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Northwest Missouri State baseball gets swept at Pitt State

The Pittsburg State Gorillas stayed hot Sunday as they completed the four-game sweep of the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats taking games three and four 7-5 and 5-4.

Northwest fell to 14-28 on the season and 13-19 in MIAA play while the Gorillas improved to 18-23 overall and 14-18 in league play.

Game one saw the Gorillas jumping out to an early 2-0 lead plating runs in the first and second innings.

The Bearcats got on the board in the fourth thanks to a Landinn Eckhardt sacrifice bunt that plated Eric McGlauflin who had reached via walk to start the inning.

Pittsburg State answered back in the bottom of the fourth and then upped their lead to 5-1 in the fifth.

Northwest would rally in the sixth plating three runs off of hits from Charlie Krueger and JJ Baccari but the Gorillas’ bats would continue to stay hot in the home half of the sixth as they would tack on two runs of their own.

The Bearcats added a run in the seventh off of a Steven Garber single, his third hit of the afternoon, but that would be as close as Northwest would get.

Sean Brady recorded the loss on the mound for Northwest.

Game two once again saw the Gorillas strike first as they jumped to the early 2-0 lead in the first.

Northwest cut the Pittsburg State lead in half in the fourth thanks to a Gorilla error before tying the game at 2-2 in the eighth.

The Gorillas would retake the lead in the home half of the eighth off of three hits and one error.

The Bearcats would rally in the ninth as Baccari and Bedard would each record hits helping to put two runs on the board for Northwest but that was as close as the Bearcats would get as they would fall 5-4.

On the mound, Chris Green suffered the tough-luck no-decision scattering just four hits and striking out six.  Josh Parrish suffered the loss, allowing three unearned runs in eighth.

Jon Pomatto and McGlauflin recorded two hits each in the loss to lead the Bearcats offensively.

Up Next: The Bearcats continue MIAA action next weekend when they host Washburn.  First pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Loshe, Cardinals win series finale at Pittsburgh

The way Kyle Lohse is pitching at the moment, the St. Louis right-hander doesn’t need much run support to win.

The same goes for Pittsburgh’s Erik Bedard.

Only Lohse, however, has the luxury of playing on the team with the National League’s best offense. It made all the difference Sunday.

Lohse scattered six hits while pitching into the eighth inning to lead the Cardinals past the Pirates 5-1.

David Freese had a two-run single for the St. Louis and Rafael Furcal had three hits as the Cardinals extended their strong start behind another superb outing from Lohse (3-0), who struck out five without issuing a walk even though his ERA actually ticked up from 0.89 to 0.99.

“Man he’s unreal,” Freese said of Lohse. “I’ve heard other guys say that when he hits his spots, he’s one of the toughest in the game to string some hits together. And he’s showing it, for sure.”

So is Bedard, who was again undone by a lack of run support.

The left-hander gave up three runs on six hits, walking four and striking out seven in seven innings but it wasn’t enough to keep his record from calling to 0-4. The Pirates have scored three times with Bedard on the mound this season.

“All you can do is battle,” Bedard said. “Runs will come and right now they’re just not coming. You keep doing what you can and put zeroes up there.”

Lohse improved to 8-2 in his career against Pittsburgh, having his way with baseball’s worst offense. His only mistake came in the eighth, when Michael McKenry led off with a double and scored on Casey McGehee’s pinch-hit single to trim St. Louis’ lead to 3-1.

Mitchell Boggs came on in relief and quickly shut the door. Nate McLouth flied to left and Boggs held onto Jose Tabata’s sharp grounder back to the mound to start an inning-ending double play.

The Cardinals tacked on two runs in the ninth off Evan Meek for the final margin.

Bedard, as he has in each of his starts, kept the Pirates in it despite a rocky first inning in which the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs, just as they did against A.J. Burnett on Saturday night.

Burnett, however, settled down and escaped the inning unscathed. Bedard wasn’t quite so fortunate, giving up a run when Carlos Beltran hit into a double play.

St. Louis made it 3-0 in the third when Furcal led off with a double and Tyler Greene walked. Bedard managed to get through Matt Holliday and Beltran and came within a strike of getting out of the jam before Freese lined a sharp single to right.

The hit ended a 1-for-25 funk by the Cardinals with runners in scoring position.

“I didn’t even know it was that bad,” Freese said. “But you feel it a little. You definitely understand what’s happening, what’s been going on.”

Bedard didn’t give up another hit over his final four innings, but once again it wasn’t enough in yet another nip-tuck game for the Pirates.

Though Pittsburgh has been anemic at the plate — coming in with a team batting average of .203, easily the worst in the majors — the Pirates have remained competitive thanks to a pitching staff that ranks third in the NL in ERA (2.53).

Pittsburgh hasn’t scored more than five runs or given up more than five runs in a game this season, the longest such streak to start a year in the NL since the 1965 Pirates.

That team shook off a 6-10 start to finish 90-72 and featured three Hall of Famers in Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski.

This version of the Pirates lacks that kind of star power, and will need to find some offense eventually if it wants to be a factor this summer.

“We’ve scored (three) runs in Erik’s starts,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “It’s problematic.”

The Cardinals have no such worries. The defending World Series champions are the National League’s top offensive team despite losing slugger Albert Pujols in the offseason.

St. Louis has outscored its opponents by 36 runs through the season’s first two weeks, the most in the NL and have won each of its first six series of the season.

“That’s what you try to do, you try to win series,” Freese said. “You want to sweep, but that’s obviously not going to happen all the time. Consistency, that’s the name of this game, and we’re doing that pretty well right now.”

— Associated Press —

NWMSU women lose MIAA championship match to SBU

Playing for the second time in three days the Northwest Missouri State women’s tennis team fell 5-3 on Sunday to top seeded Southwest Baptist in the MIAA Women’s Tennis Championship at the Plaza Tennis Center.

Northwest fell to 12-12 on the year as SBU improved to 22-2 on the season after completing a sweep of the regular season and tournament titles. The loss likely brings an end to the season for Northwest as they will await their postseason fate.

After winning their last three doubles matches the No. 2 duo of Erika Leston and Leslee Feldhaus earned an 8-2 win as the only point for Northwest in doubles play.

In singles action Northwest picked up its only wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles with Kim Ho and Emily Hoffman. Ho breezed to an easy 6-0, 6-0 win as Hoffman won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.

That would be the only wins Northwest picked up as SBU ran past the Bearcats at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles to claim the MIAA Tournament Title.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffons close spring football with scrimmage at Spratt Stadium

Spratt Stadium was littered with sunshine and fall like temperatures as Griffon Football wrapped up spring practice with their annual scrimmage.  A crowd of about 500 fans looked on as all three phases of the game; offense, defense and special teams looked sharp.

The scrimmage opened with the first team offense and defense going at each other.  The opening series was a steady diet of running back Michael Hill.  The senior to be looked his usual speedy, strong self with two carries of ten yards or more in the first four plays.  On Hill’s third carry, he galloped 50 yards to the five yard line when two plays later quarterback Travis Partridge hit redshirt freshman tight end Alek Ferbet from two yards out for the scrimmages opening score.  Three possessions later, Hill scored again, a 40 yard scamper for the Griffons’ second touchdown of the day.

Later in the scrimmage, the offense scored the final of their three touchdowns on the day as backup quarterback Tyler Harrison hit tight end Reggie Jordan on a 21 yard strike.

Speaking of quarterback Travis Partridge, he looked sharp as well.  Stating several times during the offseason that he needed to improve in the passing game, he consistently hit his receivers in stride while looking especially accurate in the two minute drill constantly throwing precise out routes to the sideline to stop the clock.

The Griffon defense had a solid day as well forcing two turnovers, the first of which came on the sixth offensive possession of the day when cornerback Jeremy Weston picked off a Partridge pass over the middle.  Late in the scrimmage, with younger players in the game redshirt freshman Jon Trocosso recovered a Ricky Thomson fumble.  Another turnover was negated by an offside penalty as defensive back Stephen Juergens picked off a fourth down Partridge boot leg pass.  The defense line also made their presence felt with numerous stops in goal line situations.

With 17 starters and 26 seniors returning, the Griffons don’t have a lot of holes to fill.  One of them however is that of placekicker.  With NFL draft hopeful and First Team All-American Greg Zuerlein on hand, his replacement Taylor Anderson showed well.  Anderson, who filled in for Zuerlein early last year and went 6 for 6 in kicks attempted put his talents on display going 3 for 6 in 50 + yard kicks while not missing a kick from shorter distances.

With spring practice concluded, the Griffons can now set their sights on fall camp which will begin around August 8 with the season opener set for Thursday, August 30 at 6 PM as the Griffons host Central Missouri in Spratt Stadium.

2012 season tickets are on sale now by joining the Gold Coat Victory Fund.  You can join on-line at gogriffons.com or for more information contact the athletics department at 816-271-5926.

2012 GRIFFON FOOTBALL SPRING GAME STARTING LINE-UPS
Offense
QB  #12 Travis Partridge
RB #22 Michael Hill
WR #3 Tyron Crockom
WR #9 Derek Libby
WR #11 Tarrell Downing
TE #89 Reggie Jordan
LT #67 Nick Clark
LG #70 Brian Chiles
C #64 Michael Yardley
RG #74 Jeremy Jacobson
RT #71 Macon Allan

Defense

DE #91 David Bass
DT #88 John Brown
DT # 89 Austin Baska
DE # 93 Ben Pister
LB #47 Wallace Carter
LB #25 Yomi Alli
LB #5 Dan Ritter
CB #1 Jeremy Weston
CB #2 Ben Jackson
S #37 Stephen Juergens
S 35 Kirk Resseguie

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State advances to MIAA championship match

The Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team advanced to the MIAA Men’s Tennis Finals with a 5-0 win over Truman State on Saturday as the Bearcats will look for their third consecutive championship at the Plaza Tennis Center.

The 26th-ranked Bearcats improved to 18-4 on the year as they shutout Truman for the second time this season. Northwest will take on Southwest Baptist in Sunday’s MIAA Championship match for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

SBU and Northwest are each 2-2 against each other in the four MIAA Championships since 2007. Northwest also took the regular season meeting between their purple Bearcat foes in rather easy fashion winning 5-1

On Saturday Northwest jumped out to an early 3-0 lead taking No. 3 and No. 2 doubles with ease. At No. 3 doubles Calvin Patterson and Luis Altimires breezed to an 8-0 win while Rafael Bugiga and Guilherme Narducci took an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles.

In singles the Bearcats took wins at No. 2 and No. 4 singles to claim the 5-0 win.

Mario Jakovljevic bested Jake Ohlhausen 6-0, 6-3 to give Northwest a 4-0 lead before Guilherme Narducci claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffon tennis falls 5-0 to Truman State at MIAA Championships

The Griffon tennis team fell in the consolation side of the MIAA Championships by a score of 5-0 against the Truman State Bulldogs. Western will play its final match of the season at 3:00 pm against the Lincoln Blue Tigers. The Griffons have beaten the Blue Tigers twice this season.

Western played better today but it wouldn’t be enough as Nicole Kerr and Katie Field fell 8-6 against Kim Birenbaum and Maggie Schutte in No. 2 doubles while Ceara Boldridge and Kayla Dysart fell 8-4 against Ellen Russell and Dagmar Velez in No. 1 doubles while Alecia Jenkins and Erin Ward fell 8-1 against Kelsey Porter and Jessica Gunnuso.

In singles Erin Ward fell 6-1 and 6-1 against Maggi Schutte while Jenkins fell 6-1 and 6-0 against Jennifer Hawkins.

Singles competition

1. Kerr,Nicole (MWSU) vs. Russell,Ellen (TSU) no result
2. Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) vs. Velez,Dagmar (TSU) no result
3. Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) vs. Birenbaum,Kim (TSU) no result
4. Schutte,Maggi (TSU) def. Ward,Erin (MWSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Hawkins,Jennifer (TSU) def. Jenkins,Alecia (MWSU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Field,Katie (MWSU) vs. Austin,Katie (TSU) no result

Doubles competition

1. Russell,Ellen/Velez,Dagmar (TSU) def. Boldridge,Ceara/Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) 8-4
2. Birenbaum,Kim/Schutte,Maggi (TSU) def. Kerr,Nicole/Field,Katie (MWSU) 8-6
3. Porter,Kelsey/Gennuso,Jessica (TSU) def. Jenkins,Alecia/Ward,Erin (MWSU) 8-1

— MWSU Sports Information —

Simmons, Griffons shutout Truman for seventh straight victory

The Missouri Western baseball team (28-11,21-8) took advantage of offensive opportunities and Brandon Simmons went nine scoreless innings on the way to the team’s seventh consecutive victory.

Simmons (9-2) had not went past the seventh inning in any of his previous nine starts, but his efficiency Friday at Truman (12-25, 11-23) allowed him to get through the ninth. Simmons put the Bulldogs down in order, striking out the final batter in the bottom of the ninth to secure the 5-0 win.

Michael Shulze led off the game with a home run to left field. The sophomore shortstop drove in two on the day with his double to center in the fifth scoring Bubba Dotson. Dotson had an RBI of his own in the second with a single up the middle that scored Nate Ramler from second.

Ramler was 1-4 on the day with a double and a run scored. Western added an unearned run in the fifth on Shawn Egge’s RBI bunt. Smelcer led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error by the third baseman. A bunt single from Dotson moved Smelcer to second and Smelcer got to third on a sacrifice bunt from Tony Loeffler. Spencer Shockley was 2-4 and Dotson finished the game 2-3 at the plate.

Simmons allowed eight hits and walked just one, while striking out eight. The Griffons and Bulldogs face off in a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. in Kirksville.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest softball splits with Truman State

It was not the ideal ending to a game, but the Northwest Missouri State softball team picked up a last inning 6-5 win to split with Truman State keeping its MIAA tournament hopes alive after falling 2-0 in game one Friday.

Northwest improved to 17-29 on the season with the split and 7-13 in league play while Truman fell to 22-27 overall and 6-14. The Bearcats now sit in the eighth and final spot for the MIAA tournament as they will wrap up their regular season against non-conference foe Sioux Falls on Saturday.

It was a tale of two different games as the night cap quickly saw more offense from both teams in the first inning. Truman scored two runs in the top half, while Northwest answered with a pair of its own in the bottom half of the inning.

TSU jumped back in front with a run in the second and a run in the fifth before Northwest would tie the game again in the bottom of the fifth.

In the fifth inning the Bearcats pulled even on Kayli Schurman’s 14th home run of the season, putting her just one shy of the single season record. Schurman finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs in the win as her base hit to lead off the seventh proved as the winning run.

Northwest grabbed a short lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Hailee Hendricks RBI double, but the Bulldogs would pull back even in the top of the seventh.

However after Schurman blasted a single of the center field wall a pinch runner for Schurman, Kailee Sherer, scored on a Truman error giving Northwest the win.

Morgan Brunmeier picked up the win working 2.2 innings of relief and only allowing one run on three hits.

Game one saw a pitcher’s duel as both pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts, eight from each hurler. In the end though it was Truman’s Kelsea Dorsey coming out on top to earn the shutout victory.

Jenna Creger faced tough luck as she scattered six hits and only walked one in the loss.

The Bulldogs got on the board in the fifth inning as Elizabeth Leath homered to lead off the inning. That would be all the run support TSU needed as they added a second run in the fifth inning.

Northwest stranded six base runners in the loss including the bases loaded in the second inning.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Kansas City falls to Toronto for eighth consecutive loss

Jose Bautista singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays turned their first triple play in 33 years Friday night, beating Kansas City 4-3 to hand the slumping Royals their eighth straight defeat.

Kansas City had runners on first and second in the third inning when Eric Hosmer lined out to first baseman Adam Lind, who stepped on the bag to double off Yuniesky Betancourt. Lind then fired to shortstop Yunel Escobar to retire Alex Gordon, who had strayed off second.

It was Toronto’s first triple play since Sept. 21, 1979, against the New York Yankees.

Al Cowens was the previous Royals batter to hit into a triple play, on June 19, 1979, against Oakland.

The Royals took a 2-1 lead into the eighth when Greg Holland, the fourth Kansas City pitcher, threw only seven strikes in 22 pitches. He gave up three runs on three hits, two walks and a balk without retiring a batter.

Colby Rasmus led off the inning with a double. J.P. Arencibia, who was hitting .132, delivered an RBI single.

Holland (0-2) walked Escobar and Kelly Johnson on eight pitches to load the bases, and Bautista’s sharp single to right scored pinch runner Rajai Davis. Edwin Encarnacion’s sacrifice fly scored Johnson to make it 4-2.

The Royals’ losing streak is their longest since dropping 10 straight from July 10-24, 2010.

Toronto starter Kyle Drabek left after walking six in 5 1/3 innings and throwing only 49 strikes in 100 pitches. He allowed two runs, one on a wild pitch, and gave up four hits.

Drabek’s wild pitch with two outs in the fourth allowed Jeff Francoeur to score, putting Kansas City up, 2-0. Mike Moustakas homered in the second for the first Kansas City run.

Luis Perez (2-0) replaced Drabek and worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory. Sergio Santos got three outs for his second save in four tries.

Santos gave up an RBI single to Betancourt with two outs but retired Hosmer on a grounder with a runner on second to end it.

Royals starter Luke Hochevar, working on six days’ rest, allowed one run and two hits in five innings before being pulled after 84 pitches. Eric Thames scored in the fifth on Arencibia’s single for the only run off Hochevar.

— Associated Press —

Jayhawks to appeal NCAA staff’s denial of McCay waiver request

The University of Kansas will appeal sophomore wide receiver Justin McCay’s eligibility waiver request directly to the NCAA Subcommittee for Legislative Relief after the NCAA staff Friday denied KU’s original waiver request.

KU, because of McCay’s extenuating personal circumstances, had requested a waiver of the NCAA’s rule that requires transfers to sit out a year of competition. The NCAA staff informed KU Friday that it could not approve KU’s request for a waiver based on the guidelines the staff is required to follow.

The NCAA staff, however, recommended that KU appeal the decision to the Subcommittee for Legislative Relief, which is comprised of representatives from conferences and universities from around the country. The Subcommittee is the only group with the authority to deviate from the waiver guidelines that the NCAA staff is required to follow when approving waiver requests.

“We are disappointed in the NCAA staff’s decision,” said head coach Charlie Weis. “But we will take its advice and will appeal to the Subcommittee. We certainly hope that the members of the Subcommittee, who work day-to-day on campuses and in conference offices, will see Justin’s situation for what it is and make a decision that is in his best interest.

“I’ve spoken to Justin and he understands the initial ruling by the NCAA and is encouraged that they recommended that we appeal his case to the Subcommittee. He will make a statement after the ruling by the Subcommittee.”

KU will make its appeal by next Tuesday, April 24. The Subcommittee will make its decision by 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 1.

— KU Sports Information —

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