Conner Coombs (Photo by Dave Winder, MSU Athletics)
BRUINS LEAD AFTER 2 ROUNDS OF MURRAY STATE INVITE
Belmont shot identical rounds of 281 for a 562, giving the Bruins a 2-shot lead at the Murray State Invitational at Greystone Golf Club in Dixon, Tennessee. UT Martin is in second at 564, with SIU in third at 569. Murray State is in 6th in a field of 15 teams with a 585. Connor Coombs led the Racers with a 141 over two rounds for a share of fifth place. Evan Davis of Belmont is the medalist leader at 133. The final round is being played today.
MONDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL RESULTS
Calloway County 13, Mayfield 2
Boyle County 12, Murray High 4
McCracken County 10, Caldwell County 0
Paducah Tilghman 3, Carlisle County 1
St. Mary 18, Ballard Memorial 3
Whitley County 4, Lyon County 1 (8 innings)
MONDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL RESULTS
Central Hardin 13, Marshall County 2
Crittenden County 18, Caldwell County 9
Lyon County 15, Union County 5
RACERS DROP TO 17TH IN STATS POLL
Murray State football fell from 14th to 17th yesterday in the latest STATS Perform FCS Top-25. Jacksonville State moved from 12th to 10th while Austin Peay cracked the poll at number 25. James Madison is number 1 followed by North Dakota State, Weber State, South Dakota State, and Sam Houston State. SIU is 16th. Murray State and Jacksonville State square off on Sunday with the winner taking the outright OVC championship and the league’s autobid to the FCS Playoffs.
RACER SOFTBALL AT AUSTIN PEAY TODAY
Murray State softball will visit Austin Peay today for an OVC doubleheader to wrap up its current five-game road trip. The Racers and Governors are both currently 11-6 in the OVC entering the Battle of the Border rivalry games, and are tied for third in the league. First pitch for game one is set for 2 pm and the action will stream on ESPN Plus.
RACER SOCCER CLOSES REGULAR SEASON VS EIU
With an OVC regular-season soccer title and the #1 seed in this year’s conference tournament already in their back pocket, Murray State will conclude the regular season today when they host Eastern Illinois in a 1 pm match at Cutchin Field. The 8-1 Racers are four points clear of SIUE at the top of the OVC standings heading into the final match while the 2-6-1 Panthers sit in ninth place and out of postseason contention. Today’s match will stream on ESPN Plus.
YOUNG RECEIVES WEEKLY HONOR FROM OVC
Saraya Young of Murray State is Ohio Valley Conference soccer’s Defender of the Week. Young anchored the Racer back line in the 3-1 title clinching win at Southeast Missouri on Friday night. Young also provided the assist on Rebecca Kubin’s 26th minute goal. The Murray State defense did not allow a single shot on goal in the second half. For Young, this marks the first OVC weekly award of her career. Young became the first Murray State defender to earn the distinction since Izzy Heckman garnered the honor in October of 2019.
CARDINALS SNAP SKID WITH WIN AT MIAMI
Daniel Ponce de Leon allowed just one-run over five innings in the Cardinals 4-1 win against the Marlins in Miami. Tommy Edman homered and Yadier Molina had a two-run double for St. Louis, which snapped a two-game skid. The Cards and Marlins continue the three-game series tonight with airtime set for 4:45 on WNBS AM and FM.
ASKEW ENTERS TRANSFER PORTALREPORT
Kentucky point guard Devin Askew has entered the NCAA transfer portal after starting 20 of 25 games as a freshman. A school release states that Askew can transfer without restrictions per NCAA rules. Askew averaged 6.5 points and was second on the team with 2.9 assists per game. He led Kentucky in assists 16 times last season and dished out a career-high seven in a double-overtime victory at Mississippi State.
WEST TRANSFERS TO LOUISVILLE
Jarrod West of Marshall will play his final collegiate season with the University of Louisville. The 5-11 guard from Clarksburg, West Virginia averaged a Conference USA-leading 6 assists and 2.5 steals per game as a senior for Marshall last season, adding 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
MOREHEAD TO BATTLE CREIGHTON IN NCAA VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY
After claiming the program’s first Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships, Morehead State Volleyball will matchup with the Creighton Bluejays in an opening-round match of the NCAA Tournament slated for 2:30 pm Central Time at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. The match features in the upper left quadrant of the 48-team bracket with the winner of the match advancing to face No. 8 overall seed Florida.
GRIZZLIES VS HEAT TONIGHT
The Grizzlies play the sizzling Heat tonight in Miami in their second stop of a four-city trip. The Heat will be looking for their fifth straight victory. Memphis has won two in-a-row and sits at 24-and-23. The Grizz will play tomorrow night in Atlanta and Friday at the New York Knicks.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Blues losing streak is now at seven following a blowout 6-1 defeat to the Golden Knights at the Enterprise Center. The same two teams face off again tomorrow night in St. Louis. The Nashville Predators will try to continue their hot streak tonight when they play the first of two tonight against the Red Wings in Motown.
SVOBODA JOINS ALABAMA STAFF
Drew Svoboda is leaving Memphis three months after being hired to join the Alabama football staff. He is the new Crimson Tide tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. He was hired in January to be the Tigers’ special teams coordinator after three years at Rice.
VANDY LANDS QB
The Vanderbilt Commodores are set to welcome a quarterback prospect from Texas for the Class of 2022. On Monday, Drew Dickey from Austin Regents School announced his verbal commitment to Vanderbilt. Dickey received a scholarship offer from the Commodores last Friday but had been recruited by quarterbacks coach Joey Lynch for more than two months. Dickey also received offers from Colorado State, Maryland, and Marshall.
VOLS FOOTBALL PLAYER SUSPENDED
A UT football player is being suspended from all team activities. The school announced yesterday junior linebacker Aaron Beasley is suspended indefinitely. Knoxville police said last week it had received a report that Beasley had abused another student’s cat. The cat’s owner says during the process of moving she came home to find the kitten hiding under a dresser and unable to walk.
INFIELD TO OPEN AT CHURCHILL DOWNS
Churchill Downs will open up the infield for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby. Due to COVID-19, track officials announced yesterday that a limited number of infield-only general admission tickets will go on sale at noon tomorrow. It’s the first time Churchill Downs has announced general admission for the infield prior to the Oaks on April 30th and the Derby on May 1st. The tickets can be bought on the Kentucky Derby’s website.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Baylor is the champion of men’s college basketball. The Bears beat Gonzaga 86-70 in the NCAA Tournament title game in Indianapolis. Jared Butler scored 22 points as Baylor claimed its first national championship. The Bulldogs were denied a perfect season, finishing 31-and-1.
The Nationals will finally open their season today against the Braves in D.C. Washington’s first four games were all postponed after four players tested positive for COVID-19 and seven others were quarantined for contact-tracing. The teams will play a doubleheader tomorrow.
Denver will host the 2021 MLB All-Star Game. ESPN reports the game will be played at Coors Field after Major League Baseball opted to move the game out of Atlanta due to recently passed voting laws in Georgia. It’ll be the second time the home of the Rockies will host the event.
Kansas is hiring Travis Goff as its new athletic director. The Dodge City, Kansas native had been deputy director of athletics and assistant vice president at Northwestern. Goff was also on the Tulane athletic department staff. He replaces Jeff Long, who resigned last month.
The death of a member of the “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic hockey team is being ruled a suicide. The Anoka County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Mark Pavelich died of asphyxia last month at age 63. He was on Team USA’s 1980 gold-medal winning club in Lake Placid.
MONDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Cincinnati Reds 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
St. Louis Cardinals 4, Miami Marlins 1
Philadelphia Phillies 5, New York Mets 3
Chicago Cubs 5, Milwaukee Brewers 3
San Francisco Giants 3, San Diego Padres 2
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (Postponed)
MLB American League
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Minnesota Twins 15, Detroit Tigers 6
Toronto Blue Jays 6, Texas Rangers 2
Kansas City Royals 3, Cleveland Indians 0
New York Yankees 7, Baltimore Orioles 0
Boston Red Sox 11, Tampa Bay Rays 2
Los Angeles Angels 7, Houston Astros 6
Chicago White Sox 6, Seattle Mariners 0
MLB Interleague
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Los Angeles Dodgers 10, Oakland Athletics 3
NBA
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Toronto Raptors 103, Washington Wizards 101 (at Tampa, FL)
Brooklyn Nets 114, New York Knicks 112
Dallas Mavericks 111, Utah Jazz 103
Minnesota Timberwolves 116, Sacramento Kings 106
Detroit Pistons 132, Oklahoma City Thunder 108
Cleveland Cavaliers 125, San Antonio Spurs 101
Phoenix Suns 133, Houston Rockets 130
NHL
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Montreal Canadiens 3, Edmonton Oilers 2 (OT)
Winnipeg Jets 4, Ottawa Senators 3
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Boston Bruins 2 (OT)
Vegas Golden Knights 6, St. Louis Blues 1
Colorado Avalanche 5, Minnesota Wild 4
Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Calgary Flames 3
Arizona Coyotes 5, Los Angeles Kings 2
NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship
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#1 Baylor Bears 86, #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs 70 (at Indianapolis, IN)
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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4:05 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals
6:40 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds
6:40 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Miami Marlins
7:05 p.m. – New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
7:40 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs
8:40 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies
10:10 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres
MLB American League
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1:10 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
4:07 p.m. – Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels
6:35 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
7:10 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
8:05 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers
10:10 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners
MLB Interleague
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9:40 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at Oakland Athletics
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers
7:30 p.m. – New Orleans Pelicans at Atlanta Hawks
7:30 p.m. – Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
7:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
8:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Miami Heat
9:00 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at Denver Nuggets
10:00 p.m. – Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors
10:00 p.m. – Portland Trail Blazers at LA Clippers
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Buffalo Sabres at New Jersey Devils
7:00 p.m. – Washington Capitals at New York Islanders
7:00 p.m. – Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers
7:00 p.m. – Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers
7:00 p.m. – Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes
7:00 p.m. – Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets
7:30 p.m. – Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings
8:00 p.m. – Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks
10:30 p.m. – Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks at Winnipeg Jets (Postponed)
