ICYMI: Weekly sports wrap-up
By: Steve Miller – Sports Editor
Softball heads to Atlantic 10 tournament
After finishing the regular season with a 26-19-1 overall record, the Flyers head to the Atlantic 10 softball tournament as the second seed. The tournament, which is held at the George Washington University Mount Vernon Athletic Complex in Washington, D.C., was rained out Wednesday. The Flyers will face Massachusetts Friday at 2 p.m.
Sophomore pitcher Manda Cash was named A-10 Pitcher of the Year Wednesday. Cash led the conference in opponent’s batting average (.155) and was second in earned run average (1.62) and strikeouts (167).
Men’s Golf finishes third at conference championships
The Flyers participated in the Atlantic 10 Championships at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, FL from April 29 to May 1. Despite leading after each of the first two rounds, the Dayton men landed in third place out of 11 teams with a combined +32 score for the three rounds. VCU won with a +18.
Junior Nick Paxson led the Flyers with an individual finish of +7, good enough to tie for seventh place overall. Sophomore Flyer Tripp French was named to the All-Conference Team.
NHL Conference Finals under way
The St. Louis Blues advanced to their first conference finals appearance since 2001 by defeating the Dallas Stars in seven games. They will take on the San Jose Sharks for the Western Conference crown. The Sharks have never won a conference championship.
On the Eastern side, the Pittsburgh Penguins knocked off the regular season’s top team, the Washington Capitals, in the conference semifinals. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins will vie for the Eastern Conference title with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning look to return to the Stanley Cup Finals after losing there to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.
2016 marked the first time since 1970 that no Canadian teams reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NL East stealing headlines in exciting MLB season
While the Windy City sports baseball’s two best teams in the Chicago Cubs (25-8) and White Sox (23-12), the National League East has been garnering headlines over the last several weeks.
Washington National and reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper was ejected in the ninth inning Monday against the Detroit Tigers for arguing balls and strikes. He returned to the field after the game’s conclusion to deliver some “choice words,” according to Harper, to the umpire. He was fined and suspended one game for his actions.
On the flip side, two days later teammate Max Scherzer tied an MLB record by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.
New York Mets pitchers have been making headlines as well, but on the other side of the ball.
At 42 years old and 265 pounds, Bartolo Colon became the oldest, and delightfully most-out-of-shape, player to hit his first career home run—a two-run blast at San Diego’s PETCO Park on May 7.
Fellow New York hurler Noah Syndergaard hit two home runs in the same game this week at Dodger Stadium, the first pitcher to do that since 2007.
As of Friday, the Mets and Nationals are tied for first place in the NL East.
NBA’s top seeds cruising through playoffs
The Golden State Warriors overcame Stephen Curry’s injury to knock off the Portland Trail Blazers in five games to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season. The reigning NBA Champions will take on the third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who knocked out the heavyweight San Antonio Spurs, with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have not lost a single game in the first two rounds as the top-seeded Cavs find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals. They’ll face who ever comes out victorious in the series between the Toronto Raptors and the Miam