Minnesota Scene: Alabama driver wins Akona 240

Grant Enfinger won the Akona 250 on Saturday night at Elko Speedway. Tom Hessert was the runner-up for the second year in a row in the ARCA Racing Series event, and J.J. Haley, only 15 years old, finished third.

It was Enfinger's fourth victory of the season. The 29-year-old from Fairhope, Ala., came into the race second in the national points standings but moved into first. He had the second-fastest car in qualifying.

The Wild will open the 2014-15 regular season with a home-and-home series against the Colorado Avalanche, the Central Division champion the Wild beat in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in April.

The teams will meet Oct. 9 at Xcel Energy Center and Oct. 11 in Denver.

Home openers were announced by league teams Saturday. The rest of the schedule is expected to be announced Sunday.

Michael Russo

St. Paul's Alexis Nelson won 6-4, 6-0 over Nyla Beenk on Saturday and advanced to the championship of the U.S. Open Northern Section qualifying tournament at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center. Nelson was ranked No. 1 in the United States for girls 16s in January.

In the men's semifinals, Notre Dame's Wyatt McCoy defeated Charlie Adams 6-3, 6-3 in and Jesse Ruder-Hook beat Tucker Saxon 6-4, 6-2.

• The Rockland Boulders scored 10 runs in the sixth inning in routing the St. Paul Saints 14-5 at Midway Stadium.

• Deb Hayes won 1 up over Bernie Brown in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Women's PGA Match Play Championship at Phalen Park Golf Course. Other second-day, first-flight winners Saturday were Sarah Burnham, Leigh Klasse and Lynn Anderson.

• Gatorade's boys' track and field athlete of the year in Minnesota is Rosemount senior Payton Otterdahl.