Photo by Dave Winder, MSU Athletics
RACERS BLANK TENNESSEE TECH
Murray State soccer bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 1-0 win over Tennessee Tech yesterday at Cutchin Field. Golden Eagles goalkeeper Isabelle Austin fouled Abby Jones just inside the penalty area, and sophomore Lauren Payne converted the ensuing penalty kick to put the Racers in front with 25 minutes remaining in the first half. The Racers managed the game in the final stages to preserve the clean-sheet victory, improving to 6-1 while extending their OVC home winning streak to nine matches dating back to the first conference contest of the 2019 season. The Racers will return to action on Friday night at 7 at SIUE.
RACER BASEBALL FALLS AT ARKANSAS STATE
Brandon Hudson tossed five innings of one-hit baseball to help Arkansas State defeat Murray State 3-1 yesterday afternoon in Jonesboro. Jake Slunder was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored and Jordan Cozart was 2-for-4 with the Racers only RBI for his team-leading 22nd of the season. Cade Vernon came on in relief for the Racers and shut down the Red Wolves offense, pitching 4 1/3 innings, allowing no runs on four hits, while striking out two. Sam Gardner took the loss to fall to 0-4 on the season. Murray State is now 10-1 on the season and will visit Memphis for a three game non-conference series which begins on Friday.
RACER FOOTBALL TICKET SPECIAL
From 8 am until 4:30 pm this week, buy one $12 dollar general admission ticket to the Racer football game vs Eastern Illinois and get one free. Contact the Murray State Athletics ticket office or via Ticketmaster.com.
MUSTANGS AND MARSHALS ADVANCE TO BOYS R1 SEMIS
Opening round play of the Region 1 Boys basketball tournament wrapped up last night at the CFSB Center. In the opener, McCracken County punched its ticket to Friday night’s second semifinal game with an 80-48 win over Fulton County. Noah Dumas scored 25 points to lead the Mustangs who improved to 20-6 while the Pilots season ended with a 9-10 record. In the nightcap, Zion Harmon scored 37 points to lead Marshall County to a 72-59 win over Graves County. The Marshals improved to 12-9 while the Eagles ended the season with an 18-6 mark. The Marshals and Mustangs will play at 8 pm Friday in a rematch of the 2020 Regional championship game. Murray High will face Paducah Tilghman at 5:30 in Friday’s other boys semifinal. The Girls semifinals resume on Thursday with Graves County facing Marshall County at 5:30, followed by Calloway County vs McCracken County at 8 pm.
REGION 2 GIRLS TOURNAMENT SCORED
Madisonville 46, Christian County 42
Union County 36, Trigg County 17
Hopkinsville 2, Hopkins County Central 0 (forfeit)
Henderson County 2, Livingston Central 0 (forfeit)
CATS AND VOLS BOUNCED FROM NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNEY
Tennessee and Kentucky did not make it out of the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Third-seeded Tennessee lost 70-55 to Michigan. Fourth-seeded Kentucky fell 86-72 to Iowa. Today, Belmont will play Indiana, while Louisville will meet Northwestern.
RACER SOFTBALL HOSTS AUSTIN PEAY
Murray State softball returns to Racer Field today to host Austin Peay in a midweek Battle of the Border rivalry doubleheader. The pair of OVC contests will be the front half of four games against the Governors this season due to the league’s new schedule format for the 2021 campaign. First pitch times are set for 2 pm and 4 pm and both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Nashville Predators shut out the Red Wings 2-0 in Nashville. The Predators won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 15-17-1. The two teams rematch tomorrow night. The St. Louis Blues will release a limited number of tickets for general public purchase today for the first time this season. Tickets go on sale beginning at noon at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets can be purchased in seating pods of two or four and will be available for all remaining home games of the regular season.
GRIZZLIES AT OKC
The Grizzlies will open a four-game road trip tonight in Oklahoma City. They will play two this weekend at Utah and Monday at Houston before returning to Memphis. The Grizz have won three of their four to reach .500, 20-and-20.
DERBY TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY
Kentucky Derby tickets go on sale Friday. This year’s event will be at a reduced capacity, but officials say they hope at least 30-thousand people will be allowed inside Churchill Downs. All reserved seats for both the Derby and Kentucky Oaks will be all-inclusive, so people don’t have to wait in line or handle cash. Tickets start at 600-dollars and are sold in sets of six.
CARDS TIE NATS
The Cardinals and Nationals tied 5-5 in Jupiter, Florida. Austin Dean drilled a two-run home run for St. Louis, and Adam Wainwright fired six innings of one-run ball. The Cards host the Mets today with coverage beginning at 11:55 this morning on WNBS AM and FM.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Victor Oladipo’s time in Houston may be nearing an end. With the NBA trade deadline tomorrow, ESPN reports the Rockets are making progress on a potential deal involving the 28-year-old guard. Oladipo came to Houston in the trade for James Harden. He’s averaging 20.8 points.
The Washington Football Team might not be just a temporary name for D.C.’s NFL franchise. Team president Jason Wright tells ESPN some fans have warmed to the WFT moniker and it will be considered as a permanent replacement. The permanent name will be in place in 2022.
Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco is latching on with the Eagles. He’s agreed to a reported one-year, 3.5-million dollar deal, with a chance to make up to 7.5-million. Flacco will provide experience behind Philly starter Jalen Hurts. Flacco played five games with the Jets in 2020.
Sixteen is now the total number of sexual assault and sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. His lawyer issued a statement saying they have strong evidence that one of the claims is false, therefore calling into question the legitimacy of others.
Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen has a hairline fracture in his right forearm. He was hurt taking batting practice earlier this month. Gallen says he can still throw most of his pitches, but it does affect his curveball. It’s unclear at this point how much time he will miss.
TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NBA
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Denver Nuggets 110, Orlando Magic 99
New York Knicks 131, Washington Wizards 113
New Orleans Pelicans 128, Los Angeles Lakers 111
Phoenix Suns 110, Miami Heat 100
Philadelphia 76ers 108, Golden State Warriors 98
Brooklyn Nets 116, Portland Trail Blazers 112
NHL
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New Jersey Devils 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Florida Panthers 2
Nashville Predators 2, Detroit Red Wings 0
Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Dallas Stars 1
Arizona Coyotes 5, Colorado Avalanche 4 (SO)
MLB Grapefruit League
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Boston Red Sox 7, Atlanta Braves 6
Pittsburgh Pirates 1, Minnesota Twins 0
New York Yankees 5, Detroit Tigers 5
Baltimore Orioles 4, Tampa Bay Rays 3
Washington Nationals 5, St. Louis Cardinals 5
New York Mets 5, Miami Marlins 3
Toronto Blue Jays 9, Philadelphia Phillies 3
MLB Cactus League
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Texas Rangers 6, Los Angeles Angels 4
Chicago White Sox 3, Chicago Cubs 1
Oakland Athletics 4, Colorado Rockies 1
San Francisco Giants 7, Cleveland Indians 0
Milwaukee Brewers 9, Los Angeles Dodgers 6
San Diego Padres 5, Cincinnati Reds 4
Seattle Mariners 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 0
NCAA Tournament
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No Games Scheduled
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers
7:30 p.m. – Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks
7:30 p.m. – Denver Nuggets at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
8:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns at Orlando Magic
8:00 p.m. – Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls
8:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets at Houston Rockets
8:00 p.m. – Dallas Mavericks at Minnesota Timberwolves
8:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
8:30 p.m. – LA Clippers at San Antonio Spurs
10:00 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Utah Jazz
10:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at Sacramento Kings
NHL
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4:00 p.m. – Calgary Flames at Ottawa Senators
4:30 p.m. – Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild
8:00 p.m. – Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins
10:30 p.m. – Winnipeg Jets at Vancouver Canucks
10:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks
Edmonton Oilers at Montreal Canadiens (Postponed)
MLB Grapefruit League
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1:05 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at Pittsburgh Pirates
1:05 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays
1:05 p.m. – New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals
1:05 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Detroit Tigers
1:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
6:05 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox
6:05 p.m. – Houston Astros at Washington Nationals
MLB Cactus League
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4:05 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox
4:10 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at Milwaukee Brewers
4:10 p.m. – Kansas City Royals as Los Angeles Angels
9:05 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Cincinnati Reds
9:10 p.m. – Cleveland Indians at Arizona Diamondbacks
9:40 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Seattle Mariners
10:05 p.m. – San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants
NCAA Tournament
——
No Games Scheduled
