Morning Sports for Monday, April 27th

Morning Sports for Monday, April 27th:

MLB: Tigers and Twins Rained Out
Rain washed out the finale of the Tigers’ series against the Twins in Minneapolis yesterday. No make-up date has been announced. The Tigers have today off, and open a two-game set at Chicago against the White Sox tomorrow night. Justin Verlander will face Jose Quintana. Hear the first pitch at 8:10 on AM 1400, WCCY.

The Tigers have placed pitcher Anibal Sanchez on the disabled list because of that blister on his pitching hand. Manager Brad Ausmus called it the worst blister he’s ever seen… and said the 15-day stint would give it time to heal… and Sanchez time to do some bullpen throwing… before he returns to the rotation. With some off-days on the schedule ahead, the Tigers won’t need a fifth starter for more than a week. Reliever Justin Miller… who had been optioned to Toledo Saturday morning… has been called back.

Brewers Blanked by Cubs
The Brewers collected only three hits… and lost to the Cubs 4-0 yesterday. Wily Peralta gave up only three runs over seven innings, and took the hard-luck loss. The Brewers open a series in Saint Louis tonight. Yovani Gallardo will start against Michael Wacha.

Finlandia Softball Places Second at GSAC Tourney
The Finlandia University softball team lost to Agnes Scott College 14-9 in the championship game of the Great South Athletic Conference Tournament yesterday. The Scotties got off to a quick start… scoring six runs in the first inning. The Lions fought back… and took a brief lead by scoring five runs in the top of the fourth… but Agnes Scott rallied for three in the bottom of the fourth, and three more in the fifth, to take the title. Alexis Lawley homered, and Adrianna Osuna had three hits and scored three runs.

On Saturday, the Lions lost to the Scotties 3-2 in the first game of the semifinal round. Miranda Brewer gave up just six hits in a hard-luck loss. Lawley and Amanda Youker each homered for Finlandia. The Lions bounced back to beat Salem College 4-3 in their second semifinal match. Lawley’s RBI single in the top of the seventh was the game-winner.

Finlandia opened the tournament with two wins on Friday. In the first game, the Lions blanked Trinity Washington University 8-0. Brewer pitched a two-hitter, and struck out nine. Youker had two hits, and drove in two runs. The second game was closer… as the Lions edged Salem College 10-9. Finlandia opened a big lead by scoring six runs in the top of the sixth inning… only to see the Spirits respond with six runs of their own in the bottom of the inning… and two more in the bottom of the seventh. The tying run was on second base when Alyson Herman got Kaitlin Horner to ground out to end the game.

Finlandia’s Alexis Lawley was named the 2014 GSAC Softball Player of the Year on Friday. Lawley led the league in hitting with a .603 batting average. That’s second-best in the nation. Her .987 slugging percentage is seventh-best in the nation. Lawley also led the league in runs, home runs, total bases, and on-base percentage.

MTU Assistant Whitten Named LSSU Hockey Coach
Michigan Tech Assistant hockey coach Damon Whitten was named Saturday as head hockey coach at Lake Superior State University. Whitten had just completed his fourth season with the Huskies. Before joining the staff at Tech, he served as director of hockey operations at Michigan State. He played college hockey for the Spartans under coach Ron Mason, who founded the hockey program at LSSU… WHITTEN A. Whitten also thanked Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson… WHITTEN B. He takes over for Jim Roque, who was fired in March after nine seasons as the Lakers’ head coach. Whitten said he would consider keeping the Lakers’ current assistant coaches, but offered no guarantees.

Tech Track Breaks Four School Records
The Michigan Tech track and field teams set four new school records over the weekend. Sean Pengelly broke the school record in the 10K on Friday at the Gina Relays at Hillsdale. He finished 20th in the race.

On Saturday at the Drake Alternative in Whitewater, Wisconsin, Jamie Dompier broke her own school record in the 200… finishing second in the race. Ashley Veale ran her first-ever 400 hurdles for the Huskies… and broke the school record by almost 2.5 seconds. Kyle Petermann broke his own record in the discus.

The Huskies will compete at the GLIAC championship meet in Ohio next weekend.

MTU Tennis at Conference Tourney
At the GLIAC tennis tournament… the Michigan Tech men’s team lost to top-seeded Northwood 5-2 Friday night… then edged Tiffin University 5-4 Saturday. The eighth-seeded Huskies then lost 5-4 to sixth-seed Grand Valley yesterday morning… for a sixth-place overall finish.

Former Lions Quarterback Morrall Dies
Legendary quarterback Earl Morrall passed away Friday. He was 79, and had been ill with Parkinson’s Disease for some time. Morrall led Muskegon High School to a state title in 1951… then quarterbacked Michigan State to a Big 10 title and a Rose Bowl win. He was drafted by the ‘49ers… dealt to the Steelers… then sent to the Lions in the infamous Bobby Layne trade. Morrall spent six seasons in Detroit… then moved on to the Giants… and the Colts. In the 1968 season, he took over for injured Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas, and led the Colts to a 13-1 record, and a berth in Super Bowl III. He was named the League’s Most Valuable Player. Two years later, Morrall again replaced an injured Unitas, as the Colts won Super Bowl V. In 1972, Morrall came off the bench for the Dolphins… replacing the injured Bob Griese to start 11 of the 17 games in Miami’s undefeated season. In the 1980s, he served as quarterbacks coach for the University of Miami… where he helped develop future NFL stars Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde.

To make sure your team’s scores are included in morning sports, send them to mornings@up.net.