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Northwest men’s tennis defeats Emporia State in MIAA Tournament semifinals

Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State University men’s tennis team beat Emporia State, 5-0, on Wednesday at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb., in the MIAA tournament semifinal round.

The No. 18 ranked Bearcats are now 16-3 on the year while Emporia State falls to 10-7.

Northwest swept all three doubles points and then took singles points at No. 1 and No. 2 to secure the win.

Sergi Fontcuberta and Romain Boissinot each contributed a pair of points in the win. The duo won at No. 2 doubles and each took a singles point.

Scores
1. #39 Boissinot,Romain (NW) def. Pont,Gerard (ESU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Fontcuberta,Sergi (NW) def. Dixon,Oliver (ESU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Cameron,Patrick (ESU) vs. Tete,Mauro (NW) no result
4. Altmann,Josef (NW) vs. Mota,Matheus (ESU) 1-0, unfinished
5. Autones,Aymeric (NW) vs. Sadique,Farhan (ESU) unfinished
6. Glowick,Fin (NW) vs. Levanovich,Anton (ESU) unfinished

1. Tete,Mauro/Sherif,Youssef (NW) def. Cameron,Patrick/Mota,Matheus (ESU) 8-6
2. Fontcuberta,Sergi/Boissinot,Romain (NW) def. Pont,Gerard/Dixon,Oliver (ESU) 9-7
3. Altmann,Josef/Autones,Aymeric (NW) def. Winkler,Lukas/Sadique,Farhan (ESU) 8-3

Northwest will face Washburn on Thursday in the championship match. Start time is 8 a.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons defeat Bearcats 5-1 to extend winning streak to six games

riggertMissouriWesternMARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western baseball team defeated Northwest Missouri State 5-1 Tuesday in Maryville to extend its winning streak to six games.

The Griffons improve to 22-17 and 19-10 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats have now lost five straigth games and they’re 24-15 and 13-13 in league play.

NOTABLES
– MWSU scored back-to-back runs in the second inning to take its only lead 2-1 with Bailey Zimmer’s RBI ground out and Logan Marston’s RBI single

– David Glaude cleared the bases in the third inning with his fifth home run of the season to give Missouri Western a 4-1 lead

– Glaude provided more run support in the fifth inning as his sacrifice fly to left field scored Ryan Smith for a 5-1 advantage

– Two through five in the MWSU batting order scored four of the five runs and collected four of the six hits

– Griffon pitchers combined for eight strikeouts in the win

– Missouri Western has now won six straight games with five of those wins coming by five runs or more

TOP PERFORMERS
– Jared Lloyd threw six innings and allowed just one run on five hits with four strikeouts

– David Glaude recorded three RBIs with a run scored

– Levi Schreiner was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored

– Nate Hunter threw one inning of relief work and notched two strikeouts

UP NEXT
Missouri Western travels to the University of Nebraska-Kearney for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

Kansas City drops opener to Giants in 11 innings

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joe Panik hit an RBI single with two outs in the 11th inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Tuesday night to begin their two-game interleague set.

Nick Hundley doubled off Scott Alexander (0-1), the Royals’ fifth reliever of the night, before Panik’s sharp liner dropped in front of center fielder Lorenzo Cain to score the go-ahead run.

Derek Law (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for San Francisco, and Mark Melancon struck out Raul Mondesi with runners on first and second in the 11th for his third save of the year.

The Giants, back at Kauffman Stadium for the first time since their 2014 World Series triumph, were without manager Bruce Bochy, who underwent a minor procedure to correct his heart rhythm.

Bochy is expected to return to the team Friday at Colorado.

The Royals had several chances to end the game earlier, leaving the bases loaded in the eighth, two aboard in the ninth and two more on base when Eric Hosmer grounded into a double play in the 10th.

San Francisco also left two runners aboard in the 10th when Buster Posey, fresh off the seven-day concussion list, struck out. Posey already had three hits on the night.

The Giants’ Matt Cain and the Royals’ Jason Hammel waged a nip-and-tuck duel of starters, each taking advantage of double plays and nifty defense to escape sticky situations.

Cain left two aboard in the first, and also stranded runners in the second and fourth, before he threw a mistake that Whit Merrifield deposited into the right-field seats. Cain walked the next batter, but set down the next seven to leave after seven innings with the game knotted at 1.

Hammel was perfect through four before getting into trouble in the fifth, then allowing Hunter Pence’s run-scoring single in the sixth. He got through that inning and allowed the first two batters to reach in the seventh, but relievers Peter Moylan and Travis Wood bailed him out of that fix.

BOCHY RECOVERING

Bochy said in a text message to The Associated Press that he was doing well following the procedure in San Diego. Bochy also underwent a heart procedure in February 2015 and was hospitalized last summer with an undisclosed illness. Bench coach Ron Wotus filled in for him in Kansas City.

POSEY RETURNS

Posey was experiencing concussion-like symptoms after he took a 94 mph fastball off the helmet from Arizona’s Taijuan Walker last week. The Giants cleared space on the roster for him by designating backup catcher Tim Federowicz for assignment shortly after batting practice.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals OF Jorge Soler (left oblique strain) felt some tightness on Saturday and his rehab work was shut down for a couple days. He resumed swinging before Tuesday night’s game.

UP NEXT

Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner makes his first start at the K since Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, where he memorably pitched in relief to help San Francisco close out the series.

Royals LHP Jason Vargas tries to continue his hot start. He is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA in his first two outings, and tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings against Oakland his last time out.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou falls at home to Missouri State Tuesday

riggertMissouriCOLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri State scored two runs on an error in the eighth inning to escape Taylor Stadium with a 5-3 win over Mizzou Baseball Tuesday night (April 18). Junior RHP Andy Toelken (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) turned in an impressive start, going 7.1 innings while allowing just three earned runs while striking out six in a tough-luck loss as a two-out, eight-inning error allowed the Bears to escape with a win. Mizzou falls to 26-12 on the year while Missouri State moves to 24-13.

Mizzou got multi-hit games from five different players and sophomore OF Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) reached base safely for the 23rd consecutive game, the longest streak by a Tiger this season. But Mizzou struggled with runners in scoring position, stranding nine men on the night while going just 2-for-10 as a team with runners in scoring position.

Mizzou took an early 1-0 lead on a Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) sacrifice fly in the first inning. MSU answered thanks to a walk and back-to-back hits in the second. All-American 3B Jake Bruger then launched a go-ahead, two-run homer to left field in the third inning to give MSU a 3-1 lead.

Mizzou got those runs back on RBI singles from Nelson Mompierre (Miami, Fla.) and Robbie Glendinning (Scarborough, Australia) in the bottom half of the third inning. Both pitchers seemed to settle in from there. Mizzou had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) rolled out to second base to strand a pair.

Mompierre tallied a two-out single through the right side in the seventh inning. Pinch runner Johnny Balsamo (Kansas City, Mo.) stole second base to put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but Glendinning struck out swinging to strand the runner.

Missouri State loaded the bases in the eighth inning with one out after an intentional walk and a hit batter followed a leadoff single. Mizzou brought in sophomore LHP Ty Shoaff (Akron, Ohio) to try to get out of the jam. He struck out the first batter he faced and looked to get out of the jam on a slow roller to first, but a throwing error allowed two runs to score, giving MSU a 5-3 lead.

Mizzou then put two men on in the eighth with one out, but Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) hit into a 6-4-3 double play as the Bears escaped the jam. In the ninth, Missouri State brought in closer Bryan Young, who picked up his fourth save against the top of the Mizzou order, retiring the side in order.

Mizzou will hit the road this weekend for a three-game series vs. Ole Miss.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Fowler, Leake lead Cardinals past Pirates 2-1

riggertCardinalsST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Leake doesn’t have too many secrets on the mound. For the Cardinals right-hander, location is everything.

Leake owned the strike zone while pitching into the seventh inning, Dexter Fowler tripled and scored, and St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 2-1 on Tuesday night after Pirates outfielder Starling Marte was suspended 80 games for a banned substance earlier in the day.

“It’s just where he’s putting every pitch, and he’s able to throw every pitch on both sides of the plate and I’d say that sinker and cutter are closer to the same velocity, but you’re kind of working off the middle and running it to both sides,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Leake. “That’s a tough at-bat if you’re putting it on the corner.”

Seung Hwan Oh allowed three hits in the ninth but escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam for his second save.

Leake (2-1) allowed seven hits and only struck out one, but he held the Pirates to a run over 6 1/3 innings. He has won nine of his last 11 decisions against the Pirates dating to Sept. 11, 2012.

“He throws strikes,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “… He makes pitches, he’s very effective, he competes very well on the mound. He’s a guy that we’ve been challenged by.”

Leake has continued a strong spring through his first three starts of the season. He leads the rotation in wins, ERA (0.84) and innings pitched (21 1/3).

“I think this spring was a big spring for me and just kind of letting it translate into the season is as big,” Leake said.

The Cardinals have won back-to-back games for the first time this season to improve to 5-9.

“We get some positive ju-ju going our way and we’re eliminating our mistakes and that’s how we’re winning games,” Fowler said.

Chad Kuhl (1-1) gave up two runs over six innings. He allowed three hits and struck out three.

Fowler led off the first with a triple to right and scored on Stephen Piscotty’s ground out.

Greg Garcia’s double in the fifth scored Jose Martinez to make it 2-0 Cardinals. Garcia was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

Brett Cecil, Matt Bowman and Oh pitched scoreless relief for St. Louis. Bowman extended his scoreless streak to 17 1/3 innings dating to last season.

Adam Frazier scored the Pirates’ run on a groundout by Gregory Polanco in the sixth.

OUTFIELD SHIFT

Marte was suspended by Major League Baseball after testing positive for Nandrolone. He’s eligible to return in mid-July but won’t be allowed to play in the postseason if Pittsburgh advances.

Andrew McCutchen played center field for the first time this season in Marte’s absence and extended his hitting streak to nine games with a first-inning single. McCutchen was 2 for 4 and is hitting .333 (12 for 36) during his run.

McCutchen was moved from center to right this spring so the Pirates could shift Marte from left to center.

“Center field is where I need to play, it’s where I need to be,” McCutchen said. “If I’ve got to show a couple of people that I can do it then that’s what I’m going to do.”

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Hurdle successfully challenged an out call on Jordy Mercer in the ninth. Mercer beat Oh to the bag and the review gave the Pirates bases loaded with just one out, but Oh threw out a runner at home on a ground ball and then got Frazier to fly out to left to end it.

TRAINING ROOM

Pirates: OF Jose Osuna was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill Marte’s spot.

Cardinals: INF Matt Carpenter missed his second straight game after taking a batted ball off of his hand Sunday. Carpenter hopes to return Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (1-1, 5.29 ERA) is looking for his second straight win after a six-inning, two-run effort at Chicago on Friday. He is 5-3 with a 2.82 ERA in 10 career starts against St. Louis.

Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (1-1, 3.00 ERA) had a six-game winning streak snapped in his last outing. He is 3-2 with a 4.25 ERA in 11 career games against Pittsburgh.

— Associated Press —

Northwest women’s tennis loses to UNK in MIAA Tournament first round

Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State University women’s tennis team fell to Nebraska-Kearney, 5-2, in the first round of the MIAA Tournament on Tuesday at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb.

– The Northwest women fall to 8-13 overall while the Lopers improve to 13-10.

– The Bearcats fell behind, 2-1, after doubles and were down 3-1 after the first singles match. Northwest’s No. 2 doubles tandem of Lorena Rivas Jarolim and Aniek Kolen won, 9-7.

– Margaux Jacquet and Kolen brought the match to all square at 3-3 with victories at No. 5 and No. 2, respectively, but UNK took points at No. 4 and No. 5 singles to claim the match and advance to Wednesday’s semifinal.

Scores
1. Royo,Ana (UNK) def. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
2. Kolen,Aniek (NW) def. Sun,Sherry (UNK) 7-5, 6-2
3. Alvarez,Amanda (UNK) def. Teruel,Tania (NW) 6-4, 6-0
4. Neil,Emma (UNK) def. Souza,Luiza (NW) 6-3, 7-6
5. Jacquet,Margaux (NW) def. Parnell,Camryn (UNK) 6-1, 6-3
6. Rodriguez,Sthefani (UNK) vs. Lovig,Tess (NW) 3-6, 7-6, 2-3, unfinished

1. Parnell,Camryn/Royo,Ana (UNK) def. Teruel,Tania/Souza,Luiza (NW) 8-3
2. Kolen,Aniek/Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) def. Rodriguez,Sthefani/Sun,Sherry (UNK) 9-7
3. Alvarez,Amanda/Neil,Emma (UNK) def. Jacquet,Margaux/Lovig,Tess (NW) 8-5

Up Next
– The Bearcat men will take on Emporia State on Wednesday, April 19, at 8 a.m., in the semifinal round.

— Northwest Athletics —

MIAA, KCSC selected to host Division II Football National Title four more years

riggertMIAAKansas City, Mo. – It was announced Tuesday that the MIAA and Kansas City Sports Commission have once again been selected to host the NCAA Division II Football Championship as the term extends by four more years.

Kansas City and Sporting Park will now host the game through the 2021 season after hosting the event since the 2014 campaign.

“Today is a great day for Kansas City and the MIAA. The NCAA understands that Kansas City is the perfect site for the football national championship game,” MIAA Comissioner Mike Racy said. “We are a great football conference and our fans appreciate having this championship close to all of our member schools. In addition, MIAA schools have great facilities and the NCAA has recognized that with today’s announcement of multiple championship sites.”

Several MIAA institutions were also selected to host regional or national championship events. Missouri Southern was selected to host the Regional Cross Country Championship following the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Just down the road Pittsburg State was selected to host the NCAA Division II National Indoor Track and Field Championship during the 2019 and 2022 seasons.

Lindenwood was selected by the NCAA to host the 2020 National Championship in Men’s and Women’s Tennis. The Lions will also host the 2020 National Title in Division II Women’s Golf following the 2020 season as well as the 2020 and 2022 Lacrosse national Championship. As part of the 2020 Spring Festival they will also host the 2020 Softball national Championship.

Central Missouri, along with the Kansas City Sports Commission has also been chosen to host the 2021 National Championship in women’s bowling.

— MIAA Release —

Griffons take two from Lincoln to extend win streak to five

riggertMissouriWesternST. JOSEPH – The Missuori Western softball team (33-15, 13-9) didn’t pile on the hits Monday in a doubleheader sweep of Lincoln (5-41, 2-20), but the Griffons got them when they needed them as they sweep the Blue Tigers 1-0 and 3-2.

Megan Korgie’s first hit since March 26 was a game-tying, RBI-double in the sixth inning of game two. Katie Klosterman was 1-for-4 in the doubleheader before following Korgie’s double with one of her own for what proved to be the game winning hit of a 3-2 victory.

STREAKING THE RIGHT WAY
The two wins gave the Griffons back-to-back doubleheader sweeps and five wins in a row. It was the first time the team took two straight doubleheaders since its trip to Hawaii, Feb. 23-25. The win streak is the longest since a string of nine straight Feb. 18-27. Missouri Western has worked its way up from ninth in the MIAA standings a week ago, to tied for fifth after Monday’s wins.

RATHMANN STAYS HOT
Morgan Rathmann went 3-for-5 in the doubleheader with two runs scored, one double, and was 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. The senior is 14-for her last-21 (.667) over the team’s last six games. She has six runs scored, five RBIs, three doubles and two triples over that stretch.

HILZER’S DAY
Freshman Kenzie Hilzer picked up her fourth complete game shutout of the season in the team’s 1-0 game one win. Then Hilzer finished off the Griffons’ 3-2 game two win with the second save of her first season. On the day, Hilzer pitched eight innings, allowing just two hits and no runs with four strikeouts and no walks. Lincoln batters hit just .071 on Hilzer.

COMING UP
Some very important MIAA games await Missouri Western this weekend. The team is scheduled to host Washburn (23-28, 10-12) on Friday and Emporia State (28-22, 13-9) for senior day on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State softball sweeps Lindenwood

Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State University softball team beat Lindenwood in a doubleheader on Monday at Bearcat Field in Maryville, Mo.

Northwest moves to 26-16 and 15-7 in MIAA play. Lindenwood falls to 20-23 overall and 8-14 in conference action.

Northwest won the first game 5-0 behind a shutout performance by Taylor Blackford.

The Bearcats hit three home runs in the second game to run rule the Lions, 12-4.

Game One Key Statistics (Northwest 5, Lindenwood 0)
– Northwest scored one in the second, one in the second, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.

– The Bearcats had five runs on 10 hits with no errors. Lindenwood had four hits with three errors.

– Jaedra Moses went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a triple.

– Blackford threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits. She did not issue a walk.

– Kaitlyn Weis was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and double.

– Karli Allen went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

– Rebecca Maher went 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI.

– Jessica Rawie was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

– Chantel Adams went 1-for-4.

– Abigail Gilson was 1-for-3.

– Kiana Baderdeen went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Game One Key Innings
– In the second Baderdeen hit a two out single up the middle to keep the inning alive. Moses laced a triple over the right fielder’s head to give the Bearcats their first run.

– Gilson and Allen hit back to back singles in the fourth after a fielders choice. Moses hit a RBI single scoring Allen from second, making making it 2-0 Bearcats.

– Weis lead off the fifth with a double to center. Maher reached on an error to put runners on the corners. Adams reached on error by the shortstop allowing Weis to score from third. Rawie came up with an RBI single to left, making it 4-0 Northwest.

– With two down in the sixth Weis singled to left and came home on a Maher double to center.

Game Two Key Statistics (Northwest 12, Lindenwood 4)
– The Bearcats scored one in the first,four in the third, one in the fifth and four in the sixth. Lindenwood had one in the first, two in the third and one the fifth.

– Northwest had 12 runs on 13 hits with no errors. The Lions had four runs on seven hits with one error.

-Weis went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. She pitched the final 2.0 innings allowing no runs on two hits. She had three strikeouts and no walks.

– Blythe went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

– Allen was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and one run scored.

– Gilson was 1-for-3 with a grand slam, two runs scored and four RBIs.

– Maher went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, one run scored and four RBIs.

– Adams went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.

– Rawie was 1-for-3 with one run scored.

– Moses went 1-for-3 with one triple and one run scored.

-Holly Posegate pitched 4.0 innings with five hits, four runs and four errors.

Game Two Key Innings
– Blythe started off the inning with a bunt to third, then followed it up with a stolen base. Maher hit a double to left field scoring Blythe, making it 1-0 Northwest.

– Gilson reached on an error by the shortstop to start the second. Allen took the second pitch she saw over the right center field fence for a two run homerun.

– Weis led off the third with a double to left center. After an out Adams drew a four pitch walk and Rawie singled to left to load the bases. Gilson cleared the bases with a grand slam of the center field fence making it 7-3 Northwest.

– In the fifth Adams lead off with a double to right center. After a pair of outs Allen hit an RBI single driving in Adams.

– Moses started the sixth with a triple to right. Blythe reached on a bunt single and stole second. Weis hit an RBI single to center. After a pitching change Maher ended the game with a homerun to left field.

Up Next
– Northwest will host Emporia State on Friday, April 21, at 3 and 5 p.m. followed by a Saturday double header against Washburn on Saturday.

— Northwest Athletics —

Lynn, Cardinals end 3-game losing skid, edge Pirates 2-1

riggertCardinalsST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn pitched seven shutout innings, Kolten Wong homered and the St. Louis Cardinals stopped a three-game losing streak, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Monday night.

The Cardinals, who had lost six of seven, are 4-9 and still have the worst record in the NL. Pittsburgh had won three in a row before losing in a game that took only 2 hours, 14 minutes.

Lynn (1-1) allowed three hits and struck out five while walking one. He also hit two batters.

Seung-Hwan Oh worked around an RBI double by pinch hitter Gregory Polanco in the ninth to record the Cardinals’ first save of the season. The last time it took St. Louis 13 games into a season to get a save was 1980, when Mark Littell closed out the Phillies at Veterans Stadium.

Ivan Nova (1-2) gave up five hits and no walks in eight innings while striking out three. In 14 overall starts for the Pirates, Nova has four complete games and a grand total of three walks.

Wong led off the third with a home run that landed in the right field bullpen.

St. Louis added a run in the seventh when Randal Grichuk singled, stole second, took third on a throwing error by catcher Francisco Cervelli and scored on a single by Jose Martinez.

Trevor Rosenthal pitched a spotless eighth for the Cardinals. Polanco doubled with two outs in the ninth before Oh retired pinch hitter John Jaso on a grounder.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: Polanco did not start for the third game due to right groin discomfort.

Cardinals: 1B Matt Carpenter did not start. He was hit in the bare hand on a groundout Sunday night against the Yankees. He appeared to damage the nail on his right ring finger.

TRADE

Pittsburgh acquired RHP Johnny Barbato from the New York Yankees on Monday for a player to be named or cash. Barbato, 24, was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis where he will work as a reliever. He was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Wednesday.

STREAKS

The Pirates’ Josh Harrison was hit by Lynn’s pitch in the second inning and in the fourth inning. That marked four consecutive plate appearances he was hit by a pitch. … Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen singled to left in the first inning. He has hit safely in eight consecutive games.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Chad Kuhl (0-1, 2.38 ERA) will make his third start. The 24-year-old Kuhl is 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals.

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (1-1, 3.00 ERA) will make his third outing coming off pitching seven scoreless innings in a 6-1 win at Washington. He is 9-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 28 starts against Pittsburgh.

— Associated Press —

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