Photo via Murray State Athletics
RACER BASEBALL DOWNS TENNESSEE TECH
Murray State scored two runs in the top of the ninth and held on for a 4-2 win at Tennessee Tech in the opening contest of a three game baseball series in Cookeville. Bryson Bloomer had 2 hits and drove in 2 runs to pace the offense, helping winning pitcher Jacob Pennington improve to 3-1 with Alec Whaley notching his first save as the duo combined for three scoreless innings in relief of Shane Burns. The Racers are now 12-12 overall and 5-2 in OVC games. The teams conclude the series with a twinball today with games set for 1 pm and 5 pm.
14TH-RANKED RACERS FACE AUSTIN PEAY ON SATURDAY
Murray State football will seek to keep building on a perfect season and maintain sole possession of first place in the OVC when the Racers visit Austin Peay for a 2 pm game tomorrow. The game pits the Racers pass defense, which is statistically tops in the OVC, against the second best passing offense in the OVC. However, the Governors defense is also one of the best in the league, coming off a week where they forced 6 turnovers in the win at Jacksonville State. Racer head coach Dean Hood has been impressed with what he has seen on film. Airtime for tomorrow’s game is set for 1:30 pm on FROGGY 103.7. In other OVC games tomorrow:
#12 Jacksonville State at Eastern Illinois
Southeast Missouri at UT Martin
Tennessee State at Tennessee Tech
RACER SOCCER CAN CLINCH IN CAPE
Murray State soccer will travel to Cape Girardeau this evening for a pivotal OVC match that will see the league’s top teams collide at Houk Field. With just two matches left to play, 7-1 Murray State is alone at the top of the table with 21 points, while Southeast Missouri and SIUE are tied for second with 19 points. The Racers can clinch an outright regular season trophy tonight with a win and an SIUE tie or loss in its game against Belmont. Tonight’s action begins at 6 and will stream on ESPN Plus.
RACER SOFTBALL VISITS JSU
Murray State softball will kick off a five-game road trip when they travel to Jacksonville State for a three-game weekend series with the Gamecocks. The Racers will look to improve on their 11-3 start to the OVC campaign that matches 2019 for the best conference start in program history. The series will feature an afternoon doubleheader today followed by a single contest on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 pm today and all three games will stream live on ESPN Plus.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCORES
Calloway County 4, Trigg County 0
Hickman County 5, Murray High 4
Graves County 6, Livingston Central 0
Tilghman 4, Lake County 0
Caldwell County 18, Hopkins Central 0
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL SCORES
Marshall County 8, Calloway County 7
Hickman County 3, Murray High 1
Mayfield 15, Christian Fellowship 0
St. Mary 18, Fulton City 0
Livingston Central 12, Carlisle County 0
CARDINALS HAMMER REDS IN SEASON OPENER
Dylan Carlson’s three-run home run highlighted a six-run opening frame that propelled the Cardinals to an 11-6 Opening Day win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Tyler O’Neill added a two-run shot in the fourth and Nolan Arenado went two for five with an RBI in his St. Louis debut. Giovanny Gallegos got the win in the relief. Game two of the series is tomorrow which will be a 9 pm time-shifted broadcast on WNBS due to KHSAA Boys Sweet 16 coverage.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY WINS SWEET 16 OPENER
Four more teams advanced to the quarterfinals as first round action concluded yesterday of the KHSAA Boys Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Ian Hart and Noah Dumas each scored 14 points to lead McCracken County over Bullitt East 68-56. In the other games, Boyle County downed Paintsville 70-56, Highlands scorched Muhlenberg County 88-60, and Ashland Blazer eliminated Knox Central 56-38. In today’s games, Elizabethtown battles GRC at 10 am, Bowling Green faces Louisville Ballard at 1, Boyle County takes on Ashland Blazer at 4, and McCracken County faces Highlands at 7. Hear all four games on WNBS AM and FM, with coverage beginning this morning at 9:45.
CFS RETURNING TO FOURTH DISTRICT HOOPS PLAY
Marshall County Daily reports that Christian Fellowship’s basketball program will re-enter Fourth District play next season. The move means the Fourth District will return to a four team district with CFS, Calloway County, Murray High, and Marshall County.
OVC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SET
Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year, Lena Kindermann, hit .538 with 18 kills to help power Jacksonville State to a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-18) sweep of Southeast Missouri in the semifinal round of the OVC volleyball tournament yesterday in Morehead. The 16-1 Gamecocks ended the 14-3 Redhawks’ 14-match winning streak. The win propels Jax State into its fourth appearance in the OVC tournament title match, and first since 2009. JSU will meet Morehead State in the championship at 5 pm central time today after the Eagles received a bye to the final round following positive Covid-19 tests from SIUE.
PREDS FALL TO DALLAS
The Nashville Predators’ six-game winning streak is history. The Dallas Stars stopped it with a 4-1 win in Nashville. Colton Sissons scored for the Preds. Nashville is 19-18-1 and hosts the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow.
MEMPHIS HOSTS MINNESOTA TONIGHT
The Grizzlies will host the Timberwolves tonight before embarking on a four-game trip on Sunday. Memphis will be without Justise Winslow for the third straight game with right quad soreness. The Grizz are 22-and-23 after Wednesday’s loss to the Jazz.
KEENELAND SPRING MEET BEGINS
Keeneland Race Course’s 2021 Spring Meet starts today. The Spring Meet is being held from April 2nd-to-23rd. Keeneland will allow ontrack fans at slightly less than half of its usual capacity. The historic track was closed to fans in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
NASHVILLE SC WINS
Nashville SC beat the Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-0 in a preseason contest in Bradenton, Florida. COVID-19 concerns canceled the three previous Nashville preseason games. Nashville is adding a preseason game on April 10th before opening MLS play April 17th against FC Cincinnati.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Major League Baseball season is underway. The Dodgers opened defense of their World Series title with an 8-5 loss to the Rockies, the Yankees fell 3-2 in 10 innings to the Blue Jays, the defending AL champion Rays blanked the Marlins 1-0 behind Tyler Glasnow and the pen.
The wildest game to start the season occurred in Kansas City where the Royals outslugged the Rangers 14-10. Both teams scored five runs in the first inning, a first for an Opening Day game. Fourteen pitchers combined to allow 30 hits and 17 walks while striking out 24.
North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams is calling it a career. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer retired on Thursday after 33 years as a college head coach. Williams spent 18 seasons leading the Tar Heels, following a 15-year run at Kansas. He has over 900 wins.
The NCAA Final Four is tomorrow in Indianapolis. Top-seeded Gonzaga takes a 30-and-0 record into its matchup with 11th-seeded UCLA. Fellow top seed Baylor battles second-seeded Houston in the other semifinal. The national championship game takes place Monday.
Camilo Villegas has the lead after the first round of the Valero Texas Open. He carded an eight-under 64 Thursday on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio to lead Sung Kang and American Cameron Tringale by two shots. Jordan Spieth is among three others tied at five-under.
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Chicago Cubs 3
Philadelphia Phillies 3, Atlanta Braves 2 (F/10)
San Diego Padres 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 7
Colorado Rockies 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 5
St. Louis Cardinals 11, Cincinnati Reds 6
New York Mets at Washington Nationals (Postponed)
MLB American League
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Toronto Blue Jays 3, New York Yankees 2 (F/10)
Detroit Tigers 3, Cleveland Indians 2
Kansas City Royals 14, Texas Rangers 10
Los Angeles Angels 4, Chicago White Sox 3
Houston Astros 8, Oakland Athletics 1
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (Postponed)
MLB Interleague
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Milwaukee Brewers 6, Minnesota Twins 5 (F/10)
Tampa Bay Rays 1, Miami Marlins 0
Seattle Mariners 8, San Francisco Giants 7 (F/10)
NBA
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Philadelphia 76ers 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 94
Detroit Pistons 120, Washington Wizards 91
Brooklyn Nets 111, Charlotte Hornets 89
Miami Heat 116, Golden State Warriors 109
Orlando Magic 115, New Orleans Pelicans 110 (OT)
Atlanta Hawks 134, ,San Antonio Spurs 129 (2 OT)
Denver Nuggets 101, LA Clippers 94
NHL
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Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Boston Bruins 1
New York Rangers 3, Buffalo Sabres 2 (OT)
New York Islanders 8, Washington Capitals 4
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Florida Panthers 3, Detroit Red Wings 2 (OT)
Montreal Canadiens 4, Ottawa Senators 1
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3
Dallas Stars 4, Nashville Predators 1
Minnesota Wild 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 (SO)
NCAA Tournament
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No Games Scheduled
PGA Valero Texas Open (at San Antonio, TX)
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1. Camilo Villegas (-8)
T2. Sung Kang (-6)
T2. Cameron Tringale (-6)
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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8:40 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies
10:10 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres
MLB American League
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2:10 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox
9:38 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels
9:40 p.m. – Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics
MLB Interleague
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7:10 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Miami Marlins
10:10 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Seattle Mariners
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
7:30 p.m. – Houston Rockets at Boston Celtics
7:30 p.m. – Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks
8:00 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers
8:00 p.m. – Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies
9:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at New Orleans Pelicans
9:00 p.m. – Chicago Bulls at Utah Jazz
10:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns
10:00 p.m. – Milwaukee Bucks at Portland Trail Blazers
10:00 p.m. – Los Angeles Lakers at Sacramento Kings
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils
8:00 p.m. – Toronto Maple Leafs at Winnipeg Jets
9:00 p.m. – Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers
9:00 p.m. – St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche
10:00 p.m. – Arizona Coyotes at Anaheim Ducks
10:00 p.m. – San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings
NCAA Tournament
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No Games Scheduled
PGA
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Valero Texas Open (at San Antonio, TX)
