LOCAL SPORTS
AUS:
In Soccer, the X-Women earned a close 2-1 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers at Wickwire Field, while the X-Men played to a 1-1 draw against Dal. The X-Women will look to extend their winning streak when they face Acadia in Wolfville this afternoon at 1, followed by the men’s teams at 3:15.
The X-Women Rugby team is 3-0 after handing the UPEI Panthers their first loss of the season, 43-26. Jill Griffith led the charge, scoring three of her team’s seven tries and was named St. FX’s Player of the Game, while Katie Murphy connected on four conversions.
The defending AUS champion X-Men basketball team kicked off their pre-season with a 77-62 victory over the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics. Dondre Reddick finished with a game-high 21 points and had 8 rebounds. Jeremiah Usiosefe had a double-double game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The X-Men are back in action this afternoon when they host the University of King’s College in another exhibition game. Tip-off is 4:00 pm at the Saputo Centre.
The X-Men Hockey team held on for a 6-5 exhibition win over the UQTR Patriotes Saturday evening. The X-Men now have a 1-2 record in pre-season action and will play one more exhibition game this coming Saturday when they host the Saint Mary’s Huskies at the Keating Centre.
The St. FX Cross Country program sent a split squad to Wolfville to compete at the Acadia Invitational meet. Both the X-Women and X-Men teams placed second overall. Caroline Ash took home top spot, winning the women’s 8K race with a time of 31:52 amongst the field of 53 competitors. Luke MacDonald was the top X-Men in seventh place with a time of 27:34.
Meanwhile, five male and six female runners competed at the 48th annual Vigars & Salter Western Invitational in London, Ontario. The X-Women team had a great showing, coming in third place overall amongst 15 teams. Eileen Benoit was the top X runner, posting a top 10 finish in ninth place with a time of 30:20 in the 8K event. In the men’s 8K race, the X-Men came in fifth out of 17 teams. Jack O’Donnell (26:16) and Joel Gallant (26:53) placed in the top 30 runners amongst the field of 147, coming in 22nd and 26th spots.
History was made on Saturday afternoon at IG Field, as kicker Maya Turner, in her second year with the University of Manitoba Bisons football program, became the first-ever woman to suit up and score a point in a regular season U SPORTS football game. Her 21-yard field goal with 9:42 to go in the second quarter against the Regina Rams was the history-making moment. In storybook fashion, Turner also scored the game-winning field goal in overtime, nailing another 21-yard field goal to give the Bisons a 27-24 victory in front of 4500 passionate fans.
In the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour, Ashton Tucker won the Season Finale Tirecraft 200 at Scotia Speedworld, his second win of the season. Craig Slaunwhite finished second and secured the 2023 Championship. Slaunwhite is the first driver ever to win three consecutive championships in Series history. Jarrett Butcher applied pressure on Slaunwhite all afternoon, but had to settle for third in the race and second in the championship chase. Young gun Austin MacDonald had another great performance, finishing fifth. Ryan VanOirschot was ninth in the 21-car field.
MHL: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers got crushed themselves, losing 10-3 to the Western Capitals in Summerside.
Junior B: The Strait Pirates edged out the Brookfield Elks 3-2. This afternoon, the Scotians host the Capstone Colts at 4:30 at the Wellness Centre.
U18: The Cape Breton West Islanders trounced the Wildcats 6-1 on Saturday. The teams play again at 1 at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre, while the Pictou Weeks Majors are on the road to play the Wolfpack at 1:15.
U16 AAA: At the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, the Cabot Highlanders were shut out 6-0 by the Dukes. The Highlanders host the Western Rebels today at 12:30.
Maritime Major Female League: The Northern Subway Selects are 2-0 at the Showcase Weekend at Saint Mary’s after beating the Western Flames 4-1. The Selects have 2 matches today: the Western Wind at 10 am, and Moncton at 4 pm.
NATIONAL SPORTS
The Toronto Blue Jays fell 7-6 to the Tampa Bay Rays but retained their position in the American League wild-card race. The Blue Jays hold the second of three A-L wild cards and have a one-and-a-half game cushion over the Seattle Mariners, who sit outside the playoff picture. Toronto plays in Tampa again today.
The Pittsburgh Pirates overcame a nine-run deficit for the first time since the franchise started in 1882 as Luis Rivas tied a career-high with five R-B-I’s in a 13-12 victory that dealt a staggering blow to the Cincinnati Reds’ playoff hopes. Cincinnati opened a 9-0 lead with three runs in the first, five in the second and one in the third, then allowed 13 unanswered runs.
Bryce Harper sparked Philadelphia’s comeback from a two-run deficit by reaching 20 homers for the ninth time, leading the Phillies over the New York Mets 7-5 for their fourth straight win. Harper had three R-B-I’s for the defending National League champions, closing in on an N-L wild card berth. Philadelphia would clinch a playoff berth Sunday with a win and a loss by either the Chicago Cubs or Miami Marlins.
Jordan Lyles gave up just two hits in five innings, Bobby Witt Junior drove in his 93rd run of the season and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 3-2. Houston has lost four of its last five games but has maintained its half-game lead for the final American League wild-card spot over Seattle. The Royals have won nine of their last 10 games.
Montreal and Toronto came out victorious in a two-game slate in the C-F-L tonight. The Alouettes kicked off the day with a 28-11 win over the Stampeders to improve to 7-and-7 and dampen Calgary’s playoff hopes. Later, the league-leading Argonauts took care of business with a 29-14 win to sweep the season series against their rivals.
Brayan Vera and Justen Glad each scored in the second half and Real Salt Lake beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1. Brian White scored for Vancouver in the 17th minute. Vancouver played in its seventh consecutive away match, having not played at home since August 20th. Next up, the club travels to play the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
CFL
Montreal 28 Calgary 11
Toronto 29 Hamilton 14
MLB
American League
Tampa Bay 7 Toronto 6
L.A. Angels 1 Minnesota 0
Oakland 4 Detroit 1
Chicago White Sox 1 Boston 0
Baltimore 2 Cleveland 1
Texas 2 Seattle 0
Kansas City 3 Houston 2
National League
Atlanta at Washington, postponed
Chicago Cubs 6 Colorado 3
Philadelphia 7 N.Y. Mets 5
Miami 5 Milwaukee 4
Pittsburgh 13 Cincinnati 12
St. Louis 5 San Diego 2 (11 innings)
L.A. Dodgers 7 San Francisco 0
Interleague
Arizona at N.Y. Yankees, postponed
NHL Pre-Season
Arizona (ss) 5 Los Angeles 3 at Melbourne, Australia
St. Louis (ss) 3 Arizona (ss) 2
St. Louis (ss) 5 Arizona (ss) 1
MLS
Atlanta 4 CF Montreal 1
Real Salt Lake 2 Vancouver 1
Toronto FC at New York City FC, postponed
FC Cincinnati 3 Charlotte FC 0
New York 5 D.C. United 3
Los Angeles 0 Philadelphia 0
New England 2 Chicago 2
Columbus 1 FC Dallas 1
Sporting Kansas City 2 Houston 1
Saint Louis City SC 2 Minnesota 1
Portland 3 Colorado 2
Nashville 1 San Jose 1
Sunday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NFL
Atlanta at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Buffalo at Washington, 1 p.m.
Denver at Miami, 1 p.m.
Houston at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
New England at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
New Orleans at Green Bay, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.
Chicago at Kansas City, 4:25 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, 4:25 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Las Vegas, 8:20 p.m.
Major League Baseball
American League
Toronto (Kikuchi 10-6) at Tampa Bay (Bradley 5-7), 1:10 p.m.
Arizona (Nelson 7-8) at N.Y. Yankees (Schmidt 9-9), 1:35 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Clevinger 8-8) at Boston (Crawford 6-7), 1:35 p.m.
Baltimore (Gibson 14-9) at Cleveland (TBD), 1:40 p.m.
Kansas City (TBD) at Houston (Brown 11-12), 2:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Anderson 6-6) at Minnesota (Ryan 10-10), 2:10 p.m.
Seattle (Woo 4-4) at Texas (Eovaldi 11-4), 2:35 p.m.
Detroit (Rodriguez 11-9) at Oakland (Sears 5-12), 4:07 p.m.
National League
N.Y. Mets (Butto 1-2) at Philadelphia (Sanchez 2-5), 1:05 p.m.
Arizona (Gallen 16-8) at N.Y. Yankees (TBD), 1:35 p.m.
Atlanta (Wright 0-3) at Washington (Rutledge 0-1), 1:35 p.m., 1st game
Milwaukee (Peralta 12-9) at Miami (Cabrera 6-7), 1:40 p.m.
Pittsburgh (TBD) at Cincinnati (Williamson 4-5), 1:40 p.m.
Colorado (Blach 3-2) at Chicago Cubs (Wicks 3-1), 2:20 p.m.
St. Louis (Rom 1-3) at San Diego (Wacha 12-4), 4:10 p.m.
Atlanta (Strider 18-5) at Washington (Adon 2-3), 6:35 p.m., 2nd game
San Francisco (TBD) at L.A. Dodgers (Lynn 12-11), 7:10 p.m.
Interleague
Arizona (Gallen 16-8) at N.Y. Yankees (TBD), 1:35 p.m.
NHL Pre-Season
Arizona (ss) vs. Los Angeles at Melbourne, Australia, 12:05 a.m.
Columbus at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Buffalo at Washington, 2 p.m.
Toronto at Ottawa, 2 p.m.
Minnesota at Colorado, 3 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 5 p.m.
Arizona (ss) vs. Dallas at H-E-B Center, 6 p.m.
Winnipeg at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
Vancouver at Calgary, 8 p.m.
Vegas at San Jose, 8 p.m.
MLS
Toronto FC at New York City FC, 1 p.m.
WNBA Playoffs
Connecticut at New York, 1 p.m.
Dallas at Las Vegas, 5 p.m.