Photo by Dave Winder, MSU Athletics
RACERS FALL TO GOVS IN SERIES OPENER
Austin Peay broke open a tie game with a four-run sixth inning as the Governors downed Murray State 7-3 in game one of a three game season-ending series at Reagan Field yesterday. The Racers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first on RBI singles from Ryan Perkins, Alex Crump, and Brennan McCullough, but got nothing after that. Luke Brown notched the win while Shane Burns gave up five runs in five innings to take the loss. The teams close out the regular season today with a doubleheader. Game times are set for 1 pm and 5 pm. Murray State’s hopes of winning the title are still alive but they will now need some help from UT Martin. The Racers will need to sweep the doubleheader and need UTM to split with SEMO as the Redhawks won 6-2 over the Skyhawks tonight in Cape Girardeau.
CALLOWAY WINS, MURRAY LOSES IN THURSDAY SOFTBALL
In high school softball yesterday, Addison Hicks dashed home with the winning run in the top of the sixth inning on an Erica Grogan sacrifice fly as Calloway County edged Christian County 3-2 in Hopkinsville. Grogan finished the game with 2 RBI’s and Hicks had two of the Lady Lakers four hits. Caitlyn Powers notched the win with three hitless innings of relief as Calloway County improved to 21-8.
Lilly Perry singled home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as Lyon County notched a 3-2 walkoff win over Murray High in Eddyville. Marlee Riddle and Layne Latimer each drove in a run for Murray with Latimer notching two of Murray’s five hits. Kylie Chapman gave up only four hits and 2 earned runs in taking the loss as Murray fell to 11-8 on the season.
THURSDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL SCORES
Caldwell County 7, Marshall County 6
Mayfield 5, Ballard Memorial 1
Paducah Tilghman 8, Carlisle County 4
Christian Fellowship 15, Dawson Springs 3
Christian Fellowship 17, Dawson Springs 2
Fulton County 11, Fulton City 7
St. Mary 6, Community Christian 0
Trigg County 9, University Heights 4
Crittenden County 6, Livingston Central 3
THURSDAY’S HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCORES
Carlisle County 5, Mayfield 4
Marshall County 15, St. Mary 3
Paducah Tilghman 13, Muhlenberg County 3
Ballard Memorial 7, Fort Campbell 0
Fulton County 16, Fulton City 1
Madisonville 9, Lyon County 8
Caldwell County 14, Livingston Central 0
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TONIGHT
Crittenden County at Calloway County, 5:30 pm
Murray High at Webster County, 6 pm
PIERRE LEAVING THE RACERS
Murray State inside linebacker Marvin Pierre has entered the transfer portal. In his lone season with the Racers, the Butler Community College transfer finished fifth in tackles with 29, including a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and an interception. He will have two years of eligibility remaining as well as a possible third season granted due to NCAA covid rules. Pierre is a New Jersey native who played at Mater Dai High School. He redshirted one season at Fort Scott Community College before transferring to Butler Community College. Wherever he lands will be his fourth school in as many years.
EKU VS TENNESSEE TODAY IN KNOXVILLE SOFTBALL REGIONAL
The Eastern Kentucky softball team opens the Knoxville Regional today against No. 9 national seed Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 central time. The winner of the game will move on to the semifinals on Saturday while the loser falls to the elimination part of the bracket. The No. 2 seed Liberty will take on the No. 3 seed James Madison in the other game today.
UK SOFTBALL HOSTS NORTHWESTERN
The NCAA Softball Lexington Regional hosted by UK starts today. UK is welcoming Notre Dame, Miami University, and Northwestern for the event today through Sunday. Kentucky will open the NCAA Tournament today against Northwestern. The game can be seen on ESPN2 at 11 central time.
MOREHEAD STATE ADDS WOLFE
Jake Wolfe is transferring from Lipscomb to the Morehead State men’s basketball program. Wolfe is a 6’5″ guard from Aurora, Illinois will have two seasons of eligibility remaining starting in 2021-22. Wolfe was a member of the 2018-19 team that advanced to the championship game of the NIT in New York City and won 29 games. This past season he averaged 6.7 points while starting 21 games.
MACK SMITH TRANSFERS TO WESTERN MICHIGAN
Former Eastern Illinois standout Mack Smith is transferring to Western Michigan. Smith joins the Broncos after spending the last four seasons at Eastern Illinois University. For his career Smith has 1,339 points, averaging 12.5 per game. During his senior campaign Smith set the NCAA record for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer at 91.
CARDS VS CUBS TONIGHT
The Cardinals welcome the Cubs to Busch Stadium tonight for the start of a three-game weekend series. Carlos Martínez takes the mound for St. Louis against Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks. The Cards are coming off a two-game sweep of the Pirates. Airtime for tonight’s 7:15 game is set for 6:20 on WNBS AM and FM.
REDBIRDS EDGE BATS
The Memphis Redbirds beat the Louisville Bats 5-4 in Memphis. Irving Lopez had a three-run double to lift the Memphis to its second-straight win. Cheslor Cuthbert homered for Louisville, which has dropped two-straight. The two teams will meet again tonight.
GRIZZLIES VS WARRIORS IN MUST WIN GAME
The Memphis Grizzlies will be fighting for their playoff lives tonight when they take on the Warriors in San Francisco. The winner of the game will be the eight-seed and face the Utah Jazz in a best-of-seven series. That series will start on Sunday in Salt Lake City.
AREA HOCKEY ROUNDUP
The Nashville Predators will come back to Nashville to take on the Hurricanes in the third game of their best-of-seven series. The Preds are currently down two-games-to-none The St. Louis Blues look to climb back into their first-round playoff matchup with the Avalanche tonight in game three at the Enterprise Center. Colorado leads the best-of-7 series, 2-0
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
The Washington Wizards are advancing to the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after crushing the Pacers 142-115 in the eighth-seed play-in game in Washington. Bradley Beal dropped in 25 points to lead the Wizards, who will meet the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in round one beginning Sunday. Tonight, the Golden State Warriors will host the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference and a date with the Utah Jazz.
The N-B-A is releasing its list of finalists for Most Valuable Player and its other end-of-season awards. Denver’s Nikola Jokic will compete against the Sixers’ Joel Embiid and Golden State’s Stephen Curry for the league’s top honor. Voters will decide between Utah’s Rudy Gobert, the Warriors’ Draymond Green and Philly’s Ben Simmons for defensive player of the year, while Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, and Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton vie for the league’s rookie of the year award.
Ryan Lomberg scored in overtime to cap a two-goal comeback for the Panthers as they beat the Lightning 6-5 in Tampa. In Uniondale, Brandon Tanev scored the go-ahead goal late in the third as the Penguins beat the Islanders 5-4. Meanwhile, in Toronto, the Canadiens picked up a 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs. The Golden Knights beat the Wild 5-2 in Minnesota. Tonight, Capitals look to even their series with the Bruins in Boston, the Predators look to get on the board against the Hurricanes in Nashville, the Blues look to make a dent in the Avalanche in St. Louis, while the Oilers look to even their series against the Jets in Edmonton.
Maple Leafs captain John Tavares is being transported to the hospital after a scary collision in Game One against the Canadiens in Toronto. After being checked to the ice, the head and neck area of Tavares made impact with the lower leg of Canadiens forward Corey Perry. Tavares was stretchered off the ice immediately and gave up a thumbs up on the way out.
Corey Conners is jumping out to a two-shot lead after the first round of the P-G-A Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in South Carolina on Thursday. Conners posted six birdies and just one bogey to finish five-under, two strokes ahead of a group of six led by Brooks Koepka and Keegan Bradley at three-under. Phil Mickelson and defending champion Collin Morikawa lead a group at two-under. The world’s number one golfer, Dustin Johnson, was four-over for the round.
THURSDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
——-
San Francisco Giants 19, Cincinnati Reds 4
Chicago Cubs 5, Washington Nationals 2
Miami Marlins 6, Philadelphia Phillies 0
Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Atlanta Braves 4 (10)
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 2
MLB American League
——-
Tampa Bay Rays 10, Baltimore Orioles 1
New York Yankees 2, Texas Rangers 0
Houston Astros 8, Oakland Athletics 4
Los Angeles Angels 7, Minnesota Twins 1 (G1)
Minnesota Twins 6, Los Angeles Angels 3 (G2)
Boston Red Sox 8, Toronto Blue Jays 7
MLB Interleague
——-
No Games Scheduled
NBA Playoffs
——-
Washington Wizards 142, Indiana Pacers 115
(Eastern Conference 8th Seed Play-In Game)
NHL Playoffs
——-
Florida Panthers 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 5 (OT)
(Lightning lead best-of-seven Central first round series, 2-1)
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Islanders 4
(Penguins lead best-of-seven East first round series, 2-1)
Montreal Canadiens 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1
(Canadiens lead best-of-seven North first round series, 1-0)
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Minnesota Wild 2
(Golden Knights lead best-of-seven West first round series, 2-1)
WNBA
——-
Seattle Storm 90, Minnesota Lynx 78
PGA
——-
PGA Championship (at Kiawah Island, SC)
1. Corey Conners (-5)
T2. Six others (-3)
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
MLB National League
——-
7:10 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds
7:10 p.m. – New York Mets at Miami Marlins
7:20 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves
8:15 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
8:40 p.m. – Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies
9:45 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
MLB American League
——-
7:05 p.m. – Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees
7:10 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians
7:37 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (at Dunedin, FL)
8:05 p.m. – Houston Astros at Texas Rangers
8:10 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
9:38 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels
MLB Interleague
——-
7:05 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Washington Nationals
7:05 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies
10:10 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres
NBA
——-
9:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors
(Western Conference 8th Seed Play-In Game)
NHL Playoffs
——-
6:30 p.m. – Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins
(Bruins lead best-of-seven East first round series, 2-1)
7:00 p.m. – Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators
(Hurricanes lead best-of-seven Central first round series, 2-0)
9:00 p.m. – Winnipeg Jets at Edmonton Oilers
(Jets lead best-of-seven North first round series, 1-0)
9:30 p.m. – Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues
(Avalanche lead best-of-seven West first round series, 2-0)
WNBA
——-
7:00 p.m. – Atlanta Dream at Indiana Fever
7:00 p.m. – New York Liberty at Washington Mystics
10:00 p.m. – Connecticut Sun at Phoenix Mercury
10:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Sparks at Las Vegas Aces
PGA
——-
PGA Championship (at Kiawah Island, SC)
