Wednesday Afternoon Sports – Kearney Baseball Battles Hastings, Nebraska Baseball Hosts SDSU, More Huskers in the Portal, Loper Men’s Hoops Adds Talented Recruits, NBA and NHL Playoff Schedules, Local Sports Schedules

KEARNEY BASEBALL HOSTS HASTINGS:

The Bearcat Baseball team continues their homestand hosting a Tri-City showdown at Memorial Field this afternoon against the Hastings Tigers. 

Kearney (10-11) took down Bellevue East on Tuesday evening 4-2 and looks to push their winning streak to five in a row with a win this afternoon. 

This matchup was rescheduled from its original date of Saturday, April 15 due to inclement weather and field conditions. 

Pregame coverage on KGFW begins at 2:45 PM with first pitch at 3 PM and Austin Jacobsen on the call. Hear Kearney Baseball on 1340 KGFW, 96.1 FM, on the free KGFW mobile app, and online at KGFW.com.

HUSKER BASEBALL DOWNS OMAHA; HOSTS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE:

Dylan Carey had two hits and drove in four runs, while Drew Christo struck out eight Mavericks in a career outing to lead the Huskers to a 6-3 win at Omaha on Tuesday night.

Nebraska (22-14-1) scored six runs on 12 hits and an error, while the Mavericks (15-18) tallied three runs on 11 hits and one error.

The Huskers avoided the season sweep by the Mavericks after Omaha took the previous two matchups in Haymarket Park.

Nebraska continues midweek play tonight, as the Huskers welcome South Dakota State to Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. KGFW’s pregame coverage begins at the conclusion of the KHS/HHS Baseball contest. 

HUSKER FOOTBALL CONTINUES TO SEE PORTAL CHANGES:

More transfer portal names have been added from the Nebraska Football roster today. 

Three Husker Football players – quarterbacks Richard Torres and Logan Smothers as well as receiver Victor Jones – entered the transfer portal on Tuesday, while three more have added their names today.

Clark, who was set to enter a sixth-and-final year with the program, was the last remaining signee of Scott Frost’s first recruiting class in 2018 still on the team. He appeared in a total of 33 games, totaling 22 tackles, one interception, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one TFL.

Hardy was a member of the Huskers’ 2021 signing class, joining the program as a three-star prospect out of Camden County (Ga.) as the No. 66-ranked prospect in the state and No. 95-ranked receiver in the nation. Hardy never played in a game for the Big Red. 

Wynn, the Nebraska defensive lineman, who transferred to the Huskers after spending four years at Alabama, appeared in all 12 games and finished with 22 total tackles and 0.5 TFL in his lone season with the Huskers. His best performance came against Georgia Southern when he racked up nine tackles and his 0.5 TFL.

Nebraska must get to the NCAA allotted 85 scholarships prior to fall camp. 

LOPER MEN’S HOOPS ADDS TALENTED RECRUITING CLASS:

Nebraska-Kearney head men’s basketball coach Kevin Lofton announced today that Taden King, Damiri Lindo (pronounced dah-meer-e) and Donavan Short will take to the courts for the Lopers this winter.

Lindo played his first two years at Division II Holy Names (Calif.) University with King, a wing, spending two years at JUCO power North Idaho College.

Next, Short (6-10, 220 lbs.) is a center who has three years left after spending last winter at Division I Wisconsin-Green Bay. 

These are UNK’s first recruits since Mullen star Clayton Moore (6-4, 180 lbs.) came aboard in the fall. The Lopers will announce more additions to the roster soon.

Among the Loper returners in 2023-24 are Wahoo super senior forward Winston Cook, Colorado junior guards Sean Evans and Tom Connelly and South Dakota redshirt junior forward Ryder Kirsch. 

STORM SWEEP MUSKETEERS; HEAD TO ROUND TWO:

The Tri-City Storm completed a two-game series sweep over the Sioux City Musketeers in the opening round of the Clark Cup Playoffs with a 5-4 win at the Viaero Center on Tuesday night. 

Kieran Cebrian scored the game-winning goal for Tri-City in the final five minutes of the game to lift the team into the next round of the postseason. Alex Bump, Evan Werner, Trevor Connelly, and Dane Dowiak also netted goals for the Storm in the victory. 

The Storm has advanced to play the Fargo Force in a Best-of-Three Conference Semifinal round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. Tri-City will travel to Scheels Arena in Fargo, ND for the three-game series against Fargo. Game #1 of the Western Conference Semifinal Series between the Storm and the Force is set for Friday. Puck drop for the matchup is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.

LOPER SOFTBALL PUSHES HOME FINALE BACK:

The Nebraska-Kearney softball team has seen its weekend schedule change once again due to impending weather.

Looking to avoid the rain, UNK will now play Northeastern State on Saturday (12/2 p.m.) and defending national champion Rogers State (12/2 p.m.) on Sunday at Patriot Park. The games against RSU have been moved up one hour.

UNK (16-30, 7-15) has traveled close to 8,000 miles this year to play 21 true road and 17 neutral site games. The Lopers are 4-4 at Patriot Park to date. 

NBA PLAYOFFS SCORES/SCHEDULES:

TUESDAY RESULTS:

Atlanta Hawks 119-117 Boston Celtics (BOS leads 3-2)

Denver Nuggets 112-109 Minnesota Timberwolves (DEN wins 4-1)

Phoenix Suns 136-130 Los Angeles Clippers (PHX wins 4-1)

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE:

New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers (NYK leads 3-1) – 6 PM

Los Angeles Lakers @ Memphis Grizzlies (LAL leads 3-1) – 6:30 PM

Miami Heat @ Milwaukee Bucks (MIA leads 3-1) – 8:30 PM

Golden State Warriors @ Sacramento Kings (Tied 2-2) – 9 PM

NHL PLAYOFFS SCORES/SCHEDULES:

TUESDAY RESULTS:

New York Islanders 3-2 Carolina Hurricanes (CAR leads 3-2)

Dallas Stars 4-0 Minnesota (DAL leads 3-2)

Edmonton Oilers 6-3 Los Angeles Kings (EDM leads 3-2)

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE:

Florida Panthers @ Boston Bruins (BOS leads 3-1) – 6 PM

Seattle Kraken @ Colorado Avalanche (Tied 2-2) – 8:30 PM

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: v. Bellevue East @ Memorial Field
    • KHS 4-2 BE
  • Girls Tennis: v. Varsity Quad @ Harmon Park
    • KHS 9-0 HHS
    • McCook 7–2 KHS
  • Girls Soccer: @ Lincoln East @ Speedway Sports Complex
    • LE 4-0 KHS
  • Boys Soccer: v. Norfolk @ Kearney High School
    • NHS 2-1 KHS (Shootout)
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Boys Golf: v. KCHS Invite
    • KCHS = 1st

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: v. Hastings @ Memorial Field – 3 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 2:45 PM
• UNK:
  • Women’s Golf: @ MIAA Championships @ Joplin, MO
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney Baseball v. Hastings (2:45 PM – 5:45 PM)
  • Nebraska Baseball v. South Dakota State (5:45 PM – 10 PM)

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Boys Golf: @ Capitol City Golf Invite @ Holmes Golf Course – 9 AM
  • Track & Field: @ Omaha Benson Invite – 3 PM
  • Baseball: @ Elkhorn North – 5 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Tennis: @ Hastings – 10 AM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Drake Relays @ Des Moines, IA
  • M/W T&F: @ Kip Janvrin Open @ Idianola, IA
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Drake Relays @ Des Moines, IA
  • M/W T&F: @ Alex Francis Classic @ Hays, KS
  • Softball: v. Northeastern State @ Patriot Park – 2 PM
  • Softball: v. Northeastern State @ Patriot Park – 4 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: @ NWU Prairie Wolf Invite @ Lincoln, NE – 1 PM
  • Baseball: @ Mount Marty – 4 PM
  • Baseball: @ Mount Marty – 7 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Minnesota (6 PM – 11 PM)

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Girls Tennis: @ Omaha Invite @ Koch Tennis Center – 8:30 AM
  • Baseball: v. Lincoln Southwest @ Memorial Field – 12 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 11:45 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Tennis: @ Columbus Lakeview Tournament – 9 AM
  • Track & Field: @ Centennial Conference Invite – 10 AM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Drake Relays @ Des Moines, IA
  • M/W T&F: @ Prairie Wolf Invite @ Lincoln, NE
  • Softball: v. Rogers State @ Patriot Park – 1 PM
  • Softball: v. Rogers State @ Patriot Park – 3 PM
  • Women’s Soccer: v. Garden City C.C. @ Foster Field – 3 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE: 
  • M/W T&F: @ NWU Prairie Wolf Invite @ Lincoln, NE – 10 AM
  • Women’s Tennis: @ GPAC Tournament – 10 AM
  • Men’s Tennis: @ GPAC Tournament – 12 PM
  • Baseball: @ Mount Marty – 1 PM
  • Softball: @ Briar Cliff – 1 PM
  • Softball: @ Briar Cliff – 3 PM
  • Baseball: @ Mount Marty – 4 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney Baseball v. Lincoln Southwest (11:45 AM – 2:45 PM)
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Minnesota (2:45 PM – 6 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Minnesota (12:30 PM – 5 PM)