WEDNESDAY SPORTS, JULY 23, 2025
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell 16-and-under baseball (19-10 on the season), awaits the Class A 16U state tournament July 25-27 in Yankton. Mitchell will begin state tournament play at noon Friday in Yankton against Harrisburg Gold in pool play.
— Mitchell 14-and-under baseball (18-17 on the season) split a doubleheader at Tea Area on Tuesday, winning game one 5-4, before losing game two 13-6.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
— South Dakota State women’s soccer will host its Blue vs. Yellow scrimmage on Thursday, July 31 at 7 pm, followed by an exhibition vs. Nebraska on Tuesday, August 5. SDSU officially starts the season at Missouri on Thursday, August 14 at 7 pm.
GOLF
— Wednesday is the third and final day of the South Dakota Golf Association’s Junior Championships at Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell. Mitchell’s Brooks Aadland finished third in the boys under-9 division on Monday, shooting a 46 on nine holes. Mitchell’s Berkli Miles placed fifth in the girls 10-11 division with a 63. In the girls 12-13 division, Mitchell’s Emma Reinesch finished sixth with a two-day total of 179.
— Asher Dannenbring is tied for fourth after two days in the boys 16-18 division, shooting back-to-back -1 (70). Mitchell’s Maddie Childs is in ninth in the girls 16-18 division with a two day total of 159.
CLASS A AMERICAN LEAGION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
The teams will play a best-of-three series, beginning on Wednesday with games two and three on Thursday.
The best-of-three first-round pairings include:
No. 15 Spearfish at No. 1 Rapid City Post 22
No. 14 Sturgis at No. 2 Yankton
No. 13 Aberdeen at No. 4 Brandon Valley
No. 12 Sioux Falls West at No. 5 Renner
No. 11 Rapid City Post 320 at No. 6 Sioux Falls East
No. 10 Huron at No. 7 Pierre
No. 9 Brookings at No. 8 Harrisburg Gold
No. 3 Watertown receives a bye due to hosting the state tournament.
The winners will advance to the Class A state tournament on July 29-Aug. 2.
LEGION BASEBALL – REGION 5B in SALEM
Alexandria 4, Colton 0 – Tyler Sanderson with a no-hitter for Alexandria, allowing only three walks with 11 strikeouts.
Parkston 12, Salem 2 (6 innings) – James Decket with a pair of double and a triple for a three hit day with two RBI’s.
WEDNESDAY
Alexandria vs. Parkston, 2 pm (Winner’s Bracket)
Salem vs. Colton, 4:30 pm (Elimination Game)
7 pm (Elimination Game)
REGION 4B in PLATTE
Tabor 10, Platte/Geddes 2
Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota 6, Wagner 1 – Bryce Sattler with four shutout innings, allowing two hits.
WEDNESDAY
Tabor vs. Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota, 2 pm (Winner’s Bracket)
Platte/Geddes vs. Wagner, 5 pm (Elimination Game)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— The Big Ten commissioner is reiterating the league’s preference for multiple automatic qualifiers in the next version of the College Football Playoff, increasing the likelihood of a showdown with the Southeastern Conference when the format for 2026 is decided. Commissioner Tony Petitti says any change that adds at-large bids and increases the role of a selection committee, a format the SEC and others have shown a preference for, “will have a difficult time getting support of the Big Ten.”
— The Atlantic Coast Conference is entering the 2025-26 sports season having moved past uncertainty from its legal fight with member schools Clemson and Florida State. Earlier this year, the league reached a settlement in those cases that reshaped the league’s revenue-sharing model. The league also saw ESPN pick up the option to extend its media deal with the league.
NFL
— Veteran defensive back Tyrann Mathieu has announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons. The 33-year-old earned three first-team All-Pro selections and was a key contributor on multiple teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he won Super Bowl 54. He finishes his career with 838 tackles, 36 interceptions, and 100 pass deflections. Mathieu played his final three seasons with the Saints, starting all 51 games and recording a career-high 91 tackles in his first year.
MLB
— Ethan Holliday has agreed to a minor league contract with a $9 million bonus with the Colorado Rockies, a record for a player drafted out of high school under the current system. Holliday, the son of former All-Star Matt Holliday and the younger brother of Baltimore second baseman Jackson Holliday, was the No. 4 overall pick in the amateur draft earlier this month. The 18-year-old, 6-foot-4 shortstop from Oklahoma, was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 1 available prospect.
OLYMPICS
— The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The committee is citing an executive order from the President. The order, signed in February, threatens to cut funding for organizations allowing transgender athletes in women’s sports. National governing bodies for various sports like swimming and track and field are expected to comply with the directive.
TENNIS
— Venus Williams has become the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova. Williams, at age 45, beat Peyton Stearns, a player who is 22 years younger, by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open. Tuesday night’s victory in Washington was the first for Williams in nearly two years. Navratilova was 47 in 2004 when she won for the final time. The former No. 1-ranked Williams had not played singles in an official match since March 2024 in Miami.
WNBA
Minnesota Lynx 91, Chicago Sky 68 – Napheesa Collier with 19 points and 8 rebounds
New York Liberty 98, Indiana Fever 84 – Kelsey Mitchell with 29 points in the loss for Indiana. All five starters for New York finished in double figures in scoring.
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Royce Lewis and Christian Vazquez each drove in three runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-7. Lewis had a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the second inning, a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, and a run-scoring grounder in the seventh that brought in two more runs on a pitcher throwing error. Andy Pages hit a three-run home run for L.A. to tie the game a 3-3 in the third inning and Shohei Ohtani had a two-run HR in the ninth inning. The Dodgers have now lost 11 of their past 14 games. The Twins go for the series win this afternoon at 3:10 pm.
MLB
— Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez allowed four hits with 12 strikeouts in a complete-game victory, while Max Kepler and Kyle Schwarber homered as the Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. Sanchez allowed two of his four hits in the fourth inning and cruised through the other eight innings for his third career complete game.
— Ben Rice hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Cody Bellinger also homered as the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4. The loss ended Toronto’s franchise-record 11 game home winning streak.
— Matthew Boyd pitched seven shutout innings for his 11th win as the Chicago Cubs spoiled Rich Hill’s return to the majors with a 6-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Hill became the oldest active player in baseball after the Royals selected the 45-year-old from Triple-A Omaha. He allowed three runs, one earned, and six hits in five innings.
— Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 39th home run of the season, while Logan Gilbert tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings as the Mariners ended the Milwaukee Brewers’ 11-game winning streak, 1-0.
— Framber Valdez pitched seven innings for his 10th straight win, while Houston rookie Brice Matthews hit his third homer in two games as the Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1. Valdez allowed one run and seven hits to match Detroit’s Tarik Skubal for the majors’ longest win streak this season.
— Angel Martínez had three hits and José Ramírez homered as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 for their fourth win in five games since the All-Star break. The Guardians have won 10 of 12 after a 10-game losing streak to get back to .500 at 50-50.
— Spencer Horwitz, Bryan Reynolds and Tommy Pham each had three hits and two RBIs as the Pittsburgh Pirates hit eight doubles in an 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have lost eight of their last nine games, but still have a nine-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
— Jacob deGrom struck out nine and allowed a leadoff homer in six innings, while Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis García homered as the Texas Rangers beat the Athletics 6-2.
— Rafael Devers was error free in his first career start at first base and added two hits and an RBI as the San Francisco Giants snapped a season-worst six-game losing streak with a 9-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
— Francisco Alvarez hit a tying homer in his second game back from the minors and Ryne Stanek retired Mike Trout with two runners on for the final out as the New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-2.
— José Caballero had two hits and two RBIs as the Tampa Bay Rays scored all their runs in the second inning before holding on for a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. The loss was Chicago’s first since the All-Star break and snapped a season-high five-game winning streak.
— Ryan McMahon hit a three-run home run as the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-4.
— Rookie Agustín Ramírez had two hits and scored two runs as the Miami Marlins beat the San Diego Padres 4-3.
— Josh Bell hit his 13th home run, while Jacob Young and CJ Abrams had RBI doubles in the fifth inning as the Washington Nationals defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-1.
DISTRICT 3B AMATEUR BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – COLOME/CHAMBERLAIN
THE PONY HILLS LEAGUE GETS 5 BIDS INTO THE STATE TOURNAMENT
No. 1 Kimball/White Lake vs. No. 8 Colome, 12 p.m., Saturday
No. 4 Plankinton vs. No. 5 Chamberlain, 2 p.m., Saturday
No. 2 Four Corners vs. No. 7 Winner, 4:30 p.m., Saturday
No. 3 Burke vs No. 6 Wessington Springs, 6:30 p.m., Saturday
DISTRICT 5B AMATEUR BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – MT. VERNON
THE SUNSHINE LEAGUE GETS 5 BIDS INTO THE STATE TOURNAMENT
Winner/Colome vs. Dimock-Emery, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Platte vs. Parkston Mudcats, Thursday at 8 p.m.
Alexandria vs. Corsica, Friday at 6 p.m.
Parkston Rays vs. Mount Vernon, Friday at 8 p.m.
DISTRICT 4B AMATEUR BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – MADISON
THE CORNBELT LEAGUE GETS 7 BIDS INTO THE STATE TOURNAMENT
Defending Class B champion Dell Rapids PBR is the No. 1 seed and earned a first-round bye. They will face the Salem vs. Hartford/Humboldt winner on Saturday at 5 pm.
No. 2 Canova also earned a first-round bye and will take on the Flandreau Blue Teal vs. Colman winner at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
No. 8 Hartford/Humboldt Wood Ducks vs. No. 9 Salem, 6 p.m., Friday
No. 7 Flandreau Blue Teal vs. No. 10 Colman A’s, 8 p.m., Friday
No. 3 Madison vs. No. 6 Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks, 12 p.m., Saturday
No. 4 Flandreau Cardinals vs. No. 5 Dell Rapids Mudcats, 2:30 p.m., Saturday