“THE SCOREBOARD”
CENTRAL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
WAPAHANI 17 WES-DEL 0
SHENANDOAH 19 CENTERVILLE 9
SOUTHERN WELLS 19 LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 1
DALEVILLE 5 RANDOLPH SOUTHERN 2
MONROE CENTRAL 11 BLUE RIVER4
ALEXANDRIA MONROE 9 MARION 2
UNION COUNTY 10 SETON CATHOLIC 6
BISHOP CHATARD 13 CRISPUS ATTUCKS 1
LAWRENCE CENTRAL 8 PIKE 6
SHORTRIDGE 19 CHRISTEL HOUSE 5
EAST CENTRAL 6 FRANKLIN COUNTY 0
TIPTON 9 CLINTON CENTRAL 5
COVENANT CHRISTIAN 7 SCECINA 4
TRITON CENTRAL 10 BEECH GROVE 0
CATHEDRAL 6 FRANKLIN CENTRAL 1
GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN 13 MUNCIE BURRIS 0
INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 12 RITTER 0
CENTER GROVE 9 LAWRENCE NORTH 0
MONROVIA 6 SPEEDWAY 5
WINCHESTER 11 S. ADAMS 0
NEW PALESTINE 4 SHELBYVILLE 1
ELWOOD 21 UNION 4
BATESVILLE 7 CONNERSVILLE 6
NORTHEASTERN 8 MUNCIE CENTRAL 0
PURDUE BROAD RIPPLE 15 COLUMBUS CHRISTIAN 1
GREENCASTLE 4 WESTERN BOONE 2
NOBLESVILLE 4 AVON 2
NORTH CENTRAL 5 DECATUR CENTRAL 2
NORTHVIEW 4 CRAWFORDSVILLE 2
FRANKLIN 5 PLAINFIELD 3
BREBEUF 8 CARMEL 1
BROWNSBURG 3 HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 1
BLOOMINGTON NORTH 10 COLUMBUS NORTH 0
HARRISON 10 KOKOMO 0
LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 9 LEBANON 1
FRANKFORT 9 MCCUTCHEON 7
SOUTHPORT 7 TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 2
MOUNT VERNON 7 DELTA 5
PENDLETON HEIGHTS 11 YORKTOWN 4
RONCALLI 11 HERITAGE CHRISTIAN 1
FISHERS 4 ZIONSVILLE 3
INDIAN CREEK 7 DANVILLE 6
WESTFIELD 10 MOUNT JULIET 0
CENTRAL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
DANVILLE 25 RANDOLPH SOUTHERN 0
WES DEL 10 WAPAHANI 0
JAY COUNTY 16 DELTA 3
OAK HILL 13 EASTERN 3
CATHEDRAL 15 INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 1
SOUTH ADAMS 11 WINCHESTER 1
EASTERN HANCOCK 4 COWAN 1
HORIZON CHRISTIAN 9 RITTER 4
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 14 ANDERSON 0
SOUTHPORT 10 LAWRENCE CENTRAL 0
WARREN CENTRAL 16 BETHESDA CHRISTIAN 9
SHELBYVILLE 2 COLUMBUS NORTH 1
HERRON 19 SCECINA 12
PERRY MERIDIAN 9 BEN DAVIS 6
MADISON GRANT 12 MARION 2
MONROVIA 18 MOORESVILLE CHRISTIAN 0
LEBANON 8 COVENANT CHRISTIAN 7
KNIGHTSTOWN 12 BREBEUF 2
MCCUTCHEON 14 DANVILLE 3
HARRISON 7 KOKOMO 3
BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL 11 EASTERN 1
NORTH DECATUR 11 MORRISTOWN 5
HAGERSTOWN 16 UNION COUNTY 2
BLUFFTON 17 MONROE CENTRAL 0
RUSHVILLE 11 CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN 5
TERRE HAUTE NORTH 10 DECATUR CENTRAL 6
FOUND CENTRAL 13 LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 2
NORTH MONTGOMERY 11 ATTICA 0
NEW PALESTINE 11 AVON 1
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 5 MARTINSVILLE 4
SPEEDWAY 7 TRI-WEST 3
CENTERVILLE 4 MILAN 2
YORKTOWN 13 CONNERSVILLE 8
FRANKLIN CENTRAL 15 GREENFIELD CENTRAL 10
PENDLETON HEIGHTS 17 LAWRENCE NORTH 2
CENTRAL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
SHORTRIDGE 3 LAWRENCE CENTRAL 0
SOUTHPORT 3 BEN DAVIS 0
BISHOP CHATARD 3 MONROVIA 0
HARRISON 3 CRAWFORDSVILLE 0
SHELBYVILLE 3 WHITELAND 2
PERRY MERIDIAN 3 BREBEUF 0
CENTER GROVE 3 MARTINSVILLE 0
UNIVERSITY 3 CHRISTEL HOUSE 2
FRANKLIN 3 GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN 1
NORTH CENTRAL 3 PIKE 0
RONCALLI 3 CATHEDRAL 0
FRANKLIN CENTRAL 3 COLUMBUS EAST 1
CENTRAL INDIANA BOYS LAX SCORES
ZIONSVILLE 14 NORTH CENTRAL 7
CENTRAL INDIANA GIRLS LAX SCORES
CENTER GROVE 10 BREBEUF 3
INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
INDIANA COLLEGE SOFTBALL SCORES
PURDUE 8 EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
COLLEGE HOCKEY PLAYOFFS
BOSTON 3 PENN STATE 1
WESTERN MICHIGAN 3 DENVER 2 2OT
INDIANA MEN’S LAX SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
INDIANA WOMEN’S LAX SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
NBA SCOREBOARD
INDIANA 114 CLEVELAND 112
DETROIT 115 NEW YORK 106
ATLANTA 133 BROOKLYN 109
MILWAUKEE 136 NEW ORLEANS 111
MINNESOTA 141 MEMPHIS 125
NHL SCOREBOARD
FLORIDA 4 DETROIT 1
CHICAGO 5 BOSTON 2
COLUMBUS 3 BUFFALO 2
WASHINGTON 5 CAROLINA 4
NY RANGERS 9 NY ISLANDERS 2
WINNIPEG 4 DALLAS 0
NASHVILLE 4 UTAH 3
VANCOUVER 4 COLORADO 1
VEGAS 2 SEATTLE 1
LOS ANGELES 6 ANAHEIM 1
MLB SCOREBOARD
CLEVELAND 6 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 1
LA ANGELS 11 TAMPA BAY 1
KANSAS CITY 3 MINNESOTA 2
COLORADO 7 MILWAUKEE 2
BOSTON 4 TORONTO 3 (10)
ATLANTA 4 PHILADELPHIA 2 (11)
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCOREBOARD
INDIANAPOLIS AT LOUISVILLE PPD
DAYTON 5 FT. WAYNE 1
SOUTH BEND 3 PEORIA 2
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SCOREBOARD
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
UFL SCOREBOARD
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION
ORLANDO 3 GRAND RAPIDS 1
OMAHA 3 VEGAS 1
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES/NEWS RELEASES
GOLF NEWS
JUSTIN ROSE HOLDS FIRST-ROUND LEAD AT MASTERS FOR FIFTH TIME
It was another strong round in the Masters for England’s Justin Rose. He hopes Thursday’s performance leads to a whole lot more.
Rose shot a 7-under-par 65 with his lone bogey on the final hole to take the lead through the first round Thursday in Augusta, Ga.
“I feel like I’ve played well enough to win this tournament,” Rose said. “I just feel like I don’t have the jacket to prove it.”
Rose, who began the round with three straight birdies, holds a three-shot advantage. He matched his best round at Augusta National Golf Club and broke a tie with Jack Nicklaus for the most 18-hole leads or co-leads in Masters history (five).
“It was a really good day’s golf on a golf course that was a stern test,” Rose said. “I think if you look at the overall leaderboard, not many low scores out there. You had to hit a lot of quality shots, and delighted the way I played.”
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, benefitting from a couple of long putts, is tied for second with Canada’s Corey Conners and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg after posting 68s.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton was in the lead until shooting 1 over for the last six holes and finishing at 69, where he’s tied with Bryson DeChambeau. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy reached 4 under until double-bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes left him with an even-par 72.
Rose is competing in the Masters for the 20th time, so there’s a degree of confidence even without a championship.
“I know my way around this golf course,” Rose said. “I have a straight strategy around here. Yeah, it’s about making it count and stepping up and hitting the shots.”
Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer who has won two of the past three Masters, was at 3 under through eight holes, aided by a 62-foot putt on the par-3 fourth hole. He had all pars the rest of the way except for a birdie on the par-3 16th — sinking a 40-foot putt — to complete a bogey-free round.
“I had a feeling the golf course was going to get pretty firm,” Scheffler said. “The areas to hit your irons out here are pretty small and they get even smaller when the greens are firm, so there’s definitely some challenge to the golf course today, and I’m sure that’ll continue as the week goes on.”
Conners recorded birdies on three of the last four holes. Aberg played the last seven holes in 4 under.
“I did a good job of not compounding errors when I got in tricky spots,” Conners said. “I’ve learned in the past you get a little bit flustered and a little more nervous trying to recover on some shots. It was just having fun out here.”
Harris English, Aaron Rai of England, Australia’s Jason Day and Akshay Bhatia are at 2 under. Rai cruised to 4 under through eight holes before giving strokes back with three consecutive bogeys (Nos. 11-13). When Rai completed his round, Rose had yet to make the turn.
Rai was making his Masters debut.
“Tried to stay as present as possible, and the course definitely called me out on that middle section,” he said.
Fred Couples, in his 40th Masters, turned in a 1-under 71 with an eagle, a birdie and two bogeys. His eagle on No. 14 came with a 191-yard shot from the fairway, marking the second time he found the cup from off the green. The 1992 champion rolled in a birdie from the second tier of fringe on the first hole.
“I just love the place,” Couples said. “I love coming here.”
Collin Morikawa, buoyed by an eagle putt on No. 13, looked like a contender until bogeys on three of the last four holes. He finished with 72.
“Just tough to finish like that,” Morikawa said. “But even par still feels really good.”
The day began with ceremonial tee shots from past champions Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson.
Notable players who will have to work to make the cut Friday include Phil Mickelson, Spaniard Jon Rahm and Tony Finau (3-over 75); Wyndham Clark (4-over 76); Adam Scott of Australia (5-over 77) and Russell Henley (7-over 79).
Nick Dunlap posted an 18-over 90, 11 strokes worse than any other player in the field.
NBA NEWS
NBA ROUNDUP: PACERS SEAL TOP-4 SPOT IN EAST
The Indiana Pacers secured home-court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 114-112 win over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in Indianapolis.
With the New York Knicks’ loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, the Pacers could still earn the No. 3 seed in the East if they win their final two games while the Knicks lose out.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 23 points and dished out 10 assists. He buried 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put Indiana ahead 113-107 with 3:08 remaining. The Cavaliers fought back and earned a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession, but Jaylon Tyson’s turnaround attempt at the buzzer was no good.
Ty Jerome paced Cleveland with 24 points and De’Andre Hunter added 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers, who have already clinched the No. 1 seed, played without Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Max Strus.
Hawks 133, Nets 109
Rookie Zaccharie Risacher scored 23 of his career-high 38 points in the first half as Atlanta cruised past Brooklyn in New York.
Two days after turning 20, Risacher made 15 of 20 shots and posted his fourth career 30-point game, the most among rookies. The top overall pick also made six 3-pointers. Trae Young added 24 points and 12 assists for his league-leading 50th points-assists double-double as the Hawks shot 57.1 percent.
Jalen Wilson tied his season high with 20 points as the Nets got 75 points from the bench. Rookie Tosan Evbuomwan contributed 18 and rookie Tyson Etienne finished with 16.
Pistons 115, Knicks 106
Cade Cunningham poured in 36 points and recorded eight assists as host Detroit pulled out a comeback victory over New York in a preview of a potential first-round playoff matchup.
Jalen Duren supplied 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons. Tobias Harris had 17 points and Ron Holland.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 25 points and 10 rebounds but also had seven turnovers. New York was missing OG Anunoby (thumb) and Josh Hart (knee).
Bucks 136, Pelicans 111
Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 28 points and 11 rebounds as host Milwaukee pulled away from New Orleans.
Antetokounmpo fell five assists short of what would have been his fourth straight triple-double, but the Bucks (46-34) still won their sixth consecutive game. Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. scored 20 points.
Lester Quinones scored a career-high 21 while Keion Brooks Jr. and Jamal Cain each set a career best with 20 as the Pelicans lost their fifth game in a row.
BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: ANGELS’ JO ADELL HOMERS TWICE IN INNING
Jo Adell homered twice in the same inning, Taylor Ward and Mike Trout also hit a pair of homers and the visiting Los Angeles Angels claimed their fourth straight series to open the season with an 11-1 pounding of the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
Adell went 2-for-4 with four RBIs in an eight-run fifth inning. Ward was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, while Trout drove in three runs to round out the Angels’ six-homer outburst. Adell is the third player in Angels history to hit two home runs in the same inning.
Logan O’Hoppe was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored as the Angels had 14 hits and won for the eighth time in 12 games. Los Angeles starter Jose Soriano (2-1) allowed one run on five hits in 7 2/3 innings.
While Tampa Bay mustered only six hits, Junior Caminero was 3-for-4 with a run. Zack Littell (0-3) surrendered four homers and seven runs in four-plus innings.
Rockies 7, Brewers 2
Brenton Doyle homered, doubled and tied his career high with five RBIs, Zac Veen doubled for his first career RBI and Colorado beat Milwaukee in Denver.
Doyle homered leading off the bottom of the first and finished with three hits for Colorado, which avoided a three-game sweep. Michael Toglia added an RBI double in a five-run eighth inning. Toglia finished with three hits and Scott Alexander (1-1) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief.
Jackson Chourio singled to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for the Brewers. Brice Turang went 0-for-5, failing to get a hit for the first time this season. Joel Payamps (0-1) gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Guardians 6, White Sox 1
Steven Kwan went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, Gavin Williams threw five quality innings and Cleveland posted a victory to cap a three-game sweep of visiting Chicago.
Williams (1-0) allowed one run on three hits while Kyle Manzardo connected on a two-run homer. Bryan Rocchio notched a pair of hits and scored a run for Cleveland, which has won four of its past six games.
Jonathan Cannon (0-2) gave up six runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings for the White Sox. Lenyn Sosa tallied a pair of hits for Chicago, which dropped its eighth straight game and became the first team to record 10 losses.
Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 3 (10 innings)
Trevor Story’s groundout to second in the 10th inning drove in David Hamilton with the winning run as Boston prevailed over visiting Toronto.
George Springer’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th scored Andres Gimenez to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead, but Jarren Duran led off the bottom of the inning with an RBI single that scored Blake Sabol to tie the game at 3.
Story, Duran and Rafael Devers each had two hits for the Red Sox. Tyler Heineman collected three of Toronto’s eight hits.
Royals 3, Twins 2
Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning as Kansas City rallied for a victory over visiting Minnesota.
Witt went 2-for-3 with a double, a stolen base and a run for Kansas City, which picked up its third win in the four-game series. Daniel Lynch IV (2-0) picked up the victory in relief. Carlos Estevez pitched around a hit batter and a single during a scoreless ninth to pick up his fourth save.
Ty France homered and Willi Castro and Edouard Julien each doubled for the Twins, who took their fourth loss in five games. Cole Sands (1-1) allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning.
NHL NEWS
NHL ROUNDUP: JETS ALL BUT WRAP UP NO. 1 SEED IN WEST
Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 25 shots, earning his league-leading eighth shutout of the season as the visiting Winnipeg Jets blanked the Dallas Stars 4-0 on Thursday, tightening their grip on home-ice advantage.
Kyle Connor scored twice in the third period for the first-place Jets, who vaulted six points ahead of the second-place Stars in the Central Division. Winnipeg now needs only a single point — or for Dallas to drop one — to clinch first place in the division and the Western Conference.
Nino Niederreiter and Morgan Barron were the other goal-scorers for Winnipeg, and Josh Morrissey picked up two assists.
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger made 31 stops.
Capitals 5, Hurricanes 4 (SO)
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the game’s first goal and then finished it with a shootout tally as Washington defeated visiting Carolina in a matchup between the Metropolitan Division’s top teams.
Dylan Strome, Nic Dowd and Tom Wilson also scored in regulation for the Capitals. Charlie Lindgren made 30 saves. The Hurricanes have lost four in a row since last week’s home victory against the Capitals. But by forcing overtime, Carolina picked up a team point that clinched home-ice advantage for its first-round playoff series with the New Jersey Devils.
Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis had the goals for Carolina. Brent Burns provided two assists and Frederik Andersen made 24 saves.
Rangers 9, Islanders 2
Rookie Brett Berard had his first career two-goal game for the visiting New York Rangers, who remained mathematically alive in the Eastern Conference wild-card race while all but ending the New York Islanders’ playoff hopes with a win in Elmont, N.Y.
Artemi Panarin added two goals and an assist for the Rangers (37-35-7, 81 points) who snapped a three-game losing streak and moved within six points of the idle Montreal Canadiens for the final wild-card spot with three games to play.
The Rangers kept their “tragic number” for elimination at one while also reducing the tragic number for the Islanders to one, as they sit eight back of Montreal with four games to play.
Blackhawks 5, Bruins 2
Nick Foligno scored twice and Ryan Donato’s 30th goal of the season sparked an early-third-period run of three goals in 1:33 as Chicago won at Boston.
The first three goals for Chicago were scored by former Bruins. Foligno made it 1-1 at 7:55 of the second, Donato made it 2-0 at 3:14 of the second and Tyler Bertuzzi added insurance 1:09 later.
David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie had a goal and an assist apiece for Boston (32-39-9, 73 points), which has lost 12 of its past 14 (2-11-1). Boston’s Jeremy Swayman stopped 16 shots.
Blue Jackets 3, Sabres 2
Columbus scored twice in less than three minutes in the third period to rally to beat visiting Buffalo.
Zach Aston-Reese and Boone Jenner scored the third-period goals and James van Riemsdyk scored in the first for the Blue Jackets. Jet Greaves made 39 saves.
JJ Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin scored and James Reimer made 27 saves for the Sabres, who had their five-game winning streak snapped after leading 2-0 in the first period.
Panthers 4, Red Wings 1
Brad Marchand scored his first goal with Florida in a win over visiting Detroit in Sunrise.
Marchand, after 15-plus seasons with the Boston Bruins, made his Panthers debut on March 28. Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich and Aleksander Barkov also scored. For Barkov, it was his 20th goal of the season, giving him 10 straight seasons hitting that mark. Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves in the win, which was No. 915 for coach Paul Maurice, moving him into third place in NHL history.
Alex DeBrincat scored Detroit’s only goal and Cam Talbot made 27 saves for the Red Wings. DeBrincat leads the team with 36 goals.
COLLEGE HOCKEY PLAYOFFS
BOSTON U. OUSTS PSU, REACHES FIRST HOCKEY FINAL SINCE ’15
Jack Hughes and Cole Eiserman scored second-period goals Thursday night as Boston University edged Penn State 3-1 in the second semifinal of the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
The Terriers (24-13-2) advance to the Saturday night championship match to oppose Western Michigan, which got past defending champion Denver 3-2 in double overtime in the first semifinal.
The Nittany Lions, who made their first Frozen Four, finished the season at 22-14-4.
Goalie Mikhail Yegorov made 33 saves for Boston University, including 17 in a third period that saw Penn State generate a steady push with two goals to make up. The Nittany Lions got one just 2:12 into the period via a rebound that Nicholas DeGraves swiped into the net for his fourth marker of the season, but they couldn’t come up with the equalizer despite creating a spate of good chances.
The Terriers wrapped it up when Jack Harvey potted his 11th goal of the season into an empty net at 19:01, putting them in their first title game since 2015. The long-time Eastern hockey power, playing in its 25th Frozen Four, hasn’t won a national title since 2009.
Arsenii Sergeev delivered 32 saves for the Nittany Lions but wasn’t able to keep the puck out of his net in the second period. A turnover at the blue line sent Matt Copponi down the left side for a wrister that Sergeev stopped. However, the goalie couldn’t locate the puck, then turned his body in a futile attempt to find it and Hughes poked it in at the goal mouth at 1:35.
Eiserman’s goal came at the end of a classic two-on-one rush. Devin Kaplan won a battle in the corner in Boston University’s end of the ice and hit Cole Hutson with a breakout pass. Hutson fed Eiserman at the right post, and Eiserman slammed the puck past Sergeev.
Neither team scored in a first period that started 80 minutes later than scheduled due to the length of the first game. The Terriers enjoyed an 11-7 advantage in shots.
NFL NEWS
FIELD LEVEL MEDIA’S TOP 100 IN THE 2025 NFL DRAFT
Below is a ranking of the top 100 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft reflecting consensus opinion of Field Level Media evaluators.
Rank Pos Full Name School
1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
3. CB-WR Travis Hunter, Colorado
4. QB Cameron Ward, Miami
5. DT Mason Graham, Michigan
6. OLB Jalon Walker, Georgia
7. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
8. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
9. DE Mykel Williams, Georgia
10. OG Armand Membou, Missouri
11. ILB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
12. WR Matthew Golden, Texas
13. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
14. DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
15. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
16. OT Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
17. DE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
18. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
19. WR Luther Burden III, Missouri
20. OT Will Campbell, LSU
21. S Malaki Starks, Georgia
22. OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
23. OT Josh Simmons, Ohio State
24. DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
25. DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
26. S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
27. DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
28. CB Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina
29. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
30. OT Marcus Mbow, Purdue
31. OG Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
32. OG Tyler Booker, Alabama
33. DT T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
34. OLB Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College
35. QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama
36. DE Jordan Burch, Oregon
37. DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
38. S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
39. OT Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota
40. CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
41. OT Emery Jones Jr., LSU
42. DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
43. WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
44. CB Trey Amos, Ole Miss
45. DE Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M
46. DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas
47. CB Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
48. DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
49. RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
50. OT Cameron Williams, Texas
51. S Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State
52. WR Isaiah Bond, Texas
53. CB Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State
54. WR Kyle Williams, Washington State
55. DT Alfred Collins, Texas
56. DE Jared Ivey, Ole Miss
57. CB Darien Porter, Iowa State
58. TE Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green
59. DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State
60. RB Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
61. RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
62. WR Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
63. CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
64. QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
65. RB Devin Neal, Kansas
66. WR Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
67. OT Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
68. DT Yahya Black, Iowa
69. RB Kalel Mullings, Michigan
70. WR Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
71. TE Mason Taylor, LSU
72. C Jared Wilson, Georgia
73. DE Kyle Kennard, South Carolina
74. C Joshua Gray, Oregon State
75. OT Charles Grant, William & Mary
76. DE Jack Sawyer, Ohio State
77. OT Anthony Belton, North Carolina State
78. ILB Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
79. WR Savion Williams, TCU
80. OLB Barrett Carter, Clemson
81. DT Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech
82. OT Myles Hinton, Michigan
83. OG Tate Ratledge, Georgia
84. OT Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan, Oregon State
85. C Drew Kendall, Boston College
86. DE Bradyn Swinson, LSU
87. WR Jalen Royals, Utah State
88. WR Tre Harris, Ole Miss
89. OG Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
90. OG Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
91. WR Xavier Restrepo, Miami
92. ILB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
93. S Lathan Ransom, Ohio State
94. DT Omarr Norman-Lott, Tennessee
95. DT Ty Robinson, Nebraska
96. DE Sai’vion Jones, LSU
97. S Billy Bowman, Oklahoma
98. WR Tai Felton, Maryland
99. CB Tommi Hill, Nebraska
100. ILB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State
TOP INDIANA HEADLINES/NEWS RELEASES
INDIANA TIES (TRANSFER PORTAL UPDATE)
Luke Almodovar, So., St. Francis, Ind./NAIA (Noblesville): 20.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 apg
Landen Babusiak, R-Fr., Stetson (Hanover Central/Bosco Institute): 1.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.5 apg
Reggie Bass, Jr., Lindenwood (Tech): 12.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 apg
Flory Bidunga, Fr., Kansas (Kokomo): 5.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg — COMMITTED TO RETURN TO KANSAS
Jalen Blackmon, Sr., Miami, Fla. (Marion): 6.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.4 apg
Vincent Brady II, Jr., Missouri State (Cathedral): 13.5 ppg, 38% on 3s
Jayden Brewer, Jr., FIU (Ben Davis): 14.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
Xavier Booker, So., Michigan State (Cathedral): 4.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg — COMMITTED TO UCLA
Kanon Catchings, Fr., BYU (Overtime Elite/Brownsburg): 7.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Myles Colvin, So., Purdue (Heritage Christian): 5.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.5 apg — COMMITTED TO WAKE FOREST
Tayshawn Comer, Jr., Evansville (Cathedral): 16.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.1 apg
Ryan Conwell, Jr., Xavier (Pike): 16.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 apg — COMMITTED TO LOUISVILLE
DaJohn Craig, So., Oregon (Lawrence Central): 1.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.5 apg — COMMITTED TO COASTAL CAROLINA
AJ Dancler, So., Le Moyne (Southport): 15.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.4 apg — COMMITTED TO COASTAL CAROLINA
Koron Davis, Jr., Lafayette (Gary Bowman): 8.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.4 apg
Micah Davis, Fr., Eastern Kentucky (Franklin): 0.8 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.3 apg — COMMITTED TO IU INDY
Tae Davis, Jr., Notre Dame (Warren Central): 15.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.8 apg — COMMITTED TO OKLAHOMA
Owen Dease, Jr., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Evansville Reitz): 7.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg
Keaton Dukes, Jr., Purdue Fort Wayne (Wawasee): 1.5 ppg, 0.3 rpg
Jaxon Edwards, Jr., St. Bonaventure (Cathedral): 3.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.5 apg — COMMITTED TO IU INDY
Michael Eley, Jr., Tulane (Veritas Prep – from Fort Wayne): 8.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.8 apg
Gus Etchison, Sr., Marian/NAIA (Hamilton Heights): 19.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, So., Illinois (McCutcheon et al.): 4.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.5 apg
Maximus Gizzi, Sr., Huntington/NAIA (New Palestine): 10.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.7 apg
Landin Hacker, Jr., Bellarmine (Center Grove): 5.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.9 apg
Cameron Haffner, Jr., Evansville (Westfield): 12.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg — COMMITTED TO WESTERN KENTUCKY
Brit Harris, Jr., SC Upstate (Michigan City Marquette/Bosco Institute): 11.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.7 apg
Connor Hickman, Sr., Cincinnati (Bloomington South): 8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 apg
Nick Hittle, Sr., Southern Indiana (Culver Academy): 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.5 apg
Curt Hopf, Jr., Bellarmine (Barr-Reeve): 4.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.8 apg
Drew Kegerreis, Fr., IU Indy (Roncalli): Redshirted this past season.
J.R. Konieczny, Jr., Notre Dame (South Bend St. Joseph): 4.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.8 apg
Jalen Jackson, Jr., Purdue Fort Wayne (FW Northrop): 19.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 apg — COMMITTED TO BUTLER
Shilo Jackson, Jr., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (North Central): 5.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.4 apg
Kamari Jones, Fr., Western Carolina (Lawrence Central): 3.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.3 apg
RaSheed Jones, So., Coastal Carolina (Marion): 11.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
Jeffrey ‘JT’ Langston Jr., Fr., Southern Utah (San Gabriel Academy – from Fort Wayne): 6.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.6 apg
Jordan Lomax, Fr., Purdue Fort Wayne (Brownsburg): N/A
AJ Lux, Fr., Bellarmine (Crown Point): 3.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.5 apg
David Meriwether, East Tennessee State (Lawrence North): 1.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Tytan Newton, R-So., Morgan State (Richmond): 1.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.3 apg
Mason Nicholson, R-Jr., Jacksonville State (Gary West Side): 7.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg — COMMITTED TO VANDERBILT
Okechukwu Okeke, Sr., FIU (East Chicago Central): 4.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.1 apg
Nijel Pack, Gr., Miami (Lawrence Central): 14.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.2 apg — COMMITTED TO OKLAHOMA
Quimari Peterson, Sr., East Tennessee State (Gary West Side): 19.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg — COMMITTED TO WASHINGTON
Kiyron Powell, Jr., Western Illinois (Evansville Bosse): 2.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.2 apg
Zach Reed, R-So., Bellarmine (Brebeuf Jesuit): 3.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.3 apg
JaQualon ‘JQ’ Roberts, So., Vanderbilt (Bloomington North): 1.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg
Ron Rutland III, Fr., IU Indy (Crispus Attucks): 2.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.6 apg
Tyler Schmidt, Sr., Valparaiso (Victory Christian): 10.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg — COMMITTED TO TOWSON
Sheridan Sharp, So., Southern Illinois (Ben Davis): 4.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.3 apg
Tyler Shirley, Sr., Florida A&M (Pebblebrook Ga., from Gary): 3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg
Billy Smith, Jr., Bellarmine (Brebeuf Jesuit): 14.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg
Isaiah Stafford, Sr., Valparaiso (Crispus Attucks): 16.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg
Jahni Summers, So., Indiana State (Evansville Harrison): 5.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.6 apg
Tucker Tornatta, Fr., UIndy (Evansville Memorial): 7.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Cayden Vasko, So., Central Michigan (Lowell/Bosco Institute): 7.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.6 apg
Leland Walker, Jr., Florida Atlantic (North Central/Hargrave Military): 9.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.1 apg
Jalen Washington, Jr., North Carolina (Gary West Side): 5.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.5 apg — COMMITTED TO VANDERBILT
Ashton Williamson, Fr., FIU (Gary 21st Century): 7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg
Harold Woods, Jr., Northeastern (Hammond): 11.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.4 apg
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL-PORTAL NEWS
Guard Kolby King enters portal.
INDIANA PACERS
GAME REWIND: PACERS 114, CAVALIERS 112
The Pacers (49-10) knocked one more game off the final homestand of the regular season as they clashed with the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers (63-17) on Thursday. With an opportunity to clinch homecourt advantage lurking just one win away, Indiana sought to take care of Cleveland’s injury-plagued squad early. The Cavs took the contest down to the final buzzer, but Indiana hung on to win, 114-112.
The Cavs were short four starters due to various injuries and rest, but still fielded a starting five capable of presenting multiple challenges to a defense.
Tyrese Haliburton drilled a 3-pointer for Indiana 15 seconds after the opening tip, and smothered Sam Merrill’s 3-point attempt on the following defensive possession to get the Pacers off on the right note.
Benn Mathurin checked into the game with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter and immediately made his mark. He forced a turnover as he caused De’Andre Hunter to mishandle the ball, and converted the fastbreak as he made a layup on the offensive end to give the Pacers a 15-10 advantage.
Mathurin’s play off the bench wasn’t the only lift Indiana received from its reserves – Obi Toppin entered the game at the same time as Mathurin, and scored seven points over the next three minutes. He hit a 3-pointer and slammed down two dunks in just two minutes of game time.
After a ferocious dunk by Tristan Thompson with just under seven seconds left in the opening quarter, the Pacers led 25-23. Jarace Walker sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to extend that lead to five points before the period came to a close. Indiana led after one, 28-23.
A 9-4 Cavs run knotted the game at 32 to open the second frame, prompting coach Rick Carlisle to spend a timeout. The Cleveland lead grew to as many as nine points before halftime, but late offense from Indiana shrunk the deficit to just four points as the Pacers entered the break trailing the Cavs, 56-52.
Ty Jerome and Hunter scored the bulk of Cleveland’s points in the first half – each hit double figures midway through the second quarter, and they combined to score 28 of the Cavaliers’ 56 first half points.
Nesmith led the Pacers through the first half as he dropped in 12 points, and Toppin contributed seven points off the bench. Haliburton notched just five points, but recorded six assists and three rebounds. Indiana struggled to keep pace with Cleveland on the glass – the Cavs gathered 33 first half rebounds to the Pacers’ 23.
The Cavaliers jumped out to another nine-point lead early in the third quarter, and Haliburton went into attack mode. He made a crafty layup, sank a mid-range jumper through a foul, converted a free throw, assisted a 3-pointer to Nesmith, and grabbed two rebounds in the first five minutes of the second half. The sequence pulled Indiana within three points of the lead, 66-63, with seven minutes remaining in the third period.
An 8-0 run by Cleveland stretched the deficit to a game-high 11 points just over two minutes later.
A 7-2 run by Haliburton and Nesmith brought Indiana back within six points of Cleveland’s lead as Haliburton made a 3-pointer and assisted Nesmith on two layups. The Pacers tied the game again as Mathurin connected from deep – his first 3-point make of the evening – late in the third frame, 76-76.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson’s ejection earned Indiana two technical free throws, which Haliburton split, to give the Pacers a 79-78 lead. Back-and-forth buckets sent the Blue and Gold into the third quarter trailing by just a point, 82-81.
3-point shooting early in the fourth quarter was each team’s key to success. The Cavs shot 7-for-9 from deep in the first seven minutes of the period while Indiana shot 3-for-4 from long range. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hunter gave Cleveland a 7-point lead with seven minutes to play, 102-95.
Nesmith closed the gap with a perfect trip to the free throw line, and the Pacers trailed by just two points with five minutes remaining. Haliburton pressured the rim and layed in the equalizer at the 4:11 mark, tying the contest once again at 107.
Haliburton hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:40 to play, and struck again as he drilled another long-range shot with 3:08 on the clock. Indiana’s defense was strong down the stretch, aiding in the Pacers’ production of a 13-3 run that included Haliburton’s go-ahead baskets.
The Pacers’ defense held out against a desperate group of Cavaliers down the stretch, foiling many attempts at a last-second basket. Nesmith sealed the victory for Indiana at the free throw line.
Haliburton’s 23 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds led the Pacers while Nesmith contributed 22 points. Walker pitched in 15 points off the bench and shot 6-for-7 from the field, including 75 percent from 3-point range.
Jerome led the Cavs with 24 points, and Hunter added 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Thursday’s win clinches homecourt advantage for the Pacers, who are guaranteed a top-4 seed in the playoffs following the victory over Cleveland.
Indiana is back in action on Friday as the Pacers host the Orlando Magic in Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:00 PM ET.
Inside the Numbers
After losing the rebounding battle by 10 boards at halftime, the Pacers grabbed 46 rebounds to Cleveland’s 50 for the game.
Tyrese Haliburton’s 23 points and 10 assists mark his 31st double-double this season.
Indiana recorded 11 blocked shots with five different players recording a rejection. Turner notched four blocks and Haliburton recorded three.
The Pacers recorded a 62.5 percent 3-point percentage on eight attempts in the fourth quarter after going just 27.3 percent from deep over the initial three quarters of play.
Indiana has now recorded 16 wins after trailing by 10+ in a game.
COLTS NEWS
COLTS RELEASE K MATT GAY
The Colts on Thursday released kicker Matt Gay.
Gay, who signed as a free agent before the 2023 season, made 64 of 78 field goals (82.1 percent) and 68 of 69 PATs (98.6 percent) over 33 games with the Colts.
The 31-year-old Gay previously spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019) and Los Angeles Rams (2020-2022) before joining the Colts. He spent time on the Colts’ practice squad in 2020 as well.
The Colts now have one kicker on their roster in Spencer Shrader, a 2024 undrafted free agent who spent time last year with the Colts, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS – Victory Field will once again play host to a college baseball game between Indiana University (away) and Ball State University (home). Tickets are on sale today for the third Hoosiers-Cardinals matchup at the Vic in the past nine years, set for Wednesday, April 23, at 6 PM. Gates open at 5 PM.
Assigned seating is available now, with prices ranging from $14 for Infield Box tickets to $8 for Lawn. Premium tickets are also available in the Yuengling Landing for $30, Elements Financial Club for $80, and picnic areas and suites at regular rental prices. Active-duty military and veterans receive $2 off per ticket, and children 2 and under get in free.
The 19-14 Hoosiers are currently working a four-game winning streak after defeating the Cardinals (23-11) on Tuesday, April 8 in Bloomington, 7-5. Ball State took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning before a five-run fifth flipped the score in Indiana’s favor.
“Hosting college games at our downtown Indianapolis ballpark is a great opportunity to promote high-level baseball across the state,” said Matt Guay, Indianapolis Indians vice president and general manager. “We’re excited to welcome the Hoosiers and Cardinals back to Victory Field next week for another thrilling matchup.”
Since 2015, the Hoosiers are 5-1 in six games played at Victory Field, including 4-3 and 9-3 wins over Ball State in 2017 and ’19. Last year’s scheduled matchup was canceled due to inclement weather.
Indians mini plans and single-game tickets are available for purchase, and group and premium reservations may also be made. For more on the Indians, visit IndyIndians.com or contact the Victory Field Box Office at (317) 269-3545 or Tickets@IndyIndians.com.
INDY IGNITE
FULL DAY OF VOLLEYBALL ACTION AVAILABLE ON IGNITE FIRESTORM APPRECIATION NIGHT
FISHERS, Ind. (April 10, 2025) – The Indy Ignite are hosting much more than a typical Pro Volleyball Federation match Saturday when they take on the Grand Rapids Rise at Fishers Event Center. Before the main event, the Ignite are offering fans the chance to see a collegiate scrimmage, meet players from three college teams and the rare opportunity to see both Indy and Grand Rapids go through pre-match practice on Firestorm Appreciation Night presented by Best One Tire & Service.
The first serve for the Ignite-Rise match is set for 7 p.m. ET Saturday but the action begins much earlier for fans with tickets. Doors open at Fishers Event Center at 2 p.m. The teams from Purdue and Vanderbilt universities will battle in a spring scrimmage on the Ignite’s home court at 3 p.m. Following that, fans for the first time, can watch the Ignite and Rise go through their pre-match practice routines.
Beginning at 5 p.m. on the FORUM Credit Union Plaza in front of Fishers Event Center, Indy is hosting the Firestorm Fan Fest where players from Purdue and Vanderbilt will be available to meet and get autographs, as well as players from the University of Kentucky, which is also scrimmaging nearby Saturday. The Fan Fest will also offer tailgate games, grass volleyball, food trucks, giveaways and more before fans head into the arena for the Ignite-Rise match.
“This will be the ultimate weekend for the volleyball fan,” said Carly Klanac, Vice President of Marketing & Game Day Experience for the Ignite. “We will have a college game day experience with Purdue and Vanderbilt in their spring scrimmage. Then at the Firestorm Fan Fest we’ll have grass courts, cross net, other lawn games, food trucks and a huge festival for fans to celebrate the Ignite and volleyball here in our great state. All of that will be followed by an important match for our No. 3-ranked Ignite team as we try to close in on securing a playoff spot.”
Tickets for Firestorm Appreciation Night presented by Best One Tire & Service are available from Ticketmaster via the Ignite website.
With seven matches remaining, Indy is still in the hunt for a postseason berth. The Ignite, at 12-9, are tied for third in PVF, with the top four advancing to the playoffs. Grand Rapids, which advanced to the championship match last year before losing to Omaha, is 9-12 this season and fifth in the standings but has dropped four of its last five outings.
The Ignite are 2-0 against the Rise this season, Indy winning most recently in four sets at Grand Rapids on March 15. The Rise host the Vegas Thrill on Thursday before taking on the Ignite.
Hilley Enters PVF Record Book for Assists in a Season
Ignite setter Sydney Hilley has already eclipsed the PVF record for assists in a regular season with seven matches still remaining. Hilley has totaled 1,005 assists in 21 matches to break the mark of 1,000 set last year by Grand Rapids’ Ashley Evans in 24 matches. Hilley, averaging 11.82 assists per set, is also on pace to break Evans’ 2024 average of 10.99 per set.
Ignite head coach George Padjen has known Hilley since she started training with him at the Minnesota Select volleyball club when Hilley was just 13. Padjen knew then that Hilley was “very special” and is thankful to have her guiding the Ignite attack.
INDY FUEL
FUEL FACE K-WINGS IN THE FIGHT FOR PLAYOFFS
INDIANAPOLIS- The Fuel will host the Kalamazoo Wings in their final home game of the regular season on Friday night. With Indy’s magic number being just one, the Fuel could clinch the fourth and final Central division playoff spot with a win or overtime appearance.
LAST TIME OUT
The last time these two teams met was on March 14 when the K-Wings visited the Fishers Event Center and took home a 6-2 win over the Fuel. With three goals in the first period from Kalamazoo, Indy just could not make a comeback quick enough. Shots were tied 33-33 but Hunter Vorva in net for Kalamazoo was the difference maker.
PLAYOFF PUSH
After both teams had many ups and downs this season, they are both still in the hunt for the final playoff spot. Going into this game, the Fuel lead the K-Wings by six points. Both teams have three games remaining, two of which are against each other. Indy will lean on Nathan Burke who leads the team in goals with 20 and set a new single season franchise record on Wednesday night with his eighth game winning goal of the season, as well as Colin Bilek and Bryan Lemos who both have 11 points against Kalamazoo this season.
INDIANA SOFTBALL
INDIANA SOFTBALL TO FACE WISCONSIN IN ROAD SERIES
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– Shortly after its Wednesday night win over Louisville, Indiana is back in action with a three-game road series at Wisconsin this weekend (April 11-13).
The Hoosiers have won five games in a row and enter the series with a 27-10 record and 6-5 mark in conference play.
QUICK HITTERS:
Indiana leads the nation in three statistical categories: batting average (.384), doubles per game (2.11) and on base percentage (.475).
Indiana has won five games in a row with the streak starting with a 13-7 win at No. 18 Ohio State (March 31).
Indiana is entering the home stretch of the regular season as there are four weekends of play left and 12 total games remaining ahead of the Big Ten Tournament.
Five Hoosiers have a .400 or better batting average. Taylor Minnick (.495), Avery Parker (.438), Aly VanBrandt (.417), Madalyn Strader (.412) and Kinsey Mitchell (.402) all are hitting the mark.
Brianna Copeland is leading the team’s pitching staff in strikeouts with 110 in 27 appearances. Copeland also has an 11-4 record in the circle with a 4.78 ERA.
LAST TIME OUT:
Indiana had a dominant day on Wednesday in their 8-3 win over Louisville at Andy Mohr Field.
The Hoosiers trailed 2-0 early, but quickly took the lead and didn’t look back. A second inning home run from Brianna Copeland opened the scoring and got the offense going.
The solo shot marked her 41st career home run, the most in program history.
Prior to the game, Taylor Minnick was recognized for becoming the program’s career RBI leader back in early March against ECU in the Tiger Invitational when Minnick reached 154 RBI.
In the previous weekend series, Indiana swept Maryland with ease. The first game saw the Hoosiers score the most they have in a Big Ten game and second most overall this season, scoring 20 runs in the win.
It was the team’s first Big Ten sweep so far in 2025.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Indiana had a dominant day on Wednesday in their 8-3 win over Louisville at Andy Mohr Field.
The Hoosiers trailed 2-0 early, but quickly took the lead and didn’t look back. A second inning home run from Brianna Copeland opened the scoring and got the offense going.
The solo shot marked her 41st career home run, the most in program history.
Prior to the game, Taylor Minnick was recognized for becoming the program’s career RBI leader back in early March against ECU in the Tiger Invitational when Minnick reached 154 RBI.
In the previous weekend series, Indiana swept Maryland with ease. The first game saw the Hoosiers score the most they have in a Big Ten game and second most overall this season, scoring 20 runs in the win.
It was the team’s first Big Ten sweep so far in 2025.
SERIES HISTORY NOTES:
Wisconsin leads the all-time series between the two programs, 30-20. The two teams met last year in a series in Bloomington (April 26-28, 2024) where the Badgers took two of three games.
INDIANA BASEBALL
BASEBALL CENTRAL: ILLINOIS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a season-long nine-game homestand, the Indiana Baseball team (19-14, 9-6 B1G) returns to the road for the first time since March 23rd. IU will embark on a road trip to local rival for a critical three-game set (April 11-13) in Champaign against Illinois.
The Hoosiers have won four-straight games after dismantling Michigan State in a weekend sweep and finishing off Ball State in a midweek contest. In that span of four games, IU outscored its opponents 45-13 to close out a 6-3 homestand at Bart Kaufman Field.
IU has benefited from its young offensive core as the second half of the season continues. First baseman Jake Hanley has been a staple in the lineup from day one but shortstop Cooper Malamazian and third baseman Will Moore have held down the left side of the infield. Outfielder Caleb Koskie came into the lineup against Michigan State and hit a grand slam for his first career hit and home run.
With the offense coming alive last weekend, it’s been the IU pitching that has flown under the radar. Despite still missing its best bullpen piece in veteran Drew Buhr, the Hoosiers have held teams to six-or-fewer earned runs in 12 of the past 14 games. IU’s staff has had to pitch in five doubleheaders and four Monday games this season – keeping it well off schedule throughout the season.
The Hoosiers have yet to win a road series this year and could benefit greatly from picking up a pair of wins at Illinois Stadium this weekend. IU has made up significant ground in the RPI but road wins add extra value to postseason resumes at the end of the season. These two teams have exchanged winning on each other’s home field in the past two years – a trend that head coach Jeff Mercer would like to see continue.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET in Champaign. Junior outfielder Devin Taylor will continue his chase for history when he steps into the box this weekend. He needs one more hit to reach 200 career hits and two more home runs to break IU’s all-time program record.
Gameday Info
vs. Illinois (Friday, April 11th – 7:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3YqMzNs
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/42scMwD
vs. Illinois (Saturday, April 12th – 4:00 PM ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/3FZ0uEr
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/7Fcp0
vs. Illinois (Sunday, April 13th – 2:00 PM ET)
Live Video: t.ly/GSyEf
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/dbrzQ
Probable Starters
Illinois
• Friday: TBD
• Saturday: TBD
• Sunday: TBD
Leading Off
RECORD WATCH: Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is closing in on Hoosier history over the next couple of weeks. He needs two home runs to break the program’s all-time home run record. He also needs one hit to become the 25th player in IU history to reach 200 base knocks.
Taylor’s fellow junior teammate, Tyler Cerny (177), isn’t far behind him in the chase for 200. Cerny and Taylor could be the first pair of teammates from the same recruiting class to reach 200+ career hits since Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis (2012-14). Josh Pyne and Brock Tibbitts fell just short last year with Tibbitts finishing on 199 career base knocks.
PITCHING PICKS UP: IU’s pitching staff has been fantastic over the last 10+ games. In the last 10 games, IU is 6-4 and has a team ERA of 4.88. Redshirt junior Grant Holderfield has been especially fantastic with a 1.23 ERA over 7.1 innings of work in that stretch.
In the four games played since Sunday, the Hoosiers have outscored opponents 45-13. IU has allowed six-or-fewer earned runs in 12 of the past 14 games played this season. That includes five-straight contests to end the season-long homestand in Bloomington.
KD ON A TEAR: IU has already played three games this weekend and redshirt sophomore outfielder Korbyn Dickerson has crushed them. He’s hitting .571 (8-14) with two home runs, nine RBI’s, six runs scored and two doubles on the week. Dickerson is also tied for the Big Ten lead in home runs (15).
Dickerson leads the conference in hits (54) and RBIs (56) and has stated his case to be in the running for Big Ten Player of the Year. On top of that, he’s played a near flawless center field and given the Hoosiers a reliable bat in the middle of their order.
FRESHMEN ARE HERE: IU started five true freshmen in the second game of a doubleheader against Michigan State on April 7th. It was the most true freshmen in IU’s offensive starting lineup since 2012 when Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis, among others, features for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers have had more production from freshmen than any other team in the conference. First baseman Jake Hanley leads the Big Ten in most offensive categories among freshmen. Shortstop Cooper Malamazian has the lead among first-year players in doubles (14).
HBP KING: Junior second baseman Tyler Cerny broke a record on Tuesday against Ball State when he was hit by a pitch. It was the 39th hit-by-pitch of his career, breaking a 16-year-old program record. He is tied for second (14) in the Big Ten this season in hit-by-pitches.
MORE OF MOORE: Freshman third baseman Will Moore has quietly gone about business in the last 10 games. The Canadian is batting .500 (15-30) in the last 10 games. 14 of those hits have been singles but he did hit his first career home run in a win over Michigan State on April 7th.
Scouting the Opponent
Illinois
• The defending Big Ten regular season champions come into the weekend on the heels of a dominant sweep of Maryland and a midweek defeat at Illinois State. The Fighting Illini put together their best series of the year, taking down the Terrapins by a combined score of 33-7.
• Illinois is 7-5 in the Big Ten and is playing its fifth conference series of the season. It already played its off weekend in league play, taking a weekend series against Valparaiso. The Fighting Illini have won back-to-back Big Ten weekends against Michigan State and Maryland.
• Led by junior infielder Jack Zebig and junior outfielder Nick Groves, Illinois has swung some hot bats this season. Three different players – including Zebig – are tied for the team lead in home runs with seven. Outfielders Vytas Valincius and Cameron Chee-Aloy both return from last year’s Big Ten title team.
• Right-handed pitchers Ben Plumley and Tyler Schmitt have started all eight weekends on the mounds for Illinois. They have been hit around but have eaten up big innings in Friday and Saturday contests. Plumley pitched briefly in last year’s against the Hoosiers. Illinois has a collective team earned run average of 6.56.
Inside the Series
Illinois
• These longstanding rivals will go at it for the 216th, 217th and 218th times this weekend in Champaign. Illinois holds the all-time advantage at 124-90-1 but IU has won six of the last 10 matchups.
• IU and Illinois have played every season since 2017, alternating between each other’s home sites. Under the new Big Ten scheduling format, it’s likely to be considered a protected rivalry heading forward.
• The Hoosiers are 3-3 at Illinois Stadium under head coach Jeff Mercer. They took the series there in 2023 but dropped two of three in his debut season in 2019. Illinois got the better of IU last year in Bloomington.
PURDUE TRACK AND FIELD
HANTSON LEADS DECATHLON AFTER DAY 1 IN CALIFORNIA
ASUSA, Calif. –Andreas Hantson leads the decathlon after the opening day of the Bryan Clay Multis in California.
Men’s Notes
• Hantson leads all decathletes through the first five events with 4,160 points. He leads the ‘B Group’ by 189 points.
• He stared the day with a personal-best, wind-aided, 11.05 in the 100m. He followed with a personal-best, wind-aided, long jump (7.37m (24-02.25). A 13.10m (42-11.75) personal best in the shot put followed for Hantson. He then fell just short of a personal best in the high jump 2.12m (6-11.50).
• Logan Sandlin ranks 11th in ‘A Group’ of the heptathlon after the first five events. He fell just below is personal bests and had his best event finish at third in the 400m (49.32).
Women’s Notes
• Jalen Elrod is fifth in the heptathlon “Group A’ with 3,342 points. She won the 200m (24.04) to shatter her previous personal best of 24.85. She also started the day with a wind-aided 13.77 for a personal best in the 100mH.
• Angeline Amefia ranks seventh through the first four events in the heptathlon ‘Group A.’ She finished fourth in the 100mH despite facing a +1.5 m/s headwind for a personal-best time (13.79). She also had a personal best in the shot put (10.64m / 34-11.00).
Next Up
Purdue concludes the Bryan Clay Multis on Friday starting at 4:15 p.m. ET.
PURDUE SOFTBALL
FOURTH INNING RALLY EARNS BOILERS 8-0 WIN OVER EIU
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue (21-17, 5-8 Big Ten) earned a quick 8-0 win against Eastern Illinois (19-17, 11-3 OVC) during the midweek match up on Thursday.
Kendall Klochack had a standout game in the circle, pitching a career-high eight strikeouts. The fourth inning sent twelve batters to the plate and a final run in the fifth frame earned the Boilermakers to the win.
BOILER BITS v. Opponent
Offensive Highlights:
Sage Scarmardo: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 H
Delaney Reefe: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R, 2 H
Moriah Polar: 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 H, 2 SB
Jordyn Ramos: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
Pitching Breakdown:
Kendall Klochack (W, 7-4): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 K, 18 BF
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Purdue came out ready to play in the first inning with a strikeout from Klochack, followed by two outs in the outfield. At the plate, Khloe Banks and Moriah Polar singled to the outfield, but were left on base.
Klochack earned another strikeout at the start of the second frame, while the Panthers registered one hit in the inning. The third inning brought no runs or hits from either team.
When Purdue took the field again, Klochack sent down Eastern Illinois with three straight strikeouts. The Boilers made headlines in the bottom of the fourth frame with seven runs on nine hits. Three two-RBI hits came from Sage Scarmardo, Kylie Franks and Delaney Reefe. Julia Gossett and Reefe both tallied two hits in the inning.
Klochack struck out the first two batters in the seventh frame. The Panthers added another hit to the scoreboard, but did not score. Scarmardo led off with a successful bunt in the bottom of the inning and scored on Jordyn Ramos’s double, forcing mercy rule and giving Purdue the victory.
UP NEXT:
The Boilermakers will play IU Indy on Tuesday, Apr. 15 in West Lafayette at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be live on B1G+.
PURDUE BASEBALL
BASEBALL HOSTS RUTGERS FOR LONE HOME WEEKEND OF APRIL
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Rutgers (16-17, 5-7 Big Ten) at Purdue (20-12, 3-9 Big Ten)
3-Game Series / Friday to Sunday, April 11-13 / Stream B1G+
Alexander Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
Series Opener: Friday, April 11 at 6 p.m. ET
Middle Game: Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday, April 13 at 1 p.m. ET
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Carter Doorn (Sr, RHP) vs. Rutgers’ Landon Mack (Fr, RHP)
Saturday: TBA for Both Teams
Sunday: TBA for Both Teams
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Purdue leads 13-11
All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 7-5
Purdue under Greg Goff vs. Rutgers: Purdue leads 6-3 (since 2020)
2024: Purdue swept a 3-game set (April 5-7 in Piscataway)
Last Series in West Lafayette: Purdue won 2 of 3 (April 2023)
First Meeting: Purdue 15, Rutgers 9 (March 17 in Boca Raton, Fla.)
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday: Jurassic Ballpark – Purdue Jurassic Park-themed T-Shirt Giveaway
Sunday: Bark at the Park Dog Day & Purdue Pete Wine Stopper Giveaway
All giveaways are while supplies last for early-arriving fans (gates open one hour before first pitch)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Baseball’s lone home weekend of April features a visit from a Rutgers team that is playing on the road for the third time in the last four weekends.
First pitch at Alexander Field is set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The Boilermakers are also set to host Arizona State on Monday at 1 p.m. for a rare Monday matinee.
Both teams need a series victory as they close out the first half of their Big Ten schedules. Purdue has lost eight straight games overall and eight of its last nine in Big Ten play. Rutgers has just one series victory – March 28-30 in Piscataway vs. a Washington team that swept the Boilers last weekend in Seattle – since weekend No. 2 of the season. However, the Scarlet Knights have managed to avoid being swept in their series vs. Iowa, at Oregon and at Nebraska. Iowa, Oregon and Washington are all among the top four in the conference standings.
During the eight-game skid, Purdue has lost four one-run games and another on a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. It’s a rough stretch that has some similarities to March 17-30 of last season. The Boilermakers lost four one-run games and another on a walk-off homer while going 1-8 during those two weeks, sitting at 1-4 in Big Ten play going into the final day of March. After winning the series finale at Ohio State to prevent a sweep, they went to New Jersey and became the first team to sweep Rutgers in a three-game Big Ten series at home since April 2017. It was the first of three consecutive sweeps for Purdue during an 11-game conference win streak.
But it did not come easy. The Boilermakers needed a 4-6-3 double play to escape a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning of the series opener, ultimately winning in the 10th. Purdue overcame deficits of 3-0, 5-3 and 6-5 to win game 2, with Connor Caskenette hitting a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning. The visitors led wire-to-wire Sunday while completing the sweep. Avery Cook and Carter Doorn teamed up for five innings of one-hit relief in the game 2 win. A year later, they’re serving as the Boilers’ closer and Friday starter.
Rutgers and Indiana are the only opponents on Purdue’s 2025 schedule it will have played every year going back to 2021.
Freshman Landon Mack (RHP) and grad transfer Quinn Berglin (RHP) are two of the pitchers to watch for the Scarlet Knights. Mack has been a constant in the weekend rotation this season and recently gave RU three straight quality starts vs. Cal Baptist, Oregon and Washington – winning Big Ten Pitcher and Freshman of the Week for his shutout at Oregon. He’s expected to move to Friday in the rotation this weekend. Berglin has been stretched out over the last two weekends, working five quality innings to earn victories in the series finales vs. Washington (long relief) and Nebraska (starter).
Offensively for Rutgers, Trevor Cohen (.358/.425/.485) shares the Big Ten lead in doubles with Purdue’s Logan Sutter (14). Cohen is the toughest batter to strike out in the Big Ten, fanning just six times in 154 plate appearances. Ty Doucette (.324/.404/.485) has hit six of the Knight’s 16 home runs and lead the team with 29 RBI, 11 more than of his teammates.
Rutgers has been elite defensively this season, leading the Big Ten with a .985 fielding percentage.
Albert Choi enters the weekend with 97 steals in his collegiate career – 82 at NJIT from 2020-24 and 15 for Purdue this season.
The Boilermakers play at Penn State and Illinois the final two weekends of April and then don’t leave the state of Indiana again for the remainder of the regular season after returning from Champaign on April 27.
WEEKEND #6 OF BIG TEN PLAY
• Rutgers (5-7) at Purdue (3-9)
• Washington (8-4) at UCLA (10-2)
• USC (9-6) at Penn State (9-6)
• Indiana (9-6) at Illinois (7-5)
• Oregon (10-5) at Maryland (3-9)
• Nebraska (4-8) at Iowa (12-3)
• Northwestern (6-6) at Michigan State (4-8)
• Minnesota (2-10) at Ohio State (2-10)
• Mount St. Mary’s at Michigan (8-7) – Non-Conference
ACTIVE STREAKS OF NOTE
• Lukas Cook: 10-game on-base; 8-game on-base in Big Ten play; 7-game on-base at home; 5-game hit at home
NOTABLE NATIONAL RANKINGS ENTERING THE WEEKEND
• Lukas Cook: 7th in Batting Average (.441)
• Logan Sutter: 18th in Doubles (14), 37th in RBI (42)
• Brandon Anderson: 13th in Hit By Pitch (13)
• Avery Cook: 30th in Appearances (16), 33rd in Saves (5)
BOILERMAKERS AMONG THE BIG TEN LEADERS
• Lukas Cook: 1st in Batting Avg (.441), 5th in Hits (49)
• Logan Sutter: T-1st in Doubles (14), 4th in RBI (42), 5th in OPS (1.211), 6th in SLUG (.728), 9th in Total Bases (83), 10th in Batting Avg (.368)
• Brandon Anderson: 1st in HBP (16), 6th in OBP (.510), 8th in Runs (38)
• Albert Choi: 2nd in Steals (15)
• Avery Cook: 2nd in Appearances (16), T-3rd in Saves (5)
• Eli Anderson: 4th in Sac Flies (4)
• Brandon Rogers: T-9th in Steals (10)
TEAM LEADERS AT HOME
• Lukas Cook: .490/.534/.633, 4 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 2 HBP, 13 R, 2 Sac Flies, Sac Bunt, 4 SB
• Brandon Rogers: .357/.426/.500, 3 2B, HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 12 R, Sac Bunt, 9 SB
• Brandon Anderson: .310/.517/.548, 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 11 BB, 7 HBP, 14 R, SB
• Ty Gill: .286/.357/.343, 3B, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 7 R, 2 Sac Flies, Sac Bunt, 5 SB
• Logan Sutter: .244/362/.578, 3 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 9 BB, HBP, 8 R, 3 Sac Flies
• Isaac Milburn: 7 App, 15 1/3 IP, 16 H, 10 BB, 17 K, 4.70 ERA, .276 B/Avg
• Avery Cook: 9 App, 10 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 9 K, 4.50 ERA, .250 B/Avg
NOTRE DAME BASEBALL
IRISH HIT THE ROAD FOR ACC SERIES AT BOSTON COLLEGE
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame baseball team hits the road for an ACC series at Boston College. Game one of the three-game stint is now scheduled for Friday at 2:00 p.m. with a second game to follow Friday evening.
THE MATCHUP
Notre Dame comes into the weekend 15-15 overall and 3-12 in ACC.
Boston College is 15-17 overall and 5-10 in league contests.
The Irish swept the Eagles in 2024 at Frank Eck Stadium by 14-3 (7 innings), 9-4, and 13-0 (7 innings) scores.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 41-21.
LAST TIME OUT
The Irish came up short in a midweek contest against Northwestern.
The Irish struck first and made a late push against the Wildcats but fell short in a 9-7 final. Notre Dame batters were hit by seven pitches, including three by Estevan Moreno. Brady Koester needed just 14 pitches and used two strikeouts to retire the side in an inning of work out of the bullpen.
2025 CAPTAINS
The 2025 Irish baseball team will look to four captains to help guide the way this spring. John P. and Catherine Murphy Head Baseball Coach Shawn Stiffler announced graduate students OF Brady Gumpf and RHP Jackson Dennies, senior RHP Radek Birkholz, and junior INF Estevan Moreno as team captains for the season.
TOP TALENT
The Irish have four players listed in the D1baseball.com Preseason rankings by position.
Junior Estevan Moreno was 24th on the Top 50 shortstops list.
Sophomore Carson Tinney was tabbed 47th on the Top 50 catchers listing.
Graduate student Jared Zimbardo was 40th on the Top 100 outfielders report.
Junior Rory Fox was 106th on the Top 150 starting pitchers list.
NOTRE DAME MEN’S LAX
GAME 9 PREVIEW: VIRGINIA
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 9 Notre Dame returns to Arlotta Stadium for an ACC matchup against Virginia at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 12. The game will air on ESPNU and admission to the game is free.
GAME DETAILS
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Arlotta Stadium
Schedule: April 12 — 5 p.m. ET
Tickets: FREE
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
THE VIRGINIA SERIES
• Saturday will be the 23rd meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Virginia. The Irish and Cavaliers have played to a standstil in the series as the record sits at 11-11 entering the weekend.
• The Irish have won each of the last three matchups, including two games last season in back-to-back weekends.
• The two sides faced off in the final game of the regular season with the Irish pulling off an 11-9 win in Charlottesville and then the following week in the semifinals of the ACC Championships in Charlotte, where Notre Dame won by a score of 18-9.
• Devon McLane paced the attack with two performances with four points in the wins over the Cavaliers, posting three goals and an assist in the regular-season finale before scoring four goals to send the Irish to the ACC title game.
KAVANAGH LEADS THE ATTACK
• Chris Kavanagh picked up right where he left off to open the 2025 season, posting a career-high nine points (4G, 5A) to finish just one point shy of the program record held by his brother Pat.
• The senior leads the Irish in points this season with 40 off 22 goals and 18 assists.
• Kavanagh turned in the greatest statistical offensive season in Notre Dame history last year, setting the program record for points in a season with 81.
• The attackman totaled 44 goals and 37 assists during the 2024 season.
• Chris joined his brothers Matt (42G, 33A – 2015) and Pat (31G, 49A – 2024) as the only players in program history to record 30+ goals and assists in the same season.
• The Rockville Centre native earned NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player honors after a prolific four-game stretch in the tournament in 2024, recording 22 points off 14 goals and 8 assists.
• The attackman put an exclamation mark on his season with a 5-goal performance in the national title win over Maryland, tying the program record for goals in an NCAA tournament game.
• Kavanagh set the program record for points in an NCAA Tournament game against Georgetown in the quarterfinals, totaling eight points off five goals and three assists. The five goals tied the program record for most goals scored in an NCAA Tourney game.
• The senior has 216 points off 134 goals and 83 assists and currently ranks fourth in program history.
• Kavanagh not only paced Notre Dame’s offense in 2023 but his 46 goals ranked third all-time in program history for a single season, just three behind Randy Colley’s record of 49 goals set in 1995.
• The Rockville Centre, New York, native has scored a goal in 30 straight games and has recorded a point in 52 of 53 games in his career. Kavanagh has posted multiple points in 48 of 53 games in his career.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
• Notre Dame is allowing just 9.13 goals per game this season, ranking 14th the country.
• The Irish finished 2024 allowing just 8.94 goals per game, leading the country, despite playing six games against opponents that ranked in the top 15 in goals scored per game.
• Notre Dame held opponents to 10 or fewer goals in 12 of 17 games during the 2024 campaign, including seven of the last eight on the way to the title.
• The Irish limited the opposition to 12 or fewer goals in 16 of 17 outings last season.
• Preseason All-Americans Ben Ramsey, Will Donovan and Shawn Lyght each return to the defensive unit along with the addition of Greg Campisi from Harvard.
TAYLOR MADE
• Graduate student Jake Taylor is one of the great finishers in lacrosse, totaling 121 goals in his Fighting Irish career.
• The attackman scored seven goals in the season opener to become the 11th player in program history to reach the 100-goal milestone.
• In the 2025 ACC opener against Duke, Taylor scored five goals and added two assists to earn Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week and ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
• Taylor has 18 hat tricks in his Fighting Irish career and has recorded four hat tricks this season.
• The grad student is shooting 53.7 percent on the season, ranking third in the country.
• The Denver native finished the 2024 season with 41 goals on 83 shots, giving him a shooting percentage of .494 which ranked fourth in the country.
• Taylor scored one of the biggest goals in program history, sending the 2023 NCAA semifinal into overtime with a twister against Virignia in the final minute of regulation.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
• The Blue and Gold has scored 118 goals through eight games this season, averaging 14.75 per game, the sixth best mark in the country.
• Notre Dame ranks sixth in the nation in points per game (23.5), second in shot percentage (.354) and seventh in assists per game (8.75).
• The Irish scored 24 goals in the season opener and recorded 19 assists to total 43 points, finishing just three points shy of the program record for points in a game.
STRONG STARTS
• The Irish have dominated the opening 15 minutes of play throughout the season, outscoring opponents 37-16 over eight games.
• The 21-goal scoring margin is the largest for ND in any quarter during the 2025 campaign.
• Nineteen of the 37 goals have come from a trio of Irish player, as Jake Taylor leads the way with seven goals and Chris Kavanagh and Will Angrick have each added six in the opening frames.
DOMINATING THE DOT
• Senior FOGO Will Lynch has won 89-of-145 faceoffs this season for a win percentage of .614 along with 56 ground balls.
• Lynch is currently ranked 10th in the country for faceoff winning percentage and 10th in ground balls per game (7.0).
• The senior enters Saturday with 326 career ground balls, the most by any player in program history. Lynch set the record in the win over Georgetown, passing Billy Ahmuty (280 GBs – 1991-94) for the top spot.
• Lynch is coming off his best season in his Fighting Irish career, winning 61.2 percent of his faceoff attempts to lead the ACC and rank fourth in the country.
• The FOGO won 202-of 330 attempts and scooped up a team-high 113 ground balls.
• Over the four NCAA Tournament games Lynch was even better than his season average, winning 63-of-97 (64.9%).
• Lynch added a career-high four goals last season, including one in the ACC Tournament and one in the NCAA Tournament.
• Lynch was named to the All-ACC Team and to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
• The standout won over 50 percent of faceoffs in 12-of-16 games last season.
FAMILY STYLE
• Everyone is eating in the Irish attack this season, as 17 different players have recorded multiple points on the season.
• Eight Irish players have racked up double-digit points through seven games.
• The Irish have racked up 62 assists on the 104 goals with Chris Kavanagh leading the way with 18.
• In the win over Marquette, all three starting attackmen and all three starting midfielders finished with mulitple goals.
• Notre Dame’s midfield has accounted for 45 of 104 goals this season.
ANGRICK’S BREAKOUT SEASON
• Playing the best lacrosse of his career, senior Will Angrick already has set a career high for points in a season with 17.
• His 10 goals seven assists each mark career highs for the senior.
• Angrick has recorded multiple points in five of eight games during the 2025 campaign, as has 2+ goals in four outings.
• The senior leads the Irish midfield in scoring with 10 goals.
LYGHTS OUT
• It didn’t take long for Shawn Lyght to make a name for himself in the college lacrosse world, as he cemented himself as one of the top cover defenseman in the country during his 2024 freshman season.
• Lyght consistently drew the No. 1 option for the opposing attack throughout the season.
• The defenseman held Connor Shellenberger to just one goal between the two matchups, both resulting in wins and he limited Joey Spallina to just one point in their only matchup of the year.
• The sophomore opened the 2025 season against Cleveland State holding his main defensive assignment to zero points.
• Lyght was the only sophmore to earn first team All-America status in the Inside Lacrosse preseason honors.
FROM THE GRIDIRON TO THE LACROSSE FIELD
• Three Notre Dame lacrosse players on the 2025 squad also suited up for the football team in the fall, as Jordan Faison, Tyler Buchner and Matt Jeffery are both dual-sport athletes.
• Faison finished the season with 30 receptions for 356 yards and a TD, including a seven-catch, 89-yard performance in the first round of the College Football Playoff win against IU.
• Buchner was used in trick plays on special teams, picking up a first down on a fake FG against GT and completing a 23-yard pass on a fake punt against USC.
• Jeffery played in three games on special teams during his freshman season, seeing the field against Purdue, Stanford and Navy.
• All three have seen action during the 2025 lacrosse season, as Buchner has played in five games at SSDM and Faison and Jeffery made their debuts in the win at Georgetown.
BUTLER SOFTBALL
BUTLER SOFTBALL CONTINUES ROAD TRIP AT CREIGHTON
BIG EAST Series: Creighton
DATE: Friday-Sunday, April 11-13
LOCATION: Omaha, Neb. / Creighton Sports Complex
LIVE STATS: butlersports.com
LIVE VIDEO: FloSports
The Butler softball team continues its seven-game road trip at Creighton, playing a three-game BIG EAST series this weekend. The Bulldogs (21-15, 10-5 BIG EAST) most recently went 1-2 at UConn and then lost a midweek contest to Miami (OH). The Bluejays (15-20, 5-7 BIG EAST) swept Georgetown last weekend and then lost to No. 21 Nebraska this past Wednesday.
Bulldog Bits
(through games 4/8/25)
Cate Lehner leads the BIG EAST (12th nationally) with 26 stolen bases. She is third in the conference (58th) with 50 hits and is also third (82nd) for toughest to strike out.
Rylyn Dyer is second in the BIG EAST (26th nationally) with 3 saves.
Ella White is third in the BIG EAST (35th nationally) with 0.77 walks per game.
Leigh Vande Hei is fourth in the BIG EAST with a .403 batting average.
Gwen Baker is fourth in the BIG EAST (86th nationally) with 10 wins.
Makena Alexander is sixth in the BIG EAST with 8 home runs.
vs. UConn
Gwen Baker’s complete-game victory was her fourth this season. She picked up her tenth overall win.
Sydney Carter’s home run was her second of the season, but it was the first over-the-wall shot of her career. She had an inside-the-park home run vs. Detroit Mercy earlier this season.
SCOUTING CREIGHTON (15-20, 5-7 BIG EAST)
Series- Creighton leads, 15-13
2024 (BIG EAST): Creighton 4-2
2024 (Indianapolis): Butler 1-0 / Creighton 11-8 (9 in.) / Creighton 1-0 (9 in.)
2023 (Omaha): Butler 10-2 / Butler 10-0 / Creighton 9-1
2022 (Indianapolis): Butler 2-1 / Butler 3-1 / Butler 3-0
Creighton won the most recent three contests and three of four in 2024.
Butler’s most recent win was game one of the 2024 series in Indianapolis.
2025 BIG EAST series results:
Providence (L-W-L), Villanova (L-L-L), UConn (W-L-L), Georgetown (W-W-W)
Additional wins for the Bluejays this season include: Saint Mary’s, Morehead St., Kennesaw St., Purdue Fort Wayne
Creighton split with: Drake, UC Santa Barbara, Northern Kentucky
Additional losses: Omaha, Seattle, St. Thomas, UNLV, Coastal Carolina
Creighton vs. (opponents) Butler
runs: 176-169 182
hits: 295-226 285
RBI: 160-151 160
SB: 47-27 65
ERA: 3.97-4.19 3.82
Batting Leaders:
#3 Sydra Seville (.383) 49H, 6-2B, 19RBI, 16SB
#8 Lily West (.350) 42H, 3HR, 28RBI, 8SB
#18 Sydney Potter (.267) 7HR, 32RBI
Pitching Leaders:
#10 Brooke Shifflett (6-5) 3.56 ERA, 46K
#15 Brooklyn Patchen (6-7) 3.59 ERA, 60K
#16 Kenzie Schopfer (2-6) 4.49 ERA, 44K
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL
YAME BUTLER SIGNS TO JOIN BULLDOG PROGRAM FOR 2025-26 SEASON
Yame Butler, who averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game at Drexel last season, will join the Butler Basketball program for his final season of eligibility.
Butler, a 6-5 guard from Greenbelt, Md., has signed an athletic aid agreement for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
“Yame brings both experience and physicality to our program,” said Butler coach Thad Matta. “He has the ability and willingness to guard multiple positions and rebound. Offensively, he is aggressive in getting downhill to both score at the rim and get to the free throw line. Yame will be impactful for us both on the court and in the locker room, and we’re excited to get him on campus.”
Butler started 32 of his 33 games and averaged 31.3 minutes per contest during the 2024-25 season. He finished second on the Drexel roster in scoring, steals, field goal percentage and three-point field goals; Butler was third on the Dragons in rebounding and assists. His production drastically increased as Butler took on a larger role at Drexel this season. He averaged 6.1 points and 1.6 rebounds per game during the 2023-24 season in 15 minutes per contest.
Butler will join the Bulldogs program after playing three seasons at Drexel. He began his career at Fordham. Butler is the second transfer addition who has been announced for the Bulldogs’ 2025-26 roster, joining Horizon League leading scorer Jalen Jackson from Purdue Fort Wayne.
Additional updates on both Butler’s 2025-26 roster and the team’s non-conference schedule will be announced soon.
BUTLER WOMEN’S LAX
BUTLER SUITS UP FOR A LONG ROAD TRIP BEGINNING WITH GEORGETOWN
The Butler women’s lacrosse team prepares for a trip to Washington D.C. for another Big East battle against Georgetown. Bulldog fans can attend the game on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Cooper Field or tune into the stream on FloCollege.
Bulldog Bits
Butler lost in both home games last week to UConn and UC Davis to fall to 0-10 this season
Elise Latham ranks second in the NCAA in free position percentage at 81.8%
She leads the team with 22 goals this season including nine on a free position
Alyssa Lentz leads the Big East and ranks 16th in the country with an average of 10.12 saves per game
She totaled 21 saves last week with against UConn (11) and UC Davis (10)
Maggie Lewis earned her second career hat trick after netting three goals against UC Davis
Lewis is second on the team with 11 goals this season
Grace Hensley had a stellar day on defense against UC Davis recording four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers
Lentz has amassed at least 10 or more saves in her last four games
Latham has scored at least one goal in every game this season
Scouting Georgetown
The Hoyas enter the game with a 7-6 overall record and 2-1 in the Big East
Georgetown holds an 8-0 all-time record over the Bulldogs
Last meeting: GU wins 18-10 in Indianapolis
As a team, the Hoyas rank second in the conference for goal per game
Hanna Bishop leads the team in points with 23 goals and 25 assists this season
Grace Loschert earned the most recent Big East Freshman of the Week honors
She totaled 11 goals in her last two games including a career-high seven against Xavier last Saturday
Up Next
The Bulldogs will have another busy week on the road with two games next week at Central Michigan on Wednesday, Apr. 16 at 1 p.m. ET and Saturday, Apr. 19 at 1 p.m. ET.
BALL STATE MEN’S TENNIS
MEN’S TENNIS CLINCHES SPOT AT MAC TOURNEY NEXT WEEKEND WITH WIN OVER NIU
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men’s tennis team (11-9, 4-5 MAC) completed a 5-2 comeback victory over Northern Illinois (9-13, 1-8 MAC) Thursday afternoon at the Foster Adams Family Tennis Complex and Bill Richards Tennis Courts.
The Cardinals played a highly competitive doubles competition but fell in the final minutes to the Huskies.
Finishing first, was the NIU twosome of Chia Bo Suo Nan and Pratyaksh LNU as the duo defeated BSU’s No. 3 doubles tandem of Andrew Hayward and Mason Tran by a 6-4 decision.
Two courts remained and were neck-and-neck with the No. 2 slot tied at 5-5 and the top court was in a match tiebreaker. Unfortunately, Nathaniel Webster alongside Jacks Lancaster fell to Iker Arrastia Gaztambide and Federico Scotuzzi, 7-6 (7-1) to give the Huskies the doubles point.
Ball State’s comeback win began early on in singles play as Sajin Smith breezed by Sam Klein at the No. 5 slot with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Shortly after, Andrew Hayward gave BSU its first lead 2-1 with his exciting two set tiebreaker win over NIU’s No. 4 singles player LNU, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
After that, the Huskies managed to knot the score 2-2 with their defeat over Webster on the top court. But the Cardinals remained in good shape as they had already taken four of the six first frames against the Huskies.
With three courts remaining, Tran was playing a tight match over Federico Scotuzzi at No. 3 singles. Tran finally prevailed by beating Scotuzzi, 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Today’s match point would fall on either the shoulders of Lancaster on court two or Broc Fletcher who was in the sixth slot.
Lancaster earned a come-from-behind three-set thriller to claim match point for BSU. Lancaster fought back after dropping the first set 6-2 to Saul Berdullas, taking frames two (6-3) and three (6-2) to seal the win.
Fletcher rounded out the victories as he finished his competitor off 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 for the Cardinals fifth and final point.
The Ball State men’s tennis team will close out its Mid-American Conference regular season action when it hosts the UIC Flames on Saturday at the Foster Adams Family Tennis Complex and Bill Richards Tennis Courts. First serve is at 1 pm.
BALL STATE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
BALL STATE MVB CLOSES REGULAR SEASON AT LOYOLA CHICAGO
Last Meeting: Loyola Chicago 3, Ball State 1 (3/7/25)
Series History (Since 2002): Loyola Chicago leads the series 34-17
This Week in Ball State Men’s Volleyball: No. 17 Ball State will close the regular season in Chicago, Illinois to take on No. 6 Loyola Chicago on Saturday, April 12.
Last Serve:
• Last week the Cardinals were on the road to face the Buckeyes and the Mastodons. Ball State started the week in Columbus, Ohio trying to complete the regular season sweep over Ohio State. However, the Buckeyes were able to hold off the Cardinals’ offense for a 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19) defeat.
• Match two was in Fort Wayne, Indiana for a MIVA Indiana showdown. Purdue Fort Wayne completed the upset for its senior night, beating Ball State 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 16-25, 25-15).
FIRST SERVE VS LOYOLA CHICAGO:
• The Cardinals hosted Loyola Chicago in Worthen Arena earlier this year for the two teams’ first matchup of the regular season. Despite winning the first set, Ball State fell to the Ramblers 1-3 (25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 20-25).
• Ball State is currently 2-20 on the road against the Ramblers. The Cardinals were able to add their second away win last season when they took Loyola Chicago in five at Gentile Arena. Patrick Rogers and Tinaishe Ndavazocheva were the leaders of the charge, recording 18 and 17 kills respectively.
• The Cardinals are currently 4-6 in their last 10 matchups against the Ramblers.
Scouting Loyola Chicago:
• Loyola Chicago is currently on an eight-match win streak with the team’s last two wins coming over Queens on the road in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The Ramblers’ last loss was to Lewis, who upset Loyola Chicago 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20) in Gentile Arena.
• In the MIVA, Loyola Chicago leads the conference in most categories including points (17.52/set), hitting percentage (.365), assists (12.26/set), kills (13.12/set), blocks (2.60/set) and aces (1.80/set).
• The Ramblers’ numbers place them high in the NCAA rankings as well. The team is second in hitting percentage, third in assists, fourth in kills, third in blocks and seventh in aces.
• Redshirt-senior and offensive leader, Parker Van Buren, is a top player in the MIVA and NCAA. He leads the conference in kills (4.24/set) and points (5.06/set) and is second for hitting percentage (.415) and aces (.47/set). In the NCAA, Van Buren is top ten for kills, points and hitting percentage.
• Junior setter, Ryan McElligott, leads the MIVA in assists at an average of 10.73 per set. He is fourth in the NCAA.
• Senior middle blocker, Nicodemus Meyer, leads the MIVA and the NCAA in blocks at an average of 1.29 per set.
Ball State in the NCAA:
• Ball State is among the winningest men’s volleyball teams in the NCAA. Going into the 2025 season, the Cardinals claimed the fifth highest all-time winning percentage at .701 (1283-546). Loyola was fourth at .701 (577-246), Ohio State third at .703 (1189-502), Penn State second at .755 and UCLA led the NCAA with the highest winning percentage of .793 (1482-387). Ball State was also ranked fifth for the most amount of wins from a program in the last five years with 88 wins and a .704 percentage. Rounding out the top five were Lincoln Memorial with 89 wins, UCLA with 104, Penn State with 106 and Hawaii leading the past five years with 111 program wins.
Coach Cruz:
• Ball State head coach Donan Cruz enters his fourth season at the helm of the Cardinals and owns an overall record at BSU of 81-34 (.704) along with a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament Championship, three MIVA regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Looking ahead:
• The Cardinals will prepare for the postseason, which will begin Saturday, April 19 with the quarterfinals.
BALL STATE BASEBALL
BASEBALL HOSTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS STARTING FRIDAY FOR ONLY HOME SERIES OF APRIL
The Ball State baseball team is set to host Northern Illinois for a three-game set starting at 3 p.m. on Friday.
The Cardinals and Huskies are scheduled to play ensuing games at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Each game will feature a free single-camera broadcast, and links to that and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page. Spectators are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to donate for a canned food drive to support Muncie Mission.
Ball State (23-11, 10-2 Mid-American Conference) suffered a 7-5 setback at Indiana on Tuesday night after sweeping Eastern Michigan last weekend in Ypsilanti. This will be the first weekend back home for the Cardinals after three straight series on the road.
Northern Illinois (12-19, 3-9 MAC) fell 18-10 to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon but took two out of three games against Ohio over the weekend in DeKalb. The Huskies fell in three out of four games at Butler in late March to the only common opponent between the two teams so far this spring.
Head coach Ryan Copeland is in his second year leading the program, and NIU was picked to finish seventh in the MAC preseason poll.
The Huskies are an offensively-focused team, ranking first in the MAC and No. 27 in NCAA Division I with 52 home runs. Northern is fourth in the league in scoring at 7.9 runs per game. The NIU pitching staff has the eighth-best ERA in the MAC (7.59).
Junior catcher Logan Gregorio is near or at the top of the conference leaderboards in RBI (46, first, No. 13 nationally), total bases (95, first), home runs (13, second, No. 14 nationally) and total hits (45, third). Junior left-handed pitcher Max Vaisvila leads the league with a 4.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while redshirt junior righty Adam Brouwer’s 47 strikeouts are tops in the MAC.
Ball State’s next scheduled contest is 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Butler in a rematch of the March 19 game when the Cardinals won 17-7 in Muncie.
CARDIAC CARDS: Ball State topped Eastern Michigan 4-2 in 14 innings to clinch a doubleheader sweep at Eastern Michigan on Friday. The Cardinals followed that up with a comeback win in Sunday’s series finale to secure the sweep of the Eagles.
Friday’s outcome was the first win for the baseball team in an extra innings since April 7, 2023 at The Citadel, and the 14 innings were the most in a Ball State game since the 2018 Cardinals played 14 frames at Indiana on April 18.
Ball State rallied back from a 5-3 deficit entering the ninth inning on Sunday, taking a 6-5 lead on Alex Richter’s three-run home run to right field. with six total runs on its way to a 9-5 triumph at EMU.
BACK HOME AGAIN: This weekend’s series against Northern Illinois features three of the four home games for the Cardinals at Shebek Stadium in the month of April.
Ball State hosted Bellarmine on April 1 away from Muncie for games for the entire second half of the month.
DUAL ACES: The duo of Keegan Johnson and Jacob Hartlaub have solidified their status as two of the top starting pitchers in the Mid-American Conference as they stand at or near the top of the MAC leaderboards in multiple categories.
Johnson leads the league in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.91) and is second in ERA (2.96) and third in WHIP (1.12) while Hartlaub is second in WHIP (1.10) and third in ERA (3.04) among qualifiers so far this year. Johnson’s six wins are the most in the league and tied for fourth nationally, and both pitchers have struck out 46 batters, placing them in a tie for second place in the MAC.
CLEAN FIELDING AND TURNING TWO: The Cardinals enter the weekend ranking first in the country with a .987 fielding percentage.
Ball State has committed 15 errors in 1,196 opportunities this year through the first 34 games. Ball State is fourth nationally in double plays turned at 33.
RICHTER REACHES BASE: Senior Alex Richter has been hit by a pitch 21 times this year, which is the most in NCAA Division I.
The third baseman is only three HBP away from tying Ryan Read’s program record of 24 set in 1995.
HUSKIES HEADING TO THE HORIZON LEAGUE: This weekend’s series against Northern Illinois will likely be the final games for the Northern Illinois baseball team as Mid-American Conference members in Muncie.
The NIU athletic department will switch conferences to the Horizon League beginning with the 2026-27 school year, making 2026 the last season the Huskies are set to compete in the MAC. Ball State will likely play in DeKalb next spring for the final MAC series against Northern Illinois.
GREGO HITTING HIS STRIDE: Junior Dylan Grego hit the game-winning single in Ball State’s 4-2 win at Eastern Michigan in 14 innings on Friday and has developed into one of the top shortstops in the conference.
Grego is the league leader with 50 hits while batting .365 (No. 7 in the MAC) with an 1.014 OPS through 34 games.
BALL STATE SOFTBALL
SOFTBALL WELCOMES MAC-LEADER MIAMI FOR WEEKEND SERIES
» THIS WEEKEND IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team will play nine of its final 14 regular season games at the Ball State Softball Stadium starting this weekend with a three-game series versus league-leading Miami … The Cardinals and RedHawks are scheduled to play a 3 p.m. game Friday and a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.
» UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: Friday’s game versus Miami will serve as Hometown Heroes Day with the Cardinals honoring several local first responders both with a ceremonial first pitch and during the game … Saturday’s doubleheader will serve as Community Day, with the Ball State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee partnering with the Muncie Mission to collect non-perishable food items at the main entrance to the stadium.
» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1201-1181-4 (.504) overall record dating back to 1975 … The Cardinals have tallied 30-or-more wins in 16 seasons, most recently a 37-18 mark in 2021 … Of the 16 seasons with 30-or-more wins, 11 have come in the past 17 years.
» QUOTING COACH PEÑA: “Our goal this season is to have fun competing. If we can compete every single pitch, and have fun doing it, I believe we are going to have a really good season. It’s truly about getting better every weekend and not putting so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect.”
» AGAINST THE REDHAWKS: While the Cardinals own a slim 59-57 advantage in the all-time series, the RedHawks have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two squads … Last season, Miami swept an April 16 doubleheader in Oxford, while also topping Ball State 8-0 (5) in the title game of the 2024 MAC Softball Championship … Ball State’s last win was a 10-0 (5) victory in the nightcap of an April 26, 2023, doubleheader at the Ball State Softball Stadium … Overall, the Cardinals hold a 31-26 edge in games played in Muncie.
BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: Ball State was picked to finish fourth among 11 teams in the Mid-American Conference’s annual preseason poll … The Cardinals, who finished sixth in the league last season with a 12-13 MAC record, are looking for a third consecutive MAC Softball Championship berth, with the league’s top six teams advancing to Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, for the three-day event which runs May 7-10 … BSU also picked up one of the 11 votes to win the MAC Tournament title.
» WATCH OUT FOR TIMMONS: McKayla Timmons was named a player to watch this season, ranking 36th on the Softball America Top 100 Preseason list and as the No. 8 ranked utility/designated player in the country by D1Softball.com … Most recently, Softball America named her the nation’s seventh-best catcher in both its March and April position rankings while D1Softball.com named her the nation’s fifth-best catcher in its player power rankings … Timmons enters the weekend ranked first on Ball State’s career list in on base percentage (.517), second in slugging percentage (.797), second in home runs (54), second in batting average (.389), third in RBI (171) and sixth in runs scored (148) … She also owns the program record for being hit by a pitch at 41.
» EARNING THE ACCOLADES: So far, McKayla Timmons has earned the accolades, ranking first in the MAC and eighth nationally with a .489 batting average … Timmons, who is currently on a 60-game streak of reaching base safely, has blasted a team-leading 13 home runs so far this season and ranks fifth nationally in walks per game at 1.03 … In addition to her solid batting average, Timmons ranks first nationally in on base percentage (.667), fourth in slugging percentage (1.045), 17th in runs scored (45) and 28th in RBIs (46).
» SHINING BEHIND THE PLATE TOO: In addition to pacing the offense, McKayla Timmons has proven to be one of the nation’s top threats behind the plate and finished the 2024 season ranked as one of the nation’s best catchers by Softball America … She was fifth on SA’s final catchers list and 47th among the nation’s top 100 players … The effort was aided by Timmons throwing out 11 of the 37 runners attempting to steal a base on her last season … She has already caught seven runners trying to steal this season, while surrendering just 10 stolen bases.
» ON THE BASES: Ball State has proven to be one of the nation’s craftiest teams on the base paths, ranking first in the MAC and 18th among all NCAA Division I programs with a 2.18 stolen bases per game average … The Cardinals have successfully stolen 74 of the 83 bases it has attempted to steal, led by a MAC-best 18 stolen bases from McKayla Timmons … Overall, 14 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base, with redshirt junior second baseman McKenna Mulholland ranking second on the squad and third in the MAC with 14 … Conversely, Ball State has limited opposing squads to just 12 stolen bases in 19 attempts this season … Only 10 teams in the country have limited teams to less stolen bases, with the next best MAC school being Miami at 18.
» ON THE OFFENSIVE FRONT: Ball State has been putting on an offensive clinic so far this season, ranking 10th nationally by averaging 7.97 runs per game … The Cardinals have earned eight run-rule victories this season and have scored 10-or-more runs in 12 games … Overall, Ball State is out-scoring opponents 271 to 151 this season and owns an 21-4 record when scoring at least five runs … In fact, Ball State’s 271 runs scored are already the 11th-most in a season in program history, with the record being the 368 runs scored by the 2012 squad.
» TAKING THE HIT: Ball State’s offense is bolstered by its ability to get on base, and one area the Cardinals excel in is staying tough in the box and getting hit by pitches … The Cardinals currently lead the nation in being hit 63 total times, which is already a BSU single season record topping the previous mark of 55 set in 2015 … McKayla Timmons and McKenna Mulholland have each been plunked 12 times which is tied for first in the MAC and 11th nationally.
» THE WHITNEY EFFECT: Ella Whitney, who played her first two seasons of collegiate softball at FIU, ranks second in the MAC and 14th nationally with her 15 pitching victories … Over 110.1 innings of work, the two-time MAC Pitcher of the Week honoree has compiled a 2.41 ERA which ranks 111th in the country … Whitney has also limited opposing batters to a .224 average against which ranks second in the league, while owning the second-best WHIP in the MAC at 1.19.
» MORE ON WHITNEY: A two-way player for the Cardinals, Ella Whitney is also a big offensive threat, boasting a .321 average and ranking second on the team in both home runs (7) and RBIs (39) … She recorded Ball State’s first triple of the season and leads the squad with six doubles.
» SHUTTING ‘EM OUT: Freshman Breanna Severino picked up her first collegiate complete game shutout in BSU’s 7-0 victory at Butler (March 18) … She limited the Bulldogs to just seven hits over her 7.0 innings of work in the game … She also struck out one batter and worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth.
» LONG BALL NUMBERS: The Cardinals currently rank second in the MAC with 44 home runs, trailing only Miami’s 56 … Timmons leads the way and is second among all league players and 29th nationally with her 12 home runs … Overall, 10 different Ball State players have blasted at least one home run this season … On the opposite spectrum, Ball State’s pitching staff ranks first in the MAC and tied for 49th nationally by allowing just 16 home runs … Ohio is second in the league with 20 home runs allowed.
» SOME OF THE NATION’S TOUGHEST: Sophomore shortstop Maia Pietrzak and senior outfielder Kara Gunter enter the weekend as two of the nation’s toughest batters to strike out … Pietrzak is third in the MAC and 64th nationally at one strikeout per every 22.8 at bats, while Gunter is fourth in the MAC and 84th nationally at one strikeout per every 21.2 at bats.
» D-FENSE: Ball State enters the weekend ranked second in the MAC and 54th nationally with a .970 fielding percentage … The Cardinals have committed just 30 errors in its first 34 games, including 16 games without an error … The current program record for best fielding percentage in a season is .974 for the 2010 squad which committed just 40 errors.
INDIANA STATE SOFTBALL
SYCAMORES AND BEARS SET FOR WEEKEND CLASH IN TERRE HAUTE
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball continues its homestand this weekend, hosting Missouri State for a three-game series at Price Field, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, and noon Sunday.
The Sycamores enter the matchup at 12-25 overall and 6-6 in MVC play, ranking seventh in the conference, while the Bears come in at 11-26 overall and 9-6 in Valley play, sitting fourth in the standings.
Last Time Out:
Indiana State split its Tuesday doubleheader against Evansville, winning game one 5-3 before falling 6-0 in game two at Price Field.
In the opener, the Sycamores struck early with a two-run double from Livi Colip in the first. Evansville responded with a three-run third inning, but Indiana State reclaimed the lead in the sixth, capitalizing on defensive miscues and a clutch two-run single from Madison Poulson.
Hailey Griffin earned the win with six innings pitched, while Cassi Newbanks secured the save. Poulson and Morgan Goodrich led the offense with two hits each.
Game two saw Evansville take control, scoring three runs in both the third and fifth innings, highlighted by a three-run homer from Adams. Indiana State managed just four hits, including a triple from Hannah Welch, but couldn’t push across a run.
Lauren Sackett took the loss, allowing six runs (three earned) over six innings.
Sycamore Standouts:
Indiana State’s offense has been led by a balanced lineup, with multiple players contributing at the plate this season. Lauren Marsicek leads the team with a .286 batting average, tallying eight doubles and 10 RBIs.
Morgan Goodrich has been a key contributor, posting a .284 average with a team-high 19 walks and four stolen bases. Madison Poulson follows closely behind at .283, leading the Sycamores with 30 hits and seven stolen bases.
Brailey Mills boasts the highest on-base percentage (.410) while adding 10 walks and six RBIs. Abby Widmar has shown power at the plate, recording a team-best .440 slugging percentage with three doubles and two home runs.
Sophie Esposito and Hannah Welch have provided a strong mix of power and speed in the lineup, combining for 52 hits, 28 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases.
Esposito has recorded a .250 average with 26 hits, including three doubles, two triples, and two home runs, while driving in 13 runs. Welch has matched her with 26 hits, adding five doubles, two triples, and two home runs while leading the team in total bases (41) and stolen bases (8).
In the Circle:
Hailey Griffin leads the Sycamores with a 6-6 record and a 2.78 ERA. She ranks fourth in the MVC with 85 strikeouts in 93.1 innings, allowing 70 hits, 48 runs, and 31 walks. Opponents are hitting .204 against her. Griffin has made 20 appearances in the circle and completed 6 games, including 3 shutouts and one save.
Scouting Missouri State:
Missouri State has a team batting average of .258, with 245 hits in 948 at-bats across 37 games. The team has hit 36 doubles, 5 triples, and 21 home runs, totaling 127 RBIs and 354 total bases, for a .373 slugging percentage. The Bears are 27-33 in stolen base attempts.
McKenzie Vaughan excels as both a hitter and a pitcher for Missouri State. At the plate, she holds a .259 batting average with 30 hits in 116 at-bats, contributing 5 doubles, eight home runs, and 29 RBIs, while scoring 15 runs and slugging .526. She also has a .338 on-base percentage with 13 walks, and 18 strikeouts.
On the mound, Vaughan boasts a 3.87 ERA and a 7-7 record in 21 appearances, including 17 starts. She has completed 3 games and recorded 1 shutout, pitching 76.0 innings, allowing 105 hits, 51 runs, and 42 earned runs. With 25 walks and 32 strikeouts, she has held opponents to a .329 batting average, while also giving up 12 doubles, 1 triple, and 7 home runs.
Matchup History:
Indiana State’s all-time record against Missouri State in softball is 33-75. Their most recent matchup on May 8, 2024, ended in a 4-3 loss during the MVC Tournament. At home, the Sycamores have a 16-32 record, and on the road, they are 12-37.
The largest margin of victory for Indiana State in the series is 11-0 on April 21, 2007, and their smallest margin of victory is 6-5 on May 3, 2024. Over the course of these matchups, the Sycamores have scored 297 total runs, averaging 2.75 runs per game.
Last year, Indiana State won the series 2-1 at Missouri State. After falling 4-2 in game one, the Sycamores bounced back with a 6-5 victory in game two and secured the series win with a 3-1 win in game three.
Promotions:
April 11 – Mental Health Awareness: A meaningful day dedicated to promoting mental health awareness, self-care, and overall well-being.
April 12 – Tiny Trees & Kids Club Day: Kids Club and Tiny Tree members can enjoy a pre-game meet-and-greet with Sycamore Sam. After the game, they can run the bases and enjoy a cookie station.
April 13 – WPS Rollabana Giveaway: Fans will receive a free WPS Rollabana upon entry.
INDIANA STATE BASEBALL
INDIANA STATE RETURNS HOME TO THE BOB FOR KEY WEEKEND SERIES AGAINST SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returns to Bob Warn Field this weekend for a key Missouri Valley Conference baseball series against Southern Illinois. The weekend series will run through April 11-13 with the series opener set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday night. All three games are scheduled to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
The weekend promotional schedule features the third set of the 2025 Indiana State Baseball Card series to be given away on Friday, as well as serving as the annual Forest Game. Saturday is Autism Awareness Day with a ceremonial first pitch prior to the game. Sunday’s weekend finale features Youth Baseball Day with any youth in a baseball or softball uniform will be admitted free, and any accompanying parents or guardians can receive a $5 General Admission ticket. State Dance Marathon will also be on hand at Sunday’s game raising money for Riley Children’s Hospital.
The Sycamores (16-16, 5-4) are coming off an eight-game road trip which featured a series win at UIC, as well as midweek wins at SIUE and Purdue, while dropping the series at Belmont this past weekend. SIU (23-9, 6-3) dropped their weekend series against Missouri State, before rallying back to claim the Tuesday midweek win over Southeast Missouri State in Carbondale, Ill., 7-3.
Recapping the Midweek
Indiana State split the season series with Purdue after claiming the 9-8 extra inning win on Tuesday afternoon in West Lafayette. The Sycamore win avenged a 14-4 (8) loss to the Boilermakers at Bob Warn Field back on March 4, and gave Indiana State its 10th consecutive road win against Purdue dating back to the 2013 season.
The Sycamores trailed 7-3 after the fifth inning, but utilized a four-run eighth inning, highlighted by two-run doubles from Carter Beck and Nomar Garcia on their way to rallying back and taking the 8-7 lead.
Purdue evened the score again in the bottom of the frame on Avery Moore’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly. Neither team was able to push across the go-ahead in the ninth inning as Indiana State’s Ty Brooks and Purdue’s Isaac Milburn worked scoreless frames to send the game into extra innings.
Mason Roell sparked the Indiana State offense with a leadoff single in the top of the 10th. Pinch-runner Jordan Austin moved into scoring position after Beck was hit by a pitch, before Garcia’s grounder to third sparked chaos on the base paths. The Purdue relay to second base went into right field allowing Austin to cross the plate for the go-ahead run.
Brooks made short work of the Purdue offense in the bottom of the 10th inning on his way with a 1-2-3 frame including striking out Ty Gill to close out the contest.
Garcia and Roell both recorded three-hit games as Indiana State connected on 13 hits overall as a team against the Purdue pitching staff. Beck, Pena, and Martinez added multi-hit games on the afternoon in the win with Garcia and Pena both homering.
Brooks picked up the win in his first relief outing of the 2025 season retiring all six batters he faced over 2.0 innings of work. He capped an effort by nine Indiana State pitchers on the mound including Jacob Spencer, Emil Estrella, Carson Seeman, Brady Banker, Aaron Moss, Colby Morse, Zac Laird, and Gavin Morris.
Season Overall
Carlos Pena (.369) continues to pace the Indiana State offense as the senior outfielder enters the weekend on a 26-game on-base streak. He leads the Sycamores in hits (45), doubles (10), RBI (34), and slugging percentage (.680), while sitting among the team leaders in home runs (8), runs (25), and on-base percentage (.455).
Nomar Garcia (.357) has been on fire from the plate with hits in eight of his last nine games and has posted six doubles, 14 runs, and six stolen bases since returning to the field from injury. He added his first home run of the year in the first inning of Tuesday’s game at Purdue.
Keegan Garis (.308) and Jackson Taylor (.308) are also hitting above the .300 mark on the season as Indiana State is connecting at a .267 clip from the plate as a team. Garis paces Indiana State with nine home runs, while Taylor has added six doubles and 20 runs scored. Carter Beck is also among the team’s leaders with eight home runs, 31 runs, and 32 RBIs while sitting atop the Indiana State lineup.
The Indiana State pitching staff has combined to post a team 5.58 ERA on the season over 274.1 innings played. Seventeen different arms have taken the mound combining for a 227:147 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .263 opponent batting average.
Max McEwen (3-2, 4.82 ERA) and Ty Brooks (3-2, 4.42 ERA) have been among the team’s mainstays in the weekend rotation with both coming off strong starts this past weekend at Belmont. McEwen went a career-best 7.0 innings with 11 strikeouts in the Sycamores’ Friday win over Belmont, while Brooks worked 6.1 innings of three-hit baseball with six strikeouts on Saturday afternoon.
Jack Armstrong (2-0, 3.66 ERA) has been among the team leaders on the mound this season, while Aaron Moss (1-0, 6.75 ERA), Carson Seeman (0-0, 5.03 ERA), Colby Morse (2-2, 5.08 ERA), and Gavin Morris (4-3, 4.60 ERA) have all made multiple appearances and could be in play on the mound over the weekend.
Valley Play
The Sycamores have seen marked success at the plate in Missouri Valley Conference play paced by Carlos Pena’s .417 batting average. The senior outfielder connected on a pair of home runs this past weekend in Nashville and leads Indiana State in hits (15), while sitting among the leaders in home runs (3) and RBIs (8).
Jackson Taylor (.367), Jeremy Martinez (.360), Nomar Garcia (.345), and Keegan Garis (.313) have all connected above the .300 mark in conference play as the Sycamores are hitting .282 over the first nine games in the Missouri Valley. Taylor and Garcia lead Indiana State with 10 runs apiece, while Garcia is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. Keegan Garis (four HR, 12 RBIs) and Eli Gipson (12 RBIs) have also been adept at driving in runs in Valley play.
Nine different Sycamores have taken the mound in Missouri Valley competition this season over series against Valparaiso, UIC and Belmont. The Indiana State pitching staff has combined for a 4.32 ERA over 77.0 innings in conference competition while allowing opponents to hit just .249 from the plate.
Max McEwen (1-1, 6.46 ERA) and Ty Brooks (1-0, 2.12 ERA) have taken the mound first in all three weekend series and combined for a 37:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 32.1 innings. Breyllin Suriel (0-1, 3.46 ERA) and Colby Morse (0-1, 7.94 ERA) have also drawn starts in weekend competition.
Bullpen mainstays Gavin Morris (2-1, 0.79 ERA) and Carson Seeman (0-0, 0.00 ERA) both sit among the conference statistical leaders in Valley play. Jack Armstrong (1-0, 4.76 ERA) has also picked up a win while allowing opponents to hit .190 from the plate in conference competition.
Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois heads into the midweek series with a 23-9 mark on the season, 6-3 record in Missouri Valley play. The Salukis are coming off their first weekend series loss after dropping the first two games in the weekend series in Carbondale to Missouri State. SIU rallied back to claim the series finale and have added series wins over Bradley and UIC on the season.
The Salukis were recognized as one of the Missouri Valley Conference’s top teams in the coaches’ annual preseason poll. SIU received 86 total points and four first-place votes on their way to finishing second in the poll behind Missouri State (90, five first-place). Jaxon Holder (SS) and Alec Nigut (SP) were both honored on the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team.
Matt Schark (.354) and Tim Simay (.352) are both hitting above the .350 mark on the season to pace an SIU offense that is connecting at a .299 clip from the plate on the year. Schark leads the team with 12 home runs, while adding 46 hits and 36 runs scored. Simay leads the team with nine stolen bases. Holder (.333) and Jordan Bach (.331) are also hitting above the .300 mark on the season with Bach pacing the Salukis with 15 doubles and 23 walks drawn. Holder has added 26 RBIs.
Southern Illinois has posted a team 5.41 ERA over the season led by Alec Nigut (5-1, 2.75 ERA). Tyler Timmerman (5-1, 2.81 ERA) and Meade Johnson (0-2, 4.85 ERA) have been among SIU’s primary weekend starters throughout the season with the Salukis’ staff combining for a 274:138 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .264 batting average.
Series History
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series with a 106-97 mark against Indiana State according to current records on hand. The Sycamores took two of three games from Southern Illinois last season in Carbondale with Indiana State rallying back after falling in the opening game, before rallying back to take the final two in the series.
The two teams would go on to play each other twice at the MVC Championships in Evansville in the postseason. SIU took the opening contest, 10-9, in 11 innings on May 22 with a five-run rally in the top of the 11th inning to send the Sycamores into the elimination bracket.
Indiana State returned the favor and eliminated the Salukis from the playoffs three days later in the consolation bracket championship game with a 7-3 win. The Sycamores sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with Adam Pottinger (RBI single), Mike Sears (two-run double), and Grant Magill (RBI single) driving in runs to secure the win.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE SOFTBALL
HORIZON LEAGUE SOFTBALL ACTION ROLLS ON IN ROCHESTER
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne softball will continue Horizon League play this weekend when the Mastodons visit Oakland for three games on Saturday-Sunday (April 12-13).
Who: Oakland Golden Grizzlies
When: Saturday, April 12 – single game at 3 PM | Sunday, April 13 – DH at 12 PM
Where: Oakland Softball Field | Rochester, Mich.
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Watch:Game 2 | Game 3
Know Your Foe
Oakland is 11-20 and 4-8 in Horizon League play. The Golden Grizzlies are 1-3 in their Horizon League series this year, only picking up a series win over Green Bay. OU is coming off two losses to Detroit Mercy before picking up a 7-4 win in the series finale. In league play, Alexa Kownacki is the team’s best batter with a .345 average. Konna Bommarito has seven starts in the circle in HL action and owns a 3.68 ERA.
Series History
Oakland leads the series 25-16. The last time Purdue Fort Wayne played in Rochester, the ‘Dons picked up an 8-1 win in 2023. Gracie Brinkerhoff threw all 7.0 innings and got the win.
League Leaders
Purdue Fort Wayne has a team batting average of .342 in Horizon League play, which leads the league.
Player of the Weeks
Grace Hollopeter has been named Horizon League Player of the Week twice this season, the only player in the league to earn the award twice. She owns four Player of the Week awards in her career, the most of any Mastodon in program history.
Owning the Batter’s Box
Grace Hollopeter is in the top-10 in Horizon League play with batting average (.407), slugging percentage (.815), on-base percentage (.556) and OPS (1.371) in the Horizon League this season.
She’s The Man(os)
Bailey Manos has the best batting average in league play with a .484 mark. Her .774 slugging percentage ranks fifth.
Lineup Locks
Four Mastodons have started all 27 games this season: Grace Hollopeter, Brooke Lickey, Addison Zimpleman and Bailey Manos.
Rudd Light, Green Light
Aglaia Rudd is rated as the second-toughest player to strike out in the Horizon League. Grace Hollopeter is first. Rudd also had at least one hit in each of the last eight games.
Alanah “W” Jones
Alanah Jones has five wins in Horizon League play, which is the second-most in the league. Her eight wins this season is also second-best in the HL.
Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne won two of three against Youngstown State, winning both games that Alanah Jones threw from the circle.
Up Next
The Mastodons will welcome Cleveland State to Fort Wayne for a rescheduled series on Tuesday and Wednesday (April 15-16).
PURDUE FT. WAYNE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
MASTODONS CAP OFF REGULAR SEASON AT MCKENDREE
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball program will travel to McKendree this weekend (April 11 and 12) to play the final pair of matches in the regular season.
Game Day Information
Who: McKendree Bearcats
When: Friday, April 11 – 8 PM ET | Saturday, April 12 – 5 PM ET
Where: Lebanon, Ill.
Live Stats: Link
Watch: GLVC
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA
Know Your Foe
McKendree holds a 17-7 record on the season and 11-3 in the MIVA. The Bearcats lost to all three ranked opponents during their non-conference schedule: Hawaii (twice), UC San Diego and Long Beach State. McKendree has only lost to Loyola Chicago, Ohio State and Ball State during MIVA play, all ranked teams. The Bearcats sit atop of the national rankings with 10.79 digs per set. Sam Hoskin leads McKendree with 3.04 kills per set on a .297 clip. Four-time MIVA player of the week Nate Flayter leads the team with 10.01 assists per set.
Series History
The Mastodons hold a 13-8 series history lead over McKendree. The ‘Dons have won the last five matches against the Bearcats. Andrej Polomac posted 43 assists in last year’s meeting.
An Axel-lent Week
Senior Axel Melendez Watts received his first MIVA Offensive Player of the Year selection of his career (April 1) after a four-set victory over Quincy. The senior led the MIVA in points per set during the week, averaging 4.88. The Puerto Rico native also contributed 4.00 kills per set, the league’s third-most on the week, on a .355 hitting percentage.
Century Club
Purdue Fort Wayne head coach Donny Gleason collected his 100th career win as a head coach following the win against Quincy (March 21).
Locked and Logan
Logan Muir has the second-most kills per set (4.14), points per set (4.90) and service aces per set (0.47) in the MIVA. He also rests seventh in the MIVA in hitting percentage (.316).
Mastodon Starters
Both Casey Lyons and Andrew Mayer have started every match for Purdue Fort Wayne this season.
He Can Do It
JP Candrian earned his first MIVA Player of the Week award, earning Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 28). Candrian led the Mastodons to a 2-0 week, beating both LIU (Jan. 23) and Lees-McRae (Jan. 25) on the Arnie Ball Court. The freshman averaged 2.67 digs during the stretch, collecting 16 in the five-set victory over LIU. The Florida native added 0.67 blocks per set to his weekly totals.
Last Time Out
The Mastodons hosted No. 14 Lewis on Thursday (April 3) and No. 15 Ball State on Saturday (April 5) for the ‘Dons’ senior night. The Flyers topped Purdue Fort Wayne in three, Logan Muir tallied 17 kills. The Mastodons took the senior night victory against the Cardinals in four sets, the ‘Dons racked up 11 service aces on the night.
Coming Up
The MIVA tournament will begin on Saturday (April 19) for the quarterfinal round matches. If the current standings hold, Purdue Fort Wayne would be the No. 7 seed and would play No. 2 seed McKendree on the road.
EVANSVILLE BASEBALL
UE BASEBALL TRAVELS TO ILLINOIS STATE FOR A SERIES AND ESPNU MATCHUP
NORMAL, ILL — The University of Evansville baseball team will try to get back in the win column against one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Purple Aces return to the road for MVC play after a brief stop at home for a midweek game against Butler. UE struggled to keep the Bulldogs bats quiet in the 17-5 loss on Tuesday night as Evansville used seven members of its pitching staff. UE goes for its third series win in Valley action over the weekend at Illinois State. Last season, Evansville swept the Redbirds for the first time since 2022 to get the series within five games. The Aces also succeeded over Illinois State in postseason play with two run-rule wins during the MVC Tournament.
It’ll be a different series this year as the Redbirds have had more success in 2024. Illinois State has a 15-16 overall record and a 6-3 conference record to be tied for second in the league with Southern Illinois. The Redbirds had a big win to start March as they defeated 25th ranked Oklahoma State in their series opener 12-6. Illinois State did drop the next two games of the series for its first ranked win of the year and its first win over a ranked non-conference opponent since 2023. The Redbirds have the third best offense in the Valley at a .298 average led by junior outfielder Daniel Pacella with a .407 average. Pacella leads the MVC in batting average and slugging percentage at .708.
Evansville will play in its first of two nationally televised games this weekend in Normal. Sunday afternoon’s match up between the Aces and the Redbirds will be simulcast on ESPN+ and ESPNU. UE had an ESPNU game last season on the road as well at Indiana State when the Sycamores were ranked 14th in the nation. Evansville will then have its first nationally televised game at home since 2018 when the Saturday game of its series with Dallas Baptist was on ESPNU.
With two steals against Butler on Tuesday senior outfielder Ty Rumsey has the most stolen bases in a season for the Aces since 2012. Rumsey currently has 21 steals midway through the season to lead the MVC. He is also 20th in the nation in stolen bags while being 27th in stolen bases per game. Rumsey has a ways to take the season record for stolen bases from Eric Stamets who had 43 in the 2010 season.
Sophomore left-hander Kenton Deverman pitched his first complete game of the season over the weekend. Deverman spent eight innings on the mound in the opening game of UE’s series at UIC. Through eight innings of work Deverman allowed seven hits, four runs, only two earned runs, walked a batter, and struck out seven. With only five walks on the season, Deverman leads the MVC in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.40 to be 20th in the nation. He is also 59th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.67 to lead Valley pitchers.
EVANSVILLE SOFTBALL
SOFTBALL WELCOMES DRAKE FOR WEEKEND SERIES
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another home Missouri Valley Conference series is on the schedule this weekend when the University of Evansville softball team welcomes Drake to Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium. Friday’s opener is set for a 5 p.m. first pitch with Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale starting at 12 p.m. with all three contests set to be carried on ESPN+.
Top of the Valley
– In Tuesday’s win at Indiana State, Morgan Adams hit her league-leading 12th home run of the season while recording a career-high four RBI
– With 32 RBI on the season, Adams is second in the league while other stat rankings include slugging (2nd – .685), walks (T-3rd – 23), hit by pitch (T-3rd – 5), and OPS (4th – 1.108)
– She hit a home run in each of the first two games of the UNI series
Last Time Out
– Gracie Hollingsworth tossed a complete game 4-hit shutout to lead the Purple Aces to a 6-0 win at Indiana State in game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader
– Hollingsworth struck out a career-high 8 batters in the win
– Offensively, Morgan Adams hit her 12th home run of the season and posted a career-high four RBI in the victory
– Kynadee Warner went 2-3 and picked up two hits in both ends of the DH
Solid in the Circle
– Gracie Hollingsworth gave the Aces a strong outing in game two of the doubleheader at Indiana State
– Her complete game 4-hit shutout was pivotal to UE taking a 6-0 win
– Hollingsworth struck out a career-high 8 batters in the winning effort and did not allow a walk
– She leads UE with six wins in 2025 and has a 3.48 ERA
Leading the Way
– With three runs in the doubleheader at Indiana State, Jess Willsey sits atop the MVC with 32 on the season
– She is tied for 2nd in the league with 11 doubles, 7th with 39 hits, 7th with a .587 slugging percentage, and tied for 2nd with 126 at-bats
– Willsey is second on the team with a .310 batting average and 26 RBI
– Her double in the 8th inning of game two at Valparaiso proved to be the game winner
SOUTHERN INDIANA BASEBALL
USI TRAVELS TO TTU FOR OVC SERIES
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball travels to Tennessee Tech University this weekend for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series. The series starts Friday at 6 p.m.; continues Saturday at 3 p.m.; and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Screaming Eagles reach the midway point of their nine-game road swing Tuesday when they visit Northern Kentucky University for the second game of a home-and-home series. The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. (CDT).
With the ever-changing weather in April, USI encourages fans to watch for potential schedule changes on USIScreamingEagles.com, X, and Facebook.
Links to follow the Eagles all season can be found on USIScreamingEagles.com and the USI Baseball Schedule.
USI Baseball Notes:
Martin named OVC Player of the Week. Sophomore infielder Parker Martin was named the OVC Player of the Week after leading USI to a 4-0 week, including a sweep of Morehead State University in conference play. Martin hit .538 (7-13) with two runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs. He also had a slugging percentage of 1.154.
USI tries to rally, falls short at WKU. USI fell behind 12-0 after five innings, only to have its rally fall short 13-9. Junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens led the way at the plate, going two-for-four with a home run and four RBIs.
USI swept Morehead State. The USI Screaming Eagles swept a three-game series from Morehead State to move into first in the OVC standings. USI had to rally in two of the three victories, coming back from a 5-0 deficit in the opening game to win 9-5 and a 4-3 deficit to win 6-4 in game three. The Screaming Eagles won the second game of the series in big fashion, 14-6.
Third walk off of the season. Junior utility player Patrick McLellan provided the fireworks on Monday, hitting a walk-off, three-run bomb over the scoreboard to give the Screaming Eagles a 6-4 win. The walk-off win was the third of the season for the Screaming Eagles.
USI leaders last week. Senior centerfielder Khi Holiday and senior leftfielder BJ Banyon led USI by batting .600 for the four games last week, while junior utility player Patrick McLellan had a team-high 10 RBIs. Sophomore infielder Parker Martin also hit a team-high two home runs.
USI wins first three OVC series. The USI Eagles have opened the OVC slate with back-to-back-to-back series wins. USI won four OVC series all of last season.
Screaming Eagles won six straight. USI had won a season-best six-straight games prior to the loss to WKU. This was the longest winning streak since 2021 (eight games).
Kitchens’ hitting streak ended at 17. USI junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens saw his hitting streak come to an end at 17 on Sunday. The streak was the longest since the 21-game streak by Logan Brown in 2018. In the streak, Kitchens hit .521 (37-71) with a team-high eight doubles, three home runs, and 16 RBIs. He also has a .789 slugging percentage and a .532 on-base percentage.
Kimball leads USI and is in top five of OVC. Junior right-hander Blake Kimball leads the Eagles with a 3.56 ERA in eight games and 48 innings in 2025. The 3.56 ERA ranks third in the OVC.
USI pitching improves over last 10 games. USI pitching has seen a distinct improvement over the last 10 games. The Eagle pitchers have a combined 3.62 ERA over the last 10 games, compared to the season ERA of 6.40.
USI in the OVC. USI leads the OVC with a .310 team batting average. On the bump, the Eagles are sixth in the league with a 6.29 ERA. In the first six games of league action, USI is third in batting (.304) and second in pitching (4.16 ERA).
Eagles in the OVC. Junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens and junior first baseman Kannon Coakley are one-two in the OVC in batting average overall, boosting a .416 and .396 average, respectively. Coakley and junior shortstop Clayton Slack are sixth and eighth in OVC-only games.
USI visit Tennessee Tech this weekend. USI is slated to visit Tennessee Tech University this weekend. TTU, which lost Lipscomb University, 11-2, Wednesday, is 21-13 overall and 6-3 in the OVC. The Golden Eagles are 3-7 in their last 10 games. The Screaming Eagles lead the all-time series with the Golden Eagles, 4-2, after winning two of three at home last year.
USI visits NKU. USI visits Northern Kentucky University Tuesday after the Norse visit Youngstown State University this weekend for a three-game series. NKU starts this weekend’s action with a 16-15 record. USI leads the all-time series, 49-45, after winning the first meeting of the season, 10-0, at the USI Baseball Field on April 1.
VALPO WOMEN’S GOLF
SENIOR CLASS MAKES FINAL TURN AS WOMEN’S GOLF PREPS FOR MVC CHAMPIONSHIP
A four-member Valparaiso University women’s golf senior class that has remained together all four years of college is authoring its final chapter as the Beacons prepare for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, a three-day, 54-hole event that begins on Sunday at the par-72, 6188-yard Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill.
The quartet of Belle Brunner (Goshen, Ind. / Concord), Anna Fay (Ada, Mich. / Forest Hills), Madison Keil (LaGrange, Ind. / Lakeland) and Katie Schreiner (Fenton, Mo. / Summit) is set to round out its four-year run together.
“It seems like I’ve had them forever, but it seems like I just got them too,” head coach Jill McCoy said. “The bond that they’ve created is something special that I never expected to happen, but it’s been fun to watch. They support the whole team, but they support each other and they just do everything as a unit. We have everything from the top player in the lineup to an individual player, but they support each other and it doesn’t matter who is shooting what. I’m going to miss them and the way they work well together.”
Fay recently captured the department’s Laurel Award, presented to the graduating senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. She owns a perfect 4.0 GPA.
“Anna is one of those kids who just wanted to keep learning,” McCoy said. “Her education has been as important to her as her athletics. She’s always trying to soak in new information and new knowledge. She is a really good example for everyone, and she balances it well. She will study in the hotel room as much as she needs to, she’ll socialize with the team for a little bit and then go back and study more.”
Sophomore Bella Campos (Honolulu, Hawaii / IMG Academy) leads the team in scoring average at 80.07, most recently tying a personal best with a 74 in the second round of the Indiana State Spring Invitational on Monday.
“Bella plays with no fear,” McCoy said. “She just swings away and lets whatever is going to happen, happen. That is one of the strategies I’ve told the team – the more cautious you play, the more trouble you’re going to find. If you just swing away, you might find some trouble, but more often than not, that mentality is allowing you to commit to your shots and have a free-moving swing. Bella does that well.”
The Beacons have battled challenging weather this spring, as cold temperatures are still plaguing the Midwest with the end of the season upon us.
“We’ve adapted,” McCoy said. “You have to, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s been the toughest spring these four seniors have had. They’ve just had to learn to play in it. We haven’t been in the golf room practicing inside since mid-February. We came back from Texas and we came outside. It’s just the way it has to be. If you’re going to play in it, you’ve got to practice in it.”
Valpo will play its practice round in Waterloo on Sunday before the three-day tournament begins in earnest on Sunday. A link to live scoring via Clippd will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.
“We just have to maintain a little bit of consistency,” McCoy said. “If you look at this golf course as a whole, all 18 holes, it can be pretty daunting. It looks like a big golf course with a lot going on, but if you break it down hole-by-hole, shot-by-shot, it’s not unscoreable at all. It’s one of those things where they can’t let the big picture overwhelm them. They have to take it one hole at a time. Everyone will go through the process of figuring out how the holes line up and look best for them during the practice round, and then we will trust those sight lines.”
VALPO BASEBALL
BASEBALL BEACONS SET FOR FINAL VALLEY VISIT TO MISSOURI STATE
Valparaiso (8-19, 3-6 MVC)
at Missouri State (16-15, 7-2 MVC)
Friday, April 11, 6:30 p.m. CT – RHP Connor Lockwood
Saturday, April 12, 2 p.m. CT – RHP Harry Deliyannis
Sunday, April 13, 1 p.m. CT – RHP Spencer Boynton
Hammons Field (8,000) | Springfield, Mo.
Next Up in Valpo Baseball: The Valparaiso University baseball team will make the long trip to Springfield, Mo. for the final time for a conference series as the Beacons head to Hammons Field for a three-game weekend series against Missouri State, which will depart the Missouri Valley Conference for Conference USA effective July 1. This will be the final MVC visit to Springfield, Mo. by a Valpo team in any sport as the Beacons take on the first-place Bears, the preseason favorites to win the league.
Last Time Out: The Beacons had a rare scheduled Tuesday off and did not play a midweek game this week, so they have had a few days to bask in the glory of a come-from-behind, walk-off win to salvage the series finale from Illinois State 3-2 in 10 innings on Sunday. The Beacons trailed 2-0 with one out and nobody on base in the bottom of the ninth, but rallied to force extras and eventually won on a walk-off single by Kevin Denty. It was a great day for the pitching staff as starter Spencer Boynton allowed two runs in four frames before Ryan Kruse and Adam Guazzo combined for six shutout innings of relief. Valpo bounced back after dropping the first two games of the series 2-1 and 18-3.
Following the Beacons: All three games this weekend will air on ESPN+. For links to live video and stats, visit ValpoAthletics.com. For in-game updates, follow @ValpoBaseball on X.
Head Coach Brian Schmack: Brian Schmack (210-351) is in his 12th season in charge of the program. He ranks third in program history in seasons coached and games coached as he coached his 500th game on March 17, 2024 at Campbell. On April 19 vs. Missouri State, he became the third head coach in program history to secure his 200th win. Schmack, a member of the 2003 Detroit Tigers, served as pitching coach/associate head coach at Valpo for seven seasons prior to his promotion.
A Look Back at 2024: Valpo finished 14-38 overall and 6-21 in Missouri Valley Conference play last season and hopes to return to the MVC Tournament field in 2025. Kaleb Hannahs earned Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors last season, while Kyle Schmack finished one home run shy of tying the program’s career and single-season records. The team launched 71 home runs, the second most in program history and most since 2001. Alex Ryan made an incredible leaping catch that was featured at No. 4 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays, robbing a grand slam as part of a 20-0 victory at UIC on April 28. The 2024 campaign also saw Valpo post a fielding percentage of .970 that ranked fourth in program history. The season also saw head coach Brian Schmack reach the 200-win threshold.
Series Notes: Missouri State holds a 21-2 lead in an all-time series that dates back to 1985 including a 19-2 record against the Beacons in Missouri Valley Conference matchups. Valpo lost the first 16 regular-season Valley showdowns between the two teams before breaking that streak on a walk-off home run by Brady Renfro in the bottom of the 12th in the opener of last season’s series at Emory G. Bauer Field, a 7-6 victory. The Bears battled back to take the next two games 8-6 and 14-3. Valpo enters this weekend seeking its first-ever road win over Missouri State, as the Beacons suffered Springfield sweeps in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
In the Other Dugout – Missouri State
Preseason favorite to win the league, collecting 90 total points and five of 10 first-place votes to edge out Southern Illinois atop the poll.
Enter this weekend in the top spot in the MVC standings, one game ahead of a second-place tie between Southern Illinois and Illinois State.
Took two of three at Southern Illinois earlier this week in a series that was moved to a single game Sunday and doubleheader on Monday due to weather over the weekend in Carbondale.
The Bears then faced a quick turnaround and fell 12-2 in seven innings in a midweek game at Kansas State on Tuesday.
#SCTop10 Tag
Redshirt freshman Aidan Thaxton made an acrobatic tag of an Illinois State baserunner in Sunday’s series finale, a play that was featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on Sunday evening.
The Thaxton tag checked in at No. 3 on the popular daily countdown, giving Valpo baseball its first appearance since Alex Ryan’s robbed grand slam on April 28 of last season at UIC.
This marked the fifth time during the 2024-25 academic year that Valpo Athletics has been heralded on SportsCenter’s Top 10. Thaxton joins Caron Tyler (football, leaping touchdown on Sept. 7 at Youngstown State), Gary Givens III (football, game-winning TD catch at 0:00 on Nov. 23 vs. Davidson), Devon Ellis (men’s basketball, poster dunk on Nov. 30 vs. Northern Illinois) and Justus McNair (buzzer-beater on Dec. 20 at Western Michigan).
Denty Seals Wins with Bat, Glove
Kevin Denty capped off two different Valpo victories in the same week, each in a very different manner.
His sprawling catch on the right-field warning track preserved an 8-6 victory over Milwaukee on April 1.
In the next Beacon win, he traded his glove for his bat in the game’s biggest moment, ripping a walk-off single to right in the bottom of the 10th to send off a celebration after a 3-2 win over Illinois State in the April 6 series finale.
Denty gave Valpo its first walk-off win since Brady Renfro’s game-ending home run to beat Missouri State 7-6 in 12 innings on April 19 of last season. Three of Valpo’s last four home conference wins have come in walk-off fashion.
The Denty knock capped Valpo’s first win when trailing after eight innings since beating Belmont 10-9 on a “balk-off” on April 13 of last season.
The Beacons were previously 0-12 when trailing after eight. This was also the team’s first win when trailing after six as Valpo was previously 0-16 under those circumstances.
The Denty walk-off marked the second straight Sunday where a Valpo game ended in that manner as the Beacons were on the wrong end the previous week at Evansville.
Locked In
In the April 4 series opener vs. Illinois State, Connor Lockwood recorded his second complete game of the season and first of the nine-inning variety after he threw an eight-inning CG in the Feb. 14 season opener at Samford. Unfortunately for the Beacons, Valpo is 0-2 when Lockwood goes the distance this year.
The Valpo ace scattered seven hits while allowing two runs, walking one and striking out six. He needed 120 pitches to notch all 27 outs.
This was Lockwood’s third career CG and first time going all nine since a win over Bradley on March 30, 2024.
This marked Valpo’s second 2-1 loss of the season as the Beacons also fell by that score on March 22 at Indiana State.
Lockwood is up to 49 strikeouts this season, already one away from his season total from a year ago, which tied for the team lead.
Other Notes Wrapping Up Illinois State (April 4-6): L 2-1, L 18-3 (F/7), W 3-2 (F/10)
The Sunday win marked the team’s first extra-inning game of the season and first since May 10 of last year at Murray State.
Sunday allowed Valpo to pick up its first win this season when scoring four runs or fewer after dropping the first 15 games under those circumstances.
Ryan Kruse worked three shutout innings of one-hit ball while walking none on Sunday. Starter Spencer Boynton allowed four hits and one walk while striking out one and permitting two runs in four innings.
Adam Guazzo picked up the win in the series finale with three shutout innings of two-hit, one-walk ball while striking out two. This marked the first win of his collegiate career.
Kevin Denty and Patrick Ilitch had two hits apiece in the series finale, and Ilitch reached base on three occasions. Denty has a team-high eight multi-hit games this year.
Aidan Thaxton reached base in each game of the series, extending his on-base streak to 10.
Valpo outhit Illinois State 8-7 in the series finale. There was only one extra-base hit in the game by either team, a home run by Illinois State.
On Saturday, freshman Michael Kuska came into the game and had his first collegiate hit.
Sophomore lefty Kaden Kiser had the best day of any Valpo pitcher in the middle game of the series, working a scoreless ninth.
Saturday marked Valpo’s largest margin of defeat since May 18, 2018, a 16-0, seven-inning loss to Indiana State.
Patrick Ilitch’s home run on Friday was his second of the season and the third of his career.
The Beacons were limited to just two hits in Friday’s series opener, a season low and the second straight game with four or fewer.
Senior Liam Patton saw his 18-game on-base streak come to an end in Friday’s series opener.
Among League Leaders
Spencer Warfield’s two triples are tied for fourth in the MVC.
Connor Giusti has been hit by a pitch eight times, tied for the fifth most in the league.
Connor Lockwood leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 49 strikeouts and is the league-leader with 54 1/3 innings pitched. He is well ahead of Missouri State’s Michael Yusypchuk, who ranks second in innings pitched at 45 2/3. He ranks seventh in fewest walks allowed with 10.
Adam Guazzo’s two saves rank tied for sixth in the league.
Harry Deliyannis has three wins, tied for seventh in the league.
Notes Wrapping Up April 1: Valpo 8, Milwaukee 6
This marked the team’s first game played at Emory G. Bauer Field this season. The Beacons did play two home games at UIC’s Curtis Granderson Stadium on the last day of February. In a bit of an oddity, Valpo had the latest Emory G. Bauer Field opener since 2021 while also having the earliest home opener in program history this season. The Beacons played at home on the final day of February and first day of April, but did not play at home in the month of March.
Valpo prevailed despite being outhit 11-4. The four hits marked Valpo’s fewest in a victory since April 5, 2014. Amazingly enough, Valpo had four or fewer hits and won in both games of a doubleheader that day vs. Wright State, winning the opener 3-1 with three hits and the nightcap 2-0 with four hits.
Lucas Foley had his longest outing of the season and the longest since his collegiate debut, when he went seven innings and struck out 11 on Feb. 17, 2024 at Alabama State.
Foley picked up his second career win and first this season. Kruse recorded his first collegiate save. Baffa’s two shutout innings marked his first stint of two innings or more in his young career.
The home team continued to have success in the head-to-head series as the home squad has won seven straight Milwaukee/Valpo matchups.
Spencer Warfield accounted for two of the team’s four hits and drove in three. He had both of the team’s extra-base knocks including his fourth career home run and second of the season. Half of Warfield’s 18 hits this season have gone for extra bases.
Liam Patton reached base safely for the 18th straight game.
Six of Valpo’s eight wins have come when scoring eight runs or more. The Beacons are 0-13 when scoring four runs or fewer and 1-15 when scoring seven runs or fewer.
Notes Wrapping Up Evansville (March 28-30): L 7-3, W 11-6, L 5-4
Connor Giusti homered twice in the series, lifting his season total to five, his Valpo career total to 12 and his overall career total to 22.
Aidan Thaxton tripled for the first of his career on Friday.
Spencer Warfield tripled on Friday, the second of his career with both coming this season.
Valpo had two triples total in the first 20 games of the season and had two in Friday’s series opener.
Connor Lockwood allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out four and walking three in six innings in the series opener.
Alexander Morrison pitched the final 1 1/3 innings out of the Valpo bullpen, retiring all four men he faced on Friday.
Kade Reinertson’s home run on Saturday was the fourth of his career and his second this season.
Case Sullivan’s home run on Saturday was his second of the season.
On Saturday, starting pitcher Harry Deliyannis’ final line featured eight innings while scattering nine hits, allowing four runs (two earned), striking out six and walking none.
This marked the third straight outing in which Deliyannis recorded five or more strikeouts. The eight innings exceeded his previous longest start of the season, which was six innings last week at Indiana State. This represented his first walk-free performance of the year.
Over the last three weekends, Valpo has wins over the defending Big Ten regular-season champs, the defending MVC regular-season champs and the defending MVC Tournament champs.
Six of Valpo’s nine hits went for extra bases in Saturday’s victory.
Patrick Ilitch had two doubles on Saturday after entering the game with two career doubles, both in 2023. He became the second Beacon with a two-double game this season, joining Sullivan on Feb. 23 at Memphis.
Saturday marked the fifth time this season that Valpo posted a double-figure run total.
The Beacons have already exceeded their conference road win total from last season.
The 11 runs were the most scored by Valpo in a head-to-head matchup with Evansville since a 15-7 victory in the 1980 Heartland Collegiate Conference Tournament.
Spencer Boynton received no decision on Sunday despite a quality outing, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks over six innings.
Kevin Denty tied his season high with three hits on Sunday, recording two doubles and a single. He is up to seven doubles on the season.
Amburgey had one total double in 15 games this season before doubling twice on Sunday.
Reinertson reached base three times including twice being hit by a pitch on Sunday.
Sunday was Valpo’s third one-run game of the season, all losses (at Memphis, at Indiana State).
Valpo dropped two of three but the Beacons have captured one win in six straight weekend series including the last four against two Big Ten opponents (including the defending Big Ten regular-season champions), the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champs and the defending MVC Tournament champs.
Lockwood Named MVC Pitcher of the Week
Valpo pitcher Connor Lockwood was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on March 24, earning the award for the third time in his career.
Lockwood became the first Valpo player to earn a weekly award from the league office this season and became Valpo’s first three-time MVC Pitcher of the Week since joining the league.
Valpo has captured the award 10 total times since joining The Valley as Lockwood is joined by Colin Fields (twice), Bryce Konitzer, Jacob Rosenkranz, Jake Miller, Bobby Nowak and Easton Rhodehouse.
Lockwood’s honor came after he pitched Valpo to a victory over defending MVC regular-season champion Indiana State, helping the Beacons beat the Sycamores for the first time since 2007, ending a 25-game head-to-head losing streak.
Lockwood, the game’s winning pitcher, threw 120 pitches over seven innings and did not allow an earned run as all three runs that crossed the plate against him were unearned. He racked up 10 strikeouts while scattering five hits and walking one. This marked the third time this season that he had seven or more strikeouts and one or fewer walks. His 10 strikeouts were one shy of a career high set on Feb. 22 of this season at Memphis, when he fanned 11.
His game score of 70 by D1Baseball had him rank among the top 100 performers of the weekend, as released by D1Baseball.
Snapping the Sycamore Streak
Valpo’s 8-3 win at Indiana State on March 21 to open Missouri Valley Conference play snapped a 25-game head-to-head losing streak.
The Beacons picked up their first win over the Sycamores since 2007.
The squad was previously 0-20 against Indiana State since joining the Missouri Valley Conference prior to the 2018 season.
The victory came over an Indiana State team that went 44-15 (22-5 MVC) and won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season crown last year. Valpo has wins over the defending MVC and Big Ten regular-season champions this year.
This marked the first time Valpo opened conference play with a win since joining The Valley prior to the 2018 season. Valpo had lost seven straight league lid-lifters dating back to a March 18, 2016 Horizon League win over Northern Kentucky.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
UINDY ATHLETICS: https://athletics.uindy.edu/
MARIAN ATHLETICS: https://muknights.com/
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
“SPORTS EXTRA”
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
April 11
1907 — New York catcher Roger Bresnahan appeared wearing shin guards for the first time in a major league game.
1912 — Rube Marquard of the New York Giants began a 19-game winning streak with an 18-3 triumph over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1961 — The Los Angeles Angels won their first major league game with a 7-2 victory over the Orioles at Baltimore. Ted Kluszewski had a pair of homers for the Angels.
1962 — The New York Mets played their first game and lost 11-4 to the Cardinals in St. Louis. Stan Musial of the cardinals had three hits and tied Mel Ott’s National League career record with his 1,859th run scored. The Mets would lose their first nine games on the way to a 40-120 record.
1963 — Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves becomes the all-time winningest left-handed pitcher in major league history.
1969 — The Seattle Pilots played their first game, with Gary Bell shutting out the White Sox 7-0 at Sicks Stadium.
1990 — Mark Langston made his Angels debut by combining with Mike Witt on a no-hitter as California beat the Seattle Mariners 1-0.
1996 — Greg Maddux’s major league record of road victories ended at 18 in a row with a 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres. He had been 18-0 with an 0.99 ERA in 20 regular-season road starts since losing at Montreal on June 27, 1994.
1997 — To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the integration of baseball, Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s daughter, and Pumpsie Green each throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park.
2000 — The Giants play their first game at Pac Bell Park with a 6-5 loss to the Dodgers.
2004 — Mike Mussina collects his 200th career victory.
2008 — Missouri’s Jacob Priday set a Big 12 Conference record, hitting four home runs against Texas in a 31-12 rout. The senior went 5-for-5, drove in nine runs and scored six times.
2008 — For the third time in the past six years, Major League Baseball adopts a stricter steroids policy.
2011 — Sam Fuld had four extra-base hits and drove in three runs to help Tampa Bay bust out of an early season slump with a 16-5 win over the Boston Red Sox. Fuld, needing a single to complete the cycle, doubled into the left-field corner in his last at-bat in the ninth.
2011 — Miguel Cabrera hits his 300th double, becoming the second major leaguer to tally that many before his 28th birthday.
2017 — Yoenis Cespedes hit three of New York’s seven homers to back Matt Harvey, and the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 14-4. Lucas Duda hit two homers and Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis d’Arnaud also went deep for New York.
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April 12
1906 — Johnny Bates of Boston became the first modern player to hit a home run in his first major league at bat. Irv Young allowed one hit as Boston beat Brooklyn 2-0.
1909 — The Philadelphia Athletics opened Shibe Park with an 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox. Shibe Park was the first concrete and steel stadium.
1911 — The Washington Senators opened Griffith Stadium with an 8-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.
1912 — The Chicago Cubs’ Tinker-Evers-Chance double play combination played its final major league game together.
1927 — Bill Terry of the New York Giants hit the first grand slam ever hit on opening day. The Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 15-7.
1955 — In their first game in Kansas City, the transplanted Athletics defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-2 at Municipal Stadium. The standing-room crowd of 32,147 was the largest paid crowd for any event in Kansas City.
1960 — The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in the first game at Candlestick Park.
1965 — The first National League home run in the Houston Astrodome was hit by Richie Allen of the Philadelphia Phillies off Bob Bruce in a 2-0 victory over the Astros.
1966 — A crowd of 50,671 welcomed the Braves to Atlanta, but Willie Stargell spoiled the occasion with a two-run homer in the 13th inning to give the Pirates a 3-2 victory.
1970 — Plaques honoring Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are dedicated at Yankee Stadium.
1980 — In an awesome display of power, Cecil Cooper and Don Money each hit grand slams in the second inning of Milwaukee’s 18-1 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
1992 — Boston’s Matt Young pitched eight no-hit innings at Cleveland but lost 2-1. In the second game, the Indians managed only two hits off Roger Clemens to set a major league record for fewest hits (2) in a doubleheader.
1994 — Scott Cooper hit for the cycle and drove in five runs to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 22-11 rout of the Kansas City Royals. Cooper went 5-for-6 with two doubles and completed the cycle with a single in the ninth.
2004 — Bobby Abreu of the Philadelphia Phillies hits the first home run in the new Citizens Bank Park.
2009 — For the second time in a week, a team draws four bases-loaded walks in one inning, as the Chicago Cubs score 4-runs in the 4th inning.
2010 — The Minnesota Twins inaugurate their new outdoor ballpark, Target Field, with a 5-2 win over the Red Sox.
2018 — Shohei Ohtani hit a bases-loaded triple in Los Angeles’ five-run seventh inning, helping the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 for their fifth straight victory. The pitcher-outfielder was tied with Mike Trout for the Angels’ lead with 11 RBIs in 26 at-bats.
2020 — The Chinese Professional Baseball League, based in Taiwan, is the first pro circuit to open its season since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the global sports world in early March.
2021 — The Twins postpone tonight’s game against the Red Sox after tensions engulf the city following the killing of a black motorist by a policewoman during a traffic stop in the suburb of Brooklyn Center, Minn., a reminder to everyone of the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis a year ago.
2022 — Alyssa Nakken, the first female coach in the history of Major League Baseball, sets another milestone as she becomes the first woman to appear in uniform on the field during a game when in the top of the 3rd inning she replaces Antoan Richardson, who has just been ejected, as first base coach of the Giants in a game against the Padres.
2024 — With a homer off Mike King in the 1st inning of today’s game, Shohei Ohtani ties Hideki Matsui’s record for most homers in the U.S. major leagues by a Japanese player with 175. The Padres have the last laugh, however, defeating the Dodgers, 8-7, in 11 innings.
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April 13
1914 — The first Federal League game was played in Baltimore and the Terrapins defeated Buffalo, 3-2, behind Jack Quinn. A crowd estimated at 27,000 stood 15 rows deep in the outfield to witness the return of major league baseball to Baltimore.
1921 — With new U.S. President Warren G. Harding, former president Woodrow Wilson, and VP Calvin Coolidge watching, the Washington Senators lose their home opener, 6-3, to the Boston Red Sox.
1933 — Sammy West of St. Louis went 6-for-6 in an 11-inning win over the Chicago White Sox. He had five singles and a double off Ted Lyons.
1953 — For the first time in half a century, a new city was represented in the American or National leagues. The Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee and opened in Cincinnati, where Max Surkont set down the Reds, 2-0.
1954 — Henry Aaron made his major league debut in left field for the Milwaukee Braves and went 0-for-5 in a 9-8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati’s Jim Greengrass hit four doubles in his first major league game.
1963 — Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds tripled off Pittsburgh’s Bob Friend for his first major league hit.
1972 — The first player strike in baseball history ended.
1984 — Montreal’s Pete Rose got his 4,000th hit, a double off Philadelphia pitcher Jerry Koosman. The hit came exactly 21 years after his first hit. Rose would score on Tim Raines one out single, sliding into home to give Montreal a 4-1 lead in their eventual 5-1 victory.
1987 — The San Diego Padres set a major league record when the first three batters in the bottom of the first inning hit homers off San Francisco starter Roger Mason in their home opener. The Padres, trailing 2-0, got homers from Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk.
1993 — Lee Smith became the all-time saves leader as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-7. Smith got his 358th save, surpassing Jeff Reardon of the Cincinnati Reds.
1998 — Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Seattle Mariners hits his 300th career home run to become the second-youngest player to reach the milestone.
1999 — Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez drove in nine runs in the Rangers’ 15-6 victory at Seattle.
2004 — San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit his 661st homer, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of third place on baseball’s career list.
2009 — Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Randy Johnson and San Francisco 11-1.
2009 — Jody Gerut christened the Mets’ new home, Citi Field, with a leadoff homer in San Diego’s 6-5 win over New York. Gerut’s shot off Mike Pelfrey marked the first time in history that the first batter homered in a regular-season opener at a major league ballpark.
2011 — A federal jury convicted Barry Bonds of a single charge of obstruction of justice, but failed to reach a verdict on the three counts at the heart of allegations that he knowingly used steroids and human growth hormone and lied to a grand jury about it.
2018 — Houston’s Gerrit Cole struck out a career-high 14 batters in seven innings to lead the Astros to a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers. Cole joined Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers in major league history to strike out at least 11 in three consecutive starts to start a season. Cole also set an major league record with 36 strikeouts in his first three starts with a new team, surpassing Randy Johnson in 1999 with Arizona (34).
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April 14
1910 — William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president to throw out the first ball at a baseball opener in Washington.
1910 — Chicago’s Frank Smith pitched a one-hitter in the season opener to give the White Sox a win over the St. Louis Browns.
1915 — In the opening game at Philadelphia, left-hander Herb Pennock of the A’s blanked the Red Sox 5-0. He gave up only one hit — a scratch single by Harry Hooper with two outs in the ninth.
1917 — Ed Cicotte of the Chicago White Sox pitched an 11-0 no-hitter over the St. Louis Browns.
1925 — The Cleveland Indians opened the season with a 21-14 victory over the St. Louis Browns, the most runs scored by one club on opening day. The Indians scored 12 runs in the eighth inning when the Browns made five errors. Browns first baseman George Sisler had four errors in the game.
1925 — In the first regular-season Chicago Cubs game to be broadcast on the radio, Quin Ryan announces the contest from the grandstand roof for WGN.
1931 — Jack Quinn of the Brooklyn Robins becomes the oldest pitcher to start an Opening Day game at 47 years old.
1961 — The “new” Washington Senators franchise wins its first game, defeating the Cleveland Indians, 3-2.
1964 — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax throws his ninth complete game without allowing a walk.
1967 — Boston rookie Bill Rohr lost a no-hit bid in his first major league start when Elston Howard singled in the ninth inning for the New York Yankees’ only hit in a 3-0 loss to the Red Sox.
1969 — The first major league game outside the United States was played in Montreal’s Jarry Park with the Expos defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7.
1976 — In the 6th inning of today’s 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Mets’ Dave Kingman hits what will become widely regarded as the longest home run ever hit in Wrigley Field, estimated at 600 feet.
1991 — Nolan Ryan becomes the 12th pitcher in major league history to surpass 5,000 innings pitched.
1999 — John Franco struck out the side in the ninth inning of the New York Met’s 4-1 win over the Florida Marlins, becoming only the second pitcher to reach 400 career saves. The only reliever with more saves than Franco is Lee Smith, who retired with 478.
2004 — A day after Yankees teammate Mike Mussina earned his 200th career victory, Kevin Brown reaches the same plateau.
2005 — Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield got into a brief scuffle with a fan along the right-field fence at Fenway Park during New York’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
2010 — Jorge Cantu homered, making him the first player in major league history to have at least one hit and one RBI in each of his team’s first nine games, and the Florida Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3.
2014 — Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez hit back-to-back homers twice, and the Pirates and Reds combined for 10 homers in only six innings before rain forced a suspension. Pittsburgh had three sets of back-to-back homers, only the third time that’s happened in major league history. The NL Central rivals completed the game the next day. Andrew McCutchen doubled and came around on Russell Martin’s single in the seventh inning, giving the Pirates an 8-7 win.
2016 — Bryce Harper makes the 100th home run of his career his first-ever grand slam.
2017 — The Braves open their new ballpark, SunTrust Park, with a 5 – 2 win over the Padres before a sellout crowd of 41,149.
2021 — Carlos Rodon of the White Sox throws the second no-hitter of the season, blanking the Indians, 8-0.
April 15
1909 — Leon Ames of the New York Giants pitched a no-hitter for 9 1-3 innings on opening day, but lost 3-0 to Brooklyn in 13 innings.
1915 — Rube Marquard of the New York Giants no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers, winning 2-0.
1947 — Jackie Robinson played his first major league game, for the Dodgers. He went 0-for-3, but scored the deciding run in a 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves in Brooklyn. He was the first black to appear in the majors since 1884.
1957 — President Eisenhower officially opened the 1956 season by tossing out the first ball at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. The ball was the 10 millionth Spalding baseball to be used in major league play.
1958 — Major league baseball came to California as the transplanted Giants and Dodgers played the first game on the Pacific Coast. Playing in Seals Stadium in San Francisco, Ruben Gomez blanked Los Angeles 8-0.
1968 — Houston and the New York Mets played 24 innings in a night game in the Astrodome before the Astros won 1-0. The game lasted more than six hours.
1976 — New York opened the refurbished Yankee Stadium with an 11-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins.
1977 — Hank Aaron becomes the first player to have his uniform number retired by two teams. The Atlanta Braves retire his No. 44 during a pre-game ceremony. The Milwaukee Brewers had previously retired Aaron’s number.
1987 — Juan Nieves threw the first no-hitter in Brewers history as Milwaukee beat Baltimore 7-0.
1993 — Sparky Anderson earned his 2,000th victory as a manager as the Detroit Tigers rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2.
1993 — Andre Dawson became the 25th player to hit 400 home runs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3.
1997 — The 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in major league baseball is celebrated before 54,047 at Shea Stadium during a game between the NY Mets and the LA Dodgers.
1998 — The first-ever AL-NL doubleheader is held in New York’s Shea Stadium as the New York Yankees beat the Anaheim Angels 6-3 and the New York Mets edge the Chicago Cubs 2-1. The Yankees draw a crowd of 40,743, a dramatic contrast to the gathering of 16,012 who show up for the Mets game at night.
2000 — Cal Ripken became the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits when he lined a clean single to center off Twins reliever Hector Carrasco. He reached the milestone with his third hit in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins and became the seventh player in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
2004 — Fifty-seven years after the historic event, major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration marking the day the color line was broken.
2006 — Eric Chavez, Frank Thomas, and Milton Bradley all homered on consecutive pitches in Oakland’s 5-4 victory over Texas.
2008 — Jose Lopez became the 12th player in major league history to hit three sacrifice flies in a game, and the Seattle Mariners tied the team record for five sac flies in an 11-6 victory over Kansas City.
2009 — Every player in Major League Baseball wears number 42 today on Jackie Robinson Day, in honor of the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line.
2009 — Ian Kinsler of Texas became the fourth player in team history to hit for the cycle, and was 6-for-6 in Texas’ 19-6 win over Baltimore.
2010 — Florida’s Jorge Cantu extended his major league season-opening record to 10 games with a hit in a 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
2011 — Texas tied an AL record by turning six double plays and the Rangers picked up where they left off last October, beating the New York Yankees 5-3. This was the 15th time an AL team made six DPs in a game. The major league mark for double plays in a game is seven by San Francisco in 1969.
2011 — Brennan Boesch hit a go-ahead two-run double with the bases loaded in the 10th inning and Detroit rallied to beat Oakland 8-4 for manager Jim Leyland’s 1,500th career win. Leyland became the 19th major league manager to reach 1,500 wins, doing so on his first attempt.
2012 — Vin Scully is back in the broadcast booth for a record 63rd season after missing a week with a bad cold.
2022 — Jackie Robinson Day is celebrated across North America on the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in Major League Baseball.
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April 16
1929 — Cleveland’s Earl Averill became the first American League player to hit a home run in his first major league plate appearance. The Indians won the game 5-4 in 11 innings on Carl Lind’s double.
1935 — Babe Ruth, 40, made a sensational National League debut in Boston. His single and homer off Carl Hubbell led the Braves over the Giants 4-2.
1940 — Bob Feller of Cleveland defeated the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in the only opening day no-hitter in major league history.
1948 — WGN-TV televised a baseball game for the first time. It was an exhibition game at Wrigley Field with Jack Brickhouse doing the play-by-play. The White Sox defeated the Cubs 4-1.
1961 — Beginning his historic chase of Babe Ruth’s 60 home run season-record, Roger Maris connects for his first homer in the twelfth game of the season for the Yankees.
1972 — Burt Hooton of the Cubs no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 at Wrigley Field.
1978 — Bob Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0. Less than a year later, Bob’s brother Ken of the Houston Astros pitched a no-hitter against Atlanta. They are the only brothers to throw no-hitters.
1983 — LA Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey appears in his 1,118th straight National League game, breaking the mark held by Billy Williams.
1984 — Dave Kingman of the Oakland A’s hit three home runs, including a grand slam, in his first three at-bats. In total, he drove in eight runs in a 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
1989 — Kelly Gruber becomes the first player in Toronto Blue Jays history to hit for the cycle in a 15-8 victory against the Kansas City Royals.
1997 — The Chicago Cubs set the mark for worst start in National League history, making three more errors as they extended their losing streak to 12 with a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Chicago broke the modern NL record of 0-10 set by Atlanta in 1988 and the overall NL record of 0-11 by the 1884 Detroit Wolverines.
2005 — Toronto’s Reed Johnson was hit by a major league record-tying three pitches — two with the bases loaded — in the Blue Jays’ 8-0 victory over Texas.
2006 — Albert Pujols hit three home runs, including a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth, to give St. Louis an 8-7 win over Cincinnati.
2007 — The Cleveland Indians became the first team in nearly 55 years to win a game with their only hit coming in their first at-bat. Grady Sizemore led off Cleveland’s 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox with a double.
2009 — Ichiro Suzuki makes history as collects the 3,086th hit of his pro career, breaking the Japanese record held for decades by Isao Harimoto.
2009 — Grady Sizemore hit a grand slam and Cleveland ruined the first game at the new Yankee Stadium by beating New York 10-2.
2014 — Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda pitched the New York Yankees to a 3-0, 2-0 sweep of the Chicago Cubs in a chilly day-night-doubleheader. The Yankees had not won by shutout twice in one day since April 9, 1987, against Kansas City. No team in the major leagues had done it since Minnesota swept Oakland on June 26, 1988.
2015 — Giancarlo Stanton becomes the Marlins all-time leading home run hitter when he slugs #155 for his career.
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April 17
1932 — New York first baseman Bill Terry tied an NL record with 21 putouts as the Giants beat Boston 5-0 behind Hal Schumacher’s two-hitter.
1951 — In his first major league game, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4 in the New York Yankees’ 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
1953 — Mickey Mantle cleared the bleachers at Griffith Stadium with a 565-foot home run off Chuck Stobbs. The shot came in the fifth inning of a 7-3 win over the Senators.
1964 — The New York Mets lost their first game at Shea Stadium, falling 4-3 to the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell hit the first homer at Shea.
1969 — Bill Stoneman of Montreal pitched a 7-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 10th game of the Expos’ existence.
1976 — Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hit four consecutive home runs and a single in an 18-16, 10-inning victory over the Cubs in Wrigley Field. Hitting .167 going into the game, he connected twice off Rick Reuschel, once off Rick’s brother, Paul, and once off Darold Knowles. He drove in eight runs.
1983 — Nolan Ryan strikes out seven Expos in a 6-3 Houston victory to become only the second pitcher in major league history to record 3,500 career strikeouts.
2000 — Major League Baseball owners vote to approve the $96 million sale of the Kansas City Royals to team chairman David Glass.
2001 — Barry Bonds became the 17th major leaguer to hit 500 home runs. Bonds’ two-run, eighth-inning drive off Terry Adams went into San Francisco Bay to lead the Giants over the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2.
2008 — Troy Tulowitzki’s RBI double with two outs in the 22nd inning scored Willy Taveras and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 2-1 in the longest game in the majors in nearly 15 years, a 6-hour, 16-minute marathon.
2008 — Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann hit consecutive home runs in a span of 12 pitches in the fifth inning off Florida’s Ricky Nolasco in Atlanta’s 8-0 win.
2009 — Jason Kubel completed the ninth cycle in Twins history with a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning that helped Minnesota to an 11-9 victory over the Angels.
2010 — Ubaldo Jimenez pitched the first no-hitter in the Colorado Rockies’ 18-year history, dominating the Atlanta Braves in a 4-0 victory. Jimenez (3-0) walked six — all in the first five innings. He was helped by Dexter Fowler’s diving backhanded catch in left-center field in the seventh inning.
2010 — Jose Reyes hit a sacrifice fly in the 20th inning and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in the longest game in the majors in two years. Jeff Francoeur also had a sacrifice fly for New York in the 19th inning, snapping a scoreless tie, but Yadier Molina singled in Albert Pujols with two out in the bottom half. St. Louis left the bases loaded in the 10th, 12th and 14th and stranded 22 runners, including 14 in extra innings.
2012 — Jamie Moyer, 49, became the oldest pitcher to win a major league game. He threw seven masterful innings and Dexter Fowler hit a two-run homer, helping the Colorado Rockies hold on for a 5-3 win over the San Diego Padres. Moyer’s 268th win tied him with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 34th on the career list.
2014 — Major League Baseball suspended Seattle Mariners first baseman Ji-Man Choi 50 games following a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
April 11
1936 — The Detroit Red Wings win the NHL Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1948 — 12th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Claude Harmon shoots a record-tying 279 (−9) to finish 5 strokes ahead of runner-up Cary Middlecoff.
1961 — 15th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat St Louis Hawks, 4 games to 1.
1963 — Milwaukee Braves future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn beats NY Mets, 6-1 for his 328th win; most by a left-hander in MLB history.
1965 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a record 271 and wins the Masters golf tournament by nine strokes over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
1966 — Jack Nicklaus wins his third Masters and becomes the first to win in consecutive years as he shoots a 70 in an 18-hole playoff to beat Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer.
1966 — Emmett Ashford becomes first African American major league baseball umpire.
1971 — 35th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Charles Coody wins his only major title by 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus.
1976 — Ray Floyd shoots a record-tying 271 to win the Masters by eight strokes over Ben Crenshaw.
1981 — Larry Holmes beats Trevor Berbick in a 15-round unanimous decision to retain his world heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1982 — Craig Stadler beats Dan Pohl in a sudden-death playoff to take the Masters.
1983 — Spain’s Seve Ballesteros wins the Masters by four shots over Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw.
1987 — Zoja Ivanova wins 2nd female World Cup marathon (2:30:39).
1989 — Ron Hextall scores his second career goal and becomes the first goalie to connect for a playoff goal, and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 8-5.
1993 — Bernhard Langer of Germany wraps up his second Masters title with a 20-foot eagle putt on No. 13. Langer posts a four-stroke win over Chip Beck with an 11-under 277.
1996 — Detroit Red Wings become 2nd NHL team to win 60 games in a season.
1997 — Mario Lemieux reaches the 50-goal mark for the sixth time in his NHL career in a 4-2 loss the Florida Panthers. Lemieux scores on a third-period penalty shot against John Vanbiesbrouck, to becomes the first player in NHL history to score his 50th goal of the season on a penalty shot.
1999 — 63rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: José María Olazábal of Spain wins his second Masters title, 2 strokes ahead of Davis Love III and 3 from of Greg Norman.
2004 — Phil Mickelson’s agonizing pursuit of a major ends at the Masters when he makes an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole, ending a spectacular back-nine duel with Ernie Els.
2007 — Roberto Luongo sets an NHL record for saves in a first career playoff start, making 72 in Vancouver’s 5-4 quadruple-overtime win over Dallas. The sixth-longest playoff game in NHL history, ends on a goal by Henrik Sedin 18:06 into the fourth overtime period.
2008 — Missouri’s Jacob Priday sets a Big 12 Conference record, hitting four home runs against Texas in a 31-12 rout. The senior goes 5-for-5, drives in nine runs and scores six times.
2010 — Phil Mickelson wins his third Masters title, shooting a 5-under 67 to pull away for a three-stroke win over Lee Westwood.
2014 — Stephen Curry has 30 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and Golden State clinches a playoff berth with a 112-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers set a franchise low with the 54th loss of their miserable season. The 1957-58 Minneapolis Lakers lost 53 times in their 72-game season. These Lakers would finish 27-55.
2021 — 85th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Hideki Matsuyama become first Japanese male to win a golf major; hangs on to beat American Will Zalatoris by 1 stroke.
April 15
1901 — Boston Marathon won for second straight year by Canadian Jim Caffrey.
1907 — Boston Marathon won by Canadian Tom Longboat.
1927 — Yankees slugger Babe Ruth hits MLB record 60 HRs is a season.
1937 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 3-0 to take the Stanley Cup in the fifth and final game.
1947 — Jackie Robinson becomes 1st African-American to play in US major league baseball.
1952 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 to capture the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings holds the Canadiens to two goals in the four-game sweep.
1958 — 1st baseball game in California, SF Giants beat LA Dodgers, 8-0.
1979 — 43rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Fuzzy Zoeller wins his only Masters with a birdie on the 2nd hole of a playoff with Ed Sneed and Tom Watson.
1984 — Ben Crenshaw wins the Masters by two strokes over Tom Watson.
1985 — Marvin Hagler retains his world middleweight title by stopping Tommas Hearns in the third round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Both slug it out with reckless abandon for eight minutes, which many consider the most electrifying three rounds in boxing history.
1990 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: South African Gary Player wins his third event title by 2 strokes.
1991 — Magic Johnson sets an NBA record for career assists in a 112-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson, who needed nine assists to break Oscar Robertson’s record of 9,887, gets 19.
1993 — Sparky Anderson earns his 2,000th victory as a manager as the Detroit Tigers rally to beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2.
1993 — Andre Dawson becomes the 25th player to hit 400 home runs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3.
1997 — Baseball honors Jackie Robinson by retiring #42 for all teams.
1998 — The first-ever AL-NL doubleheader is held in New York’s Shea Stadium. The New York Yankees beat the Anaheim Angels 6-3 and the New York Mets edge the Chicago Cubs 2-1.
2000 — Cal Ripken becomes the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits when he lines a clean single to center off Twins reliever Hector Carrasco. He reaches the milestone with his third hit in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins and becomes the seventh player in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
2000 — NFL Draft: Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown first pick by Cleveland Browns.
2005 — Top-ranked Roger Federer’s 25-match winning streak ends when French teenager Richard Gasquet saves three match points before capturing a third-set tiebreaker at the Monte Carlo Masters. Federer’s 35-1 record this year is the best start on the men’s tour since John McEnroe was 39-0 in 1984.
2005 — Two-time Olympic champion Steven Lopez of the United States wins his third world taekwondo title, capturing the welterweight gold medal with a 3-2 victory over Ali Tajik of Iran.
2018 — Victor Oladipo scores 32 points and the Indiana Pacers hold off Cleveland’s second-half rally for a stunning 98-80 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series, handing LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ their first loss in the opening round in eight years.
2019 — LA Clippers overcome an NBA record 31-point deficit to score an improbable 135-131 Game 2 playoff victory over the Golden State Warriors.
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April 16
1939 — Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 for a 4-1 series win; first best-of-7 SC Final series.
1940 — Bob Feller of Cleveland defeats the White Sox 1-0 in Chicago in the only opening day no-hitter in the major leagues.
1949 — The Toronto Maple Leafs win 3-1 to sweep the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year in the Stanley Cup Finals.
1953 — Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 1-0 for a 4-1 series win.
1954 — The Detroit Red Wings edge the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in the seventh game to win the Stanley Cup.
1957 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 to take the Stanley Cup in five games.
1958 — Arnold Palmer edges Doug Ford by one stroke to capture the Masters.
1961 — The Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in six games with a 5-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings.
1978 — Cardinals’ Bob Forsch no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0, in St. Louis.
1980 — Arthur Ashe retires from professional tennis.
1983 — Steve Garvey sets NL record by playing in 1,118 consecutive games.
1987 — Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scores 61 points in a 117-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks and becomes the second player to surpass the 3,000-point mark in a season.
1989 — Costa Rica beats US 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup.
1990 — Gelindo Bordin becomes the first Olympic men’s champion to win the Boston Marathon. The Italian finishes in 2:08:19. Rosa Mota of Portugal wins the woman’s division in 2:25:24.
1991 — The St. Louis Blues become the eighth team in NHL playoff history to come back from a 3-1 deficit, beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in the seventh game.
1995 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Raymond Floyd wins by 5 strokes.
2000 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Doug Tewell wins first of 2 Champions Tour major titles.
2001 — Lee Bong-ju of South Korea wins the Boston Marathon, ending a 10-year victory streak for Kenyan men. Kenya’s Catherine Ndereba wins the women’s race.
2003 — The Anaheim Mighty Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-2 overtime victory, making the Red Wings the first defending Stanley Cup winner in 51 years to be swept the following season in a four-game opening series.
2003 — Washington Wizards’ Michael Jordan plays his final NBA game.
2008 — Jason Kidd gets the 100th triple-double of his career with 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in Dallas’ 111-98 victory over New Orleans.
2013 — Two bombs explode in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 270 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs. Earlier in the day, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia wins the 117th edition of the marathon and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya takes the women’s race.
2018 — Desiree Linden runs through icy rain and a near-gale headwind to win the Boston Marathon, the first victory for an American woman since 1985.
2019 — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson becomes the highest-paid player in NFL history with a 4-year $140m extension.
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April 17
1939 — Joe Louis knocks out Jack Roper at 2:20 of the first round in Los Angeles to retain the world heavyweight title.
1947 — Jackie Robinson bunts for his 1st major league hit.
1951 — NY Yankee Mickey Mantle’s 1st game.
1967 — Italian boxer Nino Benvenuti beats American Emile Griffith in a 15 round points decision to win world middleweight crown.
1976 — Mike Schmidt hits four consecutive home runs and drives in eight runs as the Philadelphia Phillies overcome a 13-2 deficit to beat the Cubs 18-16 in 10 innings at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
1976 — Australian tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley wins her second WTA Tour Championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; beats Chris Evert.
1982 — The Denver Nuggets’ Alex English, Dan Issel and Kiki Vandeweghe each average 20 points a game, the first front court to do so since Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan and Clyde Lovellette of St. Louis in 1961.
1983 — Nolan Ryan strikes out his 3,500th batter.
1987 — Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers becomes the third player to score 30,000 points in his pro career. Erving scores 38 points to join Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
1994 — Carl Lewis and his Santa Monica Track Club teammates rewrite their world record in the 800-meter relay at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Lewis, Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell and Floyd Heard are timed at 1:18.68, breaking the record of 1:19.11 they had set on April 25, 1992.
1995 — Wayne Gretzky reaches 2,500 career points when he sets up a power-play goal by Rob Blake in Los Angeles’ 5-2 loss to Calgary.
1997 — The New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur becomes the second NHL goalie to score in the playoffs. Brodeur’s empty net goal caps a three-goal third period that gives the Devils a 5-2 win and a 1-0 lead in a first-round series against Montreal.
1999 — Quarterbacks go 1-2-3 in the NFL Draft as Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith go to Cleveland, Philadelphia and Cincinnati — the first quarterback trifecta since 1971.
2001 — Barry Bonds becomes the 17th major leaguer to hit 500 home runs. Bonds’ two-run, eighth-inning drive off Terry Adams leads the San Francisco Giants over the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2.
2006 — Sidney Crosby, scores three assists in Pittsburgh’s 6-1 win over the New York Islanders to become the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season. The 18-year-old becomes the seventh NHL rookie to reach the 100-point mark.
2010 — Ubaldo Jimenez pitches the first no-hitter in the Colorado Rockies’ 18-year history, dominating the Atlanta Braves in a 4-0 victory.
2011 — Jimmie Johnson wins the Aaron’s 499, edging Clint Bowyer by about a foot. The official margin of 0.002 seconds, ties for the closest finish in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.
2018 — Brayden McNabb scores against his former team in the second period, lifting Vegas to a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings that makes the Golden Knights the first expansion team in NHL history to sweep its first playoff series. Marc-Andre Fleury turns in another stellar performance, stopping 31 shots as the Knights finish off their fourth one-goal victory of the series.
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
53 – 21 – 7 – 23 –
April 11, 1907 – Probably tired of nursing the bumps and bruises,New York Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame backstop Roger Bresnahan, became the first catcher to wear shin guards.
April 11, 1959 – Los Angeles Dodgers future Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, Number 53 hit an opening day homerun for the second time in his career. It gave the Dodgers their only scoring though as the home team Chicago Cubs won the game 6-1, scattering 6 runs off of the big right hander, damaging his stellar ERA.
April 11, 1963 – The Milwaukee Braves had a future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher themselves that made history on this day. Warren Spahn, Number 21 gave the New York Mets fits all day as the Braves secured a 6-1 victory for his 328th win. It was the most “W”s by a left-hander in MLB history.
The website of NBA.com offers these nuggets of history for the day.
April 11, 1991 – Milwaukee Bucks Number 7, Adrian Dantley scored five points in the Bucks’ 111-92 win over Boston at the Bradley Center, moving him into what was then ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 23,152 points.
April 11, 1998 – Michael Jordan, Number 23 of the Chicago Bulls handed out his 5,000th career assist in an 87-78 win over the Orlando Magic.
April 11, 1999 – The New Jersey Nets retired the Number 52 jersey of Buck Williams in ceremonies at New Jersey’s home game against New York. Williams accumulated 16,784 points and 13,017 rebounds during his standout 17-year NBA career with New Jersey, the Portland Trail Blazers and Knicks.
Here are a couple of items from the Vintage Hockey Jerseys website
April 11, 1936 – The Detroit Red Wings led by Head Coach Jack Adams, defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 to win the best of five series three games to one and win their first Stanley Cup championship.
April 11, 1964 – In game one of the Stanley Cup Finals the Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 with Number 20, Bob Pulford getting the game winning goal by lighting the lamp with two seconds left in the third period, setting a record for the latest game winning goal in regulation time in Stanley Cup history.
TV SPORTS FRIDAY
| MLB REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Kansas City at Cleveland | 6:10pm | CleGuardians.TV FanDuel Sports KC |
| Pittsburgh at Cincinnati | 6:40pm | Apple TV+ FanDuel Sports Ohio ATTSN-PIT |
| Toronto at Baltimore | 7:05pm | Sportsnet MASN |
| Atlanta at Tampa Bay | 7:05pm | FanDuel Sports South FanDuel Sports Sun |
| San Francisco at NY Yankees | 7:05pm | NBCS-BAY YES |
| Washington at Miami | 7:10pm | MASN2 FanDuel Sports FL |
| Boston at Chi. White Sox | 7:40pm | NESN CHSN |
| LA Angels at Houston | 6:45pm | FanDuel Sports West SCHN |
| Detroit at Minnesota | 8:10pm | Apple TV+ |
| Philadelphia at St. Louis | 8:15pm | FanDuel Sports MW NBCS-PHI |
| Colorado at San Diego | 9:40pm | Rockies.TV Padres.TV |
| Texas at Seattle | 9:40pm | RSN ROOT |
| Milwaukee at Arizona | 9:40pm | FanDuel Sports WI DBacks.TV |
| NY Mets at Athletics | 10:05pm | SNY NBCS-CA |
| Chi. Cubs at LA Dodgers | 10:10pm | SNLA MARQ |
| NBA | TIME ET | TV |
| Atlanta Hawks vs Philadelphia 76ers | 7:00pm | FanDuel Sports ATL NBCS-PHI |
| Orlando Magic vs Indiana Pacers | 7:00pm | FanDuel Sports IND FanDuel Sports FL |
| Milwaukee Bucks vs Detroit Pistons | 7:00pm | FanDuel Sports DET FanDuel Sports WI |
| Charlotte Hornets vs Boston Celtics | 7:30pm | NBCS-BOS FanDuel Sports CHA |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks | 7:30pm | NBATV MSG FanDuel Sports Ohio |
| Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans | 8:00pm | FanDuel Sports Sun GCSN |
| Washington Wizards vs Chicago Bulls | 8:00pm | CHSN MNMT |
| Toronto Raptors vs Dallas Mavericks | 8:30pm | Sportsnet KFAA |
| Brooklyn Nets vs Minnesota Timberwolves | 9:00pm | YES FanDuel Sports North |
| Memphis Grizzlies vs Denver Nuggets | 9:00pm | ALT FanDuel Sports MEM |
| Oklahoma City Thunder vs Utah Jazz | 9:30pm | KJZZ FanDuel Sports OKC |
| Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trail Blazers | 10:00pm | NBCS-BAY Rip City |
| Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings | 10:00pm | FanDuel Sports SoCal NBCS-CA |
| San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns | 10:00pm | AFSM FanDuel Sports SW |
| Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers | 10:30pm | Spectrum SCHN |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Montreal Canadiens vs Ottawa Senators | 7:00pm | ESPN+ Sportsnet |
| Detroit Red Wings vs Tampa Bay Lightning | 7:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports DET FanDuel Sports Sun |
| Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils | 7:00pm | ESPN+ ATTSN-PIT MSGSN |
| San Jose Sharks vs Edmonton Oilers | 9:30pm | ESPN+ NBCS-CA Sportsnet |
| Minnesota Wild vs Calgary Flames | 10:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports North Sportsnet |
| COLLEGE BASEBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Stanford at Clemson | 6:00pm | ESPNU |
| Vanderbilt at Oklahoma | 8:00pm | SECN |
| COLLEGE SOFTBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Georgia Tech at North Carolina | 6:00pm | ACCN |
| Georgia at Auburn | 6:00pm | SECN |
| Clemson at N.C. State | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| NASCAR Truck: Weather Guard Truck Race | 7:30pm | FS1 |
| UFL | TIME ET | TV |
| Arlington at Birmingham | 8:00pm | FOX |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| The Masters | 3:00pm | ESPN |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Bundesliga: Wolfsburg vs RB Leipzig | 2:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Udinese vs Milan | 2:45pm | Paramount+ |
| Ligue 1: Lens vs Reims | 2:45pm | Fanatiz USA beIN SPORTS |
| La Liga: Valencia vs Sevilla | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Liga MX: Necaxa vs Pachuca | 9:00pm | VIX |
| Liga MX: Mazatlán vs Guadalajara | 11:05pm | VIX |