WEDNESDAY SPORTS, APRIL 8, 2026
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell baseball had its home doubleheader vs. Sioux Falls Washington on Tuesday postponed due to weather. Mitchell is schedule to head to North Dakota this weekend for the Border Battles with games on Friday and Saturday.
— Mitchell Kernels softball had its game at Pierre on Tuesday postponed due to weather with a makeup date of May 14. The Kernels will try and open their season on Thursday when they host Aberdeen Central at 5:30 pm.
— Mitchell Kernels boys tennis will host Huron on Thursday at 1 pm at Hitchcock Park.
— Mitchell Kernels track and field is scheduled to compete in Huron on Friday at 2 pm.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Dakota Wesleyan’s Alison Ernsberger has been named the GPAC pitcher of the week for the second straight time. The sophomore from Ohio, ranks third in the conference with 102 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA over 99 innings. Ernsberger recently led the Tigers to a 6-1 win over Briar Cliff, striking out 11 in a complete seven-inning game.
— Dakota Wesleyan baseball will host Briar Cliff for a doubleheader on Wednesday at Drake Field starting at 1 pm. Briar Cliff swept the Tigers on Monday in a doubleheader 10-5 and 3-2.
— Dakota Wesleyan softball is scheduled for a doubleheader on Wednesday at Waldorf starting at 2 pm. The Tigers 14-15 on the season and 5-7 in the GPAC.
— Dakota Wesleyan golf will host the Dakota Wesleyan Invitational at Lakeview Golf Course starting on Sunday in Mitchell.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State baseball will travel to Minnesota on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Minneapolis. The Jackrabbits enter the week with a 9-19 overall record, including 4-5 in the Summit League, but will be playing for the first time in 10 days due to recent inclement weather. After Wednesday’s game, SDSU will take on St. Thomas for a three-game weekend series in St. Paul.
— South Dakota State softball travels to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend for a pair of games vs. Georgia Tech and Iowa starting on Saturday at 10 am.
SOUTH DAKOTA
— USD softball had its game at Creighton on Tuesday postponed due to weather. The Coyotes will host North Dakota State for a three-game series starting on Friday at 3 pm.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
— The South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association has named its 2026 Region Coaches of the Year. In boys basketball, Parkston’s Bill Marquardt and assistant Matt Grave earned Region 7 honors, while Freeman’s Lance Friesen, who led his team to the Class B state title, was Region 6 coach of the year. On the girls side, Ethan head coach Tom Young, guiding his team to the Class B state championship, was Region 7 coach of the year, and Wagner assistant Tera Koupal was also recognized.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Minnesota’s Taj Bradley outpitched Tarik Skubal as the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2. Bradley struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing just one run, while Ryan Jeffers drove in two runs. Luke Keaschall and Josh Bell added RBIs as Minnesota’s bullpen closed out the win. Skubal struggled in a short outing, giving up four runs over 4 2/3 innings. Game three of the four game series is Wednesday at 6:40 pm
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
— North Carolina introduced Michael Malone as its new men’s basketball coach. Malone, who won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, takes over after Hubert Davis was let go following five seasons. The 54-year-old signs a six-year deal worth $50 million. Malone, whose daughter plays volleyball at UNC, becomes the first coach in decades without prior Carolina ties.
NBA
— Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points and Julius Randle and Bones Hyland each added 19 as the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up a 124-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
— Jaylen Brown had 35 points and nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Hornets 113-102. LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 36 points, his second straight 30-point game.
— Kevin Durant scored 24 points in his return to Phoenix as the Houston Rockets rallied from an early 21-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 119-105. The Rockets are on a seven-game winning streak and moved into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 points and eight assists, while Isaiah Joe hit six 3-pointers in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had their lowest-scoring performance of the season while playing without Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes, who represent a combined 94 points per game. Doncic and Reaves are out for the rest of the regular season, while the 41-year-old James sat for one game to rest his arthritic left foot.
— Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, hitting six 3-pointers, as the Los Angeles Clippers recovered after blowing a 23-point lead to beat the Dallas Mavericks 116-103. It was Leonard’s 55th straight game with 20 or more points. Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg finished with 25 points and nine rebounds and scoring 96 points in his previous two games.
— Steph Curry scored 17 points with a pair of four-point plays in his second game back from a right knee injury as the Golden State Warriors held off the Sacramento Kings 110-105.
— Scottie Barnes scored 25 points, while Brandon Ingram finished with 23 as the Toronto Raptors beat Miami 121-95, an outcome that locked the Heat into the play-in tournament for a fourth consecutive season.
— Jeremiah Fears set a Pelicans rookie record for points in a game with 40 as New Orleans snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 156-137 win over the Utah Jazz, who lost their 10th straight. Fears, the seventh overall pick in the draft, shot 17 for 29 from the field.
— Rob Dillingham scored a career-high 26 points as the Chicago Bulls ended a seven-game losing streak, beating the NBA-worst Washington Wizards 129-98.
— E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 96-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
WNBA
— The Atlanta Dream have acquired two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky in exchange for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028, plus the right to swap second-round picks in 2028. Reese, 23, averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds in two seasons with Chicago and was the 2024 rookie of the year runner-up.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when he died in a single-car crash near Boulder in March. Authorities say the 23-year-old lost control on a curve, struck a guardrail, and the vehicle rolled down an embankment. The coroner ruled the death accidental, caused by multiple blunt force injuries.. Ponder’s family says they hope his death raises awareness about responsible decision-making among young people.
MLB
— Yoshi Yamamoto pitched six innings and Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 42 games as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. The Dodgers have now won five straight, while Toronto’s losing streak reaches six games.
— Paul Skenes carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out six as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the San Diego Padres 7-1. Pittsburgh has now won six of seven to start the season.
— Amed Rosario hit two homers, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the eighth, to lift the New York Yankees over the Oakland Athletics 5-3.
— Alex Bregman broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with three hits and Javier Assad pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2. The Cubs had a season-high 16 hits, including homers from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Moises Ballesteros.
— Ozzie Albies hit his third home run of the season, while starter Reynaldo López struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings before being ejected after a bench-clearing brawl, as the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2. Los Angeles designated hitter Jorge Soler went after López following a high-and-tight wild pitch in the fifth.
— Willi Castro and Mickey Moniak hit two-run homers and the Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros 5-1 for their second series win, which they didn’t accomplish last year until mid-June.
— Trevor Story’s two-run double in the sixth lifted the Boston Red Sox past the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2. Garrett Crochet struck out seven over six-plus innings for Boston.
— Robbie Ray and two relievers combined on a four-hitter as the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0. Ray allowed three hits over 6 2/3 innings with seven strike outs. Soler homered in the first and was hit by a pitch in the third.
— The Cincinnati Reds rallied in extra innings to beat the Miami Marlins 6-3, extending their winning streak to five games. Matt McLain drove in two runs with two doubles, while Nathaniel Lowe’s go-ahead single sparked a four-run 10th inning. Miami’s Sandy Alcantara had a two-hit shutout going into the ninth before giving up the lead.
— Ronny Mauricio returned to the majors, delivering a pinch-hit, 10th-inning single that gave the New York Mets a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mauricio drove in Francisco Lindor after being recalled from Triple-A.
— Kyle Higashioka’s two-run homer lifted the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariner. Nathan Eovaldi struck out seven over six innings, including his 1,500th career strikeout.
— Gunnar Henderson’s two-run homer in the eighth gave the Baltimore Orioles a 4-2 win over the White Sox 4-2, giving Baltimore its eighth straight win over Chicago.
— Thomas Saggese’s go-ahead double in the 10th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-6 win over the Washington Nationals.