Dave Riggert – Page 516 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Cardinals sign free-agent pitcher Mike Leake

Posted on December 22, 2015December 22, 2015

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that they have signed free-agent pitcher Mike Leake to a five-year deal for the 2016-20 seasons with a mutual option for 2021. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to announce the addition of Mike Leake to our starting rotation,” stated Cardinals Senior Vice President/General Manager John Mozeliak. “Mike is considered to be one of the game’s most consistent performers and he is certainly no stranger to the National League and the N.L. Central. His proven experience and all-around ability should be a real plus for us.”

Leake, 28, will join a Cardinals starting rotation that already consists of All-Stars Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez and veteran lefty Jaime Garcia.

Leake owns a career mark of 64-52 with a 3.88 ERA in six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (2010-15) and San Francisco Giants (2015), ranking 5th in the National League in both innings pitched (1,083.2) and games started (172) during that time span. Leake went 11-10 with a 3.70 ERA in 30 starts (192.0 IP) between the Reds and Giants in 2015, and because he was traded during the season, the Cardinals will not have to forfeit a compensatory draft selection next season.

While pitching at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park (4.28 ERA in 90 games) throughout most of his career, Leake has fashioned a 3.48 career ERA on the road, including a 3.19 mark in six career games (42.1 IP) at Busch Stadium III. His 3.48 road ERA since 2010 is ranked 5th among all N.L. pitchers (min. 500 IP).

The 5-10, 190-pound native of Southern California was the Reds 1st round draft selection (8th player overall) in 2009 out of Arizona State University and after pitching in the prospect-rich Arizona Fall League that year, he vaulted directly to the majors, where he debuted in April of 2010.

Leake, who has won 10 or more games four times in six seasons, including a career-high 14 in 2013, has made 30-plus starts in each of the past four (2012-15) seasons. He ranked 2nd among N.L. pitchers in fewest pitches/inning (14.3) last season and was 8th in double plays/9 IP (1.03) and 11th in ground ball pct. (52.1).

Leake is considered to be an accomplished player with the bat as well, ranking 1st in hits (77), 1st in doubles (16), 3rd in slugging pct. (.321), 4th in HR’s (6) and 4th in RBI (23) among all pitchers since 2010.

With today’s signing of Leake, the Cardinals’ 40-man Major League roster currently stands at 38 players.

— Cardinals Press Release —

No. 25 Tigers stay unbeaten with 82-56 win over Texas State

Posted on December 21, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 21 points, Jordan Frericks added 19 points and No. 25 Missouri shut down Texas State in the fourth quarter to stay undefeated and pull out an 82-56 win on Monday.

Missouri (12-0), leading 55-48 entering the fourth quarter, limited Texas Sate to eight points over the final 10 minutes. The Bobcats missed their first five field goal attempts in the quarter and made just 3 of 14 from the floor in the frame as the Tigers ran away.

An eight-point Missouri spurt — including a 3-pointer by Cunningham — pushed the once-tight lead over 20 points with 3:37 to go.

Sophie Cunningham grabbed nine rebounds and Lindsey Cunningham had a career-high 14 assists for the Tigers.

Texas State (5-5) was led by Kaitlin Walla with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Ericka May added 10 points.

— Associated Press —

MWSU’s Jefferson named MIAA Player of the Week again

Posted on December 21, 2015

ST. JOSEPH – For the third time in four weeks, and the second week in a row, Missouri Western guard LaQuinta Jefferson has been named the MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the week.

The senior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee averaged 30 points a game this weekend to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game. Jefferson scored 31 at Lindenwood on Friday, including the final four points of the game that tied and gave Missouri Western the lead in the final minute. On Sunday at Lincoln, Jefferson added 29 points. She shot 65 percent from the field and 73 percent at the free throw line in the two wins.

On the season, Jefferson is averaging 23.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest. She leads all MIAA scorers by more than three points per game.

Missouri Western is ranked 16th in the USA Today WBCA Top 25 poll as they are 11-0 on the season and 6-0 in the MIAA. They’re back in action a week from Thursday when they host Saint Mary at 7:00 p.m. in their final non-conference game.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri adds Chris Wilson as defensive line coach

Posted on December 21, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Football Coach Barry Odom has added Chris Wilson to his new coaching staff, as announced today. Wilson will serve as Mizzou’s defensive line coach, a position he has enjoyed great success at coaching almost exclusively during his 23-year career. Wilson has coached the position 19 of his 23 years, and has mentored some of the nation’s top linemen at programs such as Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Georgia and USC in his career.

Wilson comes to Mizzou after coaching the past two seasons at USC, where he guided star defensive end Leonard Williams to first-team All-American status in 2014. Williams went on to become the sixth overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. Overall, Wilson has coached in 13 bowl games since 2001, including the 2009 BCS National Championship, while his teams have won three conference titles during that span. Details of Wilson’s contract will be released once fully executed, along with the completion of human resources procedures.

“Chris Wilson is a great fit for our staff,” said Odom. “I’ve known of him and thought highly of him for a number of years. I’ve recruited against him, I’ve watched him at Oklahoma, Colorado, Mississippi State and Georgia and I’ve enjoyed the way he gets his guys to play with great energy and passion. He’s very passionate about coaching the defensive line and he’s got a great feel for fundamentals and understanding what it takes to mentor a group and lead them and have them playing at their best level. He’s really respected nationally as a recruiter and he’s done a great job of developing relationships in a lot of different places where we recruit in SEC territory,” he said.

“I’m definitely excited about the opportunity to be at such a great institution and program as Mizzou and also to be back in the SEC,” said Wilson. “I’ve seen Mizzou in person a lot, both as a coach and a player, and I’ve always enjoyed the energy of their fan base. You can tell the football program is important to the state and their culture. What they’ve been able to accomplish as a program in their short time in the league, being in two championship games, is really impressive. I’m excited about working with Coach Odom and his staff, I see him as progressive and as an outside the box guy who is going to do big things. I understand the tradition of excellence that Mizzou has had with the defensive line, and I’m honored to come in and work hard to help give them a chance to be even better in the future,” he said.

Wilson, 46, spent 2013 as Georgia’s defensive line coach. The Bulldogs, who played in the 2014 Gator Bowl, were 28th nationally in sacks in 2013.

He spent the previous three seasons (2010-12) at Mississippi State handling the defensive line. He also was the Bulldogs’ co-defensive coordinator in 2010 before becoming defensive coordinator the final two years. In 2010, MSU was 15th nationally in rushing defense and 17th in tackles for a loss. The Bulldogs improved in seven defensive statistical categories in 2011, including ranking 16th nationally in scoring defense (19.7), tied for eighth in fumble recoveries and tied for 14th in interceptions. Defensive lineman Fletcher Cox was a 2011 All-American and an NFL first round draft pick. MSU played in the 2011 and 2013 Gator Bowls and 2011 Music City Bowl.

Wilson came to Mississippi State after five seasons (2005-09) coaching the defensive ends at Oklahoma, his alma mater. He also was the special teams coordinator the final three years there. The Sooners led the Big 12 in sacks in 2007 and then in 2009 they were eighth nationally in rushing defense and total defense and seventh in scoring defense. Oklahoma played in the 2005 Holiday Bowl, 2007 and 2008 Fiesta Bowls, 2009 BCS Championship Game and 2009 Sun Bowl.

Before that, he was Colorado’s defensive line coach for five years (2000-04). The Buffaloes won three Big 12 North titles during that time and were 15th nationally in sacks in 2004. Colorado played in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, 2002 Alamo Bowl and 2004 Houston Bowl.

He was the defensive line coach at Illinois State for two seasons (1998-99), with the Redbirds winning the Gateway Conference title and advancing to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals in 1999. He then handled the same duty in the spring of 2000 at Army before going to Colorado.

Wilson began his coaching career in 1993 as a graduate assistant at Indiana State, then became the Sycamores’ linebackers coach in 1994. He handled the outside linebackers at Northern Illinois in 1995, then was the defensive line coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College in 1996 before returning to Indiana State in 1997 as the outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator.

He had NFL minority internships with the Dallas Cowboys (1995), Arizona Cardinals (1997) and Miami Dolphins (1998).

A Richardson, Texas native, Wilson was a four-year (1988-91) letterman linebacker at Oklahoma, recording 303 career tackles. He twice was named team captain, and was a member of Sooner squads that played in the 1989 Citrus Bowl and 1991 Gator Bowl. He was a 12th round NFL Draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 1992.

— Mizzou Athletics —

K-State women dominate Western Illinois, extend win streak to seven

Posted on December 21, 2015December 21, 2015

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State ended its non-conference schedule on Monday night in fine fashion, as the Wildcats defeated Western Illinois, 84-45, extending K-State’s win streak to seven games.

Junior center Breanna Lewis became the program’s 22nd player to score 30 or more points in a game, as she tallied a career-high 30 points on a career-high 14-of-19 shooting.

Joining Lewis in double figures were senior guard Bri Craig with 11 points and junior guard Kindred Wesemann with 10 points.

Kansas State jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, as Lewis tallied four points during the run. Western Illinois would use a 7-2 burst late in the first quarter to pull within four, 15-11, with 1:37 to play.

A pair of Wesemann free throws and a layup from Lewis pushed K-State into a 19-13 lead at the end of the first.

K-State stepped on the accelerator for the entire second quarter, as the Wildcats outscored the Leathernecks, 31-4, in the frame to build a 50-17 lead at the half. The four points by Western Illinois in the second quarter were the fewest points K-State has allowed in any quarter this season. K-State shot 60.0 percent from the field in the second quarter, while holding the Leathernecks to 13.3 percent.

The Wildcats opened the second stanza with a 10-0 run to increase its lead to 29-13 with 6:33 to play.

After the teams exchanged four points, the Wildcats closed out the final 4:10 of the second quarter on a 17-0 run to build its 33-point halftime lead.

K-State fed Lewis early and often in the third quarter, as she racked up 12 points in the frame.

The Wildcats would score 21 points in the quarter to build a 71-27 advantage after three.

Western Illinois ended the night by outscoring K-State in the fourth quarter, 18-13.

K-State finished the night shooting 50.8 percent from the field (33-of-65). The K-State defense held the nation’s number one team in 3-point field goals made to five connections on 36 attempts.

The Wildcats dished out 23 assists on the night, marking the third straight game K-State has handed out 20 or more assists. Over the last 11 seasons, K-State is 46-0 when handing out 20 or more assists.

Kansas State begins Big 12 play on Wednesday, Dec. 30, against Iowa State. Game time is 7 p.m.

— KSU Athletics —

Mizzou women enter AP Top 25 poll for first time since 2006

Posted on December 21, 2015December 21, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball earned the No. 25 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday afternoon. The Tigers received 79 votes from various media members throughout the country covering NCAA Women’s Basketball. The national ranking is the first for the Mizzou program since the Tigers were ranked No. 24 for the week of Jan. 9, 2006. Prior to that week, Mizzou hadn’t entered the AP Top 25 Poll since Jan. 6, 1985.

Mizzou is off to the first 11-0 start in program history. The Tigers rank second nationally in free throw shooting percentage (78.2), 11th in scoring margin (+24.6) and rebounding margin (+13.0), 23rd in field goal percentage (46.1), 24th in 3-pointers per game (8.3), 26th in scoring offense (79.1 points per game), 29th in scoring defense (54.5 points per game) and 35th in field goal percentage defense (34.8).

— Mizzou Athletics —

No. 16 Griffon women use big second half to blow out Lincoln

Posted on December 20, 2015

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The 16th-ranked Missouri Western Women’s basketball outscored Lincoln 50-27 in the second half of an 85-62 win Sunday at Jefferson City that moved the team to 11-0 on the season and 6-0 in the MIAA.

The teams went to halftime tied at 35 but Missouri Western took control in the third quarter, scoring 25 points while allowing 11 in the quarter. The Griffons shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and limited Lincoln to nine made field goals and a 33 percent field goal percentage. Missouri Western scored 25 of its points off 25 Lincoln turnovers, 16 of them steals for the Griffons.

LaQuinta Jefferson led the way for the Griffons again, scoring 27 points on 11-19 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. Sarafina Handy added 17 points, four assists and three steals. Sefulu Faavae led Missouri Western with five total rebounds and chipped in seven points. Juila Torres scored 11 with three rebounds and two steals.

The team is off to its best MIAA start since the 1994-95 season and best overall start since the 1998-99 season. Missouri Western will take a step away from conference play with a New Year’s Eve game in the filedhouse against the University of Saint Mary (Kan.).

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 25 Bearcats fall to Lindenwood for second straight loss

Posted on December 20, 2015

By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The first nine three-pointers Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team fired up were blanks. And when the Bearcats drove inside, Lindenwood’s 7-foot-1 center Stanislas Heili was there to block or alter the shot. Heili finished with seven blocks.

That combination spelled doom for Northwest Sunday afternoon at Hyland Arena. The Bearcats dropped their second straight MIAA game, falling 68-52 to Lindenwood.

“With this team right now, we don’t have a lot of hunger,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “We beat Southern at Southern. We beat Central at Central, and then you get that sense of accomplishment when you don’t realize it is a 22-game (conference) season.

“Everybody that plays us, it is there biggest game. They are going to hit shots they might not normally make.”

Northwest heads into Christmas break with a 6-4 record overall and 4-2 in the MIAA. Lindenwood, improving to 8-3 overall, moves in front of the Bearcats in conference with a 4-1 record.

The game at Lindenwood concluded a tough stretch for Northwest to start play in the MIAA. The Bearcats played five of their first six conference games on the road.

“I don’t think it was much of a factor,” McCollum said. “It has more to do with our mental toughness. We are not mentally tough now.”

It is hard to blame road weariness on the double-digit loss. Lindenwood played well offensively and defensively.

Northwest trailed by seven points at halftime and never found a spark in the second half. Lindenwood opened the second half scoring five straight points for a 36-24 lead. The Bearcats were chasing the rest of the way.

For a brief moment, it looked like the Bearcats were ready to make that run to catch the Lions. Junior Zach Schneider nailed Northwest’s first three-pointer to make it 36-27. A couple of minutes later, sophomore Justin Pitts made Northwest’s second straight three-pointer, helping the Bearcats close to 40-33.

Northwest, though, never found an offensive rhythm and that hurt since Lindenwood senior Cory Arentsen was making three-pointers, free throws and 15-foot jumpers.

The fall-away, 15-foot jumper by Arentsen to make it 56-39 proved that it was simply Lindenwood’s day. Arentsen finished with 23 points and Heili added 12 for the Lions, who shot 64 percent from the field for the game. In the second half, the Lions went 13 for 18 for 72.2 percent.

“We didn’t guard a lot of people and we didn’t score,” McCollum said.

Pitts was the only player to have offensive success for Northwest. He finished with 25, but as a team, Northwest shot 33.9 percent and was four for 19 beyond the arc for 21 percent.

“I haven’t been able to get it out of this group,” McCollum said. “I will have to look in the mirror and figure out why that is and what I am doing wrong and got to fix it.”

The first half was almost as dismal for Northwest.

In a very strange half of runs, Northwest was on the bad end of one late in the first half and went into halftime trailing 31-24.

The Bearcats started slow and fell behind 9-4. But a little after the first media timeout, Northwest started to click on offense and built a 20-13 lead.

Seemingly in control, the Bearcats went ice cold the last 5 minutes and Lindenwood got hot. The Lions concluded the first half on an 18-4 run.

One nice thing that did occur for Northwest was the public address announcer mentioning that Northwest won the NCAA Division II football title on Saturday.

On the basketball court, few things went right for the Bearcats except for one stretch midway in the first half.

Missouri Western men allow late run and lose at Lincoln

Posted on December 20, 2015

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball was outscored 20-5 in the final eight minutes Sunday and lost to Lincoln in Jefferson City 82-67.

A three from Trey Sampson tied the game at 62 with 8:18 remaining in the game but an 18-0 run by Lincoln blew the game wide open. The Griffons made just one field goal in the final eight minutes, a three by Miles Wentzien with 11 seconds left.

Missouri Western shot 48.4 percent from the field in the second half but ended the game shooting 39.4 percent. Lincoln finished the game shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from three-point range. The game was tied four times and featured five lead changes. Missouri Western’s largest lead came with 7:14 left in the first half, a five point margin.

For the second game in a row, Xavier Newson led Missouri Western, scoring 18 points. Newson also pulled down four rebounds. Sampson led the Griffons on the glass with seven rebounds and scored 14. Aaron Emmanuel had five rebounds, 10 points and three assists.

The loss dropped Missouri Western to 3-9 on the season and 1-5 in MIAA play. The Griffons will take a break until Jan. 2 when they host Northeastern State in the first of three home, conference games in seven days.

— MWSU Athletics —

Chiefs cruise past Ravens 34-14 for 8th straight victory

Posted on December 20, 2015December 20, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — During their eight-game winning streak, the Kansas City Chiefs have made this abundantly clear: The opposition will pay for its mistakes.

That is precisely what happened Sunday, when the Chiefs capitalized on an abundance of miscues by the Baltimore Ravens in a 34-14 victory that earned Kansas City a place in the NFL record book.

Tyvon Branch returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown and Marcus Peters scored on a 90-yard interception return for the Chiefs, who also scored touchdowns following a drive-extending penalty by Baltimore and a failed fake punt.

With the victory, the Chiefs (9-5) became the first team in NFL history to follow a five-game skid with eight successive wins in the same season. Kansas City also kept itself in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.

The Chiefs picked off two passes and recovered a fumble, didn’t give the ball away and now own a plus-15 turnover differential. Kansas City believes that if it wins the turnover battle, it will win the game.

“I certainly do feel like that’s the mindset, yeah,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “To have the three turnovers — and technically, almost a fourth with when they went for the fake — to be able to capitalize on those, it changed that game.”

Smith went 21-for-25 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Charcandrick West ran for 76 yards and a score.

Although the Chiefs let a 24-7 lead dwindle to 10 points by allowing a successful Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half, the outcome was never in doubt.

Credit the opportunistic defense for that.

“They’ve kind of got that mojo,” Smith said. “The defense, you see them kind of salivate, so to speak.”

Baltimore (4-10) lost its third straight and fell to 2-5 at home. It’s the first time in their 20-year history that the Ravens have lost five home games.

“For us, the story of the game, basically, is turnovers,” coach John Harbaugh said.

Starting his second straight game for Baltimore, Jimmy Clausen completed 26 of 45 passes for a career-high 281 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. His favorite target was Kamar Aiken, who caught eight passes for 128 yards — including a desperation 48-yarder at the end of the first half.

But Clausen’s first interception was the final blow to the Ravens’ upset bid. With Baltimore at the KC 16, Peters stepped in front of Daniel Brown, picked off the pass and took it down the left sideline for a 34-14 lead with 4:36 left.

“The biggest thing is taking care of the ball,” Clausen said. “Whether it’s the fumble, or the two interceptions that I had, you’re not going to win games turning the ball over.”

The three giveaways left Baltimore with a minus-15 differential for the season.

The Ravens wore pants that were described by the team as gold but appeared to be the color of spicy mustard. Either way, the change did little to alter the course of this lost season for a Baltimore team that appeared in the playoffs in six of the past seven years.

Coming into the game, the Chiefs were averaging 29.1 points and yielding only 12. Those numbers won’t change much after this blowout.

On Kansas City’s opening series, Smith came up short on a third-down run but was hit by Timmy Jernigan while out of bounds. That extended a drive that ended with a season-best, 38-yard touchdown run by West.

Baltimore pulled even with a 1-yard TD pass from Clausen to Kyle Juszczyk. On their next possession, the Ravens got to the KC 30 before Javorius Allen fumbled when hit by Derrick Johnson, and Branch went the distance for the go-ahead score.

“My hat’s off to our guys. They take advantage of opportunities,” coach Andy Reid said. “They’ve done that really all year.”

Late in the first quarter, Baltimore’s Sam Koch ran up the middle on a fake punt. He gained 7 yards but needed 9, which provided KC with the ball at the Baltimore 24. Three plays later, Jeremy Maclin caught a 13-yard touchdown pass.

“Anybody wants to criticize for going for it and being aggressive, have at it,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not apologizing.”

Cairo Santos kicked a 53-yard field goal to boost the margin to 17 points with 50 seconds left in the half.

That gave Baltimore enough time to pull off its biggest play of the day. On the final play of the quarter, Clausen launched an up-for-grabs spiral that Aiken plucked out of the air and took into the end zone.

Game notes
The Ravens lost CB Jimmy Smith to a thigh injury in the first quarter. … The Chiefs had no significant injuries to report.

— Associated Press —