Tuesday, April 11th Sports
MITCHELL KERNELS
– Mitchell spring baseball opened its season with a double header sweep of Pierre yesterday at Drake Field winning 6-4 and 5-0. In Game one, Mitchell had only two hits, but used seven walks and three hitter batters to score 6 runs. Lincoln Bates scored twice and reached base four times. In game two, Mitchell got seven shutout innings from Peyton Schroeder and a two-run HR from Dylan Soulek. Schroeder allowed just three hits over seven innings. Mitchell is back in action in Huron on Friday for a double header.
– Mitchell track & field teams will be in Yankton Tuesday for a triangular with Yankton and Brandon Valley at 3:30 pm. The Corn Palace Relays at Joe Quintal Field are scheduled for Saturday. Mitchell is looking for meet workers. If you would like to help, complete a form at MitchellKernels.com. No track & field experience needed.
– Mitchell Kernel softball is now scheduled to start its inaugural season on Tuesday at 4 pm when they host Aberdeen Central. Mitchell softball has had its first three games of the season postponed.
– Mitchell boys’ tennis has a triangular schedule for Tuesday in Brookings where they will take on the Bobcats and Aberdeen Roncalli at 11 am.
– Mitchell girls’ golf will open the season on April 13th at the Harrisburg Invitational. The Kernels will then play in a quadrangular in Huron on April 18th.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
– Dakota Wesleyan baseball (4-21, 1-13 GPAC) hosts Concordia for a pair of games on Tuesday at 1 pm. Dakota Wesleyan will play South Dakota State Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Sanford Diamonds in Sioux Falls.
– Dakota Wesleyan softball (6-23, 1-9 GPAC) will play at home in Mitchell for the first time this season on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers will face off on Friday against (RV) Midland for a 3 p.m. double header. While on Saturday, DWU takes on Concordia in a 1 p.m. double header.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
– South Dakota State baseball (8-17, 4-5 Summit) will take on Briar Cliff in Sioux City, Iowa. The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. SDSU’s other mid-week game, Wednesday against Dakota Wesleyan, also has been moved to a new site. The 3 p.m. contest is now slated to be played at the Sanford Diamonds in Sioux Falls.
– South Dakota State softball is scheduled to travel to Ames, Iowa, for a Tuesday doubleheader against Iowa State at 1 pm. SDWU juniors Jocelyn Carrillo and pitcher Tori Kniesche were both recognized on Monday as the Summit League Softball Peak Performer and Pitcher of the Week. Carrillo had a solid weekend for the Jackrabbits in their sweep of Omaha in Sioux Falls. In three games, Carrillo went a combined 5-for-10 at the plate. She hit three doubles and walked twice while driving in an RBI. Her run driven in on a single was the game winner in the 1-0 eight-inning victory in the series opener against the Mavs on Friday.
Meanwhile, Kniesche pitched in all three games against the Mavericks and started two, eventually finishing with all three victories for the Jackrabbits. Her two starts resulted in complete-game shutouts that went extra innings. The series finale saw Kniesche go a school-record 14 innings in the circle. She gave up six hits and five walks, but struck out 15 hitters in the process as SDSU closed out a 1-0 win. Carrillo’s weekly honor is the second of her college career and first since the 2021 season. Kniesche’s pitcher of the week honors are the fourth of the 2023 season and the 11th of her Jackrabbit tenure.
– SDSU football season ticket holders and Jackrabbit Club members will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets for the Jackrabbits’ Sept. 16 game versus Drake at Target Field in Minneapolis, with an exclusive presale beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 13. All presales end at 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 16. Prices for non-premium tickets range from $16-$109, depending on location, plus applicable fees. Tickets for SDSU students in the south end zone are $20 each. Kickoff for the game is set for 2:30 p.m.
SOUTH DAKOTA
– The South Dakota softball team (17-17, 6-2 Summit) is set to host Western Illinois Saturday and Sunday in Vermillion.
MLB
— The major league batting average rose 16 points to .249 over the first 1 ½ weeks of this season with new shift limits in place, while game time dropped 31 minutes to 2:38 in the first year of the pitch clock. The time is on track to be the lowest since 2:35 in 1984. There were 125 pitch clock violations, an average of 0.89 per game. Two-thirds of the penalties have been imposed on pitchers. Stolen bases were up 30% to 1.3 per game in the first year of larger bases.
— Hanser Alberto hit a three-run homer, Dylan Cease had another strong outing against the Twins as the White Sox held on to beat Minnesota 4-3. Chicago had to remove shortstop Tim Anderson in the sixth inning with left knee soreness after he collided with a baserunner. Cease, the American League Cy Young runner-up last season, gave up three runs but only one was earned after three errors by the White Sox. Cease allowed three hits with six strikeouts in five innings. Twins starter Kenta Maeda gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings. Game two of the three game series is at 6:40 pm from Target Field.
— Texas Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney tied an AL record by striking out nine consecutive batters against the Royals last night. The Rangers won the game 11-2. Heaney went 5 innings, giving up one unearned run and two hits. Heaney matched a record shared by Detroit reliever Tyler Alexander against Cincinnati in 2020, and Detroit reliever Doug Fister against Kansas City in 2012. The major league record for consecutive strikeouts is 10, set by the Mets’ Tom Seaver in 1970 and matched by the Phillies’ Aaron Nola in 2021 and the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes in 2021.
— Max Scherzer shut down the Padres for five innings as the Mets won 5-0 in a playoff rematch. Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor each had a two-run double as the Mets beat San Diego starter Yu Darvish for the first time.
— The Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers to open the season with 10 straight wins, getting a solo homer from Brandon Lowe in the eighth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0. Lowe homered for the third straight game and has nine RBIs over his last three games. The 1987 Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves share the major league record for the best start to a season at 13-0. This was the Rays’ first win by fewer than four runs.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Dakota Valley 9, Parkston 3 – Luke Bormann had two of the three runs scored for Parkston.
Elk Point-Jefferson 9, Scotland/Menno 7
Winner/Colome 4, Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake 3
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
Beresford 5, Wagner 3
Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy 29, Gayville-Volin 19
WNBA
— Aliyah Boston is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, going to the Indiana Fever. It’s the first time that the Fever have had the top choice in the draft as they chose the South Carolina star. Boston is a three-time AP All-American who also was the Player of the Year as a junior. The Fever had the worst record in the league last season, going 5-31. Minnesota took Diamond Miller or Maryland with the No. 2 pick and Dallas drafted Maddy Siegrist of Villanova with the third pick.
NBA
— The Minnesota Timberwolves have suspended center Rudy Gobert for their play-in game tonight against the Lakers. Gobert threw a punch that looked more like a shove at teammate Kyle Anderson in an argument in the huddle during a timeout this weekend. Gobert hit Anderson in the upper chest in the second quarter of Minnesota’s game Sunday against New Orleans. If the Timberwolves beat the Lakers they’ll get the No. 7 seed and face Memphis in the first round. If they lose, they’ll host the New Orleans-Oklahoma City winner for the No. 8 seed and a first-round date with Denver.
Atlanta at Miami – 6:30 pm – TNT
Minnesota at Lakers – 9 pm – TNT
NFL
— The Washington Commanders have settled a lawsuit with the District of Columbia attorney general’s office over fans’ season-ticket deposit money. The agreement returns $200,000 to fans and pays $425,000 to the district to resolve allegations related to the deposits. The district still has a civil suit ongoing against the Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell over what the attorney general’s office called collusion to deceive residents about the team’s toxic workplace culture. The Commanders previously settled with Maryland on season-ticket holder deposits by agreeing to return money and pay the state $250,000.