Alex Kirilloff, Matt Wallner lead St. Paul Saints to win over Nashville Sounds
Kirilloff had two hits and an RBI and Wallner had a two-run double in the Saints' home victory.
Alex Kirilloff went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored as the St. Paul Saints edged the Nashville Sounds 5-3 at CHS Field. Kirilloff is a first baseman on a rehab assignment with the Twins' Class AAA affiliate.
Matt Wallner had a two-run double for the Saints in the eighth inning when they took the lead. Edouard Julien had a one-run double in the third.
Jordan Balazovic, the Twins prospect who suffered a broken jaw just before training camp opened on Feb. 11 in a late-night incident in Fort Myers, started for the Saints and went 3.1 innings, giving up one run and one hit. He struck out six, walked three.
Best in hammer throw
Gophers redshirt junior Kostas Zaltos was named Big Ten Conference men's field athlete of the week for his performance at the 113th Drake Relays last weekend.
In Des Moines, Iowa, the native of Kilikis, Greece, threw a school-record 246 feet, 11 inches in the hammer throw. It is the No. 1 mark in the NCAA in the event this season, the No. 10 mark in the world and broke the Drake Relays record, too.
WNBA rules update
The WNBA announced a few rules changes for the upcoming season, including, for the first time, a coach's challenge. The challenge will allow a team one challenge per game, including overtime. Any challenge has to fall into three categories: a called foul on their own team, a called out-of-bounds violation or a called goaltending or basket interference penalty. Other changes:
- A heightened penalty for a "transition take foul,'' when the defender doesn't make a play on the ball. The offensive team will get a free throw, and then will retain possession.
- Bench conduct. Players not in the game may not remain standing at or away from the team's bench during the game for a prolonged period and are not allowed to attempt to distract their opponents.
KENT YOUNGBLOOD
- The Lynx waived guard Keishana Washington, who played five seasons with Drexel University and averaged 27.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists her last season. She finished her collegiate career with 2,363 points, 410 rebounds and 368 assists for the Dragons.
Etc.
- Gophers junior Ben Warian was selected to play as an individual in one of the NCAA Division I men's golf regionals. The Stillwater native will be the No. 2 seed among individuals in the Bath (Mich.) Regional from May 15-17.
- Carson Herron, a native of Deephaven and son of PGA Champions tour member Tim Herron, played in a U.S. Open qualifier at the New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque on Tuesday. The sophomore at New Mexico shot a 1-under 70 to advance to final qualifying where he will compete for a spot in this year's U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18. He will have a choice of 11 final qualifying sites with competition at most of them taking place on June 5.
- Abby Lien, a senior from Eastview, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Augustana an 8-7 victory over Concordia (St. Paul) on the first day of the NSIC softball tournament in Rochester. The Vikings (37-13) are the No. 1 seed.
- Eric Feil, the Rochester FC youth development director since 2018, was named the the Rochester Lourdes boys soccer coach, according to the Rochester Post Bulletin. Feil was an assistant coach at Minneapolis Southwest for 10 seasons.
The eight Twins headed for arbitration are Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro, Griffin Jax and Trevor Larnach.
