RACERS SEEDED 2ND IN OVC BASEBALL TOURNEY
The Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship field is now set. The event will be held this Thursday through Saturday at The Ballpark at Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee. Murray State split the final day of the regular season with Austin Peay on Friday, falling in the opening game 9-3, before securing the #2 seed in the tournament with a 8-3 win. The double-elimination tournament begins at 2 pm Thursday with top-seed SEMO facing 4-seed Austin Peay. The second seeded Racers will battle 3rd seed Morehead State at 6 pm. Winners will meet at 11 am Friday with the losers playing at 3 pm. The event was reduced from eight to four teams in a one-year only cost savings measure across OVC bracketed team sports.The 30-23 Racers become the sixth team in program history to reach 30 wins in a season. It is the first 30 win season and the first winning season since 2009.
WEEKEND HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL RESULTS
In high school baseball on Saturday, Austin Miller’s walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh gave Murray High a 3-2 home win over Madisonville. Carson Tucker picked up the win with 3 innings of 2-hit relief, walking 1 and striking out 4. On Friday, the Tigers traveled to Webster County and came home with a 7-2 win, taking advantage of five errors. Miller drove in thee to lead Murray with Reese Wilson smashing a home run. The 15-14 Tigers host St. Mary at 5:30 today.
Also on Friday, Cadwell Turner and Colby White drove in three runs each as Calloway County defeated Crittenden County 11-1 at Laker Field. Austin Collie went the distance with 5 innings of 4-hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 2. The 16-12 Lakers host McCracken County today at 5.
LOCAL SOFTBALL TEAMS RESUME PLAY
Both local softball teams had the weekend off. Murray High resumes action tonight with a 6 pm game at Trigg County, while Calloway County is off until tomorrow’s 5:30 game at Lyon County.
CARDINALS WASTE WAINO GEM
Javier Báez’s tenth inning two-run homer game the Cubs a 2-1 extra inning win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The loss spoiled Adam Wainwright’s eight scoreless innings for St. Louis. Nolan Arenado drove in the lone run for the Cards, who are in Chicago tonight to take on the White Sox. Airtime is set for 6:15 on WNBS AM and FM.
GRIZZLIES SHOCK JAZZ
Dillon Brooks scored 31 points as the Memphis Grizzlies upset the top-seeded Utah Jazz 112-109 in Salt Lake City in Game One of the Western Conference playoffs. Ja Morant added 26 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Memphis now holds a 1-nothing lead in the best-of-seven series. Game Two is Wednesday in Utah.
HOCKEY ROUNDUP—PREDS TIE SERIES, BLUES ELIMINATED
In the NHL playoffs, it was Smashville’s second-straight double-O-T win in the series as the Predators drew even at two-games-apiece with a 4-3 victory over Carolina. Ryan Johansen and Nick Cousins scored in regulation for the Preds. Game Five will be tomorrow… The St. Louis Blues were swept from the playoffs by the Avalanche with a 5-2 loss in game four at the Enterprise Center. Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for St. Louis, which was eliminated in the first round for the second-straight season after winning the Stanley Cup in 2019.
MIKOLAS INJURED
Cardinals’ starter Miles Mikolas is dealing with another injury. The right-hander was removed from Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Cubs with right forearm tightness and was placed on the 10-day injured list yesterday. It was his first game since the 2019 NLCS. Mikolas had surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right forearm last July, which kept him out of the shortened 2020 season. He dealt with shoulder inflammation and a minor impingement during this past Spring Training.
BATS BEAT THE REDBIRDS
Michael De Leon homered and drove in three runs as the Louisville Bats beat the Redbirds 8-3 in Memphis. Tony Santillan gave up three runs over five-and-a-third and had two RBI in the winning effort. Matthew Liberatore gave up four runs over four innings to take the loss for Memphis.
NATIONAL SPORTS BRIEFS
Devin Booker scored 34 points as the Suns topped the Lakers 99-90 in Game One on Sunday. Suns point guard Chris Paul battled a shoulder contusion in the win. Elsewhere, Trae Young hit a go-ahead buck with less than a second remaining as the Hawks stunned the Knicks 107-105 at MSG. The Grizzlies upset the top-seeded Jazz 112-109 in Game One in Salt Lake City, while the 76ers held off the Wizards 125-118 in Philadelphia. Tonight, the Heat visit the Bucks for Game Two and the Nuggets host the Trail Blazers for the second game of their series.
Suns guard Chris Paul is crediting the late Kobe Bryant for his motivation to battle through a shoulder contusion in Sunday’s Game One win over the Lakers. Paul said that he immediately thought of a four-minute inspirational video he watched featuring the Lakers great before the first-round matchup. “CP3” finished with just seven points and eight assists while shooting 3-of-8 from the field, but head coach Monty Williams says his return was inspiring and gave the team the lift they needed. Paul says he will “absolutely” be ready for Game Two on Tuesday. Phoenix is making its first playoff appearance since 2010.
The Colorado Avalanche are the first team moving on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Avs blasted the Blues 5-2 in St. Louis, sweeping the best-of-seven set four-games-to-none. Colorado now awaits the winner of the other West Division series between Minnesota and Vegas. The Golden Knights currently lead that series 3-1 and can close it out with a win in Game Five on Monday. The Boston Bruins later advanced with a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals, becoming the second team Sunday to move onto the next round.
Luke Kunin scored late in the second overtime to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win in Nashville. It was Smashville’s second-straight double-O-T win in the series as they draw even at two-games-apiece. The Jets topped the Oilers 5-4 in overtime. On Monday, the Islanders visit the Penguins, the Leafs visit the Canadiens, the Lightning visit the Panthers, the Oilers visit the Jets, and the Wild visit the Golden Knights. Vegas, Tampa Bay, and Winnipeg, can all close out their series with wins.
The NBA is reportedly ready to restart dialogue on a midseason tournament. According to ESPN, Commissioner Adam Silver believes the success of the play-in tournament could drive momentum on discussions of a midseason tournament. The NBA would need an agreement with the Players’ Association and two-thirds of its teams.
SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARD
MLB National League
——–
Milwaukee Brewers 9, Cincinnati Reds 4
Miami Marlins 5, New York Mets 1
Atlanta Braves 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
Colorado Rockies 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 11, San Francisco Giants 5
Chicago Cubs 2, St. Louis Cardinals 1 (10)
MLB American League
——–
New York Yankees 5, Chicago White Sox 4
Tampa Bay Rays 6, Toronto Blue Jays 4
Minnesota Twins 8, Cleveland Indians 5 (10)
Kansas City Royals 3, Detroit Tigers 2
Texas Rangers 3, Houston Astros 2 (10)
Los Angeles Angels 6, Oakland Athletics 5
MLB Interleague
——–
Washington Nationals 6, Baltimore Orioles 5
Philadelphia Phillies 6, Boston Red Sox 2
San Diego Padres 9, Seattle Mariners 2
NBA Playoffs
——–
Philadelphia 76ers 125, Washington Wizards 118
(76ers lead Eastern Conference best-of-seven first round series, 1-0)
Phoenix Suns 99, Los Angeles Lakers 90
(Suns lead Western Conference best-of-seven first round series, 1-0)
Atlanta Hawks 107, New York Knicks 105
(Hawks lead Eastern Conference best-of-seven first round series, 1-0)
Memphis Grizzlies 112, Utah Jazz 109
(Grizzlies lead Western Conference best-of-seven first round series, 1-0)
NHL Playoffs
——–
Nashville Predators 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 (2OT)
(Best-of-seven Central series tied, 2-2)
Colorado Avalanche 5, St. Louis Blues 2
(Avalanche win best-of-seven West series, 4-0)
Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 1
(Bruins win best-of-seven East series, 4-1)
Winnipeg Jets 5, Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT)
(Jets lead best-of-seven North series, 3-0)
PGA Championship (at Kiawah Island, SC)
——–
1. Phil Mickelson (-6)
T2. Louis Oosthuizen (-4)
T2. Brooks Koepka (-4)
WNBA
———–
New York Liberty 93, Chicago Sky 85
Indiana Fever 89, Washington Mystics 77
Connecticut Sun 72, Las Vegas Aces 65
NASCAR
——–
1. Chase Elliott
2. Kyle Larson
3. Joey Logano
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE
MLB National League
——-
6:40 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins
7:10 p.m. – Colorado Rockies at New York Mets
7:40 p.m. – San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers
MLB American League
——-
1:07 p.m. – Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (at Dunedin, FL)
7:10 p.m. – Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers
7:40 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins
9:40 p.m. – Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics
MLB Interleague
——-
8:10 p.m. – St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago White Sox
NBA Playoffs
——-
7:30 p.m. – Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks
(Bucks lead best-of-seven East first round series, 1-0)
10:00 p.m. – Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets
(Blazers lead best-of-seven West first round series, 1-0)
NHL Playoffs
——-
7:00 p.m. – New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins
(Best-of-seven East first round series tied, 2-2)
7:00 p.m. – Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens
(Best-of-seven North first round series tied, 1-1)
8:00 p.m. – Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers
(Lightning lead best-of-seven Central first round series, 3-1)
9:45 p.m. – Edmonton Oilers at Winnipeg Jets
(Jets lead best-of-seven North first round series, 3-0)
10:30 p.m. – Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights
(Knights lead best-of-seven West first round series, 3-1)
WNBA
——-
7:00 p.m. – Dallas Wings at New York Liberty
