LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Saturday is a day of free fishing and park entry in Nebraska.
Free Fishing and Park Entry Day means anyone may explore outdoor opportunities at any Nebraska state park, state recreation area or state historical park.
Anglers must observe all fishing regulations. Camping, lodging and all other user fees still apply at state park areas.
Go online at OutdoorNebraska.org for more details and a list of other activities.
DENVER (AP) — One of the knuckles on the middle finger of Jorge De La Rosa’s pitching hand was swollen. His sore back was acting up.
From the mound, though, there was no hint of pain.
De La Rosa carried a no-hitter through six innings and pitched seven scoreless innings, as the Colorado Rockies withstood a late rally to beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Friday night.
De La Rosa’s bid for the first no-hitter by a Rockies pitcher at Coors Field ended in the seventh inning, when Chris Denorfia led off with a triple off the scoreboard in right field, just the second time a Padres batter had gotten the ball out of the infield to that point.
But De La Rosa stranded Denorfia by retiring the next three batters, getting Everth Cabrera on an infield grounder, Chase Headley on a liner to second and Carlos Quentin on a pop-up to blank the Padres on one hit through seven innings.
Lincoln – Illinois’ pitching staff kept the No. 26 Nebraska baseball team (36-18, 17-6 Big Ten) off balance all night as Kevin Duchene and Ronnie Muck combined to allow one run on four hits in the 5-1 victory for the Fighting Illini (31-18, 17-6 Big Ten) on Friday night at Hawks Field in front of a crowd of 4,549.
The loss snapped Nebraska’s eight-game winning streak and it’s also the first loss in the month of May for the Huskers, who started the month 7-0.
Duchene, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a freshman All-American by multiple publications last season, found his rhythm after giving up a one-out home run to Blake Headley in the second that gave Nebraska a 1-0 lead. After the homer, the sophomore lefty retired 14 straight Huskers before Michael Pritchard and Pat Kelly opened the seventh with back-to-back singles. Duchene finished the night with three strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work and improved to 3-1 on the year.
Pritchard’s leadoff single was his 240th career base hit at Nebraska, moving him into a tie for 11th in school history with former Husker and current Kansas City Royal Alex Gordon.
Muck took the mound in the seventh after the consecutive singles and loaded the bases with a walk to Tanner Lubach. Down 5-1, the Huskers had their shot at a rally, but Muck dug in and struck out three straight Huskers to end the threat. Muck ended the game by retiring nine straight Huskers to earn his third save of the season.
Nebraska starter Aaron Bummer cruised through the first four innings, allowing no runs on four hits. The junior lefty was unable to work past the fifth though, when he gave up three runs on four hits, including a two-run homer by Adam Walton, who was 3-for-4 on the night with a single, double and home run.
The Illini added an insurance run in both the sixth and seventh innings on their way to evening the three-game series at a game apiece.
With the Huskers loss the Indiana Hoosiers are now locked into the No. 1 seed at next week’s Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers and Illini will battle tomorrow for the No. 2 seed at the tournament and the loser will be slotted as the No. 3 seed.
Tomorrow’s regular-season finale is slated for 1:05 p.m. and it will be Senior Day at Hawks Field. Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle will have the call across the Husker Sports Network, while the Big Ten Network will televise the game on tape delay at 5 p.m.
DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The president of the group that owns the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, says the site won’t host professional baseball this year.
The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports (https://bit.ly/1iTSLjd ) that Denise Stillman, who leads the group Go the Distance Baseball, says the Northern League won’t have teams ready to play this season.
Go the Distance Baseball plans to build a sports complex near the Field of Dreams that initially would feature six fields, including one that could be home to a Northern League team. The group wants to expand in the future with ultimate plans for 24 fields for youth baseball and softball.
Stillman says plans to find an owner for a local team are ongoing.
The Field of Dreams was the site for a 1989 movie starring Kevin Costner.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — It turns out Wes Welker’s luck at the Kentucky Derby extended beyond the racetrack and into the cashier’s window.
Welker was seen at Churchill Downs with a large stack of cash and handing out $100 bills to random people earlier this month.
A spokesman for Churchill Downs said Friday that a patron believed to be a member of Welker’s group was accidentally overpaid $14,898. TMZ reported that the Denver Broncos receiver sent a friend to collect his winnings for him.
Although the track sent a letter to that individual seeking repayment, the track doesn’t expect to be repaid.
Welker told “The Dan Patrick Show” on Friday that he and his friends never calculated how much they were due and that they made most of their winnings at the Kentucky Derby from boxing Commanding Curve.
CHICAGO (AP) — There wasn’t a more touching story in college basketball this season than the friendship between Michigan State star Adreian Payne and Lacey Holsworth.
An 8-year-old girl fighting cancer. A basketball player bonding with her like a big brother.
NBA executives wanted to hear all about it, and Payne was happy to oblige.
The story came up quite a bit in meetings at the NBA draft combine in Chicago this week, with teams asking him to recount how he became friends with the girl from St. Johns, Michigan, who died April 8.
Payne says teams “really like what I did” and “just tipped their hat off to me about things that I did in the community.”
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Kapri Bibbs was bypassed in the NFL draft despite leading the nation with 31 touchdown runs in his single season at Colorado State. Yet, he insists he’s glad he turned pro.
Bibbs said there were plenty of other teams lining up for his services after the draft concluded last weekend, including the Buccaneers, Falcons, Bears and Ravens.
He said he decided to stay in Colorado because he and Denver running backs coach Eric Studesville hit it off at the NFL combine and he wanted to play in an up-tempo system engineered by Peyton Manning.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals selected the contract of right-hander Casey Coleman from Triple-A Omaha and designated outfielder Justin Maxwell for assignment before Friday night’s game against Baltimore.
The 26-year-old Coleman was released by the Cubs on April 14 and signed the next day by the Royals. He appeared in seven games for Omaha, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA.
Coleman is the son of former big league pitcher Joe Coleman, who won 142 games in the 1960s and ’70s, and the grandson of Joe Coleman Sr., who won 52 games in the 1940s and ’50s.
Maxwell was acquired last July in a trade with Houston. He was just 4 of 29 this season, and had been squeezed out of the outfield rotation by more productive hitters.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have signed fourth-round pick De’Anthony Thomas, leaving only first-round pick Dee Ford and fifth-round pick Aaron Murray as their unsigned draft picks.
Thomas is a wide receiver and running back whom the Chiefs are counting on to replace Dexter McCluster, who signed with Tennessee in free agency. The true value in Thomas is that in addition to playing multiple positions on offense, he can also return punts and kicks.
His stock dropped after running a 4.5 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, but his speed and elusiveness made him one of the nation’s most dynamic playmakers during his career at Oregon.
The Chiefs announced the move Friday. The team had previously signed third-round pick Phillip Gaines and sixth-round choices Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Zach Fulton.
BALTIMORE (AP) — California Chrome has run away from the competition in five consecutive victories, winning by an average of over five lengths.
The Kentucky Derby winner has had it his way ever since Victor Espinoza climbed aboard back in December when the streak began.
Whether they do again in the 1 3-16-mile Preakness at Pimlico on Saturday depends on a good trip, the tactics used by the chestnut colt’s nine rivals and a little luck. California Chrome is the even-money favorite against nine rivals.
