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KU basketball gets four ESPN Big Monday games as 2018-2019 schedule is completed

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the 13th year in a row Kansas men’s basketball will be featured four times on ESPN Big Monday, according to the 2018-19 Big 12 Conference schedule released by the Conference Wednesday. And for the 27th-consecutive season, dating back to 1992-93, every game on the Kansas men’s basketball schedule will be televised.

Kansas will have 31 of its 33 contests televised on the ESPN family of networks. Those 31 games will also be available via the ESPN app. Among those 31 games are the six games (two exhibition, four early-season) produced by the Jayhawk Television Network. KU fans can now see those six games throughout the state of Kansas and in the Kansas City Metro Area on KMCI (38 The Spot, Kansas City), Spectrum Sports, Midco Sports Network, and Cox Cable. They will also be available blackout-free, nationwide on ESPN+.

CBS will broadcast two games – Saturday, Feb. 2, against Texas Tech in Allen Fieldhouse and Saturday, March 2, at Oklahoma State.

The Big 12 opener for Kansas will be against Oklahoma on Wednesday, Jan. 2, in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas, 14-time defending Big 12 regular-season champion, will play each conference foe twice in the round-robin format that began in 2011-12.

This season’s ESPN Big Monday appearances will start with a home contest against Texas on Jan. 14. KU is 7-3 against Texas on ESPN Big Monday, including a 4-0 mark in Allen Fieldhouse. KU will then host Iowa State the following Monday, Jan. 21. The Jayhawks are 6-2 versus the Cyclones on Big Monday, including 3-1 at home. Kansas will play TCU on ESPN Big Monday for the first time on Feb. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Jayhawks close out their ESPN Big Monday schedule when they host Sunflower Showdown foe Kansas State on Feb. 25. KU is 6-3 versus K-State on ESPN Big Monday, including 1-0 at home.

Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas is 65-18 all-time on ESPN Big Monday (37-1 at home and 28-17 on the road), including 45-12 under head coach Bill Self (26-0 at home and 19-12 on the road). Additionally, KU has won 30-straight Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse. KU has won its last 10 ESPN Big Monday contests.

Kansas released its non-conference schedule in June. It features contests against perennial powers Michigan State to open the regular season Nov. 6 in Indianapolis in the Champions Classic, Marquette in the Preseason NIT on Nov. 21 in Brooklyn, and either Tennessee or Louisville in the NIT two nights later. Additionally, the Jayhawks will host Stanford Dec. 1, and defending NCAA champion Villanova Dec. 15, in Allen Fieldhouse. KU will play at Arizona State (Dec. 22) and at Kentucky (Jan. 26) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

KU will officially tip off the 2018-19 season with the 34th annual Late Night in the Phog on Friday, Sept. 28, in Allen Fieldhouse; festivities start at 6:30 p.m.

Preseason top-5 in most outlets, Kansas returns two starters and six letterwinners from last season’s 31-8 team that advanced to KU’s 15th Final Four and won an NCAA-record-breaking 14th-straight regular-season conference title, a streak which started in 2004-05. The 2017-18 Jayhawks also won the Big 12 Tournament and the Hoophall Miami Invitational. KU entered the 2018 NCAA Championship as a No. 1 seed for the third-straight and eighth time in school history.

Senior guard Lagerald Vick (12.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and junior center Udoka Azubuike (13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) are Kansas’ two returning starters from last year’s Final Four team. Azubuike led the nation with a 77.0 field goal percentage in 2017-18. That mark broke the Kansas and Big 12 single-season records, and ranks second all-time in NCAA history.

Other returning regulars include sophomore guard Marcus Garrett (4.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg), sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa (4.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and junior forward Mitch Lightfoot (3.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.4 blocks per game).

Kansas welcomes nine newcomers, three of whom have been in the program for more than a year. Junior forward Dedric Lawson and his brother, sophomore K.J. Lawson, transferred from Memphis following the 2016-17 season, as did sophomore guard Charlie Moore from California. Three other newcomers – guards Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes, and forward David McCormack – had stellar high school careers in 2017-18, culminating in their being named McDonald’s All-Americans. Additionally, Kansas City standout guard Ochai Agbaji will attempt to have an immediate impact his freshman year at KU.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Former Tiger Frericks signs professional contract in Germany

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Women’s Basketball player Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill.) signed a professional contract with Herner Turn Club in Germany, the club announced Sunday. Frericks played a key role in Mizzou’s 2016 and 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, averaging double-digit scoring figures and leading the team in rebounding both seasons.

Frericks, who graduated from Mizzou in May, earned Second Team All-SEC nods twice (2015-16, 2017-18) while playing in the Black & Gold. After missing the entire 2016-17 season due to a knee injury, Frericks returned for her senior campaign in 2017-18, where she was Mizzou’s second-leading scorer with 18.5 ppg and led the team in rebounding with 7.6 rpg. In 2015-16, Frericks earned Second Team All-SEC honors for the first time after scoring 12.1 ppg and leading the team in rebounding with 7.7 rpg. During her sophomore campaign (2014-15), Frericks led Mizzou in points per game (13.2 ppg), total rebounds (327), rebounds per game (9.9 rpg) and blocked shots (46). Her marks of 327 rebounds, 9.9 rpg and 46 blocked shots rank third, fifth and ninth, respectively, on the individual season records list.

“So many people have helped me, supported me, challenged me, coached me and encouraged me along the way,” Frericks said. “It’s pretty cool to look back and see where this journey started and where I am now and all the people that have impacted my life through basketball. I’m so grateful for this experience and so happy I never put a limit to where I wanted to go. There is a lot I can say about what Mizzou and the Mizzou Women’s Basketball program has done for me. I owe a lot to Coach P, the coaching staff, and my teammates. Coach P and her program encouraged and pushed me to grow in my confidence not only as a player, but a person as well. I was challenged to be my personal best in all areas on and off the court. I’m very thankful for everything Mizzou has done to help equip me for this next step as member of the Herner Turn Club.”

Frericks closed her career as one of 35 Mizzou players to score 1,000 points, finishing 11th all-time at 1,433 points. Among program records, she ranks second in rebounds (1,032), fourth in rebounding average (8.1), fifth in blocked shots (132), seventh in field goal percentage (.510) and ninth in free throws made (327).

— Mizzou Athletics —

Royals winning streak end with 9-3 loss at Cleveland

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CLEVELAND (AP) — With one swing, Francisco Lindor shook the Indians from their early September slumber.

The All-Star shortstop homered leading off the first again, Mike Clevinger struck out 10 and Cleveland moved closer to its third straight AL Central title with a 9-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

The Indians ended a three-game losing streak and reduced their magic number for clinching another division title to 10 following Minnesota’s 5-2 loss to Houston.

After a 5-1 loss Monday night, Lindor, who sets the tone for Cleveland with everything he does, talked about the team being flat and needing a spark.

He provided an early one with his sixth leadoff homer — one shy of the club record set by Grady Sizemore in 2008 — as the Indians jumped to a 3-0 lead on Danny Duffy (8-12), whose season is over because of a sore left shoulder.

“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to be a leadoff hitter,” said Lindor, who has 31 homers. “To get things going.”

Yandy Diaz hit his first major league homer and Jason Kipnis added two RBI for Cleveland, which has the most commanding lead of any first-place team in the majors.

Not only did the Royals have their season-high winning streak stopped at six, Duffy’s season came to an end rookie right fielder Brett Phillips bruised his right shoulder on a scary collision into the wall.

Duffy was on the disabled list from Aug. 13-23 with shoulder issues.

“I’m crushed about it,” Duffy said. “I get paid to pay baseball. I take pride that if you have an able body you should go. My body just said it was enough today.”

Staked to a 6-0 lead after two innings, Clevinger (11-7) allowed just three hits in six innings and remained unbeaten in his last seven starts. The right-hander, who could have a big role for the Indians in October, had a little more velocity on his fastball and struck out six of nine in one dominant stretch.

Diaz picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice and Kipnis, who is moving from second base to center field, singled home a run in the inning before Duffy was removed after 26 pitches. The left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012.

The Indians added three runs in the second off Burch Smith on Jose Ramirez’s double, Edwin Encarnacion’s sacrifice fly and Brandon Guyer’s RBI single.

DON’T DO THAT

Lindor got hit on the right forearm in his second at-bat by Smith, but didn’t think the Royals were throwing at him.

“If he was trying to hit me, it’s OK,” Lindor said. “He hit me in the right spot. We weren’t throwing at each other, if that’s what you guys are trying to get to.”

Clevinger wasn’t so sure, and sent a warning to Kansas City.

“I think that would be very unwise of the whole Royals organization,” he said. “Especially as much as we see them and the arms we have over here. I hope not. And I think for their sake, they’d better hope not either.

The Royals also hit Rajai Davis and the Indians plunked Brian Goodwin and Adalberto Mondesi.

CRASH TEST

Phillips was fortunate he wasn’t more seriously hurt after banging hard into the wall in the second inning.

Breaking back on Ramirez’s drive, Phillips just missed making a catch before barreling full-speed into the wall. His torso twisted awkwardly and he crumpled onto the warning track. His teammates and a trainer rushed to Phillips, who got to his feet and remained in the game after being examined.

Phillips was removed the next inning. He had a sling on his arm following the game.

Manager Ned Yost did not provide any further details on Phillips’ injury.

MOVING TIME

Kipnis isn’t thrilled about having to change positions, but he’s willing to do it as long as Josh Donaldson is healthy.

The Indians acquired Donaldson — the 2015 AL MVP — in a trade with Toronto, and once activated from the disabled list, he’ll take over at third with Ramirez going to second and Kipnis heading to the outfield.

Kipnis did the same thing a year ago.

“Does it take a little wind out of my sails?” he said. “A little bit. But not enough to get me to stop working, stop competing.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: C Salvador Perez (sprained left thumb) was out of the lineup for the sixth straight game. The six-time All-Star was injured Aug. 28.

Indians: LHP Andrew Miller is expected to throw a bullpen session on Thursday in Toronto as he recovers from shoulder soreness that landed him on the disabled list. Miller has been on the DL three times this season, but the reliever isn’t concerned about his latest issue which he has previously dealt with in spring training. The former All-Star left-hander has also been out with hamstring and knee injuries.

UP NEXT

Corey Kluber tries to become the majors’ first 18-game winner as the Indians conclude their three-game series with the Royals, who will start Brad Keller.

— Associated Press —

Cards beat Nats behind Molina grand slam, four other homers

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Yadier Molina hit a grand slam, Marcell Ozuna homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 11-8 on Tuesday night.

Molina provided a cushion for St. Louis via his sixth career slam, which made it 11-5 with two outs in the ninth.

The Cardinals, who occupy the second NL wild card spot, hit five homers overall as they stopped a three-game skid.

Right fielder Yairo Munoz robbed Ryan Zimmerman of a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, reaching over the fence and pulling it back into the field of play for a two-run double.

Tyson Ross (8-9) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win and Jordan Hicks got the final out for his sixth save in 11 chances.

Ozuna and Paul DeJong homered back-to-back leading off the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and one out later, Patrick Wisdom went deep to make it 7-4.

Making his second major league appearance, reliever Austen Williams (0-1) gave up all three homers. He allowed none in 68 innings this season in Double and Triple A.

The 4-hour, 10-minute game included 16 walks and 20 strikeouts.

Wilmer Difo homered and Bryce Harper had a double and three walks in five plate appearances for the Nationals, who fell one game below .500.

Ozuna gave led off the second with his 17th homer, and Matt Carpenter capped the inning with a two-run single that made it 4-0.

Washington rallied in the fifth when Zimmerman led off with a grounder to second that second baseman Munoz misplayed for an error. Washington ultimately sent 10 men to the plate in the inning against three pitchers.

Harper drove in two with his bases-loaded double, and Trea Turner and Juan Soto drew bases-loaded walks.

Washington starter Erick Fedde allowed four runs in five innings. John Gant of St. Louis was charged with three runs — none earned — in 4 1/3 innings.

WALK OUT

St. Louis picked up a first-inning out when Harper walked on a 3-2 pitch with Turner running from first. Despite the walk, catcher Molina threw to Munoz. The Cardinals appealed the play, and upon review Turner was called out. Though entitled to second base via Harper’s walk, Turner slid past the bag and was tagged out.

ROSTER MOVES

The Nationals recalled a top prospect, OF Victor Robles, from Triple-A Syracuse along with INF Adrian Sanchez and RHP Austin Voth and selected the contract of RHP Kyle McGowin from Syracuse. Robles flied out as a pinch-hitter in the sixth. Washington also reinstated Fedde and RHP Joe Ross from the 60-day disabled list and activated LHP Tommy Milone from the 10-day DL. Milone was then assigned outright to Syracuse.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Mike Shildt said 2B Kolten Wong (left hamstring strain) will be activated tomorrow.

Nationals: LHP Sean Doolittle (left toe inflammation) will throw another simulated game Wednesday. “His (velocity) was a little down in the last one so we just want to make sure he’s not tinkering with his mechanics or anything like that,” manager Dave Martinez said. … RHP Jefry Rodriguez will move to the bullpen to limit his innings and Ross will start Friday against the Cubs.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (13-4, 2.96 ERA), who was originally listed as Tuesday’s starter, will instead go in Wednesday’s finale. He gave up four runs in seven innings to Washington on Aug. 13.

Nationals: RHP Tanner Roark (8-14, 2.96 ERA) makes the second home start of his career against the Cardinals.

— Associated Press —

MWSU women sit ninth after day one of Central Region Preview

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OLATHE, Kan. – After round one of the team’s first tournament of the season, the Missouri Western women’s golf team sits in ninth place out of the 17 teams competing in Olathe. Missouri Western finished with an overall team score of 317 and +29.

Leading the Griffons in the first round was Shi Qing Ong. Ong finished the round +4 with a score of 76. Her score places her tied for 13th out of the 90 golfers competing at the event. Ong enters this season looking to build off of her 2017 campaign, in which she won the MIAA Women’s Golf individual title.

The next Griffon on the leaderboards is Chong Yong, who shot a 79 in the round. Anna Bech shot at 80 for the Griffons.

There is a lot of room for movement along the team leaderboards. Missouri Western sits just two strokes out of seventh place, and only four strokes away from cracking into the top six.

The Griffons will begin the second round of the Central Region Preview at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Chiefs sign lineman Cam Erving to 2-year extension

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have signed offensive lineman Cam Erving to a two-year contract extension, one year after acquiring the former first-round draft pick in a trade with Cleveland.

The financial terms of the deal Tuesday were not disclosed. The Chiefs had declined the fifth-year option on Erving’s rookie contract earlier this year.

Erving was the 19th overall pick of the Browns out of Florida State in 2015, but he struggled to solidify a starting spot on the offensive line. He bounced around to multiple positions, starting 17 of the 30 games he appeared in, before getting dealt to Kansas City for a fifth-round draft pick.

He wound up starting four games and appearing in 13 for the Chiefs last season.

— Associated Press —

How social media has changed recruiting at MWSU and in college athletics

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By Sarah Thomack
St. Joseph Post

Before an athlete plays for a university, coaches check out a player’s skills on the field or on the court and online.

Twitter and other social media platforms have been around for over a decade, so coaches and their staff have adapted and now take the time to check out how a player interacts online versus what their character is like in real life.

“There’s been sometimes where I get on there and I’m like, ‘Man, there’s no way I’m recruiting that guy,’ and there’s, ‘Heck yeah, that’s the type of guy I want to recruit,’” said Matt Williamson, Head Football Coach at Missouri Western State University. “If I’m recruiting a kid… I’ll immediately just flip through his top twenty or thirty, what he’s tweeting and retweeting, and you can kind of find out about a person pretty quick. What people put on there, is kind of who they are… and so you can kind of find out a little bit about a person.”

Williamson said he prefers using Twitter over other social media platforms, as it seems to be the most popular in the college sports world. Williamson said Twitter makes it easier to interact with recruits and he encourages athletes looking to continue their football careers beyond high school to have a Twitter account.

“(From) the recruiting aspect of it, you can kind of keep up to date with them, you might not be able to talk with them, you might… be swiping through or scrolling and see he played in the all-star game and had 10 tackles,” Williamson said. “You didn’t know that before because you’re not able to track the other 250 kids you’re all kind of recruiting at the same time. So you see that, it reminds you and you can shoot him a message, ‘Hey man, you had a great game.’ It’s just kind of a reminder for everybody, keeps everybody on each other’s minds.”

As a coach, there are detailed NCAA rules to follow when it comes to contact with recruits at certain times during the recruiting process. When social media came onto the scene, the NCAA saw the need to add rules regarding social media and what coaches can and cannot do and when they can contact a player during the recruitment process. Since the NCAA issued rules regarding social media and recruiting, changes have been implemented through the years to keep up with how social media has grown and evolved.

While coaches check out player’s social media, they, in turn, use social media to show their personality, spread their team mentality and culture and the school’s brand to recruits. Coach Williamson, along with Missouri Western Head Men’s Basketball Coach Sundance Wicks are both active on Twitter using their hashtags #GriffUp #BallTilYouFall and #BYOJ (Bring Your Own Juice).

“You can get your brand out across the world,” Williamson said. “As much as everything gets tagged and retweeted and.. If you can really stamp your brand and who you are as a team or your logo, people just continue to see your stuff so you get to stay on their mind consistently. Your brand, your product, your university, all look more attractive and it’s just like a little reminder for kids that are thinking about that school or your school.”

Once a player is on the team, they are expected to still be conscientious about what they post and represent themselves, their family and the university well. Williamson said three or four people on staff will monitor their football player’s social media activity and talk with them about any concerns. Coach Wicks said he and staff seek to educate and guide players even when it comes to social media. Wicks said they like to have fun with it and staff will go over social media hot topics and talk with players about any questionable posts.

“Our program is pretty simple, we just say don’t do anything to embarrass your name, your family’s name, your program and your community,” Wicks said. “We say promote positivity. Positive things about our program, about our community, about your family, even about you.”

Recently, on the professional level, several Major League Baseball players and NFL draft picks had several offensive Tweets from six or more years ago resurface. That prompted public conversations around each player’s character and whether dismissing it by saying, “they were just a kid” is acceptable. Wicks points out that players now often have had Twitter accounts since they were 14 and “there’s a lot of things that people say that they don’t understand the implications years down the line.”

Both Williamson and Wicks said, with anything similar that may happen with their players, they look to the future and want to know what the player learns moving forward.

“When stuff like that comes out, and you want to confront a person about it, the question I would ask is, ‘Did you learn from it? Have you grown on from that person, from whatever that was, whatever you did, whatever spurred on that moment in time?’” Wicks said. “When it comes to a question about a kid’s past, I will ask kids that we recruit about certain things that I’ve seen and I’m going to ask them, ‘Tell me what you’ve learned from it.’ If they haven’t learned from it, we’ll see that character trait again because you can be fooled in this process… Life is always about growth and progress… and so are we going to infinitely try to become better people and try to use these platforms for good or are we going to try and turn them and make them bad.”

Royals defeat Indians for sixth consecutive win

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Francisco Lindor believes the Cleveland Indians need a spark.

Lindor homered in the ninth inning of Cleveland’s 5-1 loss Monday to the Kansas City Royals, who extended their winning streak to a season-high six games.

The Indians have lost three straight but still lead the American League Central by 14 games. Their magic number to clinch the division was trimmed to 12 after Minnesota’s loss to Houston.

“Our energy is down,” Lindor said. “I don’t [know] why. Personally, my energy is down. We’re at that point in the season where guys are dragging their feet a little. We have to go back to playing the Tribe Way and not taking any pitch for granted. We’ll be fine.”

EDITOR’S PICKS

Indians’ Donaldson back on DL with calf injury
Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam in Triple-A on Monday, soon after the Cleveland Indians put the new arrival on the disabled list to give him more time to rehab a calf injury in the minor leagues.

Jakob Junis allowed two hits in seven shutout innings and Ryan O’Hearn homered twice for Kansas City, which also has won eight of nine.

“It’s no fluke,” O’Hearn said. “Guys are going out, trying to win every day. Everyone is playing really well.”

Junis (8-12) gave up a two-out single to Lindor in the third and a leadoff single to Yonder Alonso in the fifth. The right-hander hit a batter, walked none, struck out six and retired his last nine hitters.

Junis was 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA in his first two starts against the Indians this season.

“Being in the division, these teams see my slider a lot,” he said. “Using my heater more was definitely the difference.”

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Brian Flynn pitched a scoreless eighth and Wily Peralta began the ninth with a 5-0 lead. Lindor homered with one out, Michael Brantley singled, and Peralta walked Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion on eight pitches.

Left-hander Tim Hill relieved, and pinch hitter Yandy Diaz hit a hard grounder that second baseman Whit Merrifield turned into a game-ending double play. Hill recorded his second save.

“That was a great play by Whit, a great play,” manager Ned Yost said. “That’s why you bring Timmy in, to get a ground ball.”

Lindor has 30 homers this season. He joins Ramirez, who has 37 home runs, as the first pair of switch-hitting teammates in major league history to each have 30 or more homers in a season.

O’Hearn had the first multihomer game of his career. He led off the fourth with a home run and hit a two-run drive in the sixth. Jorge Bonifacio and Hunter Dozier hit solo homers.

Adam Plutko (4-5) gave up three homers and allowed four runs in six innings. The right-hander had a career-high eight strikeouts.

Kansas City took two of three from Cleveland at Kaufmann Stadium last month, and Junis made certain that trend continued. He retired the first eight batters before hitting Greg Allen with a pitch in the third. Lindor sent Allen to third with a single, but the inning ended with an out on the bases.

Lindor broke for second and was caught in a rundown when catcher Cam Gallagher threw to shortstop Adalberto Mondesi. The rundown continued until Allen finally broke for home, and Merrifield threw to Gallagher, who applied the tag.

NICE DEBUT

Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam in Triple-A on Monday after the Indians placed him on the disabled list to give him more time to rehab a calf injury in the minor leagues. Donaldson, playing for Columbus, also walked and lined out against Toledo. Donaldson, acquired from Toronto on Friday, will work out with the Indians on Tuesday and continue his rehab assignment for Double-A Akron in the Eastern League playoffs this week.

“That was good,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It sounded like everything else went well, too, and he made all the plays.”

HEAR THE BUZZ

The Cleveland National Air Show, held at a nearby airport, ended Monday. Players and fans turned their attention to jets that flew around the ballpark in the early innings.

FEEL THE HEAT

Temperatures for the three-game series will be near 90 degrees each day, a stark contrast from the first time the Royals were in town. The game-time temperature of 32 degrees on April 8 set a Progressive Field record.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: C Salvador Perez (sprained left thumb) sat out his fifth straight game, but Yost said he is improving and remains day-to-day. The six-time All-Star last played on Aug. 28 against Detroit.

UP NEXT

Royals LHP Danny Duffy (8-11, 4.72 ERA) takes on Indians RHP Mike Clevinger (10-7, 3.17 ERA) in the second game of the series. Clevinger has made three starts against Kansas City this season, going 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals blow 9th inning lead, lose to Nationals in 10

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WASHINGTON (AP) — After Bryce Harper swung into action, the St. Louis Cardinals were the ones who didn’t feel so good.

Ill for the past week, Harper hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning, then delivered a sacrifice fly in the 10th that sent the Washington Nationals over the Cardinals 4-3 Monday.

“I felt pretty good at the plate,” Harper said. “Body doesn’t feel very good. Just trying to grind every single day and not try and worry about it. But coughing, hacking, all that good stuff.”

Washington got back to .500 and pulled within 7 1/2 games of NL East-leading Atlanta and 3 1/2 games of Philadelphia after both lost.

The playoff-contending Cardinals have dropped three in a row for the first time since July 11-14.

The Cardinals led 3-1 with one out in the ninth when Harper hit his 31st home run, sending a 96 mph fastball from closer Bud Norris over the center field fence.

Mark Reynolds led off the Washington 10th against Chasen Shreve (1-1) with a double that went in and out of right fielder Tyler O’Neill’s glove. Pinch-runner Michael Taylor moved to third on Adam Eaton’s bunt single and an out later, Harper flied to deep left. Taylor slid in safely, well ahead of Marcell Ozuna’s throw.

“Just trying to get it in,” Harper said. “I know nobody wants to play extra innings in here. Real hot out there today, so just trying to get the run in any way possible.”

It was the second rough outing in a row for Norris, who gave up three runs and two homers in the 10th inning of Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Cincinnati.

“I pound the strike zone, and I’ve walked the both leadoff guys in situations right there and that’s not helping me,” Norris said. “It’s hard this late in the year, but I have to be better. I have to make better pitches. He hit it, so I have to give him credit for that, but I have to make better pitches and get ahead of hitters.”

St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said Norris, who has converted 28 of 33 save opportunities, is unlikely to be available Tuesday after pitching on consecutive days.

“He’s done a nice job for us all year, and you have to ride though some stuff with guys occasionally,” Shildt said. “Clearly, we’ll evaluate as we go. But it just wasn’t his day the last couple of days, and I know he feels as bad as anybody in the clubhouse.”

Greg Holland (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory against the Cardinals, who designated him for assignment July 27. It was his longest outing since a two-inning appearance for Kansas City on May 12, 2015.

Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty went five innings, giving up a solo homer to Trea Turner in the first. He loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but coaxed Ryan Zimmerman to fly out. Flaherty struck out five and walked five.

Washington’s Max Scherzer settled in after needing 33 pitches to get through a two-run first. He eventually retired 12 in a row, a stretch halted when Yairo Munoz led off the sixth with his seventh home run.

Scherzer pitched seven innings, allowing four hits while striking out 11. It was his 15th outing with at least 10 strikeouts this season. He has a major league-leading 260 strikeouts for the year, his fifth consecutive season with at least 250.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (elbow inflammation) will come off the disabled list and start Sept. 10 against Pittsburgh, Shildt said. Wainwright (1-3, 4.00 ERA) has not started since May 13 and has made only one major league appearance since April 17. … St. Louis recalled RHP John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis. Brebbia struck out the side while working a scoreless sixth.

Nationals: Matt Wieters (groin) struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth before remaining in the game to catch. He has not started since leaving Friday’s game and did not play Sunday.

GREAT ESCAPE

Washington reliever Justin Miller entered with the bases loaded and none out in the eighth, but induced a double play grounder on his first pitch before striking out Ozuna to end the threat.

“Normally I get myself in that situation,” Miller said of wiggling out of the jam.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (13-4, 2.96 ERA), who gave up four runs in seven innings to Washington on Aug. 13, gets the start as the three-game series continues.

Nationals: RHP Erick Fedde (1-3, 5.79), who has not pitched since leaving his July 4 start against Boston with shoulder inflammation, will come off the disabled list to face St. Louis.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western soccer downs Harding for first win of season

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SEARCY, Ark. – The Missouri Western soccer team (1-1) bounced back Sunday with a 2-1 win at Harding (0-2) to split its two games at the GAC-MIAA Challenge.

Tempo had swung Harding’s way late in the first half until Ashley Mathis gave the Griffons their first goal of the season in the 42nd minute on an assist from Sara Collins. After Collins stole the ball from a defender at the goal line, she got it to Mathis for the 1-0 lead just minutes after both Griffons had entered the game. The momentum swing in Missouri Western’s favor played through halftime.

Just 2:39 in to the second half, Cassidy Menke padded her Missouri Western career goals lead with an unassisted goal through the middle of the Harding defense in the 48th minute. Menke’s 25th career goal turned into the game winner after Harding scored on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.

After being out-shot 14-5 in the first half, the Griffons took nine shots in the second, four on goal and held Harding to nine. Menke had three of the team’s shots, just the one on goal. Kelsey Roe took a pair and looked to have scored MWSU’s third goal of the game off a Mackenzie O’Neill corner kick in the 86th minute. Roe got a shot past the Harding goal keeper that was blocked right at the line by a Lady Bisons defender.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western goes north next weekend for a pair of games in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Griffons play at Augustana (0-1-1) on Friday, Sept. 7 and at Sioux Falls (0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 9.

— MWSU Athletics —

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