LAKERS SPLIT DH WITH REGION 1 SOFTBALL POWER
In high school softball on Wednesday, Calloway County and McCracken County split a doubleheader in Murray with the Lady Lakers winning the opener 6-5 in 8 innings when Isabel Housden’s fielder’s choice scored Emerson Grogan with the winning run. Paige Kramer led the Lady Lakers with 3 RBI’s while Reese Settle had 3 hits, with Housden pitching a complete game for the win, giving up 8 hits, walking none and striking out eight. The nightcap also went to extra innings with McCracken County scoring four in the ninth to take a 10-6 win. The Lady Mustangs scored three in the top of the eighth to take a 6-3 lead before the Lady Lakers rallied to tie the game. Isabel Housden was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s, while Adison Hicks also had a 2 hit game for Calloway County, which ended the night with a record of 22-9 while McCracken County returned home with a record of 24-6.
WEDNESDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCORES
McCracken County 19, Ballard Memorial 4
Paducah Tilghman 6, Crittenden County 2
SEVEN RACERS LAND ON ALL-OVC BASEBALL TEAMS
The Ohio Valley Conference released All-OVC baseball selections yesterday, and seven Racers found their names on the lists, the most of any team in the OVC. The seven selections are the most for Murray State since the awards went to a first, second, and freshman team format in 2006. Their previous high was six selections in 2009. Second baseman Jordan Cozart was named to the All-OVC first team while outfielder Brock Anderson, third baseman Bryson Bloomer, pitcher Sam Gardner, and outfielder Jake Slunder picked up All-OVC second team honors. In addition, pitcher and utilityman Jacob Pennington and pitcher Jack Wenninger were All-OVC freshman team selections. Southeast Missouri’s Dylan Dodd was named OVC Pitcher of the Year while his coach, Andy Sawyers, was named OVC Coach of the Year. Additionally, Eastern Illinois shortstop Trey Sweeney was named OVC Player of the Year while Morehead State’s Jackson Feltner earned Freshman of the Year honors.
RACERS VS MOREHEAD STATE TONIGHT IN JACKSON
The Racers finished the season with a 30-23 overall record and 18-12 record in the OVC. The Racers are the #2 seed in the OVC Tournament where they will play #3 Morehead State tonight at 6 at The Ballpark in Jackson in Tennessee. Shane Burns will get the start against the Eagles. The left-hander owns a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 6.14 in 55 2/3 innings pitched. Murray State has won two OVC Tournament Championships since 1979 when the first tournament format was held. The Eagles have won two of the past five OVC Tournaments and four crowns overall. The Eagles missed six Conference games this year due to COVID protocols. In the other game, top seeded Southeast Missouri will face
TWO RACERS COMPETE AT NCAA REGIONAL MEET IN FLORIDA
The Murray State women’s track & field program will be represented this week at the NCAA Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field East Regional in Jacksonville, Florida. The Racers have two athletes competing with Jabreuna Brimlett in the 100 meter hurdles and Kenia Seals in the 100 meter dash. Both Brimlett and Seals are part of 48 runners in their events, in which 24 will advance as the top-3 in each heat, plus the next six best times. The University of North Florida is hosting the East Preliminary and Texas A&M University is hosting the West Preliminary. The qualifiers out of these two regions will compete in the NCAA Championships held June 9-12 in Eugene, Oregon.
MORANT SETS FRANCHISE SCORING RECORD IN MEMPHIS LOSS
The Utah Jazz rebounded from their opening game loss to the Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs to beat the Grizzlies last night, 141-to-29, in Salt Lake City. Former Murray State All-American Ja Morant scored a single-game franchise record 47 points for the Grizzlies but it wasn’t enough to beat the Jazz. Morant’s combined 73 points in his first two playoff games are the second most in the history of the NBA. The series is tied at one game apiece. Game three is Saturday in Memphis.
CARDINALS SNAP SKID BEHIND EDMAN HOMERS
Tommy Edman hit two home runs as the Cardinals blanked the White Sox 4-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Edmundo Sosa also drove in a pair of runs for St. Louis, which snapped a three-game skid. John Gant pitched five scoreless innings for the win. The Cardinals are in Arizona tonight to begin a four game series with the Diamondbacks with a 7:45 game 1 airtime on WNBS AM and FM.
AREA MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
In the minors, the Louisville Bats were blown out by the Toledo Mud Hens 10-3. The Memphis Redbirds fell to the Gwinnett Stripers 11-5. Nashville edged Columbus 6-5
VOLS FALL, VANDY WINS AT SEC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
After falling to the 10th-seeded Alabama 3-2 in 11 innings yesterday, Tennessee faces elimination in the third round of the SEC Baseball Tournament when they take on the third-seeded Mississippi State with the loser of the game headed back home. Vanderbilt walked off with a come-from-behind 5-4 win in the bottom of the ninth over Ole Miss to advance and will take on the top-seeded Arkansas in the third round later tonight.
PREDS HOST CAROLINA TONIGHT IN GAME 6
The Predators hope to force a game seven when they host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight down 3-2 in their first round series. Through the first five games of the series the home team has had the advantage with a perfect 5-and-0 record. The Preds have not advanced past the first round since the 2018 playoffs.
UK PLANS FOR FULL CAPACITY
The University of Kentucky confirmed yesterday that it is planning for a “return to its traditional game environment” for the 2021 football season. The plan is for Kroger Field to return to full capacity of approximately 61,000. Last year’s attendance was held to just 12,000 fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MSU CLAIMS OVC TRACK AND FIELD SPORTSMANSHIP HONOR
On Tuesday, the Ohio Valley Conference announced that the Murray State University women’s team and UT Martin men’s team are the recipients of the 2020-21 Team Sportsmanship Award for outdoor track and field. Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans. This marks the second award for the Murray State women’s program with the other coming in 2011-12.
UK’S TUCKER EARNS OLYMPIC SPOT
The University of Kentucky’s Mary Tucker will be competing in a second event at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Tucker has earned a spot on the women’s smallbore team. She qualified for air rifle last spring. The Florida native is UK’s first rifle athlete to qualify for the Olympics in both events. UK senior Will Shaner also qualified for the air rifle competition last spring.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Derrick Rose scored 26 points off the bench to lead the Knicks to a 101-92 win over the Hawks in Game Two. New York evened the series at one game apiece. Ben Simmons had 22 points to lead the 76ers to a 120-95 win over the Wizards and a 2-0 series lead. The Jazz outscored the Grizzlies 141-129 to even their series up at one-one. Tonight, the Heat host the Bucks for Game Three, the Suns visit the Lakers for Game Three, and the Trail Blazers welcome the Nuggets to town for the third game of their series.
The Islanders and Lightning both finished off their series while the Wild forced a Game Seven on Wednesday night. Cam Talbot stopped all 23 shots with Minnesota beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-nothing in St. Paul. New York beat Pittsburgh 5-3 in Uniondale while Tampa Bay beat Florida 4-nothing in Tampa to finish both series four-games-to-two in the respective Games Sixes. Tonight, the Predators fight for their playoff lives against the Hurricanes in Nashville in Game Six while Montreal looks to avoid elimination against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Mickey Callaway is being fired by the Los Angeles Angels as their pitching coach after being placed on Major League Baseball’s ineligible list. According to The Athletic, Callaway will be banned through the end of the 2022 season following the league’s investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. The news outlet reports that five women accuse the former coach of sending shirtless photos, requesting naked photos, and other improper conduct. Such instances occurred while he was the pitching coach in Cleveland and the manager of the New York Mets.
The N-F-L’s all-time leading scorer is announcing his retirement. Adam Vinatieri will announced on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday that he has filed the paperwork with the league office. The 48-year-old Indianapolis Colts kicker was a three-time Pro Bowler. He tallied two-thousand-673 points and a record 599 field goals for the New England Patriots and Colts, where he played his final 14 seasons. He won four Super Bowls during his illustrious career.
NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are facing off in the next edition of “The Match” this summer. Brady will be paired with six-time major winner Phil Mickelson and Rodgers will partner with last year’s U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau. The PGA says the event will take place at the Moonlight Basin Golf Course in Big Sky, Montana. Mickelson is fresh off his PGA Championship win and will look to avenge his and Brady’s loss in last year’s competition. “The Match” will take place on July 6th.
The PGA Tour is back in Texas this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge. Round one action at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth gets underway this morning. Defending champion Daniel Berger is grouped with previous winners Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, who is fresh off his PGA Championship victory last weekend. Spieth won this event in 2016, while “Lefty” has won twice in 2000 and 2008.
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
——-
Chicago Cubs 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
Miami Marlins 4, Philadelphia Phillies 2
Washington Nationals 3, Cincinnati Reds 0 (SUSPENDED)
Colorado Rockies at New York Mets (PPD RAIN)
San Diego Padres 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1 (10)
San Francisco Giants 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 4
MLB American League
——-
Minnesota Twins 3, Baltimore Orioles 2
Oakland Athletics 6, Seattle Mariners 3
Los Angeles Angels 9, Texas Rangers 8
Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (PPD RAIN)
Detroit Tigers 1, Cleveland Indians 0
Tampa Bay Rays 2, Kansas City Royals 1 (10)
MLB Interleague
——-
St. Louis Cardinals 4, Chicago White Sox 0
Boston Red Sox 9, Atlanta Braves 5
Houston Astros 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
NBA Playoffs
——-
Philadelphia 76ers 120, Washington Wizards 95
(76ers lead best-of-seven East first round series, 2-0)
New York Knicks 101, Atlanta Hawks 92
(Best-of-seven East first round series tied, 1-1)
Utah Jazz 141, Memphis Grizzlies 129
(Best-of-seven West first round series tied, 1-1)
NHL Playoffs
——-
New York Islanders 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 3
(Islanders win best-of-seven East first round series, 4-2)
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Florida Panthers 0
(Lightning win best-of-seven Central first round series, 4-2)
Minnesota Wild 3, Vegas Golden Knights 0
(Best-of-seven West first round series tied, 3-3)
WNBA
——-
Las Vegas Aces 85, Phoenix Mercury 79
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All Times Are Eastern)
MLB National League
——-
12:10 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at New York Mets (DH)
12:10 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins
12:35 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
1:10 p.m. – San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers
2:05 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at Washington Nationals (DH)
9:40 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks
10:10 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB American League
——-
1:10 p.m. – Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers
3:10 p.m. – Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays
4:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (DH)
8:10 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Chicago White Sox
9:40 p.m. – Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics
10:10 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners
MLB Interleague
——-
No Games Scheduled
NBA Playoffs
——-
7:30 p.m. – Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat
(Bucks lead best-of-seven East first round series, 2-0
10:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers
(Best-of-seven West first round series tied, 1-1)
10:30 p.m. – Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers
(Best-of-seven West first round series tied, 1-1)
NHL Playoffs
——-
7:00 p.m. – Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs
(Leafs lead best-of-seven North first round series, 3-1)
9:30 p.m. – Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators
(Hurricanes lead best-of-seven Central first round series, 3-2)
WNBA
——-
7:00 p.m. – Dallas Wings at Atlanta Dream
PGA
——-
Charles Schwab Challenge (at Fort Worth, TX)
