BOYS
Lafayette 75 (9-10, 2-2 MEC)
Benton 52 (13-7, 3-1 MEC)
Central 61 (17-3, 4-1 Suburban)
Liberty 56
GIRLS
Lafayette 41 (11-6, 3-0 MEC)
Benton 37 (12-9, 2-2 MEC)
Bishop LeBlond 49 (4-17, 1-3 MEC)
Cameron 46
Category: Sports
Bearcat baseball stays unbeaten with win over Arkansas-Fort Smith
The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team improved to 4-0 on the year with a 6-3 victory over Arkansas Fort Smith, 6-3, on Tuesday afternoon at Crowder Field in Fort Smith, Ark.
– The Bearcats improve to 4-0 on the year while the Lions fall to 2-2.
– Northwest took the lead with a three-run sixth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. Arkansas Fort Smith stranded 11 runners on base including three in the final two innings.
Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats scored six runs on 11 hits with no errors. The Lions had three runs on 10 hits with one error.
– Northwest scored one in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the eighth. Arkansas Fort Smith scored single runs in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings.
– Jay Hrdlicka went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored. He hit an RBI triple in the fifth, a sacrifice fly in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth.
– Luke Hassman was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
– Ozzie Adams went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He also was credited with a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning.
– James Holler was 2-for-5 with a run scored
– Alixon Herrera was 1-for-5 with a run scored.
– Landon Figg was 1-for-3 with a run scored. He also drew a walk.
– Logan Rycraft went 1-for-4 on the day.
– Eddy Kraeber made his Bearcat debut with a 4.2 inning, one run performance. He allowed just six hits and struck out two. He did not walk a batter.
– Cole Otto entered the game with two down in the fifth. He was credited with his first victory in a Northwest jersey.
– Jimmy McElwain worked a perfect seventh inning on the hill. He got two ground outs and ended the frame with a swinging strikeout.
– Nikko Pablo got the final four outs of the game , recording a strikeout, a groundout and a pair of flyouts to center. It was his second save of the season.
Key Northwest Innings
– With one out in the fifth, Hassman singled to short and came around to score on Hrdlicka’s triple to right center, tying the game, 1-1.
– Adams led off the sixth with a single up the middle and reached second safely on a Herrerra fielder’s choice. Holler came through with a single through the right side. An error by the right fielder allowed Adams to score, prompting a pitching change. After Handzlik laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up, Figg was intentionally walked to load the bases. Hassman came up with a single to center to score Herrera, making it 3-1. After another pitching change, Hrdlicka hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Holler to put Northwest up, 4-1.
– Figg hit a one out single in the eighth to center. After a strikeout for the second out, Hrdlicka hit his first home run of the year over the right field fence to make it 6-2 Bearcats.
Up Next
– Northwest will head to Arkadephia, Ark., for three games starting on Thursday. The Bearcats will play Ouachita Baptist on Thursday at 1 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. game at Henderson State on Friday. The weekend ends with a neutral site noon game against Truman State on Saturday.
— Northwest Athletics —
MWSU’s Klosterman named MIAA softball Hitter of the Week
ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western softball team is 4-0 for the first time since 2003 and one of its senior sluggers was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week for her efforts in the Griffons undefeated weekend.
Katie Klosterman hit .538 at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational, with two home runs, seven RBIs, seven hits and five runs scored. The senior third baseman slugged 1.077 over the weekend and didn’t make an error in the field.
Klosterman wasn’t the only Griffon hitter with a hot bat in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Shelbie Atwell led the team with a .600 batting average and had four doubles along with four RBIs and five runs scored. Sydney Washington led the team with eight RBIs, also hitting two home runs, and Morgan Rathmann batted .333 with a double, two RBIs and four runs scored.
— MWSU Athletics —
Northwest’s Hietpas earns weekly MIAA baseball honor
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University junior Joseph Hietpas has been named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week. Hietpas threw seven scoreless innings in the Bearcats’ 15-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State University on Saturday. He struck out 15 batters with just three walks and two hits allowed. The game was called in the seventh inning.
Hietpas worked four three-up three-down innings on Saturday, striking out the side in the second, fourth and seventh innings.
— Northwest Athletics —
No. 3 Kansas bounces back from loss, tops Kansas State 74-71
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Josh Jackson’s left eye was still blood red after it got poked during practice earlier in the day, and a bruise was forming on Frank Mason III’s right elbow after a spill over courtside tables as he tried to save a loose ball.
Yes, third-ranked Kansas is a supremely talented team.
Turns out the Jayhawks have a lot of fight, too.
Jackson dealt with the bright lights that caused him vision problems to score 18 points, Mason’s trip over the table highlighted his 21-point performance, and the Jayhawks rebounded from a rare home loss to hold off pesky Kansas State 74-71 on Monday night.
“I think those plays define seasons,” Kansas coach Bill Self said afterward. “It’s always an extra-possession hustle play that means the most to your team.”
All those hustle plays allowed the Jayhawks (21-3, 9-2 Big 12) to beat the Wildcats (16-8, 5-6) for the fifth straight time, though it was just as nip-and-tuck as their meeting in Lawrence.
The game was tied 63-all with 2:50 left when Kansas ripped off six quick points, but the Wildcats kept hanging around. D.J. Johnson hit three of four foul shots down the stretch, and Kamau Stokes hit a 3-pointer from the wing to get within 72-69 with 19.2 seconds to go.
Devonte Graham calmly hit two more free throws to put the game away.
“We haven’t lost two in a row since 2013, not that it matters,” Mason said, “but we wanted to come in here and play aggressive and play with a lot of pride.”
Dean Wade led the Wildcats with 20 points. Stokes added 16 points and eight boards, Johnson had 14 points and Wesley Iwundu contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
“They’re really good. They’re one of the top five teams in the country, there’s no doubt about it,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “We played both games to the last possession, but there’s no moral victories. You have to win the game.”
The Wildcats no doubt remembered the first meeting in Allen Fieldhouse, when the Jayhawks’ Svi Mykhailiuk traveled on the way to the basket — no whistle was blown — for the winning layup. And they promptly roared out to a big early lead, leaning on their defense to produce easy offense.
But rarely do the Sunflower State rivals get together without a tussle.
Kansas used a pair of big runs to take a 37-35 lead into halftime, then appeared to flex its muscle coming out of the break. Jackson hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Landen Lucas threw down a dunk and the Jayhawks stretched their lead to 47-38 and forced Kansas State to call timeout.
The Wildcats responded by inching closer throughout the second half, and their big break came when Jackson picked up his fourth foul with 9:56 to go. With the springy freshman reduced to sitting on the bench, the Wildcats pulled ahead 60-59 on Wade’s basket with 4 1/2 minutes to go.
It was still tied 63-all when Mykhailiuk hit an open 3-pointer from the wing, and that triggered a quick spurt by the Jayhawks that included free throws from Mason and Jackson.
They never trailed the rest of the way.
“I thought our guys competed really hard,” Self said. “That was a good basketball game. That was two teams competing hard against each other.”
BRAGG RETURNS
Self lifted Carlton Bragg Jr.’s indefinite suspension after the sophomore was granted diversion for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, a charge that will be dismissed if he does not commit a crime for the next six months. Bragg left briefly in the second half after hurting his left foot, and nearly got a technical foul during a scrap for a loose ball, before finishing with six points.
“We know he’s been through a lot,” Jackson said. “He did a great job of overcoming that and coming out and playing hard tonight. He did a great job.”
BIG PICTURE
Kansas maintained control of the Big 12 race by sweeping the season series. But big games loom in the next couple weeks, including a visit from West Virginia and a trip to Baylor.
Kansas State showed in a road win over the Bears on Saturday that it can beat the nation’s best, but close losses are starting to stack up. The Wildcats lost to Maryland, Texas Tech, Iowa State, TCU and now Kansas twice in games decided by five points or fewer.
UP NEXT
Kansas heads to Texas Tech on Saturday.
Kansas State visits West Virginia on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
City High School Basketball Scores/Schedule
MONDAY’S RESULT
GIRLS
Central 46 (13-5, 3-2 Suburban)
Liberty 45
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
BOYS
Benton @ Lafayette – Listen on 680 KFEQ or click here
Central vs. Liberty
GIRLS
Benton @ Lafayette – Listen on 680 KFEQ or click here
Bishop LeBlond vs. Cameron
Mizzou’s Houck named First Team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou junior RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) has been named to his fourth preseason All-America team as D1Baseball.com tabbed him as a first team starting pitcher on Monday (Feb. 6). Houck is one of three SEC starting pitchers on the All-America First Team. In fact, D1Baseball’s All-America First Team honored six total pitchers (four starters, a reliever and a utility man) and four of the six pitch in the SEC. Houck has now been tabbed a first team preseason All-American by D1Baseball, PerfectGame.com and Baseball America while earning third team honors from Collegiate Baseball.
Houck is coming off of a stellar sophomore season during which he posted a 2.99 ERA in 105.1 innings pitched, allowing just 82 hits while striking out a career-best 106 against only 27 walks. He went 5-6 in 15 starts and was twice named SEC Pitcher of the Week while garnering Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors following his start against Vanderbilt. He limited batters to just .209 hitting in 2016.
Houck, who owns a 13-11 career record and 3.23 career ERA, will anchor Mizzou’s pitching staff for first-year head coach Steve Bieser. In two years, Houck has limited batters to .220 hitting and owns a strikeout-walk ratio of 5-1 (197-39). He has thrown more than 100 innings in each of his first two seasons as a Tiger and is expected to be one of the first 10 players selected in next year’s Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.
— Mizzou Athletics —
Source: Royals sign Jason Hammel to 2-year deal
Free-agent pitcher Jason Hammel and the Kansas City Royals reached agreement on a $16 million, two-year contract Sunday, a source told ESPN’s Jim Bowden, confirming multiple reports.
The deal, pending a physical, includes a mutual option for a third year.
Hammel, 34, went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 30 starts with the Chicago Cubs last season. Hammel did not pitch in the postseason. The Cubs declined Hammel’s $12 million option for 2017, which made the right-hander one of the top starters on the free-agent market.
The Cubs acquired left-hander Mike Montgomery in a July trade with Seattle, and he could replace Hammel in the rotation.
In two seasons with the Cubs, the 6-foot-6 right-hander went 33-22 with a 3.59 ERA in 78 starts. Hammel first signed with the Cubs in February 2014 and went 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA in 17 starts that season. He was traded to Oakland in the deal that sent shortstop Addison Russell to Chicago. The pitcher then re-signed with Chicago the following December for $20 million for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
— ESPN News Service —
Northwest baseball stays unbeaten with win over Northwestern Oklahoma State
The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team used an eight-run seventh inning to defeat Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 8-3, on Sunday afternoon at Myers Field in Alva, Okla.
– Northwest moves to 3-0 on the year while the Rangers fall to 1-2.
– Landon Figg was 2-for-4 on the day with three RBI, a run scored and a walk. His seventh inning double scored the Bearcats’ go-ahead run.
Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest scored eight runs on eight hits with one error. The Rangers had three runs on five hits but committed five errors.
– The Bearcats scored one run in the sixth, five in the seventh and two in the eighth. Northwestern Oklahoma scored single runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings.
– Brad Roberts started the game on the hill, going 5.0 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits. Roberts walked four while striking out three.
– Austin Battaglia came in during the seventh inning to record the win. He pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with two walks and two strikeouts.
– James Holler went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
– Kevin Handzlik went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a walk.
– Jay Hrdlicka was 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk.
– Logan Rycraft drew three walks on the day.
– Luke Hassman was 1-for-1 with a pair of RBIs.
– Ozzie Adams scored a run after drawing a walk in the go-ahead seventh inning.
– Garrett Fort went 1-for-4 on the day, extending his hitting streak to three games along with Holler, Figg and Handzlik.
– Nikko Pablo worked a perfect ninth inning, recording a pair of ground outs with a strikeout.
Key Northwest Innings
– Roberts worked perfect second and fifth innings for the Bearcats. He ended both three-up, three-down innings with called third strikes.
– Northwest got on the board in the sixth. A Handzlik walk came back to bit the Rangers as he came around to score on a Hrdlicka single. The inning was aided by a wild pitch which allowed Handzlik to move to second.
– Fort led off the seventh with a single and Adams drew a walk. Alixon Herrerea reached on a fielder’s choice as Fort was forced out at third. An error allowed both runners to move up and Adams was able to score on a passed ball. Holler singled to drive in Herrera to tie the game, 3-3. After a ground out, Figg doubled to center to score Holler. Hrdlicka and Rycraft drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Hassman was called upon to pinch hit and delivered a two-RBI single to left, scoring Hrdlicka and Figg to put the Bearcats up, 6-3.
– In the eighth, Herrera was hit by a pitch to lead off and Holler followed it up with a single to to right. After a Handzlik single loaded the bases, Figg drove in Herrera and Holler with a two-RBI single to left.
Up Next
– Northwest will head to Fort Smith, Ark., on Tuesday, Feb. 7, to face Arkansas Fort Smith at 2 p.m.
— Northwest Athletics —
Mizzou women have five-game win streak snapped by No. 5 Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — A career game from Mississippi State senior Dominique Dillingham helped the No. 5 Bulldogs continue to stay atop the SEC.
Dillingham scored a career-best 24 points to help the Bulldogs beat Missouri 70-53 on Sunday.
She added three steals and two blocks in 39 minutes.
“On a night where they were really choking us on the inside, we had to have people step up and hit shots,” Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. “I asked Dominique if she needed some ice on her elbow and shoulders because she shot 17 shots. We’ve had a couple of weeks in a row where she hasn’t shot it 17 total.”
Aside from Dillingham’s production, the defense did the job yet again for MSU and their SEC-leading defense. They forced 29 turnovers against the Tigers and held a sharp-shooting Missouri squad to 33-percent shooting with just 15 field goals made in the game.
Looking for separation after a tight first quarter that saw MSU lead 18-17, the Bulldogs got it from Dillingham.
The senior leader scored 13 of her 16 first-half points in the second quarter going up against Mizzou’s top player Sophie Cunningham on both ends of the floor. Dillingham hit four 3-pointers as the Bulldogs took a 36-27 lead into the break.
“I’ve got size on her but she’s scrappy. You’ve got to have a lot of poise because she takes a lot of offensive fouls,” Cunningham said. “There was a little bit of playground action but I was going to give what she gives me.”
Dillingham’s work transferred to the second half for the rest of the group as the Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 run in the first seven minutes for a 47-27 lead. That was enough to put the game away.
Richardson scored 11 points in the quarter as MSU (22-1, 8-1) pushed their lead out to 52-36 and they would keep a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
Cunningham scored 19 points to lead Missouri (16-7, 6-4).
As the Bulldogs rolled to victory, the core four players that Schaefer brought in during his first recruiting class saw their career victories notch three figures. It was the 100th career win for Dillingham, Richardon, Okorie and Ketara Chapel who all played a factor in the Sunday win.
“I’m so happy for them. They believed when it wasn’t easy to believe,” Schaefer said. “They had to trust our vision and, man, have they made their own story and legacy at Mississippi State.”
Victoria Vivians finished the game with 15 points in 27 minutes shooting 5-of-11 from the field for MSU. Richardson had 13 points.
BIG PICTURE
Missouri: The Tigers had their five-game winning streak ended on Sunday. They fell to 16-8 and 6-4 in the SEC.
Mississippi State: After the Bulldogs dropped their first game of the season in heartbreaking fashion at South Carolina two weeks ago, they’ve started a new winning streak with three straight victories.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Mississippi State junior Victoria Vivians continues to move up the scoring chart in MSU history. Vivians’ 15 points moved her into sole possession of seventh place in MSU history with 1,525 points. She’s now two points away from sixth.
UP NEXT
Missouri travels to Tennessee on Thursday.
Mississippi State plays host to Vanderbilt on Thursday.
— Associated Press —