Kansas City, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Thursday. The Royals trailed by a run before rallying for two in the seventh against reliever Cole Sands. With one out, Freddy Fermin walked ahead of singles by Drew Waters and Jonathan India, tying the game at 2 before Witt drove a deep fly to center for the lead. Daniel Lynch IV struck out two of three batters faced and Carlos Estévez earned his fourth save.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Justin Rose showed there's more than two players capable of winning a Masters green jacket. With all the attention on Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy he matched his personal best at Augusta National with a 65. That gives Rose a three-shot lead over Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners. McIlroy took two double bogeys in the closing stretch and was seven shots behind. Rose now has led the opening round five times. That's a Masters record. But he doesn't have a green jacket to show for it. Scheffler says he was happy with a bogey-free start.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a bogey-free 68 on Thursday to put himself in the mix at the Masters. The world's top-ranked player made two long birdie putts and a couple of nice sand saves to finish at 4 under on a warm, sunny day that produced some low scores at Augusta National. Scheffler is trying to become the youngest player since Jack Nicklaus in 1966 to win three green jackets. He is winless heading into the week for the first time since 2021. Part of that may have to do with the late start he got on the year after cutting himself on a wine glass while making ravioli in December.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Fred Couples shot a 1-under 71 in the opening round of the Masters on Thursday, the 65-year-old former champion proving to himself as much as anyone else that he still belongs. Couples had doubts after last year, when his back was bothering him and rounds of 80 and 76 caused him to miss the cut. His first round was highlighted by a chip-in for birdie at the first and a hole-out from 191 yards for eagle at the 14th. Couples became the second-oldest player to shoot a subpar round at the Masters behind Tom Watson, who was a month older when he shot 71 in 2015.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester took a different kind of relief at the Masters. The 21-year-old from Spain had to use the restroom in the worst way on the par-5 13th hole at Augusta National. He wound up turning his back to the grandstand and going in Rae’s Creek. Ballester figured he would be discreet. And then the gallery began to clap for him when it was over. Ballester says it was probably the loudest cheer for him all day. The Arizona State senior opened with a 76. His big mistake? He didn't notice restrooms by the tee box.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona has extended men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd’s contract five years through the 2029-30 season. The Arizona Board of Regents approved Lloyd’s new deal at its meeting on Thursday. Lloyd agreed to a five-year extension in February 2024 with a base salary of $4.15 million and the new deal will bumps his pay to $4.4 million each of the first two years, with $700,000 in addition duties. His salary will increase $250,000 annually starting after the second year of the contract. Lloyd also will receive a $2 million retention bonus if he remains with the program and is in good standing as of April 1, 2028.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Some NFL teams are sending Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to the offensive meetings first. Others have him meet the defensive coaches first. Exactly two weeks before the league’s annual draft is held in Green Bay, Hunter told The Associated Press he’s not sure which position teams want him to focus on when his career begins, receiver or cornerback. Hunter still insists he can excel at both. The answer will likely come in the first hour of the April 24 draft.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Owen Michaels scored his second goal 26 seconds into the second overtime and Western Michigan beat defending champion Denver 3-2 on Thursday night to advance to its first Frozen Four title game. Western Michigan will face Boston University — a 3-1 winner over Penn State in the second semifinal — in the championship game Saturday night. Brian Kramer also scored and freshman Hampton Slukynsky stopped 20 shots for a veteran-laden Western Michigan team making its Frozen Four debut in its 10th NCAA tournament appearance. The Broncos (33-7-1) set a season record for victories, extended their winning streak to nine and won after blowing a 2-0 third-period lead. Jared Wright, with the tying goal with 2:39 left in regulation, and Aidan Thompson scored for Denver (31-12-1).
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jack Hughes and Cole Eiserman scored second-period goals and Boston University beat Penn State 3-1 on Thursday night to advance to its first Frozen Four final in 10 years. Freshman Mikhail Yegorov stopped 32 shots and Jack Harvey scored an empty-netter with a minute left for BU (24-12-2), which lost in the semifinals in each of the past two years. The Terriers are five-time champions, who lost to Providence in the 2015 and are seeking their first title since beating Miami (Ohio) in 2009. Boston University will face Frozen Four first-timers, top-seeded Western Michigan on Saturday night. The Broncos advanced with a 3-2 2OT win over defending champion Denver in the first semifinal. Nicholas DeGraves scored 2:15 into the third for Penn State (22-14-4).
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Emaarion Boyd became the first minor league player in at least 20 years to steal six bases in a game without getting a hit when he pulled off the feat for High-A Beloit against Cedar Rapids. Boyd reached on a fielder’s choice, walk and hit by pitch. He stole second and third base each time. Boyd was an 11th-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 Major League Baseball amateur draft. He was part of a December trade that sent him to the Miami Marlins. The 21-year-old has 98 steals in 203 minor league games.
THURSDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final L.A. Angels 11 Tampa Bay 1
Final Cleveland 6 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Kansas City 3 Minnesota 2
Final Boston 4 Toronto 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Colorado 7 Milwaukee 2
Final Atlanta 4 Philadelphia 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Detroit 115 New York 106
Final Indiana 114 Cleveland 112
Final Atlanta 133 Brooklyn 109
Final Milwaukee 136 New Orleans 111
Final Minnesota 141 Memphis 125
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Florida 4 Detroit 1
Final Chicago 5 Boston 2
Final Columbus 3 Buffalo 2
Final N-Y Rangers 9 N-Y Islanders 2
Final Winnipeg 4 Dallas 0
Final SO Washington 5 Carolina 4
Final Vancouver 4 Colorado 1
Final SO Nashville 4 Utah 3
Final Vegas 2 Seattle 1
Final Los Angeles 6 Anaheim 1