June 6, 2022 3:59 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – Billy Horschel made an eagle putt on the 15th hole that all but secured his win in the Memorial at Muirfield Village. Horschel shot a 72 and won by four shots over Aaron Wise. Horschel’s eagle putt from just inside 55 feet had the perfect line and perfect speed, bending left and dropping in the left side of the cup as he stretched out both arms in a quiet, disbelieving celebration. Horschel finished at 13-under 275 and won $2.16 million, the largest paycheck of his career.
June 5, 2022 9:19 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jocelyn Alo homered and knocked in three runs to help No. 1 seed Oklahoma beat Big 12 rival Texas 7-2 on Saturday at the Women’s College World Series. Alo set the tone with her two-run blast as the second batter of the game. The two-time reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year increased her Division I career-record home run total to 118. Tiare Jennings also hit a homer for the Sooners, who advanced to the semifinals Monday and moved one step closer to defending their national title. Hope Trautwein went the distance for the Sooners to claim the win. Janae Jefferson hit a solo homer in the seventh for Texas. The Longhorns will play Arizona in an elimination game Sunday.
— Kelly Maxwell threw a three-hitter with nine strikeouts and No. 7 seed Oklahoma State defeated No. 14 Florida 2-0 to advance to the Women’s College World Series semifinals. Chyenne Factor had two hits and knocked in a run for the Cowgirls. It was quite a day for the Big 12. No. 1 seed Oklahoma defeated fellow Big 12 member Texas in the early game to advance to the semifinals. Florida will plays No. 5 UCLA in an elimination game on Sunday.
June 5, 2022 7:43 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Jack Suwinski hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 on Saturday. Bryan Reynolds led off the ninth with a single against Mark Melancon (1-6), who blew his second save in 13 opportunities. Suwinski then lofted a flyball into the right-field stands on the ninth pitch of the at-bat for his first career game-ending hit and sixth home run of the season. Suwinski leads NL rookies in home runs. It has been an impressive showing for the 23-year-old right fielder, who was called up from Double-A Altoona in April in an emergency situation when Reynolds had a one-day stint on the COVID-19 injury list. The homer spoiled an outstanding effort by Arizona starter Zach Davies, who pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, struck out six and walked two. Chris Stratton (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth in his 200th career appearance. Davies retired 18 batters in a row starting in the second inning until walking Tucapita Marcano with two outs in the eighth. The Pirates loaded the bases before Ian Kennedy relieved Davies and struck out Ke’Bryan Hayes to end the threat and preserve the 1-0 lead. Arizona’s Ketel Marte hit a pair of doubles and scored his team’s lone run in the sixth on a wild pitch while extending his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games.
June 5, 2022 7:45 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Pavel Francouz took J.T. Compher off the hook for a penalty with a key save on Connor McDavid. A few seconds later, Compher took the life out of Rogers Place — and put the Colorado Avalanche on the cusp of the Stanley Cup Finals. Compher came out of the penalty box to give Colorado the lead with 7:18 left and the Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Called for tripping Leon Draisaitl just three minutes after Ryan McLeod tied it for Edmonton, Compher raced out of the box, beat defenseman Evan Bouchard for control along the boards and scored between goalie Mike Smith’s legs. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Francouz made 27 saves. Francouz stepped in midway through the Colorado’s 8-6 victory in Game 1 when Darcy Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury, then made 24 saves Thursday night in a 4-0 win for his second career playoff shutout. In Game 3, he made the big stop on McDavid to keep it tied before Compher scored. McLeod tied it at 2 at 7:34 of the third, going the length of the ice and beating Francouz with a snap shot from the high slot. McDavid opened the scoring 38 seconds in for Edmonton. Smith made 39 saves.
June 5, 2022 7:47 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Billy Horschel is more concerned with the way he is playing than the size of his lead in the Memorial. Either way, he’s in good shape going into the final round. On a Muirfield Village course that is getting increasingly firmer, Horschel hasn’t made a bogey since the 10th hole of his opening round. There were five players tied for the lead at one point. Horschel finished the day five shots ahead. It was the second straight year for a big 54-hole lead at the Memorial. Horschel at least get a chance to finish the job. One year after Jon Rahm built a six-shot lead — only to be forced to withdraw after the third round because of a positive COVID-19 test — Horschel delivered a gem on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon with a 7-under 65 for his largest 54-hole lead of his career. Horschel chipped in for birdie on his opening hole. Everything else was simply solid, with only one other birdie putt outside the 10-foot range. He was at 13-under 203, five shots clear of Aaron Wise (69) and Cameron Smith (72).
June 4, 2022 4:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Rookie Alek Thomas hit two of Arizona’s five home runs and the Diamondbacks opened a long road trip by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6. Ketel Marte homered while extending his hitting streak to 15 games and Christian Walker and Jake McCarthy also connected for Arizona. Thomas hit solo drive in the fourth and seventh innings for his first career multi-homer game while raising his season total to five.
June 4, 2022 4:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Rangers own a two-games-to-none lead in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals. Adam Fox set up the go-ahead and game-winning goals in a 3-2 decision over the Lightning. Kaapo Kakko broke a 1-1 tie late in the first period and Mika Zibanejad made it 3-1 81 seconds into the third. K’Andre Miller also scored and Chris Kreider had two assists for the Blueshirts. Igor Shesterkin turned back 29 shots. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who will host Game 3 on Sunday. Nick Paul also scored for Tampa Bay.
June 4, 2022 4:09 am
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) – Cameron Smith is the leader through two rounds of the Memorial. Smith holed out with a downhill chip from beyond the green on the par-3 12th that carried him to a 3-under 69. He kept his one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy and K.H. Lee the rest of the day. Smith is 8 under for the tournament as he tries to crack the top 60 for the first time in seven starts at Murfield Village. He missed the cut four times in six previous Memorials.
June 3, 2022 3:54 am
DENVER (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche have held serve in the first two games of the NHL’s Western Conference finals. The Avalanche have a two-games-to-none lead after a flurry of goals and a backup netminder led to a 4-0 shutout of the Oilers. Nazem Kadri set up goals by Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson and Mikko Rantanen during a 2:04 span early in the second period. Lehkonen and Manson tallied just 15 seconds apart, and Nathan MacKinnon capped the scoring late in the third. Pavel Francouz had a 24-save shutout two nights after the Oilers scored six times in a Game 1 loss. Francouz replaced Darcy Kuemper, who sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of the opener. Mike Smith made 35 saves for the Oilers, who host Game 3 on Saturday.
June 3, 2022 3:56 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Golden State Warriors had one of their patented, strong third quarters in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but the Boston Celtics had the last word. The Celtics rode the most lopsided fourth quarter in NBA Finals history to a 120-108 victory over the Warriors. Boston outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final 12 minutes after trailing by 15 points late in the third quarter. Boston won it with long-range shooting, shooting 21 of 41 from beyond the arc. Al Horford was the catalyst with six 3-pointers and 26 points. Boston made its first seven tries from long distance in the fourth and wound up 9 of 12 beyond the arc in the period. Derrick White was 5-for-8 from downtown in scoring 21 points off the bench. Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points and Marcus Smart added 18 on 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Steph Curry had a team-high 34 points for the Warriors, who host Game 2 on Sunday.
