Dave Riggert – Page 934 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Cardinals, Busch Stadium to host first-ever football game

Posted on April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday that longtime football rivals Southeast Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University will play each other at Busch Stadium on Saturday, September 21st. Kickoff is set for 1 PM.

“We are thrilled to host our first football game in Busch Stadium with two great schools that have such a large following in St. Louis,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the Cardinals. “We are excited to showcase the versatility of Busch Stadium as a multi-use sports venue.”

This will be the 81st game between Southeast and SIU, who have close to 40,000 local alumni in St. Louis, as well as thousands of students from the St. Louis area.

“We’d like to thank the St. Louis Cardinals for the opportunity to play this game at Busch Stadium,” said Kenneth W. Dobbins, President of Southeast Missouri State University. “Nearly 40 percent of this year’s freshmen class at Southeast is from the greater St. Louis region, and playing this game at Busch Stadium is exciting for all our students, and great exposure for our University and the Redhawk football program.”

“Southern Illinois is definitely Cardinals’ country, so this is a great fit for our University and football program,” said Rita Cheng, Chancellor of Southern Illinois University. “It will be a great experience for our student-athletes and for our fans on both sides of the river.”

Ticket prices start at $10 and will go on sale June 3rd. For tickets and additional details, fans should go to cardinals.com/football. Be sure to join the conversation with #footballatbusch

As the iconic home of one the most storied franchises in baseball, Busch Stadium is one of the most sought after special event venues in St. Louis. Since it was opened in 2006, Busch Stadium has hosted over a thousand special events ranging from corporate meetings, weddings and charity events to one-of-kind concerts such as Dave Mathews Band, the Eagles and U2. This will be the first football game and the second major non-baseball sporting event held at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals will host an international soccer match between the English Premier League teams Chelsea and Manchester City in May.

— Cardinals Media Relations —

Griffons use walk-off single to complete sweep of Lindenwood

Posted on April 14, 2013April 15, 2013

The #11 Griffons finished the sweep against Lindenwood Sunday afternoon in a nine-inning conference game by defeating the Lions 5-4.

A Nate Ramler single to left field in the final inning scored Michael Schulze, who singled to the same area to get on base. With the win, the Griffons are 30-5 overall and 24-2 in MIAA play and the Lions fall to 16-22 and 14-16 in MIAA action. Logan Hollinsworth picked up the win improving to 5-0 on the year.

The Griffons fell behind Lindenwood for the third-straight game, trailing 2-0 after two innings and 3-1 after five. But Ramler belted a homer to left center which scored Kyle Simpson and himself tying the game at three runs apiece.

In the seventh inning, Lions’ Mike Failoni, who went 3-for-3, doubled down the left-field line scoring teammate Zach Kurzejeski to take the lead yet again. But the Griffons came right back in the bottom of the seventh.

Bubba Dotson’s single scored Shawn Egge, who got on base by a walk. The score reamined 4-4 until Ramler’s bat in the bottom of the ninth inning which avoided extra innings.

Missouri Western tallied 11 hits on the day, including multiple hits by Grant Fink, Schulze, Dotson and Ramler.

The Griffons return to action Monday afternoon as they take on No. 4 ranked St. Cloud State in a non-conference matchup.

The Huskies are 22-3 overall after spliting a doubleheader with Truman State on Sunday afternoon in Kirksville, Mo.

Game time is set for 1:00 pm from the MWSU Baseball Field and it can be heard on ESPN 1550 AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats lose series finale at Emporia State

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

One day after splitting a double-header with Emporia State, the Northwest Missouri State baseball team was unable to win the rubber match Sunday losing 10-6.

Emporia State went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Northwest answered in the top half of the second inning with two runs. Charlie Krueger singled in Eric McGlauflin to tie it up before Steven Garber knocked in Krueger to go up 2-1.

The Hornets went back on top plating two runs in the third inning. The Bearcats were able to get one run across in the fourth when Garber scored from third on a wild pitch to knot the game up at 3-3.

ESU had an offensive explosion in the fourth inning as they scored five runs on six hits to take an 8-3 lead.

The Hornets scored one run in the sixth inning to add to their lead. Northwest got a run back in the seventh when Tyler Durant hit a solo home run to left field making the score 9-4.

With a 9-4 lead in the eighth inning Emporia State added another insurance run before the Bearcats offense tried scratching their way back into the ball game. Krueger and Garber both added RBIs but fell short of completing the comeback losing 10-6.

Chase Anderson got the start for Northwest and was tagged with the loss moving his record to 4-5 on the season.

The Bearcats are now 14-24 this season and 11-21 in conference play. Head Coach Darin Loe’s team will be back on the road this week to take on Nebraska-Kearney Wednesday for a double-header with first pitched scheduled for 4 p.m. with game two set to follow.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western softball wins two games against Lindenwood Sunday

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team picked up two important MIAA victories against Lindenwood University Sunday afternoon. The Griffons improved to 29-11 and 13-5 in the conference while the Lions are currently 18-22 and 9-11.

In the first game, Western fell behind 1-0 after the first inning, and failed to score after a lead-off double in the third and lead-off triple in the fourth.

But behind 1-0 in the fifth, Taylor Anding singled to left field to provide the first hit of the inning. And after two outs, which included a sac bunt from Kat Steponovich to move Anding into scoring position, Bre Fleschner reached by an error and Anding advance home to tie the game at one.

After Courtney Opich, who went 2-for-3 in the first game, belted a homer, the Griffons came back with two runs in the sixth to take the win.

Kendall Sorensen tripled down the right-field line to score Maegan Roemmich, who reached on a fielder’s choice after Michelle Stevenson singled to right field but was thrown out on the next play.

Another error by the Lions scored Sorensen for the 3-2 lead, and junior Jackie Bishop, who is not 16-4 on the year, struck out the side to complete the win.

Game 2
Griffons 2, Lions 1

Missouri Western secured the second win after two strong pitching performances from freshman Janie Smith and Bishop. After Smith pitched a shutout through five innings, Opich scored off a double by Deidre Merli to tie the game at one.

Bishop came in to finish the game, and in the bottom of the seventh, Fleschner double to left center. Two plays later, catcher Keri Lorbert doubled down right center for the game-winning RBI.

On the day, Sorensen finished 3-for-6 with an RBI and third baseman Sarah Elliott went 3-for-7.

Next up for the Griffons is a Wednesday doubleheader against Lincoln. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the games can be heard on 680 KFEQ AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Gordon’s single completes Royals’ comeback against Toronto

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

Ervin Santana kept the Kansas City Royals in the game, wiggling out of every jam that the Toronto Blue Jays created. Alex Gordon made all the work pay off.

The hot-hitting Gordon drove home Chris Getz with a single in the ninth inning, and the Royals beat the Blue Jays 3-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

”Erv gave us a chance and we just persevered at the end,” said Gordon, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a pair of base hits. ”It felt good.”

Santana pitched eight sharp innings, and Kelvin Herrera (1-0) kept the Blue Jays off the board in the ninth. Toronto brought in Darren Oliver to face three straight left-handed hitters, even though left-handed bats have been 5 for 8 against the reliever this season.

Oliver (0-1) retired Jarrod Dyson to start the ninth, but Getz doubled to right to bring up Gordon, whose single allowed Getz to slide home easily in front of the tag.

”To get a win like that, a walkoff, it’s a nice boost of energy,” Getz said. ”You don’t want to get swept, so to scratch out a game like that is nice.”

Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain also drove in runs for Kansas City.

Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in both runs for the Blue Jays, who had won six straight and eight of 10 against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. That included a four-game sweep in their only series in Kansas City last season.

”They’re scrappy. They battle you,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. ”The thing that stands out is their defense. They take away hits. In tight ball games, that makes a difference.”

The Blue Jays struck in the first inning when Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista delivered back-to-back base hits. Dyson bobbled Bautista’s routine single in center, and that sent Cabrera to third base. He scored moments later on Encarnacion’s groundout.

Dyson atoned for his miscue with a leadoff triple in the third inning. After Gordon extended his hitting streak a check-swing single that went about 15 feet, Escobar hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field that knotted the game 1-all.

Encarnacion, who’d been 5 for 44 on the season, gave Toronto the lead back in the sixth. He sent the first pitch of the inning skimming over the wall in left field for a homer.

”That’s huge,” Gibbons said. ”That’s a good sign for Eddie.”

Kansas City matched him in the bottom half, though, when Billy Butler sent a blooper to right field, reached second on a two-out single by Eric Hosmer, and then managed to chug home on Cain’s base hit to left field – the big DH looked as if he needed oxygen when he got back to the dugout.

The fact that the game was 2-all at that point was a testament to some nice defense.

And some fairly clutch pitching.

Toronto’s Brandon Morrow allowed just the two runs in six innings, at one point retiring eight straight batters. He struck out three and only issued an intentional watch.

”I didn’t have my best stuff,” he said, ”but I made a lot of good pitches and kept us in it.”

So did Santana, who put the leadoff runner aboard in the second and third innings but got some help from a pair of inning-ending double-plays. Santana also left two stranded in the fifth, thanks to a nice play by Dyson of tracking down Emilio Bonifacio’s fly ball in center field.

His greatest Houdini act may have come in the eighth, when Santana walked Encarnacion to put runners on first and second with two outs. He struck out J.P. Arencibia to escape the inning.

That gave Getz and Gordon the opportunity to win the game.

”I have confidence in my offense,” Santana said. ”We have a lot of young talent. I know they can get the job done.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest softball takes two from Truman State

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State softball team had to overcome wind gusts over 30 mph to sweep Truman State Sunday at Bearcat Field winning game one 8-3 and game two 4-2.

Truman State took the lead in the third inning as they scored first going up 1-0. The Bearcats responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning putting up four runs of their own. Candace Miller doubled in Rachel Schmitz from third base for the team’s first run. Hailee Hendricks singled to left field to plate Jordan Ereth. Miller and Hendricks both scored later in the inning to go up 4-1.

Schmitz stepped back up to the plate in the fourth inning and promptly hit her first home run of the year, a solo shot over the left field wall to put her team up 5-1.

The Bulldogs put up a single run in the top of the fifth inning to cut their deficit to three runs. In the bottom half of the inning Kristin Uthe came up with two runners on and hit a three run blast to go back up 8-2.

Truman State was able to scratch out one more run in the top of the sixth inning but that would be it as Jenna Creger picked up the win in the 8-3 victory. Creger snagged her 10th win of the season as she gave up three earned runs while striking out seven on her way to the complete game.

Abbie Vitosh got the ball for game two. Vitosh came into the game having won four of her last five starts and striking out a season high eight batters against Lindenwood on Saturday. The sophomore went the distance for the complete game victory giving up only four hits and allowing two earned runs.

Truman State went up early scoring one run in the third inning and adding another run in the fourth inning to go up 2-0.

Northwest started a two out nightmare for in the bottom of the fifth inning when Schmitz dropped her second home run of the day to dead center field to cut the lead in half. Ereth then came up and beat out an infield single and later scored on a two out triple by Miller to tie the game up at 2-2.

Uthe double to lead off the sixth inning and was pinch ran for by Sarah Krysl. Krysl scored off the bat of Kristine Labertew who singled up the middle to get the RBI. Schmitz put an exclamation point on her day by hitting a sacrifice fly to right center field that scored Stephanie Price from third for the final run of the ball game as the Bearcats won 4-2.

Rachel Schmitz was 3 for 5 at the plate in both games hitting two home runs, with three RBIs, scoring three runs and having 26 putouts at first base.

Northwest improves their record to 22-12 and 10-8 in MIAA play. The Bearcats will be back in action on Bearcat Field taking on Emporia State Friday in a double-header slated to start at 2 p.m. with game two set to follow. The seniors will be honored during Saturday’s double-header against Washburn as first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

MWSU women sit in 3rd after first round of Green & Gold Shootout

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

After being ranked 11th in the first NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regional Ranking, every event down the stretch to improve their stock into the top nine of the ranking becomes that much more important for the Missouri Western women’s golf team.

The Griffons had their first chance to do that today as they hosted the opening round of the ten team Green & Gold Shootout at St. Joseph Country Club.

Missouri Western fired a team score of 350 which is currently in third place and six shots behind second place Nebraska-Kearney. Central Oklahoma leads the event with a 313.

Callie Wilson & Casi Webb led the way firing 86 respectively. Anna Kloeppel shot 87 & Natalie Bird rounded out the counting scores for MWSU with a 91.

Central Oklahoma’s Aly Sleng leads the 57 player field with a three over par 75.

The final round of the tournament will be played at Maryville’s Mozingo Lake Golf Club Monday morning with a shotgun start set for 10 AM.

All teams in the field are trying to improve their stock to be selected for the NCAA Super Regional which will be played at the Country Club May 5 – 7.

— MWSU Sports Information —

St. Louis loses series finale to Brewers in 10 innings

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

After setting a team record for the most consecutive innings without scoring a run, the Milwaukee Brewers now have a new streak going – one they much prefer.

Jonathan Lucroy hit a solo homer in the 10th inning as the Brewers rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Sunday and avoided a sweep.

The Brewers had been shut out in 32 innings before Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer off reliever Trevor Rosenthal in the eighth that made it 3-2.

Milwaukee tied it with another run in the ninth and then won on Lucroy’s shot. Lucroy credited Braun with getting the Brewers on track.

”After he hit that homer, we had a little bit rolling,” Lucroy said. ”You could feel the tide turn a little bit. I think we were pressing a lot to score some runs. That was a big homer that opened it up for us. It let us relax and play a little better.”

Braun’s second home run of the season snapped a 39-inning shutout streak for St. Louis pitchers. The Brewers had not scored since the second inning Tuesday against the Cubs and had lost three in a row.

”It’s been a scuffle,” Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. ”It’s been really difficult to get wins thus far. We did a nice job battling back in the eighth and the ninth. That’s always a positive.”

Milwaukee tied it in the ninth on a leadoff single by Carlos Gomez and an RBI double by Yuniesky Betancourt off Mitchell Boggs. The Cardinals’ closer-for-now left without retiring a batter and blew his second save in five chances.

”This was there for us to take,” Boggs said. ”The bottom line is I had a chance to get the win for us and I didn’t get the job done.”

After retiring Rickie Weeks on a fly to start the 10th, Fernando Salas (0-2) gave up Lucroy’s first home run of the season.

”Any time is a good time for a homer,” Lucroy said. ”I haven’t had a lot of success ofd that guy in the past. It was nice to hit a ball hard off him.”

Brandon Kintzler (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth and got the first out in the 10th. Burke Badenhop retired pinch-hitter Carlo Beltran on a grounder for the final out and his first save.

Matt Adams had another big day in the loss for St. Louis, as he had a solo home run and a single in four at-bats. Adams has homered in three straight games and has a hit in all five games he has played.

Adams is batting .611 (11-for-18) with three homers and eight RBI.

Matt Holliday had an RBI single and Yadier Molina an RBI double for the other St. Louis runs.

The Cardinals broke through for the game’s first two runs against Marco Estrada with four consecutive two-out hits in the third, including an RBI single by Holliday and an RBI double to the gap by Molina. Allen Craig was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Molina’s hit.

Adams made it five straight hits when he led off the fourth with a 419-foot homer to center that made it 3-0.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State men stay atop MIAA with win over SBU

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

In a match of the league’s top two teams the Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team prevailed with a 5-3 victory Sunday afternoon over Southwest Baptist.

Northwest improved to 16-3 and 4-0 in the MIAA as the match was moved early Sunday to the Indoor Tennis Center at Red Oak due to impending rain in the forecast and high winds. SBU fell to 8-8 overall and 4-1 in league action with the loss.

Northwest grabbed wins at No. 1 and No.3 doubles to take a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.

The green and white Bearcats needed hard fought wins at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles to seal the win. Alvaro Riveros battled to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Daniel Cardona at No. 4 singles to improve to 15-2 on the year.

Lluis Altimires also earned a tough win at No. 3 singles for his 10th victory with a 6-3, 7-6 win.

Northwest takes a break of MIAA play with a nonconference match against Graceland Tuesday at Frank Grube Courts. Action is set for a 3 p.m. start.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

No. 11 Griffons take two from Lindenwood Saturday

Posted on April 13, 2013

Throughout the season, Missouri Western hasn’t feared trailing a game, because the Griffons know at any time they could recover.

Saturday was no exception.

Thanks to a huge fifth inning in game one, and a huge sixth inning in game two, the Griffons defeated Lindenwood in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Griffons Spring Sports Complex, winning 6-4 and 5-3 respectively.

The Griffons (29-5, 23-2), known for their power hitting, were able to overcome slow starts in both games and notched two close wins against conference newcomer Lindenwood (16-21, 14-15).

In the first game, a 6-hit fourth inning — highlighted by right-fielder Nate Ramler’s two-run homer that cleared over 450 feet, bouncing off the nearby softball field’s light poll onto the field – helped the Griffons score five runs after trailing 3-1. A slow start wasn’t much.

“(This) was good for the club,” Western coach Buzz Verduzco said. “Probably over the next two weeks there is going to be a lot of dog fights. And one thing we do know and we’re continuing to remember is that we’re never out of any game. We still think our offense is good enough to where we can go through the lineup and still be a threat to be able to score.”

Hitting wasn’t the only problem early for the Griffons.

Brandon Simmons, the Griffons No. 1 pitcher, stayed focused after he appeared to struggle early in the contest.

Simmons, who improved to 8-0, earned his 32nd win of his career. With the victory, the senior is now tied for most wins in the conference, and could pick up the career record against Central Missouri next Saturday. The Mules are currently the No. 2 team in the conference.

In order to pick up the win Simmons had to overcome a 3-0 start after three innings. Lindenwood strung together six hits to take the command, but in the bottom of the third, center fielder Shawn Egge popped a double to center field.

Leadoff hitter Michael Schulze sent a single over second base, but a close call at kept Western at bay after Egge was thrown out from center field. The next inning, the Griffons didn’t make it close.

After catcher Jake Schrader walked, Egge singled up the middle and Schulze hit a sac bun to move but runners into scoring position.

Bubba Dotson sent a triple to right center on the next bat, scoring three runs to take a slim, 4-3 lead. Ramler sent a homer flying over the fence into the next field where the Griffons’ softball team was playing a conference game against Truman State. Luckily the ball hit the light poll on its way down to nullify a disruption what would have been.

The one-out bomb put the Griffons ahead 6-3, and Simmons finished the next two innings before Logan Hollingsworth picked up the save in the seventh inning. Ramler finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

“That hit, against the wind, that was probably one of the hardest ones I’ve seen here (at the spring sports complex),” Verduzco said. “For Simmons, that wasn’t his best outing either. And that just goes to show you what he can do for the team when he’s really not at his best. How much he’ll fight, he’ll battle, he’ll keep himself in the zone, he’ll keep himself out of big innings. That’s a mark of a good pitcher.”

GAME 2
Western 5, Lindenwood 3

The Griffons complemented their game one comeback with a second offering in game two.

After falling behind 3-2, the Griffons score four runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the second win of the day. Jake Schrader, who coming into Saturday was hitting .256, good for ninth on the team’s No. 1 ranked average, popped a ball over centerfielder Wade Rothermich’s head to bring in two runs and the quick 4-3 lead.

Two plays later, Schulze singled and score Schrader. And without Simmons in game two, Western used a trio of pitchers in Ethan Ward, Jerad Hawkins and Hollingsworth to close out the game with a 5-3 victory.

Left-fielder Kyle Simpson finished the game 3-for-4 with one RBI. In the doubleheader, the Griffons put together 20 hits with 11 RBIs. The Lions had 19 hits with nine RBIs.

The Griffons finish the series against Lindenwood today with the first pitch set for noon, but may be moved up with rain forecasted in the area.

— MWSU Sports Information —