TUESDAY SPORTS, APRIL 15, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell baseball takes on SF Jefferson today at 6 pm at the Sanford Sports Complex. Mitchell won two of three games this past weekend in Sioux Falls as part of the Border Battle Classic.
— Mitchell softball won its third straight game on Monday with a 7-4 victory vs. Watertown on Monday. The Kernels scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning after trailing 4-2. Matteah Graves had a HR, along with a pair of hits and two RBI’s. Rylee Jennings pitched all seven innings for Mitchell, allowing two earned run on five hits with nine strikeouts. The Kernels improve to 3-2 on the season and will host SF Washington today at 5:30 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field will host Yankton and Brandon Valley for a triangular on Tuesday in Mitchell at 4 pm on Joe Quintal Field. The Kernels will then host over a dozen schools for the Corn Palace Relays on Thursday afternoon at 2 pm.
— Mitchell boys tennis will be in Brookings on Tuesday for a triangular vs. the Bobcats and Aberdeen Roncalli at 11 am.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball will be at Dakota State on Tuesday for a single game at 5 pm before going to Briar Cliff for a doubleheader on Thursday.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball hosts Doane on Thursday for a 3 pm doubleheader with just six games left in the regular season.
— Dakota Wesleyan women’s golf sits in fourth place after day one of the Doane Invite in Lincoln, Nebraska. Allison Meyerink shot +13 on Monday and is in a eight-way tie for ninth place. The second and final day of the Doane Invite starts this morning at 9 am.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State reliever Dylan Driessen was named Monday Summit League Pitcher of the Week. Driessen pitched 3 1/3 hitless and scoreless innings to record his second save of the season in the Jackrabbits 7-5 win over Omaha on Friday. The Omaha native tied a season high with six strikeouts and lowered his team-leading ERA to 3.18.
— South Dakota State baseball will be at Minnesota on Wednesday at 6 pm. The Gophers defeated the Jacks on April 8, 4-3.
— 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.
EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 8. TBD
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. TBD
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Detroit Pistons
4. Indiana Pacers vs. 5. Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks, 6:30 pm on Tuesday, TNT
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat, 6:30 pm on Wednesday, ESPN
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. TBD
2. Houston Rockets vs. 7. TBD
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 9 pm on Tuesday, TNT
Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks, 9 pm on Wednesday, TNT
WNBA
— UConn star Paige Bueckers was selected No. 1 by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA draft Monday night. Bueckers, a three-time first-team All-American from Hopkins, Minnesota, became the sixth player to be drafted first overall and win a national championship in the same year. Bueckers led the Huskies to their first NCAA title in nine years on April 6 in her final college game.
— WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced shortly before the draft Monday that the league has assembled a dedicated task force to help combat online hate and vitriol directed toward players and teams. The task force will have a four-pronged approach, including monitoring social media and other digital platforms by using advance technology to detect threats and comments. The league will also strengthen conduct standards across WNBA platforms. There will be added security measures at league and team levels, as well as dedicated mental health clinicians.
NBA
— After missing the NBA playoffs and play-in tournament with the largest payroll in league history, the Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer, the team announced Monday. For the third consecutive offseason, the Suns are changing coaches. Budenholzer accepted the Suns’ job on a five-year, $50 million contract last offseason. Phoenix finished 36-46.
— Firing the head coach and general manager with just three games left in the regular season might seem like an impulsive move but Denver Nuggets coach Josh Kroenke said Tuesday the split was months in the making. Kroenke said he seriously contemplated firing both men around Thanksgiving and then again at the All-Star break. He ultimately decided last November to wait to give the team time to work out the kinks and an eight-game winning streak postponed his plans at the All-Star break. Last week, he fired Michael Malone and Calvin Booth and the Nuggets are 3-0 since then.
NFL
— Las Vegas Raiders standout pass rusher Maxx Crosby has been named the assistant general manager for the Eastern Michigan football program. Crosby is the first active NFL player to hold the position. He will help Eastern Michigan evaluate high school and portal prospects, manage its NIL budget and also serve as special assistant to the fundraising, alumni relations and student-athlete support.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Attorneys working on the legal settlement designed to reshape college sports filed a brief that did not offer changes a judge suggested regarding roster limits, reiterating the benefit the limits provide to some athletes and the havoc a late change to that rule could create. The latest legal maneuver came in response to U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken’s suggestion that the terms of the roster limit rules be shifted “to grandfather in a group of rostered people” set to lose their spots on teams if the rule comes into play.
— Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter will have their numbers retired Saturday at the Colorado spring game as part of the afternoon’s festivities. Sanders’ No. 2 and Hunter’s No. 12 are set to become the fifth and sixth numbers retired by the football program. Hunter played both wide receiver and cornerback while winning the Heisman Trophy, while. Sanders broke many of the school’s passing records in leading the Colorado offense. Both are expected to be high selections at the NFL draft on April 24.
MLB
— Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw will make his first rehab start of the season Wednesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 37-year-old left-hander has been on the 60-day injured list while rehabbing from offseason surgeries on his toe and knee. He’s eligible to come off the IL in mid-May.
— Juan Soto hit his first home run since the opening weekend of the season as the New York Mets beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1. Minnesota (5-12) finished with just three hits and tied a season high with 13 strikeouts. The Twins are hitting .203, the second-lowest batting average in the American League. Twins starter Joe Ryan needed 101 pitches to labor through five innings, allowing one run and striking out eight.
— Fernando Tatis Jr. homered twice and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch as the San Diego Padres improved to 11-0 at home by beating the Chicago Cubs 10-4. The Padres have the best record in the majors at 14-3.
— Willy Adames and Mike Yastrzemski homered, and Tyler Fitzgerald also went deep, doubled and tripled to lead San Francisco to a 10-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Only San Diego is off to a better start than the Giants entering Monday.
— Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Austin Wells each hit a solo home run off Seth Lugo in the fifth inning as the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1. Carlos Carrasco and four relievers combined on a two-hitter for the Yankees.
— Nolan Arenado homered and Brendan Donovan went 4 for 4, helping Sonny Gray and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 8-3. Gray pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits.
— Tampa Bay rookie Kameron Misner homered twice and drove in three runs as the Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 16-1. Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero also homered and each drove in a pair for Tampa Bay. Six Rays registered multiple hits. Boston starter Tanner Houck allowed 10 hits and 12 runs in 2 1/3 innings.
— Paul Skenes bounced back from the worst start of his career and teamed up with catcher Henry Davis to make history as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 10-3. Skenes and Davis became the first pitcher/catcher combo in Major League history, comprised of players selected first overall in the draft. Skenes allowed two runs while striking out six in six innings.
— Tarik Skubal struck out nine while allowing just four hits in seven shutout innings as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 9-1. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner didn’t allow a baserunner until Rhys Hoskins singled to start the fifth.
— Mookie Betts hit a two-run homer, while Shohei Ohtani also went deep as the Dodgers beat Colorado 5-3, sending the major league-worst Rockies to their fourth straight loss. Colorado have lost six of seven, but they scored for the first time since last Thursday.
— Austin Riley had two home runs and five RBIs as Atlanta beat Toronto 8-4. Braves right-hander Grant Holmes didn’t allow a hit until Myles Straw homered to begin the bottom of the sixth. Holmes pitched a career-best 7 2/3 innings.