Monday Morning Sports – Husker Baseball Disappointed in Series Loss at Minnesota, Nebraska Softball Sparks Walk-Off Win; Seeded No. 2 in Big Ten Tourney, Storm Face Must-Win Tuesday Game, Loper Softball Season Ends, Local Sports Schedule

HUSKER BASEBALL DISAPPOINTED IN SERIES LOSS TO LOWLY MINNESOTA:

Nebraska fell 3-1 in the series finale at Minnesota on Sunday afternoon at Siebert Field in Minneapolis.

The Huskers (19-27, 7-11 Big Ten) scored their lone run on five hits and no errors, while the Golden Gophers (14-31, 4-14 Big Ten) tallied three runs, seven hits and an error.

The Huskers brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after a one-out walk to Anderson but Minnesota got a 6-4-3 double play to clinch the series win.

NEBRASKA SOFTBALL EARNS WIN IN EXTRA INNINGS:

Mya Felder delivered a one-out bases-loaded walk-off single to lift the Nebraska softball team to a 5-4 win over Indiana in the eighth inning. 

The win gave Nebraska the series victory to cap a memorable day at Bowlin Stadium. The Huskers tallied three homers to set a new school record of 74 home runs in a single season. NU also clinched the No. 2 seed for the Big Ten Tournament. 

Cam Ybarra led the Big Red on offense, finishing 3-for-5, including a home run.

The Huskers return to action at the Big Ten Tournament this week, May 11-14. Nebraska will play on Thursday, May 12.

HUSKER SOFTBALL SEEDED No. 2 IN BIG TEN TOURNEY:

Nebraska has earned the No. 2 seed for this week’s Big Ten Softball Tournament and will face the winner of No. 7 Penn State and No. 10 Indiana on Thursday at 10 a.m. (Central) on the Big Ten Network. The 2022 Big Ten Softball Tournament is being hosted by Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., and the single-elimination event runs from Wednesday to Saturday. 

The Huskers posted their best conference finish since 2014, when they earned a share of the Big Ten title.

Semifinals are set for Friday, May 13 at 1 p.m. (Central) with finals set for Saturday, May 14 at 12 p.m. (Central). 

Every game of the 2022 Big Ten Tournament will be televised live on the Big Ten Network

STORM SATURDAY COMEBACK FALLS SHORT:

The Tri-City Storm’s comeback efforts fell short in Saturday’s 4-3 home loss to the Sioux City Musketeers. The Storm scored the final three goals of the game after falling behind 4-0 in the 1st period. Jeremy Wilmer, Drew Montgomery, and Ilya Nikolaev scored Tri-City’s goals in the game. 

The Storm dropped back-to-back home games this weekend, and now must win Game #3 on Tuesday to continue play in the Western Conference Finals.  

The series now shifts to the Tyson Events Center for the third game of the 2022 Western Conference Finals. Puck drop for Tuesday’s third game of the series is scheduled for 7:05pm CT. 

UNK SOFTBALL SEASON ENDS IN MIAA TOURNEY TO MISSOURI WESTERN:

The Missouri Western State Griffons scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to eliminate Nebraska-Kearney, 7-5, from the 2022 MIAA Tournament Saturday evening in Edmond, Okla.

The seventh-seeded Lopers end the year at 25-27 while fourth-seeded MWSU (30-21) remained to fall to Washburn on Sunday morning. 

Colorado sophomore lefty Madison Rosenthal threw a no-hitter Saturday morning to help UNK eliminate eighth-seed Emporia State, 3-1.

This was UNK’s first-ever MIAA Tournament appearance and first postseason trip since making the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tourney in 2012. The Lopers’ 25 wins are the most since that ’12 squad recorded 26 victories.

LOPER T&F FINISHES 5th & 6th IN MIAA’S:

The Nebraska-Kearney track and field teams finished fifth (women) and sixth (men) at the 2022 MIAA Outdoor Championships Sunday in Emporia, Kan.

The Loper women netted 72.0 points to place fifth and come in ahead of, among others, No. 20 Missouri Southern (61). UNK scored 36 points on both days to have its highest finish at this event. The 72 points also is a record for both MIAA indoor and outdoor meets; the previous high total of 58 was set four years ago during the spring. 

The No. 21st-ranked UNK men rebounded and scored in eight events today to tally 62.50 points overall. This marks the fourth time the Lopers have tallied between 61.50-62.50 points at the MIAA outdoor championships. 

Select Lopers will take part in the Concordia Twilight May 13 (Fri.) and the Loper Twilight May 14 (Sat.).

NBA PLAYOFFS SCORES:

SUNDAY RESULTS:

Dallas Mavericks 111 – 101 Phoenix Suns (Tied 2-2)

Philadelphia 76ers 116 – 108 Miami Heat (Tied 2-2)

MONDAY SCHEDULE:

Boston Celtics @ Milwaukee Bucks – 6:30 PM (MIL 2-1)

Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors – 9 PM (GSW 2-1)

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • DISTRICT BASEBALL: A-6 Tournament v. Lincoln North Star
    • LNS 2-0
  • GIRLS TENNIS: @ Lincoln Invite
    • KHS = 4th overall
      • Olivia Flood = 3rd Place, #1 Singles
      • Emma Heacock = 3rd Place, #2 Singles
      • Paige Moffett/Emilee Anderson = 3rd Place, #2 Doubles
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • DISTRICT BASEBALL: A-6 Tournament v. Lincoln North Star
    • LNS 2-0
  • BOYS SOCCER: B-3 District Final @ Bennington
    • Bennington 5-0
• UNK:
  • SOFTBALL: @ MIAA Tournament
    • GAME 1: v. Emporia State – UNK 3-1
    • GAME 2: v. Missouri Western State – MWSt. 7-5

MONDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • T&F: District Track @ Kearney High School – 12 PM
  • GIRLS TENNIS: Varsity Dual v. GISH – 4 PM @ Harmon Park
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Tri-City Invite @ Hastings – 9 AM
  • T&F: @ District Track @ Broken Bow – 10 AM
  • GIRLS TENNIS: @ Hastings St. Cecilia – 4 PM
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • GIRLS TENNIS: @ Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament – 9 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Awarii Dunes Invite – 8:30 AM 
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Awarii Dunes Invite – 8:30 AM
  • GIRLS TENNIS: v. Gothenburg Dual – 4 PM
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • BASEBALL: State Tournament v. TBA
  • BOYS GOLF: @ Norfolk Invite – 9 AM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • BASEBALL: State Tournament v. TBA
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Twilight Meet – 2 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: @ Concordia Twilight Meet – 2 PM

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: v. Loper Twilight Meet – 3 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • M/W T&F: v. Loper Twilight Meet – 3 PM