KHRT SPORTS – SATURDAY – 04/27/24
MINOT, ND – Friday’s scores:
High School Girls Tennis
Mandan def. Minot North, 9-0
Bismarck Legacy def. Williston, 7-2
Mandan def. Minot North, 9-0
Bismarck Legacy def. Williston, 7-2
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MINOTAUROS
MINOT, ND – The Minot Minotauros have advanced to the second round of the Robertson Cup Playoffs. The Tauros completed a three game sweep of their first round best-of-five NAHL series in Austin on Friday. The Bruins got on the board first with a goal by Alex Laurenza just 6:25 into the game. That would be the only goal for Austin as Minot scored the next seven goals winning 7-1. Joel Lehtinen evened the score at 1-1 in the first period. Rylan Jockims, Jack O’Hanisain and Murray Marvin-Cordes found the back of the net in the second period. Lehtinen tallied his second of the night early in the third and John Emmons and John Small also added tallies in the period. Brady James made 23 saves on 24 Bruin shots. The Tauros now await the winner of the Bismarck/Aberdeen series. The Wings lead that series 2-1 after a win Friday at home in Aberdeen. The second round begins Friday in Minot.
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MINOT STATE SOFTBALL
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (MSU) – The Beavers got the offense rolling, but in the end had to settle for a split Friday on the road in an NSIC doubleheader. Brooklyn Morrison and Taryn Bennett each hit a home run in the opener for Minot State (22-18 overall, 18-10 NSIC), but the Beavers couldn’t fend off a late rally by host St. Cloud State as the Huskies (28-24, 11-15) took game one, 14-13. Minot State rebounded with a 6-2 victory in the nightcap in the twinbill played at the College of Saint Benedict. The doubleheader wraps up the regular season for Minot State, which next plays in the NSIC Tournament in Sioux Falls beginning Wednesday.
GAME 1 | Saint Cloud State 14, Minot State 13
The Minot State Beavers brought a 13-10 lead into the seventh inning but could not hold on and fell 14-13 to the Saint Cloud State Huskies on Friday. Sophomore Calley Olson (2-2) took the loss in the circle for Minot State. At the plate, the Beavers were paced by senior Brooklyn Morrison, who went 3-for-5 on the day with two doubles, a home run and an RBI. Senior Taryn Bennett put together a noteworthy performance as well, going 1-for-4 with a home run and five RBI. Junior Hannah Murray also helped out for Minot State, putting together three hits in five trips to the plate while adding four RBI. The Beavers got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with runs in the top of the first inning. Minot State’s offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a two-run single off the bat of Murray. The Beavers then held the Huskies scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Minot State picked up two runs, including one on a solo dinger off the bat of Morrison, which brought the Beavers lead to 6-0. Minot State’s lead had disappeared once the fourth inning came around and turned into a 10-6 Saint Cloud State advantage when the Beavers evened up the game at 10. The Beavers bats heated up in the inning, scoring four runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Bennett. The game remained tied until the very next inning, when Minot State got rolling again on offense. The three-run frame for the Beavers was punctuated by a two-run single off the bat of Murray bringing the score to 13-10 in favor of Minot State. The Beavers were unable to hold the lead, as Saint Cloud State scored in the bottom of the seventh to grab the 14-13 win.
GAME 2 | Minot State 6, Saint Cloud State 2
The Minot State Beavers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 6-2 win against the Saint Cloud State Huskies on Friday. Sophomore Kierra Fournier (3-1) got the win for Minot State. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up two runs, zero earned, on eight hits, allowing four walks and striking out three. The Beavers got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Minot State got on the board thanks to junior Abby Lohse’s RBI double with one out. The Huskies failed to push any runs across before the Beavers offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Minot State picked up two runs in the frame, the big hit being an RBI double from sophomore Sara VanWickler, which brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Beavers. Saint Cloud State narrowed Minot State’s lead to 3-2 before the Beavers stretched the advantage to 4-2 in the fifth inning. Minot State kept the Huskies scoreless before their offense got things moving the next inning. The Beavers notched two runs off of Saint Cloud State pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of senior Kilee Fehd, bringing the Minot State advantage to 6-2. The score remained 6-2 for the rest of the game as the Beavers coasted to the win.
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NDSU WOMENS BASKETBALL
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – North Dakota State women’s basketball head coach Jory Collins has announced the addition of Molly Lenz to the 2024 signing class. Lenz joins the Bison after spending last season at Illinois State. Lenz appeared in all 34 games off the bench for Illinois State in her freshman season and helped the Redbirds to 22-12 overall record. She averaged 14.1 minutes per game and reached the scoring column in 26 of 34 games, including a season-best 13 points at Drake on Feb. 10. Lenz also contributed 49 total assists and 33 rebounds. Prior to one season at Illinois State, Lenz averaged 14.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in her senior season at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minn. She surpassed the 1,000 career points mark and was an All-State selection in her senior season. Lenz joins Claire Stern, Marisa Frost and Amelia Hobson in the 2024 signing class. The Bison finished the 2023-24 season with the most wins in the NDSU Division I era with a 22-12 overall record and went on to make their second straight appearance in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
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NDSU MENS BASKETBALL
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team has signed transfer guard Masen Miller, NDSU head coach David Richman announced Thursday. Miller, a 6-foot-2 guard, comes to NDSU from Indiana State, where he played two seasons from 2022-24 for the Missouri Valley Conference champions. He began his career with two seasons at Division II Truman State in Missouri from 2020-22. Miller shot 40 percent from three-point range this season for Indiana State, seeing action in 28 games. He was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year at Truman State, before averaging 14.2 points per game as a sophomore when he made 98 threes in 30 games. Miller drained 160 three-pointers in his two seasons at TSU, shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc. He owns a career 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. A native of Iowa City, Iowa, and Iowa City Regina HS, Miller will be using his final season of collegiate eligibility at NDSU in 2024-25.
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TIMBERWOLVES-SUNS
PHOENIX (AP) — Anthony Edwards hit a jumper late in the fourth quarter and snarled as he ran down the court, pounding his chest with his fist for emphasis as Minnesota pulled away for another dominant playoff win. The Timberwolves are the undeniable alpha dogs through three games of this increasingly lopsided series. Edwards scored 36 points, Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds and the Timberwolves used a hot-shooting third quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 126-109 on Friday night and take a 3-0 lead in the first-round matchup. The Wolves never trailed on Friday. It was the third straight game the Wolves used a big third to turn a tight game into a comfortable victory. Minnesota hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, to take a 22-point lead into the fourth. Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points while Kevin Durant had 25 and Devin Booker 23. The rest of the team scored just 33 points. Minnesota goes for the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix.
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TWINS-ANGELS
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Bailey Ober learned Friday that the best medicine is not to allow a hit for as long as possible. Ober took a no-hitter into the sixth inning while fighting through a stomach bug, Carlos Santana homered and the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to five games, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-3. Santana drove in two runs, while Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Willi Castro each had an RBI to help the Twins win the opener of a three-game series and a six-game trip. Ober (2-1) was charged with two runs on three hits over 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts to continue his recent domination after he gave up eight runs on nine hits over 1 1/3 innings of his season debut against Kansas City. In his four starts since, Ober has a 1.47 ERA over 24 1/3 innings, while allowing a combined 11 hits. Left-hander Caleb Thielbar got the final out for his first save of the season and the second of his career. Patrick Sandoval (1-4) gave up four runs (three earned) over 5 2/3 innings for the Angels, who lost for the seventh time in their last eight games.
UP NEXT
Twins RHP Chris Paddack (1-1, 5.57 ERA) returns to the mound today after a 10-strikeout performance against the White Sox on Monday, his most since June of 2021. Angels RHP Jose Soriano (0-3, 3.43 ERA) will make his fourth career start after not giving up an earned run over six innings Sunday against the Reds.
Twins RHP Chris Paddack (1-1, 5.57 ERA) returns to the mound today after a 10-strikeout performance against the White Sox on Monday, his most since June of 2021. Angels RHP Jose Soriano (0-3, 3.43 ERA) will make his fourth career start after not giving up an earned run over six innings Sunday against the Reds.
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VIKINGS-DRAFT
MINNEAPOLIS – After snagging quarterback JJ McCarthy and edge rusher Dallas Turner in the first round, the Minnesota Vikings did not have a pick in the 2nd or 3rd rounds of the NFL Draft on Friday. The Vikings have five picks today including one in the 4th round (108th), two in the 6th (177th & 203th), and two in the 7th (230th & 232th).