Five Sluggers Confirmed for 2022 Home Run Derby

I have the St. Louis Cardinals at number ten halfway through the season. The Cardinals have a record of 44-38 and are in second in the NL Central behind the Brewers. St. Louis has not won or lost more than two games in a row since June 14. While the offense has been electric for the Cardinals, being led by MVP front-runner Paul Goldschmidt, the Cardinals could really benefit from another solid arm in their starting rotation. 

In the first game of the College World Series Finals between Ole Miss and Oklahoma, the Rebels made a statement, winning game one 10-3. Ole Miss opened the game fast by scoring two runs in the first inning with two outs. The Rebels’ two-out success continued in the second inning as another run crossed the plate to push the lead to 3-0 after the top of the second inning. In the third inning, Ole Miss’ first baseman Tim Elko homered to right field to push the lead to 4-0. While the Rebels' offense was putting up runs nearly every inning, Ole Miss pitcher Jack Dougherty was putting on a show on the mound to open the game. Dougherty had a perfect game bid going into the sixth inning before Oklahoma opened up the inning with a single up the middle. Dougherty’s perfect five innings was the longest perfect game bid in the College World Series since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1999. After the hit to lead off the sixth for Oklahoma, the Sooners' offense finally showed up and cut the lead to 4-2 after six innings. After a couple of scoreless innings, Ole Miss’ TJ McCants, Calvin Harris, and Justin Bench broke the game open in the top of the eighth, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs. The Rebels went up 8-3 after the eighth. Ole Miss then brought in two more runs in the top of the ninth inning and closed the game out in the bottom half of the inning to win game one 10-3. 

Curry has had two of the same guys by his side for a lot of his success in Golden State, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. These three have seen a great amount of success together, winning all four of their championships together, with some different pieces here and there. Easily the most impactful piece the Warriors have had during their historic dynasty was future hall of famer, Kevin Durant. Durant joined the Warriors through free agency before the 2016-2017 season and Golden State went on to win back to back championships in 2017 and 2018, with Durant winning the Finals MVP in both years. Adding Durant to a Warriors team that already proved that they could win an NBA Finals Championship in 2015 pushed Golden State into the territory of being talked about as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Many fans though, argued that signing a player like Kevin Durant and forming a “super team” discredited the original Warriors players that were there for the start of the dynasty in 2015. The way that the original guys, like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, were able to win another championship after losing Durant really solidifies this Warriors core as one of the greatest to ever play. 

The baseball team had players in all positions make All Conference recognition. Riley McCallister earned 1st team outfielder. Many other players were honorable mentions; Zach O’Donnell as pitcher, Drew O’Donnell as catcher, Adam Swartzendruber as infielder, Cole Kindred as infielder, and Edwin Hohulin as outfielder. Edwin will be back as a Spartan next year for his senior season too! The Pantagraph All Star Baseball Game was played last week. This game is for senior intercity and area baseball players that are chosen for their academic and athletic success. Drew O’Donnell, Adam Swarzendruber, Cole Kindred, Riley McAlister and Zach O’Donnell all played in this game at the Corn Crib. This was also that last time that twins and pitcher-catcher duo, Zach and Drew got to play a baseball game together. Shortly after this night, Zach, Riley, and Cole played in the McDonald's All Star Game.