Sports briefs 4/30
Wild Things exhibition
The Wild Things played their third exhibition game Wednesday morning and lost at Florence in a high-scoring game.
Zach Kirby started on the mound for Washington and pitched four innings, striking out six and did not issue a walk. He yielded three hits, two of those being back-to-back home runs.
Jesse Robinson Jr. hit a three-run homer to lead the Washington offense. Kyle Edwards and Benjamin Rosengard each reached base three times and Cole Fowler had a double.
The Wild Things did lose outfielder Braden Barry to a left elbow injury. He slipped while running the bases after his infield grounder was thrown away at first base. Barry fell on the elbow and was removed from the game.
Washington plays another exhibition game this morning at Lake Erie.
Girls lacrosse
Trinity came out on the short end of a 14-5 decision Tuesday night against Indiana. Senior Myah Agmon led the Trinity attack by scoring two goals. Zaleigha Steadman, Carolina McClain and Taylor Phillips netted the other tallies. Goalkeeper Liv Gillis was busy, making 20 stops.
NFL
Two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons has retired following a nine-year career, including eight seasons with the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos announced Simmons’ retirement Wednesday and noted the news came exactly 10 years after the team selected the safety in the third round from Boston College in 2016.
Though Simmons started 16 games for the Atlanta Falcons in his final season in 2024, when he had two interceptions, he enjoyed most of his success with Denver. Each of his two Pro Bowl seasons came with the Broncos. He also was a four-time second-team All-Pro for Denver.
Baseball
The Boston Red Sox put left-hander Garrett Crochet on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of left shoulder inflammation and recalled utilityman Nate Eaton from Triple-A Worcester.
Last year’s AL Cy Young Award runner-up, when he went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA, Crochet has a 6.30 ERA through six starts in 2026.
Crochet (3-3) struck out seven over six shutout innings in Saturday’s 17-1 win at Baltimore, looking every bit the ace Boston traded for in December 2024 and signed to a $170 million, six-year contract in March 2025.
The Red Sox lost 8-1 Wednesday to the Toronto Blue Jays.
College football
Conference USA and Louisiana Tech have agreed on a settlement that will allow the Bulldogs to depart that league for the Sun Belt Conference this summer instead of having to wait another year.
Both Conference USA and Louisiana Tech, which has played football in C-USA the past 13 seasons, posted statements. Neither provided any specific details of their agreement, such as the amount of exit fees, after an acrimonious situation that included a lawsuit.
Louisiana Tech, which last summer accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt, said that the school had reached “a fair and equitable agreement” with C-USA.
College basketball
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger has agreed to a 10-year contract extension that will increase his annual salary to $6 million, athletic director Jamie Pollard announced Wednesday.
Otzelberger led the Cyclones to a 29-8 record and their third NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in five years this past season. He is 124-53 since becoming head coach in 2021-22.
The Cyclones have appeared in 52 consecutive Associated Press Top 25 polls and were No. 8 in the final rankings.
Otzelberger inherited a program coming off a 2-22 season in 2020-21 and has since led it to five straight NCAA Tournament bids. He is the only coach in program history to lead multiple teams to the Sweet 16, and his 30 wins over Top 25 opponents is a school record.