Friday April 12th Local Sports

THIS WEEKEND ON AM-1300 KGLO:

= FRIDAY
Postponed — Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit

= SATURDAY
12:30 pre-game, 1:10 first pitch — Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit
6:30 pre-game, 7:00 faceoff — NCAA men’s hockey national championship — Minnesota-Duluth vs. Massachusetts

= SUNDAY
12:30 pre-game, 1:10 first pitch — Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have postponed their series opener against the Detroit Tigers because of wintry weather, opting for a doubleheader next month.

The Twins announced Thursday afternoon they were calling off Friday night’s game, a decision made about 28 hours before the scheduled first pitch. The region was blanketed by wet snow, heavy winds and icy roads. The storm was forecast to move out before Friday night, but the temperature was predicted to be in the mid-30s.

With dry but chilly afternoons on tap for Saturday and Sunday, when the two teams are also set to play, the Twins rescheduled the Friday game for May 11 in the form of a split day-night doubleheader. The Tigers were already scheduled for a three-game visit to Target Field that weekend.

The Twins (6-4) were off Thursday, and the weather handed them a sixth day off over the first 16 days of the season, the most in the major leagues. Michael Pineda was scheduled to start Friday, opposite Daniel Norris of the Tigers (8-5).

Last season, a mid-April snowstorm in Minnesota wiped out three straight games for the Twins against the Chicago White Sox, and the Twins had four postponements over their initial 10-game homestand.

MASON CITY — Mason City High senior Dawson Wedeking has signed to play baseball at NIACC. Wedeking says he chose to become a Trojan because he was able to watch the team the last few years.

Wedeking hopes he can contribute right away to the NIACC squad.

NIACC coach Travis Hergert says he’s excited about Wedeking offensively and says he’ll be a hard worker.

Wedeking in his junior season hit .292 with two homers and 18 runs batted in. He had a .410 on-base percentage with a .458 slugging percentage.

IOWA CITY — The Iowa Hawkeye baseball team opens a three game Big Ten series at Purdue tonight. The Hawkeyes are 5-4 in the league race and take on a Purdue team that has lost four straight in conference play. Iowa coach Rick Heller says the conditions will be good for the Boilermakers.

With cold conditions and the wind blowing in runs should be at a premium.

Iowa is 18-13 overall.

IOWA CITY — Iowa freshman guard Joe Wieskamp announced Thursday that he has submitted paperwork for entry into the 2019 NBA Draft in order to test the process.

Wieskamp plans to go through the process without an agent. Student-athletes wishing to return to school can do so by withdrawing from the draft by May 29.

Wieskamp says his dream has always been to play in the NBA, and he wants to do everything he can to turn that dream into a reality whenever that may be. He says he’s excited to gain feedback and learn from the process.

Wieskamp, a native of Muscatine, ranked fourth in team scoring (11.1 ppg), second in rebounding (4.9 rpg), and third in steals (31). One of five players voted to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team, he ranked second in the Big Ten in 3-point accuracy (.424, 59-of-139), which ranks second all-time among Iowa freshmen behind Jake Kelly (.435, 30-of-69).

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery says Wieskamp should take advantage of the opportunity and that they fully support his decision. He says the rule is a positive one for those in pursuit of their professional careers. McCaffery says they’ve had players in the past go through the process, all of whom found it beneficial in gathering information through workouts and interviews from NBA personnel, and that they’ll assist Wieskamp throughout the process.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As the Minnesota Timberwolves wound down the second half of their schedule that was as dull as the first part was dramatic, they were outspoken in their desire to establish a healthier and steadier environment. They’re determined to confine the 2019-20 excitement to contention for the playoffs, not off-the-court issues. After their first postseason appearance in 14 years in 2017-18, the Timberwolves were absent again this spring. The top offseason priority will be hiring a new basketball boss.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty acquired guard Tanisha Wright from Minnesota on Thursday in a deal that also included Las Vegas and Atlanta.

The Liberty sent their second-round pick in the 2020 draft to the Lynx in exchange for guard Tanisha Wright. New York also sent guard Sugar Rogers to Las Vegas for the Aces’ second round pick in 2020, and the Aces traded Nia Coffey to Atlanta.

Wright averaged 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Minnesota last year. She spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with New York after 10 years with Seattle.

MASON CITY — North Iowa Bulls associate head coach Kevin Murdock has been hired to be the new head coach of the Kenai River Brown Bears of the North American Hockey League. Murdock spent three years with the Bulls program, helping the Bulls to 119 regular season and post-season wins. More than 40 Bulls players and alumni in the last three years have moved on to college and NAHL programs, including several who have reached the NCAA Division I ranks. Murdock was named on Thursday as the Alaska-based hockey team’s new head coach, taking over for Josh Petrich, who spent two years as the Brown Bears’ head coach.