Saturday Morning Sports – Kearney Baseball Downs Benson; Faces Bellevue West in Semifinal, Nebraska Baseball Falls at Maryland, Nebraska Men’s Hoops Transfer Portal Loss, Big Red Softball Drop Home Series Opener, Derby Begins Today, Local Sports Schedules

KEARNEY BASEBALL TAKES DOWN BENSON; FACES BELL WEST IN SEMIS:

The Bearcat Baseball team handled business at home Friday afternoon, downing Benson 18-1 at Memorial Field. 

The win moves Kearney (13-13) to the A-6 District Semifinals as they prepare to face #2 Bellevue West. The Thunderbirds earned the No. 2 seed in the district behind host Papillion-LaVista South. 

Pregame coverage on KGFW begins around 1:15 PM with scheduled first pitch at 1:30 PM from Papio-South. Join Austin Jacobsen for the coverage. 

Hear the Bearcats on 1340 KGFW, 96.1 FM, on the free KGFW mobile app, and online at KGFW.com. 

NEBRASKA BASEBALL FALLS TO MARYLAND IN SERIES OPENER:

Nebraska opened its weekend series with an 8-4 loss at No. 23 Maryland on Friday night at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in College Park, Md.

Nebraska (24-18-1, 9-7 Big Ten) scored four runs on seven hits and an error, while the Terrapins (32-15, 12-4 Big Ten) totaled eight runs on nine hits.

Emmett Olson allowed six runs, four earned, on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings to drop to 5-3 on the season. Max Anderson led the Huskers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs.

Nebraska and Maryland continue the series this afternoon at 1 p.m. CT at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in College Park, Md.

NEBRASKA MEN LOSE BREIDENBACH TO PORTAL:

Husker Hoops have been adding of late, but here’s a subtraction from the scholarship chart.

Wilhelm Breidenbach entered the transfer portal on Thursday afternoon.

He played in all 32 games for Nebraska last season, starting in two, averaging 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds a game. He shot 38.5 percent from the field. Breidenbach averaged 12.8 minutes per game with his biggest workload a 23-minute game against Purdue this past season. He had three games where he played more than 20 minutes.

He scored a career-high 13 points this year against Kansas State and had a solid performance at Michigan State, with 10 points and four boards in 18 minutes.

BIG RED SOFTBALL DROPS OHIO STATE OPENER:

The Nebraska softball team opened the weekend series with a 2-1 loss to Ohio State on Friday night at Bowlin Stadium. 

The Huskers (32-18, 12-9 Big Ten) scored one run on a solo home run from junior Sydney Gray while the Buckeyes (31-18, 11-10) recorded two runs on six hits and one error. 

Courtney Wallace (21-12) recorded the loss in the circle for the Huskers after pitching the complete game. She allowed six hits and two runs (one earned). 

The Huskers return to action today at 1 p.m. (CT) at Bowlin Stadium to face the Buckeyes in game two of a three-game series. 

19 HORSES PREPARE FOR 149th KENTUCKY DERBY:

The cast of characters for the 149th Kentucky Derby was rewritten in the days before the race. What didn’t change: Forte is the early 3-1 favorite on Saturday in a seemingly wide-open field of 19 horses.

Four horses were scratched — Practical Move, Lord Miles, Continuar and Skinner — and three horses waiting on the also-eligible list moved into the field. They are Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero and King Russell.

A crowd of about 150,000 is expected to jam Churchill Downs to wager and watch the 1 1/4-mile Derby. Post time is 5:57 p.m. CDT.

NBA PLAYOFFS SCORES/SCHEDULES:

FRIDAY RESULTS:

Boston Celtics 114-112 Philadelphia 76ers (BOS leads 2-1)

Phoenix Suns 121-114 Denver Nuggets (DEN leads 2-1)

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

New York Knicks @ Miami Heat (Tied 1-1) – 2:30 PM

Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers (Tied 1-1) – 7:30 PM

NHL PLAYOFFS SCORES/SCHEDULES:

FRIDAY RESULTS:

Carolina Hurricanes 6-1 New Jersey Devils (CAR leads 2-0)

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

Edmonton Oilers @ Vegas Golden Knights (VGK leads 1-0) – 6 PM

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: A-6 DISTRICTS
    • #3 Kearney v. #6 Omaha Benson @ Memorial Field
      • #3 KHS 18-1 #6 Omaha Benson

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: A-6 DISTRICTS:
    • #3 Kearney v. #2 Bellevue West – 1:30 PM @ Papillion-LaVista South
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Boys Golf: @ Centennial Conference
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ MIAA Championships @ Jefferson City, MO
• HASTINGS COLLEGE: 
  • M/W T&F: @ GPAC Championships @ Sioux Center, IA – 1 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • DISTRICTS: Kearney Baseball v. Bellevue West (1:15 PM – 4:15 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ MIAA Championships @ Jefferson City, MO
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball @ Maryland (12 PM – 4:15 PM)