Sports
Spring training roundup: Tatsuya Imai, Astros shut down Marlins
Mar 11, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai (45) throws against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Tatsuya Imai threw three perfect innings, Jose Altuve hit his first home run of spring training and the Houston Astros defeated the host Miami Marlins 4-1 on Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla.
Imai, the Japanese ace who signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Astros this winter, stuck out four and needed just 35 pitches (24 strikes) to breeze through Miami’s lineup. Isaac Paredes broke a 0-0 stalemate with a solo shot in the fourth inning before Zach Cole and Altuve went back-to-back in the sixth.
Heriberto Hernandez hit his third homer of the spring for the Marlins’ lone run. Starter Max Meyer fanned six batters in three innings before Janson Junk gave up the first home run and Bradley Blalock allowed the next two.
Braves 5, Rays 3
Matt Olson’s first-inning homer was his third longball of the spring, and Brett Wisely added a home run as Atlanta beat visiting Tampa Bay in North Port, Fla.
Olson finished 2-for-3 and Austin Riley added an RBI double for the Braves. Spencer Strider struck out five in four innings on his way to his second win of spring training.
Ben Williamson drove in all three Rays runs with a 425-foot shot in the sixth inning. He went 2-for-3, but Tampa Bay batted 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Orioles 7, Pirates 2
Taylor Ward and Jose Barrero launched three-run home runs to help Baltimore beat visiting Pittsburgh in Sarasota, Fla.
Orioles starter Kyle Bradish held the Pirates to one hit and one walk in his five innings, and Chris Bassitt took care of the final four innings, yielding two runs but fanning three.
Nicholas Cimillo had a pinch-hit home run in the ninth for the Pirates.
Twins 2, Tigers 1
Kaelen Culpepper hit a walk-off single to left with one out as host Minnesota edged Detroit in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Twins didn’t score until Ildefonso Ruiz’s sacrifice fly tied the game in the eighth. Taj Bradley struck out seven batters, scattered one run and three hits during his five-inning start.
The Tigers mustered just four hits in all, but they led for a good portion of the game thanks to Riley Greene’s fourth-inning double that scored Matt Vierling.
Nationals 3, Cardinals 1
Abimelec Ortiz and Trey Lipscomb put Washington ahead in the eighth inning, and the hosts held on to beat St. Louis in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Ortiz broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double and Lipscomb followed two batters later with a run-scoring single for the Nationals. Cade Cavalli and four relievers combined to hold the Cardinals to five hits.
Nolan Gorman tied the game for the Cardinals in the sixth with a run-plating single after Daylen Lile put Washington on the board with an RBI double in the first.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Iowa rides Cooper Koch, 21-0 run to move past Maryland
Mar 11, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Darius Adams (1) defends Iowa Hawkeyes guard Isaia Howard (23) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Iowa exploded past Maryland in the second half, capitalizing on turnovers and the tandem of Bennett Stirtz and Cooper Koch to advance to the third round of the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday afternoon in Chicago.
Koch wasn’t bothered by a bloody nose, as the freshman forward scored team-best and career-high 19 points, and Stirtz added 17 after a quiet first half. Stirtz also had eight assists and six rebounds.
Koch cashed his fifth 3 of the game in transition to put ninth-seeded Iowa up 59-47 with under seven minutes remaining.
Iowa (21-11) ended a three-game losing streak. The Hawkeyes are first on the court again Thursday with a noon ET against eighth-seeded Ohio State (20-11) at United Center. Iowa defeated the Buckeyes 74-57 on Feb. 25.
Maryland (12-21) had 16 turnovers and missed 14 of its 21 3-point tries.
Isaiah Watts had four 3s and finished with 12 points and Darius Adams scored a team-high 14 for the 17th-seeded Terrapins. Surging scorer Andre Mills was 1 of 13 from the field for Maryland, which trailed by double digits most of the second half.
Iowa took control with a 21-0 run and had Maryland coach Buzz Williams shaking his head with a second timeout in 80 seconds when Stirtz found Koch on the right wing for a 3 — his third of the second half — and buried the Terrapins in a 50-34 hole.
Maryland held Stirtz, the Big Ten’s third-leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, to four points in the first half. He ignited Iowa with back-to-back 3s as part of a the run that staked the Hawkeyes to a 42-34 lead with 14 minutes to play.
Streaky Maryland trailed early but turned to a 2-3 zone defense and knocked down open shots as part of a 15-0 run to build a double-digit, first-half lead, 21-10. Iowa cut it to 26-25 in the final minute of the half with an 11-2 run of its own thanks to Maryland’s eight turnovers in 33 first-half possession.
Maryland started the Big Ten schedule with a 1-10 record. The Terrapins picked up momentum with a close loss to No. 9 Illinois in the regular-season finale and led wire to wire in Tuesday’s tournament victory over Oregon.
–Field Level Media
Sports
KC Current acquire F Penelope Hocking from Bay FC
Nov 2, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Bay FC forward Penelope Hocking (55) dribbles the ball during the first half against Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: EM Dash-Imagn Images The Kansas City Current acquired forward Penelope Hocking from Bay FC on Wednesday.
The Current sent $350,000 in intra-league transfer funds to complete the deal for Hocking, 26.
“We are very excited to welcome Penelope to Kansas City,” general manager Ryan Dell said in a statement. “Penelope’s aptitude for scoring goals from anywhere on the field, combined with her ability to create chances for those around her, will only strengthen our attack. Above all, she is a great person and teammate who will positively impact our club on and off the pitch.”
Hocking recorded a team-high six goals and one assist in 18 regular-season matches (10 starts) last season with Bay FC. She scored seven goals with the Chicago Red Stars from 2023-24.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining the Kansas City Current,” Hocking, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, said in the team’s news release. “This is a club with high expectations and high standards, and I’m excited to bring my energy, compete every day and help the team win trophies.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Quadir Copeland, NC State too strong for Pitt
Mar 11, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland (11) reacts after scoring in the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images CHARLOTTE — Quadir Copeland collected 24 points and eight assists in North Carolina State’s 98-88 victory over Pitt in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
Ven-Allen Lubin racked up 18 points, Paul McNeil Jr. had 15, Tre Holloman notched 14 and Darrion Williams and Matt Able both scored 12 as the Wolfpack shot 60.8% from the field. NC State made 13 of 23 shots from 3-point range.
Seventh-seeded NC State (20-12), which won for only the second time in eight games, will meet No. 10-ranked and second-seeded Virginia in Thursday’s first quarterfinal.
Cameron Corhen poured in 27 points on 9-for-12 shooting for No. 15 seed Pitt (13-20), which had won four of its previous six games. Nojus Indrusaitis, who hit five 3-point shots, and Omari Witherspoon each scored 19 points and Barry Dunning Jr. added 11 points, but the Panthers’ 57.1% shooting wasn’t enough.
The Wolfpack scored 22 of the first 30 points of the second half to create a 73-58 lead on a Pitt team that pulled off an upset of Stanford a day earlier on a last-second shot off a rebound.
Pitt used an 11-3 run to close the gap and later trailed 78-72 with more than 10 minutes to play before Terrance Arceneaux’s 3-point shot resulted in his only basket of the game.
By the game’s eight-minute mark, NC State had five players with double-figure point totals and soon after Williams joined them by bagging his fourth 3-pointer on four attempts. Later, Copeland made a nifty move to the lane to score and expand on NC State’s 88-83 edge.
Both teams shot over 61% in the first half, which ended with NC State holding a 51-50 edge. The teams combined to make 16 of 25 shots from 3-point range prior to the break.
As a result of the shooting success, there were only three offensive rebounds in the opening half. NC State held a 16-7 scoring edge from the free-throw line.
Pitt made 12 of its first 18 shots from the field, including 8-for-12 on 3s, and led 34-25. But the Wolfpack got rolling, with McNeil’s three 3-pointers contributing to a surge of less than four minutes that produced a 10-0 run on the way to a 43-40 lead.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
Iowa rides Cooper Koch, 21-0 run to move past Maryland
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