WSJM Sports

Erin Morgan of Marcellus High School Softball is our WSJM Sports Van Buren/Cass Student Athlete of the Week for the week of May 9, 2021.

In a doubleheader sweep of Howardsville Christian, Erin turned in a double, two home runs, five RBIs, and no errors in the field. Then in a doubleheader sweep of Bloomingdale, she had a double, a home run, and three RBIs, and no errors in the field. For the week, she wound up going a combined 11-16 at the plate with the eight RBIs.

Erin has earned Academic All-State honors in the past for softball. She is also a member of the Volleyball team, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and SADD. She is also the Co-Valedictorian of her class. She will be continuing here academic and softball careers at Aquinas College. In the classroom, she graduates with a 4.0 grade point average.

Erin is the daughter of Bob and Jody Morgan of Jones.

Other finalists for the week were Brett Clauser of Decatur Track and Kaleb Bodfish of South Haven Baseball.

Catch Erin’s conversation with Phil McDonald below…

 

 

We spotlighted Benton Harbor Athletics, Lake Michigan College Women's Soccer, Berrien Springs Athletics, and Friday's Regional Track results from Red Coach Donuts...

 

 

 

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MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Chicago Cubs 5, Washington Nationals 2

Tigers and White Sox were both off

Cubs 5, Nationals 2 – Ian Happ homers twice as Cubs beat Nationals 5-2

Ian Happ homered twice and drove in three runs, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 5-2. Happ put Chicago ahead to stay with a two-run shot in the third inning. He also led off the fifth with his sixth homer. It was Happ’s first multihomer game since Sept. 5 against St. Louis and No. 8 for his career. Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber hit back-to-back homers for Washington in the first, but Joe Ross lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his second straight loss.

Tonight

Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals, 8:10 p.m.                94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 7:50

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 p.m.

MLB – Cubs place OF Heyward on IL with left hamstring strain

The Chicago Cubs have placed outfielder Jason Heyward on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Heyward left Wednesday night’s 4-3 loss to Washington in the fourth inning. He is batting .183 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 39 games. The Cubs also recalled outfielder Nick Martini from Triple-A Iowa before their 5-2 victory over the Nationals.

MLB – Hoyer disappointed with Cubs’ COVID-19 vaccination rate

Chicago Cubs executive Jed Hoyer is disappointed with the team’s COVID-19 vaccination rate, and he isn’t sure if it will ever reach Major League Baseball’s threshold for relaxing some of its coronavirus protocols. Despite the team’s vaccination advocacy and education program, the Cubs remain shy of 85% for their Tier 1 players and staff. Hoyer says “there’s a real competitive advantage” to the relaxation of MLB's COVID-19 rules.

NBA – National Basketball Association – NBA Play-In Tournament

Last Night

Washington Wizards 142, Indiana Pacers 115                  (Indiana eliminated)

Wizards 142, Pacers 115 – d Beal, Westbrook lead Wiz past Pacers 142-115 for East 8 seed

Russell Westbrook nearly had a triple-double and Bradley Beal scored 25 points in just 29 minutes to help the Washington Wizards reach the NBA playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed by overwhelming the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the play-in round. Washington led by as many as 38 points and advanced to face Joel Embiid and the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. It all marks quite a turnaround for coach Scott Brooks’ Washington team, which was 17-32 in early April. Indiana’s run of five consecutive playoff appearances ended in coach Nate Bjorkgren’s debut season.

Tonight

Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors, 9:00 p.m.

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1 – Best of 7

Last Night

Florida Panthers 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – OT                          (TBL leads 2-1)

Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Islanders 4                             (PIT leads 2-1)

Montreal Canadiens 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1                             (MTL leads 1-0)

Vegas Golden Knights 5, Minnesota Wild 2                                 (VGK leads 2-1)

Tonight

Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins, 6:30 p.m.                        (BOS leads 2-1)

Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators, 7:00 p.m.               (CAR leads 2-0)

Winnipeg Jets at Edmonton Oilers, 9:00 p.m.                               (WPG leads 1-0)

Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues, 9:30 p.m.                       (COL leads 2-0)

NHL – Avalanche’s Kadri suspended for hit vs Blues pending hearing

Colorado’s Nazem Kadri was suspended indefinitely Thursday pending a video hearing with NHL officials over his illegal check to the head of St.

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MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Detroit Tigers 6, Seattle Mariners 2

Chicago White Sox 2, Minnesota Twins 1

Washington Nationals 4, Chicago Cubs 3

Tigers 6, Mariners 2 – Skubal snaps losing streak, Tigers beat Mariners 6-2

Tarik Skubal struck out a career-high nine in his first win of the season, Harold Castro drove in three runs and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2. Skubal (1-6) scattered four hits over five innings, helping Detroit earn its first series sweep in Seattle since April 2006. With the sweep, which included Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter on Tuesday night, Detroit has won four of its last five and eight of 10. The Mariners had nine hits against Tigers pitchers in the three-game series with 29 strikeouts.

White Sox 2, Twins 1 – Sox beat twins, Tatis Jr., Hosmer activated, Lee Evans dies

Lucas Giolito gave up two hits over eight innings with a season-high 11 strikeouts, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1. Giolito threw 111 pitches in his longest start of the year. Nelson Cruz’s home run in the third accounted for the only Minnesota runner past second base. Cruz had the only other hit, a single in the first inning. Liam Hendricks pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save. Chicago won for the 20th time in 28 games.

Nationals 4, Cubs 3 – Soto hits scoreboard, Scherzer wins again, Nats top Cubs 4-3

Juan Soto homered off Wrigley Field’s right-field scoreboard, helping Max Scherzer win his third straight decision in the Washington Nationals’ 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Soto became the 16th player to hit the scoreboard that was installed in 2012, hitting a 421-foot drive on a 3-2 slider in the fifth from Jake Arrieta (4-4) that gave Washington a 4-1 lead. Soto also singled twice. Scherzer allowed two runs and five hits in five innings with eight strikeouts and four walks. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has given up just four runs over his last four starts.

Today

Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

Tigers and White Sox are off

NBA – National Basketball Association – NBA Play-In Tournament

Last Night

Memphis Grizzlies 100, San Antonio Spurs 96                   (San Antonio eliminated)

Los Angeles Lakers 103, Golden State Warriors 100        (LA Lakers advance)

Grizzlies 100, Spurs 96 – Grizzlies end Spurs' season, advance to face Warriors

Dillon Brooks scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help put Memphis ahead to stay and the Grizzlies eliminated the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 on Wednesday night in the first Western Conference play-in game. The Grizzlies will play at Golden State on Friday night for the No. 8 seed and a first-round series starting Sunday against top-seeded Utah.

Lakers 103, Warriors 100 – LeBron's 3 lifts Lakers over Warriors in West play-in game

LeBron James made a long, go-ahead 3-pointer with 58.2 seconds remaining, rallying the Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors in a Western Conference play-in tournament game. James finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season, Anthony Davis scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers overcame 37 points from league scoring champ Stephen Curry. The Lakers earned the seventh seed for the playoffs and a first-round matchup with second-seeded Phoenix.

Tonight

Indiana Pacers at Washington Nationals, 8:00 p.m.

NHL – 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1 – Best of 7

Last Night

Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 2 – 2 OT                          (BOS leads 2-1)

Carolina Hurricanes 3, Nashville Predators 0                            (CAR leads 2-0)

Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 1                                         ...

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MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Detroit Tigers 5, Seattle Mariners 0

Minnesota Twins 5, Chicago White Sox 4

Chicago Cubs 6, Washington Nationals 3

Tigers 5, Mariners 0 – Turnbull twirls 5th no-hitter of MLB season, Tigers top M's

Spencer Turnbull pitched the fifth no-hitter in the majors already this season, sending the Detroit Tigers to a 5-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Turnbull, who led the big leagues in losses when he went 3-17 two years ago, had never gone more than seven innings in any of his previous 49 starts over three seasons. But his fastball and biting slider kept Seattle batters guessing and added to a growing list of mound gems in 2021. The five no-hitters through May 18 match the 1917 season for the most in baseball history by that date. Turnbull’s no-no was the eighth in Tigers history and their first since Justin Verlander’s in Toronto on May 7, 2011.

Twins 5, White Sox 4 – Sanó homers three times, Twins rally to beat White Sox 5-4

Miguel Sanó homered three times, Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending RBI single and the Minnesota Twins beat Yermín Mercedes and the Chicago White Sox 5-4. Mercedes was the center of attention once again, one day after he hit a controversial homer in the ninth inning of Chicago’s 16-4 victory. Twins reliever Tyler Duffey was ejected for throwing behind Mercedes in the seventh, and that seemed to spark the slumping Twins. Sanó’s two-run drive off Aaron Bummer with one out in the eighth tied it at 4. With two out and runners on second and third in the ninth, Polanco singled to right against Liam Hendriks.

Cubs 6, Nationals 3 – Bote, Happ homer as Cubs beat Nationals 6-3

David Bote and Ian Happ homered, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 6-3. Chicago slugger Anthony Rizzo left the game because of tightness in his lower back, but the Cubs got enough big hits to come away with another win after pounding Jon Lester the previous day in his return to Wrigley Field. Bote broke a 3-all tie with a two-run homer against reliever Will Harris in the sixth inning. Happ made it 6-3 with his drive to the basket in left-center against Wander Suero leading off the eighth. Willson Contereras had two hits, including a two-run single in the third against new dad Patrick Corbin. Kris Bryant singled twice and drove in a run.

Today

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins, 1:10 p.m.

Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs, 7:40 p.m.

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 p.m.                  94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 9:50

NBA – National Basketball Association – NBA Play-In Tournament

Last Night

Indiana Pacers 144, Charlotte Hornets 117                      (CHA Eliminated)

Boston Celtics 118, Washington Wizards 100

Pacers 144, Hornets 117 – Sabonis leads Pacers past Hornets 144-117 in play-in round

Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists, and the short-handed Indiana Pacers routed the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 in the Eastern Conference’s first play-in game.

Led by Sabonis and Doug McDermott, who scored 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter, the ninth-seeded Pacers snapped a franchise-worst nine-game losing streak in the postseason. They also moved within one victory of making a sixth consecutive playoff appearance. Charlotte was led by Miles Bridges with 18 points. The Hornets finished the season with six straight losses.

Celtics 118, Wizards 100 – Tatum scores 50, Celtics beat Wizards 118-100 in play-in

Jayson Tatum scored 32 of his 50 points in the second half, and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Washington Wizards 118-100 in the play-in round. Kemba Walker added 29 points for Boston, which secured the seventh seed for the playoffs and a first-round matchup with second-seeded Brooklyn.

Tonight

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MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Detroit Tigers 4, Seattle Mariners 1

Chicago White Sox 16, Minnesota Twins 4

Chicago Cubs 7, Washington Nationals 3

Tigers 4, Mariners 1 – Haase hits 2 HRs, Mize strong into 8th, Tigers drop Mariners

Eric Haase hit two home runs, Casey Mize took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1. The Tigers, who began the day 12 games under .500, have won six of eight. Seattle’s three-game winning streak ended. Mize allowed just three hits and permitted only two runners past first base in a career-high 7 2/3 innings. It was his second straight win and fourth consecutive quality start. Mize, the 24-year-old centerpiece of Detroit’s rebuild and the overall No. 1 pick in the 2018, struck out seven — that matched his career high, set in his debut last year.

White Sox 16, Twins 4 – Madrigal, Mendick homer as White Sox pound Twins 16-4

Nick Madrigal had three hits, including his first major league homer, and Danny Mendick launched his first career grand slam as the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 16-4. Seven players had multiple hits for Chicago, which posted season highs in runs and hits, with 18. Dallas Keuchel was the beneficiary, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. J.A. Happ was roughed up again by the White Sox.

Cubs 7, Nationals 3 – Contreras homers off Lester as Cubs beat Nationals 7-3

Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Javier Báez homered off Jon Lester in his return to Chicago, and the Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 7-3. Lester and Kyle Schwarber, two key members of Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship team, heard loud cheers all night long in their first game against their former team. Contreras put his arm around Schwarber’s shoulders before he batted in the first inning, and the catcher gave Lester a brief hug when the pitcher was at the plate in the third. Schwarber and Trea Turner homered for Washington, which had won three of four.

Today

Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs, 7:40 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins, 7:40 p.m.

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 p.m.                  94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 9:50

NBA – National Basketball Association – NBA Play-In Tournament

Tonight

Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers, 6:30 p.m.

Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics, 9:00 p.m.

NBA – Pistons finish near the bottom but have reasons for optimism

Finally, the future looks a little brighter for the Detroit Pistons. For over a decade now, the Pistons have been mired in mediocrity. Detroit began rebuilding in earnest in early 2020, moving on from Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. New general manager Troy Weaver started a thorough overhaul in a matter of months. The result was a 20-52 record with a roster that includes a few promising rookies. Now Detroit can look forward to a high draft pick this offseason.

NBA – Bulls look to future after frustrating, promising season

The Chicago Bulls showed some promise in their first season with Arturas Karnisovas leading the basketball operation and Billy Donovan as coach. But they have some work to do. The Bulls finished 11th in the Eastern Conference at 31-41. They missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Karnisovas says he is optimistic because “each player is disappointed with the season.”

NBA – Yes: Marv Albert, NBA’s ‘soundtrack,’ retiring before Finals

Marv Albert is retiring after the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals, ending a broadcasting career spanning nearly 60 years. Albert will call the series for TNT. He has been with Turner Sports for 22 years, 19 as an NBA play-by-play announcer. Albert, known for his signature “Yes!” call, turns 80 next month.