Dave Riggert – Page 595 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Mustangs drop non-league game against Midwest A’s

Posted on June 28, 2015June 29, 2015

The St. Joseph Mustangs lost a non-league game to the Midwest A’s Saturday night inside Phil Welch Stadium, 7-4.

St. Joe’s summer college baseball team drops to 20-7 this season and they remain 17-6 in the MINK League.

The A’s jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning and the Mustangs never got closer than three the rest of the game. They were behind 4-1 and 5-2 before giving up two runs in the ninth and then scoring two in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Mitch Steinhoff suffered the loss as he allowed three runs and four hits in 3.0 innings of work.

Trent Hill had three of the Mustangs’ seven hits. Hill had two doubles and scored one run.

Brett Bond added a double and two RBI.

The Mustangs on are on the road Sunday as they play at Joplin. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

Morales leads Royals to second straight win at Oakland

Posted on June 27, 2015June 29, 2015

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With his team nearing its 43rd win of the season to tie Houston for the most in the AL, Kansas City manager Ned Yost finally relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the moment.

The Royals are rolling again and the normally stoic Yost broke character to take it in.

Chris Young bounced back from his worst start of the year to pitch six innings and Kansas City beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Saturday to move a season-high 15 games over .500.

“I was sitting there thinking about that in the ninth inning, this would be a chance to get our high-water mark to 15 over,” Yost said following the Royals’ third consecutive win. “If I would say I’m not excited about being 15 over, I’d be lying. It’s great, but we want to continue to keep going, keep going, keep going.”

Kendrys Morales hit a two-run single in the sixth off Scott Kazmir (4-5) that erased a 2-1 deficit. The Royals won for the fourth time in five games on their road trip.

Young (7-3) allowed four hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out four.

That was in stark contrast to Young’s previous start against Boston when he was tagged for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings.

“He did a great job of changing eye level,” Yost said. “He’d get them looking up then pitch down. He’d get them looking down, then he’d pitch up. He moved the ball in and he’d move the ball out. He just did a great job of executing pitches.”

Ryan Madson and Wade Davis pitched one inning apiece, and Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 16th save.

Sam Fuld doubled for the A’s, who were wearing throwback uniforms from 1965 when the franchise was in Kansas City. Oakland has lost two straight after a season-high, five-game winning streak.

Oakland had two on with no outs in the eighth but failed to score. Stephen Vogt struck out looking against Davis after getting ahead in the count 3-0, and Ben Zobrist hit into a 1-6-3 double play.

“Once they get to the seventh, they feel like they have a good chance with the lead,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of the Royals. “We had an opportunity. We just didn’t get a big hit there.”

For the second consecutive game these two bitter rivals played without incident. When they played in Kansas City in April, all three games were marred by bench-clearing dustups.

The Royals trailed 2-1 in the sixth before stringing together a walk and two hits. Lorenzo Cain and Hosmer also pulled off a double steal before Morales singled.

Young, who made a throwing error that led to Oakland’s first run, won for the third time in four starts.

Fuld doubled leading off the first, alertly stole third against the Royals shifted defense and scored when Young’s throw to third sailed wildly into foul territory.

Omar Infante doubled in the third, moved up on a balk by Kazmir and scored on a sacrifice fly by Moustakas.

A two-out throwing error by shortstop Alcides Escobar in the fifth led to an unearned run for the A’s in the fifth.

Kazmir owned the lowest home ERA in the majors going into the game, but gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura allowed three runs in four innings during his first rehab start for Triple-A Omaha. He has been out since June 13 with ulnar neuritis.

Athletics: OF Billy Burns (hip flexor) rested for a second straight day, but should be available for the series finale. … Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte (strained right shoulder) played catch with his right arm before the game and reported no pain. … Stephen Vogt was Oakland’s DH a day after getting hit in the right wrist by a pitch from Franklin Morales.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (5-5) needs two strikeouts to reach 1,000 for his career. Teammate Edinson Volquez reached the milestone Friday.

Athletics: RHP Jesse Chavez (4-6) seeks his third consecutive win. He has never won more than two in a row.

— Associated Press —

St. Louis beats Chicago to become first team to 50 wins

Posted on June 27, 2015June 30, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals are the first major league team to 50 wins, and they are focused on continuing their success.

Michael Wacha pitched six solid innings, Xavier Scruggs had three hits and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 8-1 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win.

Jason Heyward reached four times as St. Louis improved to a major league-best 28-7 at home with its eighth consecutive win at Busch Stadium. The major league-best Cardinals (50-24) have five winning streaks of five games or more this season.

“We’re not completely oblivious to it, but we’re not spending a lot of time on it,” manager Mike Matheny said of the team’s record. “It’s nice watching the bulk of these guys have success.”

Wacha (10-3) allowed one run and six hits, bouncing back from a rough start at Philadelphia. The right-hander was tagged for five runs and eight hits in five innings against the Phillies in his worst start of the season last Sunday.

Chicago has lost four in a row after a four-game winning streak.

Cubs right-hander Donn Roach (0-1) lasted just 3 1/3 innings in his first major league appearance of the year. He was charged with four runs and eight hits while subbing for Tsuyoshi Wada, who has a sore elbow.

The Cardinals scored four runs in the fourth and fifth. Heyward singled and scored on Yadier Molina’s double in the fourth, and walked and scored on Randal Grichuk’s double in the fifth.

Scruggs, Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter each drove in two runs as St. Louis reached the 50-win mark before July for the first time in franchise history. Scruggs, who was promoted from Triple-A Memphis on June 19, gave the Cardinals the lead for good with a run-scoring single in the fourth.

In Friday’s series opener, rookie Greg Garcia, also recalled from Memphis on June 19, connected for a tying pinch-hit homer in the eighth, and the Cardinals went on to a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.

“Greg, he’s my man and it was great to see him contribute like that,” Scruggs said. “Tonight, I just wanted to get out there and do something, too.”

Heyward, who was 2 for 3 with two walks and scored twice, enjoyed seeing the rookies step up.

“It just makes you feel good to see the young guys do that,” Heyward said. “It also shows the depth of this team that guys like that can come up, step in, and contribute right away.”

Wacha retired his last six batters and seemed to pick up steam as he went along.

“The last couple innings, I felt really good,” Wacha said. “It was a struggle the first few innings, a lot of stressful innings. But it was nice to have couple easy ones.”

Carlos Villanueva pitched three innings of one-hit ball against his former team for his first save of the year.

Roach drove in Starlin Castro with an RBI single in the second. Castro has hit safely in his last 12 games against St. Louis.

Roach set the Cardinals down in order in the third, but struggled in the fourth.

“I think they did a good job of staying up the middle,” Roach said. “I obviously threw some mistakes today, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”

Chicago was 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and is 2 for 17 in the series.

“No question, we had opportunities,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “We did a lot of good things early. We just have to do better. It’s very simple.”

NO CONTEST

St. Louis is 6-2 against Chicago this year, outscoring the Cubs 41-25. The Cardinals went 10-9 against the Cubs last year.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: OF Jorge Soler, who has been out since June 3 with a left ankle sprain, will likely start a minor league rehabilitation assignment early next week. Soler is on the 15-day disabled list.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia, who suffered a groin cramp running the bases in his last start, will not take his scheduled turn on Tuesday. He skipped a bullpen session Saturday and could return to the rotation as early as Wednesday. RHP Lance Lynn (5-4, 2.84 ERA) will start Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (8-3, 2.89 ERA) faces RHP Jason Hammel (5-2, 2.65 ERA) in the finale of the three-game series on Sunday night. Hammel has eight quality starts in his last 11 outings. The Cardinals are 11-3 in games started by Martinez this season.

— Associated Press —

St. Joseph defeats Clarinda for 20th win of the season

Posted on June 27, 2015June 27, 2015

The St. Joseph Mustangs won their second consecutive game Friday night and they moved to 3-0 against Clarinda with a 4-2 win against the A’s.

St. Joe’s summer college baseball team improves to 20-6 this season and 17-6 in the MINK League.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 4-0 lead as they scored single runs in the third and fourth innings, and then added two more in the fifth.

St. Joseph only had three hits in the game, but they took advantage of six walks and drove in two runs with two sacrifice flys.

Jackson Schnurbusch had two of the Mustangs’ hits and he drove in one run, while Orencio Fisher, Jacob Richardson and Francisco Alvarez had one RBI each.

Trent Kinney earned the win for St. Joe as he allowed one earned run and four hits in 5.1 innings of work. Four Mustang relievers shut down Clarinda the rest of the way as Ross Juliana, Humberto Medina, Jake Harper and Steve D’Amico combined to go 3.2 innings and they allowed no runs and only two hits.

The Mustangs play a non-league game at Phil Welch Stadium Saturday night as they host the Midwest A’s at 7:00 p.m.

Morales, Gordon hit home runs as Royals win at Oakland

Posted on June 27, 2015

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon homered to back Edinson Volquez, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics 5-2 on Friday night.

Unlike when these two teams met in April, when there were bench-clearing scuffles in all three games, there were no signs of lingering animosity. A few players from both clubs exchanged hugs and handshakes before the game, and both managers downplayed talk of any carry-over effect.

Instead the Royals rode the power of Morales and Gordon, and got another strong outing from Volquez.

Pitching against the A’s for the first time since 2007, Volquez (8-4) gave up three hits and one run in seven innings. Volquez also reached 1,000 strikeouts for his career when he fanned Brett Lawrie in the sixth.

Sam Fuld had an RBI double for Oakland, which had its five-game win streak snapped.

— Associated Press —

Bourjos scores on throwing error in 10th as Cards beat Cubs

Posted on June 26, 2015June 26, 2015

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Peter Bourjos scored the winning run from third on a throwing error by Mike Baxter in the 10th inning to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Bourjos began the inning with a double off Justin Grimm (1-2). Kolten Wong followed with a single off the second base bag and Matt Carpenter was walked to load the bases. Jhonny Peralta then hit a routine grounder to second base, where right fielder Baxter was positioned with the bases loaded and no one out to give the Cubs five infielders. He had plenty of time, but threw wildly to the plate.

Kevin Siegrist (2-0) got the win as St. Louis won its fourth in a row overall and seventh straight at home, where the Cardinals are a major-league best 27-7.

Chicago lost its third in a row after a four-game winning streak.

— Associated Press —

Kansas/Team USA gets another exhibition win against Canada

Posted on June 26, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jamari Traylor was straight air born, putting the exclamation point on another come-from-behind win for the United States against Canada. He caught Frank Mason III’s pass in-flight and slammed it through the hoop in the final minute, showcasing the teamwork and execution needed for the Kansas men’s basketball team to represent the USA in the 2015 World University Games.

Making its last appearance in America before heading to Gwangju, Korea, Kansas eradicated a 10-point deficit for the second-straight game to defeat the Canadian National Team inside Sprint Center Friday night, 87-76.

Wayne Selden, Jr., was a stud. He led the floor with 22 points and 10 rebounds, recording what would have been his first career double-double if the game had been official. He finished 6-for-11 from the floor, and when he wasn’t hitting threes (3-for-5), he dished out three assists and made seven of his eight free throws.

Senior-to-be Perry Ellis played a major role with 18 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Tuesday’s hero, Mason, was happy to play the supporting role on Friday as his 11 assists would have tied a career high. Between he and Ellis, the two combined for an impressive seven steals. His 15 points were an added – and necessary – bonus. Aside from Traylor’s celebration dunk, he came away with six points, seven boards and two steals.

Echoing what they did against Canada on Tuesday, the Americans again found themselves down by 10 points in the second quarter, by the exact same 35-25 margin. However, Kansas retooled and regrouped over halftime and came out firing at a 47 percent clip (18-for-38) in the second half, while silencing Canada to 9-of-28 shooting (32 percent) in the same span.

While KU’s shooting numbers drastically improved, it was the stats that didn’t show on the scoreboard that made the biggest impact. USA outdid Canada on the glass (47-37), in the assists column (22-15) and collected 13 steals compared to the visitors’ four.

Canada was led by guard Adika Peter-McNeilly’s 15 points along with Aaron Best and Tommy Nixon, who each hung up 10 points apiece. The trio recorded seven of Canada’s 10 three-pointers on the evening.

The Jayhawk defense was on point in the opening quarter, evidenced by a well-executed halfcourt trap by Selden and Traylor. After a Selden three-pointer and a crafty Ellis steal/Mason layup, KU rolled out an 11-4 lead.

Canada had some defensive prowess up its sleeve, using its size to clamp down on the Jayhawks in the middle and allowing its offense to close the gap. A 9-0 run suddenly shot the visitors in front, 16-13. When shot blockers clogged the lane, the U.S. responded from the perimeter. Mason launched his first three and Carlton Bragg, Jr., connected on a long two-pointer. Selden snuck to the hoop for a last-second layup, ending the first quarter with a 21-20 Canada advantage.

The same lights-out three-point shooting that built Canada’s big lead on Tuesday crept up again in the second quarter. Back-to-back treys from Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and Best got the Canadians out to a 29-21 lead, prompting a Bill Self timeout. Out of the pause, the visiting squad upped its lead to 35-25, while KU made just one of its 10 shots in the same stretch.

Facing its second double-digit deficit in as many games, the Americans again rose to the occasion. Guards Nic Moore, Mason and Selden attacked the basket and made every free throw they earned. A forced shot-clock violation later, Selden drained a corner three to cap an 11-0 Kansas run and take the lead. Despite a dismal 14.3 percent shooting (2-for-14) in the second quarter, Kansas had the 36-35 edge. Canada, with much better 7-for-14 second quarter, hit its sixth three-pointer to take a 40-36 lead into halftime.

The wake-up call worked. The Jayhawks made their first four baskets to start the third quarter, including a three-pointer from Moore and a one-handed statement dunk from Traylor. Canada’s stars never seemed to cool, putting up three more threes in the third, but Kansas had answers – most of which came from Selden. He continued to lead all scorers, even with Canada turning its focus directly on him. Even his defensive rebounds resulted in points as his last one of the quarter transitioned into a layup for Hunter Mickelson at the buzzer, setting up a 60-58 score to start the fourth.

The late bucket sparked Mickelson, who started the final frame with another layup, took a hard foul on a dunk attempt and swatted a Canadian shot attempt. Selden stepped back onto the scene, scoring his 20th point of the game. With seven minutes to play, Kansas took the 65-63 lead.

Kansas outran the visitors to keep them off the board for more than two minutes. A big rebound for Selden turned into an outlet pass-then-layup for Mason. Bragg hit a three-pointer and, for good measure, Selden chimed in with a put-back dunk – and zipped a pass to Bragg for a dunk. With two minutes on the clock, Kansas sailed to a 10-point margin, 81-71. With a roaring crowd, U-S-A chants and one more monster dunk from Traylor, Kansas wrapped up the 87-76 win.

The USA National Team will play China in one more exhibition contest on July 2 in Gwangju, Korea before officially opening the World University Games against Turkey on Saturday, July 4, at Dongkang Gymnasium, which is 10 p.m. (Central) on Friday, July 3, in Lawrence.

— KU Sports Information —

St. Joseph splits doubleheader with Chillicothe Thursday

Posted on June 26, 2015June 26, 2015

The St. Joseph Mustangs split a doubleheader with Chillicothe Thursday night at Phil Welch Stadium, falling in game one 3-1 before bouncing back to win the second game 7-0.

St. Joe’s summer college baseball team is now 19-6 this season and 16-6 in the MINK League.

In game one, the Mustangs only had two hits in the game as Chillicothe starter Sean Rackowski threw a seven-inning complete-game.

The Mudcats scored two in the third inning and added one run in the seventh.

St. Joseph made it a 2-1 game in the fourth inning and had the bases loaded with one out, but failed to score a run.

The Mustangs’ Jacob Richardson had a triple and Ramsey Scott drove in the only run with a single.

Miles Gully suffered the loss as he allowed two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work.

In game two, St. Joe used a four-run third inning and a three-run fourth, and that’s all they would need as the game was called in the top of the 6th inning because of lightning.

In the third inning, Orencio Fisher, Jerry Houston, Josh Cassidy and Scott each had a two-out RBI hit, while Fisher and Powell each drove in a run in the fourth.

Fisher and Houston each finished with two hits.

Preston Felgate earned the win as he is now 4-0. He allowed no runs and five hits in 5.2 innings pitched.

The Mustangs play at home again Friday as they host Clarinda at 7:00 p.m. inside Phil Welch Stadium.

Kansas’ Oubre selected 15th by Atlanta in the 2015 NBA Draft

Posted on June 25, 2015

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Kansas guard Kelly Oubre, Jr., was the overall No. 15 choice of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2015 NBA Draft at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn Thursday.

This marks the sixth-straight season a Jayhawk has been selected in the first round. Historically, Oubre becomes the 77th player to be drafted in Kansas men’s basketball history and the 19th in the Bill Self-era.

“Whoever winds up getting me, I’m definitely going to give them 110 percent effort,” Oubre told the ESPN audience after hearing he could be traded to the Washington Wizards. “I want to show everybody what I can do and be great someday.”

An All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Oubre averaged 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Jayhawks in 2014-15. A member of the 2015 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, the New Orleans native with a 71-inch wingspan, was second on the KU squad with 41 steals and led the Jayhawks in steals 11 times during the season.

Oubre started 27 games for KU including the last 26 contests, missing only Senior Night as Jayhawk senior Christian Garrett replaced him against West Virginia (3/3).

Named one of 10 finalists for the USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award honoring the top freshman in the country, Oubre was a two-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in 2014-15. He recorded three games of 20 or more points, including a career-high 25 points against TCU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship, March 12, at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He also recorded three double-doubles on the season.

Kansas posted a 27-9 overall record in 2014-15 and won its 11th-straight, 15th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 58th overall conference regular-season championship with a 13-5 league record. The Jayhawks had the toughest schedule in the nation and its 10 victories against Associated Press nationally-ranked teams at tip were the most for KU in a season. Kansas faced 16 ranked teams at tip which were four more than the previous high for a season set three times (1994-95, 2002-03 and 2011-12). Included were 2015 Final Four teams Kentucky and Michigan State.

— KU Sports Information —

Missouri adds Jerry Zulli as assistant baseball coach

Posted on June 25, 2015June 26, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou head baseball coach Tim Jamieson has announced that Jerry Zulli, one of college baseball’s rising coaching stars, will join Mizzou as the program’s new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Zulli will join Mizzou after an incredibly successful stint as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at South Alabama, where he was the key architect to three top-50 recruiting classes, one 40-win season and two Sun Belt Conference Championships.

“Jerry is a tireless worker and is someone that I think embodies what we take pride in here at Mizzou,” Jamieson said of Zulli. “When I began to look to fill this position, I leaned on people in the business that I trust and Jerry’s name kept coming up as someone who had a tremendous work ethic and had established so many relationships throughout the southeast in the SEC footprint. He has helped improve programs everywhere he’s been and that is a true testament to his character. He brings great energy and enthusiasm every day and is a man with great family values. We place a great emphasis on player development here at Mizzou, and on top of being a great recruiter, he is a great coach and someone I feel confident will be able to mentor our student-athletes.”

“I’m extremely excited to join the Mizzou baseball program,” Zulli said. “Having an opportunity to join Coach Jamieson’s staff is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I can’t wait to do my part of helping our student athletes achieve success in the classroom and on the field. The University of Missouri and the entire Mizzou family is one of the most respected nationally and there is not a better time to be at Mizzou than right now. I also want to express my gratitude to South Alabama head coach Mark Calvi for giving me the chance to work at South Alabama and enhance my career.”

Zulli brings to Mizzou the reputation of being a tireless recruiter. In three of his four seasons at South Alabama, he put together top-50 recruiting classes, including a 2013 recruiting class that ranked 29th overall by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. That class was a key contributor to last season’s South Alabama team that won 37 games and the Sun Belt Conference Championship, the program’s second in three years. He has forged recruiting ties all across the SEC footprint after assistant coaching stints at South Alabama, Memphis and Middle Georgia College and routinely turned in top-rated recruiting classes despite battling SEC schools for the same prospects. His reputation as a diligent recruiter will undoubtedly help Mizzou continue to compete in the SEC as he will serve in the same role.

A hitting coach by nature, Zulli’s track record for producing incredible offensive teams speaks for itself. In his first season at South Alabama, Zulli’s offense led the Sun Belt Conference in batting, slugging, on-base percentage, runs scored, RBI, total bases and hits during league games. He coached the 2013 Sun Belt Player of the Year in utility man Jordan Patterson and saw five of his hitters earn all-conference that season, as well. In 2013, the Jaguars finished as Co-Champions of the Sun Belt Conference at 43-20 overall (20-10 in league play) while advancing to NCAA Regional play for the first time since 2006. During his four years at South Alabama, Zulli saw nine of his hitters earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors and he coached one conference player of the year, one All-American and one Freshman All-American.

Prior to his stint at South Alabama, Zulli spent seven seasons at Memphis in the same position, coaching the program’s hitters while serving as the recruiting coordinator. At Memphis, Zulli helped the Tigers lead Conference USA in hitting and on-base percentage, while ranking in the league’s top five in virtually every hitting category. He coached eight student-athletes to a combined 10 all-conference honors, including SS Chad Zurcher, who was the 2011 Conference USA Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American after leading the nation in average and on-base percentage. He helped lead the Tigers to 36 wins and an NCAA Regional appearance in 2007. In 2011, five Memphis student-athletes were taken in the MLB draft and in his seven seasons at Memphis, Zulli coached 12 student-athletes who were selected in the MLB Draft.

His time at both South Alabama and Memphis give him deep ties to the SEC’s recruiting footprint as does his experience at Middle Georgia College from 2002-04, where we helped the Warriors to a 130-51 record in three seasons, including a 2004 JUCO World Series appearance.

Similar to head coach Tim Jamieson, Zulli is a graduate of the University of New Orleans (’02) where he lettered for two seasons. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from UNO in 2002. Before wrapping up his playing career at UNO, he lettered two years at Middle Georgia College, winning the Terry Daniels Award while leading the Warriors to a Region XVII Championship in 1999.

— MU Sports Information —