HODGE RESIGNS AS MURRAY HIGH FOOTBALL COACH
According to Murray Independent School District Athletic Director Ann Greenfield, Murray High head football coach Keith Hodge and assistant coach Clayton Morris have resigned. Morris has accepted the head coaching job at West Carroll High School in Atwood, Tennessee while Hodge has yet to announce his next landing spot. The search for their replacements begins immediately. Hodge had coached the Tigers since 2014. Murray High finished 8-4 last season with playoff wins over Caldwell County, Mayfield, and Owensboro Catholic before falling to Lexington Christian in the State 2A Semifinals.
MUSTANGS MOVE TO KHSAA BASEBALL SEMIFINALS
Jack Bennett homered and drove in six runs as McCracken County pounded Collins 13-2 in the quarterfinals of the KHSAA State Baseball Tournament at Legends Field in Lexington. The Mustangs built a 12-0 lead before Collins plated their only runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Freshman Ross Aldridge notched his eighth win of the season on the mound. McCracken County will play Danville or Lafayette Friday afternoon. Two more quarterfinal games are on tap today with Lyon County playing Whitley County at 5, followed by Louisville Trinity and Hazard in the nightcap.
COZART NAMED TO ABCA ALL-REGION TEAM
Murray State’s Jordan Cozart has been named to the American Baseball Coaches Association-Rawlings All-Midwest Region First Team. Playing second base, the Evansville native, hit .316 in 56 games with 17 doubles, 19 home runs, and 58 RBI. His 19 home runs tied him for the OVC lead with teammate Brock Anderson. Cozart ranked in the top-10 in several offensive categories in the OVC including: hits, home runs, doubles, RBIs, total bases, and slugging. Cozart cracked 30 homers in 111 career games with the Racers and finished his MSU career by hitting .347 in the OVC Tournament with four home runs and nine RBI as the Racers made it to the championship game before bowing out with a second place finish. Cozart was also named to the OVC All-Tournament Team.
FRASER NAMED NEW HAMPSHIRE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Murray State women’s soccer signee Ella Fraser has been named the 2020-21 Gatorade New Hampshire Player of the Year. Out of Exeter High School in Nottingham, Fraser signed with the Racers and head coach Matt Lodge last fall and went on to have an outstanding senior campaign. Fraser’s Gatorade honor comes after she was named United Soccer Coaches High School All-America, which made her one of only 57 high school girls soccer players to earn All-America status. She helped EHS to back-to-back state championships with a winning streak that reached 33 games and scored 22 goals and had 13 assists.
CARDINALS COMPLETE SWEEP OF MARLINS
Yadier Molina’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth secured the Cardinals 1-0 win and a series sweep over the Marlins at Busch Stadium. Johan Oviedo tossed seven shutout innings before Ryan Helsley earned the win in relief. St. Louis visits the Braves tonight, with airtime set for 5:25 on Classic Hits WNBS AM and FM.
AREA MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
The Louisville Bats scored six runs in the first two innings in its 8-5 win over the Storm Chasers in Omaha. The Memphis Redbirds lost to the Indians 6-1 in Indianapolis. Gwinnett hammered Nashville 9-3.
HERGOTT COMMITS TO EKU
WRKC TV reports that Beechwood High School quarterback Cam Hergott has committed to Eastern Kentucky in 2022. He was named Mr. Football in Kentucky last year. Earlier this spring Hergott reclassified under Senate Bill 128 which allows seniors to return to school for another year of academics and athletics, and thus gain a fifth year of eligibility. Hergott led Beechwood to its first-ever Class 2A championship last year and had previously committed to Akron as a preferred walk-on. Eastern Kentucky University is moving from the Ohio Valley Conference to the ASUN Conference on July 1.
WRIGHTS TO BE FEATURED ON E60 EPISODE
Shamar and Lamar Wright, the twin sons of former Grizzly Lorenzen Wright, will be featured on an episode of E60 on ESPN, according to The Commercial Appeal. The episode is scheduled to air at 8 PM on July 14, but that is subject to change. Shamar and Lamar play basketball for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and were just 10 years old when Lorenzen Wright died in 2010.
GEORGE COMPLETES STAFF AT TSU
Tennessee State football coach Eddie George named his coaching staff. Former NFL head coach Hue Jackson will be the offensive coordinator for the Tigers and Brandon Fisher, son of former Titans coach Jeff Fisher, will be the defensive coordinator. Forner NFL player and coach Keith Burns will be the special teams coordinator and former NFL tight end Cory Harkey will be the tight ends coach.
WALSH MAKES OLYMPIC TEAM
A Tennessean will compete in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Alex Walsh won the 200-meter IM at the U.S. Olympic swim trials yesterday in Omaha, Nebraska. Walsh attended Harpeth Hall School in Nashville. She’s now part of the University of Virginia’s swim team.
MOREHEAD STANDOUT TRANSFERS TO LASALLE
The La Salle women’s basketball team has added Morehead State transfer Gabby Crawford. During the 2020-21 campaign at Morehead State, Crawford averaged 12.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg to land her on the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team. It is her third team in three years. Prior to arriving at Morehead State, Crawford played her rookie campaign at Ole Miss where she appeared in 28 games with six starts.
TENNESSEE TECH TRANSFER LANDS AT FLORIDA STATE
Florida State baseball has landed a commitment from Tennessee Tech transfer Brett Roberts who will come to Tallahassee as a redshirt sophomore and be immediately eligible. The middle infielder led Tech with a .343 average, 17 stolen bases, 70 hits, 13 doubles, and 39 RBI. Despite playing eight less games, those numbers would’ve led FSU in hits and stolen bases.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Hawks rallied from a 26-point deficit as they beat the 76ers 109-106 in Game Five in Philadelphia. Trae Young led the way with 39 points. The Hawks have taken a three-games-to-two series lead. In Salt Lake City, the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers picked up a 119-111 win over the Jazz in Game Five. LA picks up a pivotal three-to-two series lead. Tonight, the Nets will look to punch their ticket when they visit the Bucks in Game Six in Milwaukee. Brooklyn is up three games to two in the series.
Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul is reportedly testing positive for COVID-19. According to reports, Paul has returned a positive test for the coronavirus despite having been vaccinated. The All-Star guard has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocol. The timetable is up in the air for Paul as the Suns are gearing up for the Western Conference Finals. Phoenix will face either the Jazz or the Clippers for the right to go to the NBA Finals.
The Clippers are reportedly going to be without their tone setter for a bit. According to reports, Kawhi Leonard has suffered a knee injury that will keep him out of action. Leonard reportedly tweaked his knee during a Game Four win over Utah. The Athletic reports the Clippers are fearful the All-Star has suffered an ACL injury in the process.
Two more NBA teams are looking for head coaches as Stan Van Gundy and Scott Brooks were both fired on Wednesday. In his lone year at the helm of the Pelicans, Van Gundy only won 31 games and missed the NBA Playoffs and fell short of the play-in game. As for Brooks, according to ESPN, things fell apart as they failed to come to an agreement on a new deal. In other NBA news, Hornets guard LaMelo Ball won Rookie of the Year.
Carey Price made 29 saves as the Canadiens edged the Golden Knights 3-2 in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Semifinals in Las Vegas. Joel Armia, Tyler Toffoli, and Paul Byron all scored as the Habs tied the series at one-game apiece. Tonight, the Lightning and the Islanders will do battle in Uniondale, New York. Their series is also tied up at one-game apiece.
Golf’s third major of the season stops at the South Course at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California starting today. The U.S. Open, which is put on by the U-S-G-A, is a notoriously tough tournament, highlighted by tough courses and high scores. Hideki Matsuyama, who won the Masters, and Phil Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship, have won the first two majors of the season. Speaking of Mickelson, he will be looking to claim the first U.S. Open championship of his illustrious career, and the San Diego native may have no better chance to do it than this week at his home course.
WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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St. Louis Cardinals 1, Miami Marlins 0
Cincinnati Reds 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1
Colorado Rockies 8, San Diego Padres 7
Washington Nationals 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
New York Mets 6, Chicago Cubs 3
San Francisco Giants 13, Arizona Diamondbacks 7
Philadelphia Phillies 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 0
MLB American League
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Detroit Tigers 6, Kansas City Royals 5
Chicago White Sox 8, Tampa Bay Rays 7 (10)
Oakland Athletics 8, Los Angeles Angels 4
New York Yankees 3, Toronto Blue Jays 2
Cleveland Indians 8, Baltimore Orioles 7
Houston Astros 8, Texas Rangers 4
Minnesota Twins 7, Seattle Mariners 2
MLB Interleague
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Boston Red Sox 10, Atlanta Braves 8
NBA Playoffs
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Atlanta Hawks 109, Philadelphia 76ers 106
(Hawks lead best-of-seven East semifinal series, 3-2)
LA Clippers 119, Utah Jazz 111
(Clippers lead best-of-seven West semifinal series, 3-2)
NHL Playoffs
——-
Montreal Canadiens 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2
(Best-of-seven Stanley Cup semifinal tied, 1-1)
WNBA
——-
Los Angeles Sparks 85, Phoenix Mercury 80
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (All Times Are Eastern)
MLB National League
——-
3:45 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants
7:10 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at New York Mets
7:20 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves
8:40 p.m. – Cincinnati Reds at San Diego Padres
8:40 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at Colorado Rockies
MLB American League
——-
1:10 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians
7:07 p.m. – New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (at Buffalo, NY)
8:10 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros
9:38 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels
10:10 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners
MLB Interleague
——-
No Games Scheduled
NBA Playoffs
——-
8:30 p.m. – Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks
(Nets lead best-of-seven East semifinal series 3-2)
NHL Playoffs
——-
8:00 p.m. – Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders
(Best-of-seven Stanley Cup semifinal series, 1-1)
WNBA
——-
7:00 p.m. – Seattle Storm at Indiana Fever
7:00 p.m. – Atlanta Dream at Washington Mystics
8:00 p.m. – Connecticut Sun at Chicago Sky
8:00 p.m. – Minnesota Lynx at Dallas Wings
10:00 p.m. – New York Liberty at Las Vegas Aces
PGA
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U.S. Open (at San Diego, CA)
