WEDNESDAY SPORTS, APRIL 15, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell baseball suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday, falling 4-0 to O’Gorman in Sioux Falls. Lincoln Bottum and Ian Weber recorded Mitchell’s only hits, while Carter McCormick reached base three times via walks. O’Gorman scored two runs in the first inning and added another in the second. Mitchell’s pitching staff limited the Knights to four hits. Tyler Christensen took the loss after allowing three earned runs over five innings. Mitchell drops to 5-1 and returns home Thursday for a doubleheader against Huron at 5 pm at Drake Field. The KORN pregame show starts at 4:45 pm
— Mitchell Kernels softball fell 7-1 to Sioux Falls Washington on Tuesday at the Sanford Sports Complex. Washington grabbed control early, scoring five runs in the first two innings, including a two-run home run by Madelyn Mescher in the first. The Warriors added to their lead with another homer in the fifth. Mitchell’s offense was limited to three hits. Mallory Miedema had a triple in the sixth and later scored the Kernels’ lone run on a Washington error. In the circle, Rylee Jennings struck out three without issuing a walk over six innings. Mitchell drops to 0-2 and hosts Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Thursday for its home opener.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field picked up five individual event wins Tuesday at the Yankton Triangular. Junior Bryer Stach led the way, winning the boys shot put with a state-best mark of 53 feet, 6.5 inches. He also placed second in the discus with a throw of 145 feet. Logan Bessler added a win in the boys discus at 148 feet, 7 inches, while Taylor DeJong won the girls discus and Madilyn Janis captured the girls javelin title. On the track, Hunter Patton won the boys 1,600 meters in 4:36.77. Mitchell returns to action Thursday at the Corn Palace Relays at Joe Quintal Field.
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis remained unbeaten Tuesday with a dominant sweep of a triangular at Hitchcock Park, defeating Aberdeen Roncalli 9-0 and Brookings 8-1 to improve to 5-0 on the season. Mitchell will face Brandon Valley on Friday in Brandon.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan softball hosts Mount Marty for a doubleheader on Friday at 3 pm at McWhirter Field. The Tigers are 30-11 overall, 13-1 in league play and have won a school record 12 straight games. DWU has a two game lead over Midland for first place in the GPAC with eight games remaining in the regular season.
— Dakota Wesleyan Baseball will host Concordia on Friday for a doubleheader at 2 pm at Drake Field.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State powered its way to a 13-3 run-rule win over Midland on Tuesday at Erv Huether Field. Nolan Grawe led the Jackrabbits with a perfect 4-for-4 day, driving in four runs and extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Brady Brown added three RBIs. Midland scored all three of its runs in the sixth inning, but the Jackrabbits answered with four runs in the bottom half and then put the game away with five more in the seventh. SDSU improves to 12-21 and has now won five of its last seven games. The Jackrabbits host Oral Roberts in a three-game series starting Friday.
— South Dakota State softball is scheduled to play at Omaha on Friday at 6 pm to begin a three-game series. The Jackrabbits are 23-24 on the season and 5-4 in the Summit League, one game behind St. Thomas for second place in the conference.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD dropped an 8-0, five-inning run-rule decision to Iowa State on Tuesday afternoon in Ames. The Cyclones jumped out early with four runs in the first inning, including a three-run home run, and added another four-run frame in the fifth. USD managed just two hits in the game. The Coyotes return to conference action on Friday at North Dakota.
HIGH SCHOOL
— Former Augustana standout Dan Jansen has been named the new head coach of O’Gorman boys basketball. Jansen, a two-time NSIC Player of the Year and 2016 Division II National Player of the Year, replaces longtime coach Derek Robey. He scored a school-record 2,217 points at Augustana and helped lead the Vikings to a national championship. Jansen brings nearly a decade of coaching experience, including a head coaching stint in South Carolina and most recently serving as O’Gorman’s junior varsity coach.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Byron Buxton homered twice and Mick Abel pitched seven sharp innings as the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 6-0. Buxton had four hits and scored four runs, while Brooks Lee also homered for the Twins. Minnesota has won eight of nine. Abel allowed four hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out a career-high 10. Red Sox starter Sonny Gray gave up five runs on nine hits over four innings. The Twins improved to 11-7 on the season and go for the series sweep this afternoon at 12:40 pm at Target Field.
NBA
— LaMelo Ball made the game winning layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime as the Charlotte Hornets beat Miami 127-126 in the NBA play-in games, eliminating the Heat from the playoffs. Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists, while Miles Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first postseason home game in a decade. Coby White had 19 points, including a turnaround 3 with 10 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT.
— Deni Avdija scored 41 points, including a go-ahead 3-point play with 16 seconds left, as the Portland Trail Blazers came back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 114-110 in the NBA’s play-in tournament. Portland earned the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The Suns will host the winner of the Clippers-Warriors game on Friday to see who gets the No. 8 seed.
— Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will not return from injury in time to begin the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. That leaves Los Angeles without its top two scorers. Coach JJ Redick says they’re both out indefinitely, and there won’t be an update on their condition this week. Doncic strained a hamstring and Reaves strained an oblique on April 2 in Oklahoma City, and neither returned during the regular season. The Lakers host the Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday night. Doncic and Reaves combined to average 56 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds per game.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Former Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore has been placed on probation for 18 months for a confrontation with his executive assistant soon after he was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her. Moore was sentenced Tuesday. He pleaded no contest in March to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. The maximum possible penalty was six months in jail, though Moore had no previous criminal record. Moore was fired on Dec. 10 and was accused that same day of confronting the woman with whom he had been having an affair and blaming her for his firing.
NBA PLAYOFFS
No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. TBA – Sunday at 5:30 pm on NBC
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. TBA – Sunday at Noon on ABC
No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks – Saturday at 5 pm on Amazon Prime Video
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors – Saturday at Noon on Amazon Prime Video
No. 7 Philadelphia/No. 8 Orlando – Wednesday at 6:30 pm on Amazon Prime Video
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. TBA – Sunday at 2:30 pm on ABC
No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers – Sunday at 8 pm on NBC
No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves – Saturday at 2:30 pm on Amazon Prime Video
No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets – Saturday at 7:30 pm on ABC
No. 9 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 10 Golden State Warriors – – Wednesday at 6:30 pm on Amazon Prime Video
MLB
— Orioles manager Craig Albernaz says he has over a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area and a broken jaw, but he’s relieved to avoid surgery and says he doesn’t need his jaw wired. Albernaz was hit by a foul ball during Monday night’s game. Albernaz went to a hospital before the game ended but was back at the ballpark Tuesday. He says he’ll have to eat soft foods for six weeks.
— Mike Trout homered for the third time in two games, combining with Jo Adell and Jorge Soler for three consecutive long balls in a five-pitch span against Ryan Weathers in the first inning as the Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Yankees 7-1.
— Dominic Smith hit a go-ahead, three-run double in the eighth inning as part of a four-RBI night as the Atlanta Braves rebounded from a four-run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 6-5. Atlanta trailed 4-0 in the second inning and 5-3 in the eighth.
— Kyle Tucker singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Mets 2-1, sending New York to its seventh straight loss. The Mets dropped into last place in the NL East at 7-11. Shohei Ohtani extended his streak of reaching base to 48 consecutive games with an intentional walk.
— Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as the Toronto Blue Jays beat Milwaukee 9-7 and handed the Brewers their sixth consecutive loss.
— Xander Bogaerts had three hits and three RBIs as the San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 for their sixth straight win and ninth in 10 games.
— Christian Walker had three hits, including a home run, as the Houston Astros used a six-run third inning to snap an eight-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. The losing streak was the Astros’ longest since ending the 2013 season with a 15-game skid.
— Kenley Jansen got his 479th save, moving past Lee Smith for sole possession of third place on the career list, as the Detroit Tigers rallied from an eighth-inning deficit to beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1.
— Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer, Colin Rea pitched six innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-4. Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman each had three RBIs for the Cubs.
— Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt homered twice as St. Louis beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-5 in 10 innings.
— Shane McClanahan pitched five innings for his first win in nearly three years as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5.
— Jacob Wilson hit a two-run single, helping the Athletics to a 2-1 win over Texas that ended a seven-game losing streak against the Rangers.
— CJ Abrams went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs as the Washington Nationals held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4.
— Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart hit solo home runs, while Brady Singer allowed one run in six innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1.
— Ildemaro Vargas hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.