Now Playing Share Share Video Link copied! Steele (3-1) picked up the win Monday against the Rangers after giving up three hits and two walks in seven scoreless innings, striking out eight. Steele looked to be right at home on a cold night at Wrigley Field, scattering three singles with the benefit of having the […]
Steele (3-1) picked up the win Monday against the Rangers after giving up three hits and two walks in seven scoreless innings, striking out eight.
Steele looked to be right at home on a cold night at Wrigley Field, scattering three singles with the benefit of having the wind blowing in Monday. It was easily the star left-hander’s finest performance of the campaign thus far, as he allowed a season low in knocks and fanned a season-high eight during his longest outing among four starts. Steele has a strong 21:5 K:BB and 1.15 WHIP to go with three wins over his first 22.2 frames, but he’ll be looking to improve on his subpar 4.76 ERA in a tough road matchup against the Dodgers that lines up for this weekend.
Waubonsie Valley punches ticket to first boys water polo sectional final since 2010 after defeating Naperville Central
The Naperville North boys water polo sectional hits the final four as Waubonsie Valley takes on Naperville Central. These two teams split in their respective matchups this season, but this one is for a trip to the sectional final. This highlight is sponsored by BMO. The Redhawks start the game strong as James Behrend fires in […]
The Naperville North boys water polo sectional hits the final four as Waubonsie Valley takes on Naperville Central. These two teams split in their respective matchups this season, but this one is for a trip to the sectional final. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Redhawks start the game strong as James Behrend fires in a shot to put his squad up 2-0 early on.
Ben Meier puts on an early show on his birthday
The Warriors regroup with Ben Meier, who hits the right corner to even the game at 2-2.
Meier is not done yet because he wants another goal. Adam Matusiak finds him, and he connects on the long-distance shot, giving the Warriors a 3-2 lead.
The Meier show is on full display during the first. This penalty shot caps off a 6-0 run as Waubonsie opens up a 6-2 advantage.
Central stops the run in the second quarter when Behrend gets his name called once again with a catch-and-shoot goal.
The Warriors adjust on defense, and goalie Lukas Adeli jumps into position to make the save. Waubonsie holds an 8-5 lead at the break.
Waubonsie picks it back up in the second half with Youseff El Touny showing the skipper for a 9-5 lead.
Dawid Kowalewicz, step right up. Daniel Niv lobs the ball over, and Kowalewicz shoots a laser-like shot for the goal.
Redhawks cut into the deficit
Redhawks are down but won’t give up. Weston Schmitt finds the open target to keep his birds within striking distance.
Moments later, Elliot Skly tallies another goal, but Naperville Central still has work to do, trailing 13-7.
Waubonsie Valley boys water polo moves on to first ever sectional final
However, this game belongs to the Warriors as El Touny throws in the dagger goal, and for the first time in program history, Waubonsie Valley is moving to the boys water polo sectional final, where they’ll face top-seeded Naperville North. The Redhawks end the final season of legendary head coach Bill Salentine’s career with a 21-9 record.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
Women’s Track and Field Set Two School Outdoor Records at Midwest Twilight Qualifier
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The Hope College women’s track and field team bettered school outdoor records in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays at the Midwest Twilight Qualifier hosted by Augustana College (Illinois). In the 4×400 relay, junior Catherine Leahy (Elk Rapids, Michigan / Elk Rapids HS), junior Frances Cozzens (Lyman, New Hampshire […]
The Hope College women’s track and field team bettered school outdoor records in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays at the Midwest Twilight Qualifier hosted by Augustana College (Illinois).
In the 4×400 relay, junior Catherine Leahy (Elk Rapids, Michigan / Elk Rapids HS), junior Frances Cozzens (Lyman, New Hampshire / Saint Johnsbury Academy), senior Jasmine Zimmerman (Byron Center, Michigan / Home School) and junior Sara Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) recorded a sixth-place run of 3 minutes, 46.68 seconds.
The time eclipsed their previous record of 3:47.18 and ranked 21st fastest in NCAA Division III this season.
In the 4×100 relay, junior Ava Schmidt (Saline, Michigan / Saline), Leahy, freshman Sofia Fisher (Lombard, Illinois / Montini Catholic) and Schermerhorn clocked a fourth-place time of 47.00.
The time surpassed their previous record of 47.16 and ranks 36th in the nation this season.
In the 400 meters, Leahy placed sixth with a season-best run of 55.79, placing 38th in the nation.
A-State Track and Field to Compete at South Alabama Last Chance Sunday
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JONESBORO, Ark. (5/17/25) – Several Arkansas State track and field athletes will compete Sunday at the South Alabama Last Chance, jockeying for qualifying position in the upcoming NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. Competition begins at 3:30 p.m. with the men’s shot put while the first event on the track for the […]
JONESBORO, Ark. (5/17/25) – Several Arkansas State track and field athletes will compete Sunday at the South Alabama Last Chance, jockeying for qualifying position in the upcoming NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.
Competition begins at 3:30 p.m. with the men’s shot put while the first event on the track for the Red Wolves will be the 100-meter hurdles at 4:30 p.m.
TEAMS REPRESENTED: Arkansas State, Louisiana, South Alabama (host), Southern Miss, Troy, ULM
THREE THINGS TO NOTE:
1. REGIONAL QUALIFYING: Sunday’s meet – appropriately titled “Last Chance” – represents the final chance for athletes to cement qualifying position in the upcoming NCAA Preliminary Rounds. Entering Sunday, A-State currently has eight athletes within the top 48 in at least one of their respective events in the West Region.
MEN
5000 meters: Jacob Pyeatt – 13:35.90 (#33)
110m Hurdles: Colby Eddowes – 13.45 (#9)
Pole Vault: Bradley Jelmert – 5.55m/18-2.5 (#4); John Carswell – 5.28m/17-3.75 (#32)
2. PYEATT’S PROWESS: Arkansas State standout distance runner Jacob Pyeatt scored 20 points at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships, one of two men’s athletes to do so. He was also named the league’s Track Performer of the Year for not only his efforts at the championships but throughout the season.
3. ELEVEN RED WOLVES ON THE ALL-SUN BELT SQUADS: A total of 11 Red Wolves notched all-conference finishes at the outdoor championships, including six on the first team: Menachem Chen, Colby Eddowes, Noa Isaia, Bradley Jelmert, Jacob Pyeatt and Carly Pujol. Brandon Williams, Miranda Burgett and Michelle Ogbemudia were second-team finishers, while Kamil Przybyla and Tyra Nabors were on the third team.
NEXT UP
After competing in Mobile, A-State will next send multiple athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, scheduled for May 28-31 in College Station, Texas.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State track and field and cross country programs, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @astatetfxc on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.
The idea of adolescence as a horror story is not new, but it’s given a splashy workout in Charlie Polinger‘s queasily stylish debut feature, in which the swimming pools, lockers rooms and bunk-bed dormitories of a boys’ water polo camp are a puberty petrie dish livid with sinister bacteria. Drawn from experience and benefiting from […]
The idea of adolescence as a horror story is not new, but it’s given a splashy workout in Charlie Polinger‘s queasily stylish debut feature, in which the swimming pools, lockers rooms and bunk-bed dormitories of a boys’ water polo camp are a puberty petrie dish livid with sinister bacteria. Drawn from experience and benefiting from some standout performances among its well-selected young cast, “The Plague” has a familiar coming-of-age narrative, but stranger, subtler undercurrents of creeping dismay at the men these boys will become when, at this formative age, cruelty chlorinates the water they swim in.
Sensitive, 12-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) comes to the Tom Lerner Water Polo Camp in the summer of 2003 as an outsider twice over. He’s not only joining after the second session has started, he’s also a new arrival to the area. And, as we understand from an early conversation with his affable but ineffectual coach (Joel Edgerton, who also produces) a reluctant one: there’s hurt in the studied neutrality of his tone when he describes how his mother uprooted their lives to be with her new lover. Perhaps the wrenching change-up of father figure fuels Ben’s anxiety to fit in, but also maybe that’s just the way he is. When one of the kids’ endless games of would-you-rather makes him choose between “not fucking a dog but having everyone think you did, or fucking a dog and no one knows,” Ben opts for, well, screwing the pooch.
In any wolf pack, the Alpha is obvious and even among these cubs, Jake (a superb Kayo Martin) is easily identifiable as the ringleader. Deceptively cherubic beneath a shock of tousled strawberry blonde hair, and wearing a surprisingly adult expression of skeptical watchfulness, Jake is initially friendly enough to the newcomer — at least once Ben begins answering to the nickname “Soppy,” devised after Jake picks up on his very minor speech impediment.
There’s an easier target for Jake’s lazy but keen-eyed ridicule. Eli (Kenny Rasmussen) was presumably already an oddball — into magic tricks and solo flailing dance moves and lurching non-sequitur conversation — even before he developed a disfiguring skin complaint. The angry-looking rash that covers his arms and torso is probably some sort of eczema or contact dermatitis, but the boys are still of an age to be fascinated by lepers and curses and so Jake declares it “the plague.” Eli is ostracized, to the point that all the kids dive for another cafeteria table if he so much as pulls up a chair.
Good-natured Ben, in the throes of a panicky uncertainty that from the outside is sweetly poignant, if only because it will be gone in a year or a month or a minute, feels for Eli’s predicament— possibly more than the quite contentedly peculiar Eli does for himself. But as he barely has enough social capital to guarantee his own acceptance into Jake’s circle, Ben befriends the outcast cautiously, away from prying eyes. It’s fine to make taboo transgressions if nobody knows about it.
DP Steven Breckon punctuates “The Plague” with interludes of woozy underwater photography, in which the boys’ bodies dagger into the pool and then tread water, resembling so many headless sea horses. Sometimes, while Johan Lenox’s excellent, ’70s horror-inflected, nightmare-choir score reaches a bombastic crescendo, the girls of the synchronized swimming class who share the pool and fire the boys’ crude erotic imaginings, are shown inverted, so they appear to be dancing floatily across the water’s underside surface. These subaquatic symphonies give a touch of the phantasmagoric to a milieu that’s otherwise cleverly recreated from the banal remembered details of an early noughties childhood: the Capri-Suns, the pop tunes, that brief phase where kids believe that smoking kitchen-cupboard nutmeg will get them high.
Perhaps too the subjective nature of Polinger’s memory of a time when the peer-group dynamic was so much more influential than any peripheral authority figure, accounts for why these kids are so often unconstrained by adult supervision. Jake naturally takes advantage of that freedom to continue his offhand reign of terror, one he can maintain without ever really lifting a finger. Almost all of the violence in “The Plague” is self-inflicted and therefore easily disavowed by this tweenaged tyrant – a character so vivid that it’s tempting to imagine a more provocative movie told from the bully’s perspective. But as “The Plague” ramps up to an impressively eerie, body-horror-styled finale, it takes a rather more expected turn toward a significant, if hardly triumphal moment of personal growth for unhappy camper Ben. Teetering on the brink of adult society with its own bewilderingly insidious notions about masculinity and conformity, you can dive in or you can be pushed, and it’s only then you can know if you’ll sink or swim.
MLB DFS DraftKings Picks Breakdown (Saturday, May 17)
The MLB Breakdown offers data-driven analysis using the FantasyLabs Tools and predictive metrics to highlight notable players within our MLB Player Models. MLB DFS Pitching Picks MLB DFS Stud Pick Zac Gallen ($9,000) Arizona Diamondbacks (-340) vs. Colorado Rockies Of the 16 starting pitchers on the main slate this Saturday, Gallen has the highest median, […]
Zac Gallen ($9,000) Arizona Diamondbacks (-340) vs. Colorado Rockies
Of the 16 starting pitchers on the main slate this Saturday, Gallen has the highest median, ceiling, and floor projections on the slate in our FantasyLabs projections and in THE BAT X from Derek Carty of RotoGrinders. Gallen also has the highest Projected Plus/Minus in both sets of projections since his salary is relatively affordable at just $9,000, the fourth-highest on the slate.
Gallen’s Diamonbacks are the heaviest favorites on the board, according to our Vegas Dashboard, and the Rockies have the lowest implied run total.
The matchup is a huge plus in Gallen’s favor since the Rockies have been miserable at the plate all season. Despite the Coors Field factor, they have scored the fewest runs in Major League Baseball, averaging only 3.13 runs per game. On the road, they have been an even better matchup, averaging just 2.0 runs per game while going 2-21 with a .184 team batting average and 28.9% strikeout rate.
Gallen has had his ups and downs this season but should be able to deliver in this matchup. He is 3-5 in nine starts with a 4.59 ERA but a better 3.93 FIP and 3.64 xERA, which indicate he has pitched a little better than his ERA shows. His strikeout rate is solid at 9.5 K/9 after racking up 54 strikeouts in 51 innings.
In his last start, the Dodgers knocked him around and handed him the loss, but before that, he had back-to-back strong outings against the Mets to earn 28.5 and 26.5 DraftKings points. He should be set to bounce back Saturday.
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MLB DFS Value Pick
Ronel Blanco ($7,800) Houston Astros (+120) at Texas Rangers
Blanco has a top-five Projected Plus/Minus in the FantasyLabs projection along with a top-five ceiling, median, and floor projection even though he doesn’t have a top-five salary at the position. He also comes into this road matchup in Arlington with good momentum.
Blanco looked masterful in his start last Sunday against the Reds, allowing just two hits in eight shutout innings and posting a career-high 11 strikeouts. He finished with 42.2 DraftKings points in that outing while improving his record to 3-3 on the season.
His 4.04 ERA and 4.12 FIP are a little inflated due to some rough outings early in the year, but his 2.83 xERA shows he has limited hard contact. He has been trending the right way with at least six strikeouts in three straight starts and at least 14 DraftKings points in four straight appearances, culminating in last Sunday’s masterpiece.
He’ll look to build off that outing in a tough road matchup against the Rangers, where he comes in as the underdog. However, the Rangers’ lineup isn’t at full strength and has been held to four runs or fewer in four of their last five games, including in each of the first two games in this series.
Blanco has a high ceiling, and if his strikeout totals remain elevated, he also brings a very solid floor on the road on Saturday night.
Landen Roupp ($6,800) San Francisco Giants (-131) vs. Athletics
Roupp has the second-highest Projected Plus/Minus of the starting pitchers in THE BAT X projections, and he also matches the second-most Pro Trends on the slate coming into Saturday’s home start against the Athletics.
In his eight starts, Roupp is 2-3 with a 4.95 ERA, 4.01 FIP, and 3.42 xERA. He has only allowed a 30.3% hard-hit rate and picked up 42 strikeouts in 40 innings. The 26-year-old righty has done almost all his work on the road, with his last three outings coming in San Diego, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
Roupp has worked at least five innings in five of his last seven starts and flashed a high ceiling with 30.2 fantasy points in an outing against the Angels in April. He gave up nine earned runs in 14 1/3 innings over his last three starts and took the loss in two of those outings, but this should be a spot where he can bounce back at home against the A’s.
The Athletics are a fairly neutral matchup, ranking in the middle of the pack in most categories and splits. They only managed one run in the series opener and have dropped three straight while scoring a total of six runs.
In this matchup, Roupp will likely have low ownership but brings enough potential that he’s a GPP bargain to consider. Not only does he have some upside himself, but he also saves plenty of salary for other pay-up plays.
If you’re craving more MLB DFS or betting tools, be sure to check out one of our most powerful tools on the site—PlateIQ.
MLB DFS Hitters and Stacks
Notable Stack
With the Lineup Builder, it’s easy to incorporate stacks into DFS rosters.
Also, don’t forget that for large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups.
The top DraftKings stack in the FantasyLabs MLB Player Model, when generated by projected points using the tournament model, belongs to the Los Angeles Dodgers:
The Dodgers dropped the opener of this version of the Freeway Series on Friday night, but they are in a good spot to bounce back on Saturday night and make a good stacking target, although they definitely don’t come cheaply. They’ll face former Dodger Tyler Anderson ($8,200) on Saturday, who is 2-1 in eight starts with a 2.58 ERA but a 4.59 FIP and seven home runs allowed in eight outings.
Anderson’s reverse splits actually show that lefties have a good matchup against him since they are hitting .289 with a .452 wOBA and have hit four of his seven homers allowed in just 41 plate appearances. That plays to the Dodgers’ strengths, especially with Shohei Ohtani ($6,600) and Freddie Freeman ($6,300) locked in.
Ohtani has been red hot with eight homers in his last 11 games. During that span, he has a .378 batting average, a .587 wOBA, and a 36.1% barrel rate. He has the highest median, ceiling, and floor projection of all hitters this Saturday and is the heart of the Dodgers stack for Saturday.
Not interested in messing around with optimizer settings? No worries, you can use our MLB DFS Simulationsand let it find the best way to control your stacks, exposure, correlations, and more!
Click hereto find out how SimLabs can elevate your MLB DFS game and watch the video below.
For this example, we created a 50/50 blend with THE BAT X and the FantasyLabs projections to pinpoint some hitters that stand out.
Corbin Carroll OF ($6,100) Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies (German Marquez)
Carroll always brings a high ceiling with his power and speed combo from the top of the D-Backs’ batting order, and he is a great pay-up play on Saturday night against Marquez and the Rockies.
On Friday, Carroll went 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, and 15 DraftKings points. he has three multiple-hit games in his last four and has produced double-digit fantasy points in eight of his last 12 contests. He went 15-for-48 (.313) during that stretch with a .459 wOBA and a 52.6% hard-hit rate.
He stole a base in each of his last two games and is up to seven stolen bases to go with his 14 homers, giving him multiple ways to go off for a big fantasy day.
Marquez has allowed 36 runs in 37 innings this season, going 1-6 with a 1.70 WHIP and 5.20 xFIP. He has been hit by both lefties and righties, and his struggles haven’t been related to Coors Field, as his road ERA is 10.53.
The Diamondbacks and Dodgers are both strong options to consider at home on Saturday night, and here’s how Arizona’s lineup looks in our PlateIQ tool, which I think looks especially sharp in dark mode:
Jordan Lawlar SS ($2,300) Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies (German Marquez)
Another option that stands out in Arizona’s lineup is Jordan Lawlar, who is an outstanding value play if he gets the start and creates a wraparound stack, potentially hitting right in front or Carroll if he hits ninth as expected.
Lawlar is 0-for-4 in his two games since joining the D-Backs earlier this week, and he did not play on Friday. The former top prospect still brings a lot of upside based on his exceptional numbers at Triple-A earlier this season. He was limited by injury last year, so the team started him in the minors this season. He hit an impressive .336 with six home runs, 15 doubles, two triples, 13 stolen bases, and a .433 wOBA in 37 games for the Reno Aces before his promotion earlier this week.
If he starts against Marquez, he could be a great bargain option, and he has the highest Projected Plus/Minus at shortstop on the entire slate since his salary is barely over the minimum.
Taylor Ward OF ($3,200) Los Angeles Angels at Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw)
Ward has the fourth-highest Projected Plus/Minus in the outfield on Saturday night and brings a very nice ceiling against the Dodgers. He and the Angels will take on veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw in his first start of the season.
In four of his last five games, Ward has exceeded salary-based expectations, going 7-for-20 (.350) with a 50% hard-hit rate. He has 10 homers on the season with a .305 wOBA and has power potential against Kershaw.
Last season, he hit .325 against lefties with a .375 wOBA, and that has been the strong side of his splits throughout his career. The fact that he’s struggled against southpaws this season is likely just a result of a small sample size. Since he’s picked it up lately, he makes a good value play on Saturday’s slate.
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