K-HEART SPORTS – 04/28/23 – 0700
MINOT, ND – High school softball teams converged on the air-supported dome on the Minot State campus for the second Battle of the Bubble.
High School Girls Softball
Class A
Class A
Dickinson def. Bismarck Legacy, 15-1
Dickinson def. Bismarck Legacy, 13-3
Dickinson def. Bismarck Legacy, 13-3
Bismarck High def. Mandan, 11-1
Bismarck High def. Mandan, 22-21
Bismarck High def. Mandan, 22-21
Jamestown def. Bismarck Century, 10-6
Jamestown def. Bismarck Century, 17-2
Jamestown def. Bismarck Century, 17-2
Class B
Battle at the Bubble II
Northern Cass def. Divide County, 14-2
Velva def. Max-South Prairie, 13-0
Velva def. Northern Cass, 14-4
Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark def. New Town, 23-1
Northern Cass def. Divide County, 14-2
Velva def. Max-South Prairie, 13-0
Velva def. Northern Cass, 14-4
Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark def. New Town, 23-1
High School Baseball
Class A
Bismarck Legacy def. Watford City, 14-0
Bismarck Legacy def. Watford City, 9-0
Bismarck Legacy def. Watford City, 9-0
Bismarck Century def. Moorhead MN, 4-2
Moorhead MN def. Bismarck Century, 5-1
Moorhead MN def. Bismarck Century, 5-1
Class B
Bishop Ryan def. South Prairie-Max, 11-1
High School Girls Tennis
Minot def. Mandan, 7-2
Bismarck Century def. Jamestown, 9-0
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 9-0
High School Boys Track & Field
Mandan MAR Club Invite
1. Bismarck Legacy, 151
2. Bismarck High, 143.33
3. Bismarck Century, 112.33
4. Minot High, 110.33
5. Mandan, 61
6. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 46
7. Williston, 27
8. Watford City, 36
9. Dickinson, 20
High School Girls Track & Field
Bismarck Public Schools Meet
1. Bismarck High, 171.5
2. Minot High, 121
3. Mandan, 99.5
4. Bismarck Legacy, 92
5. Bismarck Century, 67
6. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 60
7. Dickinson, 45
8. Williston, 34
9. Watford City, 32
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MINOT STATE BASEBALL
CROOKSTON, Minn. (MSU) – The bats broke out in game two on Thursday, led by Javier Gutierrez who hit a pair of home runs to help lead the Minot State Beavers as they split an NSIC baseball doubleheader at Minnesota Crookston. After two solo homers gave the host Golden Eagles the first-game win, 2-1, the Beavers rallied hitting four homers, including two by Gutierrez, to cruise to a 13-3 victory in the split. Minot State (25-13 overall, 16-10 NSIC) now returns home to host the University of Mary on Saturday and Sunday at Corbett Field. First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader is slated for 1:30 p.m. with a single game Sunday starting at Noon.
GAME 1 | Minnesota-Crookston 2, Minot State 1
The Minot State Beavers took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning but could not hang on and fell 2-1 to the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Thursday. Senior Bryant Bagshaw (6-2) started and took the loss on the mound for Minot State. Junior Brent Riddle led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a double. Junior Gunnar Kozlowitz compiled a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 1-for-2 with an RBI. The Beavers got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Riddle came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minot State and get them on the board. The Beavers were unable to hold the lead, as Minnesota Crookston hit two solo home runs in the sixth inning to grab the 2-1 win.
GAME 2 | Minot State 13, Minnesota-Crookston 3
Junior Javier Gutierrez put together an outstanding showing at the plate Thursday, hitting two home runs to help propel the Minot State Beavers past the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles 13-3. Sophomore Jonah Prokott (2-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minot State. The right-hander went 2.1 shutout innings without giving up a hit, allowing three walks and striking out three. Senior Garrett Nicholson also made an impact on the mound for the Beavers, throwing one scoreless inning while allowing no hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. Gutierrez went 3-for-3 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with two RBIs. Junior Cameron Carr added to Gutierrez’s awesome power-hitting performance by going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI. Senior Derek Kay also helped out for the Beavers, going 2-for-5 with two triples and an RBI. The Beavers scored in seven different innings on the way to the win. Minot State broke a scoreless tie and took the lead for good at 1-0 in the first inning. The Beavers added three runs in the second inning highlighted by Derrick Winn’s two-run home run. Minnesota Crookston cut the lead to 4-2 but Gutierrez hit a solo home run in a two-run third, and Kay’s RBI triple highlighted a three-run fourth inning as Minot State pushed its lead to 9-2. Gutierrez’s second home run made it 10-3 in the fifth, and the Beavers added a run in the seventh and two more in the ninth in the win.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S GOLF
SMITHVILLE, Mo. (MSU) – It’s the ladies Championship turn. The Minot State women’s golf team hits the course for three days of action at the Paradise Pointe Golf Club in Missouri at the NSIC Championships on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Last time out, the Beavers finished fourth at the Augustana Spring Invitational led by Holly Knudsen who shot a career-low 76 and had her first collegiate Top-5 finish as she tied for third. Part of a season that’s seen plenty of low rounds by the ladies, including a career-low 76 for Taylor Cormier at the Southwest Minnesota State Spring Invite back in March. Along with shooting career-best rounds, Cormier and Knudsen lead the way with the top two season averages at 83.2 strokes per round, and 84.5 strokes per round, respectively, for Minot State. Minot State looks to improve upon last spring’s ninth-place finish at the NSIC Championships. The Beavers best finish at the Championships came in 2019 when Minot State finished third led by Alexandra Demko who earned Second-Team All-NSIC honors that season.
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TWINS-ROYALS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa homered back-to-back for the Minnesota Twins, who routed the Kansas City Royals 7-1. Buxton and Correa teed off on Royals veteran right-hander Zack Greinke in the fourth inning. Twins starter Tyler Mahle allowed one run, which was a solo homer by Vinnie Pasquantino in the top of the fourth. Mahle exited after four innings and 66 pitches with right posterior elbow soreness. Reliever Brock Stewart got the win with two scoreless innings. Mahle didn’t sound too worried after the game, calling it “just inflammation,” but said he didn’t know yet whether he’d make his next start. The 39-year-old Greinke fell to 0-4 on the season and his ERA jumped to 6.10 after allowing seven runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. Minnesota has now homered in 10 straight games, with a total of 17 during that stretch.
UP NEXT
RHP Jordan Lyles (0-4, 4.88 ERA) gets the start today for Kansas City, while RHP Pablo López (1-2, 3.00) starts for Minnesota. Lyles faced the Twins in his first start of the season, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 2-0 loss. Lopez was on the other side of Lyles in that game against the Royals and allowed just two hits in 5 1/3 shutout innings to earn the win.
RHP Jordan Lyles (0-4, 4.88 ERA) gets the start today for Kansas City, while RHP Pablo López (1-2, 3.00) starts for Minnesota. Lyles faced the Twins in his first start of the season, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 2-0 loss. Lopez was on the other side of Lyles in that game against the Royals and allowed just two hits in 5 1/3 shutout innings to earn the win.
Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda had an MRI on his right elbow, which showed a muscle strain and inflammation. Maeda, who exited Wednesday’s game with an elbow injury after allowing 10 runs in three innings, did not have any structural damage to his elbow. He’ll likely land on the injured list.
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VIKINGS-DRAFT
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Jordan Addison could hardly have found a better place to break into the NFL than Minnesota, with Justin Jefferson in place to learn from. The Vikings selected the USC wide receiver with the 23rd overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, giving their superstar a viable sidekick after the jettisoning of veteran Adam Thielen — and passing on a top quarterback prospect who tumbled down the board. Addison was the fourth consecutive wide receiver taken after none went in the first 19 slots, following Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Ngjiba (Seahawks), TCU’s Quentin Johnston (Chargers) and Boston College’s Zay Flowers (Ravens). Addison a pre-draft visits with the Vikings, and by all accounts they hit it off. “They told me if I fall to them, they were going to make sure they grabbed me,” Addison said on a video conference call from the draft with reporters in Minnesota. His confidence stood out, but so did his desire. “You feel a hungry player that wants to be great,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. Addison, K.J. Osborn and tight end T.J. Hockenson will be counted on to keep Vikings opponents honest without tilting the coverages so much toward Jefferson, who led the NFL with 128 receptions and 1,809 yards and won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award in 2022. We want to make people pay for that,” O’Connell said.
With uncertainty beyond this year at quarterback with Kirk Cousins on an expiring contract, the Vikings passed on Kentucky’s Will Levis, who was widely expected to be gone in the first half of the first round. Three of the first four picks — Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson — were quarterbacks, but clearly the Vikings — and other teams — didn’t consider Levis on that level. The Vikings have predicted a stronger season for Cousins in the second year of O’Connell’s system and consistently praised him — but only to the point of expressing confidence in him for 2023. Beyond this year, all bets are off. Bringing in Addison sure can’t hurt Cousins in his attempt to lead the Vikings to a second straight NFC North title and in his push for a new contract — whether with the Vikings or not.
The 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner for the nation’s top wide receiver at Pittsburgh, Addison transferred to USC for his final college season. He had 59 catches for 875 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 for the Trojans. In two years with the Panthers, Addison had 2,259 receiving yards. He pointed to his successful transition to USC as evidence he can quickly learn O’Connell’s pass-friendly system. “He gets his playmakers the ball,” Addison said. “They’re never in one spot.” Addison is only 6 feet and 175 pounds, one of the drawbacks of his profile, but he’s a polished route-runner who consistently gets open despite not having elite speed. He ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, just the 21st-ranked time among wide receivers. But “he’s one of those guys that typically gets the first blade of grass,” general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said.
After the departure of several key veteran players — Thielen and linebacker Eric Kendricks were released for salary cap space and cornerback Patrick Peterson and defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson free agents signed elsewhere for bigger contracts — the Vikings need some instant impact from this draft class. That’s a taller task starting with only five picks, and no second-rounder. Last year, in their first draft under Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings traded the 12th overall pick to Detroit and moved all the way down to No. 32 to net two additional second-day selections. The Lions took wide receiver Jameson Williams, a tantalizing prospect whose ACL rehabilitation limited his rookie season. The Vikings went with safety Lewis Cine, who broke his leg on special teams in Week 4 and played a total of two snaps on defense before his injury. Addison, assuming he stays healthy, is destined for a far bigger role. This guy’s consistently open,” Adofo-Mensah said. “He can make plays with the ball in his hand.”
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TIMBERWOLVES-SEASON WRAP
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves made a big move last summer — in more ways than one — to build off a breakthrough season, and the end result was a small impact in the NBA playoffs this spring. Injury absences were a major hindrance, but a return to fully healthy roster is entirely possible. The integration of top acquisition Rudy Gobert in a 7-footer pair with Karl-Anthony Towns was limited and clunky, but more time together for a talent-rich if awkwardly constructed lineup can only help. The most pertinent question, then, might be about maturity. Can the Timberwolves cultivate enough good habits to be a legitimate Western Conference contender and not just a one-round-and-done team?
“Our emotional control was really disappointing at times this year. It wasn’t just the young guys, too, which is even more disappointing,” general manager Tim Connelly said Thursday. “So I think that’s going to be a huge focus of this offseason, not just relative to acquiring new faces, but how do the guys who are here be a bit more mature when things don’t go their way.” The most publicized moment, of course, was in the April 9 game against New Orleans when Jaden McDaniels broke his hand by punching a wall out of frustration and Gobert took a swing at teammate Kyle Anderson during an argument in a timeout. Anthony Edwards also found some trouble Tuesday for swinging a folding chair on his way off the court following the series-ending loss in Denver. His outburst allegedly caused minor injuries to two arena employees. “We have to address some of this, some of the behaviors, for sure. A lot of it I think comes from a good place. They’re competitive. I don’t think they’re malicious or petulant or necessarily just trying to act out to be acting out,” coach Chris Finch said. “We have a lot of guys who have not necessarily won a lot in their career as young players, so handling failures as they come and the stakes are a little higher also exposes some flash points for us. They’re all growth opportunities, for sure.” The Wolves also led the league in ejections (nine), tied for the most fouled-out players (15) and had the second-highest total of personal fouls (1,768), according to Sportradar data.
Perhaps more implicating was the 9-15 record against the bottom four teams in each conference: Washington, Orlando, Charlotte and Detroit in the East; and Utah, Portland, Houston and San Antonio in the West. Continuing a trend that cost them their playoff series last year against Memphis, the Wolves lost 18 games in which they had a lead of 10-plus points. “We’re not where we should be, where we need to be yet in terms of winning habits,” Gobert said. “I think we can get there. I think we will get there, but those things take time and discipline.”
THE EXPERIMENT CONTINUES
The experiment of playing Towns as a stretch power forward with Gobert, a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, at center barely got going. Towns missed most of training camp recovering from a throat infection that had him hospitalized on bed rest. Then he severely strained his calf muscle and missed 52 games. “They’re both really incredibly good basketball players,” Finch said. “With the skill level that KAT has, for sure, there’s no reason basketball-wise that it shouldn’t work.” Gobert and Towns will gobble up $77 million against the salary cap next season, which makes finding room for backup center Naz Reid a priority. Reid’s presence in the playoffs was dearly missed due to a broken wrist, and he will be an unrestricted free agent after a breakout year.
NEXT IN LINE
Edwards will be eligible for a maximum-value contract extension this summer, a five-year deal worth more than $200 million that Connelly said the Wolves would offer as soon as the negotiation period begins on June 30. McDaniels, who came from the same 2020 draft class as the first overall pick Edwards, made major strides in his third season as well and is the team’s best perimeter defender. “They’re going to be tied to the hip and they’re going to be as important to this team as anybody else is obviously,” Connelly said. “Both are excited about their long-term future here, and the minute we’re allowed to, those guys are going to have really, really nice offers with a lot of money in their inbox.”
STAYING PUT?
Connelly is the 10th boss of basketball operations, including interims, the Timberwolves have had in the last 15 years. After his first season, there’s already a question about his status because of the opening created when Washington fired general manager Tommy Sheppard. Connelly interviewed for the Wizards job four years ago before deciding to remain with Denver. The Baltimore native also broke into the NBA with the nearby Wizards as an intern who worked his way up to become a scout. Connelly spent eight seasons with the Nuggets. “I’m pretty committed to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now,” Connelly said. “I’m just worried about how we can get out of the first round.”