WEDNESDAY, JULY 11:
Baseball:  Watertown @ Brookings Bandits (DH), 5:00pm

Golf:   SDGA-First Dakota National Bank Junior Tour, Prairie Green, Sioux Falls
  

BANDITS BASEBALL…Brookings broke out with three first-inning runs, and went on to an 11-1, seven-inning win over Valley Springs Tuesday in American Legion baseball.
    Kelby Beste’s three hits and two runs batted in paced the Bandits’ offense.  Landon Busch and Konner Beste each drove in three runs -–Beste did it without the benefit of a hit.  Riley Bullington, Matt Thomas and Thomas McMacken each drove in two runs.
    Busch fired a one-hitter for the win.  He walked three and struck out ten.  The Bandits are now 24-5 on the season.

TEENER BASEBALL…The Brookings Bombers Black took two games from Sioux Falls East Tuesday – final scores were 12-4 and 13-3.

SDSU SOFTBALL COACH…South Dakota State has hired Alex Hupp as an assistant coach on Tuesday.
    Hupp joins the Jackrabbits after two seasons as an assistant at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., and after a standout career at the University of Nebraska.
    In two seasons with the Hornets, Hupp helped guide the team to a combined 84-27 overall record, which includes a 28-4 mark in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play. ESU advanced to the NCAA Regional in both seasons and posted a perfect 20-0 MIAA record in 2012, when the Hornets advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional final in Edmond, Okla.
    While playing for the Cornhuskers, she threw a no-hitter and posted a career 3.09 ERA in 197.1 innings. She saw time at the plate, on the base paths, in the outfield and in the circle for the Huskers.
    Off the field, Hupp earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors twice, and Commissioners Honor Roll accolades in all four years at Nebraska.
    Hupp earned first-team High School All-American honors from the NFCA and EA Sports in 2006 following her standout career at Olathe East High School. She earned Gatorade Softball Player of the Year honors for the state of Kansas in 2005-06 after leading her high school team to three straight state championships in Kansas Class 6A.

SDSU FUNDRAISING…South Dakota State donors, alumni and friends made 2012 a record-setting year for the Jackrabbit Club, the annual fundraising arm for SDSU Athletics.
    The Jackrabbit Club finished its 2012 Fund Drive with record numbers in both dollars raised and members. From July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012, the Jackrabbit Club generated $1,049,000 with 1581 members. This marked the first time in school history that the Jackrabbit Club surpassed $1 million raised and the1500 member mark. The Jackrabbit Club also welcomed over 300 new members in 2012.
    All funds raised though the Jackrabbit Club go to support athletic scholarships.

USD BB SIGN…Austin Sparks, a 6-foot-8 forward/center and upcoming high school senior from Colorado, committed to the University of South Dakota men’s basketball program on Monday. He made the announcement on Twitter.
    Sparks transferred to Fairview High School from Valor Christian, where he averaged 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior.
    He plays club basketball with the Colorado Chaos, the same team current USD player Terrell Brown was a member of while in high school.

NDSU WBB…Stephanie Reiter has been named women’s basketball director of operations at North Dakota State University. NDSU head women’s basketball coach Carolyn DeHoff made the announcement today.
    Reiter worked for University of Sioux Falls, alongside with new NDSU assistant coach Tom Goehle, the past two seasons as a graduate assistant. Her responsibilities included film exchange, preliminary breakdown of scout, monitoring academic success of student-athletes, coaching junior varsity squad, and assisting in practice and game preparation.

MMC VB…Elk Point-Jefferson standout Lexie Branson, who helped the Huskies to three straight state Class A Volleyball Tournament appearances and set state-tournament record with a 1.83 block per game average, will attend Mount Marty and play volleyball for the Lancers, the institution announced on Tuesday.
    Branson had been the “other” middle during her sophomore and junior seasons, as teammate Kelly Reed racked up the attention. When Reed graduated, Branson stepped into the spotlight, recording 394 kills and 88 blocks to lead the Huskies to another state tournament appearance.

WAYNE STATE AD…Mike Powicki has been named director of athletics at Wayne State College. He will begin his duties at Wayne State College on July 23. Powicki takes over for Eric Schoh, who resigned in May to become athletic director at Winona State University in Minnesota.
    Powicki served as assistant director of athletics at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota since 2008. He was the assistant athletic director for marketing and corporate partnerships from 2008-10 and was promoted to assistant director of athletics for development and strategic partnerships in 2010 where he has served in that role until the present time.
    Powicki was responsible for successfully developing and executing the annual athletics department revenue generation plan for $1.7 million, providing overall leadership and management of the revenue generation, development and marketing operations and budget, supervised athletic department marketing and revenue generation staff and worked with local and regional media groups to purchase and produce marketing and advertising for the athletic department.

HAMMON HONORED…San Antonio Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon has been named the WNBA's Western Conference Player of the Week.
    Hammon helped lead the Silver Stars to a 4-0 record on the week as the team improved its overall record to 11-5 and moved into second place in the Western Conference. For the week, Hammon averaged 20.3 points per game with 4.8 assists per game while shooting 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the charity stripe.
    Hammon opened the week with 22 points and four assists in an 82-81 win against Phoenix at home. She then tallied 19 points, going 3-of-3 from 3-point range, keying a come-from-behind win at Indiana. She had 17 points and six assists in a 78-73 win at Washington and finished the week with 23 points and six assists in a 94-81 win at New York.
    A six-time WNBA All-Star, Hammon leads the WNBA with 5.7 assists per game while ranking second on the team with 16.8 points per contest.

TENNIS HALL…Two players who were “graduates” of city park tennis while growing up in Sioux Falls are the 2012 inductees into the South Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame. They will be inducted July 22 at the McKennan Park tennis complex in Sioux Falls during the Asfora/Clayton SD Open.
    Nancy Driggs Hougland started tennis at age 12 on nearby Lincoln High School courts. After grooming her game, Hougland was a top college player who went on to win six total SD Open singles championships.
    Dick Hahn didn’t start tennis at the city courts until age 15 and had moderate success at Washington High School, but he hit his stride in college. He won a North Central Conference title at No. 1 singles for Augustana. As a tennis pro, Hahn helped grow the game over a 20-year span, first at Westward Ho in Sioux Falls, then for 15 years in the Lake Okoboji (Iowa) area.
    The 2012 SD Tennis Achievement Award focuses on the “Hub City” of Aberdeen. Honored are the Gordon and Caroline Bell family and the late Judy Rezatto. The Bells did it all in Aberdeen, starting in the 1970s. Youngsters Greg, Theresa and Maria all earned high sectional rankings.
    Rezatto, who died of cancer March 22, coached tennis with enthusiasm and dignity for 20 years at Aberdeen Roncalli.

NO MORE DAC… The Dakota Athletic Conference finished its last year of existence at the end of the 2011-12 academic year.
The league’s website will stay online until Aug. 10 before being shut down.
    Teams that had participated in the conference included Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Dickinson State University, Jamestown College, Mayville State University, Minot State University, Si Tanka University at Huron, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, University of Mary and Valley City State University.