Photo via Murray State Athletics
RACERS ROLL BELLARMINE
Alex Crump and Ryan Perkins each drove in two runs as Murray State baseball doubled Bellarmine 10-5 in Louisville yesterday. The Racers pounded out 12 hits and got all the runs they would need when they overcame a 2-1 deficit with a five run fourth inning. Quinton Kujawa earned his first win of the season, allowing just three hits and two earned runs with a career-high five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. Connor Holden closed out the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up his fourth save and improve the Racers record to 18-16. Murray State returns home this weekend to host Eastern Kentucky for a three-game series with the first pitch set for 5 pm Friday for game one.
JSU CAPTURES OVC WOMEN’S GOLF TITLE
Jacksonville State capped a start-to-finish lead on Tuesday to capture the OVC Women’s Golf Championship in Hampton Cove, Alabama. The Gamecocks 24-shot victory was the fourth-largest in OVC Championship history and most since Murray State won by a record 39 shots in 2003. JSU finished with a three-round total of 861, breaking the record set by Murray State in 2019. Murray State finished fourth at 907. Jacksonville State freshman Berta Sanchez tied the OVC Championship record with a final round 66 on Tuesday to claim the medalist crown with a 209. Raeysha Surendran Murray State finished seventh with a 221. With the victory, Jacksonville State earned the OVC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. The field will be announced on April 28. After the event, the OVC’s major post season awards were announced:
Bobby Nichols OVC Coach of the Year: James Hobbs, Jacksonville State
OVC Player of the Year: Berta Sanchez, Jacksonville State
OVC Freshman of the Year: Berta Sanchez, Jacksonville State
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL RESULTS
In high school baseball, Marshall County pushed across 4 runs in the first inning and sealed the game with 7 in the fourth in a 13-1 win over Calloway County in Murray. Parker Gibbs led the Marshall offense with 3 RBI’s, making a winner out of Evan Oakley who overcame five walks in five innings. Jackson Chapman and Ty Weatherly had singles for the Lakers only hits. Matthew Ray took the loss after giving up 5 runs in over 1 inning pitched as the Lakers fell to 7-5.
Murray High had an 11 run first inning and cruised to an 18-4 win over Graves County at Ty Holland Field. Kade Gibson led the Tigers with 4 RBI’s, while Nathan Rogers, Austin Miller, and Kyle Crady all drove in three runs. Carson Tucker notched the win, pitching 4 innings and allowing 4 runs with 3 strikeouts as the Tigers improved to 7-6. In other games:
Carlisle County 16, Fulton City 0
Paducah Tilghman 18, St. Mary 3
Lake County 15, Fulton County 0
Dawson Springs 7, Caldwell County 6
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL RESULTS
In high school softball, Crittenden County used a 3-run fifth inning to pull away from Calloway County 7-2 in Murray. Ashlyns Hick led the Rockets with 3 hits while Jessie Potter drove in 3 runs. Emerson Grogan had a double and Kylie Stallings a single for the Lady Lakers only hits. Caitlyn Powers took the loss, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings pitched as the Calloway fell to 8-5. In other games:
Christian County 12, Marshall County 10
Graves County 6, Hickman County 2
Mayfield 15, Fulton County 0
Paducah Tilghman 10, Ballard Memorial 0
Trigg County 16, Christian Fellowship 0
SARR DECLARES FOR NBA DRAFT
Kentucky senior forward Olivier Sarr declared for the NBA Draft yesterday. Sarr spent a season at UK after transferring from Wake Forest. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Wildcats and led the team with three double-doubles. Sarr is the fourth Wildcat to declare. Freshman guards Brandon Boston Jr. and Terrence Clarke have renounced their college eligibility while Freshman Isaiah Jackson declared his NBA Draft intentions has the option to return to school.
STAHL HONORED BY NFF
Murray State football’s Chris Stahl was recently named as a member of the 2021 Hampshire Honor Society by National Football Foundation which is composed of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. Murray State was one of five OVC programs to place student-athletes on the list this season. Nationally, 908 players from 257 schools qualified for membership in the Society’s 15th year.
CARDINALS FALL TO NATS
The St. Louis Cardinals battled through five scoreless innings before falling to the Nationals 3-2 in Washington. The Cards took a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning thanks to Dylan Carlson’s run-scoring triple and a sac fly from Austin Dean. The Nationals then rallied for two runs in the eighth to take the lead for good. St. Louis and Washington will now meet up in the rubber game of their series today at 3:05, with airtime this afternoon at 2:10 on WNBS AM and FM.
OVC BASEBALL SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 13, Morehead State 4
#5 Tennessee 3, Tennessee Tech 2
Jacksonville State 6, Troy 1
#2 Vanderbilt 7, Austin Peay 0
OVC SOFTBALL SCORES
Jacksonville State 4, Tennessee Tech 3
Tennessee Tech 4, Jacksonville State 1
MEMPHIS AT CLIPPERS TONIGHT
The Grizzlies are in Los Angeles tonight to face the Clippers as they are in the midst of a seven-game road trip. Memphis is coming off a double-overtime loss Monday in Denver. Memphis is 7-and-4 in its last 11 games and 29-and-27 overall.
PREDS VISIT BLACKHAWKS
The Predators continue their three-game series with the Blackhawks tonight in Chicago. Nashville topped the Blackhawks 5-2 Monday at home, but now the series switches to the Windy City. The two also meet on Friday. Nashville is fourth in the Central with 51 points, one ahead of Dallas. The top four teams in the division qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
TITANS OPT OUT OF VOLUNTARY WORKOUTS
Titans players have opted out of in-person voluntary workouts because of the pandemic. Tennessee becomes the 21st team to decide not to attend formal voluntary workouts. Most teams are going to virtual sessions for voluntary workouts before transitioning to in-person sessions at the training facility.
TENNESSEE FOOTBALL PLAYER GETS COURT DATE
A UT football player has a June 24th preliminary hearing for an animal abuse charge. Linebacker Aaron Beasley was booked on Monday. Beasley allegedly caused head injuries, internal bleeding and severe bruising to a cat. He’s been suspended from all team activities.
SIUE SOCCER TO FACE VIRGINIA IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
The 48-team field for the 2020 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship is officially set, and OVC champion SIUE will face 12th-ranked Virginia. The Caviliers are an at-large team that currently sits at 10-4-2 and 5-2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, played the entirety of its conference schedule in the fall and has played just four matches since the start of 2021. The match is scheduled to be played on April 28 at 6 pm in Cary, North Carolina. The winner of this First Round match will play No. 12 national seed BYU on May 1. The Cougars’ First Round fixture will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Mike Tomlin will be sticking around in Pittsburgh for a few more years. The Steelers have signed their longtime head coach to a three-year contract extension through 2024. Tomlin has led the Steelers to nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl title in 14 seasons.
The Nets’ quest to win the East will be tougher after a setback for James Harden. Head coach Steve Nash says Harden is back to square one with his hamstring injury and out indefinitely. Harden has missed the last seven games. The Nets are a half-game behind Philly.
Talks for a new collective bargaining agreement are underway in Major League Baseball. ESPN reports the league and Players’ Association met yesterday for their first official negotiating session. Neither side commented on the meeting. The current CBA expires December 1st.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has no updates to offer on potential contract negotiations between him and the team. Freeman could become a free agent following this season and last addressed his contract status on opening day when he said there was “nothing to report.” Prior to the Braves series opener against the Yankees in New York, he echoed the sentiment saying that there was “nothing going on.”
Alabama is projected as a number-one seed in the 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected yesterday ‘Bama, Gonzaga, Kansas, and UCLA as the four top seeds. The Crimson Tide finished last season number-five in the Coaches Poll.
TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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San Francisco Giants 10, Philadelphia Phillies 7
Washington Nationals 3, St. Louis Cardinals 2
Chicago Cubs 3, New York Mets 1
Milwaukee Brewers 6, San Diego Padres 0
Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Cincinnati Reds 4 (Suspended T8/Severe Weather)
MLB American League
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Chicago White Sox 8, Cleveland Indians 5
Oakland Athletics 7, Minnesota Twins 0 (G1)
Oakland Athletics 1, Minnesota Twins 0 (G2)
Boston Red Sox 4, Toronto Blue Jays 2
Tampa Bay Rays 14, Kansas City Royals 7
Los Angeles Angels 6, Texas Rangers 2
MLB Interleague
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Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Seattle Mariners 0
New York Yankees 3, Atlanta Braves 1
Baltimore Orioles 7, Miami Marlins 5
Colorado Rockies 6, Houston Astros 2
Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers (Postponed)
NBA
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Atlanta Hawks 112, Orlando Magic 96
New York Knicks 109, Charlotte Hornets 97
Brooklyn Nets 134, New Orleans Pelicans 129
LA Clippers 113, Portland Trail Blazers 112
Minnesota Timberwolves 134, Sacramento Kings 120
NHL
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Boston Bruins 2, Buffalo Sabres 0
New York Islanders 6, New York Rangers 1
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Florida Panthers 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 1
Pittsburgh Penguins 7, New Jersey Devils 6
Dallas Stars 5, Detroit Red Wings 2
Vancouver Canucks 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 3
Los Angeles Kings 4, Anaheim Ducks 1
Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues (Postponed)
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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1:05 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies
4:05 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
4:10 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres
5:10 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Cincinnati Reds (DH)
7:40 p.m. – New York Mets at Chicago Cubs
MLB American League
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3:37 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics
4:07 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels
7:10 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox
8:10 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
MLB Interleague
——
1:10 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Miami Marlins
2:10 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers (DH)
3:10 p.m. – Houston Astros at Colorado Rockies
6:10 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians
6:30 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers
7:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder at Indiana Pacers
7:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns at Philadelphia 76ers
7:00 p.m. – Golden State Warriors at Washington Wizards
7:00 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors (at Tampa, FL)
8:00 p.m. – Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks
8:00 p.m. – Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets
8:30 p.m. – Detroit Pistons at Dallas Mavericks
8:30 p.m. – Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
10:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at LA Clippers
10:00 p.m. – Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers
10:00 p.m. – Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks
9:00 p.m. – Minnesota Wild at Arizona Coyotes
9:30 p.m. – San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights
10:00 p.m. – Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton Oilers
