THURSDAY SPORTS, APRIL 17, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels softball will be at SF Roosevelt on Thursday at 6 pm.
— Mitchell baseball hosts Tea Area in its first home game of the season at Cadwell Park on Thursday at 5 pm. The pregame show on KORN starts at 4:45 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis heads to Huron on Thursday to take on the Tigers and Aberdeen Central at 9 am.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field will host over a dozen schools for the Corn Palace Relays on Thursday afternoon at 2 pm.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan freshman Dakota Munger was named the GPAC Men’s Golfer of the Week in the GPAC. The Chamberlain native won the DWU Spring Invite last week with a two-round total of 140, shooting a 69 in the first round and a 71 in the second round.
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball returns to GPAC play on Thursday with a doubleheader at Briar Cliff at 1 pm.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball hosts Doane on Thursday for a 3 pm doubleheader with just six games left in the regular season.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball lost at Minnesota for the second time in eight days, this time a 4-2 loss to the Gophers. SDSU took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning before Minnesota tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the second. The Gophers then took the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the fourth and an insurance run in the seventh. SDSU also lost at Minnesota on April 8, 4-3. The Jackrabbits fall to 7-24 on the season. They start a three-game series at St. Thomas on Thursday at 3 pm.
— South Dakota State softball hosts North Dakota State for three games this weekend starting with a doubleheader on Friday at 2 pm.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD softball will be at Omaha for a doubleheader on Friday at Noon.
— USD women’s basketball has announced the signing of transfer Josie Hill from Chicago State. Hill joins the Coyotes with one year of eligibility remaining. Hill, a 6-1 center from Rapid City, appeared in 82 games for Chicago State. In her career, she has averaged 10 points and nearly 6.8 rebounds in 29 minutes per game.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Veteran umpire Hunter Wendelstedt went to a hospital for further examination on Wednesday after he was struck in the face behind first base by a line drive foul ball in Minnesota. Crew chief Todd Tichenor told a pool reporter after the game that Wendelstedt was coherent and speaking but going through a concussion protocol.
— Ty France singled in the 10th inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 4-3 win over the New York Mets, who had rallied with a three-run eighth inning. The Twins will take on the Atlanta Braves for a three-game series starting on Friday at 6:15 pm.
— The Twins will place right fielder Matt Wallner on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, after avoiding a long-term absence for shortstop Carlos Correa with his sore left wrist. Wallner was held out of Wednesday’s game after he felt tightness in his left hamstring while running out an infield hit in the first inning the night before.
NBA
— Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in Dallas’ dominant second quarter, helping the Mavericks beat the Kings 120-106 to advance in the Play-In Tournament. Thompson fueled the win with four 3-pointers in Dallas’ 44-point second quarter. Dallas advanced to play at Memphis on Friday night for the chance to get into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West. The winner of that game will open the playoffs on Sunday at top-seeded Oklahoma City.
— The Sacramento Kings and general manager Monte McNair have agreed to part ways, two years after McNair helped end the longest playoff drought in NBA history. A person familiar with the decision said the sides mutually agreed on a breakup shortly after the Kings’ season ended Wednesday night to Dallas.
— Tyler Herro scored 38 points as the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls 109-90 to advance in the Play-In Tournament. Miami now advances to play at Atlanta on Friday at 6 pm with the winner playing the No. 1 seed Cleveland.
— The NBA on Wednesday said officials made two incorrect calls in the final 37 seconds of Golden State’s 121-116 play-in victory against Memphis on Tuesday night. The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report said the officiating crew should not have called a personal foul on Golden State point guard Brandin Podziemski when he made a block on Scotty Pippen Jr. near the basket with 37 seconds left. Also, With 7.3 seconds left and Golden State leading by one, play was stopped when Ja Morant reached in on Steph Curry and made contact with the ball, which went out of bounds. The NBA said the ball should have been called off Curry’s hand, awarding possession to Memphis instead of Golden State.
— There is optimism Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving could be fully recovered and return from his torn left ACL by January 2026. There is also an expectation around the team that Irving will be able to play a good amount of the 2025-26 season upon his return. Irving underwent successful surgery to repair his torn ACL on March 26, an injury he sustained against Sacramento on March 3.
EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 8. TBD
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Orlando Magic
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Detroit Pistons
4. Indiana Pacers vs. 5. Milwaukee Bucks
Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat, 6 pm on Friday, TNT
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. TBD
2. Houston Rockets vs. 7. Golden State Warriors
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 pm on Friday, ESPN
NBA PLAYOFFS – SATURDAY
4. Indiana Pacers vs. 5. Milwaukee Bucks, Noon on ESPN
4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Los Angeles Clippers, 2:30 pm on ESPN
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Detroit Pistons, 5 pm on ESPN
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves, 7:30 pm on ABC
NBA PLAYOFFS – SUNDAY
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Dallas or Memphis, Noon on ABC
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Orlando Magic, 2:30 pm on ABC
1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 8. Miami or Atlanta, 6 pm on TNT
2. Houston Rockets vs. 7. Golden State Warriors, 8:30 pm on TNT
MLB
— Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman homered in the Dodgers’ seven-run first inning as L.A. held on for an 8-7 win over the Colorado Rockies. Ohtani hit Germán Márquez’s pitch to the back row of the right-field bleachers for his sixth homer this season.
— Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the seventh inning as the Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-3 to complete a three-game sweep.
— Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh hit his 100th career home run after he connected from each side of the plate during the Mariner’s 5-3 win at Cincinnati. The 28-year-old Raleigh reached 100 homers in 482 games, second-fastest in franchise history.
— Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado each drove in two runs and Nick Pivetta pitched six innings for the San Diego Padres, who beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2. The Padres improved to a major league-best 15-4. The NL West leaders have won 12 of 13 home games.
— Jung Hoo Lee singled, doubled and drove in two runs to help the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 . San Francisco improved to 13-5 on the season. Bryce Harper homered in the loss for Philadelphia.
— The Red Sox David Hamilton hit a third-inning home run, while four pitchers combined to strike out 13 as Boston shutout the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0.
— Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday hit a second-inning grand slam as the Orioles routed the Cleveland Guardians 9-1 Holliday snapped an 0-for-17 slump.
— Christian Yelich, Rhys Hoskins and Sal Frelick all hit home runs as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-1.
— Lars Nootbaar hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and Steven Matz pitched five strong innings in his first start of the season to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 4-1. Matz retired the last 15 batters he faced, striking out five.
— Corey Seager and Jake Burger each had three hits as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1. Seager also drove in two runs in the Rangers seventh consecutive home win.
— Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run of the season and drove in a pair, while Chris Bassitt pitched five shutout innings as the Blue Jays spoiled Spencer Strider’s return from elbow surgery by beating the Atlanta Braves 3-1. Strider allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. Making his first big league appearance in 376 days because of surgery to repair a ligament in his right elbow, the right-hander struck out five and threw 97 pitches.
— The Arizona Diamondbacks hit four home runs to beat the Miami Marlins 6-2 for their fourth straight victory.
— Oneil Cruz hit his first career grand slam as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 6-1. Bailey Falter allowed only two hits in seven scoreless innings.
— Gio Urshela broke a sixth-inning tie with a two-run triple that sent the Athletics past the Chicago White Sox 3-1.