Dave Riggert – Page 585 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Griffon football announces additions, changes to coaching staff

Posted on July 22, 2015

ST. JOSEPH – Four new faces have joined the Missouri Western Football coaching staff for 2015. Head coach Jerry Partridge has also announced some other minor changes to assignments with returning members of the staff.

Andy Ball joins the staff as an assistant coach and will work primarily with offensive linemen. Offensive Coordinator Todd Throckmorton will focus on working with tight ends after also working with linemen in previous seasons. Ball is no stranger to the area. He was born in St. Joseph while his father, Randy, was an assistant at MWSU. Randy was a head coach at Western Illinois and Missouri State and is now a pro scouting assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy comes to MWSU from Truman State University where he was offensive line coach, co-recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator for three seasons. He also spent four seasons as an assistant at Missouri S&T and three seasons as an assistant at Culver-Stockton College. The 2001 Central Missouri graduate worked as a student assistant and graduate assistant on the Mules coaching staff for three seasons.

Scott Groner will step right out of his Griffon uniform and into the shoes of his mentor Jay White. Groner will be the team’s equipment manager in addition to working with specialists. The three-time All-American punter will also serve as assistant facilities director for the athletic department, assuming the role formerly filled by White, who accepted a position with the Kansas City Chiefs this spring.

Colin McQuillan and David McGarvey have joined the staff as graduate assistants. Neither are strangers to Griffon Football. McQuillan was a student assistant from 2010-12 and graduated from MWSU in 2012 with a bachelor’s in Physical Education. Since then, he has coached in the high school ranks, spending two seasons at Riverside High School in Wathena, Kansas and two at KC Wyandotte High School. He was also the head girl’s basketball coach at Union Star High School from 2008-2011. McGarvey’s father, Stan was the head coach at MWSU from 1991-96. McGarvey recently graduated from Missouri Valley College. His coaching experience includes two stints at Missouri Valley, where he worked with running backs and fullbacks in addition to serving as junior varsity head coach and offensive coordinator. He was also offensive coordinator at Marshfield High School, in Marshfield, Missouri from 2009-12. McQuillan will work with defensive backs while McGarvey will focus on wide receivers at MWSU.

Joel Beard will assume the role of passing game coordinator after working exclusively as a quarterbacks coach the previous two sesaons. Beard will now work with both the quarterback and wide receiver position groups to coordinate the Griffon passing attack. Longtime assistant Regi Trotter has been given the additional title of assistant head coach. Now in his 11th season as an assistant at his alma mater, Trotter also coaches defensive backs. After nine seasons as the wide receivers coach, Aaron Bell resigned from the Griffon coaching staff earlier this summer.

Partridge enters his 19th season as head coach and is the winningest coach in program history. His 107 MIAA wins rank him third all-time and first among active MIAA coaches. 2014 marked the 10th consecutive season his team had a record of .500 or better and the sixth-straight over .500. The 2015 team features 36 returning letter winners and 15 returning starters from last year’s team that went 7-4.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Royals place Vargas on DL with torn UCL; recall Ventura from the minors

Posted on July 22, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have placed left-hander Jason Vargas on the disabled list with a torn ligament in his elbow, an injury that typically requires season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Vargas left his start against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night after throwing just 26 pitches. He had an MRI on Wednesday that revealed the extent of the injury.

The Royals filled his spot in the rotation by recalling Yordano Ventura. The hard-throwing right-hander had been sent to Triple-A Omaha just a day earlier to work on his inconsistency and rebuild some confidence after a string of poor starts.

Vargas, who is 5-2 with a 3.98 ERA, was instrumental in the Royals’ run to the World Series a year ago. He went 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA in three postseason starts.

— Associated Press —

St. Joseph drops regular season finale at Nevada, 7-3

Posted on July 21, 2015

The St. Joseph Mustangs lost their final regular season game Tuesday as they fell at Nevada 7-3.

This was a preview of the MINK League Championship game Friday at Phil Welch Stadium and was the last game of the regular season because the Mustangs and Sedalia Bombers mutually agreed to cancel their game on Thursday because it won’t matter in the league standings. St. Joseph clinched the North Division title Monday at Chillicothe.

St. Joe’s summer college baseball team is now 34-15 and 27-14 in the MINK League.

The Mustangs, who had won their previous five meetings with the Griffons, gave up four runs in the second and could never catch up.

St. Joseph pulled to within 4-3 in the fifth inning, but Nevada answered back in the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own.

Mitch Steinhoff suffered the loss for the Mustangs as he allowed all seven runs and nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. He struck out two and walked three batters.

Josh Cassidy and Jackson Schnurbusch led St. Joe’s nine-hit attack as they each went 2-for-4. Cassidy and Jordan Powell added one RBI each.

The Mustangs are off until Friday when they host Nevada in the MINK League Championship game. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. inside Phil Welch Stadium and it’ll be broadcast on ESPN 1550 and here on StJosephPost.com.

Dyson’s 2-run single helps Royals defeat Pirates 3-1

Posted on July 21, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jarrod Dyson hit a two-run single in the eighth inning to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Dyson scored later in the inning on Alcides Escobar’s single to put the Royals up 3-0, and they won for the 11th time in 14 games.

Wade Davis (6-1) struck out Andrew McCutchen swinging to end the eighth with two Pirates on base to pick up the victory.

Greg Holland survived a shaky ninth, allowing a run on four hits and a walk, but struck out Gregory Polanco with the bases loaded for his 21st save in 24 opportunities.

Pirates starter Gerrit Cole (13-4), who leads the majors in victories, was charged with all three runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings.

— Associated Press —

Holliday’s grand slam sends St. Louis past Chicago

Posted on July 21, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Holliday hit his sixth career grand slam, powering Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals past the Chicago White Sox 8-5 on Tuesday night.

Holliday homered for the first time since May 12. He returned last Friday after missing 31 games because of a strained right quadriceps.

Holliday connected in the fourth inning for his fourth homer. Mark Reynolds added a solo shot in the fifth.

Wacha (11-3) gave up five runs in five innings. Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 30 chances.

Stephen Piscotty, St. Louis’ top hitting prospect, made his major league debut playing left field. He had an infield single in four at-bats and struck out twice.

Carlos Rodon (3-3) was tagged for seven hits in four innings as the Cardinals built a 7-0 lead. Chicago lost its third in a row.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs release rookie cornerback Justin Cox after arrest

Posted on July 21, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have waived defensive back Justin Cox, who was charged with domestic assault, burglary and trespassing for an incident that occurred Monday in Starkville, Mississippi.

Cox was being held on $40,433 bond. The case is still under investigation.

This is the second time in the past year that Cox has been arrested for an incidence of domestic violence, though the previous charge was ultimately dropped. Cox instead pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of trespassing in January.

Cox signed with the Chiefs after going undrafted out of Mississippi State, in part because of his off-the-field issues. He was suspended the final three games last year after his arrest.

— Associated Press —

Royals option Yordano Ventura to Triple-A Omaha

Posted on July 21, 2015July 21, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Yordano Ventura is going back to the minors to try to regain his form from his strong rookie season.

The Royals optioned Ventura to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday after a string of ineffective outings for the opening-day pitcher.

”A lot of times it’s good for players to take a step back, so they can take three or four steps forward,” manager Ned Yost said.

The 24-year-old Ventura, who can run his fastball into triple digits, is 4-7 with a 5.19 ERA in 14 starts this year. He spent nearly a month on the disabled list with inflammation of his ulnar nerve.

Yost acknowledged Ventura is probably feeling some frustration.

”He knows what he’s capable of doing,” Yost said. ”He feels like with his performance a little bit that he’s letting everybody down, which is not the case. Everybody believes in him 100 percent.”

Left-hander Jason Vargas came off the disabled list and got the start Tuesday night against Pittsburgh. Vargas had been sidelined by a left flexor strain.

Ventura gave up six runs and 10 hits in four-plus innings in Monday night’s 10-7 loss to the Pirates. He is 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in his last four starts.

After going 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA last year and throwing seven scoreless innings to beat San Francisco in Game 6 of the World Series, the Royals signed Ventura to a $23 million, five-year contract at the end of spring training.

”Everybody still knows if we make it back to the World Series he’s going to be a big reason why,” Yost said. ”So just going down and having success for a week or two or three or four or whatever it may be, is going to help him in the long run.”

— Associated Press —

Mustangs clinch MINK League North title with 4-0 win at Chillicothe

Posted on July 21, 2015

The St. Joseph Mustangs clinched their fourth MINK League North Division Championship in the last five seasons as they won at Chillicothe Monday night 4-0.

St. Joe’s summer college baseball team improves to 34-14 this season and 27-13 in league play. The Mustangs will now play for the MINK League Championship Friday as they host South Division winner Nevada at 7:00 p.m. inside Phil Welch Stadium. St. Joseph has won three of the last four league titles.

Monday night’s game was scoreless until the eighth inning when Mustangs’ center fielder Jacob Richardson hit an RBI triple to score Jackson Schnurbusch, Richardson scored on a wild pitch and Josh Cassidy drove in Trent Hill with a two-out double.

St. Joe added an RBI double from Jerry Houston in the ninth inning as Logan Jacik (2-2) earned the win in relief. Blake Kolons threw six scoreless innings before Jacik pitched the seventh and eighth innings. Steve D’Amico threw a scoreless ninth.

Chillicothe had just four hits on the night, while Cassidy led the Mustangs with two hits.

The Mustangs have two regular season games remaining before the championship on Friday as they play at Nevada Tuesday and host Sedalia Thursday. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m.

Kansas City drops series opener to Pittsburgh 10-7

Posted on July 21, 2015July 21, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Ishikawa had three extra-base hits and drove in four runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates outslugged the Kansas City Royals 10-7 Monday night.

Ishikawa, who was 1 for 13 with one RBI in nine games since the Pirates claimed him on waivers July 5, hit a two-run double in a four-run second. He homered in the fifth with Jung Ho Kang aboard.

A.J. Burnett (8-3) won despite giving up a season-high five earned runs and 11 hits — including two homers — in his initial start since his first career trip to the All-Star Game. The 38-year-old right-hander pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the second.

The Royals cut the deficit to 8-7 in the seventh and chased Burnett. Mike Moustakas homered leading off the inning. Eric Hosmer had an RBI triple for his third hit and scored on Kendrys Morales’ groundout.

Pittsburgh answered with Neil Walker’s two-run triple in the eighth off Luke Hochevar.

Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his 30th save in 31 opportunities. He has converted a franchise-record 28 consecutive saves.

Starling Marte had three hits, one of three Pirates with multihit games. Ishikawa doubled twice.

Morales, who hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the fifth, tops the American League with 65 RBI.

Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura (4-7) was pulled in the fifth. He gave up six runs on 11 hits and a walk.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: SS Jordy Mercer (sprained left knee ligament) went on the disabled list and is expected to miss six weeks. . C Francisco Cervelli left in the seventh with discomfort in his right wrist.

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen, who had his second Tommy John surgery in March 2014, was activated after six rehab starts in the minors. He made his Royals debut, giving up four runs and four hits in 3 1/3 innings.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole looks for his major league-leading 14th victory Tuesday night. He is 8-1 with a 2.23 ERA in his past 10 starts.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas will come off the disabled list and make his first start since June 8.

— Associated Press —

Big 12 Conference restricts football live contact opportunities

Posted on July 20, 2015July 21, 2015

Irving, Texas – The Big 12 has announced the adoption of a conference-wide limit on football in-season live contact opportunities to no more than two times per week, including game-day, per student-athlete. The limit will be in effect beginning with the upcoming 2015 season and will be included in the Big 12 Conference Policy for Concussion Diagnosis and Management.

“The Big 12 Conference continues to take the lead in the area of player safety as the first conference to enact more restrictive contact polices than currently permitted,” commented commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “Our policy is a 33-percent reduction in the number of contact opportunities allowed under NCAA guidelines. Limiting the number of live contact practices and giving medical practitioners unchallengeable authority on return to play decisions unequivocally demonstrates the commitment of our membership to the health and safety of Big 12 student-athletes. I applaud our athletics directors on implementing an industry leading approach.”

Current NCAA Year-Round Football Practice Contact Guidelines allow for two live contact practices a week. The Big 12 policy limits a student-athlete to two contacts per week including competition, or two practices if a student-athlete does not participate in a game that week.

NCAA guidelines define live contact practice as “any practice that involves live tackling to the ground and/or full-speed blocking. Live contact practice may occur in full-pad or half-pad (also known as “shell,” in which the player wears shoulder pads and shorts, with or without thigh pads).” Live contact doesn’t include: (1) “thud” sessions, or (2) drills that involve “wrapping up;” in these scenarios players are not taken to the ground and contact is not aggressive in nature. Live contact practices are to be conducted in a manner consistent with existing rules that prohibit targeting to the head or neck area with the helmet, forearm, elbow, or shoulder, or the initiation of contact with the helmet.” The Big 12 live contact policy applies to in-season practices and includes open dates.

Bowlsby also noted that the Big 12 had previously enacted policy beyond current NCAA Autonomy legislation empowering institutional medical staff with autonomy and the unchallengeable authority to determine management and return to play of any ill/injured student-athlete, and ensure that no coach serve as the primary supervisor for any medical provider, nor have hiring, retention and/or dismissal authority over that provider.

— Big 12 Release —