Wednesday, April 12th Sports
MITCHELL KERNELS
– Mitchell Kernel softball had a near perfect start to its season as they defeated Aberdeen Central on Tuesday 11-0 in five innings behind a no-hitter from 8th grader Rylee Jennings. It was the first official softball game for both teams as the sport is now sanctioned through the South Dakota High School Activities Association. Jennings struck out 13 of the 18 batters that she faced while not allowing a hit. Offensively, Delaney Degen was 3-for-3, with three RBI’s and three runs scored. She also had the first hit and run in Mitchell softball history. The Kernels will host Watertown on Thursday at 6 pm, a game that was originally supposed to be played in Watertown, but has been moved to Mitchell.
– Mitchell track & field teams competed in Yankton yesterday against host Yankton, Aberdeen Central and Brandon Valley and won four events on the day. Mia Mullenmeister placed first in the girls 100 meters at 12.75 seconds and also took first in the 200 meters at 27.45 seconds. The Kernels also won the girls 4X100 meter relay in 50.94 seconds behind Lizzie Tyler, Lainee Forst, Claire Hegg and Brooke Bartscher. Taylor DeJong of Mitchell won the girls discus throw with a distance of 111.07 feet, which was just over four feet further than second place. Up next for Mitchell track and field is the Corn Palace Relays on Saturday at Joe Quintal Field, starting at 9 am.
– Mitchell boys tennis picked up a pair of wins in Brookings yesterday defeating the Bobcats 9-0 while also sweeping Aberdeen Roncalli 9-0. Kernels tennis will host Sioux Falls Lincoln on Friday at 4 pm.
– Mitchell girls’ golf will open the season on Thursday at the Harrisburg Invitational. The Kernels will then play in a quadrangular in Huron next Tuesday.
– Mitchell spring baseball (2-0 on the season) is back in action in Huron on Friday for a double header. Mitchell opened its season with a pair of wins vs. Pierre on Monday.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
– Dakota Wesleyan baseball (4-23, 1-15 GPAC) dropped a pair of games at home yesterday vs. Concordia, losing 11-7 in game one and 4-0 in game two. Dakota Wesleyan will play South Dakota State today 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 (9-17, 4-5 Summit) won at Briar Cliff on Tuesday 18-5. SS Luke Ira hit for the cycle finishing 5-for-5 with 4 RBI’s and 4 runs scored. SDSU will face Dakota Wesleyan today at 3 p.m at the Sanford Diamonds in Sioux Falls.
– South Dakota State softball (24-15, 6-0 Summit) split a double header yesterday at Iowa State winning game one 4-3, before losing 8-1 in game two. Shannon Lasey picked up the with for SDSU, allowing just two runs over seven innings, along with five strikeouts. The Jacks get ready to host North Dakota State in Brookings for a three game weekend series starting with two games on Saturday at 1 pm.
– 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.
NBA
— LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers claimed the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a come from behind 108-102 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in tournament. Dennis Schröder scored 21 points and iced the win with two free throws with 8 seconds left for the Lakers, who will face second-seeded Memphis in the first round starting Sunday. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points and Mike Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 seconds left in regulation to tie it for the Wolves, who will host New Orleans or Oklahoma City on Friday for the eighth spot.
— Trae Young scored 25 points, Clint Capela grabbed 21 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks grabbed the No. 7 in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Miami Heat 116-105 in a play-in tournament game last night. Dejounte Murray scored 18 for the Hawks, who avenged a five-game Round 1 loss to Miami last season and earned an East first-round matchup with Boston that will start Saturday. Kyle Lowry scored 33 points for the Heat, who will play host to either Toronto or Chicago on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed and a spot against top overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1.
— All-Star forward Zion Williamson says he won’t return to the New Orleans Pelicans’ lineup until he’s confident his body will respond well to the way he wants to play. Williamson says he’s fine physically after working three months to recover from a right hamstring injury. But he stresses that he doesn’t want to return for high-stakes postseason games until he feels “like Zion.” Williamson says going through a setback in his recovery in February has caused him to feel hesitant now when he tries to execute certain moves on the court.
WNBA
— Saying she is ready to share the “unfathomable” experience of being arrested and incarcerated in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner is working on a memoir that is scheduled for spring 2024. Griner was arrested last year at the airport in Moscow on drug-related charges and detained for nearly 10 months, much of that time in prison. Her plight unfolded at the same time Russia invaded Ukraine and further heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., ending only after she was freed in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
NHL
— The Boston Bruins broke the NHL points record last night with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in their regular-season home finale. The Bruins’ won their seventh straight to push their points total to 133, one more than the 1977 Montreal Canadiens. Boston broke the mark a game after setting the NHL victory’ record with 63 on Sunday at Philadelphia, breaking a tie with the 1996 Detroit Red Wings and 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning.
COLLEGE
— The Big Ten is hiring former MLB executive Tony Petitti to be its next commissioner. announcement is expected by the conference by the end of the week. Petitti replaces Kevin Warren, who is leaving to become president of the Chicago Bears. Petitti continues a trend of recent hires to lead the top conferences coming from outside college sports — like Warren, who came from the Minnesota Vikings in 2019.
MLB
— Hanser Alberto’s throwing error allowed the automatic runner to score from second base as the Twins beat the White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings. With pinch-runner Willi Castro on second, Michael Taylor put down a sacrifice bunt and Alberto’s throw to first sailed wide. Reliever Griffin Jax got the victory with a perfect top of the 10th. Luis Robert Jr. tied the game with a solo homer on the first pitch he saw from Minnesota closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth. The first four batters of the game reached against Minnesota starter Pablo López, who gave up three hits and a walk. López was excellent from there, retiring the final 23 batters he faced. López worked 7 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and striking out 10. After trailing 2-0 after the first half inning, the Twins quickly tied the game as Donovan Solano singled to lead off the bottom of the first before Byron Buxton hit his second home run of the season. Game three of the series is this afternoon at 12:10 pm at Target Field. Sonny Gray gets the start for Minnesota and has allowed only one run in 12 innings this season and struck out a career-high 13 in his last start vs. Houston.
— The Tampa Bay Rays ran their season-opening win streak to 11 games, using another homer for Brandon Lowe and a strong performance by Shane McClanahan to beat the Red Sox 7-2. Yandy Díaz and Lowe hit back-to-back solo HR’s with two out in the fifth inning. Lowe extended his homer streak to four straight games. McClanahan struck out nine while pitching five-plus innings of one-run ball. Tampa Bay’s win streak is one game short of the franchise record set in 2004.
— Shohei Ohtani turned in another great pitching performance, allowing only one hit in seven innings as the Angels defeated the Nationals 2-0. Rookie catcher Logan O’Hoppe hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season. Ohtani set an Angels record with his 10th straight start allowing two or fewer runs. Nolan Ryan had a nine-game streak across the 1972-73 seasons. Ohtani walked four and struck out six. He has allowed only one run in his first three starts.
— Former Twin Luis Arraez became the first player to hit for the cycle for the Miami Marlins, finishing with four hits and two RBIs in an 8-4 win over the Phillies. Before Tuesday, the Marlins were the only active major league team without a cycle in its history. Arraez is 22 for 41 (.537) in 12 games to start the season.
— Baltimore’s Ryan Mountcastle homered twice and tied a team record with nine RBIs, helping the Orioles rally for a 12-8 win over Oakland. Mountcastle hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and added a grand slam in the seventh. Meanwhile, Oakland has lost sixth straight.
— Milwaukee’s Willy Adames broke up Merrill Kelly’s no-hit bid in the seventh inning by hitting a solo homer to center field, sending Milwaukee to a 7-1 win at Arizona
— Thanks to the pitch clock, the action is moving much faster at Major League Baseball games. It also means a little less time for fans to enjoy a frosty adult beverage. To combat that time crunch, at least four teams, including Arizona, Texas, the Twins and Milwaukee, have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning this season. Teams have historically stopped selling alcohol after the seventh. MLB games have been considerably shorter this season, largely thanks to a series of rule changes. Through the first 1 ½ weeks of the season, the average game time was down 31 minutes, on track to be the sport’s lowest since 1984.