Dave Riggert – Page 566 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Moustakas drives in team-record 9 RBIs as Royals beat Orioles

Posted on September 12, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Kansas City Royals kept getting on base in front of Mike Moustakas, and he repeatedly brought them home.

And that, quite simply, is how Moustakas amassed a franchise-record nine RBIs in a 14-6 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.

“It’s pretty special,” Moustakas said. “I was just able to get good pitches, and I didn’t miss them today.”

Moustakas hit a two-run single in the sixth inning, his second career grand slam in the seventh and, capping the unprecedented performance, a three-run homer in the ninth.

The previous team record for RBIs in a game was seven, by Billy Butler against Philadelphia on April 7, 2013.

“The guys got on base today, gave me opportunities to drive in some runs,” Moustakas said. “I was able to capitalize on that.”

The start was delayed by rain for 3 hours, 2 minutes, and the game lasted 3:40. By the time it was over, it was difficult for Royals manager Ned Yost to recall all that Moustakas accomplished.

“He sure had a great one today,” Yost said. “A grand slam, a three-run homer. I don’t know what else he did, that game was so doggone long. He had nine RBI? A four-hour game, I forgot about all of that.”

Salvador Perez had two hits and three RBIs for the American League Central-leading Royals, who won for only the second time in eight games.

“It was a big win. You can’t lose six out of seven like we had,” Yost said. “The good thing about it is their disposition, their focus, their intensity hasn’t changed through this.”

Yordano Ventura (11-8) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings for Kansas City. The right-hander is 7-1 in his last 10 starts, including a pair of wins over Baltimore.

Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold homered for the Orioles, whose modest three-game winning streak ended. Baltimore has 21 games left to close a significant gap in the hunt for the second AL wild card.

Baltimore was betrayed by a bullpen that yielded 10 runs and 10 hits over the final 3 1/3 innings. The relievers weren’t sharp on Friday night either, when the Orioles rallied to win 14-8.

“We didn’t pitch well out of the pen, obviously,” manager Buck Showalter said. “A couple of games, I’m being nice when I say they weren’t crisp. Both of them.”

Kansas City trailed 4-1 before batting around in a five-run sixth against three pitchers. After Eric Hosmer chased starter Chris Tillman with a run-scoring single, Moustakas drove in a pair of runs with a single off Brian Matusz (1-4). Perez greeted Chaz Roe with an opposite-field, two-run single to right.

The Royals pulled away with a five-run seventh. The big blow was delivered by Moustakas, who drove an 0-2 pitch over the right-field wall after an intentional walk to Kendrys Morales filled the bases.

After Reimold got Baltimore to 11-6 with a two-run drive in the eighth, Moustakas connected off Steve Johnson in the ninth.

It was the fourth career multihomer game for Moustakas, who turned 27 on Friday night.

“What did he have, seven RBI? Nine?” Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy said. “That’s a pretty good month — or week. What did we score? Not enough.”

Baltimore used a sacrifice fly by Gerardo Parra and a three-run shot by Jones to build a 4-1 lead after three innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Reliever Wade Davis returned to action after being rested with shoulder soreness.

Orioles: C Matt Wieters was back in the starting lineup after missing three games with a sore left wrist. … The Orioles hope RHP Miguel Gonzalez (right shoulder tendinitis) can come off the disabled list before the season ends. “Best scenario, he gets some starts,” Showalter said. “It would certainly help his frame of mind.”

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Johnny Cueto attempts to snap a four-game losing streak in the series finale Sunday night. He is 2-5 with a 4.86 ERA in eight starts with Kansas City.

Orioles: Wei-Yin Chen beat the Royals on Aug. 26 and tries for an encore. The Taiwanese left-hander is 4-1 in his last nine starts.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western volleyball extends win streak to six

Posted on September 12, 2015September 12, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS – Griffon Volleyball stretched its win streak to six with two wins Saturday at the Steel and Silver Classic. The team picked up a 3-1 win over Texas Women’s University in the morning and swept Eastern New Mexico in the afternoon to move to 6-2 on the season and to end their non-conference road schedule.

MWSU 3, Texas Women’s 1
The Griffons got double-digit kill performance from three different players and jumped out to a 2-0 lead before falling in the third and dominating the fourth set.

Jessie Thorup led the charge with 15 kills in the match, followed by 13 from Shellby Taylor and 12 from Rachel Friedrichs. The Griffons had 22 total blocks, as Friedrichs picked up two solo blocks and six assists. Lindsey Partidge added four total blocks and Thorup had three. Jordan Chohon added 51 assists to her total and three Griffons also had double-digit dig totals. Kayla Ruff led the way with 19; Thorup had 14 and Audrey Keim added 13.

MWSU 3, Eastern New Mexico 0
The Griffons hit .320 as a team and held Eastern New Mexico to a .134 attack percentage.

Taylor picked up 10 more kills to lead the team. Partridge added seven and Friedrichs had seven as well. Ruff led the defense with 13 digs and Thorup picked up 12. MWSU outscored Eastern New Mexico 75-57 in the sweep and took advantage of 23 attack errors.

The team returns home next weekend as they play host to the MIAA/GAC Crossover. The Griffons will play two matches Friday against Henderson State and Oklahoma Baptist before taking the day off on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri State wins home opener against Chadron State

Posted on September 12, 2015September 12, 2015

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Missouri State rode a career-best rushing day from Calan Crowder and a gritty defensive performance to nip Chadron State by a 21-13 score and hand Dave Steckel his first victory as head coach before a sellout crowd of 17,835 Saturday afternoon at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.

Crowder racked up 164 rushing yards on 23 carries to lead a Bears offense that totaled 279 yards on the ground. Breck Ruddick also delivered in his first home start as MSU’s quarterback, gaining 197 yards of total offense, including the game-clinching 55-yard scoring scamper late in the third period.

MSU’s defense repeatedly shut down CSC at critical times, stopping the Eagles on 13 of their 17 combined third and fourth down tries. The Bears secondary came up with two second-half interceptions deep in their own territory to wipe out prime scoring opportunities as well. Dylan Cole paced the Bears defense for the second straight week, totaling 11 tackles, while MSU’s starting quartet on the defensive line–James Barnes, Cecil Bratton, Colby Isbell and Brad Pryor–combined for 24 stops, including 2.5 for losses.

Ruddick completed a career-high 19 passes in 34 attempts for 128 yards and one touchdown, including five completions to Malik Earl. Eric Christophel hauled in an 11-yard scoring pass to put the Bears on top for good and finished with four catches for 26 yards.

The Bears (1-1) got their offense going midway through the opening period, as Crowder performed the heavy lifting during a 12-play, 74-yard drive. The sophomore ran for 39 yards on five carries, before Ruddick and Ryan Heaston combined forces to cover the final 23 yards. Heaston’s seven-yard rush capped the drive that saw the Bears total 63 yards on the ground to take the early 7-0 lead.

Chadron State (1-1) took advantage of a short field to even the score early in the second quarter, as Cody Paul turned in a pair of big gains to set up Derek Jackson’s 14-yard scoring run with 13:19 left on the first-half clock. Jackson struck again on the Eagles’ next drive by escaping a Missouri State defender and breaking free for a 73-yard run that set up a Randy Wentz 23-yard field goal that handed the visitors a 10-7 advantage.

MSU’s offense sputtered deep in its own territory on the ensuing drive and Chadron State appeared to be on the cusp of extending its lead after taking over at the MSU 48 following Chris Sullens’s fifth punt of the half. But the Bears shut down the Eagles’ ground game on a third-and-short play at the 39, as Cole and Daryl Coburn teamed up to trap Kevin Coy behind the line for a short loss.

The Bears benefited from a short punt to take over at their own 24, and Ruddick promptly went to work on engineering the go-ahead drive. The redshirt freshman would complete 5-of-6 passes for 42 yards on the drive, including three straight completions to Earl to set the wheels in motion. Crowder gashed the Eagles on the ground again, rushing four times for 29 yards, and an encroachment penalty on fourth and short at the 21 kept the drive alive. Two plays later, Ruddick found Christophel for an 11-yard touchdown strike that put the Bears on top again with just 1:20 left in the half.

CSC threatened on its opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 41 yards to the MSU 26 before Vashon Landers stepped in front of a T.D. Stein pass and returned the interception 31 yards.

It would be the Eagles’ turn to thwart a promising offensive drive midway through the third period, as Tyler Kiess fell on a loose ball at the MSU 38 after Cole Montgomery stripped it from Earl’s grasp following a short completion. Jackson’s two carries for nine yards set up a 36-yard field goal by Wentz that pulled CSC to within one point with 4:28 left in the quarter.

But the Bears answered the Eagles on their next drive, thanks once again to the combination of Ruddick and Crowder. Completions to Willis Chambers and Christophel, as well as a pair of eight-yard rushes by Crowder moved the Bears into CSC territory, before a holding penalty briefly slowed MSU’s progress. Then, on second and 20 at the MSU 45, Ruddick dropped back to pass before spotting daylight and breaking free to outrace the Eagles defense for a 55-yard touchdown run.

The Eagles would mount a pair of scoring threats in the fourth quarter, twice advancing the ball inside the MSU 30, only to come up empty in each instance thanks to a stingy Bears defense. After CSC drove the ball 68 yards to the MSU 20, Anthony Upchurch intercepted Stein at the goal line with 7:30 left in the game to squash the first scoring chance.

After stopping the Bears deep in their own territory, the Eagles once again generated a late charge, using a 19-yard Stein pass to Danny O’Boyle to set up one final push. But Cole hurried Stein on an incompletion on a second-down play, then teamed up with Bratton to stop Zac Bargen three yards short of the first-down marker on the Eagles’ fourth-down attempt.

From there, Crowder salted the game away by totaling 51 yards on five carries in the final 3:36 to help the Bears run out the clock on their second home-opening victory in as many years.

Jackson led the Eagles with 133 rushing yards on 18 carries, while Stein completed 17-of-31 passes for 167 yards for CSC. Ryan Wood led all tacklers with 16 stops for the Eagles, and Montgomery logged 12 tackles–three for losses–to go along with a forced fumble.

Missouri State returns to the road next Saturday (Sept. 19) for a 6 p.m. non-conference game against Arkansas State at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro.

— MSU Athletics —

Hubener wins first start as Kansas State defeats Texas-San Antonio

Posted on September 12, 2015

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Kansas State junior Joe Hubener vowed his first career start at quarterback on any level would be just another game.

Hubener quickly learned his assumptions were wrong under the heavy pressure of UTSA’s defense and the deafening cheers of the Roadrunners’ fans at the Alamodome.

But Hubener was able to slow the game down, leading Kansas State to a 30-3 victory against UTSA on Saturday afternoon.

“I was just antsy,” Hubener said. “I was nervous all day. There were a lot of throws that I just rushed. I just need to focus on staying calm. I said I was going to treat it just like any other day and it still got me nervous.”

The Wildcats’ defense helped calm his nerves, holding the Roadrunners to 37 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Hubener had a career-high 243 yards passing, completing 12 of 23 attempts, and also rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

He is taking over for Jesse Ertz, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on the third play of the Wildcats’ opener last week.

Hubener began his career at Kansas State as a walk-on before earning a scholarship prior to last season, when he served as the team’s primary backup quarterback.

“Being a walk-on, you play with a chip on your shoulder,” Hubener said. “You have always got something to prove. It’s totally fine that I’m always going to be a `walk on.’ ”

That’s how he attempted to play, but UTSA’s defense flustered Hubener early by sending multiple defenders at him. The 6-foot-5 junior frantically called for a hurried snap early in the opening drive and was forced to call timeout on the same possession to prevent a delay. Hubener walked out of the pocket shaking his head following that timeout as Kansas State running back Charles Jones tapped his thumb and fingers together to mimic talking.

“I was very surprised, I didn’t expect it to be quite that loud,” Hubener said. “I think they said 40,000, (29,000 actually). Twenty-nine? Wow, they were a loud 29,000. We had to go on center snap count the whole game, so they were very loud.”

Hubener settled in after the initial drive, guiding the Wildcats (2-0) to three straight scoring drives to open the second half.

Kansas State amassed 418 total yards, helping keep UTSA’s explosive offense off the field.

“I thought he made some good decisions in regards to what he got into and out of,” Wildcats coach Bill Snyder said. “He handled the running game well. He handled his part of the running game well. Overall, he did some good things, but we still have some growth in some aspects of the passing game.”

Kansas State’s defense struggled early, too, before stifling UTSA’s frenetic offense.

The Roadrunners (0-2) marched 41 yards on six plays to open the game before incurring consecutive false start penalties. The break allowed Kansas State to catch their breath and gain their bearing against the no-huddle offense. UTSA settled for a 51-yard field goal from Daniel Portillo.

Coming off a 42-32 loss to No. 22 Arizona in which they gained 525 total yards on 95 plays, UTSA was limited to 229 yards on 62 plays by Kansas State.

“Just get three and outs,” Wildcats linebacker Elijah Lee said. “A big emphasis is whenever you get a team three and outs, they have to start slowing down and they can’t run as many plays as they are used to.”

The victory snapped Kansas State’s seven-game losing streak at indoor facilities. The Wildcats’ last victory indoors was 1993 against Minnesota in the now-defunct Metrodome.

— KSU Athletics —

Slumping Cardinals drop third straight to Reds 5-1

Posted on September 12, 2015

CINCINNATI (AP) — Sometimes, when Lance Lynn makes mistakes, hitters still pop them up.

Skip Schumaker popped Lynn’s Saturday mistake into the right field seats.

Schumaker hit a three-run homer, rookie Anthony DeSclafani pitched six strong innings and the Cincinnati Reds won their second game of the day, beating the struggling St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Saturday.

The first-place Cardinals have lost the first three games of this four-game series. Their lead over Pittsburgh in the NL Central fell to three games before the Pirates hosted Milwaukee on Saturday night.

Earlier, Adam Duvall’s two-run homer in the eighth lifted the Reds to a 4-2 win in the completion of a game suspended in the eighth by rain on Friday.

Schumaker, a former Cardinal, hit his first homer since Aug. 13 of last season.

“We have to disrupt a little bit of what’s going on in this race,” he said. “To have fun around here, we have to beat teams going to the playoffs. It’s nice to hit one against the organization that I respect the most.”

St. Louis is 3-8 in September after three straight losses to the last-place Reds, who on Sunday can finish off their first four-game sweep of the Cardinals since 2003.

Lynn agreed that a losing streak looks worse down the stretch.

“It’s a good thing it’s the beginning of the month,” he said. “We’ll see where we are at the end of the month. It’s a good thing the season goes a couple of days into October.”

Joey Votto, who is appealing the two-game suspension he was handed Friday for his altercation with plate umpire Bill Welke on Wednesday, electrified the sellout crowd of 41,187 with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh that Jason Heyward tracked down a step in front of the center field wall.

The Cardinals committed two errors to push their total to five in the first three games of the series.

Rain fell during the middle innings of the scheduled game and again in the eighth and ninth, but not heavy enough to interrupt play.

DeSclafani (9-10) bounced back from giving up hits to the first three Cardinals, including Heyward’s RBI single, to strike out the next three and go on to retire 15 straight batters.

“That was a good start,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said of the Cardinals’ first. “It’s a shame three strikeouts had to follow. Strikeouts hurt us today.”

DeSclafani finished with one walk and a career-high 10 strikeouts in six innings.

“DeSclafani found his curveball and fastball command after the first three batters,” manager Bryan Price said. “He’s a tough kid. I’m really happy with his makeup.”

Tony Cingrani, Burke Badenhop and Jumbo Diaz combined to finish the game.

Lynn, coming off his second-shortest appearance of the season, opened with four hitless innings before Eugenio Suarez and Tucker Barnhart started the fifth with singles. Those set up Schumaker’s two-out shot to right. Lynn (11-10) allowed four hits in six innings.

Barnhart added an insurance run with a single in the eighth.

KING’S DAY

Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Mann presented career hits leader Pete Rose with a key to the city and proclaimed Saturday “Pete Rose Day.” Friday was the 30th anniversary of Rose’s record-setting hit. A Rose bobblehead helped attract a sellout crowd.

SUSPENDED

Cardinals C Cody Stanley was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Stanley, 26, spent most of this season at Triple-A Memphis, but was promoted to St. Louis when major league rosters expanded on Sept. 1. It is the seventh suspension announced this year under the big league program.

Major League Baseball said Stanley tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. The suspension is effective immediately.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Matt Belisle was reinstated from the disabled list on Saturday. Belisle had been out since June 26 with right elbow inflammation.

Reds: Billy Hamilton’s two stolen bases in the first game were his first since Aug. 18. He was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday after missing 19 games with a sprained right shoulder.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (15-5) makes his first start since tying his single-game career high by allowing six runs on six hits in four innings of Tuesday’s 8-5 loss to the Cubs.

Reds: Rookie RHP Raisel Iglesias (3-7) is coming off his shortest appearance of the season, lasting just three innings in a 7-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

Jayhawks get hammered by Memphis 55-23

Posted on September 12, 2015September 12, 2015

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Paxton Lynch threw for 354 yards and two scores, Memphis scored on its first five possessions of the second half and the Tigers rolled to a 55-23 victory over Kansas on Saturday night.

The Tigers (2-0) also piled up 281 yards rushing and five touchdowns, one apiece from five different players. They finished with 651 yards of total offense, while their point total was the most the Jayhawks (0-2) had allowed since Georgia Tech hung 66 on them on Sept. 17, 2011.

Memphis also pushed its winning streak to nine straight dating to last season, and snapped an infuriating 19-game skid against teams from power conferences.

The Jayhawks, riding a five-game losing streak, are still searching for their first victory for coach David Beaty. The last time Kansas lost its first two games was 2002.

Montell Cozart was just 13 of 28 for 118 yards passing for the Jayhawks, though he did have a TD run. Ke’aun Kinner added 113 yards rushing and another touchdown.

The Tigers spotted the Jayhawks a 10-0 lead thanks mostly to their own mistakes. Tevin Jones fumbled on their first offensive play and Kansas turned it into a field goal, and a three-and-out on the Tigers’ next possession set the Jayhawks up for a 73-yard touchdown drive.

But the perennial cellar-dwellers were unable to sustain the momentum.

Sam Craft’s short TD run helped Memphis to draw even by the end of the first quarter, and Doroland Dorceus’s scamper made it 17-10. The Jayhawks tacked on a field goal a few minutes later, but Lynch answered with a short TD toss to Jones with 32 seconds left before the half.

It took just 56 seconds out of the break to put the game away.

Mose Frazier took a handoff out of the shotgun, glided to his left and then turned up field. He left one Kansas defender on the turf with a smooth cutback, and then out-raced the rest of the secondary on 60-yard scoring run that gave the Tigers a 31-13 advantage.

By then, a decent crowd on a postcard-perfect evening must have decided to spend the rest of the night tailgating. There were as many empty seats in Memorial Stadium as full ones.

The Tigers put up three more touchdowns and a field goal against a Kansas defense that was repeatedly gouged by the Jackrabbits last weekend. In fact, things got so out of hand that Lynch sat the final 8 minutes as backup Clay Holgorson took over at quarterback.

Cozart also took a seat late in the game. Deondre Ford finished it out for Kansas.

— Associated Press —

Area High School Football Scores – Friday, September 11

Posted on September 11, 2015September 11, 2015

CITY
Central 49, Blue Springs 31
Lafayette 27, Savannah 26
Smithville 38, Benton 7
Maryville 35, Bishop LeBlond 8
St. Joseph Christian 62, North West Nodaway 52

AREA
Chillicothe 33, Cameron 0
East Buchanan 60, Plattsburg 34
Hamilton 35, Mid-Buchanan 13
Lathrop 27, West Platte 21
Lawson 42, North Platte 14
Gallatin 24, Princeton 6
King City 50, Braymer 20
Polo 50, South Harrison 44
Lafayette County 45, Trenton 13

8-MAN
North Andrew 60, DeKalb 14
South Holt/Nodaway-Holt 30, East Atchison 16
Stanberry 64, Rock Port 36
Mound City 56, South Nodaway 16
Stewartsville 86, Pattonsburg 14
Southwest Livingston 34, Norborne/Hardin Central 26
Worth County 88, Albany 58

KC gives up 10 runs in the eighth, drop series opener at Baltimore

Posted on September 11, 2015September 12, 2015

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles earned a piece of history by becoming the seventh team in the modern era to hit two grand slams in the same inning.

Between those two home runs, Chris Davis got plunked with a pitch. And that is why Orioles manager Buck Showalter had to watch the second home run on television.

Nolan Reimold and Steve Clevenger both hit slams during a 10-run eighth, giving Baltimore a 14-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Since the start of the 20th century, six teams have hit grand slams in the same inning. The Orioles are the only ones to do it twice — they also pulled it off in 1986 — and no team had done it since the New York Mets in 2006, STATS said.

“Yeah, it was crazy,” Reimold said.

Baltimore trailed 6-4 in the eighth before a double, an error and an infield hit loaded the bases for Reimold, who lined a 2-0 pitch from Kelvin Herrera (4-3) high off the left-field foul pole.

Manny Machado followed with a solo shot off Franklin Morales. After Adam Jones singled, Morales hit Davis in the back with a pitch. Davis slammed down his bat, breaking it in two, as Showalter sprinted out of the dugout.

No one else emerged from either dugout during the potentially volatile situation, although Davis glared at Morales while taking his base.

“We hit a grand slam, another home run, a couple rockets,” Davis said. “It just didn’t look right, regardless of whether it was on purpose or not.”

Showalter thought it was, and was ejected for arguing that point.

Thus, he missed what happened next: Morales lasted one more batter before being replaced by Joba Chamberlain, who yielded Clevenger’s slam. Clevenger entered the game earlier in the inning as a pinch hitter.

Royals manager Ned Yost insisted that Morales was not throwing at Davis.

“You’re going to react like that because it does hurt,” Yost said. “But that pitch wasn’t on purpose. There was a lot of hullabaloo after that. But it wasn’t on purpose.”

Baltimore improved to 3-62 when trailing after seven innings. Kansas City is now 63-3 when leading after seven.

Lorenzo Cain hit two solo homers and Alex Rios also connected with the bases empty for the Royals, who have lost eight of 11.

“You go through stretches like this,” Cain said. “We can’t let it worry us. We understand we’re a good ballclub. We’ve just got to find a way to bounce back.”

The Orioles’ three-game winning streak comes on the heels of a stretch in which they lost 15 of 18.

Mychal Givens (2-0) got the win despite giving up two runs in the ninth. Fellow rookie Dariel Alvarez hit his first big league homer for Baltimore.

It was the Royals’ first visit to Baltimore since last October, when they opened the AL Championship Series with two straight wins at Camden Yards and completed the four-game sweep at home.

While first-place Kansas City appears poised for a return trip to the postseason, the defending AL East champion Orioles started play Friday trailing six teams for the league’s final wild-card spot. Baltimore must win 13 of its last 22 games just to finish .500.

The Royals’ early 3-0 lead dwindled to 4-3 before Rios led off the seventh with a drive off Brad Brach — his first home run since July 17. Davis countered in the bottom half with a run-scoring single to increase his RBI total to 105.

Salvador Perez restored the two-run cushion with an RBI single in the eighth, setting the stage for Baltimore’s grand comeback.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Reliever Wade Davis was unavailable because of shoulder stiffness.

Orioles: Jones returned to the Baltimore lineup after missing two games with a sore right shoulder. He struck out three times. … Catcher Matt Wieters remained sidelined with a sore left wrist but hopes to return Saturday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (10-8, 4.34 ERA) and RHP Johnny Cueto traded places in the rotation. Ventura will start Saturday afternoon and Cueto under the lights Sunday because he prefers to pitch at night, manager Ned Yost said.

Orioles: Chris Tillman (9-11, 5.15) owns a lifetime ERA of 6.17 against the Royals. The right-hander gave up four runs over six innings in a loss to the Royals on Aug. 27.

— Associated Press —

Griffon volleyball wins two on day one of Steel & Silver Classic

Posted on September 11, 2015September 12, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS – The Missouri Western volleyball team opened the Steel and Silver Classic with two wins Friday as they’ve won four consecutive games after starting 0-2.

Missouri Western picked up a five-set win Friday morning over previously unbeaten Tarleton State and swept winless Adams State in the afternoon. The team will play two more matches on Saturday at the event, facing Texas Women’s at 10 a.m. and Eastern New Mexico at 3 p.m.

MWSU 3, Tarleton State 2
Jessie Thorup matched a career-high with 25 kills as the Griffons rallied after falling behind two sets to one. Missouri Western held off a Tarleton State rally late in the fourth set to force the fifth. After four close, back-and-forth sets, the two teams were tied at 10 in the fifth set before MWSU scored five straight to take the match.

Thorup hit .304 in the match and added nine digs to her 25 kills. Rchel Friedrichs finished with 11 kills, three block assists and three digs. Blair Russell had 10 kills and five digs. Jordan Chohon finished with 54 assists and 10 digs. Kayla Ruff led the Griffons with 18 digs, while Audrey Keim added 13.

MWSU 3, Adams State 0
The Griffons didn’t have the most efficient offensive performance but spread the attack across their offense while forcing Adams State into 29 attack errors and holding the Grizzlies to an -.044 hitting percentage.

Thorup led the team again but stayed under double-digits in kills, adding nine. Lindsey Partridge and Shellby Taylor each had seven kills. Partridge and Thorup added five blocks each as did Ashley Mainord. Ruff had her second 18-dig performance of the day and Keim picked up 16 more of her own.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcat volleyball splits on first day at Augustana Showcase

Posted on September 11, 2015September 12, 2015

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team beat Minnesota-Crookston, 3-2, but fell to host Augustana, 3-0, on the first day of the Augustana Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday.

The Bearcats move to 5-1 on the season and will play a pair of NSIC teams Saturday to close out the weekend.

The 5-0 start marks the best opening to a Bearcat volleyball season since 1998 when the team began the year with 6-0 mark. That team went on to finish the year 21-12 overall.

Miranda Foster had a team-best 22 kills in the day’s two matches.

The Bearcats will play Saturday against Minnesota State-Moorhead at noon and Northern State University at 6 p.m. on the final day of the Augustana Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D.

— Northwest Athletics —