MONDAY SPORTS, MAY 18, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell’s Alexier Padilla broke a 16-year-old school record and won the boys 400-meter dash at the ESD Conference track and field meet Saturday in Watertown. Padilla won the event in 49.23 seconds, breaking the previous Mitchell High School record of 49.27 set by Justin Greenway in 2010. Padilla finished more than a second ahead of the field and now owns the fifth-fastest boys 400-meter time in South Dakota this season. Another school record fell for the Kernels as Madilyn Janis placed third in the girls javelin with a throw of 115 feet, 2 inches, breaking her own school mark set earlier this season. The Mitchell boys finished eighth in the team standings, while the girls were ninth. Mitchell competes on Thursday at the Wendelgass Relays in Huron ahead of the Class AA state meet at the end of the month in Sioux Falls.
— Mitchell’s spring baseball season came to an end Saturday with a 6-2 loss to Pierre in Game 2 of a Class A playoff series at Hyde Stadium in Pierre. The sixth-seeded Governors completed the two-game sweep after winning Friday’s opener 3-1 and advanced to next week’s Class A state tournament in Sioux Falls. Mitchell out-hit Pierre four to three in Saturday’s game, but four Kernel errors and six walks proved costly. Only one of Pierre’s six runs was earned. The game was tied 1-1 before Pierre scored three runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of an error, three walks and an RBI single from Porter Hunsley. Mitchell finishes the season with a 14-13 record.
— Mitchell Kernels softball close out the regular season on Monday at home against Brookings at 5:30 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis will compete at the Class AA state tournament, set for Thursday and Friday in Rapid City.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball closed the regular season with a 13-8 loss at Omaha on Saturday. The Mavericks used a six-run sixth inning to pull away and win the four-game series three games to one. SDSU fell to 21-30 and 12-15 in the Summit League. The Jackrabbits will enter the Summit League Tournament as the No. 4 seed and open play Wednesday against top-seeded Oral Roberts in Minneapolis.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD softball had its season come to an end Saturday night with a 5-4, eight inning loss to Grand Canyon. Earlier in the day, the Coyotes knocked out Louisville 4-2 in an elimination game. In game two, USD scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning against GCU to force extra innings. Nebraska defeated Grand Canyon 1-0 on Sunday to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Softball Tournament where the Husker will host Oklahoma State in a best of three game series.
SUMMIT LEAGUE TRACK & FIELD
— USD and South Dakota State combined for six event titles and several school records Saturday at the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fargo. The Coyotes crowned three champions on the final day of the meet. Freshman Kenya Harris won the women’s triple jump with a leap of 41 feet, 6.5 inches, the second-best mark in school history. Jaden Damiano captured the men’s 110-meter hurdles title in a personal-best 13.63 seconds, while Marleen Mülla won the women’s pole vault by clearing 14 feet, 11 inches. USD finished third in the men’s team standings and fourth in the women’s standings.
— For SDSU, Ethan Fischer highlighted the meet by shattering the school discus record with a throw of 197 feet, 9 inches to win the event and set a new Summit League meet record. The Jacks added two more individual titles as Lucas Flemmer won the men’s 400 meters in 46.89 seconds and Brandon Kampsen claimed the men’s 800-meter championship in 1 minute, 49.80 seconds. SDSU’s men finished second in the team standings, while the women placed fifth. Both programs now prepare for the NCAA West First Round beginning May 27
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Ryan Jeffers hit a tiebreaking homer and Kody Clemens had two doubles and two RBIs as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 to avoid a three-game sweep. Bailey Ober allowed three runs on six hits over five innings to pick up his fifth win of the season. The Twins start a three-game home series vs. the Houston Astros on Monday at 6:40 pm.
NBA
— Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, while Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23 as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers ousted the East’s top seed and will face the third-seeded New York Knicks. Game 1 of that series tips off Tuesday in New York. Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the ninth time in team history.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to the league’s best record. The Canadian star became the 14th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards and the 18th player overall to win the honor at least twice. Gilgeous-Alexander received 83 of 100 first-place votes. Denver’s Nikola Jokic finished second in the voting, while San Antonios Victor Wembanyama placed third. International players have now finished 1-2-3 in MVP voting for five consecutive seasons. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31 points per game this season, second in the NBA behind Luka Doncic, while extending his league-record streak of games with at least 20 points to 140. He also won the league’s Clutch Player of the Year award earlier this season.
GOLF
— Aaron Rai captured the PGA Championship Sunday with a dominant back-nine performance, becoming the first English-born player to win the tournament in more than a century. Rai fired a final-round 5-under 65 to finish at 9-under par, three shots ahead of Alex Smalley and Jon Rahm. The 31-year-old surged into contention with a 40-foot eagle putt on the ninth hole and sealed the victory with a lengthy birdie putt on the 17th. Rai is the first player from England to win the PGA Championship since Jim Barnes in 1919.
NFL
— Aaron Rodgers is returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year contract, according to multiple reports Saturday. The 42-year-old quarterback led Pittsburgh to an AFC North title last season after throwing 24 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. The upcoming season will be Rodgers’ 22nd in the NFL and could be the final season of his career. Rodgers will reunite with head coach Mike McCarthy, who was hired by the Steelers in January after longtime coach Mike Tomlin stepped down. Rodgers and McCarthy previously spent 13 seasons together with the Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl and earning two MVP awards together.
HORSE RACING
— Napoleon Solo captured the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, holding off Iron Honor by 1-and-a-quarter lengths in the middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo not entered, the Preakness featured a wide-open field of 14 horses. Taj Mahal, the 9-2 favorite, led early but faded late after being passed near the top of the stretch.
NASCAR
— Denny Hamlin captured his second NASCAR All-Star Race victory Sunday, surviving a crash-filled night at Dover Motor Speedway to claim the $1 million prize. Hamlin led a race-high 103 laps, including the final 30, and held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe by less than a second at the finish. The 200-lap exhibition race featured eight caution flags and accidents involving 23 of the 36 drivers. NASCAR’s next event is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – SATURDAY
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:30 pm on ESPN – Series tied 3-3
MLB
— Tyrone Taylor tied the score with a three-run homer off closer David Bednar with two outs in the ninth inning, while rookie Carson Benge hit a game-ending bouncer in the 10th as the New York Mets stunned the Yankees 7-6 to take two of three from their crosstown rival. The Mets had lost 91 consecutive games when trailing after eight innings.
— Edgar Quero hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning as the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 9-8 in the rubber game of their first crosstown series this season.
— Roki Sasaki allowed one run and struck out eight over seven innings, while Kyle Tucker had three hits and drove in three runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers swept their weekend series with a 10-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The Dodgers outscored the Angels by a combined 31-3 in the three games.
— Kyle Manzardo homered twice as Cleveland hit six home runs, its most in a home game since 2013, while rolling to a 10-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
— Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs, while Stephen Kolek allowed four hits in 6 1/3 shutout innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 to snap a six-game losing streak.
— Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz homered as the Tampa Bay Rays earned their 18th win in their past 22 games with a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins. Tampa Bay has the best record in the American League at 30-15.
— Zack Wheeler pitched seven shutout innings and Bryce Harper hit a home run off Paul Skenes to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of the three-game series.
— Gavin Sheets homered twice and drove in four runs as the San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 8-3 to sweep their six-game season series.
— Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered and scored twice, while Kevin Gausman pitched six shutout innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1.
— Austin Riley hit a three-run homer and Grant Holmes pitched six scoreless innings as the Atlanta Braves routed the Boston Red Sox 8-1. Atlanta has the best record in baseball at 32-15.
— Harrison Bader hit a grand slam that capped an eight-run eighth inning as the San Francisco Giants beat the Athletics 10-1 on Sunday in 25-35 mph winds. Luis Arraez also homered and finished with three hits for the Giants, who took two of three games in the first series this season between the Northern California rivals.
— Jake Burger homered and tied a career high with four RBIs, while Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven shutout innings to lead the Texas Rangers to an 8-0 win over the Houston Astros.
— Corbin Carroll homered twice and drove in three runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6.
— Gunnar Henderson hit his 10th homer and was 4 for 5 with two RBIs to help the Baltimore Orioles avoid a series sweep with a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.
CLASS B HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL REGIONAL PLAYOFFS
WEST (Wednesday in Platte)
No. 1 Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake vs. No. 8 Chamberlain/Kimball/Lyman, 2 p.m.
SOUTH (Tuesday in Vermillion)
No. 1 Vermillion vs. No. 8 Scotland/Menno, 3 p.m.
No. 4 Bon Homme vs. No. 5 Parkston/Ethan, 5 p.m.
Winners play for state tournament bid, 7 p.m.
(Tuesday in Freeman)
No. 2 Freeman/Canistota/Marion vs. No. 7 Canton, 3 p.m.
No. 3 Dakota Valley vs. No. 6 Beresford Area, 5 p.m.
Winners play for state tournament bid, 7 p.m.
METRO (Tuesday in Humboldt)
No. 1 West Central vs. No. 8 Hanson/Bridgewater-Emery, 3 p.m.
(Tuesday in Dell Rapids)
No. 2 Dell Rapids vs. No. 7 McCook, 3 p.m.
CLASS A BASEBALL STATE TOURNAMENT – FRIDAY AT RONKEN FIELD, SIOUX FALLS
No. 1 Harrisburg (12-4) vs. No. 8 Watertown (12-7) – 5 pm
No. 2 Brandon Valley (17-3) vs. No. 7 O’Gorman (16-9) – 7:30 pm
No. 3 Sioux Falls Jefferson (18-5) vs. No. 6 Pierre (18-8) – Noon
No. 4 Yankton (20-4) vs. No. 5 Rapid City Stevens (17-4) – 2:30 pm
Winners advance to Saturday’s semifinals with the championship game at 7:30 pm