ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brayden Taylor drove in three runs and scored four times and TCU blew open a close game with a five-run sixth inning to defeat Kansas 14-4 in eight innings in a winners bracket game of the Big 12 Tournament. Taylor, who had four hits, ripped his 21st home run in the sixth inning and reached 60 RBIs for the season with the two-run shot. No. 4 seed TCU advances to the final round of the upper bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will face either No. 8 Kansas or No. 5 Kansas State on Saturday. Luke Savage got the win after allowing three hits and one run in 3 1/3 innings of middle relief.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ty Ruhl and Tyson Neighbors combined for a two-hitter and Kansas State eliminated top-seeded Texas 6-0 in the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas State (34-23) plays in another elimination game on Friday. Texas (38-20) was the first team eliminated from the tournament. Dom Hughes went 3 for 4, including an RBI single in the first inning to give Kansas State a 1-0 lead that would hold until a five-run seventh. Kansas State chased starter Lebarron Johnson after leading off the seventh with a single. The Wildcats scored five runs with the bases loaded — two on walks. Nick Goodwin hit his two-run double off the third Texas pitcher of the inning.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kevin Bazzell delivered a two-out walk-off single in the ninth inning, lifting Texas Tech to a 10-9 victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders scored three runs in the ninth to defeat the Sooners on a night when the TTU pitching staff issued nine walks, threw three wild pitches and hit one batter. Bazzell’s winning hit was set up by consecutive RBI-singles from Tracer Lopez and Nolen Hester. After Hester’s hit, Gage Harrelson kept the inning alive with a single and Bazzell followed with his only hit in five at-bats. Josh Sanders pitched three perfect innings for the win.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Roc Riggio hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning and Oklahoma State edged West Virginia 3-2 in the Big 12 Tournament to give coach Josh Holliday his 400th career victory. Oklahoma State (38-17) plays in another must-win game on Friday. West Virginia (39-18) became the second top-three seed to be eliminated from the tournament after No. 1 Texas lost earlier. Oklahoma State sophomore Juaron Watts-Brown struck out the first two batters of the ninth inning before West Virginia loaded the bases after two hit batters and a double. Watts-Brown ended it with his seventh strikeout in three innings to get his sixth win of the season.
DENVER (AP) — Ezequiel Tovar singled through a five-man infield during a ninth-inning storm, lifting Colorado over the Miami Marlins 7-6 Thursday after the Rockies wasted a four-run lead in the top of the inning. Colorado took a 6-2 lead with four runs in the eighth, but Jorge Soler and pinch-hitter Garrett Cooper hit two-run homers on curveballs from Pierce Johnson in the ninth. Huascar Brazobán (0-1) walked Kris Bryant and Elias DÃaz on four pitches each starting the bottom half, retired Randal Grichuk on a flyout and after getting ahead of Ryan McMahon 0-2, threw four straight balls that loaded the bases. Amid a downpour with thunder and lightning overhead, the Marlins moved right fielder Garrett Hampson to the infield and Tovar hit a chopper past diving third baseman Jean Segura into left field.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and scored on a wild pitch, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 for their 13th win in 18 games. Miles Mikolas won his third straight decision, allowing five hits over seven scoreless innings, which matched his season high. He struck out five and walked none. Giovany Gallegos gave up a two-out RBI single to Stuart Fairchild in the ninth before striking out Luke Maile for his fifth save in six chances.
BOSTON (AP) — Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, helping lead the charge as the Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 on to extend the Eastern Conference finals. Marcus Smart had 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points apiece as the Celtics claimed their second straight win and trimmed Miami’s series lead to 3-2. It keeps alive Boston’s hopes of becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Saturday in Miami. Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 18 points.
DALLAS (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime and the Dallas Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Jason Robertson scored twice for his first career multigoal playoff game for Dallas, which played without suspended captain Jamie Benn. Jake Oettinger had 37 saves, two nights after he was pulled 7:10 into Game 3 after allowing three goals on five shots. Benn was suspended two games by the NHL on Wednesday for his cross-check with his stick landing near the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in the first two minutes of Game 3 on Tuesday night. William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Vegas.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — So much for the Block party at Colonial. California club pro Michael Block had a dream week at the PGA Championship when he made a hole-in-one and tied for 15th. He came back to reality in the Charles Schwab Challenge. Block had three double bogeys on the last four holes and shot 81. He in last place in the 120-man field. Harry Hall of England shot a 62 and leads Harris English by three shots. Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Sam Burns opened with 67s. Jordan Spieth shot a 72. Block says he had a day when everything went wrong.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politics and sports go together like baseball and apple pie. Title-winning teams have visited the White House for decades. But what started as a nonpartisan rite of passage has become increasingly tangled up in politics. It's a shift that some peg to Bill Clinton’s presidency. One pro golfer declined a White House invitation and described Clinton in unflattering terms. On Friday, President Joe Biden will welcome the NCAA champion LSU women's basketball team along with UConn's men's team. Some took umbrage when first lady Jill Biden suggested also inviting the Iowa team that lost in the finals to LSU. After significant pushback, that idea faded away.
UNDATED (AP) — The spring transfer window lasts just 15 days and is not nearly as active as the 45-day window after the college football season — except if your Colorado. Coach Deion Sanders’ team has added 20 transfers since the portal window opened April 15. The Buffaloes are up to 48 transfers overall, according to 247 Sports, and have room for more. Other schools went for quality over quantity. USC, Alabama, Auburn and Northwestern are among six winners from the spring transfer season.
THURSDAY SCORES
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 Toronto 3
Final Detroit 7 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Baltimore 3 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Seattle 3 Oakland 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 2 Cincinnati 1
Final Colorado 7 Miami 6
Final San Diego 8 Washington 6
Final Atlanta 8 Philadelphia 5
Final N.Y. Mets 10 Chicago Cubs 1
Final San Francisco 5 Milwaukee 0
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Boston 110 Miami 97