“THE SCOREBOARD”
CENTRAL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
AVON 3 TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 2
FISHERS 8 FW CARROLL 3
FISHERS 16 FW CARROLL 14
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 8 LAWRENCE COUNTY 2
ZIONSVILLE 13 TERRE HAUTE SOUTH 3
AVON 8 GUERIN CATHOLIC 3
TERRE HAUTE NORTH 12 LAWRENCE COUNTY 4
KNOXVILLE CATHOLIC 10 NOBLESVILLE 6
BEARDEN 3 NOBLESVILLE 2
BISHOP CHATARD 10 INDY TECH 0
KNIGHTSTOWN 8 MUNCIE BURRIS 4
COLUMBUS EAST 11 CORYDON CENTRAL 1
TERRE HAUTE NORTH 3 LAWRENCE COUNTY 0
MOORESVILLE 8 W. OTTAWA 2
PIKE 9 GREENON 4
PLAINFIELD 4 HIGHLAND 0
CRISPUS ATTUCKS 3 SHORTRIDGE 2
CENTRAL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
SHORTRIDGE 29 CRISPUS ATTUCKS 9
CENTRAL INDIANA BOYS VOLLEYBALL SCORES
GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN 3 WARREN CENTRAL 0
NORTH PUTNAM 3 SHELBYVILLE 0
CENTRAL INDIANA BOYS LAX SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
CENTRAL INDIANA GIRLS LAX SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TV SCHEDULE/RESULTS
FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, APRIL 5 (FINAL FOUR IN SAN ANTONIO)
(1) FLORIDA VS. (1) AUBURN, 6:09 P.M | CBS
(1) DUKE VS. (1) HOUSTON, 8:49 P.M. | CBS
MONDAY, APRIL 7 (NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN SAN ANTONIO)
8:50 P.M. ON CBS
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL FINAL FOUR
SOUTH CAROLINA 74 TEXAS 57
UCONN 85 UCLA 51
SUNDAY, APRIL 6 (NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN TAMPA, FLA.)
3 P.M. ON ABC
INDIANA COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES
XAVIER 12 BUTLER 6
WASHINGTON 8 PURDUE 1
MILWAUKEE 7 PURDUE FT. WAYNE 1
MILWAUKEE 6 PURDUE FT. WAYNE 1
BALL STATE 13 EASTERN MICHIGAN 2
BALL STATE 4 EASTERN MICHIGAN 2 (14)
ILLINOIS STATE 2 VALPO 1
INDIANA STATE 15 BELMONT 2
ILLINOIS CHICAGO 4 EVANSVILLE 2
COLLEGE HOCKEY PLAYOFFS
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
INDIANA MEN’S LAX SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
INDIANA WOMEN’S LAX SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
NBA SCOREBOARD
INDIANA 140 UTAH 112
SACRAMENTO 125 CHARLOTTE 102
BOSTON 123 PHOENIX 103
DETROIT 117 TORONTO 105
HOUSTON 125 OKLAHOMA CITY 111
CHICAGO 118 PORTLAND 113
HOUSTON 125 OKLAHOMA CITY 111
CLEVELAND 114 SAN ANTONIO 113
GOLDEN STATE 118 DENVER 104
LA LAKERS 124 NEW ORLEANS 108
LA CLIPPERS 114 DALLAS 91
NHL SCOREBOARD
WASHINGTON 5 CHICAGO 3
DETROIT 5 CAROLINA 3
NY ISLANDERS 3 MINNESOTA 1
MLB SCOREBOARD
DETROIT 7 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 4
BOSTON 13 ST. LOUIS 9
CHICAGO CUBS 3 SAN DIEGO 1
NY METS 5 TORONTO 0
LAS VEGAS 6 COLORADO 3 (11)
NY YANKEES 9 PITTSBURGH 4
SAN FRANCISCO 10 SEATTLE 9 (11)
ARIZONA 6 WASHINGTON 4
PHILADELPHIA 3 LA DODGERS 2
ATLANTA 10 MIAMI 0
KANSAS CITY 8 BALTIMORE 2
TEXAS 5 TAMPA BAY 2
MILWAUKEE 3 CINCINNATI 2
CLEVELAND 8 LA ANGELS 6
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCOREBOARD
INDIANAPOLIS 3 IOWA 3 (SUSPENDED TOP 10)
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SCOREBOARD
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
UFL SCOREBOARD
BIRMINGHAM 21 MICHIGAN 12
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES/NEWS RELEASES
DUKE VS. HOUSTON GAME NOTES:
BLUE DEVILS NOTES:
» Duke’s 18th Final Four appearance ties UCLA for second-most all time. » The Blue Devils are 11-6 in the national semifinal game, including an 8-2 record since 1990. » Duke owns the second-highest net rating (39.62) in the history of KenPom (since 1996- 97 season). Only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils have achieved a higher net rating (43.01). » The Blue Devils have won 31 of their last 32 games since late November, including the nation’s second-longest current win streak at 15 consecutive victories. » Duke leads the nation in scoring margin (+21.1) and ranks third in the country in assistto-turnover ratio (+1.82), third in effective field goal percentage (.582), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.385), sixth in field goal percentage (.496), seventh in scoring defense (62.6), ninth in scoring offense (83.7), 10th in free throw percentage (.790), 11th in rebound margin (+7.7), 11th in three-point percentage (.386), 11th in turnovers per game (9.4), 16th in assists per game (17.1) and 20th in three-pointers per game (10.2) – all top marks in the ACC. » Duke leads the ACC in scoring offense (83.7) and scoring defense (62.6), and could become the first team in ACC history to lead the conference in both categories. » Duke is the only team in the country ranked among the top-four in both offensive (1st) and defensive (4th) adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom. » Duke is the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (83.7) and hold its opponents to fewer than 63 points per game (62.6). » The 367 points are the most in the first four NCAA Tournament games by a Duke team. » Jon Scheyer’s 89 career victories is tied with Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens for the most wins among Division I head coaches in their first three seasons. » Cooper Flagg joined fellow Blue Devil Grant Hill (1994) as the only players to average 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the NCAA Tournament entering the Final Four. » Khaman Maluach’s 87.0% field goal shooting (20-of-23) during the NCAA Tournament is the best by any player entering the Final Four since 1985 (min. 20 FGA), per CBS Sports.
OPPONENTS:
» Houston, ranked No. 2 in the top-25 polls, makes its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament Final Four and the second time under head coach Kelvin Sampson. » This is the Cougars’ third straight year as a No. 1 seed. » Duke defeated Houston, 54-51, in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in Dallas, Texas, on March 29, 2024. » Houston owns the nation’s longest win streak at 17 games, having won 30 of its last 31 contests since the end of November. » Houston defeated Arizona, 72-64, to win the Big 12 tournament championship on March 15 in Kansas City, Missouri. » Houston boasts the nation’s top adjusted defensive efficiency rating (87.4) on KenPom, and is 10th offensively (123.9). » Houston leads the country in scoring defense (58.3) and field goal percentage defense (.382). » The Cougars also rank third in the nation in turnovers per game (9.0), fourth in scoring margin (15.8) and fifth in three-point percentage (.397). » LJ Cryer, Associated Press All-America Third Team selection, averages 15.4 points/game to top four double-figure scorers.
Last Time Out » No. 1-seed Duke advanced to the 2025 Final Four, defeating No. 2-seed Alabama, 85-65, in the East Region Final on Saturday, March 29. » The Blue Devils (35-3) earned their 18th Final Four berth and the first under head coach Jon Scheyer. » With Duke leading by seven, 65-58, at the 8:03 mark, the Blue Devils then ran off 13 straight points to grab a 20-point lead, 78-58, with 2:47 – a scoreless stretch of 5:16. » The scoring run of at least 10 unanswered points is Duke’s 39th of the season, compared to just seven for the Blue Devils’ opponents. » Overall, Duke’s defense held Alabama to 65 points, 26.4 points below the Crimson Tide’s nation-leading average of 91.4 points per game. » Kon Knueppel led the team with 21 points and added a squad-high five assists. Khaman Maluach and Cooper Flagg paced Duke on the glass with nine rebounds each. Tyrese Proctor scored 17 points on 7-of-10 (.700) from the field. The junior also grabbed five rebounds, his eighth game this season with at least five boards. Maluach rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring, with 14, on 6-of-7 (.857) from the field. Five of his six made shots came via slam dunks and also led the team in blocks with two. » Flagg was named East Region Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Region team by his classmates Knueppel and Maluach. » Duke improved its NCAA Tournament record to 126-41 (.754) all-time, marking the best winning percentage in tournament history by a team with a minimum of 20 games played. » Scheyer improved his career record to 89-21 (.809), including a 8-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament. » Scheyer’s 89 victories ties Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens for the most wins in the first three seasons as a Division I men’s basketball head coach. » The 65 points were the second-lowest output for Alabama this season, trailing only its 64-point game against Ole Miss. » Duke held the Crimson Tide to 23-of-65 (.354) shooting, the lowest single-game shooting percentage by Alabama this season. » Duke shot 30-of-56 (.536) from the field, its fourth consecutive game with a shooting percentage over 50-percent. » The Blue Devils logged 50-40-80 shooting splits, adding 6-of-13 (.462) from deep and 19-of-22 (.864) from the charity stripe. » The Blue Devils out-rebounded Alabama, 41-30, and has finished with a double-digit advantage on the glass in 19 games this season. » Duke ended the contest with a 40-28 margin for points in the paint, the second straight game with at least 40 points in the paint. » The 20-point margin of victory is Duke’s 22nd win this season of at least 20 points. » Duke improved its record to 35-3 overall to become the sixth team in program history to reach 35 victories in a season (2014-15, 2009-10, 2000-01, 1998-99, 1985-86). Scheyer Breaks ACC Record, Ties Division I Record for Most Victories in First Three Seasons » Duke head coach Jon Scheyer has achieved a career record of 89-21 for a winning percentage of .809. » Scheyer’s 89 victories exceed the standard set by Bill Guthridge (80, North Carolina, 1997-2000) for the most wins by an ACC coach in their first three seasons. » Scheyer’s 89 victories ties Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens for the most wins in the first three seasons as a Division I men’s basketball head coach. » Scheyer became the first coach in conference history to win two ACC Tournament championships in his first three seasons as a head coach. » Scheyer is one of four finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year award, and was named NABC South Atlantic District Coach of the Year. Duke Continues to Rank Among Nation’s Top Defenses » Duke is once again one of the top defenses in the country. » KenPom ranks the Blue Devils as the third-best defense in the nation with a raw defense efficiency rating of 93.8. (as of March 31) » This season, Duke ranks fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.385) and seventh in scoring defense (62.6) – both top marks in the ACC. » The 2024-25 Blue Devils are the first Duke team since the 1948-49 season to hold every regular-season opponent to fewer than 80 points. » Based on EvanMiya’s Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating, Duke has five of the top nine defenders in the ACC: Cooper Flagg (1st), Maliq Brown (3rd), Kon Knueppel (7th), Khaman Maluach (8th) and Sion James (9th). Flagg ranks as the second-best defender in the nation with a rating of 4.37. » Duke opponents have committed 34 shot clock violations on the season, compared to just eight by the Blue Devils. » Last season, the 2023-24 Blue Devils finished 16th in the nation in defense efficiency (95.2), and ranked 28th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 66.3 points per game. » In 2022-23, Jon Scheyer’s first season as head coach, Duke finished 16th in the nation in defense efficiency (93.9), and ranked 24th in three-point percentage defense (.305), 27th in field goal percentage defense (.406) and 30th in scoring defense (63.6).
Blue Devils Evolve into One of the Nation’s Top Offenses » While Duke established itself as an imposing defensive unit early in the season, the Blue Devils have evolved into one of the top-rated offenses in the country. » The Blue Devils are No. 1 on KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency list (130.1), followed by Florida (129.1) and Auburn (127.6). » Duke also owns the top-rated offense by EvanMiya with an offensive performance rating of 22.4, ahead of Florida (20.3) and Alabama (19.2). » Duke ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82), third in effective field goal percentage (.582), sixth in field goal percentage (.496), ninth in scoring offense (83.7) and 16th in assists per game (17.1) – all top marks in the ACC. » In the last seven regular-season games (wins over Stanford, Virginia, Illinois, Miami, Florida State, Wake Forest and North Carolina), Duke averaged 95.4 points per contest, while shooting 240-of-452 (53.1%) from the field, 81-of-188 (43.1%) from three-point land and 107-of-128 (83.6%) from the free-throw line. » Against Stanford, Duke averaged 1.68 points per possession, the fourth-highest efficiency against a high-major opponent in the KenPom database (since 1996-97), then 1.31 PPP at Virginia and 1.51 PPP versus Illinois. The offensive rating of 147 during those three games is the best three-game stretch against high-major opponents in KenPom history, topping the previous high of 140 by North Carolina in 2016. (The Athletic) Duke in the NCAA Tournament » Head coach Jon Scheyer leads Duke into the tournament for the third straight season and has steered the Blue Devils to a top-five seed in each of his first three seasons. » 2025 marks the first one seed for the Blue Devils under Scheyer and is the 15th time in program history that Duke has been tapped as a one seed. Duke is 58-10 (.853) all-time as a No. 1 seed. » Duke is 126-41 (.754) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, marking the best winning percentage in tournament history by a team with a minimum of 20 games played. » Duke’s 126 wins are third-most in the event’s history. » The Blue Devils have now been selected to the East Region 20 times – last in 2023 – and hold a 63-17 (.788) record when playing out of the East. » This is Duke’s 18th Final Four appearance, which ties UCLA for second-most all time. » Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Duke has made 13 Final Four appearances, the most by any program during that time span. Down, But Not Out » Duke has found a way of overcoming double-digit deficits this season, rallying for a 4-1 record when trailing by double figures. » The Blue Devils trailed by 11 points (16:20-1st) versus Auburn (Dec. 4), battled to take a 12-point lead (18:23-2nd), and won by six points, 84-78. » Duke trailed by 14 points (8:36-1st) at Louisville (Dec. 8), stormed back for a 13-point advantage (0:47-2nd), and won by 11 points, 76-65. » The Auburn and Louisville victories were the first time the Blue Devils overcame double-digit deficits in consecutive wins since February 2020, when Duke defeated Boston College, 63-55, after trailing by 10 points (Feb. 4, 2020), and then beat North Carolina, 98-96 in overtime, after being down by 13 points (Feb. 8, 2020). » Duke rallied from a 13-point deficit (4:14-1st) against NC State (Jan. 27) to secure a 10-point victory. » In the ACC Tournament quarterfinals (March 13), Georgia Tech jumped out to a 14-point lead (5:02-1st) before Duke rallied for a 78-70 win. » The Blue Devils also trailed by 13 points (15:49-1st) versus top-ranked Kansas (Nov. 26), rallied to take a two-point lead (5:53-2nd), but lost by three points, 75-72.
COMPLETE GAME NOTES: https://goduke.com/documents/2025/4/2/NCAAT_NationSemi__04-05-25_.pdf
COUGARS NOTES:
#2/2 (1) HOUSTON RETURNS to NCAA FINAL FOUR to FACE #1/1 (1) DUKE • Winners of its last 17 games and 30 of its last 30, #2/2 (1) Houston returns to the NCAA Final Four for the seventh time in school history to meet #1/1 (1) Duke at 7:49 p.m., Saturday, inside Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. • The Cougars earned their place in the NCAA Final Four with a dominating 69-50 win over #6/6 (2) Tennessee inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. Houston held the Volunteers to only 15 first-half points, a school-record low for points allowed in NCAA Tournament games and the fewest points by a No. 2 seed in the NCAA postseason. • Junior guard Emanuel Sharp finished with 16 points and four 3-pointers – all in the second half – on the way to being named Most Outstanding player of the NCAA Midwest Regional. Graduate guard LJ Cryer totaled a team-high 17 points and joined Sharp and junior point guard Milos Uzan on the All-Tournament Team. • Saturday’s game features the nation’s top two teams in both national polls and in overall KenPom.com efficiencies with each program having lost only one game since November 2024. HEADLINES and STORYLINES • With two Big 12 regular-season crowns and, most recently, the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship title, Houston now has more league championships (3) than years in the league (2). • With 19 league wins and 10 conference road victories in 2024-25, Houston set both Big 12 and school single-season records with those victory totals. • In 2024-25, Houston became the first school to join a major conference and win the regular-season championship in its first two years in the new league since Idaho accomplished the feat during the 1921-22 and 1922-23 seasons in the PCC (now known as the Pac 12). • Houston is one of only four schools to rank among the KenPom.com Top 10 national leaders in both offensive (123.9, 10th) and defensive efficiencies (87.4, 1st) through games of March 30. Duke (130.1 off., 1st, 90.5, 4th), Auburn (127.6, 3rd; 92.4, 8th) and Florida (129.1, 2nd; 93.0, 9th) join the Cougars in that exclusive group. • Since 2017-18, Houston is the nation’s winningest team with a 242-43 record. The Cougars also are the nation’s winningest team over the last three (99), four (131), five (159), six (182) and seven (215) seasons. • Head Coach Kelvin Sampson is one of four finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist. Sophomore forward Joseph Tugler is one of four finalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by MOLECULE. • Houston enjoys one of the nation’s leading 3-point and free-throw shooting back- courts. Graduate guard LJ Cryer (3.0, 41.9%) and junior guard Emanuel Sharp (2.4, 41.5%) are among the Big 12 leaders in 3-point field goals per game and 3-point field goal percentage. In addition, both Cougars also shoot over 87.0 percent from the free throw line with Sharp standing fourth in the Big 12 at 87.6. • With Houston’s Dec. 7 win over Butler, graduate forward J’Wan Roberts set a school record and became the winningest student-athlete in program history. Entering Saturday’s NCAA Final Four game, Roberts owns a 148-23 record in his Houston career.
NET NOTES • Houston stood at #3 with Duke at #1 in the final NCAA NET rankings in games through March 16. • Ranking system relies on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and qualities of wins and losses. • Using the quadrant system, the quality of wins and losses will be organized based on game location and the opponent’s NET ranking. – Quadrant 1: Home 1-30 | Neutral 1-50 | Away 1-75 – Quadrant 2: Home 31-75 | Neutral 51-100 | Away 76-135 – Quadrant 3: Home 76-160 | Neutral 101-200 | Away 135-240 – Quadrant 4: Home 161-353 | Neutral 201-353 | Away 241-353 • Replaced RPI as primary sorting tool for evaluating teams.1• Approved in July 2019 after consultation with Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, National Association of Basketball Coaches, top basketball analytics and Google Cloud Professional Services. MILESTONES ALERT √ √ Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts became the 52nd member of Houston’s career 1,000 Point Club in its Jan. 11 win at Kansas State. Roberts now has 1,256 points to stand 26th in school history. √ √ Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts set the Houston career record by competing in his 150th game at Kansas State on Jan. 11. He broke out of a tie with forward Fabian White Jr., who competed in 149 games from 2017-22. Roberts has now competed in 171 games during his career. √ √ With a free throw late in the first half in Houston’s Jan. 18 win at UCF, graduate guard Mylik Wilson moved past 1,000 points during his complete college career. Wilson now has 1,122 points after compiling 372 points with Houston (2022 – present); 81 points with Texas Tech (2021-22) and 669 points with Louisiana (2019-21). √ √ In Houston’s Feb. 15 win at #13/13 Arizona, senior forward Ja’Vier Francis competed in the 100th win of his collegiate career. Francis became only the sixth Cougar in school history to reach that total and now has 113 wins to rank fourth in school history. √ √ With Houston’s 68-59 win over #8/8 Iowa State inside Fertitta Center on Feb. 22, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson moved into sole possession of 17th among coaches with 10+ years at the NCAA Division I level. Sampson now has a 798-353 career record. Up next in the NCAA records book is Rick Byrd, who recorded 805 with Maryville (Tenn.), Lincoln Memorial and Belmont (1978-2021). √ √ With a pair of free throws late in Houston’s March 1 win over Cincinnati inside Fertitta Center, graduate guard LJ Cryer joined Houston’s 1,000-Point Club and now has 1,157 points as a Cougar to rank 34th in Houston career history. Cryer has scored 1,945 points in his collegiate career after totaling 788 points at Baylor (2020-23). √ √ Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts now has 1,033 rebounds during his career. He became the fourth Cougar to reach quadruple-digit rebounds..Roberts also has 1,256 points with his rebounding total and became the fourth Cougar in school history to post 1,000 points AND 1,000 rebounds in his career, joining legendary centers Elvin Hayes (1965-68), Hakeem Olajuwon (1981-84) and Greg Anderson (1983-87). √ √ With his baseline 3-pointer late in the first half against (16) Colorado during the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Quarterfinal on March 13, junior guard Emanuel Sharp became the 54th member of Houston’s 1,000-Point Club. Sharp currently has 1,106 points to rank 42nd in school history. √ √ With his lone 3-pointer against rv/#24 (3) Arizona during the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Title Game on March 15, graduate guard LJ Cryer became the third student-athlete in program history to record multiple seasons with 100+ field goals, joining guards Robert McKiver and Corey Davis Jr. Cryer has 113 treys in 2024-25 and 225 3-pointers during his career. • With 972 points in his complete collegiate career, junior point guard Milos Uzan needs only 28 more points to become the latest 1,000-Point scorer on the Cougars’ 2024-25 roster.
FLORIDA VS. AUBURN GAME NOTES
GATORS NOTES:
THE TIP-OFF • Florida plays in its sixth Final Four and its first since 2014, earning the trip in UF’s third season under Todd Golden, who becomes the third coach to lead the Gators to the Final Four. • The Gators and Tigers square off for a second time this season, as Florida defeated #1 Auburn on the road on Feb. 8, 90-81. Walter Clayton Jr. played all 40 minutes and led five Gators in double figures with 19 points. • Florida advanced to the Final Four with a breathtaking rally vs. #9 Texas Tech, coming back from nine points down with an 18-4 run over the final three minutes. Thomas Haugh hit a pair of 3-pointers to cut Florida’s deficit to three before Walter Clayton Jr. hit a pair on 3s to tie and take the lead. The Gators’ trio of seniors each took a 2-for-2 trip to the line over the final minute to seal the victory. • First-team All-American and West Regional Most Outstanding Player Walter Clayton Jr.’s 1,301 points over his two seasons at UF trail only the legendary Neal Walk’s scoring output over a two-season span (1,312; 1967-69). His 204 3-pointers trail only Lee Humphrey (226, 2005-07) for most by a Gator over two seasons. Clayton has made a 3-pointer in a Florida-record 60 consecutive appearances. 2024-25 HIGHLIGHTS AT A GLANCE • Florida imposed its will on the glass in the Sweet 16 vs. #11 Maryland, posting a 42-20 rebounding advantage as 15 offensive boards led to a 21-9 edge in second-chance points. UF also enjoyed a 29-3 bench scoring advantage with both Thomas Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen going for double fi gures. • UF’s second-round win vs. UConn was powered by its senior backcourt trio. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 13 of his 23 in the final eight minutes, while Will Richard scored 13 of his 15 in the second half. Alijah Martin powered the Gators in the first half, when he scored 14 of his 18 points. • Florida raced to a 51-19 lead vs. Norfolk State and cruised to a 26-point win, paced by Walter Clayton Jr.’s 23 points. The Gators made 27 of their 33 free throw attempts, and 21 offensive rebounds led to 24 points. • The Gators captured the 2025 SEC Tournament championship, the team’s fifth and its first since 2014. Walter Clayton Jr. averaged 20.7 points and 4.7 assists and hit 13 of 26 3-point attempts to take home MVP honors. Will Richard earned All-Tournament Team honors with 16.7 points per game. • Florida set an SEC Tournament record with 104 points in the semifinal win vs. #5 Alabama. Six Gators scored in double figures, led by Clayton’s 22 with six 3-pointers. • UF earned a 99-94 road win at #7 Alabama, marking the first time in program history the Gators posted two top-10 road wins in a single season. Todd Golden’s three such wins are the most all-time by any UF coach. Alex Condon had a career night in the win at Alabama with 27 points, 10 rebounds. . • Florida earned its first all-time road win at a #1 team at Auburn, as Walter Clayton Jr.’s 19 points led five Gators in double figures. Alex Condon had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Thomas Haugh scored 16 off the bench. The Gators became the fifth team all-time to post wins vs. two different #1 teams in a season. • Florida earned its third all-time win vs. #1 and first in a regular season game with a 73-43 rout of top-ranked Tennessee. The Gators allowed just 12 fi eld goals, the fewest by a #1 team in the shot clock era. Alijah Martin led Florida with 18 points, Denzel Aberdeen added 16, and Alex Condon posted a double-double (12/12).
FLORIDA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT • All-Time Record: 49-20 • Final Four Appearances: 6 (1994, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2025) • National Championship Appearances: 3 (2000, 2006, 2007) • National Championships: 2 (2006, 2007) • Florida makes its second NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Todd Golden, holding a 1-seed for the third time in program history (2007, 2014). • On the four previous occasions that Florida entered the NCAA Tournament off an SEC Tournament title, the Gators twice won the national championship (2006, 2007), once advanced to the national semifinals (2014) and once lost in the second round (2005). • Florida and Auburn meet in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The Gators have faced another SEC team in the NCAA Tournament just once previously, coming up short vs. South Carolina in the 2017 Elite Eight at Madison Square Garden. • This will be the fifth NCAA Tournament the Gators have traveled to Texas. UF played in Dallas for opening-weekend action in 1989 and 2018. Florida’s 2013 Elite Eight run was fully in Texas, opening in Austin before moving to Arlington for the South Regional. UF’s most recent Final Four appearance in 2014 was also at Arlington.
TOP-10 SHOWDOWNS • Prior to this season, the Gators had played 22 all-time games between top-10 opponents, going 6-16. Saturday will be the Gators’ ninth such matchup this season, fourth of the postseason. • Florida’s six wins in top-10 matchups this season match the six in previous program history, going 6-2 in such games in 2024-25. • The Gators have played consecutive top-10 matchups on four occasions, three of which have occurred this season: three straight in the 2007 Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship games; two in a row to open 2025 SEC play; the 2025 SEC Tournament semifinals and championship game; and the 2025 Elite Eight and Final Four.
COMPLETE GAME NOTES: https://floridagators.com/documents/2025/4/1/2025.04.05_vsAuburn_NCAATournament.pdf
AUBURN NOTES:
» No. 1 overall seed, South Regional and SEC regular-season champion Auburn (32-5) meets West Regional and SEC Tournament champion Florida (34-4) in the first-ever Final Four matchup between two SEC teams in the national semifinal game of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship held on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. » The winner will face either East Regional champion Duke (35-3) or Midwest Regional champion Houston (34- 4) in the national championship game on Monday night at 7:50 p.m. (CT) on CBS. » Auburn is making its second Final Four appearance in program history and first trip since the team’s magical run in 2019. The Tigers join Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky as the only SEC schools to make multiple Final Fours in conference history. » This season marks the fifth time two SEC teams have advanced to the Final Four and the first since 2014 when Florida played eventual national champion UConn and Kentucky beat Wisconsin at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. » The Tigers enter the Final Four with a program-record 32 victories on the season, which is tied for the 13thmost victories in a single season in SEC history. The only other SEC programs that have won at least 32 games in a season are Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky. » AU is making its 14th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth under head coach Bruce Pearl (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025). It is 23-13 all-time (.639) in NCAA Tournament play. » Saturday’s Final Four matchup against Florida is the second time Auburn has played an SEC opponent in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers defeated Kentucky 77-71 in overtime in the 2019 Elite Eight to advance to the program’s only previous Final Four. » Auburn won the NCAA South Regional with a 70-64 victory over No. 2 seed Michigan State in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four for the second time in program history. » Auburn was a coveted No. 1 seed once before in 1999 (defeated No. 16 Winthrop and No. 9 Oklahoma State; lost to No. 4 Ohio State in the Sweet 16) and is the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history. The Tigers join Florida, Kentucky and LSU as the only schools that have earned multiple No. 1 seeds as a member of the SEC since 1979 when the selection committee started seeding every team. » Head Coach Bruce Pearl was named SEC Coach of the Year after leading Auburn to the SEC regular season title in a historic year for the league. It was the Tigers’ fifth SEC Championship (3 regular season and 2 tournament) in the last eight seasons. Pearl set a program record with his eighth NCAA Tournament win against Alabama State. » Auburn was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll for eight-straight weeks from Jan. 13 to March 3 and are one of only two SEC teams to ever be ranked No. 1 for at least six-straight weeks in the AP Poll, joining Kentucky. Auburn is currently ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.
AUBURN’S BODY OF WORK » The Tigers secured the No. 1 overall tournament seed by compiling a 28-5 record, winning the SEC regular season by traversing a historic-gauntlet of league games with a 15-3 mark and playing the nation’s toughest schedule, according to Team Rankings, ahead of Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee and Houston in the Top 5. They also played the toughest non-conference slate in program history against the likes of NCAA teams in Duke, Houston, Iowa State, Memphis, North Carolina and Purdue (5-1). » Auburn’s body work included 24 games against 19 opponents in this year’s tournament field (19-5) as part of a NCAA-and SEC-record 14 teams to earn a bid into the 2025 edition of March Madness. The Tigers also went 16-5 against Quad 1 opponents prior to the NCAA Tournament and hoisted the 2024 Maui Invitational trophy in a loaded tournament field. They were also ranked No. 1 for eight-straight weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and went 8-2 in road games (8-1 in league play). » All of the Tigers’ five losses this season were to teams in the NCAA Tournament, including four Sweet 16 participants, and four of those ranked higher than No. 10 in the country at the time of the meeting. PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST » Auburn is just the second-ever NCAA Final Four team to play all three teams left (Houston, Duke and Florida) in the field during the regular season next to Florida in 2013-14, according to NCAA Stats research. » The Tigers played the Cougars on a neutral-site in November, Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge in December and Florida at home in SEC play. » During that campaign, Florida lost at Wisconsin (59-53) in November, lost at UConn (65-64) in December, beat Kentucky twice at Rupp Arena (69-59) and at home (84-65), before falling to UConn in the national semifinals (63-53). A LOOK INSIDE THE SERIES » Auburn leads 92-84 in the all-time series with Florida. However, the Gators won the only regular-season meeting between the two schools, 90-81, at Neville Arena on Feb. 8. » The Tigers and Gators have split the last six meetings in the series. Auburn is looking to beat Florida in a postseason game, after falling to the Gators in the teams’ lone regular season game for the second-straight year. » Last season, Auburn beat Florida in the SEC Championship Game, 86-67, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, to claim the program’s third-ever SEC Tournament title after the Gators defeated the Tigers, 81-65, in Gainesville, Fla. » Saturday’s contest marks the second time Auburn has faced an SEC team in the NCAA Tournament. The fifth-seeded Tigers previously upset second-seeded Kentucky, 77-71, in an overtime thriller in the 2019 Elite Eight in Kansas City, Mo. » In neutral-site games, Auburn leads UF, 5-4, with all nine of those previous contests occurring in the SEC Tournament. » Bruce Pearl is 13-14 lifetime versus Florida in his head coaching career, including 5-9 at Auburn. Meanwhile, Florida head coach Todd Golden is 2-2 against Auburn, with all four meetings during his three seasons in Gainesville. » Should Auburn advance to the title game, the Tigers are 0-5 in the all-time series with Duke and 2-7 in the all-time series versus Houston. » Auburn and Duke met this season (L, 78-84) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 4. Coach Pearl is 0-2 versus Duke as Auburn previously dropped a 78-72 decision to the then top-ranked Blue Devils in the 2018 Maui Invitational. » Against Houston, then No. 11-ranked Auburn beat the fourth-ranked Cougars, 74-69, at the Toyota Center on Nov. 9 in Houston, Texas. The two teams have played once before in the NCAA Tournament with the top-seeded Cougars claiming an 81-65 win over the ninth seed Tigers in the second round of the 2023 Midwest Regional in Birmingham, Ala. – Coach Pearl’s first career game against Houston.
COMPLETE NOTES: https://auburntigers.com/documents/914d8278-906e-4a50-a677-46b8fb34b1af.pdf
DUKE FRESHMAN STAR COOPER FLAGG NAMED THE AP MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were days away from clinching a spot in the Final Four, and the Blue Devils’ freshman star was planning ahead.
It wasn’t about anything on the court, though. It was to be ready the next time teammates Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba broke out water guns at the cold tubs.
“I’m definitely ordering one as well,” Flagg said with a grin, a nod to the fact that he’s still “just being a kid.”
Maybe so, but the the 18-year-old’s game has been far more advanced than his age from the opening tip of his college debut. Scoring. Rebounding. Setting up teammates as a playmaker, then aiding them as a defender. He did it all amid high expectations as the potential No. 1 overall NBA draft prospect, the driving force with a relentless competitive edge and mature focus for a team now two wins from a national championship.
It is why Flagg was named The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year on Friday, becoming only the fourth freshman to win the award in its 64-year history.
The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, won a two-man race with Auburn star Johni Broome. Both players were unanimous first-team AP All-Americans with teams at the Final Four, and they were the only two to receive player-of-the-year votes, Flagging 41 of the 61.
Flagg joins Duke’s Zion Williamson (2019), Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas star Kevin Durant (2007) as freshman winners. Each went either No. 1 or No. 2 overall in the NBA draft a few months later. Flagg is the eighth Duke player to win the award, most of any program.
“He plays so hard, he’s competitive, a great teammate,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the Blue Devils’ home finale, “and obviously his ability is special.”
‘High standard, high expectations’
Flagg was just 17 when he arrived at Duke after reclassifying to graduate early from high school. Yet he has exceeded all hype as the nation’s top-ranked recruit, with Flagg leading Duke in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (7.5), assists (4.2) and steals (1.4) while ranking second in blocks (1.3) entering Saturday’s national semifinal against Houston.
“I hold myself to a high standard, high expectations,” Flagg told the AP. “Just because I know how much work I’ve put in and how many hours I’ve spent grinding and putting that work in. … It’s those expectations of just trusting what you do and just doing it to the highest level.”
And he repeatedly did that.
He scored an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman-record 42 points against Notre Dame. There was his highlight-reel transition dunk against Pittsburgh. The big game to help the Blue Devils beat Broome’s Tigers, along with going for 30 points in an NCAA Sweet 16 win against Arizona that Scheyer called “one of the best tournament performances I’ve ever coached or been a part of.”
Cohesive play is the hallmark of this Blue Devils team, the only one ranked in KenPom’s top five for both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
It has offered ways for Flagg to improve in his first and possibly lone college season as he learned “the level of the details” required to thrive. It was ensuring he got in for pre-practice recovery sessions. Or listening when graduate transfer Mason Gillis and junior Tyrese Proctor pushed the importance of sleep, prompting Flagg to nix a high-school habit of late-night phone scrolling.
“As far as outside expectations, I couldn’t really care less,” Flagg said. “For me, it’s more about following the expectations of my teammates, my coaches, my family. Everybody’s human so I’m going to make mistakes. I’m not going to be at my best all the time.
“But that’s what having great teammates and great coaches does for you. They just always have my back and are always there for me.”
Support within reach
His mother, Kelly, almost envies how her son handles that.
“I think he sees it but he really doesn’t let it bother him,” she told the AP. “And I wish I was more like that. He’s so comfortable with who he is, and he’s always been that way. That’s why he doesn’t get rattled easily, because he believes in himself and it doesn’t really matter to him what other people think.
“That’s a special ability to be able to drown out the noise when the noise can be overwhelming at times for somebody like him. I’m really proud of him for being able to do that.”
She and husband Ralph have kept a close eye on how he’s been doing after moving to North Carolina for this year while Ace, Cooper’s twin brother, completes his final season of high school basketball in Greensboro, an hour away. Flagg said it helped to have family close, including when he visited for a few days around Christmas and got multiple days in the gym with his father and brothers.
“When you are able to step back and just take a break, it can be really good to just get your mind clear and kind of refocus,” he said.
It showed up on the court, notably as he elevated his scoring (20.1 points, up from 16.9), assists (4.5, up from 3.7), shooting percentage (51%, up from 43.8%) and 3-point percentage (.434, up from 27.1) after Jan. 1.
Indeed, Flagg seems wired for big moments when the stakes rise, something his mother has seen going back to his childhood. There was his hatred of losing from early on, such as demanding to keep playing after losing in a driveway game of H-O-R-S-E with Kelly — who played in college at Maine — or a board game like Trouble.
He always wanted to be first to do anything even when it seemed a bit much, such as the family working with eldest brother Hunter to ride a bike without training wheels — only to have the then-3 Cooper announce “I can do it, Momma” and back it up.
When it came to basketball, he tested his parents’ nerves by constantly dribbling on the hardwood floors at home. But success came quickly, too, with whispers soon spreading around Maine about the prodigy playing up several grade levels.
“When he was younger, if somebody stole the ball from him or he turned it over or got fouled or did something (wrong), we would say it was a 50/50 shot whether he was going to pick up a crazy foul or he was going to do something spectacular,” Kelly said. “And as he’s gotten older, it was more the chances of something really good was about to happen.”
Savoring this moment
Flagg noted multiple times how much he has enjoyed Duke. He has talked about making connections and fitting in with other students he called “elite in their own respects.”
That’s offered a respite from the spotlight, even as he’s featured in ads and commercials as a leading-man star for college basketball with players permitted to profit from their athletic fame. He is now used to requests for autographs and selfies, shrugging that “there could be worse problems to have.”
Flagg has avoided saying he is making the expected jump to the NBA after the season. For now, there are more pressing things to deal with, from the Final Four to ordering that water gun.
“I have to,” Flagg insisted. “What am I going to do? I’m going to be unarmed?”
AUBURN’S PEARL AND ST. JOHN’S’ PITINO SHARE AP COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS, 1ST TIE IN HISTORY OF AWARD
Bruce Pearl has turned Auburn into a basketball school and may have his best team yet. Rick Pitino has done what he does best at St. John’s, ushering in a quick turnaround.
Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press men’s college basketball coach of the year award.
Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting released Friday from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville’s Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Duke’s Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three and Drake’s Ben McCollum and UC San Diego’s Eric Olen each got one vote.
Pitino is the first St. John’s coach to be named AP coach of the year and the sixth in Big East Conference history. Marquette’s Shaka Smart won the award two years ago.
When Pitino was hired in 2023, the Red Storm had been mired in mediocrity. St. John’s hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and the March Madness trips had been sporadic since the late 1990s.
Pitino led the Red Storm to 20 wins his first season and back into into national prominence this year. St. John’s won the Big East regular-season title by going 18-2 and took its first Big East Conference Tournament title since 2000.
The Red Storm matched a school record with 31 wins — marks set in the 1980s under Lou Carnesecca — and had their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in in 34 years by reaching No. 5 in the final regular-season poll. St. John’s was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and opened with a win over Omaha before losing to Arkansas in the second round.
Pitino’s quick success follows a pattern he set in previous stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He is the first coach to lead six different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
“I have been blessed for a long period of time — fifty-plus years of coaching,” Pitino said. “It’s going to stop, so why not have a blast? Why not get the most out of it? Laugh, have fun, get great experiences.”
Pearl has certainly been doing that since taking over at Auburn in 2015.
The Tigers had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and Pearl got them back into the bracket by his fourth season. Auburn took a huge leap the following year, earning the program’s first trip to the Final Four in 2019.
The Tigers have been close to unstoppable this season.
Led by All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 this season, earned the SEC regular-season title and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and bulled their way through the bracket, beating Michigan State 70-64 to reach the Final Four for the second time.
Pearl joins Cliff Ellis in 1999 as the only Auburn coaches to win AP coach of the year honors. He is first SEC coach to win the award since Kentucky’s John Calipari 10 years ago.
“You want to be on a great team, you’ve got to make sacrifices,” Pearl said. “You’ve got to share and you’ve got to hold each other accountable. I think that’s a big part of what this locker room is all about. This is a team of faith.”
With a national coach of the year — just like St. John’s.
NORTHWESTERN AND BASKETBALL COACH CHRIS COLLINS AGREE TO CONTRACT EXTENSION THROUGH 2030
Northwestern and basketball coach Chris Collins have agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2030, the school announced on Friday.
Collins is the only coach in the program’s 120-year history to lead Northwestern to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats made it for the first time in 2017 and returned in 2023 and 2024 after five straight losing seasons.
Collins has a 194-190 record in 12 years. He is second on the program’s all-time wins list behind Dutch Lonborg, who was 236-203 from 1928 to 1950. The Wildcats finished 17-16 this past season after a 10-3 start and tied for 12th in the Big Ten at 7-13.
“Northwestern is my family’s home,” Collins said in a statement. “I am really proud of what we have built over the last 12 years with our basketball program and couldn’t be more excited to continue the journey together. I am grateful to President Michael Schill and (athletic director) Mark Jackson for their continued belief in me. We are all aligned to work to create even more history in the future. Go ’Cats!”
Jackson, who was hired away from Villanova in August, called Collins “one of the top coaches in the country.”
“While his on the court performance certainly warrants this extension, I’m more impressed with what Chris represents off the court, the way our student-athletes carry themselves as young men, the way they graduate from one of the top institutions in the world, and the overall culture that everyone connected to Northwestern Basketball buys into,” he said. “Chris, with the help of so many, has created all of it, including an environment in Welsh-Ryan Arena that is second to none. The energy of our basketball program helps elevate all aspects of our athletic department.”
Collins’ name was linked to the opening at Villanova, which fired Kyle Neptune after three years three weeks ago and hired Maryland’s Kevin Willard. He has ties to Philadelphia, where his father Doug spent eight years playing for the NBA’s 76ers, but he also has a strong connection to the Chicago area.
Collins grew up about 10 miles from Welsh-Ryan Arena in suburban Northbrook and was chosen Mr. Basketball in Illinois. He went on to star at Duke and spent 13 years as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski before taking over at Northwestern in 2013.
Northwestern, which hosted the inaugural NCAA championship game in 1939, finally made the tournament in Collins’ fourth season. The Wildcats won 24 games and beat Vanderbilt before losing to Gonzaga. But instead of emerging as a consistent winner, Northwestern went 60-90 overall and 26-71 in conference play over the next five years.
The heat on Collins was so high following the 2021-22 season that then-athletic director Derrick Gragg released a statement saying the coach would get at least one more year to turn around his struggling program. Northwestern went 22-12 and made the NCAA each of the next two seasons, and Collins got a three-year extension through 2028 two years ago.
FORMER IOWA G JOSH DIX TRANSFERS TO CREIGHTON
Former Iowa guard Josh Dix announced his commitment to Creighton on Friday.
The 6-foot-6 guard entered the transfer portal on March 19 following the dismissal of longtime Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery.
His teammate with the Hawkeyes, center Owen Freeman, previously committed to the Bluejays.
As a junior this season at Iowa, Dix averaged career highs in points (14.4), rebounds (3.2), assists (2.8) and steals (0.9) per game. His 42.2 shooting percentage from 3-point range also was a career high.
He scored in double figures in 27 of his 32 games played in 2024-25. 247Sports ranked him as a four-star prospect and the No. 2 shooting guard in the transfer portal.
At Creighton, he joins a program that finished 25-11, ending with a loss to No. 1 Auburn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOUTH CAROLINA DUMPS TEXAS IN FINAL FOUR, EARNS SHOT AT REPEAT TITLE
Joyce Edwards posted 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists off the bench, and South Carolina moved within one game of becoming the first repeat Women’s NCAA Tournament national champion since 2016 with a 74-57 rout of Texas in a national semifinal on Friday in Tampa.
The Gamecocks (35-3) outscored the Longhorns 20-9 in the third quarter, building on a three-point halftime lead they held thanks to an eruption late in the second quarter. South Carolina scored 11 consecutive points late in the third after producing a key 7-0 run late in the second period.
Edwards buoyed South Carolina through the first 20 minutes with eight points, seven rebounds and four assists. Te-Hina Paopao then ignited in the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers.
The Gamecocks held Texas to 4-for-14 shooting (28.6 percent) in the third, while shooting 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) on the other end.
Texas (35-4) could not get the deficit back under 10 points after South Carolina pulled ahead, 52-41, on Paopao’s steal and breakaway layup with 3:46 to go in the third quarter. The Gamecocks’ lead reached 20 points down the stretch.
Paopao led South Carolina with 14 points. Bree Hall added 11 points. Raven Johnson did a little of everything for the Gamecocks, snaring six rebounds, dishing three assists and blocking two shots.
Texas’ Jordan Lee led all scorers with 16 points, shooting 3-for-7 from 3-point range. She hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, but it was not enough for the Longhorns to keep pace.
Madison Booker scored 11 points for Texas, and Rori Harmon added eight points. Texas was outscored in the paint 40-22 and managed to convert just eight points from 13 South Carolina turnovers.
The win sends South Carolina to the Sunday national championship game against either Duke or UConn. The last repeat Women’s NCAA Tournament champion was UConn during a run of four straight from 2013-16.
UCONN BOUNCES UCLA IN SEMIFINALS, TO FACE SOUTH CAROLINA FOR TITLE
Azzi Fudd scored all 19 of her points in the first half, powering UConn to a dominant start as the Huskies cruised past UCLA 85-51 in Friday’s second national semifinal in Tampa, Fla.
UConn, a second seed, advanced to Sunday’s national title game against defending champion South Carolina. The Gamecocks rolled past Texas in Friday’s first semifinal.
By halftime, UConn (36-3) rode Fudd’s offensive burst to double the 10-point lead it held through the first quarter. She scored 12 of the Huskies’ 19 points in the quarter, shooting 4-of-8 from the floor in the period and 7-of-11 for the first half.
Sarah Strong then took over in the second half. She scored 14 of her team-high 22 points after intermission, including eight points in the final 3:25 of the third quarter.
Strong knocked down two of her four 3-pointers during that stretch and shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc on the night. Fudd finished 3-of-5 on 3-point attempts.
Strong also matched teammate Jana El Alfy and UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez with a game-high eight rebounds.
UConn star Paige Bueckers struggled from the field, hitting 7 of 17 shots overall and 0 of 3 from long range. She scored 10 points in the second half to close with 16, ending her streak of three straight games with at least 31.
Bueckers also came away with three steals, contributing to the most effective defensive effort of any UCLA opponent all season. The Bruins’ 51 points were a season-low — nine fewer than the previous mark in a loss to rival Southern California in February — due in part to 19 turnovers.
Fudd also had three steals, and El Alfy added four. UConn converted the 19 takeaways into 27 points.
UCLA (34-3), a number one seed that was playing in the program’s first-ever NCAA Final Four, never had a lead. The Bruins leaned heavily on center Lauren Betts, who scored 11 half of UCLA’s 22 points in the first half.
Betts finished with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting. The rest of the Bruins were just 9-of-34 (26.5 percent) from the field.
Kiki Rice had eight points before fouling out, and no other Bruins finished with more than six.
REPORTS: LSU STAR FLAU’JAE JOHNSON STAYING IN SCHOOL
LSU star Flau’Jae Johnson will skip the 2025 WNBA Draft and play her senior season of college basketball, multiple outlets reported.
A source told ESPN that Johnson will consider NIL offers before deciding whether to return to Baton Rouge for the 2025-26 campaign or enter the transfer portal before it closes on April 23.
The 21-year-old guard was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference and third-team All-America selection this year, averaging 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 34 games (all starts).
Johnson won a national championship with LSU as a freshman in 2022-23 and has career averages of 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 106 games (104 starts).
She helped the Tigers finish 31-6 this season, losing to top-seeded UCLA in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. After the game, Johnson hinted at staying in school for another season.
“Once I taste the national championship more and more,” Johnson said. “I feel like that national championship I have, yeah, I was a big factor in it, but there were bigger factors. I want my own one, you know what I’m saying? Where I lead the team. That’s what you really want.”
The 2025 WNBA Draft is scheduled for April 14. Despite not playing four seasons of college hoops, Johnson was eligible because she will turn 22 in November.
Johnson is one of the sport’s most marketable players and also a rapper who has released three albums. She has NIL deals with Powerade, Puma, Amazon, Experian and several other companies, with On3 estimating her NIL valuation at $1.5 million.
NBA NEWS
NBA FINES JA MORANT $75K FOR ‘FINGER GUN’ GESTURES
The NBA followed through on its warning and fined Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant $75,000 on Friday for making “finger gun” gestures on two occasions.
“Morant was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light,” read the memo from NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
Morant, who has twice been suspended by the league for handgun-related incidents, made the gestures in games against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night and the Miami Heat on Thursday night — despite being warned on Wednesday.
After sinking a 3-pointer in the first quarter in Miami, Morant turned and made the gesture using both hands. He later sank a short jumper at the buzzer to give Memphis a 110-108 win over Miami, capping his 30-point night.
Asked postgame about criticism of his actions, Morant said, “I’m kind of used to it. I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it’s going to be out there. So, yeah. I don’t care no more.”
In Tuesday’s game, both Morant and Warriors guard Buddy Hield made the gesture. Hield also received a warning from the league, per multiple reports.
Morant, 25, was suspended eight games without pay in March 2023 for brandishing a firearm in an Instagram Live video. Two months later, another video surfaced online of Morant posing with a gun, resulting in a 25-game ban to start the 2023-24 season.
A two-time All-Star, Morant is averaging 22.9 points, 7.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds through 47 games (all starts) this season, his sixth with the Grizzlies. His base salary this season is $36.7 million, per Spotrac.
NBA ROUNDUP: ROCKETS END THUNDER’S 11-GAME WIN STREAK
Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun combined for 65 points and the Houston Rockets rode a scorching second quarter to a 125-111 victory over visiting Oklahoma City on Friday, ending the Thunder’s 11-game winning streak.
Green scored 34 points, Sengun added 31 and the Rockets (51-27) won for the 14th time in 16 games. Houston posted a 48-33 rebounding margin to maintain control after building a 23-point lead late in the second quarter.
Houston’s Amen Thompson posted 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Jalen Williams paced the Thunder with 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander notched 22 points and eight assists.
Celtics 123, Suns 103
Jaylen Brown tossed in 31 points and Boston broke the NBA record for made 3-pointers in a season during a victory over visiting Phoenix.
The Celtics set the record on their eighth trey of the game, a 26-footer by Payton Pritchard with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter. It gave Boston a 44-26 lead. The 2022-23 Golden State Warriors set the previous record (1,363).
The Celtics made 14 of 39 shots from behind the 3-point arc, and they ended the night with 1,370 treys on the campaign. Boston’s Jayson Tatum added 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Devin Booker scored a game-high 37 points for the Suns, who have lost five in a row.
Lakers 124, Pelicans 108
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and Austin Reaves added 30 as Los Angeles helped its prospects for a top-four finish in the Western Conference with a victory over New Orleans.
LeBron James produced 27 points and eight assists and Jaxson Hayes had 12 rebounds with six points as the Lakers won in advance of a back-to-back road set against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and Tuesday. The Lakers pulled a half-game ahead of the fourth-place Denver Nuggets.
Jose Alvarado scored 27 points and Karlo Matkovic added 15 for the Pelicans, who have just three wins in the past 11 games. Yves Missi contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Pistons 117, Raptors 105
Jalen Duren had 21 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks and visiting Detroit clinched a playoff berth by completing a four-game season sweep over Toronto.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points and Malik Beasley scored 21 for the Pistons. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (calf), Tobias Harris (heel) and Isaiah Stewart (suspension) did not play.
Ja’Kobe Walter scored 22 points for the Raptors. Jakob Poeltl had 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Kings 125, Hornets 102
Zach LaVine poured in 25 points to go with 10 rebounds and Domantas Sabonis racked up 24 points and 11 rebounds to help Sacramento snap a three-game losing streak with a win at Charlotte.
DeMar DeRozan put up 22 points for the Kings. Ex-Hornets guard Malik Monk had 17 points off the bench as Sacramento won for the second time in nine games.
The Hornets lost for the seventh time in their last eight games despite 22 points from Miles Bridges. Moussa Diabate finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Pacers 140, Jazz 112
Myles Turner scored 26 points and Pascal Siakam added 22 to lead Indiana past Utah in Indianapolis for its third straight win.
The Pacers have won nine of 11 while keeping a solid hold on the No. 4 spot of the Eastern Conference standings. Turner also grabbed seven rebounds and swatted six shots, while Siakam contributed five boards, five assists, four blocks and three steals.
Utah dropped an eighth consecutive game for the third time this season. The Jazz, who have the worst record in the NBA, have lost 18 of their past 19 contests. Collin Sexton led all scorers with 27 points.
Bulls 118, Trail Blazers 113
Coby White and Nikola Vucevic each scored 31 points and Josh Giddey notched his sixth triple-double of the season as Chicago beat visiting Portland.
Giddey racked up 15 points, a career-best 19 rebounds and 12 assists as the Bulls pulled level with the Miami Heat for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Deni Avdija posted 37 points and 11 rebounds and Dalano Banton contributed 21 points for the Blazers, who finished a 2-3 road trip.
Warriors 118, Nuggets 104
Stephen Curry bombed in a game-high 36 points, Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler III combined for 45 more and Golden State dumped Denver in San Francisco.
The Warriors earned their fifth straight win to climb within a half-game of the fourth-place Nuggets in the Western Conference playoff chase. Podziemski had 26 points to complement Curry’s third straight game with 36 or more.
A third straight loss dropped Denver four games behind the second-place Houston Rockets with just four games remaining. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Cavaliers 114, Spurs 113
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 25 points and 12 rebounds as Cleveland did just enough to beat host San Antonio.
The Cavaliers won their third straight contest and reduced their magic number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference to one. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 24 points. Harrison Barnes added 23.
Cleveland was up by 23 points late in the second quarter and by 17 at halftime before the Spurs cut it to 88-82 in the third. In the fourth, Barnes poured in back-to-back 3-pointers to bring San Antonio within a point with 28.6 seconds to play, but Barnes missed a contested, driving layup at the buzzer.
Clippers 114, Mavericks 91
Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and sparked a key early run as Los Angeles sailed past Dallas in Inglewood, Calif.
The Clippers have won 10 of their past 12 games. Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell each had 14 points for Los Angeles, and Zubac grabbed 13 rebounds. The Mavericks produced their lowest point total of the season.
Dallas played without Anthony Davis, who was a late scratch due to an adductor strain, and Klay Thompson and Jaden Hardy exited because of injuries. Naji Marshall led the Mavericks with 22 points.
WNBA NEWS
WNBA STAR ELENA DELLE DONNE RETIRES AFTER 11 SEASONS AND THE 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP
Elena Delle Donne is officially retiring from professional basketball after not playing last year and dealing with injuries and illnesses throughout her entire career.
When healthy, she was a force on the court, winning two WNBA MVPs, making seven All-Star appearances in 11 seasons and helping the Washington Mystics win a league championship in 2019.
Delle Donne, 35, made the announcement on social media Friday and referenced a line from one of her favorite childhood books that reads, “How did it get so late so soon?”
“I have asked myself that over and over again in the process of coming to the decision to retire from playing basketball,” Delle Donne wrote on Instagram. “Being able to say that out loud was one of the hardest parts of my career. My body seemed to make this decision before my mind accepted it, but I now truly know this is the right thing for me at the right time.”
The Mystics soon after her announcement said that Delle Donne would be a special advisor to the Monumental Sports group that owns the Mystics and Wizards.
“Elena Delle Donne has been a transformative force for the Washington Mystics and women’s basketball,” Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chairman and CEO Ted Leonsis said. “A champion and MVP on and off the court, her legacy as a player, leader, and ambassador will leave a permanent mark on the game, and on generations of young women, for years to come.”
NFL NEWS
BEARS AND VETERAN QB CASE KEENUM AGREE TO 1-YEAR, $3 MILLION DEAL, AP SOURCE SAYS
The Chicago Bears added a veteran quarterback to help Caleb Williams, agreeing to a one-year, $3 million contract with journeyman Case Keenum, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday night.
The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. ESPN first reported the agreement.
The Bears also signed veteran receiver Miles Boykin and cornerback Shaun Wade to one-year contracts on Thursday.
The 37-year-old Keenum spent the past two years in Houston with another prized quarterback in C.J. Stroud. He was also behind Baker Mayfield in Cleveland and Josh Allen in Buffalo before that.
Keenum has thrown for 15,175 yards over 12 years with Houston, the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota, Denver, Washington, Cleveland and Buffalo. He has 79 touchdown passes and 51 interceptions.
Keenum could push Tyson Bagent for the backup job. The Bears did not have an experienced quarterback last season to help Williams, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2024. Their third QB was Austin Reed, an undrafted rookie who spent the season on the practice squad.
GENO SMITH REPORTEDLY AGREES TO 2-YEAR, $75 MILLION EXTENSION WITH THE RAIDERS
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Quarterback Geno Smith, who was traded to Las Vegas nearly a month ago, agreed to two-year, $75 million extension with the Raiders, ESPN reported Thursday.
Smith’s new deal takes him through the 2027 season and includes $66.5 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.
The Raiders acquired Smith for a third-round draft pick from the Seattle Seahawks on March 7, but didn’t immediately come to terms on an extension. Smith had one year left on his contract, but general manager John Spytek said at this week’s NFL meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, that he expected an agreement would be reached.
“We’re looking forward to having him not just for this year, but for the years to come,” Spytek said Tuesday. “When we get everything where it needs to be (with his contract), he’ll be around. I’m confident it will happen fairly soon.”
Smith threw for 4,320 yards and 21 touchdowns with 15 interceptions last season in Seattle.
The 34-year-old, two-time Pro Bowler reunites with first-year Raiders coach Pete Carroll.
Carroll hopes to find the kind of success he experienced when he resurrected Smith’s career by giving him a home in Seattle in 2019. Smith had lost his starting job with the New York Jets and spent one season each with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers.
TIGHT END TREY MCBRIDE AGREES TO 4-YEAR DEAL WITH CARDINALS, KEEPING HIM WITH TEAM THROUGH 2029
Star tight end Trey McBride has agreed to a four-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals as the franchise locks up one of the NFL’s best young players through the 2029 season.
The Cardinals confirmed the signing Thursday. Multiple reports said the deal is worth $76 million over the four seasons, including $43 million guaranteed, which would make him the league’s highest-paid tight end.
The 25-year-old was a second-round pick out of Colorado State and he’s improved dramatically each season. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2024 after catching 111 passes for 1,146 yards, finishing second in the league for a tight end in both categories.
McBride’s 221 career catches are the most for a tight end in his first three seasons in league history, surpassing George Kittle’s mark of 216 from 2017 to 2019.
The Cardinals hope McBride and second-year receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. can be a formidable pass-catching duo for quarterback Kyler Murray, who took to social media Thursday to praise the deal.
“Maaaaan! So happy for my dawg, worth every penny!” Murray said on X. “More work to be done but a great day.”
T KELVIN BEACHUM SIGNS DEAL WITH CARDINALS
Veteran tackle Kelvin Beachum is returning to the Arizona Cardinals.
ESPN reported Friday that Beachum’s contract is for one year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Beachum, 35, will be entering his 14th NFL season since the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He has appeared in 179 games (161 starts) with the Steelers (2012-15), Jacksonville Jaguars (2016), New York Jets (2017-19) and Cardinals. He has two career fumble recoveries.
In 16 games (12 starts) last season, he played 72 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
SHILO SANDERS LOOKING TO IMPROVE HIS DRAFT STOCK IN SHADOW OF BROTHER SHEDEUR AT COLORADO’S SHOWCASE
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Shilo Sanders is trying to boost his draft stock. He’s also looking for a fresh start.
The hard-hitting, run-stuffing Colorado Buffaloes safety — son of coach Deion Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ bigger brother — is taking part in the school’s showcase Friday, where potential draftees go through a series of evaluations (bench press, 40-yard dash, position drills) in front of NFL scouts.
While Shedeur Sanders is a projected top-3 pick on April 24, Shilo is expected to be a late-round pick two days later, if he’s selected at all, in which case he’s hoping to sign with a team as an undrafted free agent.
Away from the field, Shilo Sanders remains in litigation over a lawsuit stemming from an incident with a security guard when he was in high school. The guard filed a lawsuit against Sanders and was issued a default judgment when Sanders didn’t show for his court date.
It’s led Sanders to file for bankruptcy. This week, there was a report the 25-year-old hasn’t kept up on the car payments for his Mercedes-Benz.
Victor Vital, one of Sanders’ attorneys, said in a statement to The Associated Press the Mercedes-Benz issue arose, “due to disruptions in the payment process following the termination of Mr. Sanders’ online account access, a common occurrence in bankruptcy cases.”
He added: “Mr. Sanders is current on all payments and continues to fulfill his financial obligations.”
Deion Sanders weighed in, too.
“I know some other bull junk came out,” his father/coach said. “But he fulfilled all his financial obligations.”
His father said the negativity that sometimes surrounds his sons has made the draft process “wonderful, expectant, but somewhat ignorant.”
“When they put Sanders on their back, they get attacked by some of you in here right now,” Sanders said. “Once upon a time we had a wall around (college players) and we couldn’t say nothing about them. Now the more popular they are, the more money they are compensated, you guys shoot at them like they’re an adult. You keep forgetting sometimes they’re young men.
“But I’m thankful that we prepared for this from childhood on. They’re built for this and they’re ready for this.”
Shilo Sanders didn’t participate in the bench press at the showcase, but did run the 40-yard dash, where his best time was 4.52 seconds. After his performance, he walked over to his father, who was conducting a television interview, and gave him a hug.
“Shilo has been consistency, a pillar of consistency,” Deion Sanders said. “Shilo is an old-school player playing under these new-school guidelines. Shilo is a dawg.
“I’m so darn proud of him. He does not take a back seat to his brother. He does not take a back seat to anybody. He’s a worker.”
Sanders finished third on the Buffaloes with 67 total tackles in a season where the team went to the Alamo bowl and finished 9-4. He also recovered two fumbles, including one he returned for a touchdown at Texas Tech.
He started his college career at South Carolina, before transferring to Jackson State to join his dad and brother. He then followed his family to Colorado, where he wound up his career in Boulder with 111 total tackles. Shilo Sanders took part in the East-West Shrine Bowl earlier this year.
REPORT: PROMINENT CAL FOOTBALL DONORS WITHHOLD MONEY OVER RON RIVERA ROLE
Prominent donors to the Cal football name, image and likeness collective said they won’t give any more money to the organization until former NFL head coach Ron Rivera is given the authority to run the Golden Bears program, SFGate reported.
Rivera, a former All-American linebacker at Cal, was hired March 20 as the school’s first football general manager. He was tasked with focusing on building the program to “compete and win at the highest level” as well as fundraising.
But that isn’t enough for two board members of the California Legends Collective, a third-party NIL collective, who want Rivera to hold a role similar to that of Andrew Luck at Cal’s Bay Area neighbor, Stanford, and are sharing that idea with other donors.
Luck was hired in November.
“I think we feel a certain sense of obligation to inform the donors that we have brought in and cultivated for the past several years who have helped fund the collective and help generate the success that we’ve generated,” Kevin Kennedy, president of California Legends Collective, told SFGate. “We owe them full insights into what we’re personally doing with our investments. I think it behooves all of us, and we firmly believe that, to have just clear reporting lines, and have it be clearly specified that Ron Rivera is in control of football.”
At Cal, Rivera reports to university chancellor Rich Lyons. Head coach Justin Wilcox reports to athletic director Jim Knowlton.
Kennedy said that isn’t right.
“You don’t hire Mario Andretti and ask him to sit in the passenger seat, right?” he told SFGate. “There’s a reason that you bring someone like that on staff: In order to give him control.”
In response to questions posed by SFGate, Lyons responded with this statement:
“I am confident we have the right people, in the right places, doing the right things in support of a Cal Athletics football program that can and will excel. The world of intercollegiate sports is changing rapidly, and Cal will continue to adapt rapidly to that.”
Cal finished the 2024 season with a 6-7 (2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) record. Stanford was 3-9 overall and 2-6 in its first year in the ACC.
BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: JOSE RAMIREZ (3 HRS) POWERS GUARDIANS PAST ANGELS
Jose Ramirez hit three home runs and Brayan Rocchio had two hits and three RBIs to lead the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Ramirez hit a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run homer in the fifth, both coming off Angels starter Jose Soriano (1-1), who set a career high with nine strikeouts but allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Ramirez hit his third homer in the ninth inning off Angels reliever Caden Dana. Rocchio’s two-out single with the bases loaded in the sixth inning drove home two runs to snap a tie and put the Guardians up for good at 6-4.
Six Cleveland relievers combined to allow two runs in six innings, both runs coming off closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning. Tim Herrin (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning to get the win. Mike Trout and Logan O’Hoppe homered for Los Angeles.
Braves 10, Marlins 0
Spencer Schwellenbach threw eight scoreless innings and Atlanta won its first game of the season, beating visiting Miami to open a three-game series.
Schwellenbach (1-0) extended his streak of scoreless innings to 14 in notching the longest start of his career. He allowed two hits, with neither runner reaching second base, struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. Marcell Ozuna provided much of the offense, going 3-for-5 with his first home run and double of the year. He scored three times and drove in three runs.
Matt Olson followed Ozuna’s blast in the seventh inning with a 434-foot shot to right-center field for his first homer. Olson added a two-run single in the team’s five-run eighth.
Phillies 3, Dodgers 2
Jesus Luzardo silenced previously undefeated Los Angeles, blanking the defending champion over seven innings for host Philadelphia.
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Miami Marlins, Luzardo (2-0) struck out eight while allowing just two hits and a pair of walks. Batterymate J.T. Realmuto ended the eighth and ninth innings by throwing out a runner at second base as Philadelphia survived some anxious moments down the stretch.
Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Jordan Romano, making it 3-2. With one out, Romano then walked Will Smith, who was replaced by pinch runner Chris Taylor. Romano rallied to strike out Max Muncy moments before Realmuto threw out Taylor at second (after a manager’s challenge) to hand the Dodgers their first loss in nine games this season.
Mets 5, Blue Jays 0
Pete Alonso — who nearly left New York as a free agent over the winter — homered in his first home at-bat of the season to power the Mets to a win over Toronto.
Mets starter Tylor Megill (2-0) allowed two hits over 5 1/3 innings. Reed Garrett, A.J. Minter and Max Kranick finished a combined four-hitter.
George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays. Kevin Gausman (1-1) gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Yankees 9, Pirates 4
Oswaldo Cabrera went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Aaron Judge hit his sixth home run of the season to lead New York to a win in Pittsburgh’s home opener.
Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 and Ke’Bryan Hayes belted a three-run home run in the seventh inning to account for most of Pittsburgh’s offense. Unfortunately for the Pirates, Hayes’ blast came with the Yankees already ahead 9-1.
Judge pushed the Yankees’ lead to that margin with a 403-foot shot to center field, which gave him 321 career home runs in 1,000 career games. New York’s Max Fried (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run on six hits and one walk, striking out six.
Red Sox 13, Cardinals 9
Boston racked up 16 hits and had seven multi-hit performances in a home-opening win over St. Louis.
Back-to-back home runs by Trevor Story (2-for-5, three RBIs) and Wilyer Abreu (3-for-5, two runs, two RBIs) highlighted a five-run first inning. Boston scored in four more frames and held off a three-run St. Louis rally in the ninth to make a winner of starter Walker Buehler (1-1). Triston Casas (2-for-5, two runs) and Carlos Narvaez (2-for-3, two RBIs) also had multiple hits and contributed to multiple runs.
The Red Sox tagged St. Louis starter Erick Fedde (1-1) for six runs on five hits and four walks in three innings. For St. Louis, Ivan Herrera hit his fourth homer in the last two games while Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson each had three hits.
Giants 10, Mariners 9 (11 innings)
Willy Adames lined a two-out, two-run, walk-off single in the 11th inning to rally San Francisco to a home-opening victory over visiting Seattle.
The teams had been deadlocked at 8-8 since the sixth before automatic runner Luke Raley scored on a wild pitch by Spencer Bivens (1-1) in the top of the 11th.
Jorge Polanco had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs for the Mariners, who also got three hits and three runs from Julio Rodriguez. Adames, LaMonte Wade Jr., Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey each had three hits for the Giants.
Diamondbacks 6, Nationals 4
Corbin Carroll had his fifth career two-homer game and drove in three runs, Randal Grichuk’s two-run double broke a tie in the seventh inning and visiting Arizona defeated Washington.
CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe homered for the Nationals, who have lost four in a row and have won once in seven games.
The Diamondbacks lost All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte to a left hamstring injury in the first inning. Marte is likely headed to the injured list, manager Torey Lovullo said postgame.
Cubs 3, Padres 1
Shota Imanaga threw 7 1/3 quality innings and Justin Turner delivered the go-ahead RBI single as Chicago handed visiting San Diego its first loss of the season.
Imanaga (2-0) allowed one run on four hits while striking out four and walking none, lowering his ERA to 0.98, as the Cubs won their home opener and their fourth consecutive game overall.
Randy Vasquez (0-1) pitched 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball and gave up three runs (two earned) for the Padres. The San Diego starter struck out a pair, but walked five.
Brewers 3, Reds 2
Brice Turang socked a two-run homer and Tyler Alexander and four relievers combined on a five-hitter as host Milwaukee held on to hand Cincinnati its fourth consecutive loss.
Milwaukee has won four straight since opening the season with four losses. The Reds, who had dropped their three previous games 1-0, snapped their scoreless streak at 35 innings with two unearned runs in the eighth to pull within 3-2.
TJ Friedl singled to open the eighth off Bryan Hudson, and Spencer Steer reached on an error by third baseman Oliver Dunn. Both runners advanced on Elly De La Cruz’s deep foulout to right. Joel Payamps replaced Hudson, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand delivered a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1. Jeimer Candelario followed with an RBI double down the first base line.
Tigers 7, White Sox 4
Kerry Carpenter blasted two solo home runs and Detroit celebrated its home opener by beating Chicago. Carpenter has six multi-homer games in his career.
Riley Greene belted a solo homer among his three hits and Zach McKinstry contributed two hits, a run and an RBI. Spencer Torkelson, Trey Sweeney and Dillon Dingler drove in the other runs for the Tigers. Starter Jack Flaherty (1-0) allowed one run and three hits with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Brooks Baldwin knocked in two runs for the White Sox. Starter Jonathan Cannon (0-1) allowed three runs and three hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Athletics 6, Rockies 3 (11 innings)
Jacob Wilson hit a go-ahead two-run single in the 11th inning, and the Athletics spoiled Colorado’s home opener.
Wilson also homered and Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom had two hits apiece. Noah Murdock (1-0) tossed two innings of scoreless relief for the Athletics.
Mason Miller struck out Ezequiel Tovar to end the game and pick up his second save. Tovar had three hits and Kyle Farmer and Michael Toglia had two hits each for the Rockies, which toughed out 38-degree weather and snow falling in the second coldest home opener in Coors Field history.
Rangers 5, Rays 2
Texas scored four times in the third inning and beat Tampa Bay in the series opener in Arlington, Texas.
Right-hander Tyler Mahle (1-0) earned the win after holding the Rays scoreless on one hit and two walks over five innings. He struck out five. The Rays scored twice in the seventh on wild pitches after Christopher Morel and Kameron Misner led off the inning with a single and double.
The runs in the seventh ended a stretch of 25 consecutive scoreless innings for Texas pitchers since the eighth inning on Monday in Cincinnati.
Josh Smith led off the third with a single and scored on Kyle Higashioka’s double to start the Rangers’ four-run third. Smith finished with two hits, including a solo home run in the seventh that pushed Texas’ lead to 5-2.
Royals 8, Orioles 2
Maikel Garcia drove in three runs, Vinnie Pasquantino hit a three-run single and Seth Lugo pitched six solid innings to lead host Kansas City to a victory over Baltimore on a rainy night.
Garcia delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the fourth inning and added an RBI double in the eighth for the Royals. Pasquantino and Salvador Perez also had two hits for Kansas City, which halted a two-game losing streak. Lugo (1-0) allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits in six innings.
Heston Kjerstad had two hits for the Orioles, who lost their third consecutive contest. Baltimore star Gunnar Henderson made his season debut and was 1-for-4 with an error at shortstop. He missed the first seven games of the season due to a right intercostal strain. Dean Kremer (1-1) gave up three runs (two earned) and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.
NHL NEWS
NHL ROUNDUP: CAPS TOP BLACKHAWKS ON ALEX OVECHKIN’S HISTORIC NIGHT
Alex Ovechkin caught Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL goal-scoring record on Friday, with his two-goal performance also lifting the host Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The pair gives the Capitals captain 894 goals, matching Gretzky’s mark. A capacity crowd, including Gretzky and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, was on hand. Ovechkin’s second goal came from the left faceoff circle off a pass from John Carlson that beat sliding goalie Spencer Knight to the lower left on a power play at 6:13 of the third period, giving the Capitals a 4-3 lead.
Dylan Strome scored and assisted on Ovechkin’s first goal. Martin Fehervary also scored for Washington, and Ryan Leonard notched his first career goal. Carlson tied his season high with three assists. Charlie Lindgren stopped 19 shots as Washington won for the second time in three games.
Frank Nazar finished with a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Philipp Kurashev and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored. Oliver Moore earned his first NHL points with a pair of assists, and Landon Slaggert posted two as well. Knight made 25 saves but could not keep Chicago from its fifth straight defeat.
Red Wings 5, Hurricanes 3
Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist to lead Detroit to a win over visiting Carolina.
Ben Chiarot, Marco Kasper, Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen also scored for Detroit. Dylan Larkin logged two assists, and Cam Talbot made 30 saves. The Red Wings moved within four points of the Montreal Canadiens for the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot and snapped a six-game losing streak against the Hurricanes.
Carolina got goals from Jackson Blake, Eric Robinson and Brent Burns but lost for just the third time in 15 games. Jaccob Slavin notched two assists while Pyotr Kochetkov turned aside 16 shots.
Islanders 3, Wild 1
Defenseman Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist to lead New York to a win over Minnesota in Elmont, N.Y.
Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom also scored for the Islanders, who snapped a six-game losing streak (0-4-2). Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves.
Mats Zuccarello provided the offense for the Wild, who lost their fourth in a row (0-2-2). Filip Gustavsson stopped 24 shots.
GOLF NEWS
MATCH PLAY DEFENDING CHAMP NELLY KORDA OUSTED IN GROUP PLAY
Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand defeated Nelly Korda 1 up to win Group 1 and eliminate the World No. 1 from the T-Mobile Match Play on Friday in North Las Vegas, Nev.
Jutanugarn went 3-0-0 in the group, but entering the day the group was up for grabs between her and Korda, who tallied 1 1/2 points through the first two days of competition.
“It’s pretty tough today because of the wind. And it’s match play. You kind of have to be really patient,” Jutanugarn said. “I have some (ups and downs). I’ve been missing some shots and hit some pretty good. Overall, it’s just like so much fun to have chance to play with Nelly. She’s one of the best players.”
Other than one brief hole on which Jutanugarn moved 2 up, the score of the match stayed within a hole throughout. Jutanugarn led for most of the front nine before Korda tied it with a birdie at the par-5 ninth hole at Shadow Creek Golf Course.
Korda moved 1 up when Jutanugarn bogeyed the par-3 13th, but Korda took a bogey on the par-4 No. 15 to let Jutanugarn win the hole and tie it back up. Jutanugarn’s birdie put at the par-5 16th gave her back the lead for good.
Korda was the defending champion of the event.
The 64-player field was divided into 16 four-player groups competing in three days of round-robin matches. A win earned one point, a tie earned a half-point and a loss was worth zero points. The winner of each group moves on to a 16-player, single-elimination bracket beginning Saturday.
The quarterfinals also will be played on Saturday, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.
Two groups needed playoffs to break ties for first place following the Friday round. In Group 7, Japan’s Mao Saigo upset South Korea’s Haeran Ryu by sinking a birdie on the par-4 playoff hole. Ryu was the highest seed in her group.
In Group 13, Lauren Coughlin beat Lucy Li when Li bogeyed the first hole.
“All three of my matches have been really close, kind of back and forth,” Coughlin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more than 1 up all week. I’ve been down 2 at times, but kind of fought back in every one. Took it to 18 every day.
“Yeah, I mean, I rolled — started rolling it really well (Thursday). Made a ton of putts today that kind of kept me in it.”
Eight other players besides Jutanugarn went 3-0-0 in their respective groups: Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (Group 2), Sei Young Kim of South Korea (Group 4), Brooke M. Henderson of Canada (Group 8), Sweden’s Maja Stark (Group 9), France’s Celine Boutier (Group 11) and A Lim Kim of South Korea (Group 12), Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom (Group 14) and Narin An of South Korea (Group 16).
In Group 3, Carlota Ciganda of Spain defeated New Zealand’s Lydia Ko 2 up to win the group at 2-1-0 and push Ko to a surprising last-place finish (1-2-0). South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai beat Alexa Pano 4 and 3 to capture first in Group 6 (2-0-1). Russia’s Nataliya Guseva beat Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela 1 up to win Group 15 (2-0-1).
Also advancing were Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou (Group 5) and Angel Yin (Group 10).
BRIAN HARMAN LEAPS IN FRONT AT VALERO TEXAS OPEN
Brian Harman poured in eight birdies amid a 6-under-par 66 to take over first place halfway through the Valero Texas Open on Friday at TPC San Antonio.
Harman’s second straight 66 pushed him to 12-under 132, and by Friday evening that was good for a four-shot lead over Keith Mitchell (72).
First-round leader Sam Ryder struggled to a 74 and sits in a tie for third at 7 under with Englishman Matt Wallace and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune (both 67).
Harman, the 2023 Open Championship winner, is trying to take good form into next week’s Masters Tournament, the first major of 2025. Harman is already slated for Augusta National, but if a player not already invited wins the Texas Open, he will qualify for the Masters.
Patrick Cantlay shot a 67 and shares sixth place at 6 under par with several other golfers. Two-time Texas Open winner Zach Johnson, 49, posted a 68 and is hanging around at 5 under.
The projected cut line of 2 under par was set to prevent several notable names from reaching the weekend, including Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (even par), defending champion Akshay Bhatia (even par), Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (1 over), Max Homa (3 over), South Korea’s Tom Kim (4 over) and Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick (4 over).
ANGEL CABRERA HOLDS SHARE OF LEAD AT HALL OF FAME INVITATIONAL
Angel Cabrera of Argentina, playing one week before he returns to the Masters, is part of a five-way tie for the lead at the inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational following Friday’s round in Boca Raton, Fla.
Cabrera shot a 4-under-par 68 at The Old Course at Broken Sound, as did Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, Germany’s Alex Cejka, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and David Bransdon of Australia.
Jay Haas and Australian Greg Chalmers are one shot off their pace.
Cabrera, 55, won the Masters in 2009 for his second career major title. But he has not appeared at the Masters since 2019 and spent time in prison between 2021 and 2023 for multiple offenses, including assault.
Cabrera was cleared to appear in PGA Tour-sanctioned events in December 2023.
“I’m very excited,” Cabrera said of heading back to Augusta. “It will be a great moment.”
Jimenez joined the group at 4 under par by birdieing his last hole, the par-4 ninth. He entered the week first in the Charles Schwab Cup season-long standings.
Bjorn recovered from an opening bogey and wound up with six birdies on his card, including four with one bogey on his second nine. Bjorn, 54, has never won on the PGA Tour Champions.
“On this tour it’s very much you got to get a start and be in there from the beginning,” Bjorn said. “Then you can do something on the weekend. It’s easy to play yourself out of it on the first day. You have to get a good round early on. I have played some nice golf, I just haven’t put any scores together. Doesn’t put a lot of pressure on the game when you have a day like that.”
Several notable names are tied two off the pace at 2-under 70, including Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, K.J. Choi of South Korea and Vijay Singh of Fiji.
RACING NEWS
DENNY HAMLIN SEEKS DARLINGTON WIN AFTER MARTINSVILLE VICTORY
The NASCAR Cup Series hosts its annual Darlington Raceway Throwback Weekend in the Goodyear 400 this Sunday, but Denny Hamlin took the wayback machine out for a spin last week and zoomed back about 15 years.
After displaying some old-school dominance around tiny, tight Martinsville Speedway to win the Cook Out 400, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver could not help but be his outspoken, abrasive self on the frontstretch.
He climbed out of his No. 11 Toyota to cheers, shockingly, as fans likely realized he had won for the first time in a bit — a 31-race drought that went back 11 months to Dover, to be exact. Then he found a way to transform those cheers back to the customary boos.
Brandishing a giant Carolina Blue-colored flag that read “11 Against the World,” Hamlin was all fluttery after the win, inciting a few catcalls after the cheering.
That’s the Denny we know and either love or hate — there is little middle ground there — but flag-waving and trash-talking aside, his performance Sunday prompted a question:
Is the 44-year-old Hamlin back during the latter portion of a Hall of Fame career?
In 2024, he won three times in the first 12 races that ran through the end of April, but he was a non-factor the rest of the way and again failed to win his first Cup title.
He’s a threat to win this week’s Goodyear 400 at the legendary Darlington, where Hamlin is known for finding a unique entry into Turn 1 and using it to his advantage. He owns four career wins at the “Too Tough to Tame” track, which has been Darlington’s reputation all the way back to its first race in 1950.
Starting with the number eight — Hamlin’s win total in 2010 during his best season — the Chesterfield, Va., native has 55 career wins. That’s his new career total after last week’s victories that was one of the most thorough wins in recent memory — he led 274 of the final 275 laps and won by a dominant 4.6 seconds — at a place where he has a great reputation but spent a decade of dormancy.
Hamlin was a popular Martinsville pick, and somehow that just felt right. After all, it’s Hamlin on a short track in the Commonwealth, right?
However, part of the reality was that Hamlin had been good at the half-mile track — winning three straight in 2009 and 2010 — but also had not found the checkers there since late March 2015, a 19-race rudderless run around the flat track.
Commentator Kevin Harvick said he believes in Hamlin, who now works with crew chief Chris Gayle instead of Chris Gabehart.
“That’s old-school Denny Hamlin,” Harvick said on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour” podcast. “For Denny, this is an important moment … Bringing Chris Gayle in, he knew this was going to be a disruption to the rest of his life. He put the time in to get through the offseason and here we are six weeks into the season and he’s in Victory Lane.
“That says a lot about who he is as a driver and a leader.”
At Darlington this weekend, Hamlin will race the red-themed Sport Clips paint scheme to honor recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Carl Edwards. While the colors may take us to a different era, the real throwback might be that we could be at the start of Hamlin taking it back to 2010.
TOP INDIANA HEADLINES/NEWS RELEASES
INDIANA PACERS
GAME REWIND: PACERS 140, JAZZ 112
Trying to close out a 3-0 homestand against the team with the NBA’s worst record, the Pacers faced an early challenge on Friday night, falling behind by as many as 13 points in the first half. But Indiana (46-31) rallied in the second half, stepping up their defensive intensity and pulling away for a 140-112 win over the Jazz (16-62).
The Pacers blocked a season-high 17 shots in the victory and outscored Utah 29-8 in fastbreak points en route to victory.
Myles Turner led the way with a team-high 26 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam flirted with a 5×5 stat line, finishing with 20 points, five boards, five assists, four blocks, and three steals. Tyrese Haliburton had a shot at a triple-double before sitting out the entire fourth quarter, registering 17 points and 11 assists to go along with six rebounds and three blocks.
With the win, Indiana inched closer to securing a top-four seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers’ magic number to record a top-four seed is down to three with five regular season games remaining.
The Jazz, meanwhile, have dropped eight straight and 18 of their last 19. Utah has not won a road game since Jan. 5, losing 19 straight away games.
“We knew that they were a hungry team,” Turner said. “I think that once we flipped our mindset (at halftime) — we know what we’re playing for. We had some spirited talks and we got where we need to be.”
Utah forward Johnny Juzang started the night out hot, hitting four 3-pointers in the first 7:31 on Friday to propel the Jazz out to an early. The Pacers kept the margin close, however, behind seven first-quarter points from each of Siakam and Turner and headed to the second quarter trailing 34-28.
The visitors opened up a double-digit lead early in the ensuing frame, as Svi Mykhailiuk and Micah Potter knocked down threes and Collin Sexton added a pair of free throws in an 8-0 run that pushed the Jazz’s lead to 45-33.
Utah extended the margin as high as 13 points in the frame.
Aaron Nesmith gave Indiana some life shortly before halftime, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers. Haliburton then blocked a Juzang 3-point attempt and raced ahead for an easy layup.
The Pacers continued their rally, with Obi Toppin hitting a free throw, Andrew Nembhard knocking down a jumper, and then Haliburton setting up Turner for a dunk to cap a 13-2 run to close the half and trim the deficit to 59-57 heading into the intermission.
Turner tied the game at 61 with a three in the opening minute of the third quarter and briefly gave Indiana the lead with a free throw on Indiana’s next possession. A little later in the frame, Turner blocked shots on two straight possessions, both of which led to Aaron Nesmith layups, then knocked down a three that put Indiana up 73-70.
“Blocks energize the crowd, energize the team, especially when it starts the break,” Turner said. “It can do a lot for momentum purposes. It’s something I’ve been doing for a long time and I’m going to continue to do.”
Collin Sexton answered with a 3-pointer to briefly tie the game before Haliburton found Turner and then Siakam for dunks on the next two Pacers possessions.
The Jazz didn’t back down, immediately responding with a 12-4 run to move back in front. The Pacers answered with nine straight points of their own, capped by a Haliburton three. Indiana took a 98-94 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Pacers quickly extended their lead at the start of the final frame. On the opening possession, Siakam knocked the ball away from Springer. Ben Sheppard then outraced an opponent to poke the ball ahead to T.J. McConnell, who ran it down on the baseline and tossed a lob to a streaking Siakam for two-hand slam.
Siakam then dished to Obi Toppin for a layup and knocked down a three to cap a 7-0 run. The Pacers continued to grow their lead, pushing the margin all the way to 28 points by the final buzzer.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points off the bench for Indiana in his first game back after missing the last three contests with a sore calf. Mathurin went 4-for-11 from the field but 12-for-16 from the free throw line.
Nesmith added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-of-2 from 3-point range), while Nembhard finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists. McConnell tallied 12 points, four boards, and seven assists off the bench.
Sexton led all scorers with 27 points, going 8-for-15 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Juzang scored 17 points while going 5-for-11 from 3-point range, while Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George each scored 15.
Indiana will make a brief one-game trip to Denver on Sunday before returning to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for their final three home games of the regular season, hosting Washington on Tuesday, Cleveland on Thursday, and Orlando on Friday. They close out the regular season on Sunday, April 13 in Cleveland.
Inside the Numbers
Indiana outscored the Jazz 42-14 in the fourth quarter. The Pacers went 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) from the field in the final frame, while Utah was 4-for-19 (21.1 percent).
Turner recorded his 14th 20-point game of the season and his six blocks were one shy of his season high. Indiana is 12-2 on the season when Turner scores 20 or more points. Turner had 11 points, three rebounds, and four blocks in the third quarter alone.
Siakam surpassed 20 points for the 41st time this season. His four blocks matched his career high, a feat he has now accomplished six times.
Haliburton recorded his 30th double-double of the season. He has had a double-double in three straight games and 14 of his last 16 contests. Indiana is 24-6 when Haliburton records a double-double.
The Pacers outscored Utah 62-40 in points in the paint and 29-8 in fastbreak points.
INDY FUEL
FUEL DEFEAT KOMETS 4-2 ON FRIDAY NIGHT
FORT WAYNE– The Fuel traveled to Fort Wayne to take on the Komets on Friday night. Special teams made the difference after two shorthanded goals, a power play goal, and an empty netter. Ultimately, the Fuel took the 4-2 victory.
1ST PERIOD
Former Fuel forward Zach Jordan kicked off the scoring with a goal at 5:11 to put Fort Wayne up 1-0.
Lucas Brenton took a high sticking penalty at 7:53, putting the Fuel on the penalty kill for the first time.
They were able to kill off that penalty before getting back-to-back power plays on interference and too many men calls.
At 15:55, on that second power play, Matus Spodniak scored to even it up 1-1. Nick Grima and Owen Robinson had the assists on that goal, making it the third goal in a row that those two have had the assists on.
17 seconds later, Darby Llewellyn scored to give the Fuel a 2-1 lead. Jordan Martin had the lone assist.
At 19:36, Fort Wayne’s Ferguson was given a charging penalty, putting the Fuel on a late power play.
It was Jordan who scored again, however, tying it up 2-2 with a shorthanded goal for Fort Wayne at 19:47.
2ND PERIOD
At 3:26, Robinson sat for slashing which gave Fort Wayne a power play that the Fuel killed off.
Lucas Brenton and Jack Dugan each were assessed two minutes for roughing at 9:19 as things got heated between the two aggressors.
Dugan returned to the box at 15:22 after a delay of game call. The Fuel did not score on their power play.
Neither team scored in the second period but Indy had 14 shots to Fort Wayne’s 10.
3RD PERIOD
At 2:08, Nathan Burke took an elbowing penalty which put Fort Wayne on the power play for the first time in the third period but they could not score.
Llewellyn scored his second goal of the game at 3:39, which was his fourth shorthanded goal of the year. The goal was unassisted and put the Fuel up 3-2.
Noah Ganske took a slashing penalty at 6:56 but the Komets killed it off.
With about a minute to go, the Komets pulled Connor Ungar from goal in favor of the extra skater but it was Kevin Lynch who sealed the deal for the Fuel with an empty net goal at 18:48.
Time expired soon after and the Fuel took the 4-2 victory, holding onto their spot at fourth in the Central division with 68 points while Bloomington and Kalamazoo end the night at 64 each.
FISHERS FREIGHT FOOTBALL
FISHERS FREIGHT WIN FIRST HOME GAME, START SEASON 2-0
FISHERS- The Fishers Freight hosted the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night for their first ever home game at the Fishers Event Center. In front of 5,679 fans, Jiya Wright led the Freight to a dominant victory over the Oilers.
FIRST QUARTER
While Tulsa had the ball first, the Freight forced a turnover on downs to prevent them from scoring then got to work offensively.
Quarterback Jiya Wright kicked off the scoring with a rushing touchdown early in the quarter and after the extra point was good from kicker Mike Baloga, Fishers went up 7-0.
The Freight had a successful onside kick to earn the ball back on the very next play. They went up 14-0 on that drive with a touchdown by Shavarez Smith.
SECOND QUARTER
Phazione McClurge got the Oilers on the board on the first drive of the second quarter with a touchdown. After a good PAT, it was 14-7.
JT Stokes caught a pass from Wright in the end zone to extend the Freight’s lead early in the second quarter. After a missed kick, it was 20-7.
It was Stokes who scored next again, this time carrying the ball into the end zone late in the first half. This made it 26-7, which is how the half would end.
THIRD QUARTER
Wright ran in the first touchdown of the second half to extend the Freight’s lead to 33-7, early in the third quarter.
About halfway through the third quarter, Muhammad Rodgers ran the ball into the end zone to make it 33-14.
FOURTH QUARTER
Tulsa rallied for another touchdown, making the score 33-21 as quarterback TJ Edwards ran it in within the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Wright scored his third touchdown of the game and fifth in two games, to make it 40-21 after a good extra point from Baloga.
McClurge had a late game touchdown and successful two-point conversion for the Oilers to make it 40-29 but Tulsa did not have enough time to make the comeback.
The Freight took the 40-29 win in their first game at home and remained undefeated on the season, 2-0.
PURDUE SOFTBALL
GOSSETT SETS CAREER-HIGH 12 STRIKEOUTS IN 2-1 VICTORY
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Coming off a victory at No. 20 Nebraska, Purdue softball continued its momentum, picking up a 2-1 win vs. Minnesota in the series opener on Friday. Pitcher Julia Gossett tossed out a career-high 12 strikeouts in the game, including a trio of K’s in the seventh inning to close it out.
With the win, Purdue improves to 19-16 (4-7 Big Ten) record while Minnesota falls to 13-22 (2-9 Big Ten).
Gossett’s complete-game effort in the circle led to strikeouts in nearly every frame, including a strikeout-swinging to close five of the seven innings and sending all three batters back to the dugout in the seventh. The win marked Gossett’s fifth of the year (5-6).
The Boilermakers scored in the first and second innings, with the game-winner coming off the bat of right fielder Khloe Banks, who singled to left field which allowed second baseman Alivia Meeks to score from second.
In the first inning, leadoff Banks walked to first and was immediately followed by fellow outfielder Moriah Polar’s double to right center field, scoring Banks from first.
The Golden Gophers responded to the Boilermakers’ 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning by loading the bases with one out and scoring on a sac fly.
PURDUE BASEBALL
PURDUE’S BATS QUIETED AS WASHINGTON TAKES SERIES OPENER
SEATTLE – Purdue Baseball was held without a hit until a leadoff double in the sixth inning as Washington’s ace led the way with a two-hit performance to help his team take Friday’s series opener 8-1.
Max Banks followed up his six innings of one-hit ball last Friday at Rutgers by pitching into the seventh inning against the Boilermakers. Camden Gasser’s leadoff double in the sixth inning broke up the no-hit bid and led to the visitors’ only run.
Purdue (20-9, 3-7 Big Ten) dropped its fifth straight game and has been limited to just five runs in its last 26 innings dating back to Sunday. The Boilermakers have been limited to a single tally (or fewer) in consecutive games for the first time since May 2021.
It was a 1-0 game until the bottom of the fifth. The Huskies (14-17, 6-4 Big Ten) scored seven times over their final four frames at the plate, plating multiple runs in three different innings.
Carter Doorn kept the Boilermakers in it early, surrendering just a solo home run over the first four innings. He retired 12 of 14 batters from the end of the first inning through the first two outs of the bottom of the fifth. But six batters reached base safely on Doorn’s third time through the lineup. Washington scored twice with two outs in the fifth inning thanks in part to a quirky double down the right field line and registered a pair of RBI singles in a three-run sixth.
CJ Richmond hit a rocket off the right field wall and used a nifty slide to evade the tag at second base. His leadoff double in the seventh inning chased Banks (3-2). Down 6-1 at that juncture, Purdue was unable to cut into the deficit against UW relief ace Isaac Yeager, who struck out four over two innings.
The Boilermakers’ 14 strikeouts were one shy of a season high. Banks had five of his seven strikeouts while retiring 10 consecutive batters from the second through fifth innings.
For Purdue, Chris Gallagher struck out the side in the seventh inning while working around a walk and hit batter.
Saturday’s game 2 of the series is slated for another 10 p.m. ET first pitch.
STREAKS EXTENDED
• Aaron Manias: 10-game on-base in Big Ten play
• Lukas Cook: 8-game on-base, 6-game on-base in Big Ten play
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
CLUFF TO JOIN BOILERMAKERS FOR 2025-26 SEASON
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – South Dakota State standout Oscar Cluff has signed all the necessary paperwork and will be a member of the Purdue men’s basketball team for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Cluff, a 6-foot, 11-inch center from Sunshine Coast, Australia, was ranked as the No. 1 transfer in the country via the On3 rankings and is considered one of the top transfers in America from several other outlets.
Cluff joins a Purdue roster that should be ranked near the top of the national rankings when the “way-too-early” polls start coming out next week.
Cluff averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 63.4 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the free throw line for a South Dakota State team that posted a 20-12 record last season and finished the year ranked 136th in KenPom.
He joins now-teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn as the lone players in America to average at least 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting at least 59.0 percent from the field a year ago.
His season makes him one of just 10 players in NCAA history to average at least 17 points, 12 rebounds and two assists and shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field, joining Zach Edey, Blake Griffin, Andrew Bogut, Tim Duncan, Hank Gathers, Rick Raivio, Larry Smith, Cedric Maxwell and Bill Walton on the list. He is the only one in the group to shoot at least 77.0 percent from the free throw line.
While not a high-volume, 3-point shooter, Cluff can step out and make the long ball, going 4-of-6 from deep this past season and is 5-of-7 for his career (one year at Washington State, one year at South Dakota State).
He was named a first-team All-Summit League honoree and was a member of the Summit League All-Defensive team this past season.
In 2023-24, he averaged 7.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists at Washington State, shooting 53.8 percent from the field.
Cluff’s best performance of last season came in a win over Denver, scoring 30 points with 19 rebounds and two assists on Jan. 2. He would score over 20 points 13 times, including a 21-point, 15-rebound performance in a loss at Alabama in late December. He recorded 22 double-doubles and narrowly missed out on triple-doubles against St. Thomas (Jan. 8) and South Dakota (Jan. 25).
According to KenPom, he finished the year fifth in the country in offensive rebound percentage (17.2) and first in defensive rebound percentage (32.4). He was also 33rd in effective field goal percentage (62.6). He finished second in the country in rebounds per game (12.3) and eighth nationally in field goal percentage (.634).
NOTRE DAME BASEBALL
IRISH HALT HOKIES IN SERIES OPENER
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Jack Radel went a career-high 7.0 innings and struck out five while the Notre Dame batters put up five unanswered runs down the stretch in a 7-2 Irish win over Virginia Tech on Friday night at Frank Eck Stadium.
The Hokies led the game off with a double and added a one-out walk, but Radel quickly locked down on Virginia Tech by inducing a fly out before striking out a batter to shut the door in the first inning. The visiting side plated a run in the top of the second, but the Irish countered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Estevan Moreno laced a double to right-center field, and Carson Tinney drew a walk. Connor Hincks used a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners before a passed ball moved both up 90 feet. A passed ball then allowed Moreno to score to tie the game at 1-1.
Virginia Tech led off the third inning with a double, and Radel had the answer yet again as the sophomore chalked up another strikeout before getting back-to-back outs to end the inning. Notre Dame, meanwhile, took their first lead of the game in the bottom half of the third. Jared Zimbardo drew a one-out walk before Parker Brzustewicz punched a single up the middle. Bino Watters drew a walk to load the bases, and a fielder’s choice by Estevan Moreno drove in Zimbardo.
Radel retired the side in order in the top of the fourth with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out. The Hokies used a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to knot the game at 2-2, but the Irish had the answer once again. Brzustewicz continued to have a hot bat in the game with another single, and Bino Watters added an infield single to put a pair on base. An attempt at a double play led to an errant throw by the Hokies’ second baseman, which allowed Brzustewicz to score from second for a 3-2 Notre Dame lead.
Radel, meanwhile, had a pair of three-up, three-down efforts in both the sixth and the seventh innings on the mound. The offense gave the sophomore right-hander more than enough support over those two innings of action with a pair of runs in the bottom half of both stanzas. The sixth inning saw Brady Gumpf lead off with a ten-pitch walk before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nick DeMarco. Jayce Lee then went the other way with an RBI single to drive in Gumpf. Two batters later, Lee stole second and moved to third on a throwing error before Parker Brzustewicz tallied his third hit of the game, driving in Lee. In the seventh, Moreno led off the inning with his second double of the game, and Carson Tinney hammered a two-run home run over the left field wall for the 7-2 Irish lead.
Tobey McDonough came on in relief in the eighth and got out of a bases-loaded jam by inducing a double play to shut down the scoring chance for Virginia Tech. McDonough then made quick work of the Hokies in the top of the ninth by retiring the side in order to close out the 7-2 Notre Dame win.
Jack Radel went a career-high 7.0 innings on the mound and earned the win while striking out five. Tobey McDonough went 2.0 and did not allow a run while needing just 31 pitches to record six outs.
Parker Brzustewicz went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run. Estevan Moreno was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI. Carson Tinney was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, and Jayce Lee added a 1-for-3 effort with an RBI and a run. Connor Hincks and Bino Watters each collected a hit while Jared Zimbardo and Brady Gumpf each scored once.
The Irish (15-12, 3-10 ACC) are back at Frank Eck Stadium on Saturday to host the Hokies for a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Irish will be celebrating their Somos ND game. Admission for all home regular season baseball games is free.
NOTRE DAME SOFTBALL
AMARAL, IRISH WALK OFF PITT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Softball team walked off the Pittsburgh Panthers Friday afternoon 5-4 in seven innings at Melissa Cook Stadium on the first game of Strikeout Cancer Weekend. Notre Dame is now 17-20-1 on the season and improve to 5-8 in conference play.
Addison Amaral was the hero for the Irish, lacing a ball over the third base bag and into the corner for the game-winning hit that scored Emily Tran who was on third after leading off the bottom of the seventh with a walk.
Amaral was 3/4 on the day, including a solo home run in the third for the first run of the game. She finished with three runs batted in and two runs scored to go along with her opposite-field double that she hit in the fifth inning. The shortstop raised her average to .414 on the season and .464 in 10 home games. The three hits and three RBI on the day tied a career-high.
Kami Kamzik made her 12th start of the season and threw a gem. The sophomore went 6 innings, spreading out 5 hits and only allowing one run. She struck out five on the day.
Olivia Levitt slashed an RBI double in the fourth inning for the second Notre Dame run. The Irish tacked two more on in the next inning with an Amaral double and a Rachel Allen RBI single.
Pittsburgh didn’t give up after falling behind 4-0 in the fifth. The Panthers scratched across a run in the sixth and another in to start off the seventh with a bases-loaded walk. With two outs and two strikes, Ana Hernandez grounded a ball back up the middle to tie up the game at 4-all.
Notre Dame had the top of the order to begin the bottom of the seventh. Tran worked a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a passed ball before Caroline O’Brien laid down a perfect sac bunt to get Tran to third. That’s when Amaral stepped in and whacked a 1-0 pitch down the line for the Irish win.
Notre Dame will turn around and look to go for the series win tomorrow at 1 p.m. Orange rally towels will be given to fans before the game as the Irish continue to promote Strikeout Cancer.
BUTLER SOFTBALL
BUTLER SOFTBALL AND UCONN SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER
STORRS, Conn. – The Butler softball team and UConn each won a game to open a three-game BIG EAST series. The Huskies (20-13, 8-3 BIG EAST) manufactured a dramatic seventh inning in game one to walk off with a 10-9 victory, while the Bulldogs (21-13, 10-4 BIG EAST) came from behind with big fifth and sixth innings to win game two, 9-4.
Game 1: UConn 10, Butler 9 (7 innings)
In the top of the first inning, after a pair of singles, Ella White used a sacrifice bunt to advance Cate Lehner and Hailey Conger to third and second. Paige Dorsett then hit a line drive to left field that allowed Lehner to score. The 1-0 lead held through two complete.
In the third, Conger hit a double and advanced to third on a second sacrifice bunt from White. This time, Dorsett singled up the middle for her second RBI of the game. The Dawgs had doubled their early lead.
The UConn bats woke up in the bottom half of the third. The Huskies used a walk, a home run, and a pair of doubles to force a Butler pitching change and take a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Butler loaded the bases. Conger hit a fly ball to left field that allowed Sydney Carter to cross the plate and tie the game at three. UConn responded in the bottom half, scoring on an error to retake the lead, 4-3.
In the sixth, the Dawgs once again loaded the bases. White hit a liner to right, allowing Carter to tie the game. After Leigh Vande Hei scored on a wild pitch, Dorsett singled up the left-field line, pushing Conger across. The Dawgs were up, 6-4, but the Huskies cut the lead to one run with a home run in their half of the inning.
In the final inning, Butler added three runs, keyed by a Vande Hei RBI single. The lead was 9-5.
In UConn’s final frame, a two-run home run started a rally and closed the gap to two runs. A second home run then brought the Huskies to within one, at 9-8. UConn then loaded the bases with two outs. A hard-hit single off the pitcher tied the game at nine, and a subsequent single ended the game with a Huskies victory.
Katie Petran (2.1 IP, 5R, 6H, BB, K) started in the circle for Butler and lasted into the third inning. Dyer (4.0 IP, 4R, 2ER, 6H, 2K) provided relief in the third and lasted into the seventh. After Petran returned to face three batters, Gwen Baker (9-4) entered, up 9-8, with a runner on first and one out. She finished the game and took the loss, giving up one run on three hits and one walk.
Game 2: Butler 9, UConn 4 (7 innings)
UConn used two doubles and a single to put a pair of runs on the board in the second inning.
In the top of the fifth, Butler loaded the bases. Ella White was hit by a pitch, leading to the Dawgs’ first run. One batter later, Paige Dorsett battled through 12 pitches before hitting a sacrifice fly to left field. The game was tied, 2-2. After Makena Alexander was hit by a pitch, loading the bases again, Olivia Moxley drew a walk and pushed Haley Conger across. Butler took a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom half of the fifth, the Huskies tied the game on a solo home run.
In the sixth, the Dawgs again loaded the bases. White connected on a single up the middle that scored two. An error loaded the bases again, and then Conger scored on a wild pitch. Alexander put the ball in play, allowing White to score on the throw. Moxley then singled to short, allowing Emily Todor to score. Following a pitching change, Moxley scored on a wild pitch. The lead for Butler was 9-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, UConn got one back on a sacrifice fly, but the Huskies could not get a base runner in the seventh.
Gwen Baker (10-4) picked up a complete-game win in the circle. In 7.0 innings, she allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Bulldog Bits
Gwen Baker’s complete-game victory was her fourth this season. She picked up her tenth overall win.
Hailey Conger’s double in game one was her fifth of the season and the tenth of her career.
Conger drew six walks on the day. Also with two hits, she reached first base on nine of ten plate appearances.
Butler scored 18 runs over the two games with only one extra-base hit – Conger’s double. UConn scored 14 total runs with 11 extra-base hits that included five home runs.
The Bulldogs stranded 19 runners over the two games, compared to 11 for the Huskies.
Up Next
Butler and UConn will take Saturday off and then play the rubber match of the series on Sunday, April 6. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
BUTLER BASEBALL
XAVIER DEFEATS BUTLER IN GAME 1
Xavier broke a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning by scoring six runs to collect a 12-6 victory at Hayden Field. The win moves the Musketeers to 16-14 on the year while BU falls to 10-19.
The Musketeers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game one after a three-run third inning. BU got one back in the fourth after a solo home run from David Ayers and the Bulldogs would fight back to tie the game at 6-6 in the top of the eighth.
The bottom of the eighth inning would tell the story as Xavier scored six runs off just three hits. BU walked the first three batters of the frame and hit the fourth to help the Musketeers break the tie. Two wild pitches would follow in the sequence before another walk. The self-inflicted issues pushed Xavier into the win column.
Butler’s offense was provided by Ayers and AJ Solomon. Ayers ended the game with two RBI’s and two runs scored. Solomon had a clutch two-strike hit back up the middle to score a pair making the game 6-5 in the eighth.
Jack Bello, Harry Carr and Solomon all had two hits. Additional RBI’s went to Drumm and Sackett.
Marcus Goodpaster got the start in game one and tossed five innings. He walked four and struck out two before handing the ball off to Kanipe. The loss went to Tate Foxson.
Game two of the scheduled doubleheader for Friday was postponed due to rain. The two teams will head back to the diamond tomorrow at 1 p.m.
IU INDY SOFTBALL
SOFTBALL SQUAD TAKES GAME ONE IN GREEN BAY
GREEN BAY, Wisc. – The IU Indy Jaguars secured the game one win on Friday, as they came up victorious in a 7-4 win against Green Bay.
The Jags got things going in the first inning off a sacrifice fly by Molly Kable that scored Kendal Calvert. Kennedy Cowan followed her up with another sacrifice fly to right field that scored Morgan Gilbert. IU Indy went into the bottom of the first inning with a 2-0 lead.
Alexa Holman got the nod for game one as the Jags headed into the bottom of the first. Holman surrendered a run after giving up a double. The Jags continued to hold the lead after the first inning.
The second inning went scoreless before IU Indy picked things back up in the top of the third. Cowan struck again as she reached first on a fielder’s choice that scored Gilbert. This pushed the Jags lead to 3-1 before going into the fourth inning. Paige McPhearson got IU Indy going once again with a triple to right center that scored Clara Phariss.
Holman dominated from inning two to inning five, pitching four scoreless innings for the Jags. Green Bay rallied back in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a three-run homerun to tie up the game at 4-4.
IU Indy was unfazed as Cowan hit a single to center field to push McPhearson across the board to retake the lead. Holman followed that with a single up the middle scoring Gilbert and Calvert to make it a 7-4 lead.
Holman executed in the bottom of the seventh, pitching her fifth scoreless inning on the day giving the Jags the win.
Alexa Holman (W, 5-6) was the star for game one moving her record to five wins she pitched a complete game while allowing four runs on five hits. Offensively Holman led the Jags with three hits and two RBI.
Cowan had a strong day offensively as she had one hit with three RBI. Other notable key performances were Gilbert and McPhearson having two hits each. Calvert scored two runs and tallied a hit. Kable had one hit with one RBI.
With the win, IU Indy improved to 11-20 (5-5 HL), while Green Bay fell to 8-19 (1-9 HL).
The Phoenix and Jaguars will return to action tomorrow with a doubleheader. Game one will begin at 1:00 PM ET.
INDIANA STATE BASEBALL
MCEWEN DOMINANT, SYCAMORE OFFENSE CONNECTS IN 15-3 SERIES OPENING WIN OVER BELMONT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – All nine Sycamores in the starting lineup reached base safely in support of a dominant Max McEwen outing on the mound as Indiana State topped Belmont on Friday evening at E.S. Rose Park, 15-3.
The Sycamores (15-14, 5-2) jumped ahead of Belmont (11-20, 2-5) early on Weston Fulk’s two-run home run down the left field line in the top of the first inning. Carter Beck added an RBI single in the second as Indiana State rallied early against Belmont starter Logan Brock (2-1).
Belmont rallied back in the bottom of the second on RBI singles from Jake Maddox and Pete Daniel as Sycamore starter Max McEwen (3-2) battled through the Bruins’ lineup in the inning before the Indiana State defense caught Michael Lareau attempting to steal home for the final out of the inning to keep it a 3-2 game.
The Sycamores went back up in the top of the third on Jackson Taylor’s hard-hit ball to the Belmont first baseman that ended up scoring two runs on the error. Nomar Garcia added a two-run single in the fifth to stretch the lead to 7-2 as the Sycamores scored 12 of the final 13 runs in the contest.
McEwen settled down as the redshirt sophomore utilized a double play to end the fourth inning, before striking out side in the bottom of the fifth. The Sellersburg, Ind. native went 7.0 innings allowing seven hits and three runs, while striking out a career-high 11 batters in picking up his third win of the season.
Nomar Garcia went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs to highlight a 12-hit Indiana State offensive attack. Jeremy Martinez, Thomas Emerich, and Carlos Pena all recorded multiple hits on the game, while Eli Gipson drove in three RBIs.
Carson Seeman worked a scoreless eighth inning to close out the contest.
Jake Maddox had two of Belmont’s eight hits in the loss. Landon Godsey homered, while Gardner Lawrence doubled for the Bruins’ extra-base hits.
Brock took the loss going 3.0 innings allowing five hits and five runs (three earned) while walking two and striking out one. Jonathon Van Ness, Krish Gandhi, Cade Granzow, and Jack Morrissey went the final five innings on the mound for Belmont.
How They Scored
Weston Fulk put the Sycamores on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning with a two-out, two-run home run down the left field line scoring Carlos Pena and making it a 2-0 ballgame.
The Sycamores added another run in the top of the second as Carter Beck singled home Jeremy Martinez to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Belmont took two back in the bottom of the second as Jake Maddox singled home Gardner Lawrence and Pete Daniel’s base hit scored Maddox to cut the Indiana State lead down to 3-2.
Indiana State rallied back with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third inning as Jackson Taylor’s sharply hit ball was misplayed by the Belmont first baseman allowing Thomas Emerich and Keegan Garis to score to make it a 5-2 Sycamore lead.
Nomar Garcia singled home Garis and Taylor in the top of the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 7-2.
Landon Godsey connected on a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth to pull Belmont back within 7-3.
Jeremy Martinez stretched the lead back in the top of the seventh with a two-run double down the left field line scoring Emerich and Taylor to make it a 9-3 Indiana State lead.
Carlos Pena followed later in the inning with a two-run triple to right center scoring Beck and Martinez making it an 11-3 Sycamore advantage.
Garcia connected on his second double of the game scoring Taylor in the top of the eighth inning to make it a 12-3 ballgame.
Eli Gipson connected on the game-clinching hit in the top of the eighth inning with a bases-clearing, three-run double to left center bringing home Martinez, Garcia, and Beck to provide the final 15-3 scoring margin.
News & Notes
Carlos Pena ran his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games after reaching on an infield single in the top of the first inning. He finished the game 2-for-5 with a triple and pair of RBIs.
Carter Beck ran his on-base streak to 11 consecutive games after going 1-for-4 with a walk on Friday evening.
Nomar Garcia went 3-for-3 and added a pair of sacrifice bunts to run his batting average to .346 on the season.
Max McEwen’s 11-strikeout game marked a career-high for the redshirt sophomore as he reached new personal-bests in innings pitched (7.0), strikeouts (11), and pitches (112).
McEwen’s double-digit strikeout performance marked Indiana State’s first of the 2025 season and first by a Sycamore starting pitcher since Jared Spencer struck out 10 on May 16, 2024, at Valparaiso.
McEwen’s 11 strikeouts marked the most by a Sycamore pitcher since Zach Davidson struck out 14 last season in a relief outing against Murray State on May 23, 2024.
Indiana State improves to 10-0 all-time against Belmont with Friday’s win in Nashville. The Sycamores also improve to 6-0 all-time against the Bruins in E.S. Rose Park.
The Sycamores drew nine walks and were hit by four pitches on Friday evening.
Up Next
Indiana State and Belmont continue the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at E.S. Rose Park with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET. The game is set to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE SOFTBALL
PURDUE FORT WAYNE BEATS YOUNGSTOWN STATE 6-1 IN SERIES FINALE
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Purdue Fort Wayne softball picked up a 6-1 win over Youngstown State on Friday (April 4) to earn a series victory over the Penguins.
The Mastodons used a five-run second inning to set up the victory. The Penguins scored one in the first, but the Mastodons tied the game before the first out of the second. Aglaia Rudd doubled to lead off, then Addison Zimpleman, Tori Countryman and Kennedy Peckinpaugh all singled. This sent the Youngstown State starting pitcher back to the dugout.
With bases jammed, Bailey Manos had a single into center field that scored two, the McKenna Minton and Grace Hollopeter both singled to score two more. This put the ‘Dons up 5-1.
Later on, Purdue Fort Wayne added to its lead in the sixth when Alexa Carter singled to score Peckinpaugh.
Defensively, the Mastodons locked up the Penguins for the majority of the contest. After two singles in the first, YSU was only able to get one hit the rest of the way. Alanah Jones threw all 7.0 innings to pick up the win to move to 8-9 this season.
Kelsey Ogin suffered the loss for Youngstown State in her 1.0-inning outing.
Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 10-17, 6-3 in Horizon League play while Youngstown State fell to 10-28, 2-7. The Mastodons will be back in action on Tuesday (April 8) when Cleveland State comes to Fort Wayne for a midweek series.
PURDUE FT. WAYNE BASEBALL
MILWAUKEE TAKES TWO FROM PURDUE FORT WAYNE
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne dropped a pair of baseball contests on Friday (April 4) at Mastodon field.
Game One – Milwaukee 7, Purdue Fort Wayne 1
Dillon Fischer got the loss but was effective for the Mastodons. He allowed three runs in 5.0 innings. Two of the runs scored in the fifth inning with two outs on a bases loaded single by Tyler Bickers. It opened up the scoring after four innings of scoreless ball from both sides.
Jackson Micheels had a double and a run batted in with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to make the score 4-1.
Gavin Theis is now 5-1 after going seven innings for Milwaukee. He allowed one run.
Camden Karczewski had a pair of hits for the Mastodons.
Game Two – Milwaukee 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 1
The big inning was a four-run third inning for the Panthers. Caden Headlee finished with three hits in the contest.
Aric Ehmke got the win for Milwaukee after allowing no runs in seven innings. Zane Danielson got the loss after going five innings. Trent Murphy gave up just one run in 3.2 innings of work out of the pen.
Sage Adams knocked in a run in the contest in a pinch hit appearance.
Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 6-23 (5-6 Horizon League). The Panthers improve to 9-20 (7-4 Horizon league). The two teams have one game left in the three-game series. With rain the forecast keep an eye on GoMastodons.com and Mastodon Athletics social media for updates on that game.
EVANSVILLE SOFTBALL
ACES DROP FRIDAY CONTESTS TO BRUINS
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With the weather in the forecast for the weekend, the University of Evansville softball team faced Belmont in two contests on Friday evening. Following a 2-1 win in the opener, the Bruins held off a late rally by the Purple Aces to take a 7-6 win. The series finale is set for Sunday at 12 p.m.
Game 1 – Belmont 2, UE 1 – Box Score
Bruins pitcher Maya Johnson struck out 13 batters to lead Belmont to a 2-1 victory in Friday’s opener. A quick start by Belmont saw them score twice in the top of the first inning. The Bruins looked to add more, however, Taylor Howe made a nice play at third to turn the inning-ending double play. Evansville cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame when Niki Bode hit a solo home run to left field. It marked her second long ball of the season.
Belmont stranded a pair of runners in the top of the fourth while Bode singled in the bottom of the inning to pick up the Aces’ second hit of the afternoon, but the score remained 2-1. In the top of the sixth, the Bruins recorded three walks before Kate Ridgway picked up the third out and strand the bases loaded.
Ridgway made another big play with two runners on in the top of the 7th. With two outs, she flashed the glove to make the third out and keep it a 1-run game entering the bottom of the frame. Jess Willsey picked up a hit in the bottom half of the 7th, but Belmont secured the 2-1 win.
In the circle, Ridgway had a strong outing. Throwing the full seven innings, she gave up just two runs on five hits.
Game 2 – Belmont 7, UE 6 – Box Score
Trailing 5-0 after the top of the second inning, the Aces continued to fight, but came up on the short end of a 7-6 decision in the second game.
Just as they did in game one, the Bruins had a big start as Grace Gressly hit a 3-run shot in the top of the first. Belmont plated two more runs in the second before UE scored its first run in the bottom half of the inning. Morgan Adams led off with a solo home run to make it a 5-1 game.
Looking to extend the lead even more, Belmont loaded the bases with no outs to open the third. Relief pitcher Elle Jarrett escaped with just one additional run scoring. It did not take long for the Aces to get that run back as Taylor Howe led the bottom half of the third off with a solo home run. UE loaded the bases as they looked to get closer, but Belmont pitched out of the jam to keep it a 6-2 game.
Niki Bode’s defense kept the score the same with a nice play in the fourth. After the Bruins hit a leadoff triple, she threw out the runner at home to keep it a 4-run game. Jess Willsey opened the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run. Following three walks to load the bases, Jenna Donnahoo reached on an error as the fourth UE run scored to cut the deficit to two runs.
In the top of the 6th, Belmont accumulated four hits, but the Aces defense held the Bruins to just one run. Two runners were thrown out at the plate to keep the deficit at three runs. Just as they had throughout the contest, the Aces staged a rally. Niki Bode scored on a sacrifice fly from Morgan Adams while Jess Willsey crossed the plate on a sac fly by Miriah Powell to make it a 7-6 game. Abby Bode kept it a 1-run game with Evansville’s third runner thrown out at the plate.
UE was unable to tie the game in the bottom of the frame as Belmont took the 7-6 win. Willsey and Adams recorded two hits apiece as UE finished with six hits. Abby Bode drew three walks in the contest. Gracie Hollingsworth suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 1 1/3 innings. The Aces will look to salvage a win in Sunday’s series finale set for a 12 p.m. first pitch.
EVANSVILLE BASEBALL
UE BASEBALL DROPS PITCHERS DUAL AT UIC
CHICAGO – The University of Evansville baseball team kept things close through eight innings in the Windy City but didn’t open its series with the UIC Flames with a win on Friday afternoon.
The Purple Aces kept Friday’s game scoreless through five and a half innings but a three-run bottom of the eighth gave UIC the 4-2 victory. Despite the loss starting pitcher Kenton Deverman (Dardenne Prairie, Mo. / Fort Zumwalt West HS) had a strong performance through eight innings with only two earned runs, walking one batter, and striking out seven. Seven K’s was Deverman’s best strikeout performance on the mound since his first start of the season at Little Rock on opening weekend.
“Not enough offense to get the job done today,” said Head Coach Wes Carroll following the game. “We were abysmal in the batter’s box with a lot of throw away at-bats today. On a Friday you have to score more than two runs in this conference. We can’t expect Deverman to throw a shutout, one-run ball. And I thought Deverman was outstanding today. I’m disappointed that we came up here and couldn’t win the game. But we’ve got a chance to take the series on Saturday and Sunday.”
Friday’s game began quickly as both starting pitchers faced the minimum number of batters in the first two innings. The Flames had the first hit of the game with a lead off double in the bottom of the third. UE’s defense stranded the runner in scoring position with three straight outs after the double.
Evansville’s first runner got on board in the next inning with a walk. But the Aces first hit didn’t come until the top of the fifth as catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) had a single to third. UE wasn’t able to capitalize on the hit as the offense hit into a double play on the next at-bat. It was also a fast bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth on both sides as neither team had a hit nor got a runner past first base.
The 0-0 draw was broken by the home team in the bottom of the sixth. UIC used two singles and a stolen base to score the first run of the series with two outs on the board. Evansville answered right back in the top of the seventh as a lead off single for first baseman Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) turned into a run two batters later with a double down the left field line from right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC).
The Aces kept the Flames from scoring in the bottom of the seventh and took their only lead of the game in the top of the eighth. Second baseman Mason McCue (Bourbonnais, Ill. / Bishop McNamara HS) was walked after UE’s offense began the frame with an out. McCue moved to second on an in-field groundout. He was then brought in on a deep single to left field by designated hitter Brodie Peart (Markham, Ontario) to make it a 2-1 game.
But in the bottom of the eighth UIC’s offense was able to connect on three hits in seven batters. The Flames three hits were through the first four batters to tie the game at 2-2 and have two runners still on base. UIC scored its final two runs of the game on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice bunt for the winning score as Evansville wasn’t able to get a runner past first in the top of the ninth.
Six Aces batters had a hit each on the afternoon with Peart and Taubert having the only RBIs. UE also had three batters walk at Curtis Granderson Stadium to get on base nine times. Evansville will try to even the series on Saturday afternoon in Chicago with first pitch currently set for 2 p.m.
VALPO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
COURTNEY BOYD NAMED HEAD COACH OF VALPO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Director of Athletics Laurel Hosmer has announced that Courtney Boyd has been named the ninth head coach of the Valparaiso University women’s basketball program.
Boyd will be formally introduced at a press conference and welcome reception on Monday, April 14 at 9 a.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The event is free and open to the public and will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
A national championship-winning head coach and player, an NAIA National Coach of the Year, and a two-time conference Coach of the Year, Boyd boasts a 190-68 (.736) record in eight years as a collegiate head coach and has won 20 or more games in seven of her eight seasons. She spent the last two seasons at the helm of the Quincy University program after six seasons as head coach at Clarke University.
“I could not be more thrilled to welcome Courtney and her family to Valpo,” Hosmer said. “She’s a proven builder and winner and will be a game-changing leader for our women’s basketball program. Courtney is a perfect fit for Valpo and our vision for the team. The culture she creates and the results she produces, both on and off the court, speak for themselves. The future is extremely bright for Beacon basketball.”
Boyd was named Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2024-25 as she led Quincy to a 25-8 record, a 15-win improvement over the prior season. Under her guidance, the Hawks captured their first GLVC tournament title since 2005, had their best GLVC regular season finish since 2011 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be named the head women’s basketball coach at Valparaiso University,” Boyd said. “I would like to thank Director of Athletics Laurel Hosmer and President José Padilla for their trust in me to lead this program. We are going to compete at the highest level on the court and in the classroom. This program will be built on trust, fueled by hard work and passion. We will build strong relationships throughout the community, where cheering for championships will become a tradition.”
Boyd mentored a quartet of All-Conference honorees in her two years guiding the Hawks. Her success at Quincy was especially notable given she inherited a program which had posted a 49-139 (.261) record over the seven seasons prior to her arrival.
Boyd moved to Quincy after a very successful six-year stint as head coach at Clarke, which culminated in the Pride winning the NAIA national title in 2022-23 with a 33-4 record, earning her NAIA National Coach of the Year distinction. She posted a 155-42 record in her six years at the helm of the Pride, winning at least 20 games every season and surpassing the 30-win mark twice as she became the winningest coach in program history.
Boyd’s teams earned bids to the NAIA Tournament five times, advancing to the round of 16 all four years the tournament was played and making three appearances in the national quarterfinals. She coached five players who were recognized as NAIA All-Americans.
Boyd was named Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2021-22 as she led the Pride to HAAC regular season and tournament titles on their way to 31 wins, while her 2020-21 squad also captured the HAAC tournament crown. She had 11 players earn HAAC All-Conference honors as well. Boyd’s Clarke teams also excelled in the classroom, twice being named to the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll.
Boyd arrived at Clarke after two seasons as associate head coach at UW-Parkside. She has also held collegiate coaching positions at AIB College of Business, Augusta, Grand View, Iowa Wesleyan and Dixie State in a coaching career dating back to 2009. Boyd, who was named to the WBCA Thirty Under 30 in 2017, is a five-time WHoopDirt Coach of the Week and earned WeCOACH of the Month honors in April 2023.
Boyd graduated from Dixie State University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in December 2009. She was a two-year starting point guard and team captain for the Dixie State women’s basketball team, helping her team to 33 wins and twice earning All-Conference honors. Prior to Dixie State, Boyd played two seasons at Kirkwood Community College, where she was part of teams which won 67 games, including a national title in 2006-07 and national runner-up in 2005-06.
Boyd went on to earn a master’s of education in educational leadership from Augusta University in May 2014. Boyd and her wife, Ali, have two daughters — Sophie and Zoey.
What They’re Saying About Coach Boyd
Katie Gearlds, Head Coach, Purdue University: “Courtney is one of the greatest competitors I have ever watched from afar and coached against. She has this unique ability to demand hard work and excellence while loving on her student-athletes to allow them an opportunity to reach their full potential. The greatest compliment a coach can ever receive from her players is a team that plays hard for their head coach — all of Courtney’s teams do that. Valpo has hired a winner.”
Jessica Keller, Assistant Coach, University of Nebraska: “I am thrilled for Courtney to be named the next head coach at Valparaiso University. As an alumna of Quincy University, I have proudly watched her elevate the program in her time there. Her success in developing young women on and off the court is evident and her passion for building relationships extends far beyond her teams. She is a great fit for Valpo and adds to the depth of incredible coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference. Congrats, Courtney!”
Nicci Hays Fort, Director of Recruiting, Influence and Branding, Oklahoma University: “Valparaiso is getting a winner and a relentless and thoughtful leader in Courtney. Courtney’s teams have always been tough, competitive and play with joy! We are so very happy for Courtney and her family. Well done Valpo.”
Jon Lewis, Head Coach, Midamerica Nazarene University: “Congratulations to Valpo on an outstanding hire! Courtney is not only a phenomenal coach, but also an incredible person. She leads with integrity and does things the right way — on and off the court. Her teams are always well-prepared, compete with high intensity and show great respect for the game and their opponents. Courtney’s attention to detail and commitment to excellence will no doubt help her build a winning culture at Valpo. I’m excited to watch her teams thrive and succeed at the highest level for years to come.”
Kim Muhl, Head Coach, Kirkwood Community College: “Courtney is a tough, strong-minded person who is very competitive and passionate about what she does. She was a winner when she played for me and has carried that mindset into her coaching career.”
VALPO BASEBALL
LOCKWOOD OUTDUELED DESPITE COMPLETE-GAME GEM
Valparaiso University baseball redshirt junior Connor Lockwood (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) went the distance and did nearly everything in his power to come out on the victorious end, but the right-hander took a tough-luck loss as Valpo fell 2-1 to Illinois State on Friday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field.
How It Happened
Lockwood and Illinois State starter Thomas Harper engaged in a classic pitchers’ duel as neither team scored for the game’s first six innings. The Beacons had a runner at second with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn’t cash in.
Redbird starter Thomas Harper departed after six shutout innings while yielding just one hit, walking four and striking out four. He received no decision.
Illinois State scored the game’s first run with two outs in the seventh as Luke Stulga came through with an RBI single to left.
The Beacons responded in the bottom of the inning as Patrick Ilitch (Detroit, Mich. / University Liggett) jacked a game-tying home run to even the score at one.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Judah Morris sent a fly ball to deep left that barely blew over the left-field wall for a go-ahead home run to make it 2-1 in favor of the guests.
Valpo went down quietly in each of the final two innings against Tresdon Rybarczyk, who nailed down the save.
Inside the Game
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 marks Valpo’s second 2-1 loss of the season as the Beacons also fell by that score on March 22 at Indiana State.
Ilitch’s home run was his second of the season and the third of his career.
Valpo fell to 0-14 when scoring four runs or fewer and 1-16 when scoring seven runs or fewer.
The Beacons were limited to just two hits, a season low and the second straight game with four or fewer.
Senior Liam Patton (Barrington, Ill. / Warsaw) saw his 18-game on-base streak come to an end.
Up Next
The Beacons (7-18, 2-5) and Illinois State will once again clash at Emory G. Bauer Field on Saturday at 1 p.m. Admission is free and the game will air on ESPN+.
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 5
1913 — Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field hosted its first game, an exhibition. Before a crowd of 25,000, the Dodgers beat the Giants, 3-2. Casey Stengel hit a an inside-the-park homer for Brooklyn.
1971 — In their last opening day, the Senators, behind pitcher Dick Bosman, beat the Oakland A’s 8-0 before 45,000 fans at RFK Stadium.
1972 — For the first time in Major League Baseball history, the regular season fails to open due to the player strike which started on April 1st. 86 games will be lost before the labor dispute is settled.
1979 — Baltimore manager Earl Weaver got his 1,000th career victory when the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox.
1983 — The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 16-13 in the highest-scoring opening day game in 50 years. Winning pitcher Tim Lollar also drove in three runs.
1993 — The expansion Florida Marlins won their first game, 6-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, at Joe Robbie Stadium. The new Colorado Rockies lost to the Mets 3-0 in New York.
1998 — Andy Benes pitched seven strong innings and Matt Williams had three hits and an RBI in to lead Arizona to its first victory, a 3-2 win over San Francisco. The Diamondbacks (1-5) had the second longest, season-opening losing streak for an expansion team in its first season.
2003 — Kansas City became the first major league team to start 5-0 after a 100-loss season.
2004 — Carlos Beltran of Kansas City and Shannon Stewart of Minnesota combined to set a record. For the first time in modern history, two players hit game-winning home runs on the same day. The Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-7, while the Twins overcame the Cleveland Indians, 7-4, in 11 innings. The Royals also were the first team since 1901 to recover from a ninth-inning deficit of four runs on opening day.
2004 — Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz announces the team will retain Bobby Cox as the team’s manager through the 2005 season.
2005 — The Washington Nationals, formerly known as the Montreal Expos, lost their inaugural season opener Philadelphia 8-4.
2006 — Ivan Rodriguez went 5-for-5 with a single, homer, three doubles and five RBIs, leading Detroit to a 14-3 rout over Kansas City.
2010 — Garrett Jones homered in his first two at-bats, pinch-hitter Ryan Church doubled home three runs in Pittsburgh’s 11-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
2012 — J.P. Arencibia’s three-run homer in the 16th inning sent the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians in the longest opening-day game in major league history. The marathon eclipsed the previous longest openers — 15 innings between Cleveland and Detroit in 1960 and 15 innings between Philadelphia and Washington in 1926.
2013 — Chris Davis extended his torrid start with a grand slam and five RBIs, and the Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota 9-5 in their home opener. Davis became the fourth player in major league history to homer in his first four games of the season. In the four games, Davis was 9 for 15 (.600) with four homers and 16 RBIs. Davis’ 16 RBIs in his team’s first four games broke the old big league record of 12 and he became the first player to hit a home and drive in three runs in each of the first four games to start a season.
2015 — The Los Angeles Dodgers set a baseball record with a $270 million opening-day payroll, including nearly $44 million going to players no longer on the team. Major League Baseball’s average salary on opening day also set a mark at $4.2 million.
2021 — 38,238 paying spectators make their way to Globe Life Field for the Rangers’ home opener, a 6 – 2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, it is the first time fans are allowed to a regular season game since the ballpark opened a year ago, and the first sporting event to be held without attendance restrictions anywhere in the U.S. since the start of the health crisis.
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April 6
1971 — Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hits a home run on Opening Day, marking the start of a historic streak. Mays will hit home runs in each of the Giants’ first four games.
1972 — For the first time in history, the major leagues failed to open on schedule because of a player strike, which started on April 1. The traditional season opener between Houston and Cincinnati was canceled and a total of 86 games were lost before the strike was settled.
1973 — Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first major league designated hitter. With the bases loaded in the first inning, he was walked by pitcher Luis Tiant, but the Red Sox won 15-5.
1973 — At the Oakland Coliseum, Tony Oliva became the first designated hitter to homer. The Twins DH hit a two-run shot in the first inning off of Catfish Hunter to Minnesota to an 8-3 win.
1974 — Due to renovations at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees’ home opener took place at Shea Stadium. It was their first home game outside Yankee Stadium since 1922.
1977 — The Seattle Mariners played their first regular-season game and lost 7-0 to the California Angels at the Kingdome.
1982 — A freak storm that brought subfreezing temperatures and dumped heavy snow from the Northeast to the Midwest forced the postponement of American League openers in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Milwaukee, and National League openers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
1989 — The consecutive scoreless innings streak of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Orel Hershiser comes to an end at 59.
1992 — The Baltimore Orioles play the first game in Oriole Park at Camden Yards history.
1996 — Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first pitcher born in South Korea to win a major league game.
2001 — On Opening Day at Veterans Stadium, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning’s number 14 jersey is retired.
2002 — Highly-touted Japanese pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii makes his major league debut and pitches 5 1/3 scoreless innings‚ striking out 10‚ in Los Angeles’s 9 – 2 win over the Rockies.
2005 — Brad Wilkerson hit for the cycle to lead Washington over Philadelphia 7-3.
2009 — Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez each homered from both sides of the plate to lead Arizona to a 9-8 victory over Colorado.
2009 — Emilio Bonifacio hit the majors’ first inside-the-park homer on opening day since 1968, swiped three bases and had four hits in Florida’s 12-6 victory over Washington.
2009 — Alfonso Soriano hit his 50th career leadoff home run as Chicago beat Houston 4-2.
2012 — Adam Dunn tied a major league record with his eighth opening-day home run. He led off the sixth inning for the Chicago White Sox when he pulled a ball into the second deck of seats in right field off Texas starter Colby Lewis. Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey Jr. are the other major leaguers who have eight homers in openers.
2014 — Texas P Yu Darvish becomes the fastest starting pitcher to reach 500 strikeouts.
2016 — Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda homered in the second at-bat of his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers and beat the Padres 7-0, making San Diego the first team in major league history to be shut out in its first three games. The Padres were outscored 25-0 in the opening three games by their biggest rivals and set MLB marks for futility.
2016 — Rookie Trevor Story made baseball history by hitting a home run in each of his first three major league games and Colorado beat Arizona 4-3. Story also became the first player in baseball history to hit a home run for each of his first four hits. Story’s two-run homer off Patrick Corbin in the first inning gave him four for the season.
2021 — A few days after withdrawing the organization of the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta, Ga., Major League Baseball identifies Denver, CO’s Coors Field as the game’s new site.
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April 7
1925 — Babe Ruth collapsed in a railroad station in Asheville, N.C. He would be hospitalized in New York and operated on 10 days later for an ulcer.
1964 — Shea Stadium in New York opened for the first regular season game. The Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.
1969 — The Yankees spoiled the managerial debut of Ted Williams by defeating the Senators 8-4 in the opener at Washington’s RFK Stadium. President Nixon and a crowd of 45,000 attended.
1969 — Dodgers relief pitcher Bill Singer was credited with the first official save. Los Angeles beat Cincinnati, 3-2. The game started with Cincinnati’s Pete Rose hitting Don Drysdale’s first pitch for a home run. Drysdale threw his next pitch to Bobby Tolan and Tolan hit it for a home run. After the first two pitches, Drysdale settled down and threw a shutout.
1970 — Three weeks after moving from Seattle to Milwaukee, the former Pilots played their first game as the Brewers and lost 12-0 to the visiting California Angels.
1973 — Cleveland set an attendance record for day games and opening-day games by attracting 74,420 fans. The Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1.
1977 — The expansion Toronto Blue Jays began their major league odyssey with a 9-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. Al Woods, pinch hitting for Steve Bowling in the fifth inning, became the 11th pinch hitter with a home run in his first at-bat.
1979 — Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros pitched a no-hitter against Atlanta to duplicate the no-hitter tossed by his brother Bob of the Cardinals against the Phillies on April 16, 1978. They are the first brothers to pitch no-hitters.
1984 — Detroit’s Jack Morris pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox despite giving up six walks. It was the first Tigers no-hitter since Jim Bunning’s in 1958.
1987 — Atlanta’s Rick Mahler pitched his third opening day shutout tying an NL record.
1988 — Cincinnati Reds rookie third baseman Chris Sabo ties a major league record with eleven assists in one game.
1998 — On the same day that Major League Baseball returned to Wisconsin 28 years earlier, National League baseball returns to Milwaukee for the first time in 32 years.
2000 — The Tampa Bay Devil Rays retire uniform number 12 in honor of Wade Boggs. Although the former Red Sox and Yankees third baseman only spent two seasons with Tampa Bay, he hit the franchise’s first home run and became the 23rd member of the 3,000-Hit Club as a member of the team.
2003 — Seven months before a November deadline, the Boston Red Sox exercise their 2004 contract option on Pedro Martinez, making him the highest-paid pitcher for a season in major league history.
2012 — J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs and Houston beat 49-year-old Jamie Moyer and Colorado 7-3. Moyer became the oldest player to appear in a game since 1980, when 54-year-old Minnie Minoso played in a game for the White Sox. Moyer became the second-oldest pitcher to start a major-league game and was the oldest starting pitcher ever on a team’s opening-day roster.
2013 — Will Middlebrooks hit three home runs and the Boston Red Sox roughed up Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, routing the Toronto Blue Jays 13-0.
2013 — Matt Cain became the first Giants pitcher to allow nine runs in an inning since 1902 when Matt Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals tagged him in a 14-3 romp over San Francisco.
2022 — Opening Day of the 2022 season is finally here, having been delayed by a week by the 2021-2022 lockout.
April 8
1934 — The Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies played the first legal Sunday baseball game in Philadelphia. The exhibition game was made possible when the state made Sunday baseball a local option and the city approved it in a referendum ballot.
1963 — Pete Rose has first at-bat with the Cincinnati Reds.
1969 — Four expansion teams make their debuts. The Kansas City Royals, Seattle Pilots, Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres all win their inaugural games.
1974 — In the opener in Atlanta, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career record by hitting his 715th home run off Los Angeles left-hander Al Downing in the fourth inning. The Braves beat the Dodgers 7-4 before a crowd of nearly 54,000.
1975 — Frank Robinson became the first black manager in major league history by making his debut as player-manager of the Cleveland Indians. He hit a home run in his first at-bat — as a designated hitter — to help beat the New York Yankees, 5-3.
1977 — The Seattle Mariners record their first win by defeating the California Angels, 7-6, at the Kingdome.
1986 — Jim Presley of the Seattle Mariners hit home runs in the ninth and 10th innings for a come-from-behind 8-4 opening day victory over the California Angels.
1986 — Facing Nolan Ryan of the Astros, Giants rookie Will Clark hits a home run in his first major league at-bat.
1987 — Pitchers Phil Niekro and Steve Carlton of the Cleveland Indians teamed up to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3. Niekro recorded his 312th victory and Carlton pitched four shutout innings in relief. It was the first time in modern history that two 300-game winners pitched for the same team in the same game.
1989 — One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes his major league debut for the California Angels.
1991 — Major league umpires strike on Opening Day, and amateur umpires are used as replacements.
1993 — Carlos Baerga of the Cleveland Indians became the first player in major league history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same inning. The homers came in the seventh inning of a 15-5 rout of the New York Yankees.
1994 — Kurt Mercker of the Atlanta Braves pitched the season’s first no-hitter, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0. It was the first complete game of Mercker’s career.
1995 — Free agents signed include outfielder Larry Walker and pitcher Bill Swift by the Rockies, and pitcher Orel Hershiser by the Indians.
2002 — Craig Biggio hit for the cycle and had four RBIs in Houston’s 8-4 win over Colorado.
2003 — At Yankee Stadium’s home opener, Hideki Matsui hits his first major league home run, a grand slam.
2008 — Chase Utley ties a major league record by being hit by pitch three times in a game.
2011 — Slugger Manny Ramirez, who signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in the off-season, announces his retirement after a failure to conform with Major League Baseball’s drug policy.
2016 — Trevor Story became the first major leaguer to homer in each of his first four games, connecting two more times for the Colorado Rockies in a 13-6 loss to the San Diego Padres. Story, who has six home runs since making his debut on opening day, got three hits and drove in four runs while playing for the first time at Coors Field.
2018 — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics’ first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory. Marcus Semien’s clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani’s bid for a perfect game. Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.
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April 9
1913 — Ebbets Field opened in Brooklyn and Philadelphia defeated the Dodgers 1-0 before a crowd of 10,000. The stadium, which cost $750,000 to build, was named after Charles Ebbets, the club’s principal owner.
1947 — Dodgers manager Leo Durocher was suspended for one year by commissioner Happy Chandler for “the accumulation of unpleasant incidents” detrimental to baseball.
1959 — The Baltimore Orioles, playing against the Washington Senators, became the first team in history to execute a triple play on opening day. The Senators won the game, 9-2.
1965 — The Houston Astrodome opened with an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and Astros. President Johnson attended and Gov. John Connally threw out the first ball. Mickey Mantle hit the first home run, but the Astros won 2-1 in 12 innings.
1969 — Billy Williams of Chicago hit four consecutive doubles to lead the Cubs to an 11-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
1974 — San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc criticized his club over the public address system during the eighth inning of a 9-5 loss to the Houston Astros! “Ladies and gentlemen, I suffer with you,” Kroc told the crowd of 39,083 for the home opener. Kroc added, “I’ve never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life.”
1981 — Fernando Valenzuela made his first major league start a stunning success by pitching a 2-0, five-hit triumph over the Houston Astros in Los Angeles. He would go on to win his first eight games.
1985 — Chicago’s Tom Seaver made his 15th opening day start to break Christy Mathewson’s record. Seaver pitched 6 2-3 innings and was credited with the victory as the White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2.
1987 — Gary Carter drives in his 1,000th career run.
1989 — Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees gets his his 800th career stolen base.
1993 — The Colorado Rockies beat the Montreal Expos 11-4 for their first win and set a National League record for attendance in their home debut. The crowd of 80,227 broke the record of 78,672 set on April 18, 1958, by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1994 — Recently-retired NBA legend Michael Jordan makes his professional baseball debut by going hitless for AA Birmingham.
2000 — In a 13-7 win over Kansas City, Minnesota’s Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy hit consecutive home runs. The Royals’ Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Mike Sweeney repeated the feat, marking the first time in major league history that both teams hit three consecutive home runs in the same game.
2006 — Cory Sullivan tied a major league record by hitting two triples during a seven-run fifth inning, helping Colorado rout San Diego 10-4.
2012 — Prize Japanese signee Yu Darvish, making his major league debut for the Texas Rangers.
2021 — It took a record 8,206 games, but someone has finally pitched a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres: off-season acquisition Joe Musgrove defeats the Rangers, 3 – 0.
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April 10
1913 — President Wilson threw out the first ball as the Senators edged the New York Yankees 2-1 in Washington’s home opener. Walter Johnson allowed an unearned run in the first inning. He did not yield another run for 56 consecutive innings.
1947 — Jackie Robinson became the first black player of the 20th century to sign a major league contract. Robinson agreed a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1959 — Chicago’s Nellie Fox, who went 5-for-7, hit a 14th-inning opening day home run off Don Mossi to beat Detroit, 9-7. The White Sox second baseman did not homer in 623 at-bats the previous season.
1962 — The Houston Colt .45s, in the first major league game played in Texas, beat the Chicago Cubs 11-2 before 25,000. Roman Mejias led Houston’s offense with two three-run homers.
1969 — Tommy Agee of the New York Mets hit a home run into the upper deck in Shea Stadium’s left field. It was the longest home run to reach the seats in the history of the stadium.
1971 — The Phillies opened their new $49.5 million Veterans Stadium by beating Montreal 4-1. Philadelphia’s Don Money hit the first home run.
1973 — The first game at Royals Stadium is played. John Mayberry hit a home run in Kansas City’s 12-1 rout of Texas. A crowd of 39,476 attended the game at the state-of-the-art ballpark, which features water fountains beyond the outfield fence.
1976 — Don Money had a ninth-inning grand slam taken away. Money’s slam gave the Milwaukee Brewers an apparent 10-9 win over the New York Yankees. The umpires, however, rule that New York first baseman Chris Chambliss had called time out before the pitch. Money returned to the plate and flied out to right and the Brewers suffered a 9-7 loss.
1981 — In his first game for the Chicago White Sox, Carlton Fisk belts a three-run home run.
1982 — Under icy conditions, the Cleveland Indians opened the season at Municipal Stadium with an 8-3 loss to the Texas Rangers before 62,443 fans. Five hundred tons of snow had to be removed from the field; the game-time temperature was 38 degrees, with a wind chill of 17.
1989 — Toronto’s Dave Stieb threw a one-hitter for an 8-0 win against the New York Yankees. It was the third one-hitter in Stieb’s last four starts. Stieb, who closed last year with consecutive one-hitters, struck out five, walked four, and gave up a solid single to Jamie Quirk with one out in the fifth inning.
1989 — Ken Griffey, Jr. hits his first major league home run at the Kingdome in Seattle’s 6-5 win over the White Sox. Griffey’s father, Ken Sr., is an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds, making the two the first father-son duo to play in the major leagues at the same time.
1990 — Boston’s Wade Boggs tied a major league record for a nine-inning game by drawing three intentional walks.
1994 — Former NBA star Michael Jordan singles twice, collecting his first hits in his professional baseball career while playing for the Birmingham Barons of the Class-AA Southern League.
2000 — Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr. became the youngest player to hit 400 career home runs when he connected in the Reds’ 7-5 loss to Colorado. At 30 years, 141 days, Griffey beat the previous mark set by Jimmie Foxx, who was 30 years, 248 days old.
2006 — David Ortiz agrees to a four-year contract extension with the Boston Red Sox.
2012 — The Miami Marlins announce that they are suspending manager Ozzie Guillen for five games for making remarks supportive of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
2013 — The Boston Red Sox’s record streak of sell-outs at Fenway Park ends after 820 games as the attendance for today’s game against the Orioles is 30,862
2015 — Mark Buehrle wins the 200th game of his career.
2016 — Rookie Trevor Story capped his amazing first week in the majors by hitting his seventh home run, helping the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 6-3. Story’s homer was one of five solo shots by the Rockies and has driven in 12 runs through six games.
2017 — Wil Myers hit a leadoff triple in the eighth inning to complete the first cycle of his career and send San Diego past Colorado 5-3.
2020 — With no baseball being played because of the coronavirus pandemic, MLB sets up a virtual league, with one player from each of the 30 teams playing a three-inning game on the video game platform MLB: The Show.
2024 — On National Siblings Day, brothers Josh and Bo Naylor both homer in the 4th inning of the Guardians’ game against the White Sox. It is only the tenth recorded instance of brothers homering in the same inning, the previous time having been accomplished by the same pair the previous July. The two long balls help to erase a five-run deficit, and in the 10th inning, Josh drives in the game-tying run with a double, before Bo hits a single with the bases loaded to end the game with a 7 – 6 win for Cleveland.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
April 5
1915 — Jess Willard beats Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the world heavyweight boxing title in Havana.
1927 — Johnny Weissmuller breaks his own 200-meter freestyle record by seven seconds in 2:08. He also lowers his own record in the 100-yard freestyle to 51 seconds, a record that stood for 17 years.
1952 — Henry Wittenberg wins the 191-pound AAU wrestling title for the eighth time. Wittenberg won over 350 bouts in 13 years, including a gold medal in the 1948 Olympics.
1959 — Art Wall birdies five of the last six holes to cap a final-round 66 and edge Fred Hawkins by one stroke to win the Masters.
1967 — ’76er Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 41 rebounds in single game.
1970 — New York beats Detroit 9-5 to take fourth place and the final playoff berth in the NHL’s East Division. The Rangers are the first team to advance to the playoffs on the basis of goals scored when they finish tied with Montreal.
1972 — Major League Baseball for the first time fails to open because of a player strike, which started April 1 and would be settled April 13.
1973 — NFL adopts jersey numbering system.
1984 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hits a sky hook with 8:53 left in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 129-115 victory over the Utah Jazz to become the NBA’s top career scorer. Wilt Chamberlain, with 31,419 points, held the record since his retirement in 1973.
1987 — Wayne Gretzky wins 7th straight NHL scoring title.
1989 — LA Dodgers Orel Hershiser’s consecutive scoreless streak of 59 innings ends.
1990 — John Stockton reaches 1000-assist mark for NBA record 3 years in a row.
1992 — 11th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Stanford beats Western Kentucky, 78-62.
1993 — Donald Williams scores 25 points to lead North Carolina to a 77-71 win over Michigan in the NCAA championship.
1993 — MLB expansion teams Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies make their MLB debuts.
1997 — Bruce Baumgartner wins a record eighth World Cup wrestling gold medal, beating David Musolbes 2-1 in overtime at 275 1/2 pounds as the United States routs Russia 25-7.
2004 — Led by 24 points from Emeka Okafor and 21 from Ben Gordon, the Connecticut Huskies outclass Georgia Tech 82-73 to win the men’s national championship.
2005 — 24th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Baylor beats Michigan State, 84-62.
2005 — The Washington Nationals lose their inaugural season opener, 8-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies; first team to represent the nation’s capital since the Washington Senators left after the 1971 season.
2008 — The Boston Celtics sets an NBA record for biggest single-season turnaround with a 101-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. The Celtics improve to 61-15, 37 more wins than last season.
2008 — Memphis beats UCLA 78-63 in the NCAA semifinals to go to 38-1 and become the winningest team in a season. Kansas’ Brandon Rush scores 25 points, and the Jayhawks defeat North Carolina 84-66 in the second semifinal.
2009 — Brittany Lincicome sinks a 6-foot eagle putt on No. 18 to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship for her first major title.
2010 — Duke wins its fourth NCAA basketball championship, holding off Butler 61-59 and surviving Gordon Hayward’s last-second desperation shot that hits the rim.
2011 — 30th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Texas A&M beats Notre Dame, 76-70.
2016 — UConn wins an unprecedented fourth straight women’s national championship, capping another perfect season by routing Syracuse 82-51. Geno Auriemma passes UCLA’s John Wooden with his 11th national title and a sixth undefeated season.
2019 — OKC G Russell Westbrook becomes first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for the third consecutive season.
2021 — 82nd NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Baylor Bears become second consecutive first-time NCAA champions with 86–70 over previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs.
2023 — 84th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas: UConn defeat the San Diego State Aztecs, 76–59 for Huskies’ 5th national title; MOP: Adama Sanogo (UConn).
April 6
1896 — The first modern Olympic Games begin in Athens, Greece. James B. Connelly wins the first event — the hop, step and jump.
1936 — Horton Smith edges Harry Cooper by one stroke to win the Masters.
1941 — Craig Wood beats Byron Nelson by three strokes to win the Masters.
1947 — Jimmy Demaret wins the Masters for the second time with two-stroke victory over Byron Nelson and Frank Stranahan.
1952 — Sam Snead wins his second Masters, beating Jack Burke Jr. by four shots.
1958 — 22nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins the first of his 4 Masters titles.
1973 — Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first major league designated hitter, in an opening-day game against Boston.
1973 — Roberto Clemente Day, Pittsburgh Pirates retire his #21.
1979 — Baltimore manager Earl Weaver wins his 1,000th game.
1980 — Gordie Howe completes a record 26th NHL season.
1982 — Largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Minnesota 52,279.
1987 — Sugar Ray Leonard returns to the ring after a three-year layoff to upset Marvelous Marvin Hagler in a 12-round split decision for the middleweight title, becoming boxing’s 10th triple champion.
1991 — Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona suspended for 15 months by Italian League for testing positive for cocaine use.
1992 — Duke becomes the first team in 19 years to repeat as NCAA champion with a 71-51 victory over Michigan’s Fab Five freshmen, the youngest team to vie for the title.
2004 — Led by Diana Taurasi, UConn beats Tennessee 70-61 for its third straight women’s title. This is the first time one school sweeps the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball crown in the same year.
2008 — Lorena Ochoa continues her dominance of women’s golf with a five-shot victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
2008 — Keith Tkachuk scores his 500th career goal and adds an assist to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 in the season finale.
2009 — Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson help send North Carolina to a national championship, ending Michigan State’s inspirational run with a 89-72 rout. The Tar Heels take a 55-34 at halftime, breaking a 42-year-old title-game record for biggest lead at the break and setting the mark for most points at the half.
2010 — New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur gets his 600th career win with his second straight shutout in a 3-0 win over Atlanta. The shutout is Brodeur’s league-leading ninth of the season and the 110th of his career.
2010 — Maya Moore scores 23 points to help Connecticut rally from a horrible first half to beat Stanford 53-47 for its second straight undefeated championship season and its seventh national title. UConn (39-0) won its 78th straight, extending its women’s NCAA record for consecutive victories.
2013 — Rick Adelman becomes the eighth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games when the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons 107-101.
2015 — Duke’s star freshmen — Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, Jahlil Okafor — turn a nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 1:22 left to grit out a 68-63 victory over Wisconsin for the Blue Devils’ fifth national title.
2017 — Charley Hoffman finishes with the largest first-round lead at Augusta National in 62 years. Hoffman shoots a 7-under 65 in the wind for a four-shot edge over William McGirt. That’s the largest lead since the 1955 Masters, when Jack Burke Jr. opened with 67 and was four shots ahead of Julius Boros and Mike Souchak.
2019 — Tampa Bay Lightning beats Boston Bruins, 6-3 in the season finale for their 62nd regular season win, tying the NHL record held by Detroit Red Wings.
April 7
1940 — Jimmy Demaret wins the Masters by four strokes over Lloyd Mangrum. Mangrum opens with a 64, a course record by two strokes that stands for 46 years.
1946 — Herman Keiser edges Ben Hogan by one stroke to win the Masters.
1951 — Ben Hogan takes the Masters by two strokes over Robert Riegel.
1956 — Joe Graboski scores 29 points and Paul Arizin 26 as the Philadelphia Warriors beat the Fort Wayne Pistons 99-88 to win the NBA championship in five games.
1963 — Jack Nicklaus becomes the youngest Masters winner at 23, beating Tony Lema by a stroke.
1969 — Ted Williams begins managing the Washington Senators.
1985 — New Jersey’s Herschel Walker rushes for a USFL-record 233 yards in leading the Generals to a 31-25 victory over the Houston Gamblers. Walker breaks his own USFL record for the longest run from scrimmage by going 89 yards on his second carry.
1995 — Baseball exhibition season begins late due to strike.
1996 — Dave Andreychuk scores a goal for his 1,000th career point, and the New Jersey Devils top the New York Rangers 4-2.
1998 — Al MacInnis has a goal and an assist in St. Louis’ 5-3 loss at Detroit to become the sixth NHL defenseman to reach 1,000 points.
2000 — 1st regular season MLB game at Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park) in Houston.
2003 — Syracuse wins the NCAA title with an 81-78 victory over Kansas.
2007 — Michigan State beats Boston College 3-1 for its first NCAA hockey title in 21 years.
2008 — Mario Chalmers hits a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and Kansas goes on to defeat Memphis 75-68 for the NCAA title.
2009 — Tina Charles scores 25 points and grabs 19 rebounds and Connecticut routs Louisville 76-54 to capture its sixth women’s basketball title. UConn (39-0) wins every one of its 39 games by double digits, a first in college basketball.
2010 — Don Nelson sets the NBA career record for victories by a coach in the Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nelson’s 1,333 wins surpass Lenny Wilkens’ total.
2014 — Shabazz Napier scores 22 points and Connecticut wins its second NCAA men’s title in four years, beating the freshmen-led Kentucky 60-54 in the championship game.
2015 — UConn’s women down Notre Dame 63-53 for their 10th NCAA championship. Coach Geno Auriemma ties UCLA’s John Wooden for the most titles in college basketball.
2016 — Ernie Els, winner of four major titles, opens with a 10 on the par-4 first hole at the Masters. After his first two shots, Els seven-putts from 2 feet. His sextuple bogey is the worst score on the first hole at the Masters, beating the old mark by two strokes.
2016 — The Golden State Warriors become the second team to win 70 games in a season by beating the San Antonio Spurs 112-101.
2018 — Vegas Golden Knights end regular season with most victories of any expansion team.
2019 — 38th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Baylor beats Notre Dame, 82-81.
2019 — Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki play final NBA games.
2019 — Magic Johnson quits as President of Basketball Operations of the LA Lakers.
April 8
1935 — Gene Sarazen gets a double eagle on the 15th hole to erase Craig Wood’s three-stroke lead, then goes on to win the Masters.
1941 — In his 4th title defense in 9 weeks Joe Louis beats Tony Musto by TKO in the 9th round.
1943 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins 2-0 to win the Stanley Cup with a four-game sweep.
1956 — Jack Burke, Jr. comes back from eight strokes behind to beat Ken Venturi by one and win the Masters.
1966 — American Football League votes in 36 year old Al Davis as commissioner after Joe Foss resigns. Appointment lasts 3 months when AFL merges with NFL.
1968 — Major League Baseball decides to postpone Opening Day because of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1969 — MLB expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games
1971 — The first legal off-track betting (OTB) system in the United States opens in New York City.
1974 — In the home opener in Atlanta, Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s career record by hitting his 715th home run, connecting off Al Downing of Los Angeles in the fourth inning.
1975 — Frank Robinson, the first black manager in the majors, debuts as player-manager for the Cleveland Indians. Robinson hits a home run in his first at-bat — as a designated hitter — to help beat the New York Yankees 5-3.
1989 — Alex English scores 26 points to become the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in eight straight seasons, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz 110-106.
1989 — 1-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes MLB debut.
1990 — Nick Faldo becomes the second player to win consecutive Masters, beating Ray Floyd on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Faldo joins Jack Nicklaus as the only repeat winner.
1991 — Major league umpires & baseball reach a 4-year agreement after strike.
1995 — Oliver McCall beats Larry Holmes in 12 for heavyweight boxing title.
2001 — Tiger Woods claims the greatest feat in modern golf by winning the Masters, giving him a clean sweep of the four professional majors in a span of 294 days. Woods, with his winning score of 16-under 272, sweeps the majors with a combined score of 65-under.
2003 — 22nd NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Tennessee, 73-68.
2007 — Zach Johnson hits three clutch birdies on the back nine of Augusta National, to close with a 69 for a two-shot victory over Tiger Woods at the Masters.
2008 — Candace Parker, playing with an injured left shoulder, scores 17 points and grabs nine rebounds to help Tennessee capture its eighth women’s NCAA championship with a 64-48 victory over Stanford.
2012 — 76th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Bubba Watson wins on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
2013 — Luke Hancock makes all five of his 3-pointers and leads Louisville to its first NCAA men’s basketball championship since 1986 with a 82-76 victory over Michigan. Coach Rick Pitino adds this title to the one he won at Kentucky in 1996 and became the first coach to win a championship at two schools.
2014 — 33rd NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Notre Dame, 79-58.
2017 — Damian Lillard scores a franchise-record 59 points and matches his career high with nine 3-pointers to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 101-86.
2018 — 82nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Patrick Reed wins his first major title.
2019 — 81st NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Virginia beats Texas Tech, 85-77 OT.
_____
April 9
1912 — 1st exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park.
1946 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 6-3 to win the Stanley Cup in five games.
1947 — Leo Durocher, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is suspended for one year by Commissioner A.B. “Happy” Chandler for “conduct detrimental to baseball.” Durocher is linked to gambling interests.
1950 — Jimmy Demaret wins his third Masters, by two strokes over Jim Ferrier.
1959 — 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games.
1960 — The Boston Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks 122-103 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for their third NBA title in the last four years. Frank Ramsey leads the Celtics with 24 points and Bill Russell scores 22 points and grabs 35 rebounds.
1962 — Arnold Palmer wins a three-way playoff, beating Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald in the Masters.
1966 — Anaheim Stadium for California Angels opens.
1972 — 36th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus leads wire-to-wire to win the 4th of his 6 Masters titles.
1978 — Gary Player shoots a final-round 64 to win his third Masters, edging Hubert Green, Rod Funseth and defending champion Tom Watson by a shot.
1978 — Denver’s David Thompson, battling San Antonio’s George Gervin for the NBA season scoring title, scores 73 points against the Detroit Pistons. It’s the third-highest output ever in an NBA game. Gervin, not to be outdone, later scores 63 against the New Orleans Jazz. It’s just enough to give Gervin the scoring crown, 27.22 points per game to Thompson’s 27.15, the tightest one-two finish ever.
1981 — LA Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela’s 1st start.
1987 — For 3rd time, Wayne Gretzky, scores 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in a Stanley Cup game and passes Jean Béliveau as all time playoff scoring champ.
1989 — Britain’s Nick Faldo makes a 25-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Masters. Runner-up Scott Hoch missed a 2-foot putt for par on the first hole of the playoff that would have given him the title.
1995 — 59th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Crenshaw wins his 2nd Masters title.
1997 — Major League Soccer announces Miami & Chicago as expansion teams.
2000 — Fiji native Vijay Singh meets every challenge to win the Masters, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Ernie Els.2001 — Australia sets a record for the most one-sided international win in FIFA history, beating Tonga 22-0 in an Oceania Group One qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup.
2005 — The United States beats Canada 3-1 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless regulation and 20-minute overtime to win the Women’s World Hockey Championship. The win ends the defending champions’ run of eight straight titles.
2006 — 70th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson wins his 2nd green jacket.
2013 — 32nd NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Louisville, 93-60.
2016 — Manny Pacquiao returns from the biggest loss of his career with a bang, knocking down Timothy Bradley twice on his way to a unanimous 12-round decision in their welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.
2017 — Sergio Garcia overcomes a two-shot deficit with six holes to play and beats Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff at the Masters for his first major after nearly two decades of heartache. No one ever played more majors as a pro — 70 — before winning a major for the first time.
2017 — Russell Westbrook breaks Oscar Robertson’s 56-year-old record with his 42nd triple-double of the season, then he breaks the Denver Nuggets’ hearts with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 106-105 victory. Westbrook has 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in breaking Robertson’s record of 41 triple-doubles that stood since the 1961-62 season. With his triple-double in the books, Westbrook scores his team’s final 15 points, including a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounds after a timeout with 2.9 seconds left.
2021 — San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove no-hits the Texas Rangers.
_____
April 10
1934 — The Chicago Black Hawks edge the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in overtime to win the Stanley Cup in 4 of the best-of-5 series. Charlie Gardiner gets the shutout and Mush March scores the winning goal at 30:05 of overtime. It’s the final NHL game for Gardiner, who dies of a brain hemorrhage two months later.
1947 — Jackie Robinson becomes first black player of the 20th century to sign an MLB contract.
1949 — Sam Snead wins the Masters, beating Lloyd Mangrum and Johnny Bulla by three strokes.
1953 — NBA Championship Finals, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minnesota, MN: Minneapolis Lakers beat NY Knicks, 91-84 for a 4-1 series victory; Lakers’ 5th title in 6 years.
1955 — Cary Middlecoff beats Ben Hogan by seven strokes to win the Masters.
1955 — 9th NBA Championship: Syracuse Nats beat Fort Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 3.
1956 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup in five games.
1960 — 24th U.S. Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 1958 champion Arnold Palmer birdies the final 2 holes to win by 1 stroke over runner-up Ken Venturi.
1961 — South Africa’s Gary Player becomes the first foreign player to win the Masters, edging Arnold Palmer and Charley Coe by one stroke.
1977 — Tom Watson pulls away in the final four holes to beat Jack Nicklaus by two strokes in the Masters.
1983 — Baltimore’s Eddie Murray hits his 1,000 career hit.
1988 — Scotland’s Sandy Lyle sinks a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a one-shot victory in the Masters, becoming the first British player to win the tournament.
1990 — Dave Taylor, Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato score three goals apiece as the Los Angeles Kings pound the Calgary Flames 12-4, marking the first time in NHL playoff history that three hat tricks are recorded in one game.
1991 — LA King Wayne Gretzky scores NHL record 93rd playoff goal.
1993 — Manon Rheaume, pro hockey’s only female goaltender, allows six goals in her first International Hockey League start for the Atlanta Knights, an 8-6 loss to Cincinnati.
1994 — Jose Maria Olazabal wins the Masters by two strokes over Tom Lehman. It’s the sixth time in seven years a non-American has prevailed.
1996 — Norm Duke sets a Professional Bowlers Association record with three consecutive 300s. Duke, who finished the first round with consecutive 300s, opens the second round with his third perfect game of the day.
2005 — Tiger Woods wins the Masters with a spectacular finish of birdies and bogeys. Woods turns back a surprising challenge Chris DiMarco with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to capture his fourth green jacket.
2010 — The Boston Bruins clinch a playoff berth after scoring three short-handed goals in 64 seconds on the same penalty during a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s the first time in NHL history that a team accomplishes the feat as Daniel Paille, Blake Wheeler and Steve Begin score the goals in the second period to make it 3-0.
2011 — 75th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Charl Schwartzel of South Africa birdies the final 4 holes to win his first major title, 2 strokes ahead of Australian pair Adam Scott and Jason Day.
2016 — Danny Willett wins the Masters after a stunning collapse by Jordan Spieth. Willett shoots a closing 67 for a 5-under 283 is assured his first major title when Spieth bogies the 17th hole. Spieth, nine holes away from another wire-to-wire victory, throws it away with a collapse around Amen Corner that is shocking even by Augusta National standards. Spieth was five shots ahead on the 10th tee and three shots behind when he walked to the 13th tee.
2016 — Chicago’s Patrick Kane wins the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. He is the first American-born player in NHL history to capture the Ross since it has been awarded, dating back to 1947-48. Kane wins the scoring title with 106 points, which includes 46 goals and 60 assists, both of which were career highs.
2022 — 86th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: World #1 golfer Scottie Scheffler wins first career major title; beats Irishman Rory McIlroy by 3 strokes.
TV SPORTS SATURDAY
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| LIV | 2:00pm | FOX |
| PGA Tour: Texas Open | 3:00pm | NBC |
| LPGA Tour: T-Mobile Match Play | 6:00pm | GOLF |
| MMA | TIME ET | TV |
| UFC: Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy | 9:00pm | ESPN |
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| EPL: Everton vs Arsenal | 7:30am | USA Peacock |
| La Liga: Girona vs Deportivo Alavés | 8:00am | ESPN+ |
| Serie A: Monza vs Como | 9:00am | Paramount+ |
| Bundesliga: Bochum vs Stuttgart | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Mainz 05 vs Holstein Kiel | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Heidenheim vs Bayer Leverkusen | 9:30am | ESPN+ |
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| EPL: Ipswich Town vs Wolverhampton Wanderers | 10:00am | USA Peacock |
| EPL: Crystal Palace vs Brighton & Hove Albion | 10:00am | Peacock |
| EPL: West Ham United vs AFC Bournemouth | 10:00am | Peacock |
| La Liga: Real Madrid vs Valencia | 10:15am | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: PSG vs Angers SCO | 11:00am | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| Serie A: Parma vs Internazionale | 12:00pm | CBS Paramount+ |
| EPL: Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest | 12:30pm | USA Peacock |
| La Liga: Mallorca vs Celta de Vigo | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga: Werder Bremen vs Eintracht Frankfurt | 12:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Brest vs Monaco | 1:00pm | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| MLS: Charlotte vs Nashville SC | 2:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Serie A: Milan vs Fiorentina | 2:45pm | Paramount+ |
| La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Betis | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Ligue 1: Olympique Lyonnais vs Lille | 3:05pm | Fanatiz beIN Sports |
| MLS: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy | 4:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Women’s Friendly: USA vs Brazil | 5:00pm | Peacock Telemundo |
| Liga MX: Atlas vs Juárez | 7:00pm | FS2 fuboTV |
| Liga MX: Pachuca vs América | 7:00pm | VIX |
| MLS: Atlanta United vs Dallas | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
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| Liga MX: Atlético San Luis vs Mazatlán | 9:00pm | VIX |
| Liga MX: Monterrey vs Guadalajara | 9:05pm | VIX |
| MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps vs Colorado Rapids | 9:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: San Diego vs Seattle Sounders FC | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| Liga MX: Cruz Azul vs Pumas UNAM | 11:10pm | VIX |