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Author: Dave Riggert

Bearcat baseball signs three players to 2014-2015 recruiting class

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Northwest2013riggertNorthwest Missouri State head baseball coach Darin Loe has announced the signings of three incoming student-athletes in an announcement made on Thursday. The signing class includes Brad Roberts (Cairo, Mo.), Nick McKinney (Naperville, Ill.) and Jay Hrdlicka (West Des Moines, Iowa). All three players will be freshmen starting in the fall of 2014.

“These three guys are a great beginning to our 2014 recruiting class,” said Loe. “They fulfill our immediate needs and we expect all of them to come in and compete for playing time immediately.”

Roberts was an all-conference pitcher for Northeast RIV Cairo and head coach Jeff Schleicher, earning MVP honors last season. He was named all-district and all-state the past three seasons. Roberts had an overall record of 33-4 with five saves last season. In 217 innings, he has given up just 49 earn runs while recording 367 strikeouts and just 79 walks. Roberts is a member of the National Honor Society, member of the student council and the Principal’s Honor Roll. He also earned all conference, all district and all state honors in basketballalong with qualifying for state golf. His father, Bob Roberts, is in the Missouri Basketball and Missouri Sports Hall of Fames for his coaching success.

“Brad is a polished hard throwing right handed pitcher that we expect to come in and make an immediate impact,” explained Loe. “He is a great overall athlete as he had to make a difficult decision whether to play basketball or baseball. We are certainly excited he choose to play baseball at the next level.”

McKinney comes to Northwest after a standout career at Downers Grove South High School. The right handed side-armer had a 1.76 ERA in 22 innings as a junior, recording seven saves. He won a state and a summer league title as well as an Illinois Regional title. An honor roll student, McKinney played for coach Darren Orel.

“Nick is a side arm pitcher who has a great feel for that unique arm angle,” Loe said. “He has had great success at the high school level and we expect Nick to be a key performer coming out of our bullpen.”

Hrdlicka earned All-America honorable mention accolades from Perfect Game last season while playing for head coach Brady Weber at Valley High School. He also earned all-tournament team honors at the Kernels Foundation Tournament. In the classroom, Hrdlicka was an academic all-conference honoree, has earned an academic letter four times and is a member of the National Honor Society.

“Jay is a solid defensive catcher with a great swing,” said Loe. “He can throw as good or better than any other catcher I have had the opportunity to coach. He is a guy that will come into our program and immediately have the ability to completely shut down our opponents running game.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

Chiefs place WR Kyle Williams on IR; sign Chad Hall

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riggertChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs announced on Friday that the club has placed wide receiver Kyle Williams on the season ending injured reserve list. The team has signed wide receiver Chad Hall to the 53-man roster.

Williams (5-10, 186) has played in 39 games (nine starts) in more than three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2010-13) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013).  He played in one contest for the Chiefs vs. Denver on Nov. 17. His career numbers as a wide receiver include 47 receptions for 574 yards (12.2 avg.) with four touchdowns. He also served as a return man, returning 21 punts for 170 yards (8.1 avg.) and 28 kickoffs for 673 yards (24.0 avg.). Williams originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (206th overall) of the 49ers in the 2010 NFL Draft. The San Jose, Calif., native played collegiately at Arizona State where he tallied 109 receptions for 1,626 yards (14.9 avg.), 74 punt returns for 768 yards (10.4 avg.) and 31 kickoff returns for 709 yards (22.9 avg.). He prepped at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Hall (5-8, 187) has played in 22 games (one start) in just over two NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Hall is rejoining the Chiefs after originally coming to Kansas City on Sept. 1, 2013 via waiver claim from San Francisco. He played in seven games with Kansas City recording one catch for nine yards. Hall’s career numbers include 15 receptions for 144 yards (9.6 avg.) with two touchdowns. He has returned 10 punts for 107 yards (10.7 avg.) and six kickoffs for 108 yards (18.0 avg.). He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Eagles in 2010. Hall played collegiately at the Air Force Academy and prepped at Wesleyan School in Norcross, Ga.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Royals sign free agent LHP Jason Vargas to four-year contract

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RoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed to a $32 million, four-year contract with left-hander Jason Vargas on Thursday, trying to fill the void in their rotation created by Ervin Santana’s free agency.

Vargas was 9-8 with a 4.02 ERA in 24 starts for the Angels last season. He was 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA before going on the disabled list with a blood clot in his arm that required surgery.

Kansas City was searching for a veteran to replace Santana, another former Angels pitcher who rediscovered himself in Kansas City. Santana went 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA last season, driving up his price in free agency to the point where the Royals are unlikely to sign him.

“Our medical team felt very comfortable, our scouting judgment was very sound, with the length of the contract as well. It all kind of lined up together,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “We felt very confident and secure in making him a Royal.”

Vargas, a soft-tossing lefty who turns 31 in February, gets $7 million next season, $8.5 million in each of the following two years and $8 million in 2017.

He had shown a propensity for giving up home runs, but that should be mitigated by cavernous Kauffman Stadium. That was the case with Santana, who also allowed homers by the bushel in Los Angeles before getting things under control in Kansas City.

“The biggest thing for me was being in a place where I knew I would be at for a significant amount of time, and with an organization where I felt comfortable,” Vargas said, “and I believed in what they’re doing and continuing to get better, and Kansas City was definitely at the top of that list going into the offseason.”

Vargas will be joining a club that finished 86-76 last season, its best finish since 1989, and was in contention for a playoff berth until the final weeks of the season.

“What excited me about the team is how I’ve seen the team grow and progress a lot over the last four or five years,” Vargas said. “Their defense is spectacular and I’m just hoping I can be a piece of the puzzle that helps move us forward.”

Vargas isn’t the sort of splashy signing that will make Royals fans salivate, but he does solidify the back end of what’s expected to be a young rotation.

James Shields returns next season as their clear-cut ace and Jeremy Guthrie provides a dependable No. 2 starter. Danny Duffy is a near-lock to make the rotation out of spring training after he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery this past season, leaving one more spot in the rotation up for grabs among a handful of in-house candidates.

Among those would could land the fifth spot are Wade Davis, Luke Hochevar and Will Smith — all former starters who spent time last season in the bullpen — and hard-throwing right-hander Yordano Ventura, who made his big league debut last season and dazzled in three September starts.

Most people within the organization believe that Ventura will be in the rotation at some point next season, even if he doesn’t earn a spot in spring training.

There’s also a chance that Kyle Zimmer, their former first-round pick, will be ready at some point next season. Zimmer finished last season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

“There’s still ways we can improve our team, through the rotation, trying to add another bat, we feel like we have some quality young pitchers who are going to be competing for spots,” Moore said. “There’s still a lot of opportunity out there to improve our starting pitching.”

Vargas, who missed the 2008 season with a torn labrum in his hip, is 51-58 with a 4.30 ERA in parts of eight seasons spent with the Marlins, Mets, Mariners and Angels. His best season came two years ago, when he went 14-11 with a 3.85 ERA in 33 starts for Seattle.

If nothing else, Vargas should be able to eat innings. He was limited to 150 by his surgery last season, but went over 200 innings each of his final two seasons with the Mariners.

“You try to get 200 innings out of your starters and Jason has been able to do that,” Moore said. “He’s been one of the more consistent pitchers in all of baseball over the last few years, and we feel like he’s right in the prime of his career.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas trio named to Naismith Trophy early season watch list

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riggertKUKansas sophomore Perry Ellis and freshmen Wayne Selden, Jr., and Andrew Wiggins have been named to the Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List the Atlanta Tip-Off Club announced Thursday.

The list consists of 50 men’s basketball players who have captured the attention of the Naismith Trophy voting committee early in the season. Kansas’ trio made up half of the Big 12 Conference contingent on the list.

Through three games, Ellis leads Kansas in scoring with 19.0 points per game, which is fourth in the Big 12. The 6-8 Wichita, Kan., forward has scored 21 or more points in each of his last two games, including a career-high 24 in KU’s 94-83 win against then-No. 4 Duke on Nov. 12. The performance earned him co-Big 12 Player of the Week accolades. Ellis is tied with freshman center Joel Embiid for the team high in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest, which is tied for fourth in the conference.

Selden is third on the KU team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in assists with a 4.3 average. The 6-5, Roxbury, Mass, guard scored 15 points in the Duke victory and his 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth among the Big 12 leaders.

Wiggins was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after scoring 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds against Duke. The 6-8, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, guard is second on the team with a 17.0 scoring average, good forsixth in the Big 12. He also ranks among the league leaders in rebounds (tied for 16th at 6.0), field goal percentage (ninth at 54.5) and steals (sixth at 1.7)

— KU Sports Information —

Griffon volleyball signs two student-athletes to 2014 recruiting class

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riggertMissouriWesternMissouri Western head volleyball coach Marian Carbin announces the signing of one student-athlete for the 2014 season. Ashley Mainord an outside hitter/middle blocker from Springtown, Texas will join the squad next fall.

Ashley Mainord is a 6-0 outside hitter/middle blocker from Springtown, Texas where she attended Springtown High School. She was a three year letter winner as well as being named first team All-District, All-County and All-State as a middle blocker. She was voted her teams Most Valuable Player as well as being named her district Most Valuable Player as a hitter. While being her teams captain she helped lead them to two undefeated district titles. She broke single season and career record in kills with 447 and 873 respectively. She is also a solid student being named Academic All-District in volleyball, basketball and softball. She is the daughter of Mike and Amy and is undecided on a major at Missouri Western.

“We are very excited about adding Ashley to our team in 2014,” commented Coach Carbin. “She has shown versatility as a middle hitter that plays all 6 rotations in high school, and because of that skill set we think she’ll be able to compete at both the middle hitter and outside hitter positions next fall. Her all-state honors in the state of Texas speak to her talent on the volleyball court, and on top of that we know that we’re getting a young lady that will be a great student as well.”

— MWSU Sports Information —

Kansas State loses opener at Puerto Rico against Charlotte

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KSUSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Mike Thorne had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Denzel Ingram added 12 as Charlotte held off a late second half charge and beat Kansas State 68-61 in the opening game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan on Thursday.

Charlotte led by as many as 13 points in the second half and won their second straight despite being held under 80 points for the first time this season.

Nigel Johnson led the Wildcats with 14 points.

K-State’s loss ends a two-game win streak. The Wildcats led only once in the game, and struggled in the paint where they were outrebounded 46-34. It was the third time this season they have been beaten on the boards.

The 49ers will play the winner of Northeastern and Georgetown Friday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western’s Dillon signs first three golf recruits

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riggertMissouriWesternMissouri Western golf coach Greg Dillon has announced his first three signee’s at Missouri Western. Jakob Rudosky from Cortez, Colo. and Ryan Hand from St. Joseph, Mo. have signed to play for the men while Tiffanie Yabut from Omaha, Neb. will compete with the women.

Rudosky a 5-11 player from Cortez, Colo. played his high school golf at Dolores High School under his dad Micah and Tod Plewe. His greatest sports moment was winning regionals in a playoff with a 115 yard hole out. He was a two time All-State player as well as being a three time first team All-Conference performer. In 2013 he was the individual regional champion. He helped his team to three regional championships (2010, 2011, 2012) and to a 2nd place finish at state in 2010. In 2013 he had a scoring average of 71 and in 2012 of 73. He is the son of Micah and Anett and is undecided on a major at MWSU.

Hand is a 5-9 player from St. Joseph, Mo. He transfers to Missouri Western after playing two seasons at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kan. His first season at Dodge City he finished in the top 25 five times and top 10 once. He shot a low round of 72 at the Jayhawk #4 tournament at the Salina Golf Course and finished 24th at the NJCAA D1 Men’s National Championship at Texas Tech Rawls. This past summer he finished tied for 26th in the Missouri Men’s Amateur Championship at Blue Hills CC in Kansas City firing rounds of 80-71. In the St. Joseph Men’s Tournament he finished 3rd with rounds of 78-72-74.

Yabut is a 5-1 player from Omaha, Neb. Se played her high school golf at Burke High School in Omaha, Neb. She was a four year letter winner at Burke while being named first team All-Metro once and second team All-Metro once. She was her teams captain as well as being a three time state qualifier as an individual. She placed in the top-20 at state all three years she qualified. She is also a very good student being a member of the National Honor Society and being an honor roll student. She is the daughter of Jay and Elizabeth and plans on majoring in exercise science at MWSU.

“I am really excited to land players like Jakob, Ryan and Tiffanie,” commented Coach Dillon. “We had needs as we are losing 3 solid seniors in Tyler Gast, Evan McCarthy, and Derek Hawkins. I believe Jakob and Ryan will fill those needs. These two kids are extremely excited to join this program and be part of Griffon Golf. Both are extremely powerful ball strikers. Both have proven short games as I like how both have continually shown vast improvement in their scoring averages. Both players have a competitive pedigree in junior and men’s amatuer golf and both have a hungry work ethic. They will fit in very nice with what we are doing with this program.”

“We had needs in Women’s Golf also,” stated Coach Dillon. “Darcy Smith and Shelby Stone will graduate. Tiffanie has an extremely solid golf swing and is an extremely accurate ball striker. Her short game is solid which is evident by her accomplishments in high school and junior golf events. We love the fit that she brings to us with her competitive nature. She too will fit very nicely with the players we have in this program.”

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri’s Sam selected as finalist for Nagurski Trophy

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MUUniversity of Missouri senior defensive end Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been selected as a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, as announced early this morning by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.  Sam is one of five standout student-athletes who will vie for the prestigious award, which goes annually to the nation’s best defensive player as voted upon by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

Sam has been a key reason for Mizzou’s surge into the top-10 in 2013, as the Tigers have been one of the top turnaround stories this season.  He currently leads the SEC in both tackles for loss (with 16.0 entering Saturday’s game at #24 Ole Miss), and quarterback sacks (10.0), and he ranks sixth and seventh nationally, respectively, in those categories.

Three times this season, Sam has amassed three sacks in a game, and his 21-yard fumble return for a touchdown at Georgia was a key play which helped spark the Tigers to a huge road between the hedges on Oct. 12th.  His 10 sacks on the season is just 1.5 shy of the Mizzou single season record of 11.5 set in 2009.

Sam is just the second Tiger to be named a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy, which was first handed out in 1993.  He joins former Mizzou All-American DE Justin Smith, who was previously a finalist as a junior in 2000.

As a finalist, Sam will attend the awards banquet on Dec. 9th in Charlotte, N.C., where the 2013 recipient will be announced.  Other finalists include Darqueze Denard (LB – Michigan State), Aaron Donald (DT – Pittsburgh), Lamarcus Joyner (DB – Florida State) and C.J. Mosley (LB – Alabama).  For more information on the Nagurski Award and the Charlotte Touchdown Club, please visit www.touchdownclub.com.

— MU Sports Information —

19 Missouri Western football players earn MIAA academic honors

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riggertMissouriWesternThe MIAA announced its fall academic award winners for the sport of football on Thursday (Nov. 21). Nineteen Missouri Western football players 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 nineteen players that earned the honor include: Yomi Alli, Taylor Anderson, Jorge Belcher, Joey Capul, Blayke Elder, Alek Ferbet, Scott Groner, Sean Holloran, Chris Jimenez, Brock Kimball, Dalton Krysa, Alex Molloy, Andrew Molloy, CJ Mollus, Seth Morton, Nate O’Neill, James Schoonover, Charles Sciara and Leonard Wester.

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

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State men dominate Baker in home opener, 96-50

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NWMSUThe Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team had five players score in double figures as the Bearcats defeated Baker University, 96-50, on Wednesday evening inside Bearcat Arena. The game was the home opener for Northwest (3-2), who played the first fourgames of the season on the road and at neutral sites. The game was marked as an exhibition contest for Baker.

It took the Bearcats just under six minutes to build a double-digit lead at16-5 with 14:03 left in the first half, and Northwest never looked back. The lead would grow to 42-22 by halftime. It was much of the same in the secondhalf as the Bearcats opened with a 17-5 run to build a 32 point lead with 14:21 to go. Northwest’s largest lead of the night was 48 points, 96-48, with 1:58 remaining in the game.

All 12 Bearcats who saw the court on Wednesday scored at least two points in the game. Jordan Ashton led the team with 16 on 5-for-9 shooting, includingthree from long range. Also in double-figures were Bryston Williams with 14, Grant Cozad with 12, Dillon Starzl with 11 and DeShaun Cooper with 10. Williams, Tyler Funk and Matt Wallace all recorded four steals each as Northwest forced 24 Baker turnovers.

Northwest was especially efficient from the line, hitting 21-of-23 (91.3%) from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bearcats shot 54.2 percent form the field (32-for-59) and were 11-for-24 from long range (45.8%).

Northwest will play again on Tuesday, Nov. 26, with a 7 p.m. home game against Peru State at Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Sports Information —

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