Latest news with #Wildcats
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kentucky drops NCAA Tournament opener vs. West Virginia, faces elimination
For the third time in five games Kentucky baseball lost a game in walk-off fashion, this time in the ninth inning of its NCAA Tournament opener against West Virginia on Friday. The 4-3 loss forces Kentucky into an elimination game Saturday. Here is what you need to know. KEY MOMENT After blowing two ninth-inning leads in the final regular season series at Vanderbilt, Kentucky entered the ninth inning tied at 3. The Wildcats put two runners on in the top half of the inning but were unable to score. West Virginia shortstop Brodie Kresser led off the bottom of the ninth with a double then moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field from third baseman Armani Guzman. AT THE PLATE Kentucky was unable to score in the first inning after loading the bases with one out, but broke through in the fourth inning when designated hitter Kyuss Gargett drove in the first run of the game with a squeeze bunt. Gargett and third baseman Patrick Herrera then scored on a throwing error by Kresser to stretch the lead to 3-0. Advertisement No Kentucky player tallied more than one hit in the game. Shortstop Tyler Bell did walk twice but appeared hampered by a foul ball off his knee in the first inning. Kentucky baseball coach Nick Mingione has led the Wildcats to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but the Wildcats will need to win four games in three days to reach a third straight super regional after a lost to West Virginia. ON THE MOUND Mingione's decision to move normal Sunday starter Ben Cleaver, who has been UK's best pitcher throughout the season, to Game 1 of the regional paid off with six strong innings from the sophomore left-handed pitcher, but Cleaver's defense let him down over his final two innings. West Virginia scored two runs in the fifth inning with the help of throwing errors by Herrera and second baseman Luke Lawrence then tied the game at 3 in the sixth inning on an RBI groundout following a leadoff double and sacrifice bunt. Advertisement Cleaver was charged with three runs, only one of which was earned, in six innings while striking out five batters and walking one. Right-handed reliever Simon Gregerson pitched two scoreless innings before surrendering the leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth that eventually became the winning run. Left-handed reliever Jackson Nove came on with a man on second and no outs in the ninth inning. His wild pitch allowed the runner to move to third before the game-winning sacrifice fly. WHAT'S NEXT Kentucky returns to action in the double-elimination regional in a must-win game Saturday at noon. The Wildcats will play the loser of Friday's game between regional No. 1 seed Clemson and No. 4 seed South Carolina Upstate. To advance out of the regional, Kentucky will now need to win four games in three days without a loss and without Cleaver available to pitch again. Advertisement One of country's top freshmen will lead Kentucky baseball into NCAA Tournament Now that Kentucky baseball has made the NCAA Tournament, can the Cats surprise? Kentucky baseball NCAA Tournament games: Start times, TV, streaming and more
16 hours ago
- Sport
London beats Moncton 5-2 to advance to face Medicine Hat in Memorial Cup final
RIMOUSKI, Quebec -- Blake Montgomery broke a tie at 3:35 of the third period and the London Knights beat the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 on Friday night in the Memorial Cup semifinal to advance to face the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday in the final. Montgomery slipped the puck past goalie Mathis Rousseau on a break off a short backhand feed from Sam Dickinson. On Tuesday night, Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat beat Ontario Hockey lewague winner London 3-1 to advance to the final in the four-team tournament. The Knights lost last year in the final, falling 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit. Landon Sim, Denver Barkey, Jesse Nurmi and Easton Cowan — into an empty net — also scored for London. Austin Elliott made 21 saves. Caleb Desnoyers and Dyllan Gill had power-play goals for Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Moncton, with Gill tying it at 2 in the second period. Rousseau stopped 32 shots for the Wildcats. Moncton won the QMJHL title in Rimouski last week, beating the Oceanic in six games. On Wednesday, the Wildcats beat host Rimouski 6-2 to reach the semifinal.
16 hours ago
- Sport
UTSA cruises to 10-2 victory over Kansas State in nightcap of Austin Regional
AUSTIN, Texas -- James Taussig hit a three-run homer and Norris McClure added a solo shot to back a strong start by Zach Royse and No. 2 seed UTSA beat third-seeded Kansas State 10-2 in the nightcap of the Austin Regional on Friday. UTSA (45-13) will play No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday. Kansas State (31-25) will play an elimination game against No. 4 seed Houston Christian to start the day. Andrew Stucky had an RBI single in the first inning and McClure homered in the third for a 2-0 lead off Wildcats starter Jacob Frost (1-5). Taussig homered off Ty Ruhl with two outs in the sixth for a 6-1 lead. Ruhl retired the first batter he faced after replacing Frost before Taussig hit the first pitch he saw out to center field. He finished 2 for 4 and scored twice. Ty Hodge and Lorenzo Morresi had RBI base hits in a four-run seventh. Royse (9-4) allowed one run on three hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. Christian Okerholm pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close it out. Nick English had a pinch-hit solo homer in the seventh for the Wildcats off reliever Robert Orloski. Frost gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings on five hits and four walks. Ruhl was tagged for four runs in an inning. Kansas State has played in six NCAA Tournaments — including last season — but never advanced to the College World Series. UTSA is playing in its fourth national tourney and first since 2013 without a CWS appearance.
Global News
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Global News
The London Knights beat Moncton 5-2 to get back to the Memorial Cup final for a second straight year
The London Knights became just the sixth team in 40 years to get to back-to-back Memorial Cup championship games as they knocked off the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 on Friday, May 30 in the tournament's semi-final. Sam Dickinson slid a beautiful backhand pass to Blake Montgomery for a goal at 3:35 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and put the Knights ahead to stay. London got off to a great start with an early goal by Landon Sim who got to an Oliver Bonk shot that went wide and then wrapped it into the Wildcats net at 4:07 of the first period. The Knights also outshot Moncton 18-5 in the opening period but a Caleb Desnoyers power play goal knotted the score at the 18:20 mark and the teams entered the second period tied. Easton Cowan found Denver Barkey for Cowan's team-leading fifth point of the Memorial Cup tournament and a 2-1 London lead at 5:24 of the second. The goal was Barkey's since Game 2 of the second round of the OHL playoffs. Barkey missed seven straight games in the post-season due to a lower body injury. Story continues below advertisement The Wildcats came back again on a power play goal by defenceman Dyllan Gill just 2:16 after the Knights had gone ahead and the teams went into the final 20 minutes in a 2-2 tie which was exactly the same spot that they were in going back to their first meeting of the tournament. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy That game went to overtime. This game didn't need it. After Montgomery's early third period goal Jacob Julien won a faceoff forward, got to the puck and fed Jesse Nurmi for some insurance at 13:11. London's penalty kill had to go to work not once but twice but the Knights held Moncton to hardly a single chance and then Barkey got a puck to Cowan and he walked down the middle of the Wildcats zone and deposited the puck into an empty net to end the scoring. Cowan and Barkey each had a goal and an assist. Julien had a pair of assists. Oliver Bonk had an assist and was a plus-4. The Knights outshot Moncton 37-23. London was 0-for-1 on the power play. The Wildcats were 2-for-5. Story continues below advertisement All-Stars in their midst Five London Knights players and Head Coach Dale Hunter all received All-Star nods from the Ontario Hockey League on Semi-final day at the 2025 Memorial Cup. Sam Dickinson of the was named to the OHL's 1st All-Star team. Denver Barkey, Easton Cowan, Oliver Bonk and Head Coach Dale Hunter were named to the 2nd All-Star team while Austin Elliott was named to the 3rd All-Star team. Elliott's partner in the Knights crease, Aleksei Medvedev was named to OHL's 1st All-Rookie team. Up next The championship game at the 2025 Memorial Cup tournament between London and the Medicine Hat Tigers will take place on Sunday, June 1 at 7 p.m. Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.
San Francisco Chronicle
17 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
London beats Moncton 5-2 to advance to face Medicine Hat in Memorial Cup final
RIMOUSKI, Quebec (AP) — Blake Montgomery broke a tie at 3:35 of the third period and the London Knights beat the Moncton Wildcats 5-2 on Friday night in the Memorial Cup semifinal to advance to face the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday in the final. Montgomery slipped the puck past goalie Mathis Rousseau on a break off a short backhand feed from Sam Dickinson. On Tuesday night, Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat beat Ontario Hockey lewague winner London 3-1 to advance to the final in the four-team tournament. The Knights lost last year in the final, falling 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit. Landon Sim, Denver Barkey, Jesse Nurmi and Easton Cowan — into an empty net — also scored for London. Austin Elliott made 21 saves. Caleb Desnoyers and Dyllan Gill had power-play goals for Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champion Moncton, with Gill tying it at 2 in the second period. Rousseau stopped 32 shots for the Wildcats. Moncton won the QMJHL title in Rimouski last week, beating the Oceanic in six games. On Wednesday, the Wildcats beat host Rimouski 6-2 to reach the semifinal.
