reich who he preferred at No. 1 so that nothing would cloud either decision-maker’s judgement. But on Monday Fitterer finally walked into Reich’s office and popped the question on who he prefers – and both agreed on the same QB.
“It was kind of like a proposal – and I said yes,” Reich joked Tuesday. “But there is consensus and we are excited.”
Young remains the overwhelming favorite to be the first Panthers QB selected No. 1 overall since Cam Newton in 2011, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, although Levis has moved ahead of Stroud.
This is a hugely important pick for Carolina, which has not been to the playoffs since 2017 largely because of inconsistency at the QB position.
Reich praised Fitterer and the scouts for keeping an open mind through the entire process.
“We all went into the thing with ideas and inclinations, but there are ebbs and flows during the process,” Reich said. “Is there any change of mind? I wouldn’t say there is any drastic change of mind, but there are ebbs and flows on how much you like a guy. And that is why you have to resist the temptation to make your mind up too early.
“The coaches and the scouting staff did a good job of not falling into that trap and just take it for what it is, take it day by day, watch tape and go through the process.”
Reich said the team’s coaching staff’s convictions on who to take “built gradually” over time.
With the top pick decided, Reich said the team is now focusing its attention on its other five picks in the first five rounds of the draft, including the 39th overall selection.
“We are wrapping our minds around that 39th pick and the 93rd pick about all of the scenarios – (trade) up, (trade) down or stay there,” Reich said. “What if (this guy) is there; what if he’s not. Hey, tell us how this guy fits into the scheme. They have been dynamic discussions and I think we are prepared for those scenarios.” —
BENGALS PICK UP 5TH-YEAR OPTION ON QB JOE BURROW
CINCINNATI (AP) The Cincinnati Bengals exercised the fifth-year contract option for star quarterback Joe Burrow on Tuesday as they move toward signing him to a long-term deal.
The Bengals said in a statement that they took the “mechanical step” with Burrow and his representatives, who have had talks with the team about his future.
NFL teams had until May 2 to exercise fifth-year options for first-round picks in the 2020 class, and Burrow, the first player taken that tear, has already proven to be worth any extra financial investment.
Since bouncing back from a season-ending knee injury as a rookie, Burrow has gone 20-10 as a starter while leading the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in 2022. The 26-year-old has passed for more than 4,400 yards in each of the past two seasons with 69 touchdown passes.
Burrow made the Pro Bowl for the first time last season and led the Bengals back to the AFC title game, where they lost a rematch against Kansas City.
It’s possible Burrow’s new deal could eclipse the record-setting package Philadelphia recently gave quarterback Jalen Hurts, who got a five-year, $255 million contract that included $179 million guaranteed.
Burrow began his college career at Ohio State before transferring to LSU and leading the Tigers to a national championship. The Bengals selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
NBA NEWS
YOUNG’S LONG 3 LIFTS HAWKS TO 119-117 WIN OVER CELTICS
BOSTON (AP) His team trailing by a point and its season on the brink, Hawks star Trae Young got all the encouragement he needed in the huddle during his team’s timeout.
“I just had to trust in what I’ve done my whole life and shoot it with confidence,” Young said.
He did, and kept Atlanta’s season alive.
Young had 38 points and drained a long go-ahead 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 2.8 seconds left to help the Hawks cap a late comeback and beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 Tuesday night.
The victory trims Boston’s lead in the first-round playoff series to 3-2 and sends the teams back to Atlanta for Game 6 Thursday.
Young had 16 points in a frenetic fourth quarter, getting support from his teammates who collectively knocked down a series-best 19 3-pointers.
John Collins added 22 points for Atlanta, who played without Dejounte Murray, who was suspended for one game for bumping official Gediminas Petraitis after the end of Game 4.
With Murray out, Young picked up the offensive slack and helped Atlanta keep pace early, scoring nine of Hawks’ first 13 points. By the time the final quarter arrived, Collins got a sense of familiarity watching his teammate.
“I know what time it is. It’s Ice Trae time. He’s clutch. He wants to be in that moment. He wants the big shot,” Collins said. “It’s what he does.”
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points and Jayson Tatum added 19 for the Celtics, who were outscored 37-25 in the fourth quarter. It came after Boston had dominated for three quarters. For the game the Celtics held a 60-38 scoring edge in the paint and 24-8 in transition.
A sloppy finish made it all for not.
“We had some boneheaded plays, some fouls. Gave them some opportunities to get going,” Brown said. “We just gotta finish the game.”
Derrick White put the Celtics in front 117-116 with 7.3 second remaining, setting up a final possession for the Hawks. The ball went to Young in the backcourt, who dribbled into the front court and knocked down a 29-footer over Brown.
The Celtics bobbled their initial inbounds pass and had another chance with 0.5 seconds left, but Tatum’s fading 3-point try found only air as time expired.
Brown, who has been recovering from a late-season facial fracture, went unmasked for most of the Celtics’ victory in Game 4, saying he found energy after taking it off during a 31-point scoring night.
He wore it again for Game 5 and maintained the same intensity, leading all scorers with 23 first-half points.
Atlanta trailed by 13 before tying the game at 111 on a 3-pointer Young.
As the Hawks began to mount their run, fans inside TD Garden began peppering him with expletive-laced chants.
“When people do that I think that’s just total respect. I mean, they aren’t doing that to everybody,” he said.
Boston pushed the ball up the court and got the ball to Robert Williams, who dropped in a layup. He was fouled but missed his ensuing free throw.
The score was still 113-111 when Young drove and was fouled by Al Horford. Tatum took issue with the call and was whistled for a technical foul. Young hit all three free throws to put the Hawks in front 114-113.
Brown turned it over, then misfired on a driving layup. Atlanta’s next possession ended in a jump ball that was controlled by Boston. Williams scored on a layup to put the Celtics back in the lead with 25 seconds left.
Young was fouled again with 15.8 seconds remaining and connected on two more free throws.
The Celtics called a timeout. The ensuing play wound up with White driving to the basket. He was fouled and went to the line for what appeared to be the game-winning free throws.
Young had other plans.
“You can tell, you look in his eyes and there was a calm,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Sometimes that happens in the middle of a storm.”
MR. 4TH QUARTER
Young now has 60 fourth-quarter points in the series.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Started collectively better from 3-point range, hitting 6 of 11 in the opening 12 minutes to take a 30-27 lead into the second quarter. But they shot just 3 for 10 from beyond the arc in the second period as Boston nudged in front.
Celtics: Had a two-point jumper by Horford upgraded to a 3 after review with 8:07 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 41. Boston then outscored Atlanta 25-17 the rest of half and led 66-58 at the half.
NUGGETS ELIMINATE WOLVES 112-109 BEHIND MURRAY, JOKIC
DENVER (AP) Michael Malone surveyed the scene Tuesday night and wondered where everyone was – not just Denver’s fans, but the Nuggets themselves.
“Our team was kind of like the crowd tonight – we were late arriving,” Malone said after Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray helped the top-seeded Nuggets overcame a slow start to eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Anthony Edwards, who led Minnesota with 29 points, hit the back iron on a 27-foot 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
The top-seeded Nuggets will face the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns, who eliminated in the Los Angeles Clippers in five games, in the second round, which begins Saturday night in Denver.
Despite Denver being the better seed, Jokic called the Suns “the favorite to win the championship. They have an amazing, amazing group of guys, well-coached.” He went up and down their roster, saving special praise for Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton. “So, it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
Jokic also applauded the Wolves, who were without top perimeter defender Jaden McDaniels (broken hand) and center Naz Reid (broken wrist) for the series and lost Kyle Anderson to an eye injury in Game 4.
“And they still managed to be in every game except Game 1. That was the only game that was an easy win for us,” Jokic said. “They did a good job. We were just a little bit better this time.”
Jokic had a triple-double and scored 28 points despite missing 21 of 29 shots, and Murray scored 35 points to help the Nuggets overcome an early 13-point deficit and hand Malone his record 25th career playoff victory for Denver, one more than Doug Moe had.
A rainstorm slowed traffic into downtown Denver and an earlier start than normal had fans streaming into Ball Arena a little late.
“I looked up, there’s a lot of empty seats and coaches said, well, the weather’s really bad. But the way we played that first quarter was like a regular-season game,” Malone said. ‘And then slowly but surely, I felt Jamal made a couple of shots. And Jamal plays with so much emotion. And I think he got our team going. … Jamal just wouldn’t quit, you know? And he made big shot after big shot.”
Good thing for Denver, too, because Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. were a combined 11 for 39 from the floor and the Nuggets fell behind by 13 in the first quarter, a sluggish start that stumped Malone.
“I couldn’t put my finger on it as it was going on,” he said. “Was it nerves? Was it the moment? Was it too big for us trying to close out a team? I don’t think it was. We just showed up like we weren’t playing hard. But it was not the necessary physicality and aggression and intensity that is needed to close the team out.
“And I couldn’t believe at halftime we were up by one,” Malone added. “I was like, ‘Wow! We just played that half. And you look at all the numbers and the only reason we were up by one was the foul line.”
A 15-4 advantage at the free throw line helped Denver inch ahead 48-47 at the break. They finished 32 of 36 from the stripe.
Michael Porter Jr. was held without a basket until his dunk with 10:08 left in the game. Jokic missed eight of his first 10 shots 48 hours after tying his career playoff high with 43 points in a Game 4 overtime loss at Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 26 points for the Wolves, Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out and Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in 14 points.
“Guys were super-engaged and it showed,” Wolves point guard Mike Conley said. “And that showed that we’re going to fight no matter what.”
The Nuggets got 14 points from Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown, who was in Edwards’ face on the game-tying attempt at the buzzer. Porter scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers after missing his first five shots from behind the arc.
The Wolves, who avoided a sweep with an overtime win in Minneapolis on Sunday, jumped out to a 25-12 lead before the Nuggets began chipping away.
“We started slow,” Murray said, “but once they started talking that woke us up. We locked in. We fought back in the second quarter and then I thought we did a good job executing down the stretch.”
GOOD TRY
A disappointing season came to an end for the Wolves, who were banged up – Karl-Anthony Towns missed 52 games with a calf injury – and never really jelled like they had hoped after the monster trade for Gobert.
“The defining characteristic of this team is that we’ve always played our best basketball when we were in desperation mode,” coach Chris Finch said. “It’s not how you want to live. Again, its all credit to us. We had many points during the season to let go of the rope or give up on the moment but we never ever did.
“So, I love that about our guys. They kept competing. But you know a more mature team doesn’t find itself in those situations as much and that’s a part of our growth.”
Finch added that the Wolves “learned a lot, too, with the two bigs (Gobert and Towns) and everything going into the offseason, I felt like we learned a lot to be able to build around.”
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Anderson, who sustained a left eye injury and facial bruise in Game 4, didn’t make the trip back to Denver so he could see some specialists.
Nuggets: Denver won a playoff series under Malone for the fifth time in the last five seasons.
BOOKER SCORES 47, LEADS SUNS PAST CLIPPERS TO WIN SERIES
PHOENIX (AP) Devin Booker unleashed a torrent of offense in the third quarter rarely seen in NBA playoff history, hitting shots from every corner of the gym.
The Phoenix Suns needed just about every one.
Booker scored 47 points, including 25 in a spectacular third quarter, to lead the Suns past the Los Angeles Clippers 136-130 on Tuesday night and win the Western Conference first-round playoff series in five games.
“It was spiritual,” Durant said of watching Booker’s third quarter. “I don’t scream too much in games as I get older, but when he hit that 3 at the top of the key, I felt that energy and I know everyone in the crowd felt it. We feed off his aggression.”
The Clippers didn’t go quietly, nearly coming back from a 20-point deficit early in the fourth, hitting four straight 3s at one point to quickly close the gap.
Los Angeles had multiple chances to tie in the final three minutes, but could never convert. Durant made a layup to push Phoenix’s lead to 134-130 and then made two free throws to put the Suns up six with 31.3 seconds left.
“I think it’s a good lesson for us moving forward,” Booker said. “Don’t play with your food. Finish out as strong as you can. Keep playing all the way until the whistle blows.”
Durant finished with 31 points while Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Booker shot 19 of 27 from the field.
Durant’s final free throws capped a wild back-and-forth second half that saw the Clippers take a 71-61 lead early in the third.
But the Suns – led by Booker’s stellar shot making – unleashed a powerful wave of offense, pouring in 50 points in the third quarter to take a 111-94 lead into the fourth. Booker made 10 of 11 shots in the rally, including three 3-pointers and a tomahawk fastbreak dunk.
“When he’s going like that, we’re not calling any plays,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.
The flustered Clippers had no answer until it was too late. Norman Powell led Los Angeles with 27 points while Mason Plumlee scored 20 off the bench.
It was a tough night for Russell Westbrook, who scored 14 points on 3 of 18 shooting and had a costly turnover in the final minute, dishing a pass to Terance Mann, who wasn’t expecting the ball.
The Suns will play the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the second round. Game 1 is Saturday in Denver.
The series took a turn last week when the Clippers announced Leonard had a sprained right knee. The two-time Finals MVP suffered the injury in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2, but his condition worsened.
He missed Games 3 and 4 and the Clippers lost both contests.
But Los Angeles stayed competitive in those games and Tuesday night continued that trend – for a while. The Clippers took a 70-61 halftime lead, led by Powell’s 16 points. Ayton scored 18 for the Suns.
HISTORIC BOOK
Booker became just the third player in the past 25 seasons to score at least 25 points in a quarter during a playoff game. The others were Damian Lillard (25 in 2019) and Allen Iverson (26 in 2001).
TIP-INS
Suns: Backup guard Cam Payne played for the first time in the playoffs. He missed the first four games with a sore back. He played three minutes but didn’t score. … Hosted a 77th straight sellout, combining regular season and postseason games.
Clippers: Eight-time All-Star Paul George also missed the game with a sprained right knee. He hasn’t played since March 21. … Had a 26-16 rebounding advantage in the first half. … Backup guard Bones Hyland scored nine points in the first half.
DE’AARON FOX ON GAME 5: ‘NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTS. I’M PLAYING’
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) If the decision about whether De’Aaron Fox can play through a broken index finger on his shooting hand is up to Fox, there is no doubt.
“Right now, there’s no ifs, ands or buts,” he said Tuesday. “I’m playing.”
While the Sacramento Kings are still calling Fox’s status for Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night “doubtful,” all signs are pointing to the star point guard giving it a shot with the first-round series tied at two games apiece.
Fox took part in a non-contact practice with a splint on his left index finger and then spent significant time afterward working on his shooting to get prepared for playing with a splint in a real game.
Fox said he had no problems dribbling and passing and the biggest question was making sure he could deal with the pain and make his shot.
He said he felt optimistic after the swelling in the finger went down in the past day and the pain has become manageable.
“At the end of the day, I’m fine,” he said. “I can shoot the ball. At this point in the season, everybody has something. Obviously a bone might not be chipped, but something is hurting on everybody. So you go out there and you still play the game. I’m not worried about it.”
Coach Mike Brown said the final decision about Wednesday night will be a joint one between him, Fox, the trainers and medical staff.
But Brown said it wasn’t premature for Fox to say he “believes” he will play.
“He’s not saying I’m going and I’m going to play 40 minutes,” Brown said. “He’s going try to give it a go. I think that’s what you just go with at the end of the day and you see what happens.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team won’t change its approach to defending Fox and isn’t worried about overconfidence if Fox can’t play.
“If we let our guard down, there’s something seriously wrong with us,” Kerr said. “We’ll be ready to go.”
Fox got injured on a drive midway through the fourth quarter. He remained in the game after the injury and even made a key 3-pointer in the closing minute before Sacramento lost 126-125. Fox passed out of a double team on the final possession and the Kings lost when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Fox has emerged as a star in his first trip to the postseason, averaging 31.5 points, seven assists and six rebounds through six games.
His 38 points in a Game 1 win were tied for the second most for a player in his postseason debut and his 126 points so far are tied for the sixth most for any player in his first four career playoff games.
Fox had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the Game 4 loss.
“Whether Foxy plays or not, we all have to play better,” Brown said. “That’s how I look at it.”
Fox was announced last week as the inaugural winner of the NBA’s clutch player of the year award. He led the league in clutch-game scoring this season with 194 points in 39 such games; clutch games are defined as those where the margin between teams is five points or less at any point in the final five minutes.
Those were the most clutch points scored in a season since LeBron James had 197 in the 2017-18 season.
ORLANDO’S PAOLO BANCHERO WINS NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
(AP) — Paolo Banchero became the frontrunner to win Rookie of the Year race from the very moment that he went No. 1 in last year’s draft.
And nobody caught him.
Banchero was announced Tuesday night as the overwhelming winner of the top rookie award for this season, after the Orlando forward led all first-year players in scoring and helped the Magic improve from a 22-win last season to a 34-win club that contended for a play-in berth this season.
The former Duke standout averaged 20 points per game. He had 15 games of at least 25 points and 40 games of at least 20 points, both the most among rookies this season. And he won rookie of the month four times, each of those announcements only further indicating that he was ahead of the field.
He became the third player to win rookie of the year as a member of the Magic, joining Shaquille O’Neal in 1993 and Mike Miller – who represents Banchero – in 2001. Banchero, on the TNT broadcast of the announcement, recalled a conversation he had with Miller on draft night.
“He looked at me and he asked me if I was going to be rookie of the year,” Banchero said. “I confidently said yes. It was just a goal I’ve always had, something I had my eye on from the second I got drafted. I’m glad I was able to do it.”
Banchero got 98 of the 100 first-place votes from a panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the league. Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder was second and Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz was third. Kessler got the two first-place votes that Banchero didn’t receive.
Banchero is the first No. 1 pick to win the award in the season immediately after getting drafted since Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016; Ben Simmons won the award in 2018, two years after he went No. 1.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said one of his biggest takeaways from Banchero’s first season was an on-court maturity and willingness to play the right way.
“He had an ability to adjust in-game to whatever was asked of him to impact winning,” Mosley said.
Banchero freely acknowledges that he’s not a finished product, and Mosley said the team wants him to lock in on certain areas over the offseason.
“I think there’s so many ways in which he can grow,” Mosley said. “I think a lot of times rookies will come in and they’ll try to do everything. The biggest talk with him is just to have a focus on one or two pieces for the summer, where he can improve in certain areas – because he’s going to work. I don’t think that’s going to be any question whatsoever.”
In the final chapter of his season-long rookie diary for The Associated Press, Banchero also detailed some of the ways he wants to improve over the coming months.
“I want to be more consistent, more dangerous from 3-point range next season,” he said. “There were stretches during this year where I shot the ball well. I just need to find the consistency. I think expanding my range in Year 2, then just getting in best shape I possibly can – I think I was in good shape this year, but just want to take it to another level. To get to where I want to be, everything’s just going to have to be kicked up a notch. And I’m looking forward to that.”
Banchero becomes the sixth person to receive one of the NBA’s top individual awards so far in this award season, following the reveals of Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. as defensive player of the year, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox as the inaugural winner of the clutch player award, Kings coach Mike Brown as a unanimous pick for coach of the year, Boston’s Malcolm Brogdon as sixth man of the year and Utah’s Lauri Markkanen as the league’s most improved player.
That only leaves the biggest individual prize of all – MVP.
Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver is a finalist again, along with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid. The NBA has not said when the MVP trophy will be handed out.
The All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams also have yet to be revealed.
NHL PLAYOFFS
ISLANDERS BEAT HURRICANES, CUT PLAYOFF SERIES DEFICIT TO 3-2
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The New York Islanders were ready to capitalize, both on a bizarre bounce of the puck and mistakes by the Carolina Hurricanes. That was enough to keep them alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Brock Nelson scored by knocking in an airborne puck that had bounced off the face of Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, and the Islanders added two goals following turnovers to beat the Hurricanes 3-2 on Tuesday night and extend their first-round playoff series.
The Islanders trailed 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, but staved off elimination by scoring the game’s first two goals and never trailing while playing in front of a rowdy crowd eager to see the Hurricanes become the first team to advance to this year’s second round.
“We believe in one another, we believe in this group and what we can do and how we can play,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “That was no different coming into this evening. … We came in tonight and played a very solid hockey game and put everything on the line.”
Mathew Barzal had the winner, taking a turnover by Martin Necas the other way to beat Antti Raanta late in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Carolina closed to within one midway through the third, but Ilya Sorokin and the Islanders tenaciously held that lead as the Hurricanes ran extended zone time with an empty-net attacker desperately seeking a late equalizer.
Instead, New York sent the series back to UBS Arena for Friday’s Game 6.
Pierre Engvall got the Islanders a lead midway through the first period after getting a 1-on-1 shot at Raanta off Carolina’s failed clear, while Sorokin finished with 34 saves to lead the Islanders.
Aho – who exited briefly after Nelson’s goal – and Paul Stastny scored for the Hurricanes, who were coming off a 5-2 win that ended an eight-game postseason road losing streak dating to 2021.
The Hurricanes certainly would’ve preferred to close this one out Tuesday considering how they’re grinding forward with an injury-depleted group of forwards – including top names like Andrei Svechnikov (season-ending knee injury) and Teuvo Teravainen (broken hand suffered in Game 2).
Aho’s score off a behind-the-net feed from Seth Jarvis cut the deficit to 3-2 midway through the third period. But the Hurricanes came up short on a night that included the Islanders successfully challenging a first-period put-away on Stefan Noesen’s one-timer for coming on an uncalled offsides as Carolina pushed into the zone with the man advantage.
Raanta finished with 19 saves, while Aho and defenseman Brent Burns both rang the post on a frustrating night for the Hurricanes. And now, they’ll have to win on the road again to avoid a Game 7 at home Sunday.
“I like the way we played, played hard,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We had a couple of mistakes that cost us, but there wasn’t a ton of those. It’s just the bounces didn’t go our way. It’s very simple.”
NELSON’S GOAL
Nelson’s goal stood out. He swung at the puck after it had struck Aho near the mouth and was falling to the ice, batting it past Raanta on the right side early in the second for a wild score.
“(Engvall) with his speed and size kind of found himself in the slot with a little lane,” Nelson said. “Unfortunate it hits a guy in the face. For me it was nice, it was right there and I was able to get a stick on it in the air and go in.”
Aho eventually skated back to the bench while doubled over, then straight to the locker room. He returned midway through the period after getting stitches.
“I just kind of didn’t know what hit me,” Aho said. “It came pretty quickly there. Obviously the guy was probably not aiming for my face either. Yeah, it’s hockey, it happens.”
STREAK OVER
Engvall’s goal ended a nine-game postseason streak for the Islanders without a first-period goal.
New York missed the playoffs last year and hadn’t scored in the first period of a playoff game since Nelson’s score at 13:30 of Game 2 in a seven-game series loss to Tampa Bay in the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinals.
MISSING
Carolina forward Jack Drury didn’t play Tuesday after being was knocked early from Game 4 on a hard hit into the boards by Ryan Pulock. Brind’Amour said earlier Tuesday that Drury doesn’t have a concussion.
FAMILIAR FACE
Former Carolina Hurricanes forward Erik Cole – a member of the 2006 Stanley Cup winner – sounded the pregame “storm warning” siren for the team to take the ice from the locker room.
SEGUIN, STARS TAKE 3-2 SERIES LEAD WITH 4-0 WIN OVER WILD
DALLAS (AP) Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars are making the Minnesota Wild pay for all of those penalties, and now have the series lead for the first time.
The Stars took advantage early in Game 5, and went on to a 4-0 victory Tuesday night.
Seguin scored his fourth power-play of the series only 2:22 into the game, and just eight seconds after Wild forward Marcus Foligno’s five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for a knee-on-knee hit on Radek Faksa.
“Minnesota is one of the most penalized teams in the league, we knew we were going to get power plays,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “So the goal was to make them pay for it. And we’re doing that, and we’ve got to keep doing that.”
Jason Robertson also had a power-play goal in the first period, and like Seguin also had an assist. Roope Hintz had three assists and now has the highest-scoring playoff series ever for a Dallas player, while Jake Oettinger stopped 27 shots for his second career postseason shutout – and the first by any goalie this postseason.
Faksa remained face down on the ice after the collision with Foligno near the blue line, which came right after the Stars center had knocked the puck out of the air with his hand. Faksa had to be helped off the ice once he got up, but returned to the game midway through the first period.
“I’m keeping my lane, it’s unfortunate we both hit in that leg area. I wouldn’t say it’s a knee-on-knee, I hit him in the upper area,” Foligno said. “He’s rotating out of the way, I don’t move my leg at all. I stay my course. That’s what I see. If you want to give me a penalty, for sure. But a five-minute and a game misconduct … I just don’t agree with that part.”
Wild coach Dean Evason said his group had watched the replay several times, and that “if anything, we felt their guy moved and our guy did not.”
Officials also reviewed the play, upholding the major penalty and issuing the game misconduct after a lengthy look at replays.
“It took some life out of us for sure,” Evason said.
Mason Marchment scored early in the second period and Ty Dellandrea added an empty-netter with 3:57 left for the Stars, who will try to close out the first-round playoff series Friday night in Game 6 at Minnesota. The seventh game, if needed, would be Sunday in Dallas.
Seguin put Dallas ahead to stay with his second-effort tally on the rebound of a shot by Robertson, who then made it 2-0 midway through the first on his 35-foot wrister through the legs of Filip Gustavsson. It was the second goal and fourth assist of the series for Robertson, who became the first 100-point scorer for Dallas this season.
Gustavsson, Minnesota’s own 24-year-old goalie, has started the last three games since three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury was in net for Game 2 when Dallas evened the series with a 7-3 win. Gustavsson stopped 21 shots Tuesday.
With Joe Pavelski in concussion protocol since taking a big hit in Game 1, Seguin has moved up to the top line with Robertson and Hintz, and had a bigger role on the power play. Seguin, who played in his 100th career playoff game, is the only Stars player with a Stanley Cup title – that was as a 19-year-old rookie with Boston in 2011.
The now 31-year-old Seguin is the first player in Stars franchise history with four power-play goals in a single playoff series. The last time a Dallas player had as many in a playoff year was in 2008, when Mike Modano had five and Brenden Morrow four.
Seguin had two power-play goals in the Stars’ 3-2 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night that evened the series. Both of those also came after Foligno penalties. Dallas has nine power-play goals in the series.
Hintz also scored a goal in the series opener, then had a hat trick with an assist in Game 2. His 11 points (four goals, seven assists) are the most in a single playoff series for Dallas, his assist on Marchment’s goal snapping his tie with Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Jamie Benn.
Minnesota was 0 for 3 with a man-advantage in Game 5, with all of its power plays in the second period. Oettinger stopped nine shots on the first two Wild power plays in quick succession.
“He sure doesn’t look like a 24-year-old goalie. He’s doing some some special things,” DeBoer said. “Being at this stage in the career he’s at, when you look at the real good goalies over their history, not many of them at his age are taking the load that he’s taking and delivering like he’s doing.”
OILERS BEAT KINGS TO TAKE 3-2 LEAD IN PLAYOFF SERIES
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Nick Bjugstad scored twice as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Oilers are a win away from advancing to the second round. Game 6 is Saturday in Los Angeles. Game 7, if necessary, would be Monday in Edmonton.
Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak also scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid and defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse had two assists apiece.
Hyman’s goal came when he was hit in the face on a shot by Evan Bouchard and the puck deflected past the Kings’ Pheonix Copley for the Oilers’ fifth goal of the game. Hyman stayed in the game.
Stuart Skinner was back in the net for Edmonton’s after he was swapped out for Jack Campbell one period into the Oilers’ Game 4 overtime win Sunday. The 24-year-old Skinner made 25 saves.
Kings goalie Joonas Korpisalo was pulled for Copley in the second period after Edmonton’s fourth goal. Korpisalo stopped 15 of 19 shots before giving way to Copley, who had six saves.
Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafallo scored for the Kings.
When the clubs clashed in the first round last year, the Kings claimed Game 5 to take the series lead to Los Angeles, where the Oilers won consecutive games. Edmonton now has the chance in this series to close it out on the road.
The Oilers killed off their one penalty and scored on two of three power-play chances Tuesday. Edmonton is 8 for 14 with a man-advantage in the series.
Bjugstad scored his second of the game at 4:26 of the third period. His floating backhand toward the net went off the skate of Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson and across the goal line.
Byfield scored the Kings’ third goal at 6:33, scoring high over Skinner from close range.
Game 4 overtime hero Hyman scored Edmonton’s fifth goal with his face. at 15:47 of the second period, when just 10 seconds remained in Kevin Fiala’s tripping penalty.
Bjugstad tipped in Cody Ceci’s shot from the blue line at 11:49 for a 4-2 lead.
As they did in the first two games of this series at Rogers Place, the Oilers took an early 2-0 lead and were ahead 3-2 after the opening period.
Kempe chipped the puck over Skinner at 17:35 to pull the the Kings within a goal.
Ryan McLeod whipped the puck cross-ice in front of Korpisalo as Kulak got by Byfield and beat Korpisalo at 14:12.
A minute earlier, Iafallo scored L.A.’s second of the game, chopping a rebound off a Kempe spin-around attempt past Skinner.
Draisaitl made it 2-0 for the Oilers at 10:40 on McDavid’s feed from behind the goal line.
Draisaitl was going down as he was shoved by Byfield, but got a shot away to beat Korpisalo for his NHL-leading sixth playoff goal.
With Carl Grundstrom in the box for hooking McDavid, Kane scored off the far post at 8:08, with just four seconds left in the penalty.
The Kings were without forward Blake Lizotte (lower-body) for a third straight game. Edmonton was without forward Mattias Janmark a fourth game after he blocked a shot with his foot in Game 1.
NOTES
The Oilers’ Bouchard extended his point streak to five games (two goals, six assists). It is the longest point streak in the playoffs for an Edmonton blue-liner since Charlie Huddy’s two goals and three assists in four games in 1988. … The Kings’ power play is 5 for 18 in the series.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MLB ROUNDUP: ASTROS END RAYS’ RECORD HOME WIN STREAK
Houston’s Luis Garcia spun six sharp innings and the Astros produced four doubles in a five-run fifth inning to beat Tampa Bay 5-0 on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Rays’ first home loss this season.
The result snapped Tampa Bay’s 14-game home winning streak to start the season — a modern-era record (since 1901). The all-time mark is the 21-0 home start by the 1880 Chicago White Stockings, the precursor to the Cubs.
In his second consecutive win, Garcia (2-2) yielded just three hits and two walks to the Rays while striking out seven over a season-high 97 pitches. Jeremy Pena and Corey Julks notched a double, a single, a run and an RBI apiece, and Julks added a stolen base. Jake Meyers and Kyle Tucker each had two hits and an RBI.
Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen (3-2) cruised through four innings before Houston racked up six hits in the fifth. He surrendered five runs on nine hits, struck out five and walked two in 4 2/3 innings. Wander Franco doubled for one of Tampa Bay’s five hits as the club went homerless for the second straight game after going deep in each of the first 22 contests.
Dodgers 8, Pirates 7
Chris Taylor’s three-run homer in the eighth capped a five-run comeback as Los Angeles ended host Pittsburgh’s winning streak at seven.
Michael Vargas added a two-run double and Michael Busch had a hit and RBI in his major league debut for the Dodgers, who have won three straight. Los Angeles starter Noah Syndergaard allowed seven runs and nine hits in four innings. Yency Almonte (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh, and Shelby Miller pitched the ninth for his first career save.
Andrew McCutchen hit a three-run homer, Ke’Bryan Hayes a two-run double and Carlos Santana and Austin Hedges an RBI single apiece for the Pirates. Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo gave up five runs (four earned) and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Colin Holderman (0-1) gave up Taylor’s three-run shot in the eighth.
Red Sox 8, Orioles 6
Jarren Duran hit a grand slam, Corey Kluber pitched six solid innings and Boston held on to defeat Baltimore, ending the hosts’ seven-game winning streak.
Duran added a double and a single to go with his first career grand slam and first homer of the season. Kluber (1-4), who came in with an 8.50 ERA, allowed one run on five hits. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Orioles starter Kyle Bradish (1-1) lasted just 2 1/3 innings. He allowed seven runs on eight hits and four walks. Cedric Mullins hit his second career grand slam, and Jorge Mateo and Gunnar Henderson also homered for Baltimore.
Blue Jays 7, White Sox 0
Danny Jansen hit two home runs and had four RBIs, right-hander Jose Berrios pitched seven shutout innings and Toronto defeated visiting Chicago.
Berrios (2-3) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out nine and Kevin Kiermaier added a two-run triple to help the Blue Jays win their third game in a row.
The White Sox, who are completing a six-game trip with the series, have lost six games in a row. Right-hander Mike Clevinger (2-2) allowed six runs, seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings.
Rockies 5, Guardians 1
Charlie Blackmon homered on the second pitch of the game and Ryan Feltner did not allow an earned run across six strong innings as visiting Colorado beat Cleveland.
Blackmon added an RBI double and rookie Brenton Doyle had three hits and two stolen bases for Colorado, which has outscored the Guardians 11-1 in the first two games of the series. Feltner (2-2) allowed one unearned run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. The right-hander has not allowed an earned run over his last two starts covering 11 2/3 innings.
Cleveland pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth to snap a 14-inning scoreless streak. Steven Kwan hit a leadoff single, stole second base and moved to third on a throwing error before scoring on Amed Rosario’s sacrifice fly. Guardians starter Peyton Battenfield (0-2) gave up four runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked four with four strikeouts.
Reds 7, Rangers 6
Jake Fraley and Jonathan India each drove in two runs during a six-run eighth inning to help host Cincinnati rally to beat Texas for the second straight day.
The late uprising made a winner out of Reiver Sanmartin (1-0), who threw one perfect inning of relief. Alexis Diaz struck out two batters while retiring the side in the ninth inning for his third save of the season.
Texas built a six-run lead before Nick Senzel put Cincinnati on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Henry Ramos and Senzel moved the Reds within 6-3 in the eighth inning with RBI singles off Cole Ragans before Fraley greeted Ian Kennedy (0-1) with a two-run double and India followed with a two-run single to put Cincinnati on top.
Mariners 5, Phillies 3
Teoscar Hernandez homered and drove in two runs to lift Seattle past host Philadelphia.
Jarred Kelenic added a home run, double and single and J.P. Crawford had an RBI infield single for the Mariners. Starter Marco Gonzales (2-0) tossed five innings and allowed four hits and one run with two strikeouts and one walk. Paul Sewald earned his seventh save.
Edmundo Sosa hit a solo home run for the Phillies, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Phillies starter Bailey Falter (0-4) gave up six hits and four runs (three earned) with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings.
Nationals 5, Mets 0
Josiah Gray tossed six scoreless innings and received some offensive support for the first time this year as visiting Washington beat New York in the opener of a three-game series.
Keibert Ruiz homered in the second inning for the Nationals, who scored a total of one run in Gray’s first four starts. Gray (1-4) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out a season-high nine.
Ruiz’s homer and Joey Meneses’ RBI single in the third against Jose Butto (0-1) provided an early cushion for Gray. Butto, making his second start of the season and the third of his career, gave up two runs on four hits and six walks while striking out one over 4 2/3 innings. Five players had a hit apiece for the Mets, who were shut out for the fourth time this season.
Braves 7, Marlins 4
Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton struck out a season-high nine batters and Ozzie Albies hit a pair of home runs to lift Atlanta to a win over visiting Miami.
Morton (3-2) threw a season-best seven innings and gave up just one run — a home run by Jazz Chisholm Jr. — on three hits and two walks. He improved his career record against Miami to 12-5.
The Braves, who hit five home runs on Monday, launched three more on Tuesday. Albies hit his sixth and seventh, and Eddie Rosario added his third. Miami starter Bryan Hoeing (0-1) lasted only 3 2/3 innings in his season debut, giving up four runs on six hits.
Tigers 4, Brewers 3
Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run homer as visiting Detroit scored all its runs in the second inning and held on for a victory over Milwaukee.
The Tigers jumped on Eric Lauer for four runs in the decisive second. Jonathan Schoop singled with one out and Jake Rogers walked. Carpenter then sent a 1-1 pitch 390 feet to right for his fourth homer. Javier Baez then extended his hitting streak to 10 games an out later with a double. He took third on Eric Haase’s infield single and scored on Spencer Torkelson’s line-drive single to left to make it 4-0.
The Brewers got single runs in the third and fourth, then pulled within 4-3 when Rowdy Tellez opened the sixth with his eighth homer. Lauer (3-2) needed 85 pitches to make it through three innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked two. Mason Englert (1-1) got the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, with four strikeouts.
Twins 6, Yankees 2
Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach hit two-run home runs in the sixth inning, and Minnesota beat New York in Minneapolis.
The Twins beat the Yankees for the fourth time in six meetings this year to clinch the season series for the first time since 2001. Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (5-0) allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits in seven innings. Ryan fanned seven, walked none and won his eighth straight decision.
DJ LeMahieu hit an RBI single and Aaron Hicks scored on an error for the Yankees. New York starter Nestor Cortes (3-1) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits in five-plus innings. Cortes struck out six, walked one and allowed more than three runs for the first time in 17 starts.
Cubs 6, Padres 0
Yan Gomes went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs while Justin Steele pitched into the sixth inning to earn his fourth straight victory as Chicago beat visiting San Diego.
Gomes, who hit eight home runs in 86 games last season, clubbed his fifth of 2023 in the second inning. His shot into the left-center-field bleachers off Padres starter Blake Snell (0-4) came after Trey Mancini singled with one out. With two outs during Chicago’s four-run eighth, Gomes lined an RBI single to right field for his fifth career four-hit game.
Steele (4-0) threw scoreless ball for the second time this season while lowering his ERA to 1.19. The left-hander allowed three of San Diego’s five hits plus two walks to go along with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Snell lasted five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out five, but also walked five.
Giants 5, Cardinals 4
Blake Sabol bombed a two-run, walk-off home run with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing host San Francisco to counter a late St. Louis rally and pull off a victory.
The Cardinals scored three runs in the eighth, capped by a Paul Goldschmidt two-run single for a 4-2 lead. The Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski hit an RBI double in the ninth before Sabol’s blast off Ryan Helsley (0-2).
Sean Hjelle (1-0), the eighth Giants pitcher of the night, got the win. Tommy Edman homered for the Cardinals but committed a key error to open the Giants’ winning rally.
Angels 5, Athletics 3
Griffin Canning gave up three runs in five-plus efficient innings, the Angels’ bullpen threw four scoreless innings and the hosts held on for a victory over the A’s in Anaheim, Calif.
Brandon Drury was one of four Angels with two hits apiece, the key hit being a two-run triple in the first inning. After a slow start to the season, Drury is 5-for-8 with two homers and six RBIs in his last two games. Shea Langeliers homered for Oakland, which has lost three of its last four.
Canning (1-0), a right-hander who missed all of 2022 with a back injury, earned his first victory since June 9, 2021. It also was the first win by an Angels starting pitcher other than Shohei Ohtani since April 2, when Tyler Anderson beat the Athletics.
Royals 5, Diamondbacks 4
Brady Singer tossed six strong innings and six Kansas City batters had two hits as the Royals knocked off Arizona in Phoenix.
Nicky Lopez, Michael Massey and Edward Olivares each had two hits and one RBI for the Royals, who won for just the second time in 11 games. Kyle Isbel, Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. also had two hits apiece during Kansas City’s 14-hit attack. Singer (2-2) gave up one run and five hits.
Scott Barlow recorded the final five outs to notch his third save. He allowed a leadoff double in the ninth to Geraldo Perdomo before issuing a two-out walk to Corbin Carroll. But Barlow got Christian Walker to ground out to end the game. Carroll had three hits, two steals and two runs for Arizona, which has dropped five of seven.
AP SOURCES: PIRATES, REYNOLDS REACH $106.75M, 8-YEAR DEAL
PITTSBURGH (AP) Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has spent more than four years methodically overhauling the organization from the bottom up, relentlessly stockpiling prospects through three straight last-place finishes in the NL Central and promising the club would have the financial resources to invest at the major-league level when the timing was right.
Cherington backed up his promise by giving outfielder Bryan Reynolds the largest contract in club history.
Three people with knowledge of the agreement told the Associated Press that it’s an eight-year deal worth at least $106.75 million, the most lucrative in the history of a franchise that dates back to 1882. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was not official, pending a physical. A formal announcement is expected Wednesday.
The agreement was first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
It marks a somewhat of a turnaround for the soft-spoken Reynolds, who quietly requested a trade in December. Cherington insisted the team was willing to do what it takes to keep Reynolds in the fold for the long term, and both sides made steady progress toward an agreement in recent weeks, with Reynolds talking multiple times with team owner Bob Nutting.
“Let’s ride,” Reynolds posted in typically brief fashion on Instagram shortly after he and the team agreed to terms on Tuesday.
The new contract includes a $2 million signing bonus, a club option for 2031 that could make the agreement worth $104.75 million over nine seasons and a limited six-team no-trade clause.
It’s the latest bit of good news for the Pirates, who are off to a 16-7 start heading into a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Tuesday night. Reynolds is not expected to play in the opener, remaining out after being placed on the bereavement list on Sunday.
The team signed fourth-year manager Derek Shelton to a contract extension Sunday, a vote of confidence that the franchise is committed to the vision Cherington outlined when he took over in the fall of 2019.
“The one thing that’s the most important and again, this goes back to people signing here externally and coming in, is people want to be here,” Shelton said. “They’re trusting the process that Ben’s put in place.”
Reynolds, an All-Star in 2021, stressed during spring training that negotiations with the Pirates wouldn’t be a distraction once the season began. It hasn’t: Reynolds is hitting .294 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 22 games for the surprising NL Central leaders.
The agreement is a full-circle moment for the organization, which acquired the switch-hitting Reynolds in January 2018 as part of the trade that sent 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco.
Five years later, McCutchen is back with the Pirates and Reynolds – a career .282 hitter – is now the anchor of a lineup that’s helped Pittsburgh get off to its best start since 1992 despite losing young shortstop Oneil Cruz to a fractured left ankle earlier this month.
The Pirates have been one of the worst teams in the major leagues since 2019, with Cherington frequently flipping veteran players for prospects and investing heavily in the draft. Finding a way to retain Reynolds is the latest proof that the front office is serious about keeping a core group of players.
The club signed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to a $70 million, eight-year deal in April 2022 and has followed up by locking down Reynolds for the rest of the decade. The signings give the team two youngish clubhouse fixtures to lean on while waiting for a farm system considered one of the best in the majors to start bearing fruit.
“(Reynolds) always wanted to stay here, he always would say (that),” Hayes said. “I think he’s going to be even more comfortable now. He can just go out there and have fun.”
Closer David Bednar believes the deal “just speaks to the direction it’s going and the guys in the locker room who are a part of that.”
Reynolds had been scheduled to earn $6.75 million in the second season of a $13.5 million, two-year contract and would have been eligible for free agency after the 2025 season. He gets a $2 million signing bonus and salaries of $6.75 million this year, $10 million in 2024, $12 million in 2025, $14 million in 2026 and $15 million in each of the following four seasons. Pittsburgh’s 2031 option is for $20 million with a $2 million buyout. There are additional awards bonuses. —
CORA SAYS HE WASN’T ACCUSING ORIOLES OF ANYTHING NEFARIOUS
BALTIMORE (AP) Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora says he was not accusing Baltimore of anything nefarious when he pointed out how few swings and misses the Orioles had against Chris Sale on Monday night.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Tuesday he felt Cora was “disrespectful” to the Baltimore hitters. When that comment was relayed to Cora, he sounded surprised and ready to try and smooth things over with his AL East rival.
Cora said his comments were about possible pitch tipping by Sale and not about sign stealing or anything shady on Baltimore’s part.
“It wasn’t about pointing the finger at them. If he took it that way, I’ll talk to him right now, but that’s not the case,” Cora said Tuesday. “I was the guy suspended for what happened in 2017, so I’m the last guy that can accuse somebody of doing something wrong if that’s what he thought I was saying.”
Cora, who managed Boston to a World Series title in 2018, was suspended for the 2020 season for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal from 2017. He was the bench coach for that Houston team.
The Orioles made contact on 40 of their 42 swings against Sale in their 5-4 win Monday.
“Sliders down and in and they hit it. Fastballs up and away, they hit it. Changeups – at one point there, there was no swing and misses. Tough pitches,” Cora said after the game. “You’ve got to give credit to them, I guess.”
“We’ve got to take a look at it and see if we find something,” Cora added, “I’m not saying – got to give credit to them, but command was off today.”
When asked about Cora at his pregame news conference Tuesday, Hyde said: “I’m not sure what he was getting at. Honestly pretty disappointed in hearing that. I thought it was disrespectful to our hitters, to be honest with you. I thought we had a great game plan. I thought we had major league hitters take really good at-bats.”
Cora said Tuesday there might be a mechanical adjustment Sale can make.
“We’ve got to get him to be more athletic on the mound,” Cora said. “It’s something we noticed. He’s a little bit too stiff.”
Before Tuesday night’s game, the Red Sox put infielder Yu Chang on the 10-day injured list because of a left hand fracture. He left Monday’s game after swinging at a pitch. Cora said Chang was expected to see a hand specialist Wednesday in Boston and likely will have surgery Thursday. He could miss six weeks.
Boston recalled utilityman Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES
INDIANS BASEBALL
INDIANAPOLIS – Josh Palacios recorded a career-high five RBI and Cal Mitchell notched a career-high tying five hits as the Indianapolis Indians cruised past the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday night at Victory Field, 10-4.
After taking an early 1-0 lead with Mitchell’s solo shot in the first, the Indians (9-13) built a healthy cushion with a five-run third inning. Ryan Vilade singled prior to Mitchell driving him in on an RBI single. Miguel Andújar hit his eighth double of the season – tied for the most doubles in the International League – which plated Vilade. Palacios highlighted the frame with a three-run homer off starter Daniel Norris (L, 0-2) onto the berm in right-center. Following a walk drawn by Aaron Shackelford, Josh Bissonette clubbed an RBI single up the middle to extend the Indians’ advantage to 6-0.
Indy continued to pour on runs in the fourth inning. Vilade and Andújar sandwiched Mitchell’s third hit of the night with walks to load the bases with no outs. Palacios then clubbed an RBI single to score Vilade, Malcom Nuñez hit a sacrifice fly to score Mitchell and consecutive walks to Shackelford and Heineman brought home Andújar.
The Clippers (9-13) got on the scoreboard in the sixth and scored one run in each of their last four at-bats. Three of their four runs came via solo home runs, two by Zack Collins in the sixth and eighth inning and a shot by Jhonkensy Noel in the ninth.
Southpaw Kent Emanuel (W, 1-1) earned his first win of the season after coming in relief of major league rehabber Chase De Jong. He posted 4.0 scoreless frames, allowing four hits, one walk and punching out four.
Indianapolis’ 10th and final run of the contest came on an RBI single by Palacios for his career-high fifth RBI of the night. His previous best was four RBI on three occasions, most recently on April 16, 2022, with Rochester vs. Buffalo. His five-RBI showing was the first by an Indian since Oneil Cruz on May 15, 2022, at Charlotte.
Mitchell’s five-hit night was just the second of his career, the other coming on Aug. 24, 2021, with Double-A Altoona vs. Richmond. It was the first five-hit performance by an Indian since Ji Hwan Bae on April 29, 2022, at Iowa.
The Indians and Clippers will continue their six-game set on Wednesday at 1:35 PM ET at Victory Field. Indians LHP Caleb Smith (0-2, 7.53) will take the mound against Columbus’ LHP Adam Scott (0-1, 6.97).
INDY FUEL
INDIANAPOLIS– The Fuel hosted the Toledo Walleye for game three of the division semifinal series on Tuesday night, looking for their first win of the series after dropping two in Toledo over the weekend. While there was no score in the first period by either team, the Fuel ultimately fell 4-1 to the Walleye.
1ST PERIOD
The first period started off quick with no whistles in the first five minutes and the Fuel controlling possession for a lot longer than were able to in Toledo.
Alex Wideman took the game’s first penalty for roughing at 13:04, followed by Chris Cameron taking a cross-checking call 51 seconds later forcing the Fuel to a 5-on-3 penalty kill.
They were able to kill off both penalties. As the period ended, Indy was outshooting Toledo 8-7 despite neither team scoring.
2ND PERIOD
Brandon Hawkins was sent to the box at 1:12 for roughing, giving the Fuel their first power play opportunity of the game. Despite a lot of close calls, the Walleye killed off the penalty.
Toledo’s Sam Craggs scored the first goal of the game at 7:46 assisted by Brett McKenzie and Seth Barton.
At 8:54, Ross MacDougall took a holding penalty giving Toledo another power play opportunity which they capitalized on with a quick goal by Trenton Bliss to put the Walleye up 2-0.
Max Golod and Gordi Myer dropped the gloves at 18:52 behind Toledo’s net, each getting five minutes for fighting.
At the end of the period, both teams were tied with 22 shots each despite the Walleye being up 2-0.
3RD PERIOD
1:26 into the third period, Chad Yetman broke the shutout with a goal assisted by Andrew Perrott and goaltender Mitchell Weeks, marking his first Fuel point this season.
Kirill Tyutyayev sat for slashing at 6:32. Though the Fuel had a power play, it was the Walleye who scored next. Andrew Sturtz scored a shorthanded goal to put Toledo up 3-1 and then a few minutes later took an elbowing penalty.
With three minutes to go, the Fuel pulled Weeks from goal in favor of the extra attacker but Toledo hit the empty net with a goal by Donovan Sebrango to make it 4-1. Time expired after that and the Fuel lost their third game in a row to the Toledo Walleye by a score of 4-1.
INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced league opponents in men’s basketball for the 2023-24 season. The league enters its sixth year playing a 20-game conference schedule and each team will play seven opponents twice, three opponents only at home, and three opponents on the road. Dates, times, and television designations will be announced later this summer.
The Hoosiers are coming off a 23-12 season and a final ranking of No. 24 team in the Coaches Poll. IU tied for second place in the league. Indiana has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mike Woodson.
In non-conference play, the Hoosiers will play either defending national champion UConn, Texas, or Louisville in the 2023 Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 19-20. IU will also conclude a two-game series against Kansas on Dec. 16 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
IU 2023-24 Big Ten Conference Opponents
Home and Away
Purdue
Maryland
Minnesota
Nebraska
Ohio State
Penn State
Wisconsin
Home Only
Iowa
Michigan State
Northwestern
Away Only
Illinois
Michigan
Rutgers
INDIANA BASEBALL
MUNCIE, Ind. – An eighth straight win came in the form of the seventh one-run victory of the season for the Indiana baseball program on Tuesday (April 25) at Ball State. The Hoosier bullpen came through late to hold on for a 9-8 victory over the Cardinals.
Indiana (31-11) built a 5-0 lead with three runs in the first and two in the third inning, before Ball State (26-14) got four runs back in the bottom of the third. Each team scored one run in the fourth inning and three runs in the seventh inning to account for the final tally.
Each of the top six Hoosiers in the batting order collected hits in the game, with five of them extending double-digit hitting streaks. Sophomore Josh Pyne moved his hitting streak to 10 games with a 2-for-five day at the plate for his third straight multi-hit game. He doubled twice and drove in two RBIs.
Redshirt junior Bobby Whalen was on base three times with a single, double and walk, and scored three runs. His two hits moved his hitting streak to 11 games, and he drove in one RBI in the contest.
Senior Phillip Glasser pushed his hitting streak to 10 games and reached base streak to 42 games with a leadoff single, while freshman Devin Taylor has a hit in 11 straight games and was on base twice, including an RBI double to move his reached base streak to 31 games. He scored two runs and added his 41st RBI of the season in the process.
Sophomore Brock Tibbitts moved his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games with a 1-for-3 game at the plate and three runs scored. He also walked twice. Sophomore Carter Mathison drove in three RBIs on a 1-for-4 day at the plate with one walk.
Sophomore Adrian Vega (1-0) picked up the win in relief with 2 2/3 innings of work and one run allowed on three hits. He walked two and struck out three in the contest. Freshman Connor Foley (2) picked up the save with two scoreless innings of work and a pair of strikeouts.
Blake Bevis led the Ball State attack with a single, home run and four RBIs in the game. Decker Scheffler drove in a pair of runs and scored twice, while Ryan Peltier had two hits, two runs scored and one RBI. The loss went to Casey Bargo (0-1) who allowed five runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings of work.
Scoring Recap
Top First
Bobby Whalen found himself at first base after a fielder’s choice and came all the way around to open the scoring on a Devin Taylor double to left center field. After Brock Tibbitts walked, Carter Mathison singled to score Taylor and move Tibbitts to third. Josh Pyne then plated the third run of the frame on an RBI fielder’s choice.
Indiana 3, at Ball State 0
Top Third
A walk for Whalen was followed by a one-out single from Tibbitts to put runners on the corners. Mathison drove in a run with a ground out and Pyne delivered an RBI double with two outs.
Indiana 5, at Ball State 0
Bottom Third
After Ben Seiler retired the first two batters, a walk and a base hit got the inning rolling. Ryan Peltier’s RBI base hit stated the scoring started for BSU. Decker Scheffler followed with a two-RBI double, and Blake Bevis capped the scoring with an RBI single. Hunter Jessee cut down a runner at home plate to end the inning.
Indiana 5, at Ball State 4
Top Fourth
Peter Serruto walked with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. A ground out moved Serruto to third and Whalen drove in the run with a base hit.
Indiana 6, at Ball State 4
Bottom Fourth
A double from Logan Flood was followed by a strikeout and a wild pitch to push the runner to third base. Nick Gregory then made it a one-run game with a sacrifice fly.
Indiana 6, at Ball State 5
Top Seventh
Whalen started the inning with a double and stole third on when Taylor was walked. Tibbitts and Mathison worked walks, with the second pushing a run across. Tyler Cerny then plated the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. Jessee then put the next ball in play and an error allowed the third run to come across.
Indiana 9, at Ball State 5
Bottom Seventh
The first two batters of the inning walked, and Blake Bevis hit a three-run home run to make it a one run game, before Gabe Levy got IU out of the inning.
Indiana 9, at Ball State 8
Up Next
Indiana now turns is attention to a weekend series with Maryland in a matchup of the top two teams in the Big Ten standings starting on Friday (April 28). The weekend series will be carries on B1G+ and the Indiana Sports Radio Network
INDIANA WRESTLING
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––––– A combination of eight current Indiana Hoosiers and Indiana’s Olympic Regional Training Center (Indiana RTC) athletes will wrestle in the 2023 U.S. Open at the Senior and U20 levels.
The events will take place from April 26-30 at South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Indiana’s Cole Rhemrev (65 kg), Tyler Lillard (74 kg) and Gabe Sollars (92 kg) will compete in the U20 tournament.
Cayden Rooks (65 kg), Derek Gilcher (74 kg), Donnell Washington (79 kg) and Jacob Bullock (125 kg) and Indiana RTC athlete Isaiah White (79 kg) will compete at the Senior level.
All of the Hoosiers competing will wrestle in the freestyle division.
The senior freestyle tournament will be held on Thursday and Friday, April 27-28. The U20 freestyle tournament will be on Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30.
At the senior level, both White and Washington were seeded in the 79 kg bracket. White was slotted at No. 12 and Washington at No. 13. Seeding adjustments will only be made if a wrestler were to withdraw from the tournament.
The Senior Nationals tournament serves as a qualifying event for the 2023 Senior World Team Trials tournament and Final X. The Senior World Team Trials will take place from May 20 to May 21 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Final X will be on Saturday, June 10 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The U20 Nationals is the qualifying event for the 2023 U20 World Team Trials. The U20 World Team Trials will be in Geneva, Ohio from June 2 to June 4.
PURDUE MEN’S GOLF
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue junior golfer and All-America candidate Herman Sekne has earned a spot on the International Team for the Arnold Palmer Cup, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced today on the Golf Channel.
Sekne is the first Boilermaker to earn a spot in the event since Lee Williamson played on the United States team in 2002.
In its 27th year, the Arnold Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers matching the United States against a team of International players. The Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world’s greatest courses, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, The Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Baltusrol, The Honors Course, and Cherry Hills. Beginning with the 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the Palmer Cup is the only major tournament which features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
This year’s competition will be played at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, on June 8 through 10. Laurel Valley has hosted several prestigious events, including the 1975 Ryder Cup, the 1989 U.S. Senior Open and the 2005 Senior PGA Championship. The United States leads the Palmer Cup series, 13-12-1.
Sekne has had an outstanding junior season, being named Big Ten Golfer of the Week three times while owning six top-10 finishes in eight events. His seven career Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors are the fourth most in Big Ten history.
The All-America candidate became just the fifth player in school history with at least three victories when he earned co-medalist honors two weeks ago at the Boilermaker Invitational, leading the Boilermakers to a stunning, come-from-behind victory over No. 11-ranked Oklahoma by one shot.
Sekne totaled a 54-hole tally of 11-under par 202 (69-69-64) to earn the victory. He birdied his final two holes to rally for the medalist share and his 202 score is the fourth-best tournament score in school history, while his 64 in the final tied for the third-lowest round in Purdue history.
He has posted 12 rounds in the 60s, already a school record, while his six top-10 finishes are fourth in school history, coming in just eight events played. He owns a 70.29 stroke average, ranking first in school history – almost a half-stroke better than Williamson in second place (70.78).
Sekne’s career stroke average of 71.71 is tops in school history, more than a stroke better than second place (Austin Eoff – 72.82).
Sekne currently ranks 21st in the most-recent Golfstat national rankings, 24th in the Golfweek / Sagarin ratings and 49th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).
The No. 36-ranked Boilermakers’ next action will be April 28-30 in the Big Ten Championships at Galloway National Golf Club, just outside Atlantic City, New Jersey.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Big Ten Conference has announced the single-play and home-and-away conference opponents for the 2023-24 men’s basketball season.
For the sixth straight season, the league will play 20 games with three protected rivalries on the league slate (Purdue vs. Indiana, Northwestern vs. Illinois, Michigan vs. Michigan State). Purdue owns a 67-32 league record over the previous five seasons with a 20-game conference slate, winning conference titles in 2019 and 2023. During that span, Purdue (67-32) owns the Big Ten’s best record by five-and-a-half games (Wisconsin, Illinois – 62-38).
Home-and-Away Series (7)
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Northwestern
Rutgers
Wisconsin
Single-Play Home Games (3)
Michigan State
Minnesota
Penn State
Single-Play Road Games (3)
Maryland
Nebraska
Ohio State
Purdue’s Home Games: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Purdue’s Road Games: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Finalized dates, times and television assignments will come at a later date.
Last season, Purdue finished with a 29-6 overall record, winning both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships. The Boilermakers are ranked in the top five of every “way-too-early” top-25 poll released.
PURDUE FOOTBALL
Freshman QB Brady Allen has entered the transfer portal for the second time in the last five months. Allen won Indiana’s 2021 Mr. Football award after leading Gibson Southern to a Class 3A state championship. Allen maintains four years of eligibility.
Jeffrey M’ba, a defensive lineman at Auburn last season, announced on social media he is committing to Purdue.
M’ba transferred to Auburn after two seasons at Independence Community College where he had 50 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. He played nine games in a limited role at Auburn, compiling seven tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.
BUTLER BASEBALL
INDIANAPOLIS – Eastern Illinois improved to 23-15 on the year with an 11-2 victory at Bulldog Park on Tuesday afternoon. Kolten Poorman and Nicholas Rucker combined for seven RBI to hand Butler the loss. BU heads into their weekend series vs. Creighton with a 9-31 record.
A base-clearing double from Rucker and a triple by Ryan Ignoffo helped EIU open up a 5-0 lead against Butler. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the third with a Joey Urban doubled that scored Dorighi. Urban was responsible for each BU RBI on the day as he also delivered a sac fly in the bottom of the fifth. The true freshman ended the day 2-for-3 from the plate. Carter Dorighi also had a multi-hit game for the Bulldogs.
EIU added three runs in the fifth and would score their final run in the eighth. Jackson Nichols got the start and the win for the Panthers. He threw six innings and limited BU to just two runs. Jack Potteiger and Zane Robbins also touched the rubber for the visitors.
Seven different Bulldogs saw the mound on Tuesday. Shane Kilfoyle was hit with the loss after giving up a run in the first. Cooper Robinson had the best numbers of any BU arm with three strikeouts in two innings.
Butler will regroup and look forward to a BIG EAST series against Creighton this weekend.
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Butler men’s basketball program added a shooter Tuesday by landing UC-Irvine guard DJ Davis. Davis has two year of eligibility remaining.
Davis shot 40% from 3 last season and is a 39.6% shooter from 3 for his career. Davis is the fifth transfer to join the program along with Pierre Brooks II (Michigan State), Jahmyl Telfort (Northeastern), Andre Screen (Bucknell) and Landon Moore (St. Francis, Pa.).
IUPUI MEN’S GOLF
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The IUPUI men’s golf team posted a final round 299 at El Campeon at Mission Inn Resort on Tuesday (Apr. 25) and finished the #HLGolf Championships tied for fourth among 10 teams at 901 (304-298-299). Sam McWilliams shot a final round, even par 72 and Colten Girgis chimed in with 2-over 74 to lead the way on the tournament’s final day. Preston Nanthavong shot 4-over 76 and Kevin Tillery shot 77 to round out the team’s scoring four.
McWilliams ultimately earned a top-10 finish, shooting 6-over 222 (75-75-72) to tie for tenth overall.
It was more steady than spectacular for the Jaguars on Tuesday as the Jags were 8-over at the turn. McWilliams was even through nine with two bogeys and two birdies and Girgis was 2-over, despite his putter betraying him. Gardner opened with a birdie, but saw his round go awry with a stretch of seven holes that he played to 7-over. He, Tillery and Nanthavong each made a pair of birdies over their final nine.
Tillery ended the tournament at 9-over 225 (78-70-77) and tied for 17th while Gardner shot 228 (76-73-79) for the week. Girgis shot 229 (75-80-74) and climbed four spots with his final round 74.
Purdue Fort Wayne won the team title at 6-over 870, fending off Wright State by five shots.
Nanthavong is the team’s lone senior, closing his career having played 43 rounds with a 78.21 scoring average.
IUPUI WOMEN’S GOLF
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The IUPUI women’s golf team carded a final round 306 at the Horizon League Golf Championships and finished fourth of eight teams at 936 (312-318-306) for the week. Junior Shelby Busker finished tenth overall at 231 (81-78-75) and fifth-year senior Kara Blair played her school record 109th career round, carding a final round 75 to lead the team on Tuesday (Apr. 25).
IUPUI had its best day of the three-day event at 306 as Blair shot 75 and both Busker and Madeleine Pape shot 4-over 76. Annaliese Fox rounded out the scoring four at 7-over 79 and freshman Reagan Sohn, who replaced Nerea Lancho for the final round, shot 9-over 81.
IUPUI never made much of a move on the leaderboard on Tuesday as Green Bay ultimately cruised to a 12-shot lead over second place Oakland. Cleveland State’s Sabrina Coffman collected medalist honors at 4-over 220, winning by three shots.
Blair opened with a birdie on her first hole of the day, but the team made just three birdies on the front nine and was 11-over at the turn. Blair and Fox were each 1-over to key the group.
Pape closed exceptionally strong, playing her final seven holes to 2-under, making back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17. Busker had back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 and Sohn played her final nine to even par with a birdie on the par 3 No. 11. Blair was her bouncy, bubbly self over her final collegiate round, making par on her final four holes as part of her 75.
IUPUI finished second overall to Green Bay in both par 4 and par 5 scoring, but collectively limped on the par 3s. Fox had a team-high 33 pars for the week while Busker topped the squad with six birdies.
Blair’s departure will open a hole in the Jaguars’ lineup as the Indiana-native played 109 collegiate rounds to a 78.63 career average. She accumulated 10 career top-10 finishes and defeated more than 54 percent over her foes for her career.
IUPUI SOFTBALL
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The IUPUI softball team continued to battle, tying the game twice but couldn’t take a lead falling to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon, 4-3.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning, Carly Metcalf walked Aniya Holt to give Eastern Illinois the 1-0 lead. The Panthers doubled their lead with one run on a RBI double, 2-0.
IUPUI tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning. Jordan Jenkins put the Jags on the board with an RBI single up the middle to score Jaida Speth. Victoria Sivert then hit a sacrifice fly to score Rachael Gregory.
The Panthers retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI double, 3-2. IUPUI once again tied it up in the top of the fifth inning, 3-3. Kendal Calvert tripled to right field to score Kennedy Cowan.
Jaylen Prichard singled to left field to score Aryn Henke giving Eastern Illinois the lead, 4-3. Although the Jaguars had fought back twice before they couldn’t tie it up a third time, falling to the Panthers, 4-3.
Isabelle Waggner took the loss in the circle for IUPUI giving up the winning run with three hits in two innings pitched. Calvert went 2-for-3 with a triple while Cowan knocked a double. Speth, Gregory and Jenkins each recorded a hit in the loss.
IUPUI will now turn their focus back to Horizon League play when they travel to Detroit Mercy for a three-game series starting on Thursday with a doubleheader at 1:00 and 3:00 PM.
BALL STATE BASEBALL
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team was back at the Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark for a Tuesday matchup with in-state foe Indiana. Blake Bevis provided the power with his 10th home run of the season, but the Cardinals fell to the Hoosiers, 9-8.
With the loss, Ball State fell to 26-14 on the season, while Indiana improved to 31-11 on the year.
The Hoosiers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first on three hits. In the top of the third, IU added two runs on two hits and extended its lead to 5-0.
Nick Gregory recorded two-out walk to start the bottom of the third. Adam Tellier followed with a single to center. Ryan Peltier singled to left and drove in Gregory from second. Tellier advanced while Peltier moved up to second on an error by the left fielder. Decker Scheffler drove in Tellier and Peltier with a double down the left field line. Ball State cut the deficit to 5-4 after three innings of play.
IU extended its lead to 6-4 in the top of the fourth with a run on one hit.
Logan Flood led off the bottom of the fourth with double to right center. He advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gregory notched a sac fly to left field as Flood tagged up and scored. The Cardinals pulled within one, 6-5, after four innings.
The Hoosiers extended their lead to 9-5 with three runs in the top of the seventh on two hits.
Peltier led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. Scheffler followed with a walk. With a count 2-2, Bevis put a ball on McGalliard for a three-run home run to left field. BSU cut the IU lead to 9-8 after seven.
IU held off the comeback bid and defeated BSU, 9-8.
Casey Bargo got the start on the mound for Ball State and went 2 2/3 innings. He got the loss and fell to 0-1 on the season. He gave up five earned runs on five hits and he struck out one batter. Logan Schulfer went 3 1/3 innings in relief with three strikeouts. He surrendered three earned runs on three hits. Sam Klein added 2/3 of an inning. He gave up one earned run. Owen Quinn chipped in with 1 1/3 innings and gave up just one hit. Ty Johnson pitched the ninth for BSU. He struck out one batter and did not allow a hit.
Ben Seiler got the start for IU. He went three innings with four strikeouts. He gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits. Adrian Vega went 2 2/3 innings in relief and picked up the win for Indiana. He moved to 1-0 on the season. He struck out three batters and surrendered one earned run on three hits. Gabe Levy recorded a strikeout and surrendered one earned run in his inning of relief. Connor Foley closed out the game with two innings of work and picked up his second save of the season. He struck out two batters.
Ball State returns to action on Friday for game one of a three-game series with Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green. First pitch for April 28, is scheduled for 3 p.m.
BALL STATE SOFTBALL
MUNCIE, Ind. – – The Ball State softball team opened its final regular season home series with a 6-0 loss to Mid-American Conference leading Miami Tuesday afternoon at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
The RedHawks (28-16; 15-6 MAC) jumped on the board early, plating a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. The Cardinals (24-22; 14-10 MAC) looked ready to counter after a leadoff double from senior second baseman Haley Wynn in the bottom of the inning.
Unfortunately, BSU could not push a run across and would struggle to find momentum against Miami pitcher Brianna Pratt who improved to 14-6 in league play with the win.
HIGHLIGHTS
Wynn led the Ball State offense on the day with a first inning double and a third inning triple, raising her batting average back to .400 for the season.
The Cardinals put two on with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, after a single from redshirt sophomore first baseman McKayla Timmons and a hit by pitch from junior pinch hitter Samantha-Jo Mata.
Ball State’s pitchers combined for six strikeouts on the day, four from sophomore starter Angelina Russo and two from freshman reliever Bridie Murphy.
SCORING SUMMARY: Ball State 0 – Miami 6
T1 | An RBI groundout from Miami’s Riley Coyne drove in Holly Blaska for the game’s first run. (1-0)
T1 | Karli Spaid scored on a wild pitch. (2-0)
T2 | Allie Cummings singled down the right field line to drive in Maddie Banks. (3-0)
T7 | Cummings extended the lead with a solo home run to right center. (4-0)
T7 | A two-run blast from Riley Coyne made it a six-run ball game. (6-0)
UP NEXT
The Cardinals and RedHawks return to action Wednesday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S LAX
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – With the ACC women’s lacrosse tournament due to get underway Wednesday, the conference announced the 2023 All-ACC teams Tuesday, featuring seven individuals from the Notre Dame team. The leading offensive trio of Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak all earned First Team nods while the defensive corp of Lilly Callahan, Kelly Denes and Hannah Dorney were named Second Team honorees. For her performance during her rookie campaign, Abigail Lyons was tabbed one of 12 first-year nominees to the All-Freshman team.
Helping to lead one of the top-scoring offenses in the country, Ahern, Choma and Wolak have combined for 216 of the team’s 351 points this season, or nearly 40 percent of the Irish points.
Wolak leads the team with 81 points this season behind 41 goals and 40 assists, ranking among the top-10 in both assists (40) and assists per game (2.50). The senior attacker also ranks fifth in the country with 81 points, and third among all ACC competitors. Averaging 5.06 points per game, Wolak ranks ninth in the country and top-three in the conference.
In 16 games played, Ahern is tied for most goals this season, tallying 52 over the regular season stretch while adding 19 assists for 71 total points. Her success all season at the eight-meter mark leads the ACC as she averages 1.06 free position goals per game while her conversion rate of 0.708 from the arc puts her ninth nationally. An ILWomen Midseason All-American honorable mention, Ahern was recently named a Tewaaraton nominee, along with teammate Choma. The senior was previously named to the All-ACC second team in 2022 and 2021.
Tied with her classmate for goals, Choma and Ahern each rank among the top-10 in goals (seventh; 52), and top-20 in goals per game (20th; 3.25). Choma’s 52 goals and 12 assists rank third on the team while her 64 points is eighth-best in the ACC. The Manorville, New York native has found success on nearly 80 percent of her shots on goal, firing 81 shots on net in 16 games started. The honor is Choma’s third consecutive All-ACC team recognition, and second First Team accolade.
Defensively, Callahan ranks among the top goalkeepers, owning the fifth-best goals against average (8.03) and is 15th nationally with a 0.492 save percentage, good for second in the ACC. Starting all games for the Irish in the regular season, Callahan owns a 12-4 record and made a career-best 117 saves, including a single-game mark of 15 against Northwestern earlier this year.
A specialist on the draw control, Kelly Denes earned second team honors following a career-best 103 draws through the regular season. The junior helps lead the second-best draw control unit in DI women’s lacrosse, leading the conference in both percentage (0.644) and draw controls per game (18.00). Most recently, Denes was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week following 10 draw controls in the team’s win over Louisville, leading the team to a 24-4 edge in the circle.
In her fifth season with the Irish, Dorney boasts 33 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers and nine goals to earn conference honors. Averaging 2.08 ground balls per game, Dorney ranks third in the conference. Her play on the defensive side of the ball has led the Irish to a nearly 90 percent successful clear rate and conference leading average of 16.25 ground balls per game.
Having joined the Irish at the start of the year, Lyons has appeared in 11 games for the Irish this season ahead of earning her first conference honors as part of the All-Freshman team. A native of Carle Place, New York, Lyons has six career ground balls and has caused two turnovers to help the Irish to a 12-4 overall record and top-10 scoring defense.
The seven All-ACC honorees is a program best for the Irish, topping the previous best of six set in 2021.
INDIANA STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men’s basketball head coach Josh Schertz announced Tuesday the signing of Indianapolis native and transfer guard Ryan Conwell.
Conwell, an Indiana All-Star and the 2022 Marion County Player of the Year, comes to the Sycamores after playing his freshman season at the University of South Florida.
“I am thrilled to add Ryan and his family to our program,” said Coach Schertz. “We are very excited about what Ryan brings on and off the court, and we expect him to be an immediate difference maker for us. He is the kind of playmaker, shooter, and impact defender that we need in our continued pursuit of a Missouri Valley Conference Championship.”
Conwell played in all 32 games for USF in 2022-23 with 21 starts as a true freshman. He averaged 18.5 minutes per game and ranked second on the Bulls with 28 steals and third with 60 total assists in his freshman campaign. Conwell shot 34 percent from the field and 30 percent from three, and he averaged 5.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He posted a career-high 20 points against Tulane with four triples and nailed four triples again four days later at UCF. He dished out a career-high eight assists against Charleston Southern.
As a senior at Pike High School, Conwell averaged 22.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game alongside 3.7 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He posted 16.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists as a junior and was named to the MIC All-Conference Team both of those years. Conwell finished his prep career with 1,083 points.
Along with being an Indiana All-Star and Marion County Player of the Year, Conwell participated in the Prep Ball Stars Midwest Challenge and was named to the IBCA/Franciscan Health Supreme 15 All-State Team.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S BASKETBALL
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s golf team will go to the NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, as the Mastodons won the Horizon League Championship on Tuesday (April 25) with a team score of 870.
The Mastodons will find out where they will go for the regional on Wednesday, May 5. The Selection Show will air on the Golf Channel at 1 p.m.
This will be the program’s second appearance in the NCAA regional, first as a full team. Zach Schroeder played in the NCAA as an individual when he won the Summit League title in 2018.
Kasey Lilly was the Mastodons’ leader all week long. He finished in second place, falling to Wright State’s Tyler Goecke in a two-hole playoff. This is Lilly’s second runner-up finish at the Horizon League Championship. He shot 69-72-71-212 (-4), which is a top-10 mark in program history. Lilly started his final day of the championship with two birdies on the first two holes. He moved back to even with two bogeys, but stayed even for the next five holes with pars from eight to 12. He birdied 13 and 14 before two more pars, then finished bogey, par. Goecke shot a 3-under 69 on his final day, which included a birdie on 18 to force the playoff. He will move on to the NCAA Regional as an individual.
Hunter Mefford moved up two spots on the leaderboard in his final round, turning in a 3-under 69 to finish two shots back of the leaders and take sole possession of third place. His 73-72-69-214 was the best 54-hole score of his career. He was 3-under on the front nine, firing off a bogey-free half round. He opened with four pars, then birdied hole five. After two more pars, he birdied eight, nine and 10 to go to 4-under. Two more pars came before another birdie on 13 that brought him to 5-under.
Lilly and Mefford were named the All-Tournament Team for their top-five finishes.
Sophomore Nick Holder and junior Jadden Ousley tied for 10th with a pair of 222’s. Holder shot 73-74-75-222 to finish in the top-10 for the second time in his career while Ousley shot 75-72-75-222 for his first-ever top-10. Holder’s final round started with three-straight pars. After hole eight, he was bogey-free for the rest of the day. He had eight pars and a birdie on hole 16 for a 1-under back nine. Ousley picked the perfect time for his first-career top-10, as he was one of the four scores taken for the Mastodons each day. His final round started with a birdie and four pars in a row. After a double-bogey on six, he birdied eight to go back to even. On the back nine, he parred 11, 12, 16 and 17, and birdied 14.
Burke Pitz rounded out the lineup, shooting 81-79-80-240 to take 42nd. His final round was bookended with positives. He started birdie, par, par and ended birdie, birdie.
The Mastodons topped league-favorite Wright State by five shots. The ‘Dons were picked fourth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, behind Wright State, Oakland and Northern Kentucky.
Possible sites for the Mastodons’ trip to the NCAA Regional are: Auburn, Alabama; Bath, Michigan; Las Vegas, Nevada; Morgan Hill, California; Norman, Oklahoma; Salem, South Carolina. The NCAA Championship will be in Scottsdale, Arizona.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE WOMEN’S GOLF
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The Purdue Fort Wayne women’s golf team tied its best finish at a league championship on Tuesday (April 25), taking sixth at the Horizon League Championship.
Anna Olafsdottir recorded the second-best individual performance at a league championship in program history, tying for 11th with a 76-81-75-232 three-day total. She started off her third round with a pair of pars, then dropped a birdie on hole 13. She traded pars and bogeys for the rest of the back nine. On the front, she played some of her best golf of the season, rattling off eight pars and just one bogey. On the last hole of the day, she tapped in for par, just narrowly missing the birdie chip-in. Her 11th-place finish is the best for a Mastodon at a league championship since 2014.
Arny Dagsdottir tied for 20th in her second league tournament. After a par, bogey, bogey start, Dagsdottir birdied the 13th hole to go back to 1-over. She parred her next four holes before a bogey on 18 to finish the back nine two-over. She had seven pars on the front nine, finishing her tournament at 79-82-78-239.
Laura Caetano (T-24) and Luiza Caetano (T-28) wrapped up their collegiate careers with their best championship performances as well. Laura finished with a 77-79-84-240 week, capped off with a third round with 12 pars. Luiza shot 83-84-79-245. Her final round featured birdies on holes 11 and 14 to go with 11 pars.
Finishing the tournament on a high note, Natalie Papa shot 92-83-81-256. The freshman shot an even back nine to start round three, which included birdies on 13 and 17.
The Horizon League individual champion was Cleveland State’s Sabrina Coffman (220). Green Bay won the team title with a 914. The Mastodons finished the week at 315-325-312-952, topping Northern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE BASEBALL
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Justin Miller enters the week with 210 strikeouts, tied for the most in program history. His first time to potentially get back on the mound will be on Wednesday (April 26) when the ‘Dons host Dayton.
Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (10-31) vs. Dayton (14-26)
When: Wednesday, April 26 | 3 p.m. | Mastodon Field
Weather: 57, cloudy
Live Stats: Link
Series History: Dayton leads 15-3. The Flyers defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 8-3 in Dayton earlier this season.
Probable Pitchers:
Purdue Fort Wayne: RHP Brendan Reid (2-2)
Dayton: RHP Jacob Wilson (0-0)
Scouting the Flyers: Dayton took two-of-three from Saint Louis last week in a league series with the Billikens. The week started with an 8-3 win over crosstown rival Wright State and an 8-7 loss at Ohio State. Ben Jones leads the team in hitting (.372). Marcos Pujols has a team-best nine home runs.
Record Within Striking Distance: The 2023 season is Justin Miller’s fifth as a Mastodon. Miller owns 210 career strikeouts, tied with Jason Horvath (2001-04) for most career strikeouts. His next strikeout will give Miller the record all to himself. Additionally, Miller is averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings, the best for a career in program history during the Division I era.
Down Goes Sparty: The Mastodons defeated Michigan State on April 19th 3-2. It is the Mastodons’ second straight season with a win over a Big 10 opponent. Last season the ‘Dons defeated eventual league champion Michigan.
Return of the SAC: Dylan Stewart is tied for the league lead with seven sacrifice bunts.
Grant is Fly: In league play only, Grant Thoroman leads the Horizon League in sacrifice flies with four.
Back in Black:Braedon Blackford is second in the league with 11 home runs. He is tied for third in RBIs (39) and fifth in slugging (.575).
Double-Digits: Braedon Blackford’s 11 home runs has him tied for fifth in program history for home runs in a season. The all-time single season record is Shaun VanDriessche’s 18 in 2010.
Cade Gets on Base:Cade Nelis has a current 22-game on-base streak. It is the longest for a Mastodon since Jackson Boyce reached base in 37 consecutive games in 2017. Nelis owns 27 walks, third best in the league.
HL is BH Time: In league play lay only, Ben Higgins is second in the league slugging (.793), OPS (1.232) and RBIs (22).
Walk This Way…: Jacob Walker has a current nine-game hitting streak. He hit his first home run of the season on Sunday vs. Wright State.
Masto-Slams: The ‘Dons hit grand slams in back-to-back games against Northern Kentucky. On March 24 Ben Higgins hit a grand slam and then in game one on March 26 Jarrett Bickel hit a game-tying grand slam in the seventh inning of a 9-5 win.
Save X4: Four different Mastodons have recorded a save this season. Brody Fine, Mac Ayres, JD Deany and Justin Miller own saves for the ‘Dons.
Closing Time: Justin Miller owns eight career saves, fourth most in Mastodon history for career saves.
‘Dons Dig The Long Ball: 11 different Mastodons have hit a home run this season, it is the most since 2013 when 11 different ‘Dons hit a home run. The 2003 season saw 13 Mastodons hit a home run, the most during the Mastodon Division I era.
Turn It!: The Mastodons are 52nd in the nation in double plays turned with 31 this season.
Multi-verse: 14 different Mastodons have had a multi-hit game this season.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week): Braedon Blackford hit .429 and slugged 1.357 with four home runs in 14 at bats over four games played in Winston-Salem, N.C. (March 3-5). He also recorded one double, seven RBIs, five runs scored, two walks and 19 total bases to earn the Horizon League Batter of the Week honor.
Hey Batter Batter (of the Week) X2: Ben Higgins was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on April 4 for his play the prior weekend. His play was highlighted by his thee home run performance at Youngstown State on March 31). Higgins was the first Mastodon to hit three big flys in a game since 2016.
D1Baseball Top 30:Braedon Blackford was named a Top 30 Hitter of the day for his two-run home run game vs. Cornell. He was ranked No. 11. He also earned the No. 12 spot on the list after his five-hit, six-RBI doubleheader against Milwaukee (April 15). JD Deany was selected as a Top 30 pitcher for his five shutout innings vs. Cornell. Ben Higgins was named the No. 3 hitter of the day by DIBaseball.com for his three dinger day against Youngstown State.
Up Next: The ‘Dons will travel to Northern Kentucky this weekend in Horizon League play.
EVANSVILLE MEN’S GOLF
COAL VALLEY, Ill. – Posting a team score of 281 in the third and final round of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, the University of Evansville men’s golf team rallied to finish in 7th place at Oakwood Country Club.
Led by a 2-under 69 from Daniil Romashkin, the Purple Aces recorded the lowest team score of the day. Their 281 was three better than eventual champion Illinois State. UE improved to finish in the 7th position with a tally of 863. Their score was just one behind a 5th-place tie between Southern Illinois and Murray State.
Illinois State took the team championship with a 3-round mark of 836. They defeated Valparaiso by 13 strokes.
Leading the way for Evansville in the final rundown was Nicholas Gushrowski. He carded an even 71 in Tuesday’s final round to complete the tournament with a 214. Highlighted by a 2-under 69 in round one, Gushrowski tied for 11th place.
Carson Parker was second on the team with a 217. One day after shooting the low round of the event for UE (4-under 67), Parker recorded a 74 to come home in a tie for 20th. Finishing one shot behind him was Michael Ikejiani. After registering scores of 74 on the first two days, he lowered his score to a 1-under 70 in round three. His 218 tied him for 23rd.
Isaac Rohleder and Daniil Romashkin each posted their lowest rounds of the tournament on Tuesday. Rohleder improved by two strokes each day, culminating in an even 71 in the final 17 holes. He wrapped up the weekend with a 219 to tie for 26th. Romashkin led UE with a 2-under 69 on Tuesday to jump into a tie for 40th with a 223.
Anthony Delisanti of Valpo was the medalist. His final score of 200 bested Felix van Dijk of the Redbirds by four strokes. Delisanti had the lowest round of the tournament on Monday, finishing at seven under with a 64.
VALPO MEN’S GOLF
For the second consecutive season, Valparaiso University men’s golf sophomore Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) is the Missouri Valley Conference Championship medalist.
After making a miraculous comeback in the third and final round at last season’s championship, this year Delisanti was near the top of the leaderboard from the outset and led the tournament for much of the final two days. The route to get there was different, but the end result was identical, as Delisanti once again stands alone atop the conference and has earned an automatic NCAA Regional berth.
Valpo finished as the team runner-up for the second consecutive season (849, -3), with Illinois State earning team championship hardware. Delisanti shattered the MVC Championship record and the modern program record with his 54-hole score of 200 (-13). Following the tournament, he was named MVC Golfer of the Year and earned All-MVC status for a second straight season.
Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) also achieved a top-10 finish (211, -2, t-8th), earning the MVC Elite 17 Award for his academic and athletic prowess for a third straight year while garnering All-MVC honors for the fourth consecutive season.
U OF I BASEBALL
INDIANAPOLIS – Mid-week madness for UIndy baseball continued as the Greyhounds walked off the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers on Tuesday. Drew Donaldson had the honors of the man to hammer the final run home, smoking a ball through the left side the infield, scoring Easton Good and putting the exclamation point on a four-run bottom of the ninth comeback by the Greyhounds.
The Greyhounds moved to 25-16 with the victory while the Panthers drop to 17-25. Brandon DeWitt nabbed his sixth win of the season, coming in the top of the ninth to the tune of no hits and one strikeout. Frankie Klemm flirted with history, going five innings with no hits before a massive six run sixth by the Panthers ended his day. Outside of Donaldson, Easton Good was spectacular from the plate in the contest, going 4-5 with four RBIs. Today’s contest was Good’s third four-hit contest and his second recording four RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Offense was easy to come by for the Hounds in the first three frames of action, with Caleb Vaughn, the reigning GLVC Player of the Week, being the first to etch across a run, grounding out to short, not before scoring DeWitt. Good combined with DeWitt for a pair of RBI singles.
The “Twin Shredders,” in Jared Bujdos and Nick Lukac added on two more in the third with a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly to left field. The Hounds later added another off of a Good rocket up the middle.
The sixth is where the Panthers did their damage, roughing up Klemm with situational hitting and a long ball, putting up a six-spot. They went on to add one more via a long homer in the seventh off of Seth Spencer. Good tied it up in the seventh, but the eighth saw three more Panther runs making it 10-7.
Going into the bottom of the ninth the Hounds needed energy and Good gave it to them, crushing a ball off the pitcher scoring Denton Shepler and setting up a bases loaded situation for DeWitt. He would deliver dropping a ball into left center to score both Zach Fell and Lukac. Finally, on the first pitch he saw, Donaldson finished the game, with the Hounds winning 11-10.
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Al Ready on the up and down nature of the game…
“It certainly finished a lot crazier than it started that is for sure. Frankie Klemm did fantastic, he gave us an outstanding outing today, was able to chop off five innings of a nine inning game in the middle of the week where you don’t always know what you’re going to get… He takes a no-hitter into the sixth, he made some good pitches that, with two strikes, they battled and got something going and that’s just baseball.”
Ready on the comeback…
“Never count out the Hounds, the cardiac Hounds again, left for dead and we just came back to life. We’ve done it, I can’t tell you how many times we’ve done it this year. It’s been a wild ride, but I just had a feeling in that last inning the way it was setting up. The best at bat that whole inning was Isaac Bair, he pinch hits, coming off the bench cold against a really good arm and drew a walk with two outs. What a finish.”
UP NEXT
The Hounds have one of their longest road trips of the year this weekend, traveling to Rockhurst to take on the Hawks in a four-game set starting on Friday at 4 p.m.
U OF I SOFTBALL
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—For the fifth consecutive week, the UIndy softball team came in at No. 6 in the NFCA Division II Coaches Poll, released Tuesday. Winners of 29 of their last 30 games, the Greyhounds are 45-4 overall after clinching the GLVC regular season title last weekend.
The Hounds remain the only GLVC team in the poll, with fellow Midwest Region-power Grand Valley State right behind at No. 7. Each of the top 12 teams stayed put this week, including unanimous No. 1 Tampa.
NFCA DII COACHES POLL
| RK | TEAM (1st-place votes) | PTS | REC | PREV |
| 1. | Tampa (16) | 400 | 35-2 | 1 |
| 2. | North Georgia | 377 | 48-5 | 2 |
| 3. | UT Tyler | 375 | 46-4 | 3 |
| 4. | Alabama Huntsville | 347 | 39-7 | 4 |
| 5. | Central Oklahoma | 338 | 39-6 | 5 |
| 6. | UIndy | 323 | 45-4 | 6 |
| 7. | Grand Valley State | 304 | 35-3 | 7 |
| 8. | Rogers State | 277 | 38-9 | 8 |
| 9. | Colorado Christian | 271 | 48-4 | 9 |
| 10. | Sonoma State | 252 | 33-8 | 10 |
| 11. | Saint Leo | 245 | 39-7 | 11 |
| 12. | West Texas A&M | 231 | 43-5 | 12 |
| 13. | Concordia | 200 | 41-9 | 14 |
| 14. | Adelphi | 191 | 35-6 | 15 |
| 15. | Mississippi College | 164 | 37-8 | 18 |
| 16. | Wingate | 160 | 40-11 | 17 |
| 17. | Harding | 146 | 40-11 | 19 |
| 18. | Lenoir-Rhyne | 112 | 34-10 | 20 |
| 19. | Oklahoma Baptist | 97 | 40-9 | 21 |
| 20. | West Alabama | 81 | 33-11 | 22 |
| 21. | Columbus State | 63 | 41-12 | 24 |
| 22. | Valdosta State | 59 | 32-12 | 13 |
| 23. | Charleston | 42 | 29-8 | 23 |
| 23. | Lubbock Christian | 42 | 36-14 | 16 |
| 25. | Oklahoma Christian | 40 | 31-14 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Missouri Southern (33), Wilmington (11), Nova Southeastern (7), West Chester (7), Southern Arkansas (5).
MARIAN SOFTBALL
INDIANAPOLIS – The Marian softball team has won their ninth straight Crossroads League Regular Season Championship after sweeping No. 25-ranked Mt. Vernon Nazarene in a CL twin bill on Tuesday afternoon. With the win the Knights improve to 40-6 on the year and 29-5 in league action.
Game 1 | Marian 8-3 Mt. Vernon Nazarene
Marian wasted no time getting their bats going by knocking off three runs in the first inning with Abby Madere and Brenna Fink each registering a single to get started. Mt. Vernon answered in the top half of the second after an RBI single, but it was Madere again with a single through the left side to send in Savannah Harweger.
Olivia Stunkel worked through the Cougars in the top of the third before the Knights tacked on another run in the bottom half of the inning behind Fink’s RBI single. A quick three up three down continued Marian’s momentum as Hayley Greene hit the two-run homerun to left field to make it a 7-1 Knight lead.
The Cougars found another run, but the Knights responded as Savannah Baker hit the solo bomb to left center, smoking the scoreboard as she padded onto the Marian lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Stunkel struck out the first batter in the top of the sixth, MVNU responded with a one-run homer to cut at their deficit.
A scoreless sixth inning for the Knights gave the Cougars one last chance to claw their way back, but the Marian defense proved to seal the win as they took game one with the 8-3 victory.
In Marian’s 11 hits, Madere, Greene, and Fink all picked up two hits and two RBI, while five other Knights recorded one. Baker and Greene each had a homerun in the win. Stunkel picked up her 20th win after pitching all seven innings, recording three strikeouts and giving up three runs.
Game 2 | Marian 2-0 Mt. Vernon Nazarene
Sydney Wilson was dishing out from the start as she struck out three and gave up no hits in the first three, while Marian got on top 1-0 after Anna Pritchett knocked an RBI single up the middle to score Harweger in the bottom of the first inning.
The bats cooled off for both teams in the next four innings, with the Knights recording the two hits to Mt. Vernon’s one. Sierra Norman got things rolling again for Marian in the bottom of the sixth as she singled to center field. After the sacrifice bunt by Hayley Greene, Abbi Wirey was able to advance after pinch running for Norman. Wirey would eventually score after Grace Meyer nailed a double that banged off the left center fence to take the 2-0 advantage.
In a last effort attempt to continue the game, the Cougars tried to make a comeback but it was Wilson striking out two and Harweger catching the foul out to the end the game 2-0 with the Knights on top.
Harweger and Pritchett led Marian with a pair of hits, while Pritchett notched the RBI. Norman and Meyer each recorded a hit, with Meyer picking up the RBI double. Wilson was phenomenal in the win, striking out seven and not giving up a single run. Wilson moves to 17-3 on the year after today’s win.
SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETIC SITES:
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
MLB STANDINGS
| American League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Tampa Bay | 20 | 4 | .833 | – | 14 – 1 | 6 – 3 | 5 – 2 | 6 – 0 | 4 – 1 | 7 – 3 | L 1 |
| Baltimore | 15 | 8 | .652 | 4.5 | 8 – 4 | 7 – 4 | 3 – 5 | 5 – 1 | 5 – 2 | 8 – 2 | L 1 |
| Toronto | 15 | 9 | .625 | 5 | 6 – 2 | 9 – 7 | 4 – 2 | 7 – 2 | 3 – 3 | 6 – 4 | W 3 |
| NY Yankees | 13 | 11 | .542 | 7 | 9 – 7 | 4 – 4 | 3 – 3 | 4 – 5 | 2 – 1 | 5 – 5 | L 3 |
| Boston | 13 | 12 | .520 | 7.5 | 7 – 6 | 6 – 6 | 3 – 6 | 5 – 1 | 3 – 1 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Minnesota | 14 | 10 | .583 | – | 7 – 4 | 7 – 6 | 5 – 4 | 5 – 1 | 2 – 1 | 4 – 6 | W 3 |
| Cleveland | 11 | 13 | .458 | 3 | 3 – 8 | 8 – 5 | 1 – 2 | 1 – 2 | 6 – 4 | 3 – 7 | L 2 |
| Detroit | 9 | 13 | .409 | 4 | 4 – 4 | 5 – 9 | 1 – 11 | 2 – 1 | 2 – 1 | 6 – 4 | W 2 |
| Chi White Sox | 7 | 17 | .292 | 7 | 3 – 6 | 4 – 11 | 1 – 7 | 1 – 2 | 2 – 2 | 2 – 8 | L 6 |
| Kansas City | 6 | 18 | .250 | 8 | 1 – 12 | 5 – 6 | 1 – 3 | 0 – 3 | 2 – 7 | 2 – 8 | W 1 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Texas | 14 | 9 | .609 | – | 8 – 4 | 6 – 5 | 1 – 2 | 5 – 1 | 4 – 2 | 6 – 4 | L 2 |
| Houston | 13 | 11 | .542 | 1.5 | 6 – 7 | 7 – 4 | 3 – 2 | 4 – 6 | 1 – 2 | 7 – 3 | W 1 |
| LA Angels | 12 | 12 | .500 | 2.5 | 6 – 5 | 6 – 7 | 3 – 7 | 2 – 1 | 5 – 3 | 5 – 5 | W 1 |
| Seattle | 11 | 12 | .478 | 3 | 7 – 9 | 4 – 3 | 0 – 0 | 3 – 4 | 1 – 2 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Oakland | 5 | 19 | .208 | 9.5 | 2 – 10 | 3 – 9 | 1 – 6 | 1 – 2 | 3 – 5 | 2 – 8 | L 1 |
| National League | |||||||||||
| East | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Atlanta | 16 | 8 | .667 | – | 6 – 6 | 10 – 2 | 4 – 1 | 6 – 0 | 3 – 4 | 6 – 4 | W 2 |
| NY Mets | 14 | 10 | .583 | 2 | 4 – 3 | 10 – 7 | 5 – 3 | 0 – 3 | 6 – 4 | 6 – 4 | L 3 |
| Miami | 12 | 12 | .500 | 4 | 7 – 6 | 5 – 6 | 4 – 8 | 0 – 0 | 4 – 2 | 5 – 5 | L 3 |
| Philadelphia | 11 | 13 | .458 | 5 | 6 – 5 | 5 – 8 | 1 – 2 | 4 – 3 | 3 – 1 | 6 – 4 | L 1 |
| Washington | 8 | 14 | .364 | 7 | 2 – 9 | 6 – 5 | 2 – 2 | 0 – 0 | 2 – 2 | 4 – 6 | W 1 |
| Central | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| Pittsburgh | 16 | 8 | .667 | – | 7 – 4 | 9 – 4 | 0 – 0 | 7 – 4 | 3 – 1 | 8 – 2 | L 1 |
| Milwaukee | 15 | 9 | .625 | 1 | 6 – 5 | 9 – 4 | 3 – 0 | 4 – 2 | 4 – 3 | 5 – 5 | L 3 |
| Chi Cubs | 13 | 9 | .591 | 2 | 7 – 7 | 6 – 2 | 0 – 0 | 2 – 3 | 4 – 4 | 6 – 4 | W 1 |
| Cincinnati | 9 | 15 | .375 | 7 | 8 – 6 | 1 – 9 | 3 – 7 | 3 – 6 | 0 – 0 | 3 – 7 | W 2 |
| St. Louis | 9 | 15 | .375 | 7 | 5 – 8 | 4 – 7 | 0 – 3 | 3 – 4 | 3 – 5 | 3 – 7 | L 2 |
| West | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Home | Road | East | Central | West | Last 10 | Streak |
| LA Dodgers | 13 | 11 | .542 | – | 6 – 6 | 7 – 5 | 1 – 2 | 5 – 3 | 7 – 6 | 6 – 4 | W 3 |
| Arizona | 13 | 12 | .520 | 0.5 | 7 – 6 | 6 – 6 | 1 – 2 | 4 – 2 | 7 – 7 | 5 – 5 | L 1 |
| San Diego | 12 | 13 | .480 | 1.5 | 5 – 8 | 7 – 5 | 5 – 5 | 1 – 4 | 6 – 4 | 5 – 5 | L 1 |
| San Francisco | 10 | 13 | .435 | 2.5 | 6 – 6 | 4 – 7 | 3 – 4 | 2 – 0 | 1 – 2 | 5 – 5 | W 4 |
| Colorado | 8 | 17 | .320 | 5.5 | 3 – 7 | 5 – 10 | 3 – 5 | 1 – 5 | 2 – 4 | 3 – 7 | W 2 |
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1901 After two days of rain at Philadelphia’s Columbia Park, 10,547 fans witness Connie Mack’s A’s making their American League debut, losing to the Senators, 5-1. In their inaugural season in the Junior Circuit, the Mackmen will finish in fourth place, compiling a 74-62 record.
1902 In his major league debut, Bronchos hurler, future Hall of Famer Addie Joss tosses a one-hitter, beating the hometown Browns, 3-0, at Sportsman’s Park. In his rookie season with Cleveland, the 22-year-old right-hander will post a 17-13 record and a 2.77 ERA.
1904 At the age of seventeen, Ty Cobb makes his pro baseball debut, hitting a homer and a double for Augusta in the South Atlantic League. The Tourists, however, will release the ‘Georgia Peach’ two days into the season.
1905 Jack McCarthy becomes the first and only major league outfielder to throw out three runners trying to score in one game. All of the 36-year-old flychaser’s assists result in a double play, helping the Cubs to beat the Pirates at Exposition Park, 2-1.
1931 At Washington’s Griffith Stadium, Lou Gehrig smashes an apparent home run over the fence but when the ball bounces back to center fielder Harry Rice, baserunner Lyn Lary, who thinks the fly ball is the third out, returns to the dugout without crossing home plate. The Yankee first baseman, trotting around the bases with his head down in his usual modest manner, is ruled out for passing a runner, being credited only with a triple.
(Ed. Note: Our thanks to frequent contributor J. Feehan, who corrected this entry and pointed out the lost home run/two RBIs occurred in the season when Gehrig tied Babe Ruth for the AL’s lead with 46 round-trippers and established the still-standing mark of 184 RBIs in the Junior Circuit. -LP)
1941 Wrigley Field becomes the first ballpark to employ an organ to entertain fans when Roy Nelson provides the fans with a pregame serenade of classic and soulful tunes before Chicago drops a 6-2 decision to Max Lanier and the Cardinals. The organ, removed after the Cubs’ homestand, will not return permanently to the ‘Friendly Confines’ until 1967.
1946 Right-handers Harry Feldman and Ace Adams defect from the Giants after the start of the season, signing with the Veracruz Blues for $10,000 along with a $10,000 bonus. The pair becomes the seventh and eighth players from the New York team to accept offers to play in the Pasquel brothers’ ‘outlaw’ Mexican League.
1952 Art Houtteman, needing to retire just one more batter to author a no-hitter, throws a fastball to Harry Simpson, who rips the pitch for a single, spoiling the right-hander’s chance for immortality. The Tigers’ 13-1 triumph over the Tribe at Briggs Stadium marks the team’s first victory this season after dropping eight decisions to start the campaign.
1957 Making his first big league start, Philadelphia’s rookie right-hander Don Cardwell hurls a four-hitter, blanking the Giants at Connie Mack Stadium, 5-0. The 21-year-old Phillies hurler will compile a 102-138 (.425) record pitching for five teams during his 14-year career.
1959 Sadaharu Oh hits the first round-tripper of his world record 868 home runs. The Japanese first baseman will play his 22-year career with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball.
1959 Willard Schmidt becomes the first major leaguer to be hit by a pitch twice in one inning. The Reds hurler is the third-inning target of Bob Rush and Lew Burette in Cincinnati’s 11-10 victory over the Braves at Crosley Field.
1961 In the eleventh game of the season, Roger Maris hits his first homer of the campaign in the Yankees’ 13-11 victory over Detroit at Tiger Stadium. The fifth-inning blast off Paul Foytack begins the New York’s right fielder’s historic quest for the single-season home run record.
1962 Catcher Harry Chiti is traded to the Mets from the Indians for a player to be named later. New York returns the backstop to Cleveland on June 15 to complete the deal, making him the first player to be traded for himself.
1973 After six tries, the defending world champion A’s finally win their first series of the season when they beat Cleveland, 3-2, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Although Darold Knowles blows the save, costing Catfish Hunter his first win of the year, Oakland, who had split the first two games with the Tribe, tallies in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off victory.
1977 The Rangers trade Lenny Randle, under suspension for the spring training altercation in which he fractured manager Frank Lucchesi’s cheekbone, to the Mets for a player to be named later (infielder Rick Auerbach) and cash. Joe Torre, the New York’s new skipper, replacing Joe Frazier, shifts the 28-year-old second baseman to third base.
1980 Steve Carlton hurls his sixth career one-hitter, establishing a National League record when he blanks the Cardinals at Veterans Stadium, 7-0. During his 24-year tenure in the major leagues, the Phillies’ southpaw never throws a no-hitter in his 709 career starts.
1982 Gene Michael, taking over for the manager who replaced him last season, becomes the Yankee skipper for the second time in two years. Previously, ‘Stick’ compiled a 48-34 record with the Bronx Bombers but was fired before the end of the strike-shortened 1981 season in favor of Bob Lemon.
1988 Keith Hernandez hits two homers and drives in seven runs to reach the 1000 RBI milestone. The Mets’ first baseman’s offensive output, which includes an eighth-inning grand slam off Charley Puleo, contributes to the Mets’ 13-4 rout of the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
1989 After overrunning Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith’s fly ball down in the left-field corner, Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell recovers by reaching back and catching the ball in foul territory with his bare right hand. The National League’s eventual MVP’s amazing play occurs in the first inning of the Giants’ 3-1 loss to the Redbirds at Busch Stadium.
1990 Ranger hurler Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller’s major league record of throwing twelve one-hitters when he beats the White Sox, 1-0. The only hit allowed by the 43-year-old right-hander is Ron Kittle’s single to right field on a check-swing in the second inning.
1990 Ken Griffey Jr. sticks his right spike into the padded wall at Yankee Stadium, elevating to rob Jesse Barfield’s 200th career homer, reminiscent of a play his dad made playing for the Bronx Bombers five seasons ago. The 20-year-old Seattle sophomore centerfielder’s grab, an achievement that introduces baseball fans to an exuberant budding superstar, marks the first of many home run thefts he will accomplish during his Hall of Fame career with the Mariners and Reds.
1993 Vince Coleman accidentally strikes Dwight Gooden’s right shoulder blade with a golf club while practicing his swing in the Shea Stadium clubhouse. The right-hander is not seriously hurt but will skip his scheduled start tonight, pitching instead in tomorrow’s afternoon’s game.
1994 Brady Anderson collects four extra-base hits in the Orioles’ 10-4 win over the A’s at Camden Yards. The Baltimore outfielder’s two doubles and two homers each occur while leading off an inning.
1995 In the debut of Coors Field, the Rockies defeat the Mets in 14 innings, tying the National League record for the number of innings played in a season opener. After New York’s first baseman Rico Brogna collects the ballpark’s first home run, a fourth-inning line drive off Bill Swift, Dante Bichette ends the contest with a walk-off blasting the 14th frame, giving Colorado a dramatic come-from-behind 11-9 victory.
1997 In the Cubs’ 7-6 win over the Pirates at Wrigley Field, Ryne Sandberg hits his 267th career home run as a second baseman, breaking Joe Morgan’s record for the most homers at that position. The mark will remain until 2004, when Jeff Kent of the Astros records his 268th dinger as a second sacker.
2000 Expo outfielder Vladimir Guerrero’s 100th career home run contributes to the team’s 9-2 victory over Colorado at Olympic Stadium. The Montreal clean-up hitter’s milestone round-tripper is hit over the center-field fence, leading off the eighth inning on a pitch thrown by Julian Tavarez.
2000 The St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by hitting 50 home runs in April. Homers by pitcher Rick Ankiel, Jim Edmonds, and Fernando Tatis in the 7-0 victory over the Brewers help break the mark established by the 1997 Indians with 49.
2001 Hideo Nomo misses becoming the fifth pitcher since 1900 to hurl two no-hitters in a single season when former Gold Glove right fielder Darren Lewis barely misses catching Torii Hunter’s blooper in the top of the seventh inning. The hit, which many consider a questionable call by the scorer, is the only hit given up by the Red Sox right-hander in the team’s 2-0 victory over the Twins.
2001 After two and a half years in the post, embattled Kevin Malone, called a distraction Dodgers chairman Bob Daly, resigns as the team’s general manager. Despite having the league’s largest payroll, Los Angeles has failed to make the playoffs during his tenure, compiling a mediocre 178-176 record.
2002 Not wanting to assign blame for the worst start in the history of the Rockies, GM Dan O’Dowd dismisses Buddy Bell, who managed the club for the last two seasons. Colorado names Clint Hurdle, the team’s hitting coach for the past six years, to be the franchise’s new skipper.
2002 At Wrigley Field, Odalis Perez is perfect for six innings against the Cubs, only giving up Corey Patterson’s bad-hop infield single leading off the seventh in the Dodgers’ 10-0 rout of the Cubs. The 24-year-old southpaw faces the minimum 27 batters in his first career shutout when Chris Stynes, the next hitter, grounds into a double play.
2005 With three homers during his first three trips to the plate, Alex Rodriguez becomes only the 11th major league player to bat in ten or more runs in a game. The highest-paid player in baseball history is one RBI shy of the American League record of 11 set by fellow Yankee Tony Lazzeri in 1936 and two short of the major league mark of 12 shared by Jim Bottomley (1924) and Mark Whiten (1993) of the Cardinals.
2006 In a game that included getting a whack on the top of the head by Shawn Green’s bat, Mike Piazza becomes the 41st major leaguer to collect 400 career home runs. The Padres backstop also extended his record for most home runs by a catcher to 377.
2006 At the age of 47, Julio Franco becomes the second-oldest player to steal a bag when he swipes second base in the eighth inning of the Mets’ 9-7 victory over the Giants at AT&T Park. In 1909, Arlie Latham, who played two games at second base for the Giants, purloined a sack as a 49-year old.
2006 Ranger reliever Francisco Cordero blows his third consecutive chance to save a game when the A’s tie the game 4-4 in the ninth and then score two in the next frame to beat the Rangers, 6-4. The Dominican closer’s fifth-blown save establishes a big-league mark for the first month of the season and overshadows the sixth straight game that the Texas outfielder Kevin Mench has homered, a grand slam that sets a team record.
2008 Brad Penny’s 96-mph fastball is missed by Dodger batterymate Russell Martin and knocks out umpire Kerwin Danley. After the players leave the field, the home plate arbitrator, who lost consciousness briefly, is placed on a stretcher and leaves the Dodgers-Rockies game in an ambulance.
2008 Sara Tucholsky, a Western Oregon college senior, goes deep over the center-field fence but suffers a torn knee ligament rounding first and cannot continue her trip around the bases. In the ultimate display of sportsmanship, Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman and other opposing players carry their injured opponent around the bases, turning a potential two-run single and an out, if the hurt player received assistance teammates back to a three-run homer.
2008 “We can’t tell you to survive the storms of life, we can tell you to dance in the rain, and you can do it. You really can do it. Very difficult, but possible.” – VIN SCULLY, delivering the commencement address at Pepperdine University. Vin Scully receives an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, the institution’s highest honor. The Dodgers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster delivers a stirring commencement address to the 2008 Class of Seaver College, telling the graduates that achieving dreams may be “very difficult, but possible.”
2008 On Ralph Kiner Day, Alhambra dedicates a bronze statue in honor of its native son for his “accomplishments and contributions to the game of professional baseball and sports broadcasting.” The former Pirates slugger, a member of the Hall of Fame, spent his youth in the California city and graduated from its local high school in 1940.
2011 On the first pitch he sees in the major leagues, Alexi Amarista strokes a two-run double in the bottom of the second inning of the Angels’ 8-3 victory over Oakland. The 22-year-old rookie second baseman dedicates the hit to the memory of his dad, murdered five months ago during a home-invasion robbery in his Venezuelan hometown of Barcelona Anzoategu.
2012 Using a home-grown starting lineup for the first time since 1971, New York beats Miami when Heath Bell walks four batters in the ninth inning, including Justin Turner’s 13-pitch at-bat that knots the score before he gives up a game-winning two-out single to the rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Forty-one years ago, Gil Hodges used a lineup of all former Mets farmhands that included Ed Kranepool, Bud Harrelson, Tim Foli, Ted Martinez, Mike Jorgensen, Duffy Dyer, John Milner, and Jerry Koosman.
2013 Anibal Sanchez breaks Mickey Lolich’s franchise record of 16 strikeouts when he retires the side on strikes in the eighth inning of the Tigers’ 10-0 rout of Atlanta. In his eight innings of work, the 29-year-old Venezuelan right-hander gives up just five hits en route to his 17-strikeout performance in the Comerica Park contest.
2017 Gift Ngoepe becomes the first player born and raised in Africa to make his major-league debut when he appears in the lineup as part of a double switch in the Pirates’ 6-5 over the Cubs at PNC Park. The 27-year-old second baseman, who hails from Pietersburg, South Africa, hits safely in his first at-bat, sending a single up the middle off Jon Lester in the fourth inning.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
April 26, 1976 – The first 4 strap chin strap is introduced to further the player head protection. According to an NCAA.org post the college game adopted a safety rule to ensure all players would be securing the four point chin straps to their helmets to try and keep helmets in the optimum position to protect players.In fact the NCAA made it mandatory equipment. https://www.ncaa.org/sport-science-institute/concussion-timeline
April 26, 1983 – The famous 1983 NFL Draft took place as Stanford University quarterback John Elway was the first pick by the Baltimore Colts. This set up the Newspaper.com Football History Headline top billing by the Associated Press the following day in the Easton, Maryland Star-Democrat as it read “Elway’s Vow Not to Play for Colts Ignored.” The Colts were not able to work out a deal with their player of choice prior to the Draft and allegedly turned down multiple trade offers for the spot and still decided to choose Elway. Elway touted as the best quarterback prospect since Joe Namath turned around after the pick was made to say he would forgo the NFL and sign a lucrative baseball contract with the New York Yankees. The former Stanford signal caller said he would change his mind if he was traded to a West Coast team though. Elway made it no secret that he did not want to play for Baltimore. The article goes on to quote the QB as saying, “I don’t want to be a jerk but I told Mr. Kush, you’ve been offered three ones and a quarterback and now you have nothing.” Then he hung up the phone. The Mr. Kush he was referring to was Colts then head coach Frank Kush. SMU running back Eric Dickerson was the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams, Curt Warner another back from Penn State went third to the Seahawks.
Going back to Elway the article gave him three options, he would sit out a year and then get redrafted in 1984, play MLB for the Yankees or get traded to the Cowboys or a West Coast team. The Colts kept trying to work out a deal with Elway and then finally on May 2nd, over a week after the Draft this headline came out in the St. Joseph News-Press via the New York Times News Service, “Colts send Elway to Broncos.” Next week in our May 2 edition we will go more in depth on the rest of this story.
If you want to be able to be able to read through some old articles like Star-Democrat or the St. Joseph News-Press, you need to check out Newspapers.com. At Newspapers.com, you can get access to over 640 million pages’ worth of news from the US, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and more dating back from 1798 to yesterday. Get a free one week subscription to Newspapers.com by visiting SportsHistoryNetwork.com/newspapers. And with a paid subscription, you’ll also be helping to support the production of this and other Sports History Network shows. Besides Elway and Dickerson other Pro Football Hall of Fame players from this Draft class incluse Jimbo Covert, Bruce Matthews, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Darrell Green and Richard Dent.
April 26, 1992 – The 1992 NFL Draft commenced with the Indianapolis Colts selecting Steve Emtman the defensive end from Washington. So far we do not see anyone from this class that has been enshrined into Canton. The Pro Football Reference does share the top ten picks with us though.
Pick Tm Player Pos College/Univ
1 IND Steve Emtman DE Washington
2 IND Quentin Coryatt LB Texas A&M
3 RAM Sean Gilbert DT Pittsburgh
4 WAS Desmond Howard WR Michigan
5 GNB Terrell Buckley DB Florida St.
6 CIN David Klingler QB Houston
7 MIA Troy Vincent DB Wisconsin
8 ATL Bob Whitfield T Stanford
9 CLE Tommy Vardell RB Stanford
10 SEA Ray Roberts T Virginia
The 1992 NFL Draft was the last of the NFL Drafts that went 12 rounds.
April 26, 2003 – For the 2003 NFL Draft the Cincinnati Bengals were the first on the clock and they chose USC quarterback Carson Palmer as the first overall first pick. The only player so far from this class to be fitted for a gold jacket is Troy Polamalu, the Safety teammate of Palmer at Southern Cal who the Steelers took with the 16th selection. Here is the top ten according to Pro Football Reference.com
Pick Tm Player Pos College/Univ
1 CIN Carson Palmer QB USC
2 DET Charles Rogers WR Michigan St.
3 HOU Andre Johnson WR Miami (FL)
4 NYJ Dewayne Robertson DT Kentucky
5 DAL Terence Newman DB Kansas St.
6 NOR Johnathan Sullivan DT Georgia
7 JAX Byron Leftwich QB Marshall
8 CAR Jordan Gross T Utah
9 MIN Kevin Williams DT Oklahoma St.
10 BAL Terrell Suggs LB Arizona
April 26, 2008 – The 2008 NFL Draft had the University of Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long going as the first pick by the Miami Dolphins. Our friends at the Pro Football Reference once again share the top ten selections of this draft class.
Pick Tm Player Pos College/Univ
1 MIA Jake Long T Michigan
2 STL Chris Long DE Virginia
3 ATL Matt Ryan QB Boston Col.
4 OAK Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5 KAN Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
6 NYJ Vernon Gholston DE Ohio St.
7 NOR Sedrick Ellis DT USC
8 JAX Derrick Harvey DE Florida
9 CIN Keith Rivers LB USC
10 NWE Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee
April 26, 2012 – The 2012 NFL Draft at the time was thought to be a rare franchise quarterback goldmine. It started off that way too as three in the top ten were promising starting young QBs in the League. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck first pick by Indianapolis Colts and here is how the top ten rounded into shape per the Pro Football Reference.
Pick Tm Player Pos College/Univ
1 IND Andrew Luck QB Stanford
2 WAS Robert Griffin III QB Baylor
3 CLE Trent Richardson RB Alabama
4 MIN Matt Kalil T USC
5 JAX Justin Blackmon WR Oklahoma St.
6 DAL Morris Claiborne DB LSU
7 TAM Mark Barron DB Alabama
8 MIA Ryan Tannehill QB Texas A&M
9 CAR Luke Kuechly LB Boston Col.
10 BUF Stephon Gilmore DB South Carolina
April 26, 2018 – Another good looking batch of quarterback prospects were on hand for the 2018 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns used the first overall pick to choose Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. It was the first time in history that four signal callers were taken in top 10 selections. Here is how the Pro Football Reference saw the first ten picks come off of the board.
Pick Tm Player Pos College/Univ
1 CLE Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
2 NYG Saquon Barkley RB Penn St.
3 NYJ Sam Darnold QB USC
4 CLE Denzel Ward CB Ohio St.
5 DEN Bradley Chubb DE North Carolina St.
6 IND Quenton Nelson G Notre Dame
7 BUF Josh Allen QB Wyoming
8 CHI Roquan Smith ILB Georgia
9 SFO Mike McGlinchey T Notre Dame
10 ARI Josh Rosen QB UCLA
HALL OF FAME BIRTHDAY FOR APRIL 26
April 26, 1953 – Spiro, Oklahoma – The Oklahoma Sooners stud linebacker of the seasons of 1972 to 1974, Rod Shoate was born. The NFF’s bio tells how Rod had it all, size, strength and foot speed to play the position of backer at a high level. Shoate helped the juggernaut Sooners to a 10-0-1 record in 1973 as he earned consensus All-America honors and then in 1974 he was an unanimous All-American therefore guiding OU to a perfect 11-0 season and the National Championship! The overall Oklahoma record with this great linebacker in uniform was 29-4-1 and they were never worse than number 3 in the national rankings. He was twice named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year as the Sooners claimed the conference crown in each of those seasons. As a freshman, he led Oklahoma to a 14-0 shutout of Penn State in the 1972 Sugar Bowl. Shoate led the Sooners in tackles for three straight seasons and currently ranks sixth in school history with 420 career tackles. The National Football Foundation selected Rod Shoate for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. After such a brilliant collegiate career the next step was the Pros and Rod became the choice pick by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 1975 NFL Draft. Shoate enjoyed a six year career with the Patriots before playing two seasons in the USFL.
4 – 53 – 34 – 24 – 53
April 26, 1905 – Chicago Cubs left fielder, Jack McCarthy becomes only major league player to throw out 3 Pittsburgh Pirates runners at plate in 1 game, all were ends of a double play. The Cubs win the game 2-1.
April 26, 1931 – Yankees star, Lou Gehrig hit a Home Run but wass called out for passing a runner. This mistake ends up costing him the AL home run crown at the end of the season as Gehrig and teammate Babe Ruth tied for season in HRs.
BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME MOMENTS FOR APRIL 26
The website of NBA.com offers these nuggets of history for the day.
April 26, 1972 – New York Knicks future Hall of Fame Forward, Number 24, Bill Bradley sank 11 of 12 field goal attempts as New York defeated Los Angeles 114-92 in the opening game of the NBA Finals. It was the Knicks’ only win of the series, however, as the Lakers went on to take the title in five games.
April 26, 1985 – Mark Eaton, wearing Number 53 of Utah blocked a playoff-record 10 shots in a 96-94 loss to Houston, a record that would be matched by Houston’s Number 34, Hakeem Olajuwon against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 29, 1990.