WEDNESDAY SPORTS, JULY 22, 2026
PALACE CITY LEGION BASEBALL
— Palace City Post 18 legion baseball takes on No. 6 seed Rapid City Post 320 in game one on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Game two follows on Thursday at 4 pm, with a potential game three at 6:30 pm. Palace City loss a pair of games vs. Post 320 on June 20, 5-+4 and 10-8. The No. 1 seed and tournament host Rapid City Post 22 is an automatic qualifier for the Class A state tournament. Teams will play in a best-of-3 series to determine the eight-team field for the state tournament on July 28-Aug. 1.
CLASS A LEGION BASEBALL REGIONS
No. 2 Sioux Falls West vs. No. 15 Huron
No. 3 Yankton vs. No. 14 Aberdeen
No. 4 Brandon Valley vs. No. 13 Spearfish
No. 5 Brookings vs. No. 12 Sioux Falls East
No. 6 Rapid City Post 320 vs. No. 11 Palace City Post 18
No. 7 Pierre vs. No. 10 Watertown
No. 8 Harrisburg vs. No. 9 Renner
— Palace City Junior Legion will take on No. 5 seed Watertown in its region series later this week. Game one of the best of three is Wednesday at 6 pm in Watertown. Game two will be Thursday at Noon, followed by a potential game three at 2:30. Post 18 enters region play as the No. 12 seed with an 8-11 record vs. Class A teams. The seven region winners qualify for the state tournament next week in Sioux Falls.
DAKOTA WESLEYAN
— Three Dakota Wesleyan athletes have been selected as GPAC nominees for prestigious NAIA national awards for the 2025–26 academic year. Siblings Lizzie Tyler and Jagger Tyler were named the GPAC’s female and male candidates for the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award, which recognizes junior student-athletes who excel in academics, character, and citizenship. Women’s basketball standout Emma Yost was named the conference’s nominee for the Emil S. Liston Award, honoring athletic and scholastic achievement. All three student-athletes will advance to the national ballot, with winners announced by the NAIA on Sept. 15.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— The South Dakota State women’s basketball team finished ninth in Division I in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Jackrabbits compiled a 3.76 overall team grade point average for the season, marking the program’s second-highest team GPA since transitioning to Division I in 2004.It marks the 19th time overall that South Dakota State has appeared in the annual WBCA Academic Top 25 ranking. The honor roll recognizes college women’s basketball teams across all divisions that maintain the highest cumulative GPAs across their entire active rosters.
HALL OF FAME
— Tickets are on sale for the 2026 South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. Admission is $60 for adults and $35 for children ages 12 and under. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the Hall of Fame’s website. Established in 1968 by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association, the Hall of Fame now honors 418 members. The event begins with a social hour at 4:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 7 p.m.
CLASS B LEGION BASEBALL
REGION 5B – WEDNESDAY in HUMBOLDT
Garretson vs. Humboldt/Hartford – 2 pm, Semifinals
Alexandria vs. Salem – 5 pm, Elimination Game
REGION 4B – WEDNESDAY in MENNO
Tabor vs. Parkston – Semifinals
Platte/Geddes vs. Wagner – 5 pm, Elimination Game
CLASS B LEGION BASEBALL
REGION 4B – TUESDAY in MENNO
Wagner 10, Platte/Geddes 9 – Wagner scored seven runs in the third inning. Frank Soukup with a triple and three RBI’s.
Parkston 8, Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota 0 – Jaxx Kurtenbach with three hits and an RBI.
Tabor 2, Wagner 1 (8 innings) –
Platte/Geddes 3, Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota 0 – Kenyon Kuiper with a no-hitter. Kuiper allowed just three walks with 11 strikeouts.
REGION 5B – TUESDAY in HUMBOLDT
Salem 11, Elkton-Lake Benton 1 (6 innings)
Garretson 6, Alexandria 5 – Ty VanHolland with a walk-off single for Garretson.
Humboldt/Hartford 7, Salem 2
Alexandria 11, Elkton-Lake Benton 9 – Keagan Hill with a home run, three hits and three RBI’s.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Austin Hedges and Petey Halpin hit sacrifice flies in the sixth inning as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2. Cleveland starter Parker Messick allowed two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers hit his ninth homer of the season in the first inning to give Minnesota an early 1-0 lead. The Twins look to end a four game losing streak on Wednesday in game three of the four-game series at Cleveland at 5:40 pm.
MEDIA
— ESPN has begun a major round of layoffs, marking the sports network’s first significant job cuts in three years. According to an internal memo sent to staff Tuesday morning, the majority of the job cuts stem from the network’s acquisition of NFL Network and other digital league assets. While most of the reductions affect production and behind-the-scenes staff, several prominent on-air personalities were also let go. Notable names affected include longtime baseball host Karl Ravech and NFL analyst Ryan Clark. The decisions came after evaluating overlapping resources following the integration of the NFL assets. The cutbacks at ESPN coincide with broader companywide job reductions happening across parent company Disney.
WORLD CUP
— The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina drew more than 60 million viewers in the United States across Fox and Telemundo, capping off a record-breaking tournament hosted by North America. Fox’s English-language broadcast averaged nearly 39 million viewers, peaking at 51 million, setting the record for the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in U.S. history. Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage added an estimated 22 million viewers.
COLLEGE
— NCAA Division II could soon follow Division I in shifting to an age-based eligibility model starting in the 2026–27 academic year under emergency legislation recommended Tuesday. Under the proposed rule, an athlete’s five-year eligibility period would begin upon initial full-time college enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. The change would replace Division II’s long-standing model allowing four seasons of competition within 10 semesters or 15 quarters.
MLB
— The Major League Baseball Players Association proposed expanding amateur draft eligibility to include college sophomores during a bargaining session Tuesday, countering a league proposal to shrink the draft as collective bargaining negotiations intensify. Under the union’s counterproposal, the draft would remain at 20 rounds and return to its traditional June date. The union’s stance directly opposes MLB’s recent proposal to eliminate eligibility for high school seniors and junior college players while cutting the draft to 12 rounds by 2027. The clash over the amateur draft is the latest point of friction in labor negotiations ahead of the current collective bargaining agreement’s expiration on Dec. 1.
— The Red Sox game against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday was postponed because of rain, delaying Boston’s pursuit of a franchise record-tying 15th straight victory. The teams will play a doubleheader Wednesday, with games scheduled for 12:35 p.m. and 6:10 p.m.
— Max Muncy hit a two-run homer and Justin Wrobleski pitched into the seventh inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1. The Phillies ran themselves out of a potential winning rally in the ninth after putting men on second and third with one out, with the Dodgers capitalizing to complete a 5-2-6-4 double play to end the game.
— Mets rookie Zac Thornton earned his first career win, combining with three relievers on a four-hit shutout as New York defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0. Thornton allowed three hits over six innings in his fourth major league start.
— Nick Fortes and Yandy Díaz each hit a three-run homer as the Tampa Bay Rays had a season-high 21 hits in a 12-2 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
— Manny Machado homered twice and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the longest home run in the majors this season as the San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3. Tatis’ two-run shot in the eighth inning traveled 474 feet.
— Luinder Avila struck out a career-high seven in 6 1/3 innings, while Nick Loftin hit a tiebreaking RBI single as the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2.
— Pete Crow-Armstrong reached base five times on two hits and three walks, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers 11-2.
— Kumar Rocker pitched one-hit ball over six shutout innings, while Brandon Nimmo homered among his four hits as the Texas Rangers routed the Chicago White Sox 10-0.
— Hunter Goodman hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to offset a pair of two-run HR’s by Washington’s CJ Abrams as the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Nationals 8-7.
— Eugenio Suárez homered against his former team and Chase Burns pitched five scoreless innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2.
— Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes hit home runs, Tatsuya Imai struck out eight in six innings as the Houston Astros beat the Miami Marlins 5-3.
— Ildemaro Vargas hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Athletics 6-5 after blowing a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth.
— Walbert Ureña pitched six innings of one-run ball, while Jorge Soler and Jo Adell each drove in two runs in a five-run first inning as the Los Angeles Angels picked up a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
CLASS B AMATEUR BASEBALL POLL
1. Alexandria Angels (12-3)
2. Dell Rapids PBR (14-4)
3. Dell Rapids Mudcats (13-5)
4. Canova Gang (14-6)
5. Humboldt-Hartford Wood Ducks (14-5)
6. Castlewood Ravens (9-4)
7. Tabor Bluebirds (10-4)
8. Parkston Mudcats (13-6)
9. Redfield Dairy Queen (11-1)
10. (Tie) Elk Point Colt 45s (14-3) and Kimball-White Lake Nationals (13-1)
Receiving votes: Winner-Colome Pheasants (9-5), Volga Cormorants (12-7), Garretson Blue Jays (10-3), Larchwood IA Diamonds (10-4), Parkston Rays (12-8) and Wynot NE Expos (9-8).
DISTRICT 5B AMATEUR BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – PLATTE
No. 1 Alexandria vs. No. 8 Corsica, 6 p.m. – Thursday
No. 4 Winner/Colome vs. No. 5 Platte, 8 p.m.- Thursday
No. 2 Parkston Mudcats vs. No. 7 Mount Vernon, 6 p.m.- Friday
No. 3 Parkston Devil Rays vs. No. 6 Dimock/Emery, 8 p.m. – Friday
District 5B will have five representatives qualify for the state tournament starting August 5 in Mitchell.