Photo via MSU Athletics
GARDNER BLANKS BELMONT
Sam Gardner threw the first complete game of his collegiate career yesterday as Murray State defeated Belmont 2-0 to salvage the final game of the three game series after dropping Saturday’s twinbill. Gardner scattered five hits, walked none, and struck out nine as he improved to 2-4 on the year. David Hudleson was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and a RBI to lead the offense. The Racers improved to 17-16 overall and 8-7 in the OVC heading into Wednesday’s game at Bellarmine.
RACER SOFTBALL LOSES IN EXTRA INNINGS
Belmont scored a run in the seventh to force extra innings and then added three runs in the tenth for a 5-3 win over Murray State softball, avoiding a sweep after the Racers swept a doubleheader on Saturday. Sierra Gilmore drove in two runs to lead the Racer offense while Lily Fischer and Jensen Streigel each had two hits. The Racers are now 17-24 overall and 14-11 in the OVC. The Racers play return to action this weekend with a three game series at Eastern Illinois.
JSU LEADS AFTER OPENING ROUND OF OVC WGC
Jacksonville State shot a 202 and is the leader after Day One of the OVC Women’s Golf Championship in Alabama. Eastern Kentucky and Belmont who are tied for second place, nine shots back with Murray State in fourth at 303. Jacksonville State’s Ana Perez Altuna is the medalist leader at 1-under-par 71. MSU’s Raeshya Surendran is two shots off the pace with a 1-over-par 73, while Ana Garcia Picchi is in ninth place after a 74. Round two of three will be played today. The Racers saw Payton Carter and Raeshya Surendran named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference team and freshman Briana McMinn named to the OVC All-Newcomer team following the first round of the OVC Championship. The OVC Player, Freshman, and Coach of the Year awards will be announced following Tuesday’s final round.
LAKERS TAKE TWO ON SATURDAY
In high school baseball on Saturday, Calloway County notched a pair of wins at the Dinger Wood Bat Classic. Matthew Ray struck out nine with a four-inning no-hitter in a 15-0 win over Grandview High School from Missouri. Cadwell Turner led the Laker offense with 3 RBI’s. In the other game, the Lakers picked up a 12-4 win over Obion County. Isaac Ward had three hits while Jayden Rollins drove in three runs to make a winner of Cadwell Turner who struck out five in relief. The Lakers lost 11-6 on Friday to Windsor High School from Missouri.
MURRAY AND CALLOWAY WIN FRIDAY GAMES
In high school softball on Friday, Kylie Chapman tossed a 6-hit shutout as Murray High defeated Graves County 4-0. Chapman walked two and struck out nine while Marlee Riddle drove in two runs to lead the Murray offense. Calloway County also picked up win on Friday, downing Carlisle County 6-0.
FCS CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD UNVEILED; RACERS OUT
The field of 16 teams competing for the NCAA FCS Championship was announced yesterday. South Dakota earned the top seed, Sam Houston is the number two seed, James Madison is the number three seed, and Jacksonville State is the fourth seed after capturing its ninth Ohio Valley Conference title and its sixth in the last seven years. Murray State did not make the field but Southern Illinois did. The Salukis will play at Weber State on Saturday.
RACER TENNIS FALLS AT AUSTIN PEAY
Murray State tennis wrapped up the regular season with a 6-1 loss at Austin Peay on Friday. The lone Racer victory of the day came from Sara Loncarevic at No. 1 singles. The Racers finish the regular season at 8-9 overall with a 4-3 record in the OVC that earns them the #3 seed in the OVC Tournament, setting up a rematch with second-seed Austin Peay. The match is slated for 2 pm Saturday at Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville.
PHILLIES BLANK CARDINALS
Aaron Nola threw a complete-game shutout as the Phillies beat the Cardinals 2-0 in Philadelphia. John Gant took the loss, despite only giving up two-runs over five-innings. Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong had the only two hits for St. Louis, which dropped two of three in the series. The Cards visit the Nationals tonight with airtime at 5:10 on WNBS AM and FM.
MILES AND JOHNSON NAMED MR AND MISS KY BASKETBALL
Brooklynn Miles of Franklin County and Ben Johnson of Lexington Catholic were named the 2021 Miss and Mr. Kentucky Basketball recipients by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation. The awards were announced at the VIRTUAL Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony. Cayson Conner of Marshall County was the Region 1 candidate for the award. She will sign with Murray State today.
UK GETS OT COMMITMENT
The UK football program is celebrating a major recruiting victory. The Wildcats received a commitment from Charlestown, Indiana offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin on Saturday. Goodwin is considered one of the top offensive tackles in the country. He picked the Wildcats over Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and others.
UK LOSES LINEBACKER
Kentucky did not make it through spring football without a major injury. Head coach Mark Stoops revealed sophomore linebacker D’Eryk Jackson suffered a season-ending, lower-body injury in a non-contact drill while warming up. He was expected to start replacing Jamin Davis, who projects to be an early-round NFL Draft pick.
OWENSBORO HOCKEY LOSES IN NATIONAL TOURNEY
The Owensboro Rampage’s historic run at the USA Hockey High School National Championship Tournament is at an end. Owensboro was knocked out by the Dubuque Saints over the weekend, falling ten-to-one. The Rampage finished with three points in pool play and failed to qualify for the quarterfinal round. This was the first time the Rampage competed at USA Nationals.
SIUE CLAIMS OVC SOCCER TITLE
SIUE defeated Southeast Missouri 2-1 in overtime on Saturday to win the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Soccer Championship at Cutchin Field in Murray. With the win the Cougars earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. SIUE’s Kayla Klipsch scored the game-winning goal off a penalty kick in the first overtime. It gives the Cougars their first Ohio Valley Conference championship since 2016 and third in program history.
GRIZZLIES IN DENVER TONIGHT
The Memphis Grizzlies continue their seven-game trip with a stop tonight in Denver. Memphis won Saturday in Milwaukee and is 2-and-0 to start this journey. The Grizz are 29-and-26 and a half-game behind the Dallas Mavericks for first in the Southwest Division.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Nashville Predators host the Blackhawks tonight in Nashville for the first of three games this week against Chicago. The next two games will be Wednesday and Friday in the Windy City. The Preds sit at 24-21-and-1 and fourth in the Central…Blues fans are saying their final goodbyes to Blues’ legend Bobby Plager. A group of fans lined the streets yesterday for a funeral procession that would take Plager from a celebration of his life inside the Enterprise Center to Bellerive Gardens Cemetery in Creve Coeur for his burial. Plager died of a heart event while driving last month at the age of 78.
NASHVILLE SC TIES
Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati played to a 2-2 deadlock in Saturday’s MLS opener. Jhonder Cádiz and Randall Leal scored for Nashville, which fell behind 2-0. Nashville plays again this Saturday at Nissan Stadium again Montreal.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Dodgers were cooled off by the Padres, losing 5-2 in San Diego. Eric Hosmer doubled in the tying run in the seventh and singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth as San Diego snapped LA’s eight-game winning streak. The Dodgers still lead the majors at 13-and-3.
The Twins and A’s will not play baseball in Oakland today. It’s been rescheduled as part of a tentative doubleheader tomorrow due to COVID-19 contact tracing within the Twins’ organization. Minnesota also had games postponed Saturday and Sunday in Anaheim.
Stewart Cink shot a final-round, one-under 70 to post a four-shot win at the RBC Heritage. He finished at 19-under par at Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head Island. American Harold Varner the Third and Emiliano Grillo tied for second place at 15-under.
Alex Bowman led only 10 laps, but it was enough to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Bowman started all the way back in 24th, but managed to work his way to the front. Denny Hamlin led 207 laps, but settled for second. Joey Logano finished third.
It’s Patriots’ Day in Boston. It commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. The Red Sox host the White Sox in their annual morning matinee at Fenway Park. The Boston Marathon is usually run on this day as well, but will be held October 11th instead.
SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
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Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Washington Nationals 2
Philadelphia Phillies 2, St. Louis Cardinals 0
San Francisco Giants 1, Miami Marlins 0
Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Milwaukee Brewers 5 (10)
New York Mets 2, Colorado Rockies 1
San Diego Padres 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 2
Atlanta Braves 13, Chicago Cubs 4
MLB American League
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Tampa Bay Rays 4, New York Yankees 2
Chicago White Sox 3, Boston Red Sox 2 (G1)
Chicago White Sox 5, Boston Red Sox 1 (G2)
Kansas City Royals 2, Toronto Blue Jays 0
Texas Rangers 1, Baltimore Orioles 0 (10)
Oakland Athletics 3, Detroit Tigers 2
Seattle Mariners 7, Houston Astros 2
Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels (Postponed)
MLB Interleague
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Cleveland Indians 6, Cincinnati Reds 3
NBA
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Atlanta Hawks 129, Indiana Pacers 117
New York Knicks 122, New Orleans Pelicans 112 (OT)
Miami Heat 109, Brooklyn Nets 107
Charlotte Hornets 109, Portland Trail Blazers 101
Houston Rockets 114, Orlando Magic 110
Toronto Raptors 112, Oklahoma City Thunder 106
Sacramento Kings 121, Dallas Mavericks 107
Los Angeles Clippers 124, Minnesota Timberwolves 105
NHL
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Boston Bruins 6, Washington Capitals 3
New York Rangers 5, New Jersey Devils 3
Buffalo Sabres 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 2
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Anaheim Ducks 2
New York Islanders 1, Philadelphia Flyers 0 (OT)
Vancouver Canucks 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (OT)
Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche (Postponed)
NASCAR Toyota Owners 400 (at Richmond, VA)
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1. Alex Bowman
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Joey Logano
PGA RBC Heritage (at Hilton Head Island, SC)
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1. Stewart Cink (-19)
T2. Harold Varner the Third (-15)
T2. Emiliano Grillo (-15)
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
MLB National League
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7:05 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies
7:05 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
10:10 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres
MLB American League
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11:10 a.m. – Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox
8:10 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
9:38 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics (Postponed)
MLB Interleague
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10:10 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at Seattle Mariners
NBA
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7:00 p.m. – Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons
7:30 p.m. – Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics
7:30 p.m. – Golden State Warriors at Philadelphia 76ers
8:00 p.m. – San Antonio Spurs at Indiana Pacers
8:00 p.m. – Houston Rockets at Miami Heat
8:00 p.m. – Oklahoma City Thunder at Washington Wizards
8:00 p.m. – Phoenix Suns at Milwaukee Bucks
9:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets
10:00 p.m. – Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
NHL
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7:00 p.m. – Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning
7:00 p.m. – Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers
7:30 p.m. – Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars
8:00 p.m. – Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators
9:00 p.m. – Ottawa Senators at Calgary Flames
9:00 p.m. – Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton Oilers
9:00 p.m. – Minnesota Wild at Arizona Coyotes
10:00 p.m. – San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights
