BT Riopelle’s grand slam sends Florida into SEC baseball tournament semifinals • Orlando area high school scores and top performers for Thursday, May 25
 Sentinel Sports Final Friday, May 26, 2023 | | |
| | | | | UCF baseball has a difficult path in the AAC tournament after getting upset by rival South Florida. The Knights didn't just lose. Duke Evers (Apollo Creed's chief second in Rocky) essentially could be heard screaming, "Throw in the damn towel!" To have a shot at winning, the Knights have to go through top seed East Carolina. They can use some of that power from UF catcher BT Riopelle, who won the second game in a row for the Gators with his bat late in the SEC tournament to make the semis. Apopka and Jones don't even take the easy way out in spring football. Two of the areas most consistently strong programs squared off and it produced a low-scoring game slowed by weather. But you must respect how they don't believe in building false confidence by knocking around cupcakes. Risk getting outplayed early, but in the end they 'll be better off for it. The postseason results prove it. And while we're talking playoffs, Boston has cut Miami's deficit to 3-2. Rest assured, when the NBA Finals start June 1, if Denver wins Game 1 it 'll be because they're so well-rested. If they lose, it'll be because they had too much rest. Just warning you now what the predictable storylines (and questions) will be about. Its the same narrative. Again. And again and again. The real reason why a team wins Game 1 is simple: It scored more points. | | | | "I couldn't be more excited about starting my coaching career at Tennessee and reuniting with Coach Heupel," McKenzie Milton said in a release. "I am grateful to Coach Heupel and Director of Athletics Danny White for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to helping the program in any way I can." | | | | | Florida catcher BT Riopelle's grand slam during the bottom of the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie with Vanderbilt to carry the No. 1 seed Gators to the SEC Tournament semifinals. A night earlier, Riopelle hit a 3-run, walk-off home run in the 11th inning against Alabama. "I'm just seeing the ball well," he said. "He struck me out on a backdoor slider on the at-bat before. He threw me another one and I didn't miss it." | | | | | Thursday's high school scores report includes spring football game scores and results and top performers for the Deltona Wolves in their FHSAA Class 5A softball state championship game against Parrish Community of Manatee County. Deltona won the Class 4A state championship in the sport last season. | | | | | Failing to close out the Celtics for the second consecutive game, Erik Spoelstra's team was humbled Thursday night at TD Garden. | | | | | Jones coach Elijah Williams said scheduling a powerhouse team such as Apopka was an important test for a young quarterback and offensive line with three freshmen. "That's the whole purpose. We didn't want to play nobody but Apopka," he said after the game. "I knew we were going to be young up front and I wanted my O-line to grow up." | | | | | Next week in Destin, SEC coaches, ADs and administrators will get together during the annual spring meetings to discuss scheduling, gambling, NIL, among other topics on a jam-packed agenda. Mark and Edgar unpack it all during the latest Swamp Things. | | | | | The Rays (37-15) have taken 3 of 4 from the struggling Jays (26-25), who lost for the ninth time in their past 11 games. (Another oddity: The Rays were outscored in the series 30-20.) Zach Eflin was solid in working seven innings for the second straight start, allowing 6 hits and a run, which came in the first. | | | | | The Bulls scored 7 runs in the fifth inning Thursday afternoon as they beat UCF, 15-4, in Clearwater during the AAC tournament. The loss makes UCF's path to the tournament title game much harder. The Knights will face No. 1 seed East Carolina on Friday in an elimination game (1 p.m., ESPN+). | | | | | The Miami Heat's lead in the best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference finals is now down to 3-2 after Thursday night's loss at TD Garden. | | | | | Dolphins outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel is working on adding positional flexibility to his game by practicing at inside linebacker. Also, Jaylen Waddle adds muscle during offseason. | | | | | Senior pitcher Katie McCaw was on the losing end of the decision. She pitched a complete game, allowing 10 hits and 4 earned runs. The Wolves graduate six seniors. "Their impact is tremendous," coach Lindsay Ingram said. "To get to back-to-back state championship games, you can't explain the magnitude they have for it. The younger kids know what they have to bring for years to come." | | | | | Orlando area softball and baseball news includes changes for state champion coaches as Hagerty's David Stone departs and Seminole's Kenne Brown returns to his alma mater. Rollins College is home this weekend in a D-II super regional while four local players lead their NCAA college softball teams. | | | | | Actual ticket sales — and the number of existing permanent seats — remain one of the sports world's greatest mysteries because those numbers are not publicly released. | | | | | Maimi handed its basketball coach a contract extension that will keep her there until 2028. | | | |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment