Dave Riggert – Page 765 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Missouri Western opens MIAA softball tournament with two big wins

Posted on May 2, 2014

The Missouri Western softball team scored 26 runs and had 21 hits run ruling Northwest Missouri State and Central Oklahoma on the first day of the MIAA Touranament.

Tiffany Gillaspy hit a three run walk-off homer against Northwest in a 16-7 victory while Sydney Washington blasted a walk-off three run homer in the 6th in a 10-1 victory over Central Oklahoma.

The Griffons will take on Northeastern State at 3:00 pm in the winners bracket and it’ll air live on ESPN 1550 and here on StJosephpost.com. The winner will advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship while the loser has to play again at 5:00 pm.

Game 1
MWSU 16
NWMSU 7 (6 innings)

Missouri Western racked up 14 hits as they earned a first round victory over Northwest Missouri. Northwest Missouri also added 11 hits in a game that saw plenty of offense.

For The Griffons Gillaspy homered going three for five and driving in five runs. Bre Fleshner also homered and scored three runs while Michelle Stevenson also added three runs batted in. Jackie Bishop came on to get the win pitching three innings and striking out two. She improved to 22-8 in the victory.

Game 2
MWSU 10
UCO 1 (6 innings)

Missouri Western put up four first inning runs and did not look back as they advanced to winners bracket semi-final. MWSU added six runs in the sixth inning icing the game.

Sydney Washington was one for three with three runs driven in, a home run and two runs scored. Kat Steponovich added two RBI and Katie Klosterman had two runs scored going two for three on the night. Emily Ditmore had the lone UCO run driven in by Hannah Justus. Bishop pitched six strong innings allowing just five hits and striking out eight. She improves to 23-8 with the victory. Bishop broke her single season record for strikeouts with 249 this season. Her old record was 243 which was set in 2012.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Western baseball drops opening game to Southwest Baptist

Posted on May 2, 2014

Mother nature definitely made it feel like playoff baseball as game time conditions felt like mid October as opposed to the first day of May as Missouri Western was defeated by Southwest Baptist 6-4 in game one of the MIAA Baseball Championship at the Spring Sports Complex.

SBU drew first blood in the opening frame as power hitting infielder Spencer Blackshear hit his 15th home run of the season to left center field off Grant Woods giving the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. The Griffs came right back with a three run second. With one out, Will Carter doubled, Hunter Weiss reached on an error and Mitch Thorman singled scoring Carter. One batter later, Cody Childs doubled scoring Weiss, with Trevor LaHonta driving in the third run via sacrifice fly.

One inning later, David Chew tripled with one out and Jake Schrader’s sacrifice fly made it 4-1.

Grant Woods seemed to be cruising along until the 6th inning when with one out, three straight SBU hits culminating with a Chance Wolfe RBI ground out brought the Bearcats to within one at 4-3.

Woods was lifted six innings allowing three earned runs and striking out four.

Late inning stopper Mason Queen came on for the Griffons in the top of the seventh inning but the SBU bats stayed hot. With runners at second and third and two out, the Griffs elected to walk Spencer Blackshear to load the bases. Queen hit the next batter Jake Vore to tie the game, then Bo Helsel’s two out, two RBI single gave SBU their first lead of the game.

The Griffs threatened in the ninth as the first two batters reached, but SBU pitcher Cory Borsh, who was masterful all evening retired the last three Griffons for the final tally.

Borsh improves to 6-2 on the year in pitching a complete game allowing two earned runs and striking out two.

Queen took the loss for the Griffs falling to 3-4 allowing three runs in three innings.

SBU takes a 1-0 lead in the best of three game series with game two set for Friday, May 2nd at 6 PM at the Spring Sports Complex. Admission is $5.00 for adults with children 6 & under and MWSU students being admitted free.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Royals fall short of sweep with 7-3 loss to Toronto

Posted on May 2, 2014May 2, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mark Buehrle allowed two walks and both runners ended up scoring.

So despite pitching into the seventh inning Thursday night, and helping the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals that staved off a series sweep, the veteran left-hander still had something to ruminate over in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium.

“I’d rather give up 10 hits and no walks. I hate it. Make them earn it,” Buehrle said. “But you know, our offense bounced back and the defense played well behind me.”

Apparently, nobody is tougher on Buehrle than Buehrle.

Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus each homered and drove in two runs, and Anthony Gose also had a pair of RBIs after getting recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to start in place of injured outfielder Melky Cabrera, helping Toronto avoid its first three-game sweep by the Royals since 1993.

Buehrle (5-1) worked through plenty of trouble in 6 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and those two walks. Aaron Loup pitched 2 1/3 shutout innings for his third career save.

“(Buehrle) pitches to win,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’s going to do whatever it takes, and he’s on a nice little roll. He’s having a good year for us.”

The Royals’ Jeremy Guthrie (2-2) left trailing 4-3 after six innings, but his bullpen was unable to keep it close. Billy Butler drove in a pair of runs, but that was just about it for Kansas City, which had its three-game winning streak come to an end.

“He mixes speeds. He locates. He frustrates you,” Butler said of Buehrle, no stranger to Kansas City having pitched for the AL Central rival White Sox. “He feeds off your over aggressiveness.”

The teams traded blows most of the way.

Toronto struck first when Chris Getz singled in the first inning and then swiped bases all the way to third, where Edwin Encarnacion drove him in with a fielder’s choice.

Kansas City answered in the second when Justin Maxwell walked and Alcides Escobar singled to right. Jose Bautista flubbed the pickup, allowing Maxwell to score easily.

The Royals pulled ahead in the third on Butler’s single, though they squandered another scoring opportunity when Eric Hosmer was thrown out at home for the second straight night.

The Blue Jays regained the lead the next half inning when Francisco, who had two homers in three at-bats off Guthrie last season, hit a two-run shot over the bullpen in right field. But the Royals answered again on Butler’s two-out double to left in the bottom of the fifth.

“I’m seeing the ball good now,” Butler said. “I knew it was going to come.”

The Royals kept shifting dramatically to deal with the Blue Jays’ left-handed power hitters, but it didn’t matter when Rasmus came to bat in the sixth. He powered a 1-2 pitch right over the defense for a two-out homer that gave Toronto a 4-3 lead.

“I was trying to go down and in and didn’t get it there,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie finished off the inning, but was lifted after allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks in just six innings. His bumpy night stood in stark contrast to his last four outings against the Blue Jays, when he went 1-0 with a 1.44 ERA.

The Blue Jays tacked on some insurance in the eighth. Rasmus drew a bases-loaded walk off Michael Mariot, and then Gose hit a two-run double off Louis Coleman that broke the game open.

“It was definitely a big win,” Loup said. “Close game like it was, back and forth, back and forth. Hopefully it gets us on a roll, gets us some wins.”

— Associated Press —

Nine Griffons earn All-MIAA honors; Bishop named Pitcher of the Year

Posted on May 2, 2014May 2, 2014

The Missouri Western softball team brought home a number of accolades following its 34-16 season including MIAA Pitcher of the Year and two First Team All-MIAA selections. Seven other Griffons were selected to the Honorable Mention squad.

Senior pitcher Jackie Bishop earned MIAA Pitcher of the Year for the second time in her career as well as being named first team for the fourth time in her outstanding career. Junior first baseman Tiffany Gillaspy was a first team selection for the first time in her career.

Bishop is completing one of the most successful playing careers in Missouri Western softball history. The Kirksville, Mo., natvie is a four-time First Team All-MIAA selection, two time MIAA Pitcher of the Year (2012-2014), three-time First Team All-Region recipient and an All-American selection in 2012. Bishop was also the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2011. Bishop holds MWSU softball career records for wins (91), strikeouts (925), innings pitched (785.1), appearances (135) complete games (99) and shutouts (27). Additionally the two-time MIAA Pitcher of the Year holds MWSU single-season records for strikeouts (243) and shutouts (10) and is an integral member of a senior class that has gone 154-60 in its time dawning the Black and Gold. This season, the right-handed pitcher finished the regular season with a 21-8 overall record with a 1.09 ERA. She leads the MIAA with 239 strikeouts which is just five away from breaking her single season mark of 243 set in 2012. She has pitched 25 complete games with 10 shutouts and two saves this season. She has giving up just four hits per games while striking out eight per game. She has thrown three no-hitters this season and four in her career. She has been named the MIAA AstroTurf Pitcher of the Week four times this season and 11 times in her career.

Gillaspy topped off an impressive junior campaign being named to the first team for the first time in her career. Gillaspy a two-time MIAA AstroTurf Hitter of the Week is currently on an 18 game hitting streak and has hit safely in 40 of the Griffons 50 games. She currently leads the Griffons and is in the top-10 in the MIAA in batting average (.393), hits (64), doubles (12), home runs (11), RBI (49), total baseas (109) and slugging percentage (.669). Gillaspy was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection a season ago. She has had double digit hits in 18 games including going 4-for-4 against Central Missouri on March 14. She has also had five RBI in a game twice and hit two home runs and a double against Lincoln on April 12.

Players that were named to the honoralbe mention squad were, senior catcher Kat Steponovich, sophomore pitcher Janie Smith, senior shortstop Taylor Anding, freshman third baseman Katie Klosterman, freshman outfielder Sydney Washington, freshman outfield Morgan Rathmann and junior outfield Bre Fleschner.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Anderson retains Bryan Tibaldi as MU’s Director of Operations

Posted on May 1, 2014

Mizzou Basketball Head Coach Kim Anderson added a second member to his staff on Thursday as he announced that Bryan Tibaldi will remain the program’s Director of Basketball Operations.

A native of Traverse City, Mich., Tibaldi has spent three seasons at Missouri and played collegiately at Michigan State before serving as the Video Coordinator with the Chicago Bulls.

Statement from Kim Anderson:

“Bryan is a talented young coach and has great passion for Mizzou Basketball and the coaching profession,” Anderson said. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Bryan over these past few days and am excited to retain him in the Director of Basketball Operations role. People around the department and our program have great respect for Bryan. His work ethic and attention to detail will serve this staff and our student-athletes well. I look forward to working with Bryan closely as we build our program.”

Statement from Bryan Tibaldi:

“I want to thank Coach Anderson and our administration for this opportunity,” Tibaldi said. “I’m excited to work and learn under Coach Anderson and his staff. Coach Anderson is an outstanding basketball coach and an even better person, and I’m grateful to get the opportunity to stay on and grow as a coach here at Mizzou.”

— MU Sports Information —

Naadir Tharpe to leave Kansas

Posted on May 1, 2014

Junior point guard Naadir Tharpe will not return to the Kansas men’s basketball program for his senior season, he and head coach Bill Self announced on Thursday.

“Naadir and I have talked numerous times since he’s been here about his role and about his situation back home with his daughter,” Self said. “He’s told me many times how much he misses his little girl and she’s had some health issues that has certainly made it difficult for him to be away from her for this extended period of time. She’s doing very well now, but Naadir approached me after the season was over about him wanting to be closer to her. This is his decision to try and accomplish that.”

Tharpe made his first career start in the second game of the 2013-14 season, leading the Jayhawks to a win against 4th-ranked Duke in Chicago’s United Center. A rough stretch of play in non-conference action kept him from the starting lineup for two games before the 5-11 Worcester, Mass., guard took over as floor general for the remainder of the season. With Tharpe at point guard, Kansas went 25-10 overall and 14-4 in Big 12 play to capture its 10th-consecutive regular-season conference title in 2013-14.

In January of his freshman season, Tharpe’s daughter, Amara, was born. Since then, Tharpe has held down the role of student, athlete and father.

“Due to extenuating circumstances within my personal life, I will no longer be attending the University of Kansas,” Tharpe said. “My daughter has current medical issues that require weekly visits to her physician, as well as with a specialist. At this juncture, I feel it is best to be closer to home where I can assist and support in any way necessary.”

In 2013-14, Tharpe went on to earn his first All-Big 12 accolades, being named to honorable mention team after averaging 5.0 assists per game to rank third in the league. His 2.43 assist-to-turnover ratio also checked in third in the conference for the second-straight season. He tallied six different games without a turnover and a pair of double-doubles against Iowa State at home and Kansas State on the road. Tharpe led Kansas in assists (170), free throw percentage (82.1) and tied for the team-lead in most three-pointers made (43).

“I enjoyed my time here,” Tharpe said. “I appreciate the players that were here before me that I got a chance to play with and that are still friends with me right now. It’s going to be tough leaving a situation like this because of the teammates I’m leaving behind. Everything happens for a reason and I have to continue my journey a different way.”

Self concurred, acknowledging the difficult decision Tharpe was faced with before arriving at his decision.

“Personally, it’s something that we 100 percent support and wish him nothing but the best,” Self said. “I certainly appreciate all of his efforts since he’s been here. Naadir has been a good player for us in his three years here. But we also respect the fact that he wants to be closer to his daughter and we want to do everything we can to support that.”

For his career, Tharpe played in 103 games for KU with 31 starts. He averaged 5.5 minutes during KU’s 2011-12 Final Four season and 19.4 minutes with a 5.5 scoring average his sophomore season in 2012-13. He averaged 5.1 points for his career and his 304 assists were 18 shy of KU’s top-20 list.

— KU Sports Information —

Eight Missouri Western golfers named to MIAA Academic Honor Roll

Posted on May 1, 2014May 1, 2014

The MIAA announced its academic award winners for the sport of golf on Thursday morning. Eight (four women, four men) Missouri Western golfers were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

The MIAA Academic Honor Roll is for any sophomore, junior, and senior with at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA. To achieve honor roll status, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 and have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. The golfers that earned the honor are Tyler Gast, Derek Hawkins, James O’Brien, Scott Scheldon, Amber Chivington, Anna Kloeppel, Shelby Stone and Callie Wilson.

Newcomers and MIAA Academic Excellence Awards will be given out following the end of the 2013-14 school year.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Griffons remain No. 6 in NCAA Central Region softball rankings

Posted on April 30, 2014

With its 3-1 record this past week, the Missouri Western softball team held on to the No. 6 spot in the most recent NCAA Central Region Rankings.

The NCAA Central Region consists of teams from the the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Great American Conference (GAC).

The top eight teams in each region will advance to the NCAA Tournament, with the top two seeds in each region hosting postseason games.

The NCAA DII Softball Selection Show is set to air via webcast on NCAA.com on Monday, at 9 a.m. Automatic bids will be awarded to the three conference tournament winners with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.

MWSU is joined in the poll by fellow MIAA members Emporia State, Central Oklahoma and Fort Hays State, which ranked second, fifth and ninth in the regional rankings, respectively.

The Griffons travel to Overland Park, Kan., to take part in the MIAA Tournament beginning Thursday, at 6 p.m. MWSU’s first round opponent will be Northwest Missouri State.

NCAA Central Region Rankings

Team                        Overall Record   In-Region Record
1. Winona State (NSIC)   38-6   28-6
2. Emporia State (MIAA)   43-10   42-10
3. Minnesota State (NSIC)   41-9   36-7
4. Augustana (NSIC)   40-11   34-11
5. Central Oklahoma (MIAA)   39-13   39-13
6. Missouri Western State (MIAA)   34-16   34-16
7. Southeastern Oklahoma (GAC)   35-15   35-15
8. Arkansas Tech (GAC)   31-25   31-25
9. Fort Hays State (MIAA)   28-18   26-17
10. Southern Arkansas (GAC)   31-23   28-21

— MWSU Sports Information —

Mizzou’s Kim Anderson retains Associate Head Coach Tim Fuller

Posted on April 30, 2014

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — New Missouri Kim Anderson is retaining Tim Fuller, the associate head coach under Frank Haith.

Anderson moved quickly on his first staff hire Wednesday, two days after getting a five-year contract.

Fuller will enter his fourth season with the program. He earned the first five wins last season as acting head coach while Haith was suspended.

Anderson praised Fuller’s work in practices and recruiting the last few weeks while the school was looking for a replacement. In a statement, Anderson said Fuller has shown “incredible character and loyalty.”

After meeting with Anderson, Fuller said he was excited to take the offer.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City wins second straight against Blue Jays

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alcides Escobar is a maestro with his glove, making the kinds difficult of plays at shortstop that has helped to make the Kansas City Royals one of the best defensive teams in baseball.

On Wednesday night, Escobar showed he can swing the bat a bit, too. His two-run double in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a tense 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

“He’s been very consistent,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He’s always been an important part of our club because of his defense. He saves runs in the field. But when you add offense to that, he becomes a very special player.”

Eric Hosmer drove in the other two runs for the Royals, whose bullpen blew a 2-0 lead for young starter Yordano Ventura before holding on to beat Toronto with a late rally for the second straight night. Kansas City won the series opener 10-7 behind a six-run eighth inning.

Kelvin Herrera (1-1) stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, and Wade Davis struck out Jose Reyes to leave the bases loaded in the eighth. Greg Holland worked around a double in the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries.

“You play 162 games. You’re going to see a lot of things happen,” Holland said. “The mark of a good bullpen is when you have guys pick each other up when they get in jams.”

Drew Hutchison (1-2) allowed all four runs on five hits in seven innings for Toronto.

The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, kept the Royals mostly off balance until Escobar guided his double down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Jimmy Paredes and Salvy Perez scored easily to give Kansas City the lead.

“I got ahead of him. I went right at him. I thought I made a good pitch,” Hutchison said. “That’s a situation where I expect myself to thrive and get the job done, but I didn’t.”

The Royals improved to 14-0 when scoring at least four runs — they remain 0-12 falling short of that mark. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

Toronto also lost outfielder Melky Cabrera in the sixth inning when he was hit in the left shin by a pitch from Danny Duffy. Cabrera needed to be helped off the field, though X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and a team spokesman said he was day to day.

The Royals manufactured a 1-0 lead through driving rain in the first inning with a double by Nori Aoki, a sacrifice bunt and Hosmer’s sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the fourth when Hosmer followed a double by Omar Infante with one of his own.

As long as Ventura was pitching, it seemed that would be enough.

The Blue Jays struggled to catch up to the 22-year-old’s triple-digit fastball, managing just two hits over five innings. But they were more successful at avoiding stuff off the plate, driving up his pitch count and forcing him from the game after five innings and 92 pitches.

“It was cold out there,” Ventura said through a translator, fellow starter Jeremy Guthrie. “Naturally, it was a little more difficult to command.”

That’s when Royals manager Ned Yost called on Duffy, who hit Cabrera in the left shin with his first pitch. Cabrera dropped to the grass in foul territory and stayed there several minutes, eventually getting helped through the dugout and to the clubhouse by the Blue Jays’ trainers.

Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for Aaron Crow, who gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco that tied the game 2-all. Crow finally escaped the inning, and the Royals bullpen held Toronto down the rest of the way.

“It’s frustrating, but at the end of the day I need to do a better job to give us a chance to win after we came back and scored two runs,” Hutchison said. “I was in complete control going into the seventh. It comes down to that it’s on me and I need to get the job done.”

— Associated Press —