Dave Riggert – Page 383 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Missouri Western volleyball upsets No. 25 Northwest in five sets

Posted on November 8, 2016November 9, 2016

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western volleyball team knocked off No. 25 Northwest Missouri State in five sets (16-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 15-8) at Bearcat Arena on Tuesday.

After the dropping the first set, Missouri Western jumped out to a 4-1 second set lead. After a Northwest Missouri rally, the Griffons closed out the set with 5-1 run to even the match.

After trailing early in the fourth set, MWSU would seize control of the match with a 14-2 run. The run was highlighted by a 10-0 rally with Tiana Butler at the service line to force a fifth set. With the momentum in their favor, Missouri Western would cruise in the fifth set to win the match.

Kelsey Olion would deliver a key performance for the Griffons, ending with 17 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and an ace. Shellby Taylor added 16 kills while Rachel Friedrich and Stephanie Doak adding 10 kills apiece. Doak and Tiana Butler each had two aces for MWSU as well. Kayla Ruff led the defense with 23 digs on the night.

Missouri Western prepares for another ranked opponent on the road as they travel to #16 Central Missouri on Friday evening, before returning home for Senior day against Lindenwood at 2 p.m. Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Royals’ Salvador Perez wins fourth straight Gold Glove

Posted on November 8, 2016November 8, 2016

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Royals catcher Salvador Perez, one of the best defensive catchers in Major League Baseball, continues to be recognized for it.

Perez won his fourth straight American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Tuesday night.

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, who had won three straight Gold Gloves, was a finalist, but did not win. Alex Gordon, nominated for the sixth straight year, also did not win. Gordon has four Gold Gloves.

“Salvy is the best in our league,” Royals manager Ned Yost said late last season. “And he continues to improve.”

Perez threw out 37 potential basestealers this season, and led the AL with 11 Defensive Runs Saved, according to Baseball Info Solutions.

How did winning his fourth Gold Glove compare to the others?

“I think it’s better,” a smiling Perez said on ESPN.

Perez also said his greatest thrill is throwing out the fastest runners in baseball. He then was asked which speedy Royal he’d like to throw out, and Perez said, “[Jarrod] Dyson. If I played for another team, I’d like to throw him out.”

Gordon has 74 outfield assists since 2010, most by an outfielder in the Major Leagues. Gordon lost out to Brett Gardner of the Yankees.

Hosmer lost out to Mitch Moreland of Texas.

“Hoz is one of the best in the business at picking throws at first base,” Yost said. “That takes a tremendous amount of pressure off our other infielders.”

Major League managers and coaches, voting only within their league and unable to vote for players on their own teams, account for 75 percent of the selection process. The other 25 percent goes to the sabermetrics community.

— Royals.com —

Gee, Nava leave Royals and become free agents

Posted on November 8, 2016

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Dillon Gee and outfielder Daniel Nava have become free agents after refusing outright assignments from the Kansas City Royals to Triple-A Omaha.

The 30-year-old Gee signed with the Royals in December after six seasons with the New York Mets and went 8-9 with a 4.68 ERA in 14 starts and 19 relief appearances. He is 48-46 with a 4.13 ERA in his big league career.

Nava, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December and was traded to the Royals in August. He hit .223 overall with one homer and 13 RBIs in 138 at-bats. Nava has also played for Boston and Tampa Bay during six seasons in the major leagues, compiling a .262 batting average with 25 homers and 185 RBIs.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou women roll past Truman State in exhibition finale

Posted on November 7, 2016

COLUMBIA, MO. – Led by a 22-point, nine-rebound performance from sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.), Mizzou Women’s Basketball defeated Truman State, 87-53, in exhibition action Monday night at Mizzou Arena.

Cunningham’s stellar night led four Tigers in double figures. Senior guard Lianna Doty [St. Louis, Mo.] stuffed the stat sheet with a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points, six steals and five assists. Senior guard Sierra Michaelis [Mercer, Mo.] poured in 18 points behind four threes and a 50 percent shooting night from the field (7-for-14) and freshmen Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) and Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) chipped in 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

As a team, Mizzou was relentless on the glass, outrebounding Truman State, 49-24. Seven different Tigers corralled at least three rebounds in a team effort. Defensively, Mizzou collected 14 steals and forced 18 Bulldog turnovers. Head coach Robin Pingeton’s squad limited Truman State to an 25-percent shooting clip from the floor in the opening half to jump ahead quickly and build a comfortable lead.

After Truman State opened the contest with a three-pointer, Mizzou ripped off a 13-0 run to open a double-digit advantage early. The Tigers continually earned trips to the free throw line and capitalized on the opportunity, converting 18-of-23 free throw attempts in the first half. Cunningham went 10-for-10 at the charity stripe in the opening frame and had 15 points and seven rebounds by the break. After Michaelis beat the buzzer with a trey from well beyond the arc, Mizzou went into halftime with a 46-21 lead.

The Tigers continued to build their lead in the third quarter, capping it off with back-to-back transition threes from Chavis and Michaelis. Chavis added another three on Mizzou’s first possession of the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up 71-40 with 9:46 left and Mizzou coasted down the stretch.

After finishing the exhibition slate with a pair of wins by a combined 64 points, Mizzou now turns to the regular season, which officially opens Friday, Nov. 11 against Abilene Christian. The contest tips off at 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena and serves as the opening round of the Preseason WNIT.

— Mizzou Athletics —

MIAA hands out weekly football honors

Posted on November 7, 2016November 7, 2016

Kansas City, Mo. – Emporia State’s Braxton Marstall has been named the MIAA Football Offensive Athlete of the Week while his teammate Tre Dickerson earned the honor on defense. Central Missouri’s Jaylen Zachery has been named the MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week.

MIAA Football Offensive Athlete of the Week
Braxton Marstall, QB, Emporia State

Marstall led the Hornets to a fourth quarter win for the third time this season in Emporia State’s 27-14 win at Missouri Western. The Hornets trailed 14-3 in the second quarter before Marstall led the Hornets on an 8 play, 83-yard drive capped by a 3-yard TD pass to Mitchell Foote with 47 seconds left in the half. He started the fourth quarter with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Justin Brown that gave the Hornets a 17-14 lead. He was five for five for 73 yards during the 77-yard drive. He followed that with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Justin Brown on the next series to put Emporia State up 24-14. He moved into fifth in Emporia State single season passing and now has 2,611 yards. He is now sixth in single season touchdown passes with 21 on the year. The 6-2 sophomore quarterback is a native of Emporia, Kan. where he competed at Emporia High School.

MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week
Tre Dickerson, DB, Emporia State

Dickerson had six unassisted tackles and returned an interception 55-yards in Emporia States 27-14 win over Missouri Western. He held the Griffons leading receiver Dijuan Ussery to just one catch for 15 yards. The 5-11 senior defensive back is a native of Corinth, Texas where he competed at Lake Dallas High School.

MIAA Special Team Athlete of the Week
Jaylen Zachery, RS, Central Missouri

Zachery had 222 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in UCM’s 59-21 win at Northeastern State. He returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, tying the UCM single-season record with his second of the year. Also had 50 punt return yards on three returns. He also caught a game-high six passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-0 junior return specialist and wide receiver is native of Richton Park, Ill. where he competed at Rich South High School.

— MIAA Press Release —

Chiefs shut down Bortles, Jaguars to escape with 19-14 win

Posted on November 6, 2016November 6, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Their starting quarterback and running back never dressed, their top wide receiver joined them on the sideline with an injury of his own, and their Pro Bowl tight end was ejected by an official who didn’t seem to think his antics were very funny.

Good thing for the Kansas City Chiefs that everything was status quo on defense.

That stout bunch kept Blake Bortles in check most of the afternoon, then stuffed the Jacksonville Jaguars on fourth down with less than 2 minutes remaining deep in their own territory, preserving a 19-14 win on Sunday made even more impressive by the long odds the Chiefs overcame.

“That’s what football is all about. You’re going to have weeks where you have injuries,” said Nick Foles, who started in place of injured quarterback Alex Smith. “You have to step up and make plays.”

Foles threw for 187 yards and a first-half touchdown toss to Albert Wilson, and helped to set up four field goals by Cairo Santos, as Kansas City (6-2) won its 10th consecutive home game.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars (2-6) couldn’t overcome four turnovers — including a fumble at the goal line in the fourth quarter — in their first game with quarterback coach Nathaniel Hackett directing the offense .

Bortles was 22 of 41 for 252 yards and two touchdowns with a pick, showing little improvement after a week spent with his personal coach, Adam Dedeaux . His wide receivers hardly helped him, dropping several passes, including an early fourth-down throw that cost Jacksonville a chance at points.

“I thought Nathaniel called a great game,” Bortles said. “To run for 200 yards and throw for 200, or whatever, I thought it was awesome. If you look at the stat sheet minus the turnovers there’s no way you say Kansas City won. But unfortunately, that’s part of the game.”

Chris Ivory rumbled for 107 yards in the biggest bright spot for Jacksonville, but he fumbled going over the goal-line with 8:28 left in the game. The Jaguars quickly got the ball back, and Bortles hit T.J. Yeldon to get within 19-14 with 4:10 to go, but the extra time it took to score proved costly.

They got the ball back with 3:01 remaining, and a long scamper by Bortles gave them a chance. But his pass on fourth-and-3 at the Kansas City 32 was batted to the ground and the Chiefs ran out the clock.

“We had four turnovers and when you do that, any game in the NFL is hard to win,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. “And for us, we did it at critical times.”

The Chiefs played the whole way without Smith and starting running back Spencer Ware, who were out with head injuries, and offensive guard Parker Ehinger, who went on injured reserve with a knee injury.

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin hurt his groin on the Chiefs’ first series and did not return, and tight end Travis Kelce was tossed from the game in the fourth quarter after arguing over a pass interference no-call, then tossing his towel at the official as if it was a flag.

“As soon as the ref took off his hat (to throw), I knew I was out. Felt like an idiot,” he said. “It was a terrible decision, but just have to learn from it and keep going.”

What did Kelce learn from it?

“I can’t throw my flag at the ref,” he replied. “He can throw his all day long.”

INJURIES

Jaguars wide receiver Allen Hurns left early in the second half with an ankle injury. He returned to the game, only to sustain a concussion while trying to make a catch later in the half. … Jacksonville linebacker Myles Jack left with a hip injury.

STATS AND STREAKS

The Chiefs have won three straight against Jacksonville. … The Jaguars still do not have a touchdown on their opening possession since Week 2 last season, an NFL-long stretch of 22 games. … Jacksonville has not forced a turnover in four games. … The Jaguars scored in the first half on the road for the first time this season. They’ve still been outscored 68-7. … Outside linebacker Dee Ford had both of Kansas City’s sacks, giving him 5 1/2 the past two weeks.

LONG TRIP NOWHERE

Chiefs running back Knile Davis played after re-signing with Kansas City on Saturday. Davis was traded to Green Bay three weeks ago, cut after two games and signed with the New York Jets. He was cut again hours later, allowing him to return to Kansas City. “It felt like I was home,” he said.

UP NEXT: The Jaguars return home to face the Texans on Sunday, while the Chiefs expect to have Alex Smith back when they visit Carolina.

— Associated Press —

No. 3 KU men roll to 104-62 exhibition win against Emporia State

Posted on November 6, 2016November 6, 2016

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas basketball’s final exhibition game of the season ended with a resounding 104-62 win over Emporia State on Sunday night inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The third-ranked Jayhawks held the Hornets to 30.6 percent shooting with a 49 to 31 rebounding advantage. Kansas shot 61.3 percent from the field and scored 56 points in the paint to Emporia’s 16 points in the lane.

“We played better. I don’t know that we were great, but I thought they made shots early,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “They made six threes in the first half and a couple of them were really, really deep. If you take those things away I thought we actually defended decent, we rebounded better and I thought our big guys went after the ball pretty well. We shot well in the first half and the ball moved better – it was definitely a better outing.”

Senior guard Frank Mason III led the Jayhawks with 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting with five assists in just 20 minutes of action. In KU’s pair of exhibition contests this season, Mason totaled 38 points on 72.2 percent shooting with 14 assists.

A total of six Jayhawks reached double-figure points during KU’s 27th all-time 100-point exhibition contest. Junior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk was KU’s second-leading scorer with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Junior guard Devonte’ Graham added 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting with four assists.

The freshman trio of guard Josh Jackson, center Udoka Azubuike and forward Mitch Lightfoot all reached double-figures in points. Jackson slashed and dashed to a balanced 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists. All six of Azubuike’s six field goals came from dunks as he finished with 13 points. Lightfoot scored seven of his 12 points in the second half.

Senior center Landen Lucas contributed the first basket of the game and finished with six points, seven rebounds in a limited 16 minutes of action. Lucas’ first bucket was followed by a Jackson perimeter jumper and fastbreak and-1 layup from Mason to put Kansas ahead, 7-0, at the 18:23 mark. Emporia State’s Jay Temaat made a pair of 3-pointers to cut KU’s lead to one, 9-8.

The Hornets’ Garin Vandiver, son of head coach Shaun Vandiver, made a 3-pointer to tie it, 11-11, at the 15:16 mark of the first half. Kansas responded as Mykhailiuk dished a behind-the-back pass to Mason for a contested fastbreak layup which brought the crowd to its feet and sparked a 23-2 run over seven minutes to give Kansas control for the remainder of the game.

The Jayhawks continued to dazzle the sell-out crowd with dominance in the paint, outscoring ESU 24 to four in the lane, and a trio of alley-oops featuring a variety of connections – Graham to Mykhailiuk, Mykhailiuk to Carlton Bragg Jr., and Graham to Azubuike.

Kansas went into halftime with a 55-29 lead. Mykhailiuk paced KU with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers in nine first-half minutes. Mason and Graham each contributed 10 points while dishing out a combined seven first-half assists – five from Mason and two from Graham.

KU’s freshmen Jackson and Azubuike shined in the second half as the Jayhawks surged to a 42-point victory. Azubuike connected on four alley-oops in the second period as Jackson displayed his explosiveness and vision with seven points, five rebounds and a pair of assists in the second half.

UP NEXT
Kansas ventures on a grueling road stretch of playing two top-11 teams to begin the regular season. The Jayhawks’ season-opener is against No. 11 Indiana on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11 during the State Farm Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu. Kansas then travels to New York City to face No. 1 Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Both games will be nationally televised on ESPN.

— KU Athletics —

Kansas women win exhibition game against Washburn

Posted on November 6, 2016November 6, 2016

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball continued to highlight its up-tempo offense in its 2016-17 exhibition finale, as the Jayhawks downed Washburn, 81-57, on Sunday afternoon inside Allen Fieldhouse. With the victory, KU improved to 7-0 against Washburn in exhibition play and 16-1 overall.

Scoring double digits for the second-straight game, redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington continued to be an offensive asset for the Kansas squad. Washington led all scorers with 21 points, hitting 7-of-15 field goals. She also tallied two assists and two rebounds on the day.

Sophomore guards Kylee Kopatich and Aisia Robertson also found themselves with double-digit scoring efforts against the Ichabods. Robertson tallied 14 points behind 5-of-7 shooting, while Kopatich contributed 12 points, including a pair a makes from beyond the arc. Robertson also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals to make her presence known on both sides of the floor.

A team effort was the theme for Washburn, as Felisha Gibbs, Reagan Phelan and Alyxis Bowens each finished the game with 10 points to lead the Ichabods. After a slow start, Kansas battled basket-for-basket with Washburn as both teams looked to gain momentum and take the lead. Despite putting the first points on the board, the Jayhawks went down 12-11 before going on a 10-point run, seven of which came from Washington. The spark in Kansas’ offense put the Jayhawks ahead of Washburn, 21-14, at the end of the first quarter.

Momentum continued for KU as it opened the second quarter with 11 unanswered points, holding Washburn scoreless in the first five minutes. At the half, the Jayhawks headed to the locker room with a 40-28 advantage over the Ichabods. Washington closed out the opening half with 12 points, while Robertson added seven in the first 20 minutes.

Coming off of a Washburn timeout early in the third quarter, Washington found her groove yet again, scoring eight-straight points to force another Washburn timeout, an attempt to slow the Jayhawks’ momentum. Kansas proved to be solid on the defensive end of the court as well, forcing two shot clock violations for the Ichabods. Kansas outscored Washburn 27-16 as the third quarter came to a close and took a 67-44 lead into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter resembled the beginning of the game with both teams trading baskets back and forth, with Kansas only outscoring Washburn by two points. Kansas closed out the final quarter and improved to 2-0 in exhibition play this season with the 81-57 victory over Washburn.

UP NEXT: The Jayhawks tip off the 2016-17 season against Missouri State on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The game will air on the Jayhawk IMG Radio Network and Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3.

— KU Athletics —

Griffons fall at home to No. 9 Emporia State 27-14 for fourth straight loss

Posted on November 5, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – For the second consecutive week, the Missouri Western football team was shut out in the second half and lost a halftime lead for the team’s fourth-straight loss, 27-14, to No. 9 Emporia State.

The Griffons (4-6) allowed 24 unanswered points to the Hornets (9-1) after jumping out to a 14-3 lead. Missouri Western had the ball with 4:41 remaining in the second quarter at its own third and five, but failed to gain a yard before punting to Emporia State. The Hornets answered with an eight-play, 83 yard drive to cut the deficit to four points going into halftime.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, with Sean Galey missing a 38-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth quarter. Emporia State answered with a seven-play, 77-yard drive that resulted in a 37-yard touchdown drive that gave the Hornets their first lead of the game, 17-14 with 10:42 remaining in the game. Corey Bertini was picked off on the first play of Missouri Western’s ensuing drive which led to a 19-yard touchdown pass to put Emporia State up 24-14. The next Griffon drive was three plays and a punt, leading to the Hornets’ final score, a 32-yard field goal.

The loss gave Missouri Western a four-game losing streak for the first time since 2008. It also led to the first six-loss regular season for the Griffons since 2004 and snapped a streak of 11-straight winning regular seasons for the Griffons.

Missouri Western was limited to 141 yards of offense in the first half, finishing with 322 for the game. The Griffons had 165 yards rushing and 157 through the air. Josh Caldwell finished with 91 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Corey Bertinin was 13-27 for 157 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions starting for the injured Skyler Windmiller. Donte Watkins led the Griffon defense with 12 total tackles, nine solo stops.

Prior to the game, Travis Anderson, Jorge Belcher, Joey Capul, Cameron Glenn, Daylon Harper, Charlie Sciara, Blake Vandenberg, Matthew Vincent and Mackenzie Wischmann were recognized as part of senior day festivities. The seven active Griffons and two student-assistant coaches will be a part of their final game next Saturday when Missouri Western travels to Northwest Missouri State.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou stays winless in the SEC with 31-21 loss at South Carolina

Posted on November 5, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Will Muschamp isn’t surprised by the early success of freshman quarterback Jake Bentley.

“I don’t think the moment is too big for him,” Muschamp said.

It hasn’t been so far, anyway.

Bentley improved to 3-0 as a starter, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns as South Carolina handed Missouri its 11th straight SEC loss 31-21 on Saturday. Bentley showed poise, strength and accuracy in the pocket, completing 22 of 28 passes to lead the Gamecocks (5-4, 3-4 SEC) to their third straight victory and keep them in contention in the SEC East.

The Gamecocks are in the midst of a rebuilding project with 78 percent of their roster consisting of underclassmen, but they appear to be on the right track. Freshman running back Rico Dowdle ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and also hauled in a 17-yard TD strike from Bentley.

“Jake is bringing a lot of energy to the offense and when we have a man-to-man matchup we like we’re going to take it,” said wide receiver Deebo Samuel, another young star for the Gamecocks.

Samuel, a sophomore, had 125 yards receiving on nine catches and also ran for a score.

“He muscled us around a little bit,” said Missouri coach Barry Odom.

Bentley was off limits after the game because of a team rule instituted by Muschump preventing freshman from talking to the media.

“He’s very level headed and a very humble young man,” Muschamp said. “He handles the moment very well.”

Drew Lock threw for 302 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for Missouri (2-7, 0-5).

South Carolina didn’t let down after pulling a 24-21 upset of 18th-ranked Tennessee last week. One of South Carolina’s assistant coaches set mousetraps around the locker room earlier in the week to remind players it was a trap game.

“Everyone is patting you on the back, but I told our players `Don’t take the cheese,” Muschamp said.

With the game tied at 21 late in the third quarter, Rashad Fenton intercepted Lock near the goal line on a deep ball along the right sideline. Bentley led a 98-yard drive, culminating in a go-ahead 20-yard TD run by Dowdle .

Bentley showed poise beyond his years in his third start.

Late in the first half, he took a sack on a second-and-goal at the 1 rather than throw the ball away. Rather than dwelling on the loss, Bentley tossed a 6-yard TD pass to tight end K.C. Crosby on the next play to give the Gamecocks a 21-14 lead at half.

“When Jake is in there we feel like we can score from anywhere on the field,” said Gamecocks tight end Hayden Hurst.

THE TAKEAWAY

MISSOURI: Odom said “it hurts on a lot of different levels” that he wasn’t able to get this group of seniors into a bowl game. “They entrusted me in putting them in position to have a great senior (season) and that one is going to bother me,” Odom said. “… I’m frustrated in myself that we haven’t played a complete game yet.”

SOUTH CAROLINA: Bentley looks like the real deal for the Gamecocks, which makes you wonder why they waited so long to play the true freshman. The defense, which hasn’t allowed an opponent to score 30 points all season, can hang with anyone.

TARGETING THE QB: Missouri linebacker Cale Garrett was ejected less than five minutes into the game for targeting Bentley. Garrett became the fourth Missouri player ejected for targeting this season, joining Ronnell Perkins, Marcell Frazier and Brandon Lee.

South Carolina’s Chris Lammons was ejected from the game in the second quarter for a similar hit on Lock.

JUST FOR KICKS: Senior kicker Elliott Fry became South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer when he converted an extra point in the second quarter to give him 331 for his career. Fry called it a “special honor” to be at the top, even if someone knocks him off that pinnacle soon.

STREAK CONTINUES: The Tigers haven’t won an SEC game since Oct. 3, 2015 when they won at home against South Carolina.

SCORING OUTBURST: South Carolina isn’t used to playing high-scoring games, at least in conference play. The Gamecocks’ 31 points were their most in an SEC game since a 45-42 overtime loss to Vanderbilt in 2014.

MISSED CHANCES: Missouri’s Tucker McCann missed a pair of fourth quarter field goals, including one with 4:49 left in the game that would have cut the South Carolina lead to seven.

UP NEXT

MISSOURI: The Tigers return home to host Vanderbilt next Saturday.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks travel to Florida on Saturday to face the Gators, who have they have beaten in four of the last six meetings.

— Associated Press —