Sports
Miami (Ohio) has 'home game' in Dayton as First Four slate set
Feb 13, 2026; Miami, Ohio, USA; Miami (OH) RedHawks forward Antwone Woolfolk (13) reacts with teammate forward Brant Byers (22) during a stop in play against the Ohio Bobcats in the second half at Millett Hall. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images The First Four that opens the NCAA Tournament this week in Dayton, Ohio includes a program famous for knocking off a top seed, one team that has never won in the Big Dance, another which is approaching a 40-year NCAA Tournament win drought and one school that practically has a home game.
That latter team, Miami (Ohio), faced great scrutiny before Sunday’s reveal of the brackets because the previously unbeaten RedHawks (31-1) had lost in the Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinals and missed out on the automatic bid. Instead, the MAC got in both tournament winner Akron and Miami, the regular-season champion.
The RedHawks play fellow No. 11 seed SMU (20-13) in the late game on Wednesday, with the winner traveling to Philadelphia to face sixth-seeded Tennessee in the first round of the Midwest Region.
“Obviously, very excited to be selected as an at-large team,” Miami head coach Travis Steele said. “Huge honor — happy for our guys.
“It’s going to be a great environment,” Steele said in reference to Dayton being about 40 miles from Miami’s campus in Oxford, Ohio. “Hopefully … the RedHawk nation will be showing up there on Wednesday night to support us.
“I’m sure they will; it will be a home game for us.”
SMU last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and its most recent win was in 1988.
UMBC, which faces Howard in the early Tuesday game, has one NCAA Tournament win in its history, and it was a shocker. The Retrievers ousted top-seeded Virginia 74-54 in 2018, which was the last time UMBC made the NCAA Tournament. Before that game, No. 16 seeds were 0-135 against No. 1 seeds in tournament history.
Howard (23-10), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference winner, has never won. The winner between the Bison and America East champion UMBC (24-8) advances to play No. 1 seed Michigan on Thursday in the Midwest Region in Buffalo, N.Y.
Prairie View A&M (18-17), the Southwestern Athletic Conference representative, has never won in the tournament in two previous bids, the most recent in 2019. The Panthers face Patriot League champion Lehigh (18-16) in Wednesday’s early game, with the winner playing South Region No. 1 seed Florida on Friday in Tampa.
Power conference programs North Carolina State (20-13) and Texas (18-14) will determine, in the Tuesday nightcap, the 11th seed in the West Region and the opponent on Thursday for sixth-seeded BYU in Portland, Ore.
The Wolfpack and Longhorns played earlier this season at the Maui Invitational, with Texas winning 102-97 on Nov. 26.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Freddie Freeman posts 2,500th hit in 10-run 7th as Dodgers drub Pirates
Jun 9, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits an RBI single to record his twenty-five hundred MLB career hit against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Freddie Freeman recorded his 2,500th career hit, Andy Pages drove in three runs and Shohei Ohtani drove in two more during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-run seventh inning, which propelled them to a 12-3 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
In the seventh, Pages hit a two-run home run off Pirates reliever Wilber Dotel (1-1) and a sacrifice fly off Brandan Bidois. Ohtani hit an RBI double against Dotel, then Bidois walked him with the bases loaded to force in another run.
Freeman’s milestone came on an RBI single up the middle off Bidois to score Alex Freeland and cap the scoring in the inning.
Every Dodger in the starting lineup scored in the inning as the visitors sent 15 batters to the plate.
Paul Skenes started for the Pirates, who lost their fourth in a row, and gave up two runs on six hits and two walks and struck out seven over six innings.
Skenes retired Ohtani all three times he faced him, including a strikeout in the third.
Dotel allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and one walk without recording an out. The Pirates needed 68 pitches and used three relievers until Mookie Betts lined out to left against Dennis Santana to end the seventh.
Dotel had allowed two runs in his first 16 2/3 career innings before Tuesday.
The first nine Dodgers reached safely until Dalton Rushing struck out in his second at-bat of the seventh. Rushing started behind the plate for the third consecutive game with Will Smith still dealing with neck stiffness.
Max Muncy finished with three hits and an RBI while Freeman, Betts, Freeland and Santiago Espinal each had two of Los Angeles’ 15 hits.
In the sixth, Will Klein (2-2) relieved starter Eric Lauer, who gave up two runs on back-to-back home runs by Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn with two outs in the first. Lauer struck out five and allowed three hits and no walks before Klein struck out three over 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Pittsburgh infielder Tyler Callihan made his first career pitching appearance and threw a scoreless ninth.
Oneil Cruz was a late scratch for the Pirates as he continues to deal with left hand discomfort.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Freddie Freeman posts 2,500th hit in 10-run 7th; Dodgers drub Pirates
Jun 9, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits an RBI single to record his twenty-five hundred MLB career hit against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Freddie Freeman recorded his 2,500th career hit, Andy Pages drove in three runs and Shohei Ohtani drove in two more during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-run seventh inning, which propelled them to a 12-3 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
In the seventh, Pages hit a two-run home run off Pirates reliever Wilber Dotel (1-1) and a sacrifice fly off Brandan Bidois. Ohtani hit an RBI double against Dotel, then Bidois walked him with the bases loaded to force in another run.
Freeman’s milestone came on an RBI single up the middle off Bidois to score Alex Freeland and cap the scoring in the inning.
Every Dodger in the starting lineup scored in the inning as the visitors sent 15 batters to the plate.
Paul Skenes started for the Pirates, who lost their fourth in a row, and gave up two runs on six hits and two walks and struck out seven over six innings.
Skenes retired Ohtani all three times he faced him, including a strikeout in the third.
Dotel allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and one walk without recording an out. The Pirates needed 68 pitches and used three relievers until Mookie Betts lined out to left against Dennis Santana to end the seventh.
Dotel had allowed two runs in his first 16 2/3 career innings before Tuesday.
The first nine Dodgers reached safely until Dalton Rushing struck out in his second at-bat of the seventh. Rushing started behind the plate for the third consecutive game with Will Smith still dealing with neck stiffness.
Max Muncy finished with three hits and an RBI while Freeman, Betts, Freeland and Santiago Espinal each had two of Los Angeles’ 15 hits.
In the sixth, Will Klein (2-2) relieved starter Eric Lauer, who gave up two runs on back-to-back home runs by Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn with two outs in the first. Lauer struck out five and allowed three hits and no walks before Klein struck out three over 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Pittsburgh infielder Tyler Callihan made his first career pitching appearance and threw a scoreless ninth.
Oneil Cruz was a late scratch for the Pirates as he continues to deal with left hand discomfort.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jac Caglianone's 2 home runs power Royals past Rangers
Jun 9, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone (14) hits a two run home run against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Jac Caglianone homered twice and the Kansas City Royals used a four-run sixth inning to rally for their third straight victory, 5-3 over the visiting Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
Caglianone, who had three hits with a walk, led off the fifth inning with a home run for Kansas City’s first hit against Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi (5-7). He then highlighted the breakout sixth with a two-run shot.
Both of Caglianone’s career two-homer games have come against Texas, and this one helped the Royals overcome a 2-0 hole and win for the sixth time in eight games.
Josh Jung and Brandon Nimmo each had two hits for Texas, which had won seven of nine, a stretch that began with a three-game home sweep of Kansas City.
Texas opened the scoring the second, settling for one run. Royals starter Stephen Kolek walked Wyatt Langford, who went to third on Ezequiel Duran’s double and scored when Jake Burger singled to left. However, Duran was tagged out at home on Evan Carter’s grounder to third baseman Maikel Garcia, then Kyle Higashioka hit into a 5-4-3 double play.
The Rangers added another run in the fourth. Carter recorded a two-out single, went to second on Kolek’s errant pickoff throw, then stole third and scored on catcher Carter Jensen’s throwing error.
Kolek left after five innings, charged with two runs (one earned) on eight hits.
Caglianone got the Royals on the board by lining an Eovaldi pitch 421 feet over the right field fence.
In the sixth, Jensen doubled and eventually scored on a triple off the center field wall by Garcia, who came home via Vinnie Pasquantino’s ground-rule double to put the Royals ahead. After Salvador Perez popped out, Eovaldi exited. Facing Jalen Beeks, Caglianone found the right field fountains for a 5-2 Kansas City lead.
Eovaldi was charged with four runs while yielding four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Texas got a run back in the seventh when Joc Pederson tripled on a ball Caglianone misplayed in right field. He scored on Corey Seager’s groundout to first base.
Steven Cruz (1-2) retired all four batters faced for the win.
Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel exited with an apparent leg injury following his seventh-inning single.
–Field Level Media
Freddie Freeman posts 2,500th hit in 10-run 7th as Dodgers drub Pirates
Freddie Freeman posts 2,500th hit in 10-run 7th; Dodgers drub Pirates
