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Royals trade closer Wade Davis to Cubs for OF Jorge Soler

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riggertRoyalsOXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Wade Davis already had closed out a World Series. And that was part of his appeal for the Cubs.

In a trade between the last two champions, the Cubs acquired the All-Star reliever from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday for outfielder Jorge Soler. Davis immediately takes over the spot held by Aroldis Chapman, who became a free agent after the Cubs won their first title since 1908.

“Wade is going to pitch the ninth inning,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said.

Davis has done especially well in the postseason and helped the Royals win the 2015 crown. In 27 1/3 career postseason innings as a reliever, he has a 0.33 ERA with 39 strikeouts. The 31-year-old righty went 2-1 with 27 saves in 30 chances and a 1.87 ERA last season. He spent time on the disabled with a forearm injury and was limited to 43 1/3 innings, but returned to pitch in September.

Hoyer said Royals GM Dayton Moore allowed the Cubs’ trainer to examine Davis earlier in the day, and the medical report was fine.

“He looks fantastic,” Hoyer said.

Soler made his big league debut in 2014, and the Cuban is a career .258 hitter with 27 homers and 98 RBIs. He starred in the 2015 postseason when the Cubs reached the NL Championship Series, reaching base in his first nine playoff plate appearances and batting .474 with three homers and three doubles in seven games.

Soler went 2 for 13 in this year’s postseason, with both hits coming against Cleveland in the World Series.

Davis joins a bullpen that includes Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards Jr. and more. For a team that expects to play “that seventh month,” as Hoyer said, it helps to have extra arms.

Hoyer said the Cubs saw the physical toll it takes on pitchers to play until November. With Chicago well positioned to try to extend its run, Hoyer said, “we want to plan accordingly.”

Chapman was traded from the New York Yankees to the Cubs late in the season.

“Having Wade there from Day One then makes everybody else a little bit better,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “And also, when you win games, when you win a lot of games, win a lot of games in row, that’s where you have the tendency to beat somebody up. So by having this kind of depth, you don’t have to put the burden on one or two guys.”

“It’s going to mean you can spread it out a little bit more. So having Wade there at end permits us to use these other guys differently and the ability to spread out the workload,” he said.

The trade was announced at the winter meetings, where relievers have been a main focus. The San Francisco Giants gave closer Mark Melancon a $62 million, four-year deal while free agents Kenley Jansen and Chapman are still available.

“There’s several guys out there right now that everybody would like to have, and the guys that are out there as free agents are obvious. Guys like Wade Davis, ask around the industry, how many people would like to have him,” Maddon said.

Asked about Davis vs. the Cubs’ closer last October, “I can’t tell you he’s better. He’s just different,” Maddon said.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska struggles in second half, loses to No. 10 Creighton

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riggertNebraskaLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Creighton’s 90-points-a-game offense didn’t show up until late against Nebraska.

No problem. The 10th-ranked Bluejays were still more than good enough to beat in-state rival Nebraska again.

Maurice Watson Jr. scored a season-high 25 points, Cole Huff added 13 and Creighton dominated the second half in a 77-62 victory Wednesday night.

“We had to win kind of an ugly game, and they were trying to make us play that way,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. “That’s probably the fewest fast-break points we’ve had all season. I like to think our pace wears you out over time, and we had a hard time with it.”

The Bluejays (9-0) have won 15 of 18 meetings with the Cornhuskers (5-4), including the last six by double digits.

Tai Webster had 16 points and Ed Morrow had 13 rebounds for the Huskers, who trailed 31-30 at halftime but went scoreless for 6 1/2 minutes in the second half. Creighton bolted to a 51-37 lead, and in the last 3 minutes it was a 21-point game.

“It makes me disappointed and sick to my stomach we couldn’t foster a better fight,” Huskers coach Tim Miles said. “I thought we were in good shape until Tai picked up his fourth foul, and then we went on a long, long drought.”

Watson carried the scoring load in the Bluejays’ first true road game as Nebraska clamped down on Marcus Foster and Justin Patton. Foster had seven points and Patton had nine, both season lows.

The Cornhuskers’ defense left driving lanes open for Watson, and the senior point guard took advantage. He made 10 of 20 shots. He’s never taken more than 21 shots in his career.

“My teammates kept saying for me to go, go go, and I kind of got comfortable,” Watson said.

The Huskers shot 32.4 percent overall and were just 3 of 22 on 3-point attempts.

“We took too many of them,” Webster said. “Like Coach Miles says: `Love the 2, like the 3.’ That’s when we’re at our best.”

Creighton’s Toby Hegner dunked with 3 1/2 minutes left, prompting the small contingent of Bluejays fans to chant “C-U, C-U” as the Nebraska faithful began heading to the exits. Big Red fans who remained booed Davion Mintz’s fast-break dunk in the final seconds.

The victory allowed Creighton to tie the all-time series 25-25.

THE BIG PICTURE

Creighton: The Bluejays’ first road trip was a bumpy ride. The flow was choppy, and they couldn’t get moving at the speed they like until after the game was decided.

Nebraska: The Huskers are not a good offensive team to begin with, and they were worse than that against the Bluejays. “You can’t be that inept on offense and expect to win,” Miles said.

PATTON KEPT IN CHECK

Patton, the Bluejays’ 7-foot redshirt freshman, was held under 10 points for the first time in nine games. He did have eight rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal.

“It’s his first time playing in front of a crowd totally against us, and he’ll learn from it,” McDermott said.

HE SAID IT

“If this doesn’t hurt you, nothing does. If you’re (home) tonight in another 20 minutes and playing video games until 1 a.m., you don’t really care. You’ve got to hate losing. We’ve got teach them how to win, too.” — Miles.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Creighton is No. 10 for the second straight week and is in no danger of dropping in the Top 25 after a convincing win over Nebraska and a near gimme at home on Friday against Longwood.

UP NEXT

Creighton hosts Longwood on Friday.

Nebraska visits No. 3 Kansas on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

K-State women stay unbeaten with win over UT-Arlington

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riggertKansasStateMANHATTAN, Kansas – Kansas State had a difficult time in the first three quarters of Wednesday night’s game against UT-Arlington, but used a 17-9 final quarter to register a 62-49 win. With the win, K-State becomes the 20th NCAA Division I program to win 900 or more games and the second in the Big 12.

This is the fourth time in the 49-year history of the program that K-State has started a season with a 9-0 record. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 9-0 for the first time since the 1994-95 season, when he guided NCAA Division II school Missouri Western to a 9-0 start.

Kansas State had three players reach double figures led by Naismith Trophy candidate Breanna Lewis’s 15 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists. This was her second straight double-double and third this season.

Joining Lewis in double figures were sophomore guard Kayla Goth with 12 points and senior guard Kindred Wesemann with 10 points.

UT-Arlington (5-2) was paced by Rebekah VanDijk with 14 points and rebounds and Aysia Evans with 13 points off the bench.

Kansas State shot 46.7 percent (23-of-49) from the field and held UTA to a 37.7 (20-of-53) effort. The teams combined for 53 turnovers in the game, with K-State recording a 26-19 advantage in points off turnovers.

For the ninth straight game, the Wildcats had the advantage on the boards, 33-26.

K-State featured five different players registering points in the opening quarter, building a 13-10 lead. The Wildcats registered an 11-4 lead with 4:22 remaining in the first quarter, but the Lady Mavericks closed the period on a 6-2 run. The teams combined for 15 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of action.

UT-Arlington tied the game at 13-13 with 8:40 to play in the half. Wesemann buried a 3-pointer to start a 9-1 K-State run to take a 22-14 lead with 4:27 left. Shaelyn Martin scored the final four points of the quarter for the Wildcats to send K-State into the locker room with a 26-21 lead.

Kansas State held UT-Arlington to a 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from the field in the opening half, while shooting 45.5 percent (10-of-22). The teams combined for 30 turnovers in the first half, 15 each.

With a 7-2 run to begin the third quarter, Kansas State took its largest lead of the game at 33-23 with 8:38 to play in the frame. Lewis started with a layup and Eternati Willock followed with a three-point play, as she was fouled on a jump shot. Goth capped the run with a transition layup.

An 11-3 run by the Lady Mavericks, led by Cierra Johnson’s five points, brought UT-Arlington to within two, 36-34, with 4:10 left in the third. Kansas State rebuilt its advantage to nine, 43-34, with 2:47 remaining. Wesemann buried her second 3-pointer of the night, while Willock capped the run with a jumper in transition. Willock finished with nine points, three rebounds and three steals.

In the final quarter, Kansas State dashed out to a 17-4 run over a nine-minute stretch in the fourth quarter to build a 62-44 lead. Goth started the run with a layup and followed with an offensive rebound and putback. Lewis added a pair of layups and Karyla Middlebrook beat the shot clock with a running jump shot during the scoring burst.

Kansas State will continue its three-game home stand on Sunday, as the Wildcats host No. 1/2 Connecticut at 1 p.m.

— K-State Athletics —

KU women fall at home to Harvard

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riggertKULAWRENCE, Kan. – After another closely contested matchup, Kansas women’s basketball wasn’t able to overcome a fourth quarter Harvard run, as the Crimson went on to record its first victory, 69-59, over the Jayhawks on Wednesday night inside Allen Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Crimson (8-1) extended their win streak to eight games, while KU (3-5) dropped its third game in a row after having won three-straight. Sophomore guard Aisia Robertson scored five unanswered points to slow Harvard in the final minutes of the game, but the lead had grown too large to mount a comeback.

Junior guard Chayla Cheadle led the Jayhawks with 11 points, her third-straight double figure performance. Redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington and senior guard Timeka O’Neal each added nine points of their own with O’Neal shooting 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Senior forward Jada Brown grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds, her first double-digit effort off the glass as a Jayhawk.

The Crimson had four players score in double digits led by freshman forward Jeannie Boehm’s double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Destiny Nunley also contributed 12 points, while sophomore guard Madeline Raster and freshman guard Katie Benzan scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Harvard won the tip, but it would be all Kansas early on. A steal by sophomore center Chelsea Lott allowed Kansas to score first, a 3-pointer from sophomore guard 32937Kylee Kopatich, who ended the night with five points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard Jayde Christopher followed with five quick points, giving Kansas an 8-0 lead to start the game.

Harvard’s Benzan ended the Crimsons’ offensive drought with a 3-pointer, puting the first points on the scoreboard for the visiting team. After an early KU run to start the quarter, Harvard fought back to within one followed by three and a half minute scoring drought for both teams. The Jayhawks struggled offensively the rest of the quarter scoring only five points, a drastic change from the explosive start to the contest. After the first 10 minutes of play, the Crimson led, 17-13.

In the second period, Lott got the Jayhawks within two with a layup followed by an O’Neal 3-pointer to put Kansas back on top, but Harvard would answer with a 3-pointer of their own by junior guard Taylor Rooks. Cheadle responded with another KU trey to put the Jayhawks back on top, 21-20.

A pair of free throws by sophomore guard Sydney Skinner allowed Harvard to regain the lead, but not for long as Brown answered with yet another 3-point basket, becoming the third Jayhawk to score a three in the second quarter. O’Neal made her second three of the game, giving her six points and Washington added two more giving Kansas a five-point lead, 29-24, before the Crimson fought back with five straight points to even the score. In a back and forth half, the Crimson went into the locker room with a one-point advantage at the end of the first half, 34-33.

Kansas spent most of the first half behind the 3-point arc, as Kansas connected on six of their 10 attempts from long range. Washington and O’Neal headed into the break leading the Jayhawks with seven and six points, respectively. Cheadle and Christopher also added five points each in the first half, as Kansas shot 41.3 percent from the field.

The Jayhawks were the first to score in the third period with an easy layup from Cheadle, but the Crimson quickly regained a six-point lead, 41-35, after a 7-0 run. Sophomore guard Nani Redford added three more points for the Crimson before Kopatich ended the 10-0 run with an uncontested layup. Kansas cut the lead to five with two free throws from Washington. KU then answered Harvard with 6-0 run of its own, cutting the lead to three, 44-41. The Crimson responded with a quick layup by Nunley, but Brown answered with a layup to keep the game close. A jumper by Lott put Kansas within two at the end of the third quarter, 47-45.

Harvard would score the first basket of the fourth quarter, the first period of the game to score first, after Boehm hit a jumper at one end. Cheadle responded with a layup at the other end to keep the deficit within a possession. Harvard’s aggressive offense took the Crimson to the line twice, giving Harvard four-straight points from the free-throw line to extend its lead.

After three close periods, the Crimson pulled ahead with its first double digit advantage of the game. The Jayhawks continued to chip away at Harvard’s lead with the help of five unanswered points from Robertson to narrow the gap on the scoreboard. However, Harvard’s late 22-point fourth quarter performance proved to be too much for Kansas down the stretch, as the Crimson earned their first win over KU, 69-59.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks continue their five-game homestand with Rhode Island on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m.

— KU Athletics —

Missouri State gets road win at SEMO 79-71

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riggertMSUCAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Missouri State (5-2) led wire to wire and got 18 points and 13 rebounds from junior Alize Johnson to lead the Bears to a 79-71 road win against in-state rival Southeast Missouri State (4-5) here Wednesday.

The Bears scored the first six points of the game, fired an impressive 51.9 percent from the field and converted 80 percent at the line in the win.

It was the 146th meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1911.

Dequon Miller added 17 points, Austin Ruder scored 16, and Jarrid Rhodes tallied 10 points in a starting role for Missouri State, which out-rebounded the Redhawks by a 42-29 margin.

Antonius Cleveland led Southeast with 20 points, while Denzel Mahoney dumped in 14 for the home side.

After leading by three at the break, Ryan Kreklow ignited an 8-0 run over a three-minute span to push the visitors ahead by nine. Kreklow’s trey from the left wing was followed by a transition jumper by Miller, a dunk by Rhodes and a free throw by Jarred Dixon to make it 41-32 with just under 15 minutes to play.

SEMO used a 7-3 run to crawl back within 44-39 before the under-12 media timeout, but MSU responded with a layup by Chris Kendrix, a triple by Ruder and a stick-back by Jordan Martin to end the home team’s threat.

With 6:14 to play, Ruder knocked down a long 3-pointer from the right side to give the Bears a double-figure advantage, 60-48, which Missouri State parlayed into three different 14-point leads down the stretch.

The Redhawks dropped in three treys in the final three minutes to keep things respectable, but MSU was 9-for-12 at the foul line in that same span to put it on ice.

In the first half, the Bears parlayed the fast start into an 11-point advantage just nine minutes into the game. Ruder started a 10-0 run for the Bears with a corner trey and added a three-shot free throw opportunity to the stretch to make it 16-5 at the 11:13 mark.

Later in the half, the Redhawks turned up the intensity on the defensive end and held MSU to just two field goals over the last five-and-a-half minutes. Southeast got as close as 27-25 before going into the locker room down 29-26.

The Bears finished the game 27-of-52 from the field, 5-of-14 (.357) from bonus distance and 20-of-25 at the stripe with 42 rebounds – 12 offensive – and 25 bench points.

Southeast made 24-of-62 (.387) shots overall, 8-of-26 (.308) from long range and 15-of-23 (.652) at the stripe with 29 rebounds and 9 steals.

MSU was without starters Obediah Church and Ronnie Rousseau III who were nursing minor injuries.

The Bears return to action Saturday for a “Black Out” game against Valparaiso (7-2) at 7 p.m.

— MSU Athletics —

Missouri Western’s Glaude named to 2016 All-Canadian College Team

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riggertMissouriWesternST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western baseball infielder David Glaude has been named to the 2016 All-Canadian College Team by Canadian Baseball Network.

Glaude was a second team All-American, first team All-region by the NCBWA and ABCA/Rawlings and first team All-MIAA in 2016. He led MWSU in batting average (.408), hits (91), doubles (22), triples (6) and RBIs (74) as well tying for second on team with 10 home runs. Glaude also set two single season records with his 74 RBIs and 22 doubles last season.

Missouri Western opens the 2017 season in Grand Prairie, Texas against Southern Arkansas and Oklahoma Christian University on February 2.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou Athletics receives another $1 million gift for football project

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riggertMissouriCOLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has received another generous gift toward its upcoming football facility.  A confidential donor has made a $1 million gift for the new south end zone facility at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field which is currently in planning and development stages.

This gift is another in the line of major contributions for the project which have totaled over $20 million in the past three months.  In all, current fundraising for the project has surpassed $70 million raised to date.

“We are pleased to announce yet another significant gift from a very generous supporter,” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk.  “Our fundraising success is the direct result of our donors’ belief in the direction our program is heading under the leadership of Barry Odom.  People believe in his vision and they are stepping up to help in important ways,” he said.

“Very excited and grateful for the generosity of our donor, and all those who support our program,” said Head Coach Barry Odom.  “I’ve said this many times, but we have a great opportunity to do something very meaningful with this project.  The momentum we’ve built, and continue to further build on, is really something special.  I’m looking forward to seeing it continue,” he said.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffons take down Northwest Missouri State women 72-58

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mwsuMARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team made it five straight wins over rival Northwest Missouri State and three straight over the Bearcats in Maryville with a 72-58 win Tuesday night.

HEADLINES
– Fifth-straight win in the series for Missouri Western
– Third-straight win in Maryville for the Griffons after losing their previous five
– Sefulu Faavae had a career-high 17 points, career-high six steals and five rebounds
– Erin Anderson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds

KEY MOMENTS
– Missouri Western opened the game on an 12-2 run and led 19-6 before Northwest went on a 17-4 run to tie the game at 23
– The Griffons answered with a 12-4 run
– Northwest Missouri shot 71 percent from the field in the second quarter, outscoring the Griffons 22-19 to pull within four at the half
– Missouri Western limited Northwest Missouri to 27 (3-11) percent shooting in the fourth quarter

TOP PERFORMERS
– Faavae’s career-high point total came on 6-11 shooting from the field
– Anderson led Missouri Western with 10 rebounds and was 4-6 from the field for 11 points
– Chelsea Dewey scored 12 points, playing just 23 minutes after falling into early foul trouble

UP NEXT
Missouri Western gets a break from MIAA play, and just a break overall. The Griffons next play on Dec. 14 when they host Saint Mary (Kan.) in a single women’s game at 7 p.m. in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Athletics —

Missouri Western men lose on the road at No. 2 Bearcats 78-52

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mwsuMARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team dropped its fourth game in a row, 78-52, at 2nd-ranked Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday night.

The Griffons found themselves down early and could never close the gap, trailing by 12 just nine minutes into the game. Cold shooting hurt Missouri Western again, shooting 28 percent from the field in the first half and scoring 17 first half points. Missouri Western did recover to shoot close to 47 percent from the field in the second half.

Cole Clearman had a big second half himself, scoring 18 of his game-high 20 points after halftime. The junior was 6-15 from the field, 3-7 from three-point range and 5-5 at the free throw line.

Missouri Western travels to Division I Southern Illionois-Edwardsville on Saturday, Dec. 10 for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

— MWSU Athletics —

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