ALLENDALE, Mich. – Benton graduate and Central Missouri junior Heavin Warner won the national title in the hammer throw Thursday on day one of the NCAA Division II Track & Field National Championships in Allendale, Michigan.
Warner successfully defended her title from a year ago as she had a winning throw of 211’1″ and was the only competitor with a mark of over 200 feet.
She becomes Central Missouri’s first back-to-back national champion since Lindsey Lettow in 2011-12.
Minneapolis – The No. 8 seed Nebraska baseball team (34-23) had a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday afternoon at Target Field, but the No. 5 seed Michigan State Spartans (34-22) exploded for six runs in the frame on its way to a 9-7 victory that eliminated the Huskers from the Big Ten Tournament.
The Huskers entered the game 28-1 on the year when leading after seven innings, but were unable improve to 29-1. Reliever Ben Miller took the mound in the eighth and gave up a walk to Brandon Hughes to start the frame. The bases were quickly loaded following singles by Chad Roskelly and Anthony Checky. Dan Durkin stepped in and Miller issued a four-pitch walk to plated a run. NU went to senior Josh Roeder and NU’s all-time saves leader came into a jam, the bases loaded and no out. With the tying runs on base and the top of MSU’s order coming to the plate, Roeder plated a run with just his third walk of the season before Ryan Krill delivered a grand slam that put the Spartans ahead, 9-7, it was Krill’s 13th homerun of the season.
MSU reliever Joe Mockbee worked the final 3.2 innings for the Spartans, including a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his sixth win of the season.
The loss ended the careers of seven Husker seniors, including Kyle Kubat, Chance Sinclair, Christian Cox, Austin Darby, Blake Headley, Tanner Lubach and Roeder. Kubat, who was winless in his past eight starts entering Thursday, left the game in line for the win with a 6-3 lead. Kubat was looking to become the 11th pitcher in school history to reach 20 career wins, but it wasn’t meant to be. In his 43rd career start, the fifth most in NU history, Kubat went 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits, while striking out three.
MSU starter Jeff Kinley lasted 4.1 innings in his fifth start of the season. The one-time closer for the Spartans this year allowed five runs on six this and two walks, but did notch six strikeouts.
Kubat retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first before he hit Mark Weist. The HBP came back hurt on the very next pitch of the game, as Blaise Slater launched a two-run homer into the third deck in left field. Former Husker Ryan Richardson then ripped a single before Kubat got a pop out to end the inning.
Down 2-0, the Huskers cut MSU’s lead in half in the top of the second on two hits. Scott Schreiber started the inning with his fourth hit of the tournament and was soon in scoring position on a groundout by Headley. Miller then came through with a single that put runners on the corners and Jake Placzek drove in Schreiber with a sacrifice fly to left field. Darby worked a walk with two outs and Jake Meyers nearly came through with a two-out RBI, but Checky made a running catch in the left-field gap to end the frame.
The Spartans had their next scoring opportunity in the fourth when they had a runner on second with two outs after Checky was hit-by-pitch. Facing MSU’s No. 9 hitter, Kory Young, Kubat got an inning-ending ground ball to Headley at third, keeping MSU’s lead to 2-1.
After Kubat got out of the jam, NU’s offense went to work in the top of the fifth with five runs on five hits and two walks. Placzek got the inning started with a single and after Darby struck out, got himself in scoring position by stealing second base. Meyers then worked a walked and Luis Alvarado singled to load the bases for Jake Schleppenbach. The Lincoln native lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a game-tying RBI single. MSU went to lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz to face Lubach and the junior walked in a run to put the Huskers ahead 3-2. The Spartans again made a call to the pen and right hander Walter Borkovich got Schreiber to foul out. With two out and the bases still loaded, Headley worked a full count before driving a two-RBI single into left field. Miller, the ninth batter of the inning, followed with a RBI single to push NU’s lead to 6-2. Placzek stepped in for his second at-bat of the inning with two runners in scoring position and Borkovich put an end to the bleeding with a strikeout.
Working with the lead for the first time all day, Kubat faced the top of MSU’s lineup in the bottom of the fifth. He retired the first two batters before giving up a single to Weist and then he hit Salter. Kubat dug in and got a 1-3 groundout from Richardson to keep NU’s four-run lead intact.
Kubat took the mound in the sixth but wouldn’t record an out, as he was replaced by Jeff Chesnut after giving up consecutive singles to start the inning. With runners on the corners, Chesnut got a 5-3 groundout of the bat of Checky, but the grounder was slow enough to score Hughes on the play. MSU went to pinch hitter, Durkin, who lined an infield single off of Chesnut to again put runners on the corners. With the top of the order up and one down, Cam Gibson came to the plate as the tying run. Gibson got a 3-1 hitters count, but Chesnut made the pitch he needed and got a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning with the Huskers ahead 6-3.
The Husker offense got the run back in the seventh with one hit and a pair of sacrifices. Schreiber led off the frame with his sixth hit of the tournament and with Headley up Schreiber took second on a wild pitch Mockbee. Headley then laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Schreiber to third and Miller drove him in with a sacrifice fly to deep right field that gave NU a 7-3 lead.
Colton Howell took the mound for NU in the eighth and gave up a one-out walk, but nothing else, and struck out Richardson to keep the Husker lead a 7-3 through seven.
With three runs on eight hits through the first seven innings, the Spartans scored six runs in the eighth on four hits and three walks to retake the lead for good.
— NU Sports Information —
ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western senior softball players Tiffany Gillaspy has been named to two All-America teams this week.
The Johnston, Iowa native was named a third team All-American at second base by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and received an honorable mention on the Daktronics/Division II CCA All-America Softball Team. It makes three All-American honors in Gillaspy’s career as she was named third team Daktronics All-American in 2014.
Her 2015 award list now includes: first team NFCA All-Central Region, first team Daktronics All-Central Region, first team All-MIAA, MIAA Hitter of the Week, NFCA National Player of the Week, top-25 finalist for NFCA National Player of the Year, Tom Smith Career Achievement Award and Griffon Softball student-athlete of the year.
This season, Gillaspy led the Griffons in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, RBIs, doubles, home runs and total bases. She finished her career as the Griffons’ all-time leader in slugging percentage. She also sits second in career home runs, RBIs and runs scored. She is third all-time in batting average and fourth in hits and doubles. In her four years with the team, Missouri Western went 155-68, qualifying for three NCAA Division II Regionals and winning the MIAA Tournament in 2014.
— MWSU Sports Information —
HOOVER, Ala. – Vanderbilt scored four runs over the final four innings as it completed a 7-6 comeback win over Mizzou baseball in 10 innings on Wednesday afternoon (May 20) in game six of the 2015 SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Mizzou junior righty Peter Fairbanks (St. Louis, Mo.) struck out 10 batters over 5.2 innings and left the game with a 6-2 lead. After Fairbanks left the game, Vanderbilt clubbed three homers and scored four times, including a Rhett Wiseman walk-off homer in the 10th to complete the comeback.
The loss drops the Tigers to the elimination portion of the bracket and they will play Alabama tomorrow morning at 9:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Mizzou falls to 30-27 on the season while Vanderbilt improves to 40-17.
Mizzou got on the board in the first as Brett Peel (St. Charles, Mo.) and Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) drew back-to-back walks off of Vandy starter Tyler Ferguson to open the game. They then pulled off the double steal in front of a Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) single through the right side. That scored Peel, but Ring was gunned at the plate.
Freshman catcher Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) then delivered a big two-out hit to plate Howard, giving Mizzou a 2-0 lead after the top of the first. It was Bond’s seventh two-out RBI this season, the fifth-most on the team. Vanderbilt got those runs back on a two-run homer by SS Dansby Swanson.
Fairbanks settled in following the Swanson homer, striking out the side in the second and third innings while mowing through the Vandy lineup. Mizzou’s offense responded to Fairbanks’ phenomenal pitching in the top of the fifth inning. Peel led off the frame with a single to get things going. Ring and Howard then singled to give Mizzou three straight hits and a run. Josh Lester (Columbus, Ga.) then hit a sacrifice fly to center to give Mizzou a 4-2 lead. Bond delivered another RBI single to put Mizzou on top 5-2 and Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) hit into an RBI fielder’s choice to give Mizzou a 6-2 lead. In all, Mizzou scored four runs on five hits in the frame, sending eight men to the plate.
Fairbanks then came back out in the bottom of the fifth and retired the side in order, picking up two more strikeouts to push his total to 10 through five innings. He ran into some trouble in the sixth inning, as Vandy put runners on the corners with two out. That gave way to reliever Andrew Schwaab (St. Charles, Mo.) and he promptly struck out Bryan Reynolds on a 2-2 slider.
Schwaab then gave up a two-run homer to Jeren Kendall in the seventh as Vandy cut the lead to 6-4. He then retired the next three batters he faced to send the game to the eighth inning. Swanson homered off of Scwaab in the eighth to cut it to 6-5. Breckin Williams (Oronogo, Mo.) came on in the ninth inning and after getting the first two batters, he walked pinch hitter Nolan Rogers. Penn Murfee then pinch hit and fell behind Williams, 0-2, but lined a single into centerfield and Ring misplayed the ball, allowing Rogers to score and tie the game.
Wiseman then homered with one out in the 10th, just over the outstretch glove of Ring in CF to seal the win.
Mizzou will play Alabama in an elimination game Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
— MU Sports Information —
TULSA, Okla. — Colton Kalmus matched his career-high in strikeouts with six while Max Brown went 4-for-4 with a pair of two-out RBIs as six-seed K-State opened its trip to the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship with a 7-3 win over third-seeded Oklahoma on Wednesday at ONEOK Field.
The Wildcats (27-28) notched their third win in the opening game of the postseason tournament in their last four trips with the help of a five-run lead through the third inning. K-State scored a run in the first, two in the second and another two in the third, building an insurmountable lead over the Sooners (32-26).
“I thought we just came out ready to play,” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “We were right on fire from the start. [Carter] Yagi gets us going with a base hit [in the first]. We do a hit-and-run right away. Coach [Andy] Sawyers does a great job getting aggressive with a hit-and-run. Again, we just got momentum on our side early. Offensively is where it all started.”
Kalmus, in his first career Big 12 tournament start, cruised through his first five innings of work, surrendering just a single baserunner in the first, second, fourth and fifth. Meanwhile, he had five strikeouts in the first two frames, including the side in the second, as he evened his personal-best of six set earlier this year on February 14 vs. George Mason in Port Charlotte, Florida.
“I was out of the stretch the whole game,” said Kalmus. “I just felt more comfortable doing that today. I didn’t want to get behind by going to the windup, which I wasn’t comfortable with. I just knew that they like to swing, so I knew if I filled up the [strike] zone, then I was going to have a good day.”
Kalmus only ran into trouble in the sixth when he allowed solo home runs to Taylor Alspaugh and Anthony Hermelyn that made it 5-2. The redshirt sophomore was lifted from the game following Hermelyn’s homer in favor of Jordan Floyd, who went on to record his first career save after allowing just one run in 3 2/3 innings pitched.
K-State wasted little time in responding to the Sooners’ pair of runs as Brown produced his 21st and 22nd two-out RBIs of the season with a bases-loaded single in the seventh. The Wildcats started the threat when the third error of the game by Oklahoma allowed Carter Yagi to reach with one out. Tyler Wolfe followed with a hit by pitch, the third time the junior reached safely in the game, and Shane Conlon drew a walk to load the bases. After Tyler Moore hit an infield fly in foul territory near first base, Brown delivered a two-out single into center to score Yagi and Wolfe and make it 7-2 Wildcats.
Floyd allowed the run in the seventh when Oklahoma rattled off three singles among its four batters of the frame, with Alspaugh’s RBI single producing the run. The left-hander then walked the leadoff batter in the eighth, but he induced a double play and a groundout to end the frame before working around a two-out single in the ninth to end the game.
The save by Floyd was the first by a K-State pitcher since Brandon Courville recorded his first career save on April 26 at Baylor.
In addition to Brown, Yagi turned in a multi-hit effort, his 15th of the year. The senior went 2-for-5 with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot. His first run came in the first when he opened the game with a single and later advanced to third on a hit-and-run executed by the next batter, Wolfe. Conlon subsequently plated Yagi as Oklahoma traded two outs for a run with a double play.
“That was really important,” said Brown about the run in the first. “It’s huge to score runs early and keep the momentum on our side. Like coach said, we just came out swinging from the get-go and put the pressure on them.”
Brown scored the first of the two runs in the second when he opened the inning with a double into the right-center field gap. Alex Bee was issued a free pass before Clayton Dalrymple pulled a ball through the left side to score Brown and make it 2-0. Dalrymple later scored in the inning when OU’s first error of the game, on a groundball hit by Jake Wodtke, allowed the junior to score from second base.
Tyler Moore produced one of two RBIs for the Wildcats in the third with a double. The two-base hit, Moore’s 12th of the year, drove in Wolfe, who was issued a walk by Adam Choplick to open the inning. Bee later plated Moore from third with a fielder’s choice to make it 5-0.
Oklahoma starting pitcher Jake Elliott was charged with the loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks in two innings pitched.
K-State will play next on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., taking on the winner of Wednesday’s final game between two-seed Oklahoma State and seventh-seeded West Virginia.
NOTES
K-State improved its all-time record in the Big 12 Championship tournament to 14-14. Since 2011, the Wildcats are 6-5 in conference postseason play.
The Wildcats have faced Oklahoma four times in the Big 12 tournament since 2011, going 3-1. K-State, meanwhile, is 2-2 against the Sooners in 2015, outscoring them, 18-12.
The Wildcats improved their record to 16-3 this season when their opponent commits two or more errors in a game. K-State, which had no errors on Wednesday, also improved to 14-9 when it goes errorless in a game.
— KSU Sports Information —
COLUMBIA, MO. – Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades has recruited Wren Baker to join his leadership team at Mizzou, as announced Wednesday. Baker – one-time Athletic Director at Northwest Missouri State – has agreed to become Rhoades’ Deputy Director of Athletics (for External Relations), starting officially on Monday, June 8. At Mizzou, Baker will oversee all external relations units, and serve as the sport administrator for the men’s basketball program.
Baker, 36, comes to Mizzou from the University of Memphis, where he served as Deputy Director of Athletics/External Affairs from February 2013 to the present. At Memphis, Baker provided an immediate impact as the department secured the single largest gift in its history under his watch, while launching a $40 million capital campaign. In addition, suite sales and multi-media rights revenues set a new record and Memphis’ Tiger Scholarship Fund grew in membership and donations all in his first year.
Prior to joining Memphis, Baker was Director of Athletics at Northwest Missouri State, where he directed one of the nation’s top Division II athletic programs from February 2011-February 2013. Prior to his time at Northwest, he was the first-ever Director of Athletics at Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla., spending five years overseeing the growth of a start-up department into a very successful comprehensive program.
“We are very excited Wren is becoming a member of our team,” said Rhoades. He is regarded as one of the up-and-coming administrators in the nation and has established an impressive track record of success at every stop of his career path. Throughout his career, Wren has demonstrated terrific work ethic, the ability to genuinely connect with people and uncompromising integrity. He is a high-energy person who will provide great passion and leadership for our student-athletes, coaches and staff. We are thrilled Wren, his wife Heather and two daughters, Addisyn and Reagan are joining the Mizzou Athletics family,” said Rhoades.
“I am honored to be joining the Mizzou family and am grateful to Mack Rhoades for the opportunity,” said Baker. “The University of Missouri has a tremendous reputation and Mack is considered one of the best and brightest leaders in collegiate athletics. Our family is looking forward to returning to the “Show-Me State” and joining Mack’s team as we build on a proud and prestigious athletic tradition,” he said.
At Northwest Missouri State, Baker led the department to greater operational efficiencies and improved customer service. During his tenure at Northwest, his team secured the largest gift in department history, and increased revenues by an impressive 60 percent during his time there.
From 2006-11, Baker was Director of Athletics at Rogers State, where he was the youngest A.D. in the nation at any four-year university. While at RSU, he was also the first men’s basketball coach in school history, and promptly led the Hillcats to a 20-11 record in their first year of competition during the 2006-07 season. After one year as basketball coach, he relinquished those duties to focus on his administrative duties and continue the growth of RSU’s overall athletics operation.
Prior to joining Rogers State, Baker became the youngest principal in the state of Oklahoma. At 26, he was named principal and athletic director for Valliant Public Schools in his hometown of Valliant, Oklahoma.
Before entering administration Baker served as a basketball operations assistant in the Oklahoma State University athletic department from 2001 to 2005, coordinating a variety of initiatives under the direction of former head men’s basketball coach Eddie Sutton. During his four-year tenure at OSU, the men’s basketball team recorded a 102-30 record that included a trip to the Final Four during the 2004 season.
Baker received his bachelor’s degree in education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2001 and his master’s degree in education leadership from Oklahoma State University in 2003.
— MU Sports Information —
Minneapolis – The No. 8 seed Nebraska baseball team (34-22) had a 2-0 lead after the top of the sixth, but the No. 1 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (46-6-1) scored the game’s final three runs for a 3-2 victory in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night at Target Field. With the win, the No. 5 nationally ranked Illini extended their winning streak to 27 games, the longest streak in the country this season.
After the Illini took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, they turned the ball over to Big Ten Pitcher-of-the-Year Tyler Jay, who retired the Huskers in order in the ninth for his 13th save of the season.
The Huskers entered the game with a 25-4 record on the year when outhitting their opponent and out-hit the Illini 9-7, but couldn’t get the extra hits they needed late. Nebraska also fell to 0-6 on the year in games decided by one-run against Big Ten teams.
Freshman Scott Schreiber was 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run, while Tanner Lubach was 2-for-4 with a double. Freshman Luis Alvarado also added a RBI on the day, his fourth extra-base hit off Illini pitching in the last week after he produced two doubles and home run in Champaign, Ill., during last week’s conference series.
Two-time All-Big Ten pitcher Chance Sinclair made his 31st career start on Wednesday night and gave the Huskers 5.2 strong innings, as he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out four. Sinclair allowed one hit over the first five innings, with three of Illinois’ four hits off of Sinclair coming in the sixth.
Junior Kevin Duchene, an unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection on Tuesday, started for the Illini and went 6.2 innings. Duchene allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out five Huskers. It was the first time Duchene has allowed more than five hits in a start since April 17, when he gave up 10 hits to Indiana.
Nebraska had the game’s first runner in scoring position with two out in the second after Schreiber roped a single and then moved to second when Ben Miller drew the 11th walk of the season off Duchene in 84.2 innings. Jake Placzek stepped in an worked a 3-1 count and got a pitch to hit, but it resulted in a fly ball to left field to end the frame.
Illinois had its leadoff batter on base for the first time in the fourth when Ryan Nagle reached on a walk, but he didn’t advance any more. Sinclair responded with back-to-back strikeouts before Wes Edrington made a bare-handed play on a slow roller off the bat of Casey Fletcher to end the inning.
The Huskers offense was in position to score again in the fifth, but Duchene dug in. Schreiber led off with a single and then Placzek blasted a one-out double to put two runners on scoring position. Duchene got a shallow fly out off the bat of Edrington that wasn’t deep enough to score Schreiber and struck out Ryan Boldt swinging to end the Husker threat.
Sinclair retired the Illini in order in the fifth and the Husker offense finally broke through in the top of the sixth. Lubach got NU going with a one-out double to right-center field and scored the first run of the game when Alvarado doubled down the left-field line. The hits kept coming, as Blake Headley delivered a groundball single that put runners on the corners. Schreiber stepped in an worked an 11-pitch at-bat, delivering a RBI single on the 11th pitch to put the Husker onto 2-0.
The lead didn’t last long, as Illinois answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth. Ryne Roper started the inning with a single to set the table for the top of the NU lineup. Sinclair came back with a strikeout of Adam Walton before Nagle and Reid Roper each singled, with Ryne Roper scoring on the single by his older brother. Jason Goldstein then tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Sinclair was in position to get out of the inning, but Headley committed an error to put runners on first and second. The Huskers went to Jeff Chesnut out of the pen for his 30th appearance of the season and the junior right hander struck out Pat McInerney swinging to keep the game tied, 2-2, through six innings.
Placzek led off the seventh with a walk and was soon in scoring position for the top of NU’s lineup following a sacrifice bunt by Edrington. Duchene struck out Boldt for this third time and with two down the Illini went to right-handed reliever Nick Blackburn to face Jake Meyers. Nebraska countered with pinch-hitter Austin Darby and Blackburn won the battle with an inning-ending strikeout.
The Huskers had their leadoff man on in the seventh when Lubach started the frame with a single, his second hit of the game. Blackburn quickly cleared the bases with a double play off the bat of Alvarado, and then Headley lined out to Walton at shortstop to end the inning.
Illinois got their leadoff man on in the bottom of the eighth with an infield single by Reid Roper and he later scored to put Illinois ahead 3-2 on a single by McInerney. After Goldstein laid down a sacrifice to put two runners in scoring position, the Huskers loaded the bases with an intentional walk to Fletcher. McInerney delivered a single that found its way through the right side of the infield to give Illini the lead. David Kerian and Will Krug then grounded out to end the inning.
Facing the bottom of NU’s lineup, Jay needed just seven pitches to polish off the comeback win for Illinois.
Nebraska returns to Target Field Thursday for an elimination game against 1 p.m.
— NU Sports Information —
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider put the finishing touches on his staff when announcing the additions of Andy Majors, Donease Smith and Natalie Knight Wednesday afternoon.
A long-time assistant under Schneider, Majors joins the Jayhawks as the Director of Player Development, while Smith, who has strong ties with the WNBA, will take over the role of Director of Basketball Operations. A recent graduate of the KU women’s basketball program, Knight remains with Kansas as the Graduate Student Manager.
Majors spent five seasons at Stephen F. Austin after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Pittsburg State. With the Ladyjacks, Majors helped SFA win back-to-back league titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and make three postseason appearances.
Majors worked with the post players and centers at SFA and saw Porsha Roberts earn Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2013-14 and Southland Player of the Year honors in 2014-15 for her stellar play in the paint.
“Coach Majors will be an invaluable asset both to our coaching staff as well as our student-athletes,” Schneider said. “He will head up the scouting of our opponents, and he will do an outstanding job as we game plan and prepare for success on the court.”
At Pittsburg State, Majors helped lead the Gorillas to a 34-23 record in that time, including a 20-9 record in 2008-09. His duties included coordinating opponent scouting, monitoring academic progress and in-practice statistics.
A standout quarterback for the Gorilla football team from 2002-05, he was a crucial part of the Gorillas’ national runner-up finish in 2004. Majors earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pittsburg State in 2006, and completed his master’s degree in education from PSU in 2010.
Smith joins the Jayhawks after six seasons with Memphis women’s basketball. With the Tigers, Smith took care of both internal and external needs of the entire women’s basketball program, including team travel, practice set up and inventory control.
Before Memphis, Smith spent two seasons with the Detroit Shock in the WNBA, serving as the basketball operations manager and as the manager of the Year Round Hoops program.
“I’ve known Donease for a long time and I am excited that we could add someone with her experience in the world of operations,” said Schneider. “She’s done this job at the high-major level for a long time, as well as in the WNBA.”
Prior to her WNBA stint, Smith developed a long history of coaching and teaching basketball. Following her playing career (1995-98) at Central Missouri State (now called the University of Central Missouri), Smith taught introductory business classes and served as an assistant girls’ basketball coach for four years in Kansas City, Missouri. She also served as the Director of Operations for Kansas State women’s basketball during the 2006-07 season.
Smith, a native of Sedalia, Missouri, received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business education from CMSU, earning honorable mention all-conference honors three times on the court.
A four-year starter and most recent member to join KU women’s basketball 1,000-point scorers club, Knight will stay in Lawrence as a Graduate Student Manager. The Olathe, Kansas native graduated this May from Kansas with a degree in communications.
“Natalie had a tremendous career at Kansas as a student-athlete and we’re glad that she has decided to make the transition from player to coach with our program,” Schneider said. “She has been an outstanding member of the KU community and we’re thrilled she will continue to be part of it.”
A two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Knight concluded her career with 1,081 points, 340 assists and 436 rebounds. She was a member of KU’s roster during back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2013.
The Jayhawks begin their 2015-16 campaign with Late Night in the Phog, which is hosted along with Kansas men’s basketball, on Friday, Oct. 9, inside Allen Fieldhouse.
— KU Sports Information —
HOOVER, Ala. – Junior righty Reggie McClain (Duluth, Ga.) was brilliant as seventh-seeded Mizzou baseball topped 10th-seeded South Carolina, 5-1, on Tuesday afternoon (May 19) in game two of the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. McClain earned his seventh win of the season, allowing just one unearned run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks. The win advances Mizzou to tomorrow’s second-round game against second-seeded Vanderbilt at approximately 12:30 p.m. The Tigers are now in the double-elimination portion of the bracket.
Junior closer Breckin Williams (Oronogo, Mo.) was outstanding after McClain allowed the first two Gamecock batters to reach in the eighth inning. With runners on second and third with no one out, Williams came in and earned the six-out save, his school record-breaking 13th of the season. In the eighth, he got a pair of strikeouts and a flyout against the middle of the order to leave the tying runs on base and pitched a perfect ninth. His 13 saves put him alone in first place at Mizzou, passing Ryan Stegall who had 12 in 2000. His 13 saves are the most of any reliever in the SEC as well.
Mizzou’s 3-7 hitters were a combined 9-for-19 with five runs and two RBIs, highlighted by freshman Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.), who tallied three hits in the game. Freshman Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) and Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) each finished with multi-hit games as well. Junior Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) drove in a team-high two runs as well.
In the first inning, McClain fell behind leadoff hitter Gene Cone, who roped a leadoff single through the right side for a leadoff single. But McClain got the next three batters to strand Cone and send the game to the bottom of the first.
Mizzou then got McClain some run support in the bottom of the second inning. Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) was hit by a pitch to open the frame and his high school teammate Benes then doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. Harris then singled through the left side to score Bond and Jake Ivory (St. Charles, Mo.) hit a sacrifice fly to CF to plate Benes. That gave Mizzou a 2-0 lead after two innings.
South Carolina got a run back in the third, thanks in large part to an error to open the frame. Mizzou nearly turned a double play to get out of the jam, but the Gamecocks ended up scoring a run on a sacrifice fly to left by DC Arendas.
McClain continued to deal, needing just 44 pitches to get through four innings. Harris led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, his second hit of the day. Lavy then put together a great at-bat, fouling off five 0-2 pitches before singling up the middle to plate Harris, giving Mizzou a 3-1 lead.
South Carolina continued to struggle to put pressure on McClain as he needed just 73 pitches to get through six innings. He came back out for the seventh inning and sat down the Gamecocks in order and kept his pitch count low. Tim Jamieson sent him back out for the eighth inning and he gave up a leadoff single to nine-hole hitter Clark Scolamiero and a double to Cone, putting runners on second and third with no outs.
Closer Breckin Williams (Onorogo, Mo.) then came on in relief. He promptly struck out Arendas and Kyle Martin and got Elliott Caldwell to fly out to left to strand the runners, all against the middle of the Gamecock order. It is the second time this season that the Tiger closer has had runners on second and third with no outs and did not allow a run.
The offense seemed to gather momentum after Williams’ heroics, plating a pair of runs in the eighth inning on an RBI groundout by Benes and a sacrifice fly from Lavy. Williams came back out for the ninth and was perfect to seal the win and his record-breaking save.
Mizzou will play Vanderbilt Wednesday as it begins the double-elimination portion of the tournament. The game will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m.
— MU Sports Information —
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball head coach Kim Anderson has announced the signing of 6-3 guard K.J. Walton, a shooting guard who starred for Brownsburg High School outside of Indianapolis, Ind.
Capable of contributing from around the floor, Walton averaged 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game during his standout senior season in 2014-15. Walton helped lead Brownsburg head coach Steve Lynch’s squad to back-to-back sectional titles, along with a 21-7 record and regional championship game appearance as a senior.
“We are excited to add K.J. to our Mizzou Basketball family,” Anderson said. “He is an outstanding athlete who has the ability to score from multiple guard positions. In addition, he has the potential to be an elite wing defender. Playing for Coach Steve Lynch at Brownsburg High School, he comes from a winning program. We look forward to having him in a Tiger uniform next season.”
Walton was named to the IndyStar Indiana All-Star Team after the conclusion of his final Brownsburg campaign. He shot 44.0-percent from the field for the Bulldogs this last season.
“Coach Anderson and his coaching staff really stood out to me,” Walton said. “They were great during the recruiting process and helped show me what Mizzou will offer for a college experience. The atmosphere at the school is one-of-a-kind and has me really excited to get there.”
Walton joins Mizzou’s stout 2015 recruiting class, currently consisting of: 6-2 guard Martavian Payne (St. Louis, Mo.), 5-11 guard Terrence Phillips (Orange County, Calif.), 6-7 forward Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.), 6-4 guard Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, Mo.) and 6-8 forward Russell Woods (Chicago, Ill.).
— MU Sports Information —
