Stanford baseball will face Texas Tech in super regional
Stanford baseball will make its second super regional appearance in as many tournaments this week, traveling to No. 8 seed Texas Tech (39-15) for a best-of-three series beginning Friday at noon.
Following Friday’s opener, the two teams will once again meet at noon Saturday, with an if-necessary game slated for Sunday at noon.
Stanford (36-15) needed an 11-8 victory over UC Irvine in a winner-take-all finale on Monday night to earn its 12th super regional appearance overall.
Tim Tawa hit a two-run home run and had an RBI single in Stanford’s sevenrun first inning to get the Cardinal off an running Monday at Sunken Diamond.
Eddie Park went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and two run for the Cardinal, and Tawa finished 3 for 5.
Texas Tech swept its way into the Super Regional round last weekend, capped by an 8-2 victory over UCLA on Sunday. The Red Raiders will host a Super Regional for the fifth time in program history and third consecutive season.
The Anteaters (43-18) played five game in four days, including wins Sunday over North Dakota State and Stanford — the latter of which forced Monday’s winner-take-all game.
• The best-of-three super regional winners advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, with the opener set for June 19.
The Friday-Saturday super regionals (with a third game Sunday if necessary): North Carolina State (3317) at No. 1 national seed Arkansas (49-11); No. 13 East Carolina (44-15) at No. 4 Vanderbilt (43-15); and No. 12 Mississippi (4420) at No. 5 Arizona (43-15).
The Saturday-Sunday super regionals (with a third game Monday if necessary): South Florida (3128) at No. 2 Texas (45-15); Dallas Baptist (40-16) vs. Virginia (32-24) at Columbia, South Carolina; LSU (38-23) at No. 3 Tennessee (48-16); and No. 10 Notre Dame (33-11) at No. 7 Mississippi State (43-15).
NFL
FASSEL, NFL COACH, STANFORD ASSISTANT, DIES >> Former Raiders assistant coach Jim Fassel, who brought the New York Giants
to the Super Bowl and John Elway to Stanford, has died. He was 71.
Fassel’s death was confirmed to the Los Angeles Times on Monday night by his son, John, a Dallas Cowboys assistant coach who also spent time coaching the Raiders.
Jim Fassel was taken to a hospital near his Las Vegas home after experiencing chest pains, and died of a heart attack while under sedation, his son told the Times.
Fassel was hired as the Raiders quarterbacks coach when they returned to Oakland in 1995. Two years later, Fassel was hired as the Giants head coach and was the NFL’s coach of the Year in 1997. He led New York to a 5853-1 record and three playoff berths from 1997-2003, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2001. Fassel’s Giants lost Super Bowl XXXV to the Ravens in 2001.
One of Fassel’s biggest coups as a coach came immediately after he was hired as a Stanford assistant in 1979 — he convinced a rocket-armed Granada Hills High quarterback named John Elway to join him there. RODGERS A NO-SHOW AT PACKERS MINICAMP >> Aaron Rodgers wasn’t with the Green Bay Packers for their first mandatory minicamp session, the latest chapter in the standoff between the team and its MVP quarterback.
Rodgers also hadn’t participated in the Packers’ voluntary organized team activities, which represented change from his usual offseason routine. The Packers have the option to fine Rodgers just over $93,000 if he misses all three minicamp sessions this week.
The three-time MVP has spent his entire career with the Packers, who selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. But his future with the team has been uncertain ever since ESPN reported in the hours leading up to this year’s draft that Rodgers doesn’t want to return to Green Bay.
BRADY GOES TO WORK >> Tom Brady was a full participant at mandatory minicamp for the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, taking part in individual drills and doing some 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work.
The session came despite coach Bruce Arians saying last week there was a chance he’d limit Brady’s involvement as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.
Golf FOWLER COMES UP SHORT IN BID FOR U.S. OPEN >>
Rickie Fowler came up just short — one roll of the ball — in his last shot at avoiding sitting out another major when he failed to get through U.S. Open qualifying.
Fowler had five holes to play Tuesday morning in the rain-delayed qualifier at Brookside and The Lakes in Columbus, Ohio, and he needed three birdies. From over the back of the 18th green, his chip was about a full turn short before peeling away to the right.
That left him one shot out of the 5-for-4 playoff for the remaining spots to the U.S. Open next week at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
Former major champions Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner were among those who joined Fowler at 5-under 139, one stroke short.
San Jose’s Justin Suh earned his way in to the U.S. Open by surviving a 4-for-2 playoff at the California qualifier at Rolling Hills CC in Rolling Hills Estates.
Soccer TWO SWEDEN PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS BEFORE EURO 2020 >>
Two players in Sweden’s squad for the European Championship have tested positive for the coronavirus, the team said Tuesday, three days before the start of the tournament.
Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski returned a positive test soon after informing Sweden’s medical team that he had symptoms for a cold. Kulusevski remained in Stockholm while the rest of the squad traveled to Gothenburg.
At the start of the first practice session in Gothenburg, Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg left the field to talk to national team doctor Anders Valentin and then took a test, which also came back positive for the coronavirus. Svanberg was isolating at the team hotel.
Sweden’s first match at Euro 2020 is Monday against Spain in Seville. The Euros begin Friday when Italy hosts Turkey.
TEAM IN SAN DIEGO >>
Former U.S. national team coach Jill Ellis will serve as president of a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team in San Diego.
The new team, owned by investor Ron Burkle, will be launched next season. The team is expected to announce a name in the coming weeks, and Ellis is hoping to appoint a coach in July.
Ellis stepped down as coach of the national team in 2019 after the United States won its second straight World Cup. She was hired as coach in 2014 and led it the U.S. to eight tournament titles. Over the course of her tenure, the United States lost just seven matches.
Burkle is a co-owner of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. In February, he backed out of plans for a Major League expansion team in Sacramento that was scheduled to start play in 2023.
U.S. DEFENDER TARGETED WITH ONLINE RACIAL ABUSE >>
American defender Mark McKenzie was subjected to racial abuse on social media following his team’s 3-2 victory over Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League final.
The 22-year-old McKenzie, who is Black, had a giveaway Sunday night that led to Jesús Corona’s goal for Mexico after only 63 seconds and was whistled for a handball in the 119th minute. Ethan Horvath then saved Andrés Guardado’s penalty kick to preserve the win.
Horse racing BAFFERT, MEDINA SPIRIT OWNERS SUE KENTUCKY RACING OFFICIALS >>
Trainer Bob Baffert and the owners of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit have filed a lawsuit against Kentucky racing officials.
: They are seeking a temporary injunction they say is to prevent violation of due process rights and for custody of “remnant” samples of the colt’s urine to prove that traces of the steroid betamethasone found in his system during a positive drug test did not come from an injection.
Medina Spirit’s Derby victory on May 1 is in jeopardy after a failed postrace drug test revealed 21 picograms of betamethasone in the horse. The Hall of Fame trainer confirmed last week that a second test — or split-sample — was also positive.