College – Page 608 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Kansas adds DB Brandon Hollomon to 2013 football recruting class

Posted on April 1, 2013

Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis announced the signing of defensive back Brandon Hollomon Monday afternoon. Hollomon, who spent the 2012 season at Los Angeles’ Pierce College, is the 27th player to join the Jayhawks in their 2013 recruiting class.

Hollomon, who will be a sophomore in 2013, played in eight games for the Brahmas in 2012, helping Pierce to a 9-2 overall mark and a Patriotic Bowl title. He tallied 19 tackles, including 13 solo stops, on the season. He also recorded seven pass breakups, with three coming in the double-overtime Patriotic Bowl win over Mt. San Jacinto.

A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Hollomon attended West Catholic High School where he starred on both sides of the ball. He was a two-time all-state, all-city and all-catholic honoree after rushing for 2,985 yards and 33 touchdowns on 330 carries during his junior and senior seasons. Hollomon also caught 34 passes for 422 yards and three TDS on offense, while recording five interceptions on defense for West Catholic.

Hollomon, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, is one of three players to sign with KU from Pierce, joining defensive lineman Marquel Combs and linebacker Marcus Jenkins-Moore. He is the fifth defensive back in the 2013 Kansas recruiting class and 19th junior college addition.

Kansas football will wrap up its 2013 spring season on Saturday, April 13 with its annual Spring Game. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m., in Memorial Stadium. KU will host its second annual “Train Like a Jayhawk” free kids clinic prior to the game. The one-hour clinic will take place from 10-11 a.m., on the KU football practice fields adjacent to Memorial Stadium on the southeast corner.

Following the clinic, the Hy-vee Hawkzone will be open from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., with the Spring Game kicking off at 1 p.m., at Memorial Stadium. The Hy-vee Hawkzone will also be located on the Kansas football practice fields.

— KU Sports Information —

MWSU softball annouces summer camp dates

Posted on April 1, 2013April 1, 2013

The Missouri Western softball program has two camps lined up for the summer of 2013. The affordable camps meet the training needs for young women of all ages.

The Junior Griffon Fundamental Camp reaches out to the younger girls interested in learning the basic skill and fundamentals of the game and is open and available to all entrants ages 6-13. This camp is geared towards the younger, less experienced players who are either learning the game as a beginner or who want to improve their skills before trying our for varsity or travel teams. This camp will be on Thursday, May 30.

The Senior Griffon Advanced Camp is geared towards the older, more experienced young women who are interested in sharpening their skills in preparation for competitive softball and/or college and is open and available to all entrants ages 14-18. This camp is recommended for players who have experience on a high school varsity team, ASA traveling team, or All-Star team. College coaches around the area will be invited to watch drill work in the morning and scrimmage in the afternoon. This camp will be on Friday, May 31.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Griffons take two from Lincoln Sunday to complete series sweep

Posted on March 31, 2013

The Missouri Western baseball team had 18 extra base hits with six being home runs as they completed the series sweep against the Lincoln Blue Tigers. The Griffons won game one 11-1 behind 17 hits and came from behind in game two winning 16-9 scattering 19 hits. The Griffons improve to 24-4 overall and 19-1 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 11, LU 1

The Griffons scored runs in all seven innings in game one and got a strong pitching performance from Banks Born picking up the 11-1 victory. Born improved to 3-0 going five innings giving up just three hits while striking out two in five innings of work.

Offensively the Griffons had 17 hits with Michael Schulze and Spencer Shockley each getting three. The Griffons got two runs with two outs in the first. Kyle Simpson got hit by a pitch and later scored on a Nate Ramler single and a Blue Tiger error. Shockley then doubled in Ramler.

In the second the Griffons once again scored runs with two outs. Jake Schrader doubled and later scored on a Schulze two out double to left center. Bubba Dotson followed that up hitting his seventh homer of the season scoring Schulze giving MWSU the 5-0 lead after two.

In the third Grant Fink and Jimmy Smelcer hit back-to-back homers giving the Griffons the 7-0 lead. For Fink it was his team leading 11th while it was Smelcer’s 4th.

That would be all the Griffons would need as they scored four more runs in the 11-1 victory. Ramler, Smelcer and Jake Schrader all had two hits while Dotson had three RBI.

The Blue Tigers had five hits with Clint Cashen getting two. Scott Jones falls to 2-5 overall going six innings giving up 15 hits with nine earned runs.

Game 2
MWSU 16, LU 9

In game two the Griffons had to come from behind to get the 16-9 victory. Things started well for the Griffons in game two when Dotson hit his 8th homer of the season giving MWSU the 2-0 lead.

The Blue Tigers answered with four hits and three runs in the bottom of the first taking a 3-2 lead. In the top of the second MWSU got the scored tied up when Schrader got hit by a pitch and scored on a Schulze ground out to short stop.

Lincoln regained the lead scoring the next four runs taking a 7-3 lead into the fifth. The Griffons remained calm and exploded in the top of the 5th scoring eight runs on seven hits. Kyle Simpson had four RBI in the inning hitting his fourth homer of the season and then hit a two RBI single later in the inning. MWSU took an 11-7 lead after five.

The Blue Tigers kept battling back scoring two more in the seventh but MWSU got a run in the 8th and four in the 9th winning the third and final game of the series 16-9.

In the game MWSU had 19 hits with Fink getting four with two runs. Dotson, Ramler and Shockley all had three hits while Simpson had five RBI. Kyle Kelly picked up the victory going four innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs. Kelly improves to 2-1 overall.

Lincoln falls to 2-19 overall and 2-16 in MIAA play. The Blue Tigers had 15 hits with Colby Shepherd, Brad Wright, Jonathan Grishman and James Earlywine all getting three. Joe Jungmeyer went four innings in the no decision while Craig Jones falls to 0-1 going 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and five earned runs.

The Griffons return to action on Tuesday, April 2 when they play a single nine inning non-conference game against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Western women sit in 7th after day one of MWSU Candlewood Suites Classic

Posted on March 31, 2013

A week after Mother Nature postponed the original date, the Missouri Western Women’s golf team along with nine other teams from the NCAA Central Region battled blustery, chilly conditions in the opening round of the MWSU Candlewood Suites Classic on Sunday at St. Joseph Country Club.

Western fired an opening round 355 which sits in 7th place in the 10 team field. Individually, senior Casi Webb leads
the Griffon lineup with an 85 while senior and lineup #1 player Natalie Bird finished with an 86. Two freshman rounded out the counting scores for the Griffons as Callie Wilson carded a 90 and Anna Kloeppel a 94.

Minnesota State fired a day one best team score of 328, while Arkansas Tech is 11 shots off the pace in second at 339 with Augustana in third place firing a team score of 340.

Individually, Kristina Weiszhaar of Southwest Minnesota State leads the 65 player field as she shot an opening round 77 on the par 72, 5855 yard layout.

The tournament concludes on Monday, April 1 with a 10 AM shotgun start.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Jayhawk women get dominated by No. 1 seed Notre Dame

Posted on March 31, 2013March 31, 2013

Skylar Diggins was already having such a great day, her coach figured she might as well make it historic.

The Notre Dame point guard scored 22 of her 27 points by halftime Sunday and became the school’s career scoring leader, leading the top-seeded Fighting Irish to a 93-63 victory against Kansas in the semifinals of the Norfolk Regional.

Notre Dame will play No. 2 seed Duke on Tuesday for a berth in the Final Four.

Coach Muffet McGraw had forgotten all about Diggins’ pursuit of the school scoring mark until the game was well in hand. When she asked, she was told the senior was just two points away from passing assistant coach Beth Cunningham.

”I told her, ‘You’re coming out in 30 seconds. You might as well get one more,”’ McGraw said she told Diggins.

Moments later, with 7:48 to play, the lefthander in her trademark white headband swished a 12-foot jumper.

”Coach told me to score two more. I didn’t really know why, but I was like, ‘OK,”’ Diggins said.

It was that kind of the day for Diggins, who heard talk beforehand that the Norfolk Regional was full of great point guards, and quickly showed she might not have a peer, especially at this time of year with the stakes so high.

”We play in games that are so much like Sweet 16 or Elite Eight kind of caliber games in our conference,” she said. ”That helps all of us.”

So does having a leader that makes it all look so easy. Diggins added nine assists and three steals, scored nine straight during a 16-2 first-half run that put the Irish (34-1) ahead to stay, and six more to cap a 10-2 run into halftime.

”She’s what everyone says,” Kansas point guard Angel Goodrich, who finished with seven points and 13 assists, said. ”She’s the whole package. She can create for herself and she can create for her teammates.”

The victory was the 29th in a row for Notre Dame, and left the Irish one victory shy of a third consecutive trip to the Final Four. They have lost in the title game each of the last two years.

Carolyn Davis led the upstart Jayhawks (20-14) with 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting, but the second No. 12 seed ever to get this far in the women’s tournament since the seeding format began in 1994 didn’t stick around long.

Notre Dame led 40-27 at halftime and started the second half with a 22-9 run.

”We definitely let them play comfortable and confident,” Jayhawks coach Bonnie Henrickson said. ”I was disappointed our defensive effort wasn’t better.”

Goodrich’s head-to-head duel with Diggins never materialized. When Goodrich, like Diggins a senior, finally scored with 5:48 left in the first half, Diggins already had 16 points and her team was about to make another run before halftime.

It came in the final 4:30 of the half, a 10-2 burst capped by two 3-pointers by Diggins.

”When she starts hitting the 3, you’re in trouble,” McGraw said.

Natalie Achonwa added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame, Jewell Loyd scored 15 and Kayla McBride 13 as the Fighting Irish shot 54.4 percent from the field, making 37 of 69 attempts.

Monica Engelman added 10 points for Kansas, but on just 4 of 16 shooting.

The Irish trailed 15-11 when Loyd made a 3-pointer with 14:37 to go and then Diggins took over. She hit a 16-footer, a 17-footer, a 3-pointer and then had a steal and layup, making it 23-15. After Davis’ stickback for the Jayhawks, Ariel Braker scored inside and Diggins did, too, posting up Goodrich.

The 16-2 run gave the Fighting Irish a 27-17 lead, and the spread stayed about the same until late in the half when Diggins hit a 3-pointer, then followed a turnover with another 3 from the right side.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska women fall short against Duke in Sweet 16

Posted on March 31, 2013

Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie is growing weary of people expecting the Blue Devils to roll over teams in the NCAA tournament.

”We don’t want to be pretty, we want to advance,” McCallie said after the Blue Devils struggled offensively but used a solid defensive effort for a 53-45 victory over Nebraska in the Norfolk Regional of the women’s NCAA tournament on Sunday.

”We want to advance. We want to find a way to keep going,” McCallie said.

Duke will play top-seeded Notre Dame on Tuesday night for a berth in the Final Four.

Tricia Liston had 17 points and eight rebounds and Alexis Jones had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Blue Devils shook off another slow start by using a 12-0 run to take the lead by halftime and then hang on with their defense.

”Somebody mentioned that we haven’t played a great game yet,”’ McCallie said. ”It’s about time we do. I’m kind of looking forward to that. We’ve had to gut some things out, handle some things differently.”

The Cornhuskers (25-9), in the round of 16 for just the second time in school history, shot 30.3 percent and hit just 3 of 24 3-point tries.

Nebraska arrived averaging 6.4 3-pointers and made eight last week in stunning Texas A&M on its home floor.

Duke also trailed Oklahoma State by 13 at halftime last week on its home floor before rallying.

”It can be frustrating at times,” Liston said of the offensive struggles, which have been made worse by the loss of All-American Chelsea Gray to a dislocated kneecap 10 games ago. ”That’s where our defense can come in.”

Duke’s Elizabeth Williams, a native of Virginia Beach, finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but missed 10 of her 15 shots as Duke made just 21 of 64 shots, 32.8 percent, and 4 of 16 3-pointers.

Lindsey Moore led the Cornhuskers with 11 points, but on 5 of 18 shooting. Nebraska’s leading scorer, Jordan Hooper, who averages 18.2 points, left with an ankle injury with 8 minutes left and scored just six points, missing 11 of her 14 shots.

”Obviously we struggled,” said Moore, a part of both round of 16 teams in Nebraska history. ”I think we’re a better shooting team than we showed. … We just had to keep shooting them and hope they would start dropping for us.”

Moore said Duke also confused the Cornhuskers by continually switching defensive looks.

”I hope it was confusing because we’re trying to be confusing,” McCallie said.

Hooper hit a foul-line jumper 30 seconds into the second half, sparking an 8-4 run that got them within 27-26, but Duke responded with a 13-4 run. Liston started it with a 3-pointer, and Haley Peters and Richa Jackson each scored four in the run.

Moore’s basket in the lane got the Cornhuskers within 44-38 with 3:53 to play, but Jones and Peters converted Nebraska turnovers with inside baskets.

After Katie Simon scored for Nebraska, two free throws each by Liston and Jones extended the lead to 51-40 with 1:04 left.

Duke made just four of its first 20 shots and trailed Nebraska 18-11 before turning it around. The Blue Devils outscored the Cornhuskers 12-0 in the last 5:46 of the half, with Jones scoring seven.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western softball sweeps Pitt State to extend win streak to 12

Posted on March 30, 2013March 31, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team used the long ball extending their winning streak to 12 games defeating the Pittsburg State Gorillas 3-1 and 4-3 on Saturday afternoon. With the win in game one Jackie Bishop became the Griffons all-time leader in victories with 61. She passed Dana Wertz who had 60 career wins from 2004-2007. Also, the victory in game one was Coach Bagley’s 400th career victory. The Griffons are 24-8 overall and 8-2 in MIAA play.

Game 1
MWSU 3, PSU 1

In game on the Griffons got another strong pitching performance from Bishop as she went all seven innings giving up five hits while striking out 10. She improves to 12-3 on the season with the victory.

The two teams played scoreless softball until the top of the 5th inning when the Griffons scratched across two runs. The inning started with singles by Maegan Roemmich and Taylor Anding. Sarah Elliott hit a sacrifice fly scoring Roemmich from third and the Bre Fleschner singled in Anding giving MWSU the 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth the Gorillas cut the Griffon lead in half when Kreslee Ketcham led off the inning with a homer. The Griffons responded in the top of the 7th when Roemmich hit her fifth homer of the giving MWSU the 3-1 lead. Bishop got the Gorillas go down in order in the seventh for the victory.

The Griffons had eight hits with Fleschner and Roemmich both getting two. Roemmich scored two runs in the contest.

Kyndel Shelburn got the loss for PSU falling to 6-5 on the season. She went all seven giving up eight hits and three earned runs. PSU had five hits with Ketcham getting two.

Game 2
MWSU 4, PSU 3

In game two the Griffons got out of numerous jams stranding eight PSU runners on base which included the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth inning. Things started quick for the Griffons with Tiffany Gillaspy hitting her 6th homer of the season giving MWSU the 3-0 lead.

The Gorillas answered right back when Ketcham hit her second homer of the day cutting the MWSU lead to 3-2 after one. Things stayed that way until the top of the third when Keri Lorbert hit her 10th homer of the season giving MWSU the 4-2 lead.

The score remained 4-2 until the bottom of the 6th. PSU led off the inning with a homer to right field by McKenzie Rynard. Despite loading the bases relief pitcher Bishop struck out the side getting out of trouble.

In the bottom of the 7th Ketcham led off with a single and then Bishop struck out Tiffany Brown and got Rynard to hit into the double play dropping the Gorillas to 17-15 overall and 5-7 in MIAA play.

The Griffons had just five hits with Lorbert getting two. She is now two homer away from tying the career record. She had 35 and the career record is 37 held by Amy Beverly (2004-2007). Janie Smith improved to 12-3 going four innings giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out five. Bishop picked up her third save of the season going three innings giving up six hits and striking out six.

The Gorillas had 11 hits with Jordan Bradshaw, Ketcham and Catie Cummins all getting two. Kylie Harpst fell to 3-3 going five innings giving up five hits and three earned runs.

The Griffons will return to action on Friday, April 5 when they travel to Hays, Kan. to take on the Fort Hays State Tigers in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Griffons use strong pitching to sweep Northwest Missouri State

Posted on March 28, 2013

The Missouri Western baseball team picked up two victories from Northwest Missouri State behind two solid pitching performances from Brandon Simmons and Jerad Hawkins. The Griffons won game one 6-1 and game two 6-5. The Griffons are 21-4 overall and 16-1 in MIAA play.

Game 1: MWSU 6, NWMSU 1

The Missouri Western baseball team picked up the win in game one of the doubleheader against Northwest winning 6-1. Brandon Simmons improved to 6-0 on the season giving up five hits and zero earned run with two strikeouts. Simmons had 30 victories in his career which is two away from tying the MIAA career record for wins.

Kyle Simpson, Spencer Shockley and Grant Fink all had multiple hits in the first game. The trio also collected two RBI apiece. Fink stretched his hitting streak to 20 while Michael Schulze got a hit in his last at bat extending his streak to 17.

The Griffons jumped on the board in the first inning putting three runs up to take a 3-0 lead. Simpson singled to score Bubba Dotson from second base. After that, Shockley singled and scored Simpson. A double to right center from Fink gave Jimmy Smelcer a run to take the commanding lead.

After the Bearcats put a run on the board in the third inning, the Griffons strung together three more runs in the fifth taking control of the game.

The Bearcats got two hits from JJ Baccari while Austin Warren falls to 1-4 on the season. He went all six innings giving up eight hits and six earned runs while striking out four.

Game 2: MWSU 6, NWMSU 5

The Griffons rode the pitching of Hawkins in game two as he went a solid 6.1 innings givin gup six hits and three earned runs. He struck-out four batters improving to 3-0 with the victory. Logan Hollingsworth picked up a six out save going two innings giving up two hits and one earned run.

The Bearcats got one run in the top of the first but the Griffons responded with Simpson singled in Dotson tying the score at one after one. The Griffons took the lead for good in the third scoring two runs on two hits. Smelcer got a sacrifice fly and Jake Schrader doubled in Spencer Shockley giving MWSU the 3-1 lead.

The Griffons scored one in the fifth and one in the sixth taking the 5-1 lead after six innings. The Bearcats fought back making it a game scoring four runs in the final three innings. Smelcer hit his third homer of the season in the bottom of the 7th inning which proved to be the game winner.

Missouri Western had 11 hits in the game with Simpson, Nate Ramler, Schrader and Shawn Egge all getting two. Smelcer had three RBI while Simpson had two.

The Bearcats fall to 9-18 overall and 7-15 in MIAA play. they had eight hist with Ryan Abernathy and Paul Johnson each collecting two. Rob Henrichs got the loss going 2.2 innings giving up five hits and three earned runs.

The Griffons return to action on Friday, March 29 in Jefferson City, Mo. against the Lincoln Blue Tigers in a single nine inning game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

NWMSU men’s tennis blanks Harding, 9-0

Posted on March 28, 2013

The No. 22 Northwest Missouri State men’s tennis team rolled to a 9-0 win over Harding University Thursday.

The Bearcats (9-3) completed their third shutout of the season and won their second match in a row over in-region rival, Harding.

No. 1 singles player Sergio De Vilchez won 6-4, 6-3 to pace Northwest to its ninth win of the season.

Jason Harris stayed perfect on the season at No. 5 singles with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win over Caleb McReynolds.

At No. 1 doubles De Vilchez and Lluis Altimires needed a tiebreaker to pick up a 9-8 (7-5) victory over their Arkansas rivals.

Northwest, who moved up to No. 22 in the latest ITA/NCAA-II rankings earlier in the week, will return home to face William Jewell April 1.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

KU’s McLemore, Withey named NABC All-Americans

Posted on March 28, 2013

Kansas redshirt freshman G Ben McLemore and senior C Jeff Withey were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-America Team announced Thursday.

Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, McLemore was a NABC All-America Second-Team selection, while Withey was a third-team honoree.

An All-Big 12 First Team selection, McLemore is Kansas’ leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, which leads the league’s freshman class and ranks third overall. McLemore, who was a three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week and one-time league player of the week this season, has 10 games of 20 points or more, including three 30-point efforts. The 6-foot-5 St. Louis, Mo., native set the KU freshman scoring record, currently at 569 points. His 36-point effort against West Virginia (3/2) broke the KU freshman single-game scoring record. McLemore leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage at 87.0.

Named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Championship, Withey is averaging 16.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in Kansas’ two NCAA Tournament victories, including a 16-point, 16-rebound and five blocked shot effort in KU’s third-round win against North Carolina (3/24). The 7-foot San Diego native broke his own Kansas and Big 12 single-season record blocked shots record, currently at 141. Last season Withey blocked 140 shots to set the school and league mark. Withey is also the KU and Big 12 career blocked shots leader, currently at 306. Withey, who averages 13.8 points and 8.5 rebounds for KU, leads the Big 12 with 3.9 blocked shots per game which ranks second nationally.

Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education.

— KU Sports Information —