Friday Sports: May 23, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels boys’ tennis is in seventh place after day one of the Class AA state tournament in Sioux Falls. Sutton Thompson advances to the Flight 6 Singles semifinals with a pair of wins on Thursday. In Flight 3 Singles, Asher Dannenbring will play for fifth place and Dawson Adams will also play for fifth in Flight 5 Singles. Dannenbring and Adams will also play for third place in No. 3 Doubles on Friday. Harrisburg leads Sioux Falls Lincoln in the team standings by 2.5 points. Lincoln has won the past 10 AA state titles in boys’ tennis.
— Mitchell Kernels girls golf finished second at the Brookings Invitational on Thursday with a team score of 326, nine shots behind Aberdeen Central. Mitchell’s Anna Eliason placed second overall with a +5 (77). Maddie Childs took home eighth place after shooting an 80. Mitchell competes at the Brandon Valley Invite today beginning at 10 am.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field wrapped up its regular season at the Wendelgass Relays in Huron on Thursday. Alexi Padilla won the boys 400-meters in 49.61 seconds, while Kellan Odell placed first in the triple jump at 40 feet, 4.5 inches. Carsyn Weich won the girls 400-meters in 1:01.44, while the Kernels also took home first in the girls 4×400-meters. Audrey Miller also won the girls triple jump at 34 feet, 7 inches. The Class AA state track meet starts on Thursday in Sioux Falls.
— Mitchell Kernels softball (5-10 on the season) hosts Tea Area on Friday at 5:30 pm in the regular season finale. The Kernels are currently the No. 12 seed in Class AA and would face No. 5 Brandon Valley in a potential SoDAK 16 game next week.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan’s Abby Magnuson finished 14th in the shot put at the NAIA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday in Indiana with a throw of 43 feet, 3 inches. Magnuson competes in the discus at 2 pm this afternoon, while freshman Ethan Watertown will compete in the shot put today at Noon.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball had its season end on Thursday with a 7-6, 10 inning loss to Omaha in the Summit League Tournament. After the Jackrabbits scored a run in the top of the 10th, Omaha’s Drew Borner hit a two-run single to win it in the bottom half of the 10th for the Mavericks. SDSU ends the season with a 16-36 record.
North Dakota State 4, Oral Roberts 0
Omaha vs. Oral Roberts, 4 pm – Elimination Game. Winner advances to Saturday’s championship vs. NDSU
AMATEUR BASEBALL – THURSDAY
Platte 3, Mitchell Aces 2 – Dawson Hoffman threw seven innings, allowing two runs
Alexandria 9, Parkston Rays 1 – Cole Wenande with 4 RBI’s and two doubles
Mt. Vernon 12, Corsica 4 – Chase Hetland was 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs, while Brady Albrecht had three RBI
Tabor 11, Freeman 3
Flandreau 10, Salem 5
Winner/Colome vs. Parkston Mudcats – Sunday at 5 pm
Corsica vs. Mitchell Aces – Sunday at 5 pm
Parkston Rays vs. Mt. Vernon – Sunday at 5 pm
Platte vs. Dimock-Emery – Monday at 3 pm
CLASS A STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – FRIDAY IN SIOUX FALLS
No. 1 Harrisburg vs. No. 8 Watertown, Noon
No. 4 SF Jefferson vs. No. 5 Yankton, 2:30 pm
No. 2 SF Lincoln vs. No. 7 Rapid City Stevens, 5 pm
No. 3 O’Gorman vs. No. 6 Brandon Valley, 7:30 pm
NBA
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points a day after being named the NBA’s MVP as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves again, winning 118-103 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 21 field goals and 13 of 15 free throws after receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver before the game. He also had eight assists and three steals. Jalen Williams had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Chet Holmgren added 22 points for the Thunder. Anthony Edwards scored 32 points for the Wolves but shot just 12-of-26 from the field. Game three is Saturday night in Minneapolis
NBA PLAYOFFS – FRIDAY
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 7 pm on TNT – Indiana leads the Eastern Conference Finals 1-0
NBA PLAYOFFS – SATURDAY
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 pm on ESPN – Oklahoma City leads the series 2-0
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – THURSDAY
Florida Panthers 5, Carolina Hurricanes 0 – Florida leads the series 2-0
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – FRIDAY
Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers, 7 pm on ESPN – Dallas leads the Western Conference Finals 1-0
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – SATURDAY
Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 7 pm on TNT – Florida leads the Eastern Conference Finals 2-0
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— The College Football Playoff will go to a more straightforward way of filling the bracket next season, announcing that it will place teams strictly on where they are ranked instead of moving pieces around to reward conference champions. Ten conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director came to the unanimous agreement they needed to change the model that drew complaints last season. The new format will no longer guarantee an opening bye week for the four highest-ranked league champions, reserving that benefit for the four top-ranked teams in general. The change was widely expected after last season’s jumbled bracket gave byes to Big 12 champion Arizona State and Mountain West champion Boise State, even though they were ranked 12th and ninth, respectively, by the playoff selection committee.
— Some of Harvard’s sports teams would be virtually wiped out by a Trump administration decision that would make the Ivy League school ineligible for international student visas. Large portions of the men’s rowing and squash and women’s soccer and golf rosters list international hometowns on the school’s website. 21% of the players on Harvard athletic rosters for the 2024-25 seasons had international hometowns. The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, saying the school has not adequately protected Jewish students from antisemitism on campus.
MLB
— Former MVP Ronald Acuña is set to make his season debut for the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. The Braves announced that Acuña will make his return from a left knee injury that has sidelined him for nearly one year when Atlanta opens a three-game series at home against San Diego. Acuña tore the ACL in his left knee last May 26 and had surgery on June 6.
— The Minnesota Twins start a three-game home series vs. the Kansas City Royals on Friday at 7:10 pm. Minnesota, Kansas City and Cleveland are all tied for second play in the AL Central, five games behind first place Detroit.
— Carlos Rodón pitched six innings of two-hit ball for his fifth straight win as the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 1-0 to complete a three-game sweep. Pittsburgh had gone 26 games without scoring at least five runs, tying the team with four others for the longest such streak in MLB history.
— Christian Yelich homered twice as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 in a game interrupted by rain.
— Pinch-hitter Amed Rosario singled home the winning run in the 10th inning as Washington topped Atlanta 8-7 for their fifth straight victory.
— Cleveland’s Carlos Santana had a two-run double in the fourth inning, Angel Martínez hit a solo homer in the fifth and Tanner Bibee threw seven scoreless innings to lead the Guardians in a 7-0 win over the Detroit Tigers.
— Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead grand slam and Logan O’Hoppe also homered in a five-run seventh inning as the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Athletics 10-5 for their seventh consecutive victory.
— Ranger Suárez pitched into the seventh inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 2-0 to sweep the four-game series. Colorado fell to 8-42, the worst 50-game start in the modern era (since 1901). The Rockies are 5-20 at home and have been shut out seven times this season.
— Jose Altuve homered twice and drove in a season-high four runs, while Jeremy Peña tripled for his 500th career hit to help the Houston Astros to a 9-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.
— Nathan Lukes hit a game-winning single in the 11th inning as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Padres 7-6 to complete a three-game sweep, extending San Diego’s season-worst losing streak to six. Gavin Sheets hit two home runs and had five RBIs for San Diego.
— The opener of a four-game series between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox was postponed because of rain on Thursday. It will be made up as the first half of a split doubleheader on Friday. The first game is set for 1:35 p.m., with Friday’s regularly scheduled game remaining at 7:10 p.m.
Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles, Saturday at 3:10 pm on FS1
Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians, Saturday at 6:15 pm on FOX
New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday at 6 pm on ESPN