Sports

Colton Cowser

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At Sutter Health Park, the most obvious sign this is a minor league park is the grass berm in right field, where families bring blankets to watch what is now Major League Baseball. And, beyond that berm stand multiple trees, including one mighty oak. Within that oak, a squirrel or bird […]

Published

3 weeks ago

June 8, 2025

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Within that oak, a squirrel or bird may have had to take evasive maneuvers for safety as a baseball shot through its resting place.

In the sixth inning of the Orioles’ 7-4 win against the Athletics on Saturday night, the home run from Colton Cowser left mouths agape. It traveled 455 feet — the longest hit of his career — and sent fans scrambling on the berm either for cover or after the loose baseball that gave Baltimore a lead it wouldn’t lose.

“I just heard the snap of the bat, and then somebody goes, ‘Ooohhh,’” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I looked up, and it went over the trees. I don’t think I’m amazed by it because we’ve kind of seen something similar before, but my goodness, he’ll probably tell you all about it.”

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Cowser was humble.

“It felt great,” he said. “It’s one of those things that, when the swing’s feeling good and timing’s there, you don’t really feel when you make contact, and that was one of those ones.”

Since Cowser’s return from the 60-day injured list for a fractured thumb, he has proved how large an absence he really was. Cowser has a hit in all five games, including a double and two homers — and the latest hit came in loud fashion, an impossible-to-miss rocket into the trees that flipped the game in the Orioles’ favor.

The Orioles have won 10 of their last 13 games, and when asked what has led to the upturn in results, Ramón Laureano pointed to the returns of players from injury. More are to come back soon, but he and Cowser helped the Orioles produce more than five runs in a nine-inning game for the first time since May 17.

“When you’re talking about 10-plus guys on the IL, and now, little by little, they’re coming back, if you understand that, you know that things will turn around,” said Laureano, who finished with three hits and three RBIs in his second game back from injury. “That’s what we’re seeing right now.”

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Baltimore (26-37) had to climb back from an early deficit after a poor start from right-hander Charlie Morton. The Orioles did so with a bullpen that posted zeroes — as it has the entire road trip, with 18 shutout innings in five games — along with key hits from Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and other stars.

Cowser’s was the most prominent, however, and it immediately followed a vital defensive play between Henderson and catcher Maverick Handley to end the fifth inning.

Orioles catcher Maverick Handley shows the ball to the umpire after tagging out JJ Bleday of the Athletics to end the fifth inning. (Scott Marshall/Getty Images)

With two outs in the fifth, left-hander Keegan Akin entered with a runner on first base to face Lawrence Butler. The Athletics outfielder lashed the first pitch he saw into the left-field corner, and as it rattled around, JJ Bleday attempted to score from first.

He was rounding third by the time Henderson received the ball as the cutoff man in shallow left field. His throw home one-hopped the plate, and when Handley caught it, the sliding Bleday struck him and knocked him backward. But he held on for the third out, maintaining the level score.

The momentum from that run-saving play turned into Cowser’s homer, and it continued with another run that inning via a throwing error. Then Laureano, who blasted a two-run home run off right-hander Luis Severino in the fourth, added an RBI single in the seventh.

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For that run to score, third base coach Buck Britton decided to send Henderson from second. The risk paid off when Henderson evaded the tag at the plate with a head-first dive.

“When Buck sent him, he’s probably five steps from the third base bag there when he sent him, and the guy actually made an accurate throw, and he put it right there, and Gunnar outran the ball and made an incredible slide,” Mansolino said.

Mansolino, the third base coach prior to being elevated to interim manager, said the rules that disallow catchers from blocking the plate give runners an incentive to dive headfirst into home.

Reliever Matt Bowman pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Charlie Morton failed to make it out of the third inning. (Scott Marshall/Getty Images)

“In the old day, you would never tell a baserunner to go in headfirst because the catcher would drop a leg on them and break a finger, break a neck,” Mansolino said. “But nowadays they can’t to that, so the headfirst slide is an advantage for the guys that use it.”

The decision from Mansolino to withdraw Morton after just 2 1/3 innings may have saved this from becoming a blowout. Morton wasn’t helped in the first inning, when Dylan Carlson misread Butler’s fly ball to left and it landed for a double. Jacob Wilson then knocked an RBI single as the Athletics (25-41) tied the score two batters into the bottom of the first.

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But Morton did himself no favors. He suffered a regression to the issues that plagued him earlier this season, before two improved performances offered a glimmer of hope that the 41-year-old veteran could turn his season around.

Morton allowed four runs in that first inning, coming on two walks and three singles after Wilson’s knock. He called it a “sloppy” outing because of the lack of command.

It immediately elevated his pitch count, and although he didn’t allow a run in the second, he finished that frame with 68 pitches. The walk and hit batter with one out in the third forced Mansolino out of the dugout to replace Morton with right-hander Matt Bowman, who stranded the pair of runners and completed two additional scoreless frames.

The shutdown innings followed from there, just as they have all road trip. And it concluded with right-hander Félix Bautista’s save. Morton called the bullpen performance “admirable,” and it wasn’t just because of Saturday’s display. The relievers have done it for much of the season.

“The fact that I don’t hear anyone complaining about they’re tired, they’re gassed, they don’t want to pitch, they’re not available,” Morton said. “Everybody’s up and everybody’s willing to go out there and pitch. On a night like tonight when I go out there and throw two innings, and then they pick me up, it’s just huge.”

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But the lasting impact of a bounce-back victory may be on whichever animal calls an oak tree home in right field, because that ball from Cowser came in hot.

This article has been updated.

Sports

Simpson Track and Field Program Announces Coach Promotions | KNIA KRLS Radio

Simpson College director of track and field Heath Moenck announced on Wednesday that James Hoffman and Ashlan Burton will be promoted to new roles within the program.Associate head track and field coach Hoffman will be promoted to head coach, while Burton will be named the new associate head coach. Since 2023, the Simpson track and […]

Published

10 minutes ago

June 26, 2025

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Simpson College director of track and field Heath Moenck announced on Wednesday that James Hoffman and Ashlan Burton will be promoted to new roles within the program.
Associate head track and field coach Hoffman will be promoted to head coach, while Burton will be named the new associate head coach.

Since 2023, the Simpson track and field programs have elevated to new heights, highlighted by a national championship by Spencer Moon in the 10,000m race in 2024. The men’s and women’s programs have combined for 14 NCAA All-Americans, 14 USTFCCCA All-Region selections, 28 A-R-C All-Conference performances, and a staggering 63 A-R-C All-Academic honors.

Hoffman graduated from Simpson in 2006 and previously served on the football coaching staff before joining the track and field staff as an assistant coach focusing on sprints. Hoffman began his role as associate head coach in August 2023.

Burton joined the Storm coaching staff in June 2023, working primarily with the throwers. Burton was a seven-time NCAA Division II All-American at the University of Central Missouri. Since 2023, Storm throwers have collected numerous top-10 school marks in the shot put, hammer, discus, and javelin.

Hoffman and Burton’s promotions mark an exciting new chapter for Simpson track and field as the Storm continue to build on the recent national success both on and off of the track.

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Local prep summer league gets underway with new home at Wyandotte Roosevelt – The News Herald

WYANDOTTE — When it comes to prep sports, volleyball may be about as active as any during the summer months, if not more. In addition to the very many club level commitments, there are also high school summer leagues taking place. One of the prominent ones locally made its annual return with a new home […]

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12 minutes ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

WYANDOTTE — When it comes to prep sports, volleyball may be about as active as any during the summer months, if not more.

In addition to the very many club level commitments, there are also high school summer leagues taking place. One of the prominent ones locally made its annual return with a new home on Wednesday.

Over at Roosevelt High School, several different schools competed in a slew of modified matches. It’s the latest site for the local summer league following its inception, which originated elsewhere altogether in years past.

“The first summer leagues we were invited to were out at Schoolcraft College,” Roosevelt varsity head coach Alan Edwards said. “It was difficult for all of these Downriver teams to get out there. They were trying to do freshman, junior varsity, and varsity at exactly the same time. That made it difficult, especially if you had kids on vacation.

“Then the next year, they wanted to do it twice a week,” Edwards continued. “I thought, ‘how in the world were we going to pack these kids up and go back and forth twice a week?’”

The glaring logistical issues for the teams in the area effectively resulted in breaking off and forming their own local-based summer league, which is something of a relaxed and condensed version of the annual News-Herald Invitational held in October during the school year.

In addition to Edwards’ Roosevelt squad, programs from Allen Park Cabrini, Dearborn Divine Child, Dearborn Edsel Ford, Flat Rock, Lincoln Park, Trenton, and Southgate Anderson were all on hand.

“We took over to bring it here to Downriver, because it was hard to go out (to Schoolcraft College),” Roosevelt varsity head coach Alan Edwards said on Wednesday. “You want to try and make it work. We struggled with the, ‘everybody plays at the same time’ approach.

“We eventually stumbled into the format that we’re doing now, one that we liked.”

Roosevelt High School is the third and latest stop of the league. Following Schoolcraft, it first migrated to Metro City Church in Riverview, which allowed for for matches to run concurrently on three courts. That same alignment then transitioned over to the Taylor Sportsplex for a couple more summers.

Now, setting up shop on his team’s own floor has allowed for expansion in the league.

“I didn’t think that they would let me, but I asked,” Edwards said. “But with four courts, we can now have eight teams instead of six.”

While they have neutralized a lot of the obvious travel and commitment woes from years prior, Edwards says they also carried over a lot of the concepts from the original Schoolcraft-based league. Among those was playing in 20-minute “waves” and seeing both varsity and JV players get garner playing time.

“It has worked so much better,” Edwards said. “If you had some kids that were out of town, you can slide some (sub-varsity kids) in and figure out where to play them. We have kids that are playing up and down, so we’re trying to figure out where they go.”

The Wyandotte Roosevelt girls’ volleyball team battled their DRL rivals from Trenton in their third and final wave of competition at the annual local summer league on June 25, 2025. (MADISON HOOL — For MediaNews Group)

The offseason is always going to vary from one program to the next. Edwards knows that as much as anyone.

It’s why he is cognizant of making sure all of his players, regardless of experience level, are finding time to hone their craft during the summer.

“Everybody does it differently,” Edwards said. “We probably have only 30-40 percent of our players active in club. We use this to teach skill and to get some weight training in. We’ll also do some position traning. For us and a few other schools, this is our chance to give them an opportunity to play. Some teams will run just open gyms as well.

“We try to do a little bit of it all, to try and catch the kids up.”

An added bonus, Edwards says, is the high level of camaraderie between he and his counterparts in the sport.

Several of the schools that will be members of the league this summer are returning regulars in some capacity. Plus, most of the coaches, if not all of them, cross paths outside of the high school season, if not work together on the club circuit.

Edwards on Wednesday said one goal is to expand the summer league even further, perhaps with teams from outside the Downriver region altogether. And whether or not it remains at Roosevelt beyond this summer remains to be seen.

Regardless of its location, what will remain is a strong fraternity of coaches dedicated to teaching the game and developing players, even if it is in a more abbreviated, less intense atmosphere.

“It’s a major learning thing,” Edwards said. “It’s why we don’t even keep score. Every 10 minutes, we’re changing lineups to see what works and what doesn’t. You can change it into working on different drills so it’s not just serving. Later in the year, we may work on balls coming in from the sideline, getting faster on defense and offense.

“Since everybody knows each other, nobody has a problem doing that.”

PHOTOS: Girls Volleyball – Summer League at Wyandotte Roosevelt, Week 1

Originally Published: June 26, 2025 at 2:15 AM EDT

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Arizona State introduces plans for a new track and field stadium

Graham Rossini on Arizona State’s continued investment in track & field Rossini said work is underway to rebuild the “track and field infrastructure” at ASU. The current track and field stadium is unsuitable for competitive use and hasn’t hosted a home meet in years. While other universities have cut track and field programs, ASU remains […]

Published

27 minutes ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The current track and field stadium is unsuitable for competitive use and hasn’t hosted a home meet in years.
While other universities have cut track and field programs, ASU remains committed to all 26 of its sports.

While Olympic sports at the NCAA level across the country face upheaval following the approval of the House settlement bringing revenue sharing and roster limits, Arizona State appears headed in the opposite direction.

ASU is doubling down on its commitment to Olympic sports with an investment in a new stadium for the track and field team, according to ASU’s athletic director, Graham Rossini.

“Track and field is definitely a sport that has been affected by the House settlement and what the roster caps look like, and how cross-country can fit into the track and field number,” Rossini told The Arizona Republic on Thursday, June 26.

“We’ve also got the reality that we need a track and field facility. So we’re hard at work with our coaches, the rest of the institution, figuring out solutions that will allow us to really rebuild the track and field infrastructure at ASU.”

Right now, Arizona State’s track and field team practices at Sun Angel Stadium just off Rural Road, next to Mullett Arena. Part of Mullett Arena extends almost to the track at ASU, meaning some of the outside lanes near the 100-meter start are uncomfortably close to the exterior of the building.

“It’s no secret that our current stadium is not suitable for competitive use,” Rossini said. “We can use it every day to work out and get better. But we haven’t had a home meet on campus in several years now.

“We’re hard at work, with track and field being one of the capital projects that we are going to be able to green light, hopefully in the near future.”

Rossini declined to give The Republic an exact timeline, but repeated “nearish future.”

As for the location, the stadium would be moved.

“It would not get rebuilt in its current spot,” Rossini said. “That land has been earmarked as part of the Novus Innovation Corridor. As we rebuild a new track facility, we will find a different location on campus.”

No location was given, but there is a plot of land nearby available for ASU to use – Karsten Golf Course, east of Rural Road, has been closed since 2019.

Rossini said the ASU tennis stadium also would be moved.

“The track and field and tennis facilities are something we are talking a lot about and identifying a future state for them to make sure those sports can continue to recruit and compete at a high level,” Rossini said.

While many Olympic sports, such as swimming, diving and volleyball, have seen trickle-down effects of the House settlement, there may not be a sport more affected by the settlement than track and field. The roster limits imposed include the cross-country team. This essentially means two different team sports have to fit under a roster cap.

On June 17, Washington State announced that it was cutting all field events and some sprint, hurdle and jump events from its track and field program to solely focus on the distance events.

Does ASU have any plans for something similar?

“We have not gone in-depth on that, they just wrapped up their season about a week and a half ago,” Rossini said. “We haven’t had the chance to do our year-end conversation in terms of what are some of the disciplines that we really want to isolate.

“We are known as a great sprinter school. That’s what coach (Dion) Miller’s background is. If you look at our heritage in the sport, we’ve had great success with sprints and some of the team relays. I can’t speak to specifics of how it’s going to look in the fall, as we just wound down the season. But again, we want to do everything we can to make track and field compete at a high level.”

The commitment from Rossini affirms the position he took on May 6 when he said the school was investing in all of its Olympic sports.

Arizona State is trying to position itself as an outlier in a post-House settlement era.

“When I took the job, President (Michael) Crow said all 26 sports are important,” Rossini said. “Football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball need to take a big jump as soon they can. We’re on our way there. But our Olympic sports are where a lot of our legacy and our heritage come from.”

As of now, Rossini said that no cuts to Olympic sports programs at ASU are planned.

“Our plan is 26 sports moving forward,” he said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to resource them, to maintain that. It’s the most sports in the Big 12 by a wide margin. … We have not had any conversations about cutting sports to navigate what’s coming at us.”

Since the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Arizona State athletes have won 66 medals, most recently put in the spotlight by swimmer Léon Marchand’s four individual golds in Paris this past summer.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.

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Olivia Babcock Named an ESPYS Nominee for Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports

PITTSBURGH – Olivia Babcock was tabbed an ESPY nominee for best college athlete in women’s sports, announced on Thursday. She is one of four recipients in the category including JuJu Watkins (University of Southern California, basketball), Kate Faasse (University of North Carolina, women’s soccer) and Gretchen Walsh (University of Virginia, swimming). She is the first […]

Published

28 minutes ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PITTSBURGH – Olivia Babcock was tabbed an ESPY nominee for best college athlete in women’s sports, announced on Thursday. She is one of four recipients in the category including JuJu Watkins (University of Southern California, basketball), Kate Faasse (University of North Carolina, women’s soccer) and Gretchen Walsh (University of Virginia, swimming). She is the first Pitt female athlete in history to receive a nomination.

Hosted by Shane Gillis, The 2025 ESPYS will air live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and will stream live on ESPN+. The ESPYS will also be available to stream on-demand the next day on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. The star-studded ceremony will relive the best moments of the year, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars.

Top celebrities from sports and entertainment will gather to recognize nominees and honor winners in categories such as “Best Athlete – Men’s Sports,” “Best Athlete – Women’s Sports,” “Best Breakthrough Athlete,” “Best Record Breaking Performance,” “Best Championship Performance,” and “Best Comeback Athlete.”

Per tradition, The 2025 ESPYS will also showcase the achievements of inspiring and courageous athletes who embody the spirit of The ESPYS through three pillar awards – the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service. Honorees for each of these awards will be announced in the coming weeks. The show supports ESPN’s ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched in 1993 by ESPN in partnership with the late Jim Valvano.

Babcock is tabbed an ESPY nominee after winning the Honda Award for volleyball and being named an AAU Sullivan Award Semifinalist and the AVCA National Player of the Year.

She led the Pitt offense and averaged 5.94 points per set, 4.72 kills per set, 1.82 digs per set and 0.62 aces per set. Babcock won two AVCA National Player of the Week and three ACC Offensive Player of the Week awards last season.

ESPYS Release

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Five Named to CSC Academic All-District Women’s Track/Cross Country Team

Story Links BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins placed five individuals on the 2025 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women’s Track and Cross Country Team it was recently announced. Nominees must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA and be a […]

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47 minutes ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins placed five individuals on the 2025 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women’s Track and Cross Country Team it was recently announced.

Nominees must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA and be a starter or significant reserve. First, Second and Third Team Academic All-America Women’s Track and Cross Country Teams will be announced on July 15.

Including the five selections this season, the Johns Hopkins women’s cross country/track & field teams have now produced 56 Academic All-District selections since 2003. Three Blue Jays – Sara Bartlett, Annie Huang and Mackenzie Setton are making their second consecutive appearance on the team.

Johns Hopkins’ 2025 CSC Academic All-District Selections
Sara Bartlett (Sr.)
Major: Public Health
• 8x Centennial Conference medalist with 2 gold and 6 silver
• All-American in the triple jump 3x (indoor-1, outdoor-2) with one 1st team and two 2nd team finishes
• 2025 Centennial Conference Indoor Champion in the Long Jump and Triple Jump
• 11 top-five finishes at Centennial Championships in career
• Rhodes Scholar Finalist

Annie Huang (Gr.)
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology (UG), Biotechnology (G)

• 5 career 1st Team All-American at NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Championships
• 9x NCAA Qualifier with top-13 finishes in all 9 events

• 6x Centennial Conference Champion (individual & relay) and 7x medalist (top-3 finisher)
• Holds the 2nd-best time in school history in indoor 800 (2:09.33) and outdoor 800 (2:07.48)
• 2025 Centennial Conference Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
• 5x Centennial Conference Champion in 2024-25: Indoor: 400-meter, 4×400, DMR. Outdoor: 1500, 4×40

Lianne Saussy (Jr.)
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology
• Member of fourth-place DMR team at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track Championships
• 11x medalist at Centennial Championships with 8 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
• Seven top-4 finishes at Centennial Championships in 2024-25: Indoor: DMR (1^st), 4×400 (1^st), 400-meter (4^th), 200-meter (4^th). Outdoor: 400 Hurdles (3^rd), 4×100 (1^st), 4×400 (1^st)
• Member of 4×400 and 4×800 indoor relay teams and 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams that hold JHU records

Harrinee Senthilkumar (Sr.)
Major: Neuroscience
• 12x Centennial Conference medalist with 8 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze
• 3x NCAA Qualifier
• 2025 Centennial Conference Champion in the Indoor Mile and third place in the Outdoor 1500
• Member of JHU-record-holding 4×800 relay teams (outdoor and indoor) and DMR team (indoor)
• Six-time Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll selection

Mackenzie Setton (Jr.)
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology
• Earned Second Team All-America honors in the Mile with a 14^th-place at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track Championships
• Member of the 4x800m relay team that set a Division III national record at the 2025 Penn Relays
• Six-time medalist at the Centennial Championships with one gold, three silver and two bronze
• Member of First Team All-America DMR team at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track Championships