FRIDAY SPORTS, MAY 15, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels softball fell 2–1 in a walk-off loss at Pierre on Thursday. The Kernels took a 1–0 lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Brooklyn Schlimgen, but Pierre tied it in the sixth after a Mitchell error. The game was decided in the bottom of the seventh when a dropped third strike allowed Pierre’s Ally Keyes to score the winning run. Mitchell’s Rylee Jennings had nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. The Kernels, now 3–12, close the regular season Monday at home against Brookings at 5:30 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels girls golf will host the Mitchell Invitational on Friday at Lakeview Golf Course.
— Mitchell baseball will face No. 6 seed Pierre in their region series that starts on Friday at 7:30 pm. The best two out of three series continues on Saturday at Noon, with a potential third game at 2:30 pm.
— Mitchell track and field competes at the ESD conference meet on Saturday in Watertown at 10 am.
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis will compete at the Class AA state tournament, set for May 21st and 22nd in Rapid City.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— Omaha used a four-run fifth inning to pull away from South Dakota State for a 10-7 win Thursday night in Summit League baseball action. The series is now even at one game apiece, with Game 3 scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD softball opens NCAA Regional play Friday night in Lincoln against fourth-seeded Nebraska. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+. The Coyotes enters the regional after winning four games in four days to capture the Summit League title as the tournament’s No. 4 seed. Sophomore pitcher Madison Evans allowed just four earned runs across four tournament appearances. Nebraska enters the tournament with a 46-6 record and a 21-game winning streak. The Cornhuskers won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles and are one of the nation’s top offensive teams, averaging more than seven runs per game. The winner of Friday’s game advances to face either Grand Canyon or Louisville on Saturday afternoon, while the loser will play an elimination game later in the day.
SUMMIT LEAGUE TRACK & FIELD
— USD claimed two event titles and the Coyotes lead the men’s team standings after the opening day of the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fargo. In the men’s pole vault, the Coyotes finished with five of the top six finishers. The USD men sit atop the team standings with 46.5 points, ahead of South Dakota State’s 27. On the women’s side, the Coyotes are tied for third with 13 points, while North Dakota leads the standings. Competition continues Friday in Fargo.
HIGH SCHOOL GOLF
— McCook Central/Montrose won on its home course Wednesday, winning the boys team title at the McCook Country Club invitational. MCM’s Liam Rayman led the field with a one-under-par 71 to earn medalist honors. As a team, the Fighting Cougars won the boys championship with a 15-over-par score, finishing ahead of Hanson in second and Howard in third. On the girls side, Howard captured the team title finishing with a 54-over-par score. Halle Schulz led the Tigers with an 81 to take first place individually. MCM’s Katie Sabers finished third individually to lead the Cougars’ girls team, which placed second overall.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Zebby Matthews threw seven scoreless innings in his season debut on Thursday as the Minnesota Twins beat the Miami Marlins 9-1 to win consecutive series for the first time in a month. Matthews was promoted from Triple-A before the game and allowed just four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 83 pitches. Austin Martin and Josh Bell had two-run doubles in a five-run second inning.
— The Minnesota Twins sent struggling right fielder Matt Wallner down to Triple-A St. Paul. Wallner is batting just .167 with three doubles and four home runs in 120 at-bats. The 28-year-old struck out in eight straight at-bats prior to the demotion and has 53 strikeouts in 135 plate appearances, the worst strikeouts rate in Major League Baseball. Wallner hit a career-high 22 home runs in 104 games last season.
NBA PLAYOFFS – FRIDAY
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons, 6 pm on Amazon Prime Video – Cleveland leads 3-2
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs, 8:30 pm on Amazon Prime Video – San Antonio leads 3-2
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
Montreal Canadiens 6, Buffalo Sabres 3 – Montreal leads 3-2
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Anaheim Ducks 1 – Vegas wins the series 4-2
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – SATURDAY
Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7 pm no ABC – Montreal leads 3-2
NFL
— The NFL will open its 2026 season with a Super Bowl rematch between the defending champion Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots on Sept. 9. Seattle will host the Patriots in the league’s first game of the year after beating New England 29–13 in the Super Bowl in February. It marks only the third time in NFL history that Super Bowl teams have met again in Week 1 of the following season.
The NFL says Sunday broadcasts remain the core of its TV strategy, even as it expands streaming and cable coverage this season. Of the league’s 272 regular-season games, 236, or 87%, will still air on traditional broadcast networks including CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC. The league is adding more exclusive windows for streaming platforms. 22 games will stream as the primary outlet, including games on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock, while 14 games will air mainly on cable. The changes have drawn criticism over rising costs for fans trying to watch every game. The NFL also dropped many Monday night doubleheaders after fans complained overlapping games were difficult to follow.
— Florida’s Attorney General has issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL as part of a probe into the league’s hiring practices and its Rooney Rule policies. The subpoena requires the league to appear in Tallahassee on June 12 and produce extensive records, including demographic data on coaching staffs and diversity reports dating back to 2017. The investigation is focused on whether the NFL’s Rooney Rule and related diversity initiatives violate Florida civil rights laws. The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for top coaching and front office positions, and at least one for quarterbacks coach jobs.
GOLF
— Scottie Scheffler is part of a seven-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the PGA Championship in Pennsylvania. Scheffler opened with a 3-under 67, joining six other players atop a tightly packed leaderboard in what turned into a difficult, wind-affected first round. It marks the first time that Scheffler has shared the lead after 18 holes in a major championship. Nearly 50 players are still within three shots of the lead after Round 1.
AMATEUR BASEBALL – THURSDAY
Alexandria 12, Corsica 0 – A.J. Wilber with a seven-inning no-hitter for the Angels. Jerrod Zens, Jordan Gau and Jackson Jarding each had two hits and drove in three runs apiece.
Platte 13, Parkston Rays 7 – Hunter Hewitt had a home run and drove in three runs. Grayson Hanson and Matt Link each had two RBIs and Richard Sternberg scored four runs.
Canova 10, Dimock/Emery 4
MLB
— The Tampa Bay Rays and local officials announced a tentative $2.3 billion agreement on Thursday for a new ballpark funded by public and private money. The nonbinding memorandum of understanding among the Rays, Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa outlines the costs of a stadium, which would include $967 million of tax dollars. Elected officials for the city and county are expected to vote on the deal at separate meetings next week.
— Ian Happ hit a home run and five Chicago Cubs pitchers combined for a 2-0 shutout of the Atlanta Braves, snapping a four-game losing streak. The Braves, who lead the majors in runs scored, were shut out for the second time this season and had just five hits.
— Will Smith hit his first career leadoff home run and pinch-hitter Alex Call had a tiebreaking two-run single in the sixth inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The win moved the Dodgers back into sole possession of first in the NL West after the San Diego Padres lost earlier Thursday.
— Luis Rengifo drove in three runs and Kyle Harrison recorded seven strikeouts in five shutout innings as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the San Diego Padres 7-1. The victory capped a 5-1 homestand for the Brewers, who swept the New York Yankees before winning two of three from San Diego.
— Kyle Schwarber hit his major league-leading 18th home run, a two-run shot that broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-1. Schwarber has seven homers in his last seven games.
— Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to their fifth straight win, 6-2 over the Kansas City Royals. Chicago, losers of 101 or more games in each of the last three seasons, are within one game of Cleveland for first place in the AL Central at 22-21.
— Luke Raley hit a three-run home run, while Mitch Garver added his first homer of the season as the Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 8-3.
— Jordan Walker had a solo homer and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Athletics.
— Endy Rodriguez had two hits and drove in a pair of runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-2. Ryan O’Hearn had three hits for Pittsburgh, including a two-run homer in the first.
— Chase Burns threw six scoreless innings and J.J. Bleday homered twice and drove in six runs as the Cincinnati Reds avoided being swept by the Washington Nationals with a 15-1 victory.