Mariners News

The red-hot Mariners are looking to continue their recent success in tonight’s series-opener against the Boston Red Sox. The M’s are coming off four straight series wins and have won eight of their last ten games, the most of any team in baseball. Dylan Moore was just named American League Player of the Week and Cal Raleigh has hit 7 home runs in his last nine games to lead Seattle’s streaking offense.

A Mariners win and a Rangers loss would give the M’s first place in the AL West. But it won’t be easy against a Red Sox club that’s won five of their last six. First pitch for today’s game at Fenway Park is at 3:40 on KPUG.

Meanwhile, the Mariners parted ways with a former All-Star pitcher just before the series. Seattle traded veteran left-hander Drew Pomeranz to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash. The 36-year-old signed a minor league contract with the M’s in March. He went on to go 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA and two saves for Triple-A Tacoma.

Pomeranz earned an All-Star nod back in 2016 while playing for the Padres, but hasn’t been in a big-league game since 2021. He’ll reunite with Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who led Milwaukee when Pomeranz played for the Brewers in 2019.

Kraken News

The Kraken are shaking up their front-office structure. The team announced that it’s promoting longtime general manager Ron Francis to president of hockey operations. Assistant Jason Botterill will take over day-to-day responsibilities. It’s his second GM job in the league after he ran the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-20.

The announcement comes just a day after the Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma following one season with the team. Kraken owner Samantha Holloway said in a statement that the changes reflect their commitment to becoming a “sustained playoff team.”

Storm News

The Storm will be without one of their rising prospects for the upcoming season. The team announced today that guard Nika Muhl will miss the 2025 season with an ACL tear. She suffered the injury in October while playing for Turkish club Besiktas.

The Storm took Muhl in the second round of last year’s WNBA Draft. She was a popular college player at UConn and was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year twice. The 24-year-old played just 57 minutes over two games last season as a rookie.

WWU Vikings News

Western Washington University’s softball team was just named GNAC Team of the Week. The 10th nationally ranked Viks have won 12 of their last 13 games, including a series sweep over Central Washington last weekend. Western outscored Central 49-5 throughout the four games and won three of them by mercy rule.

Senior catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez went 8-13 at the plate and hit a grand slam on her way to earning GNAC Player of the Week. Meanwhile, sophomore third baseman Maleah Andrews still ranks fourth all of Division-II with a .500 batting average on the season.

The series guaranteed Western a spot in next week’s GNAC tournament and moved them one win away from clinching the conference’s regular-season title. The Viks conclude their regular season at home this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders against Simon Fraser.