Weekday Morning Sports – Thursday 4/20/17

sportsreport-194
sportsreport-194

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Thursday, April 20, 2017

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Chicago Cubs 7, Milwaukee Brewers 4
New York Yankees 9, Chicago White Sox 1
Tampa Bay Rays 8, Detroit Tigers 7

Cubs 7, Brewers 4 – Russell’s HR caps 4-run 9th as Cubs top Brewers 7-4
Addison Russell hit a three-run homer off Neftali Feliz that capped a four-run ninth inning and lifted the Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 Wednesday. Chicago trailed 4-1 before Willson Contreras’ RBI single in the sixth Carlos Torres, and Russell’s run-scoring single cut the deficit to one run in the eighth. Trying for his first four-out save this year, Feliz (0-2) struck out Javier Baez to strand a runner on third. But Jon Jay walked with one out in the ninth,  took third on a single by pinch-hitter Miguel Montero and scored on Kris Bryant’s single. Anthony Rizzo ground out, and Russell hit his second home run this season, a drive into the left-field bleachers. Wade Davis (2-0) worked around a walk in the ninth to win in relief of Kyle Hendricks, who tied his career-high with four walks in five innings. Travis Shaw and Jett Bandy homered off Hendricks.

Yankees 9, White Sox 1 – Judge’s big blast helps Yankees cap grand homestand
Aaron Judge hit a long homer, Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven innings of one-run ball and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 9-1 Wednesday night to wrap a superb homestand.  New York went 8-1 in its first stretch at Yankee Stadium this season, its most wins in a homestand since going 9-1 from July 17-26, 2009. Judge followed Starlin Castro’s three-run shot in the fifth with his 448-foot drive for the Yankees’ first back-to-back homers of the season. Chase Headley and Aaron Hicks also went deep to give New York a season high four home runs. Dylan Covey (0-1) got knocked around in his second start, allowing eight runs, 10 hits and three homers over 5 innings.

Rays 8, Tigers 7 – Rays beat Tigers 8-7 on error in ninth
A throwing error by Jose Iglesias allowed two runs to score in the ninth inning as Tampa Bay rallied to beat Detroit 8-7 on Wednesday night. The Tigers shortstop stumbled while trying to turn what would have been a game-ending double play, instead his error cost Detroit the victory.  Kevin Kiermaier opened the ninth with a walk. He advanced to third on Evan Longoria’s double. Francisco Rodriguez (1-1) intentionally walked Brad Miller to load the bases. One out later, the closer got Logan Morrison to ground to second base and Iglesias couldn’t complete the double play, as he stumbled making the turn. He was hurt on the play and was on the field for a few minutes before walking off under his own power. Austin Pruitt (1-0) got his 1st major league win in relief.

Tonight
Detroit (Norris 1-0) at Tampa Bay (Ramirez 1-0), 1:10 p.m.           WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 12:45
Cubs and White Sox are off

NFL – Lions, Colts to practice together before preseason game
The Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts will practice together before they play each other in an exhibition game. The Lions announced the partnership Wednesday. Detroit will have joint practices at the Colts’ training facility before playing them at Lucas Oil Stadium in the preseason opener for both teams. The Lions traveled to practice with the Steelers last year prior to a preseason game.

NFL – Questions abound in aftermath of NFL star Hernandez’s death
Aaron Hernandez’s death in prison _ just days after the former NFL star was cleared of additional murder charges _ remains shrouded in mystery.  Why now? Is there more to the story? What happens to his estate? Authorities offered few answers after the 27-year-old Hernandez was found hanging from a bedsheet Wednesday in his cell in a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts. He was serving a life sentence for the 2013 slaying of a onetime friend. His death came hours before his former New England Patriots teammates visited the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory. Hernandez died five days after a jury acquitted him in the 2012 shooting deaths of two men whom prosecutors alleged he gunned down after one accidentally spilled a drink on him at a Boston nightclub.

NBA – 2017 NBA Playoffs – Round 1
Last Night
Washington Wizards 109, Atlanta Hawks 101                              (WAS leads 2-0)
Houston Rockets 115, Oklahoma City Thunder 111                       (HOU leads 2-0)
Golden State Warriors 110, Portland Trailblazers 81                 (GSW leads 2-0)

Tonight
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.                         (CLE leads 2-0)
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks, 8:00 p.m.                           (Series tied 1-1)
San Antonio Spurs at Memphis Grizzlies, 9:30 p.m.                       (SAN leads 2-0)

NHL – 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1
Last Night
Washington Capitals 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 4                             (Series tied 2-2)
Ottawa Senators 1, Boston Bruins 0                                            (OTT leads 3-1)
Minnesota Wild 2, St. Louis Blues 0                                             (STL leads 3-1)
Anaheim Ducks 3, Calgary Flames 1                                               (ANA wins 4-0)

Tonight
New York Rangers at Montreal Canadiens, 7:00 p.m.                    (Series tied 2-2)
Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:00 p.m.             (PIT leads 3-1)
Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators, 8:00 p.m.                (NSH leads 3-0)
San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers, 10:30 p.m.                          (Series tied 2-2)

NCAAFB – Michigan St. signee recovering after jet-ski accident
The high school coach of Michigan State signee Lashawn Paulino-Bell says the defensive lineman is expected to make a full recovery after a jet-skiing accident last weekend. Roger Harriott, the coach at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, confirmed Wednesday that Paulino-Bell was hurt in an accident in the Bahamas on Sunday. He was airlifted to a hospital in the Miami area, and Harriott described him as “very stable” despite some trauma to his organs. Paulino-Bell is part of Michigan State’s 2017 signing class and helped St. Thomas Aquinas to a state championship last season. His aunt said updates on his health would be provided on a GoFundMe page set up for him.

NCAAFB – Pro Football Hall of Fame to host Division III title game
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will host the Division I football championship game in 2020 and 2021. Also awarded to the hall by the NCAA was the 2022 men’s volleyball championship for that division. The football title games will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The volleyball championship will be staged in the Performance Center at Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village. “We are thrilled to host the NCAA championship games in Canton and showcase Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village,” says Steve Strawbridge, chief administrative officer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Our team will be ready to support Visit Canton and the OAC (Ohio Athletic Commission) to provide a great experience for the athletes and fans attending these events.”

Tennis – Love game for Serena: Spox says Williams is pregnant
A spokeswoman for Serena Williams says the tennis star is pregnant.  Kelly Bush Novak wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday: “I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this Fall.” Earlier in the day, Williams posted a photo of herself on the social media site Snapchat with the caption “20 weeks.” The 35-year-old Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in January, a little less than 12 weeks ago, and  has not competed since, citing a knee injury when withdrawing from tournaments at Indian Wells, California, and Key Biscayne, Florida. She announced in late December that she was engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

ECHL – 2017 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs – Round 1
Last Night
Kalamazoo Wings 8, Toledo Walleye 5                                          (Series tied 2-2)

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Fort Wayne 3, West Michigan 2
Dayton 4, Lansing 3 – 11 innings
South Bend 3, Great Lakes 0

Tonight
Fort Wayne at Great Lakes, 6:05 p.m.
Lake County at West Michigan, 6:35 p.m.
Bowling Green at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
Dayton at South Bend, 7:05 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Tonight
Girls Soccer
Mattawan 3, St. Joseph 1
Lakeshore 1, Battle Creek Lakeview 0
Gull Lake 8, Niles 0
Lake Michigan Catholic 5, Cassopolis 0
Michigan Lutheran 7, New Buffalo 0
Vicksburg 4, Dowagiac 0
Allegan 4, Edwardsburg 2
Otsego 5, Paw Paw 1
Portage Northern 2, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0
Plainwell 3, Three Rivers 0
South Haven 3, Sturgis 2 – Shootout
Bridgman 2, New Prairie (IN) 0
Lawton 3, Hartford 2
Kalamazoo Christian 8, Saugatuck 0
Kalamazoo Hackett 2, Fennville 0

Baseball
Lakeshore 8, Sturgis 1 – Game 1
Sturgis 7, Lakeshore 5 – Game 2
Coloma 3, Allegan 0 – Game 1
Coloma 11, Allegan 5 – Game 2
Michigan Lutheran 11, New Buffalo 2 – Game 1

Softball
New Buffalo 13, Michigan Lutheran 3 – Game 1
New Buffalo 18, Michigan Lutheran 16 – Game 2
Niles 7, Bridgman 0 – Game 1
Bridgman 3, Niles 1 – Game 2
Comstock 9, Berrien Springs 0 – Game 1
Comstock 7, Berrien Springs 3 – Game 2

Tonight
Baseball
Benton Harbor at Kalamazoo Central, 4:00 p.m.  (DH)
Cassopolis at Niles, 4:15 p.m.
Howardsville Chr. at Lake Mich. Catholic, 4:30 p.m.
Bridgman at Michigan Lutheran, 4:30 p.m.
Hartford at Bangor, 4:30 p.m.
Marcellus at Bloomingdale, 4:30 p.m.
Decatur at Eau Claire, 4:30 p.m.
Gobles at Fennville, 4:30 p.m.
Galesburg-Augusta at Lawton, 4:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Martin, 4:30 p.m.
Watervliet at Saugatuck, 4:30 p.m.

Softball
Benton Harbor at Kalamazoo Central, 4:00 p.m.  (DH)
St. Joseph at Coloma, 4:15 p.m. (DH)
LaPorte (IN) at Lakeshore, 5:30 p.m.
River Valley at Berrien Springs, 4:00 p.m.
Brandywine at Bronson, 4:30 p.m.
Howardsville Chr. at Lake Mich. Catholic, 4:30 p.m.
Hartford at Bangor, 4:30 p.m.
Marcellus at Bloomingdale, 4:30 p.m.
Decatur at Eau Claire, 4:30 p.m.
Gobles at Fennville, 4:30 p.m.
Galesburg-Augusta at Lawton, 4:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Martin, 4:30 p.m.
Watervliet at Saugatuck, 4:30 p.m.

Girls Soccer
Coloma at Comstock, 6:00 p.m.