THURSDAY SPORTS, APRIL 3, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Kernels track and field is scheduled to compete next in Huron on Friday, April 11 at 2 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels softball had its game today vs. Brookings postponed due to weather. Mitchell game tomorrow at SF Jefferson is always pending weather with rain in the forecast.
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis will be in Yankton on Thursday for a triangular vs. SF Jefferson and Yankton starting at 11 am.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball is scheduled to host Mt. Marty on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1 pm. DWU is 10-19 overall on the season and 9-3 in the GPAC, tied with Morningside for second place in the conference.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball is scheduled to be back at home on Saturday for a 1 pm doubleheader vs. Doane. DWU is 27-8 overall on the season and 8-2 in the GPAC, alone in second place.
— Dakota Wesleyan track and field is scheduled to compete at the two-day USD Early Bird meet starting Friday at Noon and continuing on Saturday.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball lost on Wednesday night to No. 23 ranked Kansas 10-7 to fall to 4-19 on the season. Trailed 9-1, SDSU scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning. The Jackrabbits move on to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a three-game Summit League series Friday through Sunday at Oral Roberts.
— South Dakota State softball (18-17 on the season, 3-0 on the season) are scheduled to host USD for a Noon doubleheader on Saturday, followed by single game Sunday at 11 am.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD softball returns to Summit League play this weekend to face South Dakota State in Brookings for a three-game series starting with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.
NFL
— New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced on Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in Florida that he will be including former head coach Bill Parcells in this year’s Patriots Hall of Fame class as a contributor, ending a rift between the two that culminated in Parcells leaving after New England’s Super Bowl loss after the 1996 season. Parcells coached four seasons in New England from 1993 to 1996.
— Veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell has agreed to a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals, returning to the franchise that drafted him for his 18th NFL season. The six-time Pro Bowl selection played his first nine seasons in the league with the Cardinals and was a member of the team that made the Super Bowl in the 2008 season. The 38-year-old Campbell started all 17 games for the Miami Dolphins last season and had 52 tackles, five sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
— Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome headlined the Wooden Award’s list of five finalists as well as the All-America team, both of which were announced on Tuesday night. The award is given annually to the best college basketball player in the country. Flagg and Broome have been the perceived favorites for the Wooden Award since early in the season. Flagg, the clear-cut leader to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four. Meanwhile, Broome was dominant to start the season, lifting Auburn to the No. 1 spot in the top 25. He’s averaging 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds and just totaled 47 points and 30 rebounds in wins over Michigan and Michigan State to advance to the Final Four.
NHL
— Alexander Ovechkin moved three goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record after scoring the 892nd of his career in the Washington Capitals’ game at the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night. The Capitals have seven more games left in the regular season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Sacramento State plans to file an application with the NCAA this week to transition from the FCS to the FBS in football as an independent. The school has already filed a waiver to transition as an independent in football, which requires NCAA approval. By transitioning as an independent, Sacramento State is positioning itself to join an FBS conference in the future. The Hornets need a waiver because they aren’t transitioning with a conference invite.
SOCCER
— FIFA has said the United States and the United Kingdom are poised to be named as hosts of the Women’s World Cup in 2031 and 2035, respectively. The UK has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while the U.S. were the only bid for the 2031 tournament, having withdrawn plans to host the 2027 edition which Brazil will host.
MLB
— Second baseman Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed Wednesday to a $116 million, six-year contract. The deal for the two-time All-Star includes escalators for MVP awards and plate appearances that could raise its value to $149 million. Marte finished third in NL MVP voting last year and fourth in 2019. The 31-year-old hit .292 last year while setting career highs with 36 homers and 95 RBIs.
— Kristian Campbell agreed to a $60 million, eight-year contract with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, less than a week after his major league debut. Campbell agreed to the deal with just six days of major league service time. A 22-year-old infielder and outfielder, Campbell made his big-league debut on March 27. He entered Wednesday hitting (6 for 16) with two doubles, one homer, two RBIs and four walks.
— Harrison Bader and Byron Buxton hit home runs to back Pablo López’s solid start as the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 6-1 after rain delayed the start by nearly 3 1/2 hours. Buxton, Carlos Correa and Ty France had two hits apiece for the Twins, who took the rubber match of the three-game series. López pitched seven innings, giving up four hits and one run with five strikeouts. All five teams in the AL Central are tied with identical 2-4 records. The Twins play at home for the first time this season when they host the Houston Astros today at 3:10 pm.
— Shohei Ohtani hit a game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Dodgers over the Atlanta Braves 6-5. L.A. trailed early in the game 5-0. At 8-0, the Dodgers are off to the best start ever by a defending World Series champion.
— Seiya Suzuki homered twice and drove in five runs as the Chicago Cubs beat the Athletics 10-2 to complete a three-game sweep. The Cubs outscored the A’s 35-9 in the first major league series played in Sacramento, the club’s planned home for the next three years before a relocation to Las Vegas.
— Jackson Merrill hit a two-run homer a few hours after finalizing a $135 million, nine-year contract as the San Diego Padres started 7-0 for the first time in their 57-season history by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2.
— Garrett Crochet pitched a career high eight innings as the Boston Red Sox shutout the Baltimore Orioles 3-0. Crochet agreed to a $170 million, six-year contract earlier this week. He allowed four hits with eight strikeouts.
— Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes dominated the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing one unearned run on three hits in seven innings of a 4-2 Pirates victory. Skenes struck out six and walked none while throwing 102 pitches.
— Brice Turang dropped a perfect bunt to score Oliver Dunn in the 11th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in extra innings.
— Victor Robles hit a two-RBI double, while Dylan Moore homered as the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2. Luis Castillo went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits for Seattle.
— Iván Herrera became the first St. Louis catcher to hit three HR’s in a game as the Cardinals beat the Angels 12-5.
— Jack Leiter shutout the Cincinnati Reds for the second game in a row as the Texas Rangers won 1-0. The Rangers were outscored 14-5 in the three games but still won the series.
— Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer that tied the score with two outs in the eighth inning as the New York Mets scored twice in the 11th to beat the Miami Marlins 6-5. Alonso also doubled twice and finished with four RBIs.
— Wilmer Flores homered again, while Luis Matos and LaMonte Wade Jr. also went deep to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 6-3 win over the Houston Astros to complete a three-game sweep. It’s the fourth home run this season for Flores, who hit just four in 71 games last season.
— Toronto’s Easton Lucas allowed one hit over five scoreless innings in his first major league start as the Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 to complete a three-game sweep.
NBA
— The yearslong quest by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to acquire control of the Minnesota Timberwolves finally seems to be in the home stretch, after current owner Glen Taylor opted not to appeal an arbitration panel’s ruling that he must go forward with the $1.5 billion sale. All that appears to be left is final approval by the NBA’s board of governors, which is the last step before any sale of a team can be completed. In February, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he didn’t see any reason why that would not happen, but he also said the board would go through the full process as always.
— The Philadelphia 76ers announced that star center Joel Embiid is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery next week on his left knee. Embiid will be reevaluated in six weeks and is expected to make a full recovery. For the past several weeks, the 76ers and Embiid have been working toward a solution for the knee issues that have nagged him for more than a year and caused him to be ruled out for the season in late February.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 119-103 for their 11th straight win. Oklahoma City has a three-game lead over Cleveland with six games remaining in the race for the league’s best record and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
— Tyler Herro had 25 points and nine assists as the Miami Heat extended their season-best winning streak to six games with a 124-103 win over Boston. The Celtics had their season-best nine game winning streak end.
— Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers matched the second-most wins in franchise history, defeating the New York Knicks 124-105. Cleveland has 61 wins, equaling the 2009-10 team.
— Harrison Barnes scored 20 points to lead six San Antonio players in double figures as the Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 113-106. Denver rested all five of their starters after playing a double overtime game vs. Minnesota the night before. Russell Westbrook scored 30 points for Denver, but didn’t have any in the fourth quarter.
— Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points, 10 assists and no turnovers, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 119-105 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
— Jalen Green scored 22 points, while Dillon Brooks added 21 as the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 143-105 for their 50th win of the season.
— Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and James Harden had 21 points and 10 assists to lead the Clippers to a 114-98 win over New Orleans.
— Anthony Davis had 34 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks despite missing most of the second quarter after taking an elbow above his right eye as the Mavericks rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Hawks 120-118.