FRIDAY SPORTS, JULY 17, 2026
PALACE CITY LEGION BASEBALL
— Palace City Post 18 Legion baseball finished the regular season with a 20-22 record, including an 11-14 mark against Class A opponents. As the No. 11 seed, Post 18 will open postseason play in a best-of-three regional series scheduled for July 22-23. The regional winners will advance to the State Tournament in Rapid City, July 28 through Aug. 1.
— Palace City Post 18 Junior Legion split a doubleheader at Renner on Thursday winning game one 3-2, before losing game two 7-6. Palace City moves to 25-18 on the season.
CORN PALACE STAMPEDE RODEO
— World No. 1 bull rider Noah Lee won the PRCA Xtreme Bulls event Thursday night at Stampede Park, kicking off the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo in Mitchell. The 18-year-old from Texas, posted the top ride of the night with 86.5 points to edge Letcher’s Mason Moody by one point. Lee earned nearly $9,000 for the win and remains the PRCA world and Xtreme Bulls standings leader. Moody finished second with an 85.5-point ride. The Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo continues with PRCA performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
SDGA GOLF
— The regular season of the South Dakota Golf Association’s Sanford International Series junior tour came to a close Thursday with a 36-hole event at Elkhorn Ridge Golf Course and Spearfish Canyon Golf Club. Parkston’s Landon Weber was the top Mitchell-area finisher in the boys division. Weber opened with an 84 on Wednesday at Elkhorn Ridge but bounced back with a 2-over 74 Thursday at Spearfish Canyon to finish 15th overall. Rapid City’s Hayden Heig won the boys title with a 146. In the girls division, Mitchell’s Mia Larson placed eighth after rounds of 85 and 82 for a 167 total. Rapid City’s Kaitlin Strain won the girls championship with a 150. The top 24 boys and top 12 girls in points from the five Sanford Series events will advance to the series championship on Monday, July 20, at Sutton Bay Golf Club.
AMATEUR BASEBALL – WEDNESDAY
Wessington Springs 4, Burke 0 – Layne Cotton threw a 17 strikeout no-hitter for Wessington Springs on 138 pitches.
Parkston Rays 4, Platte 3 – Landon Sudbeck drove in Dylan Soulek with a single in the ninth inning to give the Rays a victory.
Dimock/Emery 14, Mt. Vernon 5 – The Raptors with a seven-run third inning. Landon Waddell with three hits and three RBI’s, while Lincoln Bates had a home run. Cam Deinert had a home run and three RBI’s for Mt. Vernon.
Corsica 16, Freeman 13 – Luke Bamberg with a home run for Corsica, while Jarrett Olawsky had three hits with three runs scored. Colton Spader added three RBI’s in the loss for Freeman, while Sawyer Wipf had three hits and scored three times.
Dell Rapids PBR 8, Canova 2 – Brett Mogen threw seven innings for PBR, allowing just one run and six hits.
Kimball/White Lake 17, Colome 2 (6 innings) – Caleb Crist with four hits, a three-run home run and six RBI’s. Ethan Price threw six innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with 10 strikeouts.
Dell Rapids Mudcats 12, Salem 10 – Jake Goble with a walk-off grand slam for the Mudcats.
Winner 7, Chamberlain 2 – Ethan Bartels with the complete game with 15 strikeouts of Winner on 170 pitches.
Menno 15, Lesterville 9 – Connor Merriam with two home runs, while Kory Keppen added a home run.
AMATEUR BASEBALL
Winner/Colome vs. Alexandria – Friday at 8 pm
Plankinton vs. Four Corners – Friday at 8 pm
CLASS B LEGION BASEBALL
REGION 4B – TUESDAY, JULY 21 in MENNO
Platte/Geddes vs. Wagner – Noon
Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota vs. Parkston – 2:30 pm
Tabor vs. Platte/Geddes or Wagner – 5 pm
Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 7:30 pm
REGION 5B – TUESDAY, JULY 21 in HUMBOLDT
Salem vs. Elkton/Lake Benton – Noon
Alexandria vs. Garretson – 2:30 p.m.
Hartford/Humboldt vs. Salem or Elkton/Lake Benton – 5 pm
Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 7:30 pm
WORLD CUP FINAL
Argentina vs. Spain – Sunday at 2 pm on FOX.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— The Minnesota Twins return from the All-Star break with a three-game series in Chicago vs. the Cubs. Game one is Friday night at 7:05 pm with Bailey Ober getting the start. The Twins sits at 48-49 on the season, tied with the Seattle Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
GOLF
— Jackson Suber made a memorable debut at the British Open, shooting a 5-under 65 Thursday at Royal Birkdale to take the first-round lead. The 26-year-old American, playing in only his third major championship and his first links course event, made a key par save on the 15th hole, added a birdie on No. 16, and then had an eagle on the 17th. Suber leads by one shot over Sungjae Im and England’s Daniel Brown. Bryson DeChambeau was two shots back after a 67. Scottie Scheffler opened with a 68 after making four birdies in a six-hole stretch, while Rory McIlroy struggled with his putting and finished with a 72 after missing three short putts during a four-hole span.
NBA
— LeBron James says he is getting closer to a decision on where he will play next season, but is not revealing any details yet. The 41-year-old free agent spoke publicly Thursday at Fanatics Fest in New York, saying his choice involves more than just basketball. James said he is considering what is best for him as a player, as a person and for his family as he decides where to spend the final years of his NBA career. James left the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons. He said he plans to play this coming season but has not ruled out continuing beyond the 2026-27 campaign.
SOCCER
— A No. 10 jersey worn by Brazil icon Pelé in the 1958 World Cup final has been sold for $4.9 million. Pelé, who died in 2022, was 17 when he scored twice in Brazil’s 5-2 win over Sweden and still remains the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup final. The jersey is the second-most valuable soccer shirt ever sold. Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey sold in 2022 for $9.3 million.
TENNIS
— A drama-filled, all-Czech women’s final at Wimbledon secured record-breaking television ratings for ESPN over the weekend, anchoring the network’s second most-watched coverage of the grass-court Grand Slam in its history. Saturday’s championship match, which saw Linda Noskova defeat Karolina Muchova, averaged 1.9 million viewers. The broadcast marked a 48% viewership increase over the 2025 final. On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner’s four-set victory over Alexander Zverev on Sunday averaged 2.4 million viewers.
MLB
— Major League Baseball is planning its earliest regular-season opener ever next year, with opening day scheduled for March 24, 2027. MLB announced Thursday that the season will begin with a single game to be televised by Netflix, though the teams involved have not yet been announced. The full slate includes matchups such as Minnesota at Kansas City, Cleveland at the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta at the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto at the New York Yankees. The schedule is set to conclude Sept. 26, with the All-Star Game scheduled for July 13 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
— Pitcher Chase Burns has agreed to a $105 million, seven-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Burns’ deal would run through the 2033 season. The 23-year old right-hander was selected to the All-Star Game this season for the first time. Burns is 11-1 in 18 starts this season. His wins are tied for second most in the majors and his 2.54 ERA is the sixth lowest. His 118 strikeouts are seventh in the National League.
— Francisco Alvarez homered twice, while Brett Baty also went deep as the New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in the first major league game following the All-Star break. The start time was pushed up an hour and the teams played under a hazy sky with diminishing air quality because of smoke that moved into the region from wildfires burning in Canada and Minnesota. Christian Scott pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings for the Mets, who launched three solo homers off Phillies starter Aaron Nola.