SPORTS HEADLINES 6/4/13

Hoppers Baseball: Following an off day Monday, the Hoptown Hoppers play their home opener this evening hosting the Fulton Railroaders. It’s Hays Furniture-Cancer Awareness Night at Hopkinsville High’s Tiger Field at 7:05, with pre game coverage beginning at 6:45 on News/Talk WHOP and online at whopam.com.

Other games this evening have DuBois County at Marion and Owensboro hosting Madisonville.

Last night in Ohio Valley League action: Fulton lost to newcomer DuBois County for the second time in as many games 7-2. The Bombers took an early 1-0 lead, then scored four times in the 4^th inning to pick up their second win of the young season.

Forcht Bank/KHSAA State Baseball: 2^nd region winner and defending state runner up Henderson County run ruled Letcher County Central 11-1 in 6 innings. The Colonels move on to the quarterfinals to meet Collins High Wednesday night. Collins defeated Tates Creek 6-4.

3^rd region winner Apollo saw its season end at the hands of Mercer County 4-0. Prestonsburg shut out North Laurel 3-0.

Today’s games: 4^th region winner Logan County plays St. X at 12:30, following Ashland and Pleasure Ridge Park. Other games have Harrison County and Ryle, with 1^st region winner Lone Oak meeting Central Hardin.

College Baseball: Vanderbilt defeated Georgia Tech 7-1 in the finals of the Nashville regional. The nationally second seeded Commodores will next face Louisville in Super Regional play beginning Saturday at Hawkins Field in Nashville.

Game time is set for 2 pm, with Sunday’s second game at 3 pm and if a third game is needed, it would be next Monday at 6 pm.

College Softball: Tennessee lost the opening game of the championship series at the College World Series 5-3 in 12 innings to top seed Oklahoma. The Sooners can win the national championship with a victory this evening.

College Football: Louisville has received its 15^th commitment for the 2014 class. The Courier Journal reports three star defensive end/linebacker Henry Famurewa made his verbal pledge Monday. Famurewa is a 6-2, 231 pound prospect from Powder Springs, Georgia.

The game time has been announced for Kentucky’s season opening game against Western Kentucky at Nashville’s LP Field. The game is set for 6 pm on Saturday, August 31^st, with pre game coverage beginning at 4:30 on your home for UK football, Lite 98.7.

College Basketball: The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Tennessee forward Jeronne Maymon should be able to play this coming season. Maymon played his last game in March 2012, and sat out last season after complications from left knee surgery. Maymon tells the newspaper he is participating in workouts and should be 100 percent by the end of July.

Golf: Hopkinsville native Mitchell Moore finished 70^th in his attempt to qualify for the US Open Monday during sectional qualifying at Colonial Country Club in Memphis. Moore shot a 7 over 79 in his opening round, then came back with a one over par 72 in his second round.

Meanwhile, former Hopkinsville High and Rend Lake College’s Dayton Jones qualified for the upcoming Kentucky State Amateur Tournament at Bowling Green Country Club Monday. Jones fired a 74 during qualifying Monday at Long Run Golf Club in Louisville.

Minor League Baseball: The Bowling Green Hot Rods lost to South Bend 5-0 Monday at Bowling Green Ballpark. The Hot Rods will try to snap a five game losing streak against Dayton beginning Wednesday night in Bowling Green.

The Nashville Sounds blew a ninth inning lead but defeated Round Rock 7-5 in 12 innings Monday. The teams play again this evening at Round Rock.

SPORTS UPDATE 6/3/13

College Football: The University of Kentucky has received another football commitment for 2014. Junior college cornerback Shyquwan Pulliam announced Sunday night he plans to come to Lexington next year. Pulliam is a sophomore at Blinn College in Texas. Pulliam had 12 tackles in his freshman season. Pulliam is the 10^th commitment for the 2014 class.

Game time has been set for Western Kentucky‘s season opener with Kentucky at LP Field in Nashville. The game will take place at 6 pm August 31^st. Other home dates have the Hilltoppers hosting Morgan State September 21^st at 6 pm, Navy September 28^th at 6 pm, Louisiana’s Ragin Cajuns October 15^th at 7 pm, Troy October 26^th at 3 pm and Arkansas State November 30^th at 3 pm.

NFL: Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly revealed today that he has a treatable form of cancer. Kelly issued a statement through the Buffalo Bills, saying he was diagnosed with cancer in the upper jaw and will undergo surgery this Friday. He said the cancer has not spread to other parts of his body. Kelly spent his entire NFL career with the Bills from 1986-96, leading the team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

MLB: The Cincinnati Reds open a three game series hosting the Colorado Rockies this evening, with pre game coverage at 5:40 on News/Talk WHOP.

Other National League action has St. Louis hosting Arizona and Atlanta welcomes Pittsburgh.

NBA: The Eastern Conference champion will be determined this evening as Miami and Indiana play game 7 of their series in Miami. The winner will get the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

NHL: The Boston Bruins go into Pittsburgh with a 1-0 lead on the Penguins as the teams play Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals this evening.

SPORTS HEADLINES 6/3/13

Hoppers Baseball: Following the rainout of Saturday’s scheduled home opener, the Hoptown Hoppers opened Ohio Valley League play at the Madisonville/Tradewater Pirates Sunday night, falling to the Pirates 9-1.

The Bucs scored seven times in the second inning to get their first win of the season. Former Hopkinsville High standout Jarod Perry had two hits and an RBI for the winners. The Hoppers were held to just three hits, singles by Ryne Long, Zach Carter and former UHA standout Matt McGowan. Stewart Rich took the pitching loss for Hoptown.

The Hoppers open the home portion of the season Tuesday night, hosting the team they defeated in last year’s Ohio Valley League championship series the Fulton Railroaders. First pitch at Hopkinsville High’s Tiger Field at 7:05, with pre game coverage at 6:45 on News/Talk WHOP and online at whopam.com.

Elsewhere last night in the Ohio Valley League: Newcomer DuBois County began OVL play with a 7-5 over Fulton, while Owensboro opened with a 4-2 win over Marion.

Tonight’s game: Du Bois County travels to Fulton to play a make up game from Saturday night.

High School Baseball: Heritage Christian Academy lost in the Kentucky Christian Athletic Association title game to Somerset Christian 10-4 Saturday. The Warriors finished the season 18-3. Arron Workman was named KCAA Mr. Baseball and made the All State and All Tournament teams. He was joined on the All State team by Nathan Workman and Alex Walker, who was also named to the All Tournament team.

The Forcht Bank/KHSAA State Tournament begins today at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington. 2^nd region representative Henderson County meets 14^th region winner Letcher County Central at 5 pm Hopkinsville time. 3^rd region winner Apollo opens play at 10 am this morning against Mercer County, with North Laurel meeting Prestonsburg and the finale this evening has Collins High meeting Tates Creek.

High School Softball: Heritage Christian Academy lost in the Kentucky Christian Athletic Association state semi finals to Trinity Christian Saturday 9-7. Lady Warrior Kelly Faulkner was named to the All Tournament Team.

The Rawlings/KHSAA State Tournament begins Thursday at Jack Fisher Park in Owensboro. 2^nd region winner Livingston Central plays Owensboro Catholic at 7 pm. Top ranked and 4^th region winner Greenwood meets South Laurel at 5 pm, with 1^st region winner Lone Oak also playing at 5 pm against 5^th region winner Central Hardin.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has announced its 2014 Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame class. The 11 inductees include former Madisonville football standout Sonny Collins, Louisville Trinity football star Jeff Brohm, Scott County basketball great Ukari Figgs and long time Lexington Herald Leader high school sports writer Mike Fields. The group will be inducted April 27,2014 during ceremonies at the Lexington Convention Center.

College Baseball: The Louisville Cardinals have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals following a 12-3 win over Oklahoma State Sunday. The 49-12 Cardinals will advance to the Super Regionals for the third time in school history and the first since 2009.

Austin Peay had to play a pair of games in the Bloomington regional Sunday, defeating Valparaiso 5-4 to avoid elimination, but lost to Indiana for the second time in as many days 6-1. The Governors historic season ends with a 47-14 mark.

Vanderbilt faces Georgia Tech this evening in the finals of the Nashville regional. The Commodores lost to Georgia Tech Sunday 5-0 to suffer their first loss in the regional. Tonight’s game at Hawkins Field begins at 6 pm.

College Softball: Tennessee has advanced to the championship series of the Women’s College World Series following a 2-1 win over Texas Sunday. The Lady Vols improved to 52-10 on the season and will meet Michigan in the first of a best two of three series this evening.

Golf: It’s called “The Longest Day in Golf” as US Open sectional qualifiers take place across the country today. One of them is at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, where former Christian County High and Murray State golfer Mitchell Moore is chasing his dream of playing in the US Open at Merion Golf Club next week.

Moore will be joined by a number of well known PGA Tour players including Scott Stallings who is playing in Moore’s group along with Ian Poulter, 2008 US Open runner up Rocco Mediate, David Duval and Chris DiMarco. Moore tees off at 7:50 this morning and 1:20 this afternoon.

Hopkinsville Golf and Country Club hosted qualifying for the Kentucky State Amateur Championship Sunday. Nicholas Thompson won the qualifier with a 67, with Hopkinsville’s Pat Tucker firing 71 and Brian Landrum scoring 72 and Ronnie Young had 75. All three will participate in the State Am set for June 18-20 at Bowling Green Country Club.

Paducah’s Russ Cochran won on the Champions Tour Sunday, taking the Prinicpal Charity Classic in Des Moines Iowa. Cochran’s five under par 67 for a three day total of 11 under 205 was one stroke better than Jay Don Blake. It was Cochran’s fourth Champions Tour title, and his first in 35 tournaments after battling wrist and rib injuries in the 2012 season.

Matt Kuchar was a two shot winner over Kevin Chappell at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Kuchar finished the tournament at 12 under, while Chappell was 10 under par. Lexington native Josh Teater tied for 57^th at 6 over par.

SPORTS UPDATE 5/30/13

College Basketball: Mid Continent University officials are disputing a report which came out Wednesday stating men’s basketball coach Winston Bennett had been dismissed.

A story on West Kentucky.com indicated Bennett had been terminated last Friday, however school officials would not confirm nor deny the story and said they would issue a statement in the very near future. Bennett was hired at MCU in 2007 and was 91-103 in six seasons, including an 18-12 record this past season.

The Tulsa World reports Kentucky coach John Calipari has invited former Wildcat coach Eddie Sutton to watch the Wildcats practice. Calipari says he talks with Sutton regularly and has issued the invitation on several occasions. Sutton resigned as Kentucky coach in 1989 amid NCAA allegations and says he tried to come to Lexington last year but it didn’t work out. He says he will try to come to Lexington this year.

Reports that the SEC men’s basketball tournament may move to Nashville permanently may be a bit pre mature. ESPN.com reports sources as saying bids are expected to be awarded for 2017 in St. Louis, 2018 in Tampa and 2020 in Atlanta. Nashville will host the tournament in 2015, 2016 and 2019. Earlier this week, the SEC presidents and athletic directors voted to begin exploring a permanent site for the tournament.

College Football: Southeastern Conference coaches voted 13-1 Wednesday at the SEC meetings to keep the league’s conference schedule at eight games. Alabama’s Nick Saban was the lone coach who voted to move to a nine game schedule.

Some coaches think at some point the league will go to nine conference games. South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier suggests the financial reward for playing nine conference games will be too lucrative to pass up down the road, but says he likes the idea right now to be able to schedule attractive non conference games.

NFL: The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with four players selected on the final day of the NFL draft. 4^th round pick Brian Schwenke, 5^th round selection Lavar Edwards, 6^th round pick Khalid Wooten and 7^th rounder Damion Stafford all signed contracts Wednesday. Terms were not disclosed.

MLB: The Cincinnati Reds look to even their series with the Cleveland Indians this evening. Pre game coverage from Cleveland begins at 5:45 on News/Talk WHOP. Other action has the Cubs and White Sox playing this afternoon in the Windy City, Atlanta hosts Toronto and St. Louis hosts Kansas City this evening.

NBA: The Eastern Conference Finals shift back to South Beach this evening with the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers tied at 2-2. The Pacers knotted the series on Tuesday night in Indianapolis with a 99-92 victory. Now, it's a best-of-three series for the right to meet the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

PGA Tour: Play is underway at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, Lexington native Josh Teater, Nashville native Brandt Snedeker and former Memorial winner, Franklin’s Kenny Perry are all in this week’s field.

SPORTS HEADLINES 5/30/13

High School Baseball: Defending state runner up Henderson County won the 2^nd region tournament Wednesday night, defeating Christian County 15-2 in 6 innings.

The northern Colonels got a run in the first inning as Kaleb Duckworth singled and later scored, then Christian County tied the game at 1-1 when David Smith hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first. Henderson County then scored five times in the 2^nd inning thanks to a grand slam home run by Duckworth and never looked back.

Losing pitcher Joey Deck and first baseman Nile Shemwell each had two hits to lead Christian County. Sam Higgs, a WKU signee, went the distance for the win. Henderson County improved to 29-8 and will face Letcher County Central of Region 14 in the Forcht Bank/KHSAA State tournament Monday evening in Lexington. Christian County finishes the season 26-15.

Christian County’s David Smith, Logan Patterson and Dixon Craft were named to the All Region team.

Other region finals saw Logan County win the 4th region title 3-2 over Russell County, Apollo wins region 3 1-0 over Meade County, Lone Oak defeated Paducah Tilghman 6-3 in the 1^st region final.

High School Softball: Livingston Central won its first 2^nd region title, as the 17^th ranked Lady Cardinals picked up their 30^th win of the season in defeating 25^th ranked Henderson County 3-1. Livingston Central meets 3^rd region winner Owensboro Catholic in the Rawlings/KHSAA State Tournament next Thursday in Owensboro. The Lady Aces defeated Edmonson County 4-3 in the 3^rd region title game.

Christian County's Maggie Glass was named to the All Region team.

Lone Oak won the 1^st region championship with a 13-0, 6 inning win over Reidland. Top ranked Greenwood plays Bowling Green in the 4^th region title game this evening.

Hoppers Baseball: The Hoptown Hoppers had an intrasquad game Wednesday as they prepare for the season opener against Madisonville Saturday night. Coach Grayson Crawford said all the pitchers got to throw in the workout and that he’s impressed with what he has seen thus far with the team.

The team will work out the next two evenings at Tiger Field at Hopkinsville High, where Hopper home games will take place this season. Saturday night’s opener begins at 7:05, with pre game coverage at 6:45 on News/Talk WHOP and online at whopam.com.

College Softball: The College World Series begins today in Oklahoma City, with one of the opening round matchups featuring SEC rivals Tennessee and Florida.

College Football: Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has received his 9^th commitment for the 2014 class. 5-11 160 pound three star cornerback Jared Tucker of Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, GA made his verbal pledge to the Wildcats Wednesday.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Tennessee’s game at Oregon September 14^th will kickoff at 2:30 pm Hopkinsville time and be televised by either ABC, ESPN or ESPN 2. The Volunteers open the season August 31^st hosting Austin Peay.

Austin Peay officials visited with another of its candidates for athletics director Wednesday. The Leaf Chronicle reports UNLV senior athletic director Julio Freiere toured the facilities. Central Michigan’s Derek van der Merwe will be the final candidate to interview today. The school is hopeful of hiring a replacement for long time AD Dave Loos by July 1^st.