Copeland leads with 18 points and McNeese goes back-to-back in Southland with 63-54 win over Lamar
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Quadir Copeland scored 18 points and McNeese defeated Lamar 63-54 in a cold-shooting, defensive battle on Wednesday, giving the Cowboys back-to-back Southland Conference Tournament championships.
The top-seeded Cowboys (27-6) will be making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Arizona Wildcats head to College World Series after Super Regional comeback
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Baseball mitts and navy caps were strewn about the infield at Boshamer Stadium. Players jumped for joy and embraced one another. The Arizona Wildcats had pulled off a miracle. And now they're headed to Omaha. Advertisement With its season on the brink of expiration, Arizona rallied past No. 5 national seed North Carolina in highly improbable fashion Sunday. Down by two runs in the eighth inning, the Wildcats dug deep and defeated the Tar Heels 4-3 in the third and deciding game of their Super Regional series. Arizona's Casey Hintz shows off the championship trophy after the Wildcats defeated North Carolina in Game 3 of their NCAA Super Regional series on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Arizona will be making its 19th appearance in the College World Series, its first since 2021 and its first under UA alum Chip Hale, who won the CWS as a player in 1986. The Wildcats will be seeking their fifth national championship. They will open CWS play Friday or Saturday against Coastal Carolina, which defeated Arizona in the CWS final in 2016. Junior shortstop Mason White — a Salpointe Catholic High School graduate whose father and grandfather played for the UA — delivered the winning hit in the top of the eighth, lining a two-RBI single to center field with the bases loaded and one out. Advertisement After the game, White — a lifelong UA fan — barely could comprehend what had just transpired. 'This is just unbelievable,' White said. 'It's almost like a dream. I just can't believe it.' White was Hale's first recruit when he took over the program in July 2021. Hale has guided his alma mater to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Leading the Wildcats to the College World Series for the first time conjured a range of emotions for the 60-year-old coach — empathy for North Carolina, relief for himself and joy for Arizona's players and supporters. 'I'm just so happy for these kids,' Hale said. 'I'm happy ... for these families. They have grinded so hard, spent so much money coming here and raising these kids, putting them in travel baseball and high school baseball. Advertisement 'And now they get a payoff to go to Omaha. We're going to go there, put our best foot forward and try to win our fifth national championship.' It didn't look promising for the longest time Sunday. Arizona got a badly needed quality start from freshman right-hander Smith Bailey, but the Wildcats couldn't solve his counterpart, freshman righty Ryan Lynch. Lynch pounded the zone with a mid-90s fastball and a sharp slider, landing first-pitch strikes against 19 of the 26 batters he faced. After compiling 10 runs Saturday and 26 hits in the first two games of the series, the Wildcats managed just one run on two hits against Lynch entering the eighth inning. Sophomore Andrew Cain — another Tucson-area product, via Ironwood Ridge High — had one of those two hits. He led off the eighth with a single. Advertisement Then came one of two critical North Carolina errors. Tommy Splaine hit a grounder to second base that had all the makings of a 4-6-3 double play. But UNC's Jackson Van De Brake — whose three-run homer off Bailey in the third inning had given the Tar Heels a 3-1 lead — booted the ball. Cain and Splaine were safe. 'The way this game was going, we just needed a crack,' White said. 'Chip said it before it happened. 'They gave us a crack. That's what this team was looking for. It happened, and we took advantage of it.' Lynch's velocity was diminishing by that point, so UNC coach Scott Forbes summoned another freshman right-hander, Walker McDuffie, to face No. 9 hitter Easton Breyfogle. Advertisement Hale called for a sacrifice bunt. Breyfogle dropped the ball down the third base line. UNC's Gavin Gallaher charged it and fired to first base. The ball, Breyfogle and hulking first baseman Hunter Stokely arrived at the bag at the same time. Breyfogle collided with Stokely's left arm. The ball bounded past the first baseman. Cain scored, Splaine advanced to third and Breyfogle — who was safe — lay injured on the ground. Breyfogle had to leave the game after experiencing concussion-like symptoms. TJ Adams pinch-ran for him. Brendan Summerhill walked to load the bases. Aaron Walton then popped out, setting the stage for White. Advertisement UNC brought in senior righty Aidan Haugh. The Tar Heels shifted their infield to the right side. White swatted the third pitch he saw through the vacated shortstop hole, scoring Splaine and Adams. 'I was just trying to put the ball in play — specifically in the air just to get the guy in, tie the game,' White said. 'They'd been shifting me the whole weekend. So I knew: Just stay middle of the field, and it'll find a hole.' Suddenly ahead 4-3, Arizona turned to junior right-hander Casey Hintz for the bottom of the eighth. Hintz had allowed a go-ahead home run Saturday, and he got himself into trouble Sunday by issuing a pair of walks. But Hintz induced an inning-ending groundout to send the game to the ninth. Closer Tony Pluta had thrown a season-high 52 pitches Saturday but was willing to go again with a trip to Omaha on the line. He retired the side 1-2-3, ending the game by striking out No. 9 hitter Carter French with a changeup. Advertisement Pluta set the UA record with his 14th save of the season. Arizona improved to 38-0 when leading after the eighth inning. After the final out was recorded, Pluta looked skyward. He flung his glove to the grass. The celebration was on. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Wildcats head to College World Series, downs North Carolina
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Newsweek
Dallas Cowboys Coach Shares Inspiring Message for Micah Parsons
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. What started out as a joke for Micah Parsons turned out to be a heartfelt viral moment for the Dallas Cowboys star and his new head coach. Recently, there's been a boom in NFL players taking a shot at a viral TikTok trend, which is as simple as calling your friends and simply telling them goodnight. While it sounds like nothing worthy of a viral video, the reactions from players on the other end of the line typically generate a funny moment since it's not all that common for pro football players to call their teammates just to say one thing and wrap up the call. Micah Parsons went through a round of calls with several Cowboys teammates, including Tyler Smith, Trevon Diggs, Osa Odighizuwa, and KaVontae Turpin. Parsons took it a step further and reached out to his head coach, Brian Schottenheimer. The call turned into a positive moment for Parsons and Schottenheimer, who are entering their first season working together in the NFL. Micah Parsons hopped on the trend, calling his teammates to tell them Good Night 💤 He called Tyler Smith, Trevon Diggs, Osa Odighizuwa, KaVontae Turpin, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer. 🎥 _micahparsons11 on TikTok — SleeperCowboys (@SleeperCowboys) June 8, 2025 "I just wanted to say goodnight," Parsons told his head coach. "Okay, I love that, bro. What's going on, you all good?" a slightly concerned Schottenheimer fired back. Once assured everything was great, the head coach let off his message, which clearly sat right with Parsons. "I know this is weird for everybody, man, but look, you're handling everything the right way, bro," the head coach said. "This thing's going to get worked out. Again, I'm thrilled to see where we take this thing, man. We're building something special and you're going to be a huge part of it, bro." ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 22: Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys walks towards the locker room against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium on December 22, 2024 in... ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 22: Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys walks towards the locker room against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. Micah Parsons shares what Cowboys need to do to bounce back in 2025. MoreCurrently, Parsons' situation has plenty of eyes on it as the star pass rusher is in search of a new contract. The 26-year-old is looking to land a big deal to become one of the top-paid players on the defensive side of the ball, rightfully so. Over the past four seasons, Parsons has appeared in 63 games for the Cowboys. He's generated 256 tackles (63 for a loss) and 52.5 sacks. Despite appearing in just 11 games last year, Parsons still got to the quarterback 12 times, coming just two sacks shy of tying his career-high, which was achieved in 18 games. Right now, Parsons and the Cowboys are still working out his contract situation, leading many to speculate whether Parsons will be a holdout or not. This upcoming week, the Cowboys will hold mandatory minicamp. While all signs point to Parsons showing up and being a part of the action, anything can happen. The Cowboys can only hope that Parsons remains patient as he desires a new deal. Meanwhile, the Cowboys can sleep good at night knowing that Parsons' bond with his head coach is tight, despite the little bit of drama going on.
USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
LSU-West Virginia baseball weather update: NCAA super regional game delayed
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