Yoán Moncada pulled a double into the right-field corner during the second inning of an April 2 game against the Houston Astros last season at Minute Maid Park.

The Chicago White Sox third baseman doubled again — this time pulling a grounder that just stayed fair down the first-base line — in the sixth inning. Batting left-handed again, the switch-hitter capped the day by going the other way with a two-run home run to left field in the ninth.

Moncada had a strong start to the season, going 8-for-18 (.444) with two homers and four RBIs in the series against the Astros as he built off his All-Tournament Team performance for Cuba during the World Baseball Classic. Then came the back issues that led to two trips to the injured list.

“During the first half of that season, it was painful, stressful,” Moncada said through an interpreter Thursday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago in Bridgeport. “I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to do stuff and help the team but I couldn’t. It was a really tough time for me.”

He was out from April 11-May 12 with lower back soreness and again June 14-July 25 with lower back inflammation.

Moncada rebounded after returning from the second IL stint, slashing .280/.323/.430 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in August and .298/.344/.560 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in September.

“Once I started getting better and stronger, I felt much better and I felt good,” Moncada said. “That was why I was able to finish the way that I did and that’s how I feel right now.”

The 28-year-old is aiming to use that late-season bounce back as a springboard for 2024.

“He feels great, the back feels great, he’s motivated,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He’s going to get to spring training early on the 31st of January or first of February, which is a great sign and he’s going to put himself in a position to have a great year. We need Moncada.

“He’s motivated to having a full season under his belt, which is good for him.”

Moncada slashed .260/.305/.425 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs in 2023. After appearing in 144 games in 2021, Moncada played 104 games in 2022 and 92 in 2023.

His offseason work has included strengthening his abs, back and legs to “get all that core really strong,” he said.

“The way I’m preparing myself for this coming season is to play 202 games,” Moncada said, when asked about attempting to play as close to 162 games as possible. “That’s an exaggeration, but that’s how I’m preparing myself.

“I want to be healthy. I want to be on the field every day.”

Moncada said he is motivated and excited because he’s healthy.

“That’s the only thing I want — if I’m healthy, I know I can do a lot of good things in the field,” Moncada said. “I’m excited right now to get to spring training and start working.

“I think God has saved something good for me. Hopefully we are going to see that. Hopefully I’ll be able to be healthy and really show and really display all I can do on the field.”

Moncada’s best season was in 2019, when he established career highs in several categories, including OPS (.915), doubles (34), home runs (25) and RBIs (79). He signed a five-year, $70 million extension in March 2020 — a deal in which the Sox hold an option for $25 million in 2025 with a $5 million buyout.

The solid defensive third baseman knows he’ll be fielding questions from reporters about the future.

“I would love to stay with the White Sox if they want me here,” Moncada said. “I’m very thankful for the White Sox for the opportunity they have given me after I was traded from the Red Sox (in December 2016). They’ve been treating me very well. I like the organization, I like the city, I like the fans. I would like to stay here.”

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CLASS 3A

Benilde-St. Margaret’s 73, Stewartville 42

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is one win away from going back to back as the Class 3A champion.

Michigan commit Olivia Olson finished with 32 points and seven rebounds for the top-seeded Red Knights (26-5), while Zahara Bishop added 18 points. It was all Benilde-St. Margaret’s from the jump, as the defending champs led 26-5 early.

Audrey Schindelar scored 16 points to lead fifth-seeded Stewartville (22-9).

DeLaSalle 82, Alexandria Area 69

DeLaSalle star guard Aneish Scott tallied 29 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to lead the second-seeded Islanders into the Class 3A game.

DeLaSalle (27-3) will meet Benilde-St. Margaret’s at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Islanders beat the Red Knights 78-65 in December.

DeLaSalle shot 55 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep on Thursday, while turning the ball over just seven times. Jordyn Johnson added 20 points for DeLaSalle, who also beat Alexandria 74-64 in early December.

Hadley Thul had 29 points — on 9-for-11 shooting from the field — five rebounds and five assists for third-seeded Alexandria (25-5).

CLASS 4A

Hopkins 84, Maple Grove 78

For the 11th time in 13 years, Hopkins has reached the state title game.

Erma Walker scored 30 points on 14-for-16 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds to lead a Royals offense that shot 53 percent from the field. Liv McGill added 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the top-seeded Royals (27-3).

But Maple Grove’s offense kept the Crimson (25-5) in the contest throughout. Maple Grove shot 56 percent from the field and 53 percent from deep. The fourth-seeded Crimson had three players score 17-plus points, led by 21 points and seven rebounds from Jordan Ode. Claire Stern added 19 points and eight assists.

Hopkins led by 13 with six minutes to play, but Maple Grove pulled to within three with 63 seconds to play. But the Royals delivered a key stop with 38 seconds to play to essentially put the game on ice.

CLASS A

Goodhue 65, Mayer Lutheran 38

Elisabeth Gadient and Natalie Thomforde each scored 19 points to lead the top-seeded Wildcats to a quarterfinal victory.

Gadient also grabbed 15 rebounds, while Kendyl Lodermeier had 11 points and 11 boards for her own double-dobule.

Goodhue (26-5) held Mayer Lutheran to just 27-percent shooting from the floor, including 1 for 7 from distance. Danica Martin had 10 points and 15 boards for Mayer Lutheran (19-11).

Underwood 64, Southwest Minnesota Christian 52

Underwood went 11 for 23 from 3-point range as the No. 4 seed advanced to Friday’s semifinals.

Underwood (28-3) will meet top-seeded Goodhue in the Class A semis at 12 p.m. Friday.

Kallyn Grove went 3 for 3 from deep, highlighting her 16-point, 11-rebound performance. Elizabeth Lukken scored 18 points on a day where four Underwood starters scored in double figures.

Jocelyn Barron tallied 22 points and 14 boards for fifth-seeded Southwest Minnesota Christian (28-3).

Mountain Iron-Buhl 71, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 36

Jordan Zubich had 20 points and seven assists as second-seeded Mountain Iron-Buhl successfully kicked off its state title defense.

Mountain Iron-Buhl will face third-seeded Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart in the Class A semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday after Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (28-3) downed Fosston 72-35 in the quarters.

Mountain Iron-Buhl buried 14 triples Thursday, while holding Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (24-7) to just 1 for 11 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Rangers (28-3) also forced 27 turnovers that led to 30 points.

Hopkins guard Lauren Hillesheim (12) looks for a shot during the second half of a Class 4A semifinal game of the State Girls Basketball Tournament at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Hopkins won 84-78. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

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Sam Darnold spoke to reporters for the first time on Thursday afternoon at TCO Performance Center.

He answered every question with the professionalism of a veteran. He expressed gratitude to the Vikings for signing him to a one-year, $10 million deal. He lauded the expertise of head coach Kevin O’Connell. He heaped praise on his new teammates even though he has yet to meet most of them.

There’s no doubt Darnold carries himself as a franchise quarterback off the field.  Now the next step for him is carrying himself like a franchise quarterback on the field.

That’s been an issue for him since being selected by New York Jets with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. He has a 21-35 record as a starter having also played for the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers. This will likely be Darnold’s last chance to prove himself.

Asked about how he’s approaching everything at this point in his career, Darnold replied, “Just excited to be able to compete.” His biggest competition could very well come next month if the Vikings decide to take a rookie quarterback in the draft.

“No matter what happens I’m going to compete,” Darnold said. “Just excited for the opportunity to do that.”

It helps that Darnold will get to work alongside O’Connell throughout the process. There’s also a connection between Darnold and new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. They were teammates back when Darnold was a New York Jets rookie, and that pre-existing relationship should help him hit the ground running.

“He’s amazing,” Darnold said. “It’s going to be fun to be able to work with him being able to talk about what we want to do fundamentally in this offense and kind of build on what I’ve been doing.”

The most growth Darnold has shown as a pro came last season when the 49ers made him their backup to Brock Purdy. The lessons that Darnold learned from head coach Kyle Shanahan were invaluable in his development. That showed up on the film in a very small sample size, and O’Connell acknowledged that he’s excited to keep the ball rolling.

“It’s something I’m very much looking forward to,” O’Connell said. “I think he still has his best football out in front of him.”

If he wins the starting job out of training camp, which he will have the inside track at doing, this will be the most talent Darnold has ever had around him. He will get to hand the ball off to running back Aaron Jones. He will get to throw to star receiver Justin Jefferson. He will have tight end T.J. Hockenson as a security blanket.

Not that he’s getting too far ahead of himself.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be put in before we can say anything about winning a lot of games,” Darnold said. “I know that, and I’m very willing to put that work in.”

Briefly

In a pair of depth moves, the Vikings signed defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, then receiver Trent Sherfield. Both players should work themselves into a role on their respective side of the field.

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Gophers defensive tackle Kyler Baugh has already overcome long odds, and he’s betting big on himself yet again.

The small-town Oklahoma kid made the jump from FCS-level Houston Baptist to all-Big Ten honorable mention in the last two seasons at Minnesota. Now he’s shooting for the NFL, participating in the Gophers’ annual Pro Day at the Larson Football Performance Center on Thursday.

Baugh, who measured 6-foot-1 and 302 pounds, posted a broad jump of 9 feet, 5 inches, with a vertical jump of 33 1/2 inches, with 34 bench press reps of 225 pounds.

“I felt really good about today,” Baugh said about his performance.

Baugh grew up in Talihina, Okla., which has a listed population of 915, and he dreamt of playing in the NFL since he was in the third grade.

“I’ve been doing everything I can to make it happen,” said Baugh, who has been training in Atlanta this offseason. “I never thought I would be in this position right now. I’m just really grateful that I am.”

Baugh posted 41 total tackles and three sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble last season. He had 36 tackles and one sack in 2022.

“I’ve talked to quite a few teams; they got some interest in me,” shared Baugh, adding that NFL franchises have mentioned how they like his athleticism and that he’s impressive on an every-snap basis.

Nubin on mend

Safety Tyler Nubin opted to have a meniscectomy on his right knee after the 2023 regular season, and the recovery process has hampered his pre-draft activities.

“It kind of bit me in the butt a little bit,” Nubin said of not being 100 percent at the NFL scouting combine earlier this month. “I was dealing with some residual stuff from that.”

Listed at 6-1 and 205 pounds, Nubin said he’s currently 90-95 percent healthy but still ran the 40-yard dash at the U’s Pro Day.

Nubin’s recovery might be affecting his draft stock, but his body of work on the field is strong. He has been considered a potential first-round pick, but that might now become a second-round status.

Nubin said he was invited to the NFL draft in Detroit in late April, but he will watch from his family’s home in Illinois.

“I wanted to be around my family,” Nubin said with a smile. “I got too many family members that I want to invite. I think they would get mad at me if I pick and choose. I don’t want to have to go through that.”

Fleck’s pride

Coach P.J. Fleck did not speak with reporters Thursday but issued a statement.

“It was an elite morning watching our players compete at pro day in front of all 32 NFL teams today,” he said. “As a coach, there are few things better than seeing your players — who have worked extremely hard to get to this moment — continue their journey and reach for their dreams.”

Fleck plans to meet with media members before the start of spring practices next week.

Maxed out

Tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, who scored a touchdown in the Senior Bowl, said he has met with the Jets, Broncos and Cowboys and will continue to visit with NFL franchises as the draft approaches.

Ex-U tight end Maxx Williams, an eight-year NFL veteran, came out to the U’s indoor facility to support Spann-Ford, but, in turn, had to deal with some flak.

Spann-Ford made it a point to say he ran a faster 40-yard dash than Williams did in 2015.

“I just want to get that out to the media, so everybody knows that,” Spann-Ford joked. “I’m sure he’s going to love seeing that.”

Briefly

Long snapper Brady Weeks, who had a near-perfect track record over a school-record 59 games, was satisfied with his performance Thursday. He had a vertical jump of 34 1/2 inches, a 9.6 board jump and a bench press of 18 reps. “I’m a sneaky athlete,” Weeks said. “… Snappers are athletes, too.” … Nubin said he has consulted with former U defensive backs now in the NFL, including Jordan Howden, Terell Smith and Benjamin St-Juste, but not so much Antoine Winfield Jr. “I know he’s a busy man; he’s a money man now,” said Nubin in reference to the Buccaneers placing a franchise tag on Winfield worth $17.1 million next season. … Two of the premier candidates for the Gophers’ Pro Day next year include left tackle Aireontae Ersery and edge rusher Jah Joyner. Spann-Ford also mentioned new transfer quarterback Max Brosmer, who helped throw on Thursday to pass catchers, including Chris Autman-Bell and Corey Crooms Jr. “Max is a great dude,” Spann-Ford said. “High character guy. Can’t wait to see what he does for the Gophers this year. He’s a tremendous leader. There is definitely big things coming and you will definitely see him at this Pro Day next year working out.”

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