Sports

Dan Mason inducted into Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame; Team shut out by Mets

Published

4 months ago

August 17, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dan Mason inducted into Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame; Team shut out by Mets

Red Wings GM Dan Mason is flanked by the 2025 Rochester Red Wings after his Hall of Fame induction on Saturday. (PHOTO: Rochester Red Wings)

BY DAN GLICKMAN

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Saturday night’s game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Syracuse Mets was much like any such matchup in the last few decades. There were giveaways (a Dylan Crews jersey), pre-game entertainment (a Bollywood dance number and cricket demonstration for Indian Night), and other fun quirks that make Minor League Baseball so unique (Bruce the Bat Dog). And, like so many games, the man helping run it all behind the scenes was Dan Mason, longtime Rochester Red Wings general manager.

But Saturday was different for the Red Wings and Mason- because on Saturday, the man who’d worked his way up from unpaid intern to the longest-tenured GM in the team’s history was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the Wings’ 5-0 defeat. Well known for his wacky promotions, outgoing attitude, humorous social media videos, and endless enthusiasm for baseball in Rochester, Mason was the second of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, after outfielder Jason Kubel, who celebrated induction on Friday.

Dignitaries from the city, county, the pre-MLB International League, and all three affiliation eras of Red Wings baseball that Mason has overseen were in attendance, including former Minnesota Twins general manager Bill Smith, legendary 1997 Governor’s Cup champion manager Marv Foley, fan favorite infielder Jeff Manto, and current Washington Nationals farm director Eddie Longosz.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.

So large was the outpouring for Mason, the GM since 1995, that he felt the need to assuage any fears anyone might have about his future.

“I want to point out, I’m not retiring… thanks to my kids, I have a lot of college loans to pay off still,” he said during his induction speech, which ran about 16 minutes and included tributes both heartfelt and humorous to his family, the Silver family, mentors, and all the executives, employees, players, coaches, and fans who helped him along the way.

“When you begin a new chapter in your life, you’re never sure how long that chapter will last,” Mason spoke of his early days with the franchise. “I had no idea that that chapter would evolve into a novel with an incredible cast of characters. But it was not written by just one guy, but an amazing group of contributing writers.”

Mason especially spent time paying tribute to his “four mentors”- former team president Elliot Kerwin, team chairman Gary Larder, current President and CEO Naomi Silver, and perhaps most of all Rochester’s “Mr. Baseball”, Joe Altobelli. Donning a No. 26 hat and becoming emotional, he spoke of how important the late manager, general manager, and broadcaster was to his life.

“Alto was like a second father to me,” he said. “I have no idea why he took a shine to me, I was just a 24-year-old clueless kid that had no idea what I was doing… and he molded me into the professional I am today.”

As his speech neared its end, he concluded by thanking everyone:

“This is way more than a job to me,” he said. “This is my calling, this is what I was made to do, and thankfully Naomi gave me a chance to do it. I love this team, I love this town. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me be a part of your lives.”

After ending his speech with his traditional cry of “Let’s have some fun!”, it was time for the game. It wasn’t fun for the hitters of either team, as two AAA newcomers baffled hitters for six innings. Kyle Luckham, making his fifth-ever AAA start, was on the mound for the Red Wings (46-70, 19-25 in the second half). On the other side was Jonah Tong, the No. 5 prospect in the New York Mets’ system according to MLB.com Pipeline and the minor league leader in strikeouts, making his AAA debut.

Luckham was excellent through a six-inning outing, striking out four while spreading out four hits and an earned run while walking one. The defense behind him, however, proved a double-edged sword. On a few early occasions, the Mets (62-57, 31-13 in the second half) threatened only to be thwarted by the Wings defense, including a fantastic home run robbery by right fielder Nick Schnell in the top of the second, where the Indianan climbed the fence, reached over it, and snagged a Luke Ritter ball that seemed destined for a three-run home run. So unexpected was the catch that the in-stadium video feed didn’t even fully capture the play, only focusing on Schnell as he descended from the grab. A diving catch by center fielder Andrew Pinckney in the third and a key double play in the fourth also aided the former Arizona State pitcher in keeping Syracuse off the board.

Rochester Red Wings center fielder Andrew Pinckney makes a diving catch during Saturday’s game against Syracuse. (Photo: ROCHESTER RED WINGS)

“He pitched extremely well,” said Red Wings manager Matthew LeCroy post-game. “I’m really proud of him, and against a tough team to face.”

“He gave us a shot, he did a really awesome effort. He went toe-to-toe with their prospect, that’s all we can ask.”

But a freak defensive mistake in the sixth allowed Syracuse to get on the board, as center fielder and Mets No. 2 prospect Jett Williams hit what at first seemed to be a fairly routine fly ball to right. Schnell, however, lost it in the twilight and badly misplayed it, allowing it to fall in safely and roll as Williams sped around the bases for a leadoff triple. He’d later score on a one-out single from Ryan Clifford that just got past a diving Darren Baker to make it 1-0.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings struggled against Tong, a 22-year-old Canadian who struck out nine over 5.2 innings while spreading out three hits and two walks in a dominant AAA debut that saw him reach 98 MPH on the gun. Although the Red Wings got Trey Lipscomb to third after a ground-rule double and a fly-out in the fifth, he couldn’t be brought home. When the Wings got two men on in the bottom of the sixth, Tong was replaced by Kevin Herget, who struck out Yohandy Morales to end the inning. Rochester ultimately ended the night with four hits.

The Mets later got to the Red Wings bullpen, putting up two runs each on Garrett Davila and Eduardo Salazar in the eighth to extend their lead to 5-0, which held until the end.

The Red Wings conclude their series with Syracuse on Sunday at 1:05 p.m., with righty Adrian Sampson (2-3, 5.07) set to take the mound against a Syracuse pitcher to be announced. They’ll then continue the homestand with a game against Toledo on Tuesday.

Sports

Track Season Begins Saturday – Syracuse University Athletics

Published

11 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Syracuse track and field team kicks off its 2025-26 season on Saturday at the Cornell Greg Page Relays.

MEET INFO:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 6

Location: Barton Hall | Ithaca, N.Y.

Live Results: Here

ORANGE ENTRIES:

‘Cuse will start the day in the 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m. Tawakal Omar and Jamir Brown will make their Orange debuts for the men. Twenty minutes later, Billie Frazier, Emeline Clark, Ivana Richards, Peyton Rollins and Marissa Saunders will race for the women.

The 60-meter dash will kickoff at 11:35 a.m., with Syracuse’s participants coming from a host of Orange men entered. At 11:50 a.m., Bianca Williams, Indie Wallace-Persaud, Jada Williams and Esther Granda will all race in the women’s event.

Samantha Bloch, Kayla Harding, Lizzie Bigelow, Blake Parker and Hailey Schuemann will take on the mile at 12:10 p.m., before the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash events begin starting at 12:40 p.m.

Grace Finnegan and Luise Hiltzbleck will run in the 3,000-meter run at 1:55 p.m.

Elijah Mallard will represent the men in the 300-meters, followed b Nylah Robinson, Leah Bellow, Mia Hernandez and Andrea Pomales at 3:20 p.m. to close the meet for ‘Cuse.

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Sports

No. 4 Gophers Host Fairfield to Open NCAA Tournament

Published

15 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers are getting set to host the NCAA Tournament as they take on the Fairfield Stags (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion. The first match of the day between No. 5 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) and St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) will begin at 4:30 p.m. CT and ESPN+ will televise. Minnesota’s match will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match. The winners of each of Friday’s matches will compete on Saturday night at 7 p.m. inside Maturi Pavilion for the right to go to the Sweet 16.

This season marks Minnesota’s 30th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, including their 11th straight. The ‘U’ is 28-1 all-time in first round matchups.

GAME 1 INFORMATION

No. 5 Iowa State vs. St. Thomas

Friday, Dec. 5

4:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION

No. 4 Minnesota vs. Fairfield

Friday, Dec. 5

Approximately 6:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 3 INFORMATION

Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Saturday, Dec. 6

7 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Andrew Cornelius (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

TICKETS

Fans can buy tickets for the first and second round matches here.

HEADING INTO THE MATCH

Minnesota leads Fairfield, 1-0, ISU, 25-7, and UST, 3-0

First Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 1975 (ISU), 2021 (UST)

Last Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 2021 (IST), 2025 (UST)

NOTES TO KNOW

997 — Career kills for Julia Hanson.

258 — Keegan Cook won his 250th career match as a head coach Oct. 12 vs. Ohio St. He’s at 258 for his career.

40 — Minnesota is 40-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion. The last loss was in 2018 vs. Oregon (Sweet 16).

34 — Minnesota ranks 34th nationally (2nd B1G) with 274 blocks.

30 — This year is Minnesota’s 30th ever NCAA Tournament appearance. That is the 11th most of any program in the country.

24 — Julia Hanson has 24 matches with 10+ kills this year in 30 chances (missed Loyola Chicago match).

23 — The ‘U’ ranks 23rd nationally and third in the Big Ten with 2.61 blocks per set.

19 — Minnesota ranks 19th nationally (5th B1G) in hitting % (.278).

14 — Sweeps in 29 matches for the Golden Gophers. They’ve won seven matches in four sets (1-2 in five).

13 — Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They’re 10-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).

12 — Minnesota is 12-4 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

11 — 2025 is Minnesota’s 11th straight NCAA Tournament. They’ve made 26 of the last 27 (missed 2014). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.

7 — Jordan Taylor ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 1.21 blocks per set, a team-best. That mark leads all Big Ten freshmen.

7 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 23 aces. Gilk and Swenson rank ninth with 22.

7 — Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 7-26 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons. (Wins vs. No. 15 Baylor, No. 5 Oregon, No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Purdue, No. 23 Indiana and No. 24 Penn St.).

5 — Minnesota ranks 5th in attendance at 4,558 per match (avg.).

5 — Minnesota ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 183 service aces.

5 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks fifth in the league in kills per set with 4.02.

5 — Julia Hanson is fifth in the B1G with 4.69 points per set.

4 — Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.02 kills per set.

4 — Minnesota lost four starters to season-ending injuries in OH Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, MB Calissa Minatee and L Zeynep Palabiyik.

3 — Gophers earned All-B1G honors in 2025. Julia Hanson (1st), Stella Swenson (2nd, Freshmen) and Carly Gilk (All-Freshmen).

3 — Straight 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in the Illinois, USC and Wisconsin matches. She’s the first Gopher to do so since Stephanie Samedy (’21). She’s hit 10+ in 11 of the last 13 matches.

2 — The Gophers rank second in the B1G in total blocks with 287.

2 — During league play, the Gophers ranked second with 1.77 aces per set. They hold 129 aces (2nd in B1G).

LAST TIME OUT

• The then No. 18 Minnesota volleyball team split its final home weekend, defeating No. 11 Purdue in four sets and falling to No. 10 Wisconsin in three sets. Julia Hanson had 19 kills while Stella Swenson went for 40 assists in the win over Purdue, the Gophers lone top-15 win this season. No Gopher reached 10 kills on Friday vs. Wisconsin as the team was held to just .132 hitting.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The 2025 season marked the 30th year the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. With an at-large bid, the Gophers advanced to the tournament for the 11th straight season and 26th in the last 27 seasons.

• In the first round of NCAA Tournaments, Minnesota is 28-1 all-time. In round two, Minnesota is 21-7.

• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 62-29. Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019), national title game once (2004).

• The program has had 31 straight winning seasons, dating back to 1995. The ‘U’ has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. The program has finished in the top six of the B1G standings every year since 2015.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The ‘U’ entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll (finished 18th in 2024).

• At the end of regular season, the ‘U’ moved up to No. 17 on Monday, going up one spot from last week.

COACH COOK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Keegan Cook is 19-10 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. He led his Washington teams to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Both years at Minnesota, the ‘U’ has gone to the Round of 32.

HOSTING NCAA’S AT THE PAV

• All-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion, Minnesota is 40-4. Two of the losses came to Iowa State, in the 2008 (second round) and 2011 (Sweet 16) NCAA Tournaments. The other losses were in 2018 to Oregon (Sweet 16) and 1993 to Notre Dame (Sweet 16). Minnesota has won six straight NCAA matches at Maturi Pavilion.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD

• Fairfield (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) is led by third-year head coach Nancy Somera. In her three seasons at Fairfield, the team has posted a 69-24 record, including a 50-4 mark in league play. They’ve won three straight league titles.

• Fairfield is 0-1 against Power 4 Conference opponents this year, losing 3-2 to West Virginia early on in the season. They have not lost a match since Oct. 24 at Quinnipiac. Offensively, they’re led by Marnie Krubally (2.93 kps) and Allie Elliott (2.69 kps). All-time, they’re 0-14 in the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, they became the first MAAC team to win a set in the NCAA Tournament (3-1 loss at #15 Pepperdine).

SCOUTING IOWA ST.

• No. 23 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) is led by 21st-year head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. ISU has made the NCAA Tournament in 17 of her 21 years at the helm. This year, ISU holds key wins over No. 18 Baylor, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 16 TCU. ISU will be making it’s 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

• Alea Goolsby (3.26 kps) and Morgan Brandt (9.52 aps) pace the offense while libero Rachel Van Gorp (4.83 dps) leads the defense. Van Gorp was the unanimous selection for Big 12 Libero of the Year while Brandt became the second Cyclone ever to win Big 12 Setter of the Year. Five total Cyclones made the all-league teams.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS

• St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) is led by 23rd-year head coach Thanh Pham. After finishing third in the Summit League in 2024, the Tommies took second this year before they took down top-seeded South Dakota State to win the Summit League tournament title and make their first Division I NCAA Tournament.

• The Tommies set Division I program records with 21 overall wins and 11 Summit League wins, and rank among the top 25 nationally in aces per set (9th), kills per set (12th), assists per set (14th), and attacks per set (22nd).

• Morgan Kealy won her second straight Summitt League Setter of the Year award while Tezra Rudzitis and Megan Wetter joined her on the first team. Anya Schmidt was named the league’s Freshman of the Year.

MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. FAIRFIELD, IOWA ST. AND ST. THOMAS

• Minnesota is 1-0 all-time vs. Fairfield. They last met in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 sweep for the Gophers.

• The ‘U’ is 25-7 all-time against Iowa State. The two teams last met in the 2021 season, a swep at the Diet Coke Classic for Minnesota. In the NCAA Tournament, they have met two times, with the Cyclones holding a 2-0 advantage. ISU defeated Minnesota in 2011, 3-1, at Maturi Pavilion. The match was a Sweet 16 game. In 2008, ISU beat Minnesota in four sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pav.

• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time vs. UST since the Tommies became a Division I team in 2021. The first two matchups were sweeps in 2021 and 2024. The third was a four-set win for Minnesota this fall (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18). Julia Hanson had 18 kills and 10 digs to lead the ‘U’ in the match.

STRONG SCHEDULE PREPS ‘U’ FOR POSTSEASON

• The Gophers went 3-6 vs. ranked opponents in 2025. Minnesota was one of nine Big Ten teams to make the 2025 NCAA tournament. Of the Gophers 11 non-conference opponents, seven made the NCAA Tournament.

• The ‘U’ enters the postseason with a top-15 RPI and earned the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• In all, the Gophers faced 15 teams that make up the field of 64. Against teams that made the postseason, Minnesota posted a 9-8 record this season.

THREE GOPHERS EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS

• Freshman opposite Carly Gilk, senior outside Julia Hanson and redshirt freshman Stella Swenson all earned all-league honors. Hanson was named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection while Swenson made the second team and the all-freshman team. Gilk joined Swenson as a Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree. Lauren Crowl garnered Minnesota’s Sportsmanship Award.

• Hanson earned her second straight First Team All-Big Ten honor while Swenson and Gilk earned their first honors from the Big Ten.

UP NEXT

If they are victorious, Minnesota take on the winner of No. 5 Iowa State and St. Thomas on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT. ESPN+ will televise again.

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Sports

Creighton volleyball defeats Northern Colorado

Published

30 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season. The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament. Check out this fire block from the Jays.Creighton dominated in the first set 25-12.Things were pretty close in set 2, but a 3-0 Bluejay run gave them the 15-12 lead over the Bears.With a slam, the Jays were up 18-15.Northern Colorado got to 25 first, winning set 2, 25-23.The Bears were off to an early lead in set 3.A 5-0 run for CU tied things at 14 apiece.The Bears won set 2, 25-23.The Jays were putting it all out on the court after dropping two sets.A 4-0 run pushed the Jays up 12-4.Creighton won set 4, 25-17.Creighton took the lead in set 5.The Jays defeated the Bears 15-8 in the fifth set to win the match 3-2.Creighton will play Northern Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the CHI Health Center.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season.

The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.

This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament.

Check out this fire block from the Jays.