Friday’s Sports

Franklin County Sports Complex

MLB

Thursday

Astros (48-27) 2 – Yankees (56-21) 1

Friday

Rangers at New York Mets 6:10 pm

Angels at Houston Astros 7:10 pm

WNBA

American basketball star Brittney Griner appeared in a Moscow-area court for trial Friday, about 4 1/2 months after she was arrested on cannabis possession charges at an airport while traveling to play for a Russian team. The Phoenix Mercury center and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist could face up to ten years in prison if convicted of large-scale transportation of drugs.

COLLEGE

In a seismic shift in college athletics, the Big Ten voted Thursday to add Southern California and UCLA as conference members beginning in 2024. The expansion to 16 teams will happen after the Pac-12’s current media rights contracts with Fox and ESPN expire and make the Big Ten the first conference to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The announcement came almost a year after Oklahoma and Texas formally accepted invitations to join the Southeastern Conference in July 2025.

Texas A&M University-Commerce is officially a member of the Southland Conference as it reclassifies from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I on Friday. The Lions join the nine-team Southland Conference with fellow Texas schools Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, as well as McNeese, New Orleans, Nicholls, Northwestern State, and Southeastern Louisiana.

DIXIE

It will be a busy weekend of Dixie Youth 12U Ozone Baseball in Franklin County this weekend that will feature 17 teams, and 64 games over three days beginning on Saturday and it concludes Monday.

The Division I bracket has eight teams: Athens, Sulphur Springs, Texarkana, Hallsville, Lindale, Palestine, Mount Pleasant Black, and Atlanta.

Nine teams are in the Division II bracket that includes Delta County, Sabine, Howe, Lamar County, DeKalb, Pottsboro, Hughes Springs, White Oak, and the host Franklin County.

Day Passes are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-12.

Several teams had success this past weekend (June 25-27) at DYB all-star tournaments. 

7U Coach Pitch – State Champions. Will advance to the Regional World Series in Monroe, LA, starting July 22. Bronson Brown, head coach

6U T-Ball National – North Division 1 Regional Champions – Advance to the state championship series in Longview July 8-9 to play 2 of 3 with the South Division 1 Champs for the state title. The state champ and the runner-up will advance to the DYB Regional World Series in Monroe, LA starting July 22. Cade Petty, head coach

8U Coach Pitch – North Division 1 Regional Champions – Advance to state championship series in Longview July 8-9 to play 2 of 3 series with the South Division 1 Champs for the state title. The state champ and the runner-up will advance to the DYB Regional World Series in Monroe, LA starting July 22. Aaron Barnes, head coach

6U T-Ball American: Won the 6U Classic state tournament. There is no advancement for teams in the Classic series. Brandon Hancock, head coach