Photo by Dave Winder, MSU Athletics
RACER FOOTBALL RANKED 22ND IN HERO PRESEASON POLL
The Murray State football team is ranked No. 22 in the nation in the HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top-25. The Racers finished 13th in the final rankings in the spring for their first top-25 ranking since 2011. They open the 2021 season on September 2 at Roy Stewart Stadium against Mississippi Valley State. Sam Houston State was first in the preseason poll with James Madison, South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Southern Illinois rounding out the top-5. Fellow OVC member Austin Peay was ranked 18th.
NEW MURRAY HIGH FOOTBALL COACH TO MEET THE COMMUNITY TODAY
Murray Independent School District students, families, alumni, friends and community are invited to stop by from 2 to 3 pm today to meet new Murray High School football coach Darren Bowling. Bowling will be inside Murray High School’s Taylor Gymnasium to greet everyone this afternoon.
FIVE MSU ATHLETES RECOGNIZED AS ASHE SCHOLARS
Five Murray State student-athletes have been recognized as an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar for the 2020-21 season. Mae Kho of women’s golf, Jordyn Naranjo of baseball, Eric Samuta of football, Jamie Skarupsky of soccer and Rod Thomas of men’s basketball all earned recognition. Naranjo and Thomas were named to the first team, Kho and Samuta were named to the second team, and Skarupsky was named to the fourth team. Diverse Magazine sponsors the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards to honor undergraduate students who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic field.
FOUR RACERS NAMED WGCA SCHOLASTIC ALL-AMERICANS
Four Murray State student-athletes were named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars Team for the 2020-21 school year. Payton Carter, Charli Doss, Sarah Forsythe, and Briana McMinn were honored as part of a group of more than 1,400 student-athletes from across all levels of women’s collegiate golf. The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. The Murray State women’s golf program has now produced 58 WGCA All-America Scholars selections since 1998 and the Racers have had multiple selections in each of the last 10 years.
CARDS VS CUBS RAINED OUT
The Cardinals’ All-Star break started earlier than expected after yesterday’s game with the Cubs at Wrigley Field was postponed due to rain. The game will be made up as the second game of a split doubleheader on Friday, September 24th. The Cards now head into the break with a 44-and-46 record, tied with the Cubs for third in the NL Central and eight games behind the leading Brewers.
AREA MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP
In area minor league action, the Memphis Redbirds beat the Bats 3-1 in Louisville, while the Nashville Sounds picked up a 7-0 road win at Gwinnett.
PIRATES TAKE LOUISVILLE CATCHER WITH FIRST PICK IN DRAFT
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the first pick in the MLB Draft. Davis is the first catcher taken number one overall since Baltimore took Adley Rutschman out of Oregon State in 2019. Davis hit .370 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs for the Cardinals last season.
CARDINALS ADD UCSB PITCHER IN FIRST ROUND
The Cardinals are adding another arm to their farm system. St. Louis selected right-hander Michael McGreevy out of the University of California, Santa Barbara with the 18th pick in the first-round of the 2021 MLB Draft yesterday. McGreevy was ranked number-28 in this Draft class by MLB Pipeline. This was Cardinals’ highest pick since 2008. The draft resumes today with rounds two through ten.
TWO VANDY PITCHERS TAKEN IN MLB DRAFT
Two former Vanderbilt aces are headed to the big leagues. Jack Leiter was taken by the Texas Rangers with the number two overall pick and Kumar Rocker was picked by the New York Mets with the tenth overall selection. Shortstop Jordan Lawlar, a Vandy signee, was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the sixth overall pick.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Bucks are striking back in the NBA Finals after blasting the Suns 120-100 in Game Three in Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 41 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bucks, who now trail two-games-to-one in the best-of-seven set. Jrue Holiday added 21 points and Khris Middleton had 18 in the victory. Chris Paul recorded 19 points and nine assists to pace Phoenix, which won the first two games at home. Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder both scored 18 points, but star Devin Booker was held to just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Former Racer Cam Payne had 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Suns. Game Four is Wednesday in Milwaukee.
The Magic have hired Jamahl Mosley as their head coach. Mosley had been an assistant coach with the Mavericks since 2014. Mosley is the 15th head coach in Orlando franchise history. Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said Mosley was a “communicator and connector” in a release. Mosley replaces Steve Clifford, who had been the coach since 2018.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the first pick in the MLB Draft. Davis is the first catcher taken number one overall since Baltimore took Adley Rutschman out of Oregon State in 2019. The Rangers took Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter with the second pick, followed by the Tigers picking high school pitcher Jackson Jobe at number three. The Red Sox grabbed high school shortstop Marcelo Mayer with the fourth selection and the Orioles rounded out the top five by taking Sam Houston State outfielder Colton Cowser.
Novak Djokovic is tying two of men’s tennis best with his 20th Grand Slam victory after claiming the Wimbledon title Sunday. Djokovic defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in four sets to tie Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Grand Slam wins. It is his third Grand Slam title this year, having already won the Australian and French opens. The last time a men’s tennis player arrived at the U.S. Open with victories in the other three major championships was 1969 when Rod Laver did it.
Lucas Glover fired a seven-under 64 in the final round of the John Deere Classic to win by two strokes at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. After bogeying 11, Glover birdied five of six to shoot four-under on the back nine to win his first tournament of the year. He finished at 19-under to beat out Ryan Moore and Kevin Na, who finished at 17-under. Adam Schenk led a group of four at 16 under, three strokes back.
Kurt Busch outraced the field and his own brother to take the Quaker State 400 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch passed his younger brother Kyle with 25 laps remaining to clinch a spot in the 16-driver Cup playoff field. Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five. The race was the final one at Atlanta Motor Speedway before it undergoes renovations for the 2022 season.
SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 4
Miami Marlins 7, Atlanta Braves 4
Colorado Rockies 3, San Diego Padres 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 6, New York Mets 5
Cincinnati Reds 3, Milwaukee Brewers 1
San Francisco Giants 3, Washington Nationals 1
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs (Postponed)
MLB American League
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Oakland Athletics 4, Texas Rangers 1
Chicago White Sox 7, Baltimore Orioles 5 (10)
Toronto Blue Jays 3, Tampa Bay Rays 1
Minnesota Twins 12, Detroit Tigers 9 (10)
Houston Astros 8, New York Yankees 7
Los Angeles Angels 7, Seattle Mariners 1
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians (Postponed)
MLB Interleague
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Philadelphia Phillies 5, Boston Red Sox 4
NBA Playoffs
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Milwaukee Bucks 120, Phoenix Suns 100
(Suns lead best-of-seven NBA Finals, 2-1)
WNBA
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Las Vegas Aces 95, Dallas Wings 79
Connecticut Sun 71, New York Liberty 54
Indiana Fever 79, Atlanta Dream 68
Seattle Storm 82, Phoenix Mercury 75
Minnesota Lynx 86, Los Angeles Sparks 61
NASCAR
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Quaker State 400
1. Kurt Busch
2. Kyle Busch
3. Martin Truex Jr.
PGA
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John Deere Classic (at Silvis, IL)
1. Lucas Glover (-19)
T2. Ryan Moore (-17)
T2. Kevin Na (-17)
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE
MLB
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8:00 p.m. – Home Run Derby (at Denver, CO)
NBA Playoffs
——-
No Game Scheduled
WNBA
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No Games Scheduled
