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Author: Dave Riggert

Northwest softball goes 1-1 against Nebraska-Kearney

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NWMSUFor the second day in a row the Northwest Missouri State Bearcat softball team split a double header as they lost in game one, 11-0, before taking game two, 4-3, against Nebraska-Kearney Sunday.

The Bearcat offense was silence by UNK in game one as they managed five hits in the five inning affair.

The Lopers got their bats going early scoring three in the first then one in the third and then added three runs in the fourth. UNK grabbed the run rule victory when they plated four runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Jordan Ereth was 2 for 3 in the game while Chantel Adams, Cassidy Lee and Jill Henry had one hit a piece.

Vitosh was the starting pitcher in game one and was tagged with the loss.

UNK got on the board early in game two as they put up three runs in the top of the first inning. Sarah Baldwin then shut the Lopers down the rest of the game.

The Bearcats big inning came in the bottom half of the fourth when Lee and Torri Blythe both hit back to back singles to start the inning. Adams then hit a three run home run to dead center field to tie the game up at 3-3.

Baylee Scarbrough singled to right field moving Kristin Uthe to second who had reached on a walk. Henry then hit a single up the middle to score Uthe from second for the eventual game winning RBI.

With her pinch hit single in game one, Henry finished the day 3 for 4 with one RBI.

Baldwin was able to finish off the game in the seventh as she picked up the complete game win in the 4-3 victory. The sophomore allowed no earned runs while walking one and striking out seven.

Northwest, now 16-20, 9-9, will host Missouri Western in non-conference action Tuesday. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 3 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Griffons take first two games of series at Lincoln

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riggertMissouriWesternThe Missouri Western baseball team picked up two important wins behind solid pitching on Saturday afternoon against the Lincoln Blue Tigers. The Griffons won game one 6-3 and held on in game two with a 4-3 victory. Griffon pitching struckout 15 Blue Tigers and gave up just four earned runs. The Griffons improve to 17-14 overall and 13-11 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 6
LU 3
In game one the Griffons got solid pitching from Grant Woods and Tyler Sanders as they combined for the 6-3 victory. Woods went 3.2 innings giving up five hits and one earned run while striking out five while Sanders went 3.1 innings giving up three hits and one earned run with two strikeouts. Sanders picked up the victory improving to 3-2 on the season.

In game one the Griffons got on the board first in the second inning when Jake Schrader doubled to right field and scored on a fielding error by the left fielder off a Hunter Weiss single. The score stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the 3rd when the Blue Tigers used two hits and an error plating one.

The Griffons responded in the 4th with three hits and two runs. David Chew and Schrader led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Chew scored on a single up the middle by Jeremy Monty and Schrader scored on a wild pitch giving the Griffons the 3-1 lead. The Blue Tigers scored one in the 5th but in the seventh a two RBI double by Schrader helped the Griffons to a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the 7th.

Lincoln got one run on two hits but that would be all for the Tigers falling in the game. LU had eight hits with James Earlywine leading the way going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Ryan Simpson got the loss going four innings giing up five hist and two earned runs with four strikeouts.

Scharder went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored while Trevor LaHonta went 2-for-4 in the contest.

Game 2
MWSU 4
LU 3
In game two the Griffons got a solid outing from Josh Lansangan picking up his first win of the season. He went 6.2 innings giving up five hits and one earned run while striking out a career best eight. Mason Queen got his first save of the season going 1.2 innings giving up one hits and walking two.

Once again the Griffons got on the board first as Schrader blasted his ninth homer of the season giving the Griffons the 1-0 lead. Once again the Blue Tigers responded taking their first lead of the day in teh second on one hit. Kaleb Davis hit an RBI double and then scored later in the inning on a throwing error by Cody Childs giving LU the 2-1 lead after two innings.

The Griffons tied the score at two in the 4th as Ryan Degner singles to right field and stole his ninth base of the season. He then scored on a single by Schrader tying the score.

In the 7th the Griffons regained the lead on back-to-back doubles by Will Carter and Hunter Weiss. The second run of the inning came on a sac fly by Childs giving MWSU the 4-2 lead after seven innings. In the 8th the Blue Tigers got three straight singles plating a run before Davis hit into a inning ending double play.

After getting the first two outs in the 9th Queen gave up a single and two walks before getting a bases loaded groundout by LU ending the game.

The Griffons had seven hits with Degner and Schrader each getting two. The Blue Tigers had nine hits with Zach Roberts and Josh Kennedy each getting two. Nathan Lueckenhoff got the loss going six innings. He gave up six hits and four earned runs falling to 0-6 on the season. LU falls to 1-25 overall and 0-22 in MIAA play.

The two teams will play the final two games of the series tomorrow in Jefferson City, Mo. Game time is set for 12:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats get two extra innings wins over Southern Saturday

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NWMSUThe Northwest Missouri State baseball team won a pair of MIAA contests against Missouri Southern on Saturday at Bearcat Field in extra inning, walk-off fashion. Northwest won both games in the bottom of the tenth innings, taking the first game, 2-1, and winning the nightcap, 4-3. Northwest moves to 18-13 on the season and 13-10 in MIAA play. Missouri Southern drops to 19-14 and an even 13-13 in MIAA play.

Game One

Northwest’s Ryker Fox and Missouri Southern’s David Reese engaged in a pitchers battle that needed extra innings to decide a victor. Fox went 7.0 innings, allowing just one run while striking out seven. Reese went the entire way for MSSU, giving up just two runs on five hits with nine strikeouts.  Blane Reutter came in for Fox following the seventh inning to pick up the win, going 3.0 innings of perfect relief, allowing no runners with one strikeout.

In the seventh, Missouri Southern broke the scoring drought as a two-out walk came back to hurt the Bearcats. In the bottom of the seventh, Northwest loaded the bases and Jon Pomatto, who started the inning with a single, scored as Brandon Huske was hit by a pitch.

In the 10th, Huske walked and Paul Johnson doubled to right center. After Ryan Abernathy walked to load the bases, Eric McGlauflin hit a ground ball to the left side and the Lions were unable to throw out Huske on the play, scoring the winning run.

Game Two

Northwest jumped on the board early with three runs in the bottom of the third. Huske started the inning with a single and scored on a Paul Johnson single that the centerfielder misplayed, allowing Johnson to advance to second. McGlauflin grounded into a fielder’s choice as Johnson was out at home. After a Pomatto walk, Steven Garber doubled to drive in a pair of runs.

Missouri Southern added three in the top of the fifth to tie the game. The game would remain tied heading into the bottom of the 10th. McGlauflin doubled down to right field with one out. Garrett Fort was called on to pinch run. The next batter, Pomatto, singled to left, scoring Fort from second for the winning run.

Nikko Pablo started and went 4.0 innings with five strikeouts for the Bearcats. The Bearcat relief pitchers had 6.0 scoreless innings as Andrew “Bex” Trout pitched 2.0 scoreless innings and Daulton Perry picked up the win after going 4.0 innings.  Northwest outhit the Lions, 10-6, in the nightcap.

The series with Missouri Southern concludes tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at noon. The games will include a seven-inning contest followed by a nine-inning game.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Western softball gets walk-off win to sweep UNK

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MWSUThe Missouri Western softball team used a 7th inning rally in game two helping them to a walk off doubleheader sweep over the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers Saturday afternoon. The Griffons won game one 5-1 behind the pitching of Jackie Bishop before a Sydney Washington single and an error by the UNK center fielder helped Missouri Western win game two 6-5. The Missouri Western softball team now sits 26-14 overall and 11-7 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 5
UNK 1

The Griffons used a five run third inning earning a 5-1 victory while pounding out 10 hits. Bishop went the complete game giving up one hit and one earned run while striking out 10 and giving up one earned run. She improves to 17-6 with the victory.

The Griffons stranded the bases loaded in the first inning but were able to capitalize on two Loper errors and three hits. Bre Fleschner led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and then Sydney Washington and Tiffany Gillaspy reached on back-to-back errors by the Loper second baseman. Fleschner scored on the second error giving the Griffons the 1-0 lead. Later in the inning Taylor Anding hit a bases clearing double giving the Griffons the 4-0 lead. Katie Klosterman later singled in Anding giving the Griffons the 5-0 lead.

The rest of the game belonged to Bishop as the Lopers did not get a hit until the seventh inning when Kate Ruwe hit a solo homer.

The Griffons were led by Fleschner going 3-for-3 with a run scored while Gillaspy went 2-for-4. Anding went 1-for-2 with three RBI.

Taryn Trosper falls to 2-11 giving up 10 hits and one earned runs with three strikeouts.

Game 2
MWSU 6
UNK 5

The Griffons rallied in the bottom of the 7th inning scoring two runs helping them to a 6-5 walk off victory helping them to their sixth straight victory.

Missouri Western opened up the scoring in the 1st inning getting two hits. Fleschner led off with a walk and scored on a Washington double to right center. Washington scored right after on a Gillaspy single to left field.

In the 3rd the Griffons scored another run when Washing singled to right field and stole two bases including home giving them the 3-0 lead after three.

In the 4th the Lopers scored two runs on one hit cutting the Griffons lead to 3-2 after three and a half innings of play. In their half of the 4th Kat Steponovich blasted her 5th homer of the season giving the Griffons the 4-2 lead after four.

In the 5th the Lopers got another run when Kate Ruwe singled in Mallory Noakes cutting the MWSU lead to 4-3. The Lopers final got the lead in the 6th on three hits. Jen Kramer led off with a single and then Emilee Jonas tripled down the right field line tying the score at four. Taylre Keenan then singled in Jonas giving the UNK the 6-5 lead.

The score stayed that way until the bottom of the 7th when Stevenson led off with a single. With one out Fleschner singled to center and then Washington singled to center scoring Stevenson. Fleschner scored on the same play on an error by the center fielder giving the Griffons the win.

Janie Smith got the victory for the Griffons giving up six hits and five earned runs with three strikeouts. She improves to 9-8 with the victory. The Griffons had eight hits with Washington going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.

The Lopers fall 8-22 overall and 6-12 in MIAA play. They had six hits with Keenan and Ruwe each getting two hits. Brittnie Kreiser falls to 4-6 on the season going 6.1 innings giving up five earned runs with two strikeouts.

The Griffons return to action on Tuesday, April 6 with a non-conference doubleheader against the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. Game time is set for 3:00 pm in Maryville, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Perez, Royals edge Chicago for second straight win

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RoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — While Salvador Perez came up with the winning hit right after Norichika Aoki made the game-saving catch.

Salvador Perez hit a go-ahead RBI double with two outs in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 Saturday.

Alex Gordon doubled off left-hander Scott Downs (0-1) before Perez hit Maikel Cleto’s second pitch down the left-field line.

Wade Davis (1-1) let the White Sox tie it at three when gave up two runs in the eighth on two singles, a walk, a hit batter and sacrifice fly.

Greg Holland worked around a leadoff walk for his second save in two days.

Royals right fielder Aoki prevented the White Sox from taking a lead when he made a lunging catch of Alexei Ramirez line drive to end the eighth with two runners on base.

“Nori made a tremendous catch that saved the game from being cracked open there,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Aoki, a six-time Gold Glove winner in center field in Japan, got a good jump on Ramirez’s scorcher.

“It was a situation where we couldn’t give up any more runs,” Aoki said through an interpreter. “That was the play I was most happy with. The only thing was the sun was in my eyes.”

Ramirez already had two singles and believed he had one over extra bases over Aoki’s head.

“I don’t think it got up in the wind enough to have a chance,” Paul Konerko said “That’s what the game comes down to sometimes, something so small.”

Conor Gillaspie hit an RBI single in the eighth before Konerko’s sacrifice fly tied it and gave him 146 RBIs against Kansas City, the most by any opponent.

Royals left-hander Bruce Chen allowed one unearned run on six singles, walked none and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings, but had to settle for a no-decision.

White Sox left-hander John Danks did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when six straight Kansas City batters reached base.

“I wish I had an explanation for it,” Danks said. “It was the heart of the lineup. I was trying to come inside and just lost control a little. Hosmer I got behind 2-0 and you don’t want to make too good a pitch to him.”

Omar Infante, Eric Hosmer, Butler and Alex Gordon opened the inning with singles. Butler’s single scored Infante for the first run, while Mike Moustakas walked with the bases loaded for the other run. Butler drove in another run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly.

“John just had the one inning where it got out of hand and he lost his control and it came back to bite us,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said.

Moustakas’ fielding error led to an unearned White Sox run in the fifth. Adam Eaton’s groundout scored Ramirez.

— Associated Press —

Northwest softball splits with Fort Hays State

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Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State softball team split in double header action Saturday against MIAA foe Fort Hays State as they took game one, 7-4, and dropped game two, 3-2, in eight innings.

The Bearcats scored quickly to begin game one as Steph Mark hit her, team leading, eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning. It was a two run shot that plated Jordan Ereth who had led off the inning with a single.

FHSU was able to get on the board in the second inning off the bat of a solo home run.

Mark added her third RBI of the game in the third inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Ereth from third. Chantel Adams hit a two out single up the middle to bring in Torri Blythe and put her team up 4-1.

Another solo home run by the Tigers in the top of the fourth brought them within two.

Mark added her fourth and fifth RBI’s of the game in the bottom half of the inning with a two out single to left field.

Two runs in the top of the fifth by FHSU brought the game to 6-4.

The Bearcats added one more insurance run in the fifth when Maddie Jones knocked a solo home run over the center field wall.

Abbie Vitosh sat down the Tigers in order in the sixth, then struck out one in the seventh on her way to the complete game victory in the team’s 7-4 win. Vitosh allowed three earned runs on six hits while striking out six batters as she moved her record to 6-8 on the season.

Torri Blythe ran her way into the record books in game one as she stole her 17th base of the season. Blythe now moves to number five on the single-season stolen base chart passing graduate assistant coach, Kit Daugherty.

Northwest scored first in game two as well with Mark hitting a RBI double and Adams following with a RBI single of her own.

FHSU plated one run in the sixth and then tied it up with two out in the seventh at 2-2 before taking the lead in the top of the eighth.

The Bearcats managed to load the bases with two outs for Mark who lined out to the center fielder who made a diving catch to secure the Tigers 3-2 win.

Sarah Baldwin was handed the loss in game two as she pitched all eight innings allowing one walk, 2 earned runs and striking out six.

Northwest moves to 15-19, 8-8 on the season and will have a quick turnaround as they play host to Nebraska-Kearney Sunday. Game one is scheduled to start at noon, with game two set to follow.

— Northwest Sports Information —

St. Louis strikes early, downs Pirates 6-1

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CardsPITTSBURGH (AP) — Yadier Molina hit his second homer of the season, Jhonny Peralta added a late two-run shot and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 Saturday night.

Molina finished 2 for 4 and his solo homer in the sixth gave the Cardinals plenty of cushion as they bounced back from a 12-2 loss on Friday night by jumping on Pittsburgh ace Francisco Liriano (0-1) early.

St. Louis used a three-run first inning to put the Pirates in an early hole then held on as Joe Kelly (1-0) wiggled his way out of trouble. The right-hander worked 5 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out four in his first start of the season.

The Pirates left 11 runners on base, including seven in the first four innings.

Liriano, who struck out 10 in six innings on opening day against the Cubs, settled down after early trouble. The left-hander gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings, walking two and striking out four.

It wasn’t exactly a repeat of the last time Liriano faced St. Louis, when he held the Cardinals in check in Game 3 of the NL division series to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The Cardinals rallied to take the series in five, though six months later it appears the clubs that finished one-two in the NL Central remain evenly matched. The teams have now split the last 26 meetings.

The Cardinals didn’t give Liriano time to settle in on a brisk night at PNC Park.

Matt Carpenter led off with a single. Peralta walked and Matt Holliday followed with an RBI single to right. Peralta scored on a sacrifice fly by Allen Craig, with Holliday scoring on a perfectly placed single to left by Matt Adams.

The Pirates had their chances to get back in it against Kelly. They loaded the bases in the third but managed only a single run when Kelly walked Russell Martin.

Pittsburgh had two on with two outs in the fourth and two one with one out in the sixth against Kelly but couldn’t come through. St. Louis reliever Carlos Martinez replaced Kelly and retired Starling Marte and Travis Snider on groundouts to end the threat.

The Cardinals’ bullpen didn’t give up a hit in 3 2/3 innings of work.

Molina provided insurance with a homer to right and Peralta’s second home run with the Cardinals slipped inside the left field foul pole against Pittsburgh reliever Jeanmar Gomez in the ninth.

— Associated Press —

Northwest tennis sweep Lindenwood at home

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Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State tennis program picked up wins from both the men’s and women’s teams against Lindenwood on Saturday at home. The Northwest men won 9-0 and improved to 11-2 overall and 3-0 in MIAA play. The women picked up a 5-4 victory and are now 9-10 and 5-3 in conference play. Lindenwood men’s team is now 5-7 on the year and 1-3 in conference action while the women are 6-7 and 1-4 in conference action.

The women got singles wins from Alexis Bartek at No. 2, Aniek Kolen at No. 3 and Marianne Hull at No. 5. In doubles, Lorena Rivas Jarolim and Bartek won at No. 1 and Kolen and Stephanie Mannix won at No. 3.

On the men’s side, Northwest got wins from Sergio De Vilchez, Romain Boissinot, Alvaro Riveros, Lluis Altimires, Julien Couronne and Fin Glowick, in respective order. In doubles, De Vilchez and Altimires won at No. 1, Riveros and Couronne at No. 2 and Boissinot and Amery Clews won at No. 3.

Up next, the Northwest women’s team will host William Jewell on Tuesday, April 8, starting at 3 p.m. The men’s match originally scheduled with St. Edwards (Okla.) for tomorrow, April 6, has been canceled. The men will next head toSouthwest Baptist on April 10.

Women’s Results
Northwest Missouri State 5, Lindenwood 4

Singles competition
1. Marras, Gloria (LWU) def. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) 6-4, 7-5
2. Bartek,Alexis (NW) def. Piccamiglio, Clara (LWU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Kolen,Aniek (NW) def. Ivanova, Daria (LWU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Pinol,Mariona (LWU) def. Mannix,Stephanie (NW) 6-3, 7-6
5. Hull,Marianne (NW) def. Castro, Diana (LWU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Medvedeva,Alexandra (LWU) def. Anderson,Mindy (NW) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas/Bartek, NW (NW) def. Medvedeva,Alexandra/Marras, Gloria (LWU) 8-0
2. Ivanova, Daria/Pinol,Mariona (LWU) def. Hull,Marianne/Veasey,Mara (NW) 8-2
3. Kolen,Aniek/Mannix,Stephanie (NW) def. Piccamiglio, Clara/Castro, Diana (LWU) 8-2

Match Notes
Lindenwood 6-7, 1-4
Northwest Missouri State 9-10, 5-3; Regional ranking #7

Men’s Results
#16 Northwest Missouri 9, #47 Lindenwood 0

Singles competition
1. DeVilchez,Sergio (NW) def. Bogic,Filip (LWU) 6-0, 6-0
2. Boissinot,Romain (NW) def. Ysa,Yoshi (LWU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6
3. Riveros,Alvaro (NW) def. Rabenhorst,Johannes (LWU) 6-2, 7-6
4. Altimires,Lluis (NW) def. Bruenger, Nicholas (LWU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Couronne,Julien (NW) def. Lopez,Sergio (LWU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Glowick,Fin (NW) def. Bovrlic, Slabodor (LWU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. DeVilchez,Sergio/Altimires,Lluis (NW) def. Bruenger, Nicholas/Ysa,Yoshi (LWU) 8-4
2. Riveros,Alvaro/Couronne,Julien (NW) def. Lopez,Sergio/Bogic,Filip (LWU) 8-6
3. Boissinot,Romain/Clews,Amery (NW) def. Vicencio,Juan/Rabenhorst,Johannes(LWU) 8-3

— Northwest Sports Information —

Bishop gets two wins as Griffon softball sweeps Fort Hays State

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MWSUMissouri Western senior pitcher Jackie Bishop picked up two victories on Friday afternoon as the Griffon softball team defeated Fort Hays State, 3-0 and 5-2.

Bishop improves her improves to 16-6 on the season while the Griffons improve to 24-14 overall and 9-7 in MIAA play. Bishop struck out 17 batters while giving up eight hits and two earned runs.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, April 5 with an MIAA doubleheader against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. Game time is set for 12 pm.

Game 1
MWSU 3
FHSU 0

Missouri Western pounded eight hits while getting a complete game shutout from Jackie Bishop. It was her nine shutout of the season and 20th complete game. Bishop struck out 11 Tigers giving up just three hits in 3-0 victory. She improves to 15-6 with the victory.

The Griffons got all the runs they would need in the first inning when Tiffany Gillaspy smashed her 9th homer of the season giving the Griffons the 1-0 lead.

In the fourth the Griffons got another run when Bre Fleschner singled in Katie Klosterman with two outs. Klosterman doubled to center field earlier in the inning. The Griffons tacked on one more in the 5th when Brooke Schaben and Taylor Anding hit back-to-back one out singles. Later in the inning Schaben scored on a fielder’s choice by Stevenson giving the Griffons the 3-0 victory.

Schaben and Klosterman each each had two hits in the game while Fleschner, Gillaspy and Stevenson all got RBIs.

The Tigers had three hits with Bianca Adame getting two from the lead off position. Paxton Duran falls to 13-6 going six innings. She gave up eight hits and three earned runs while striking out seven.

Game 2
MWSU 5
FHSU 2

The Griffons put together a five run second inning in game two earning a 5-2 victory over the Fort Hays State Tigers. Bishop went 5.1 innings giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out six. Janie Smith went 1.2 innings giving up one hit with three strikeouts.

The Griffons got five hits in the second inning with Gillaspy getting a two RBI double and Brooke Schaben hitting her third home run of the season giving the Griffons a 5-0 lead after two innings of play.

The Tigers got three straight doubles in the 6th but it would be to late as they fall to 22-15 overall and 11-9 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had seven hits with Gillaspy goring 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.

The Tigers had six hits with Danie Brinkman going 2-for-2 while Jenna Lange went 2-for-3. Sarah Cochran went 1.2 innings in the loss. She gave up three hits and four earned runs with one strikeout. Kelsey Kimminau went 4.1 innings giving up four hits and one earned run.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Kansas City wins home opener against White Sox

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RoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon got the big hit and Norichika Aoki and Omar Infante spent all day setting the table.

Gordon hit a three-run double in the first inning and Jeremy Guthrie pitched effectively into the sixth inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-5 in their home opener Friday.

Aoki and Infante were acquired in the offseason to get on base at the top of the order. They each had three hits, and Aoki worked a walk, too.

“That’s why we made those additions, guys who can get on base and put the ball in play,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Nori and Omar were on base seven times, which was big. That set the table for Gordy’s big double. It was a good offensive day for us.”

Guthrie allowed four runs on seven hits, four walks and a hit batter in 5 2/3 innings.

“It was just windy,” Guthrie said. “It was never really cold. The grip is not perfect in conditions like that, but … we’re fortunate enough that we’re moving around every play, so we stay pretty warm.”

Lorenzo Cain drove in two runs with a two-out fifth inning single that put Kansas City ahead 7-2.

The Royals jumped on White Sox rookie right-hander Erik Johnson for six hits and four runs in the first two innings. Johnson retired only 14 of the 28 batters he faced, yielding seven runs on 10 hits, three walks and a hit batter to take the loss.

“The biggest thing is that I’ve got to compete better for my team,” Johnson said. “We were right there. We put five runs on the board after I put them in a hole. You’ve got to give credit to our offense for never giving up.”

Jose Abreu and Conor Gillaspie hit sacrifice flies against Guthrie, and Adam Eaton hit a two-run single off reliever Kelvin Herrera in the sixth, but both runs were charged to Guthrie.

Tyler Flowers, who went 4-for-4 Thursday against Minnesota, had hits in his first three at-bats, but the streak ended in the eighth when Aoki dropped his fly ball to right.

“I thought we came up with a couple of big hits,” Flowers said. “But Guthrie made some good pitches in situations that could have escalated into bigger innings. We had him on the ropes a couple of times, but missed a couple of hits here or there. We were probably a couple of hits away.”

The Royals, who had not made a challenge in spring training or in the first two games against the Tigers, asked the umpires to review a call in the seventh when Abreu was called safe at first on a throwing error by third baseman Mike Moustakas that pulled Eric Hosmer’s foot off the bag. After a two minute, 49 second delay, the call was upheld.

“I figured it was a good time to take a shot at it,” Yost said. “I thought it would be a 50-50 chance.”

Greg Holland pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save after setting a Royals’ record with 47 saves last season.

— Associated Press —

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