Sports – Page 402 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Western golf teams wrap up play Tuesday in Minnesota & Oklahoma

Posted on October 4, 2016October 4, 2016

LAKE CITY, Minn. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team used a strong second round to move up two spots and finish with its highest ranking of the fall, fourth, at the JR Watkins Invite in Lake City, Minnesota on Tuesday.

The Griffons shot 302 in Tuesday’s final round for a 605 two-round total, finishing 29-over par for the event. Freshman Patrick McCarthy was 3-over for the event, improving by seven strokes in his second round with a 70 on Tuesday. The freshman was the Griffons’ highest finisher, ending seventh.

Jakob Rudosky shot a 6-over 150 and finished tied for 17th. Kevin Kim finished tied for 24th with a 7-over 151. Lucas Horesman finished with a 158 and Jakob Majeske shot a 159 in his first collegiate event.

EDMOND, Okla. – The Missouri Western Women’s Golf team finished tied for eleventh place with a score of 653 at the RCB/Central Oklahoma Classic at the Fairfax Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Shi Qing Ong led MWSU, shooting a 152 and finishing tied for tenth place. Jenna Kosmatka finished the tournament with a 162, as Madison Romjue carded a final score of 163. Both Griffons would finish inside the top 40 of the field. Tiffanie Yabut shot a 176 as Brittany Kennedy concluded her tournament with a 216.

Johany Rivera of St. Edward’s won the tournament with a score of 143, as St. Edward’s also took the team title shooting a 603. Missouri Western will finish the fall season out, Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 at the Midwest Classic in Maryville, Missouri.

— MWSU Athletics —

Former Tiger DE Justin Smith named SEC Legend

Posted on October 4, 2016October 4, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Missouri defensive end Justin Smith has been honored as Mizzou’s member of the 2016 SEC Legends Class, announced Tuesday by the Southeastern Conference. The SEC Legends are a collection of former football standouts who will be honored at events surrounding the SEC Football Championship Game in Atlanta in December.

Smith was one of the top pass rushing defensive ends in Tiger history. He was a first-team All-American as a junior in 2000 before bypassing his final year of eligibility for the NFL. In his final season as a Tiger, he recorded 97 total tackles and 11 quarterback sacks, both Mizzou season records at the time. In just three years, he established the MU career sacks record with 22.5.

Smith went on to become the highest-ever draft pick by a Mizzou Tiger when he was selected with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He turned in a stellar 14-year NFL career, becoming one of the league’s most feared defenders in seven seasons with the Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers. He was selected for five consecutive Pro Bowls (2009-2013), and was named to the AP All-Pro Team in both 2011 and 2012. Sports Illustrated named him the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and he helped lead the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII.

The class will be honored at the 2016 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 2-3 in Atlanta, Ga. The annual SEC Legends Dinner presented by AT&T will be held Dec. 2 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta and the group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at the Georgia Dome on Sat., Dec. 3.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Latest Missouri Media High School Football Rankings announced

Posted on October 3, 2016

Missouri Media football rankings

Statewide high school football rankings, as compiled by a 14-member panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. First-place votes in parenthesis. Panel is made up of Dion Clisso, PrepsKC; Sam McDowell, The Kansas City Star; Chris Geinosky, The Liberty Tribune; Dave Kvidahl, STLHighschoolsports.com; Jim Powers, High School Sports Caravan; Larry Thornton, KSDK radio; Cameron Teague-Robinson, The Columbia Tribune; Tom Rackers, Jefferson City News-Tribune; Mike Scott, Ozone Sports; Rance Burger, The Springfield News-Leader; Cody Thorn, The St. Joseph News-Press; J.B. Connoley, KRES radio; Chris Pobst, Sikeston Standard-Democrat; Matt King, The Daily Journal.

First-place votes in parenthesis.

CLASS 6
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. CBC (11), 6-1, 133, 1
2. Blue Springs (3), 6-1, 130, 2
3. Kirkwood, 5-1, 108, 3
4. Rockhurst, 5-1, 92, 4
5. Hazelwood Central, 7-0, 71, 6
6. Lee’s Summit, 6-1, 69, 7
7. Jefferson City, 5-2, 68, 5
8. Springfield Kickapoo, 6-1, 37, 8
9. Eureka, 6-1, 29, 10
10. Lee’s Summit West, 5-2, 20, NR
Dropped out: No. 8 Blue Springs South
Also receiving votes: Blue Springs South (4-3), 4; Raymore-Peculiar (4-3), 4; Ritenour (6-1), 3; Park Hill (4-3), 2

CLASS 5
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Chaminade (13), 5-1, 139, 1
2. Battle (1), 7-0, 124, 2
3. Glendale, 7-0, 110, 3
4. Fort Zumwalt North, 6-1, 102, 4
5. William Chrisman, 7-0, 81, 5
6. Park Hill South, 6-1, 68, 6
7. Staley, 5-2, 54, 8
8. Carthage, 6-1, 41, 9
9. Jackson, 6-1, 25, 10
10. Liberty, 5-2, 21, 7
Also receiving votes: Vianney (3-4), 3; Nixa (5-2), 2

CLASS 4
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Kearney (14), 7-0, 140, 1
2. Hannibal, 6-1, 120, 2
3. Platte County, 5-2, 107, 3
4. Carl Junction, 5-2, 89, 5
5. Parkway North, 5-2, 85, 6
6. St. Dominic, 7-0, 72, 7
7. Ladue, 6-1, 55, 8
8. Webb City, 4-3, 41, 4
9. Hillsboro, 7-0, 37, 9
10. MICDS, 5-2, 14, NR
Dropped out: No. 10 Smithville
Also receiving votes: Smithville (6-1), 10

CLASS 3
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Maryville (13), 7-0, 139, 1
2. Blair Oaks (1), 7-0, 127, 2
3. Center, 7-0, 106, 3
4. Monett, 6-1, 93, 4
5. McCluer South-Berkley, 6-0, 79, 5
6. Richmond, 7-0, 70, 7
7. Park Hills Central, 7-0, 63, 7
8. Mexico, 5-2, 48, 8
9. Osage, 6-1, 14, 9
10. Reeds Spring, 6-1, 13, NR
Dropped out: No. 10 John Burroughs
Also receiving votes: Miller Career (6-1), 7; Lutheran South (5-2), 6; Chillicothe (6-1), 4; Owensville (7-0), 1

CLASS 2
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Lamar (14), 6-0, 140, 1
2. Mtn. View-Liberty, 7-0, 126, 2
3. Trinity, 6-0, 106, 3
4. Lutheran North, 6-1, 91, T4
5. Mountain Grove, 6-1, 88, 6
6. Malden, 7-0, 75, 7
7. Fair Grove, 7-0, 45, 8
8. Macon, 7-0, 40, 10
9. Centralia, 5-2, 19, T4
10. Lexington, 7-0, 16, NR
Dropped out: No. 9 Lawson
Also receiving votes: South Callaway (7-0), 12; Lawson (5-2), 11; Palmyra (5-2), 1

CLASS 1
Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW
1. Valle Catholic (9), 6-1, 134, 1
2. Marceline (5), 7-0, 129, 2
3. Hamilton-Penney, 7-0, 114, 3
4. Lincoln, 7-0, 98, 4
5. Hayti, 6-1, 80, 5
6. Maysville, 6-1, 68, 6
7. Cass-Midway, 6-1, 50, 7
8. Wellington-Napoleon, 6-1, 37, 8
9. East Buchanan, 5-2, 25, 9
10. Skyline, 4-3, 14, NR
Dropped out: No. 10 Thayer
Also receiving votes: Lockwood (6-1), 10; Monroe City (5-2), 7; Westran (5-2), 2; Ash Grove (6-1), 1; Thayer (4-3), 1

Griffon women’s golf team in 12th at RCB/Central Oklahoma Classic

Posted on October 3, 2016

EDMOND, Okla. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team is tied for twelfth place after the first day of the RCB/Central Oklahoma Classic at the Fairfax Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Last week’s MIAA Fall Preview runner-up, Shi Qing Ong currently is tied for tenth after shooting a 76. Jenna Kosmatka opened up with a first round 78 and is tied for twentieth.

Madison Romjue shot an 85 for the Griffons. Tiffianie Yabut finished with a 94 and Brittany Kennedy completed her opening round with a 99 for MWSU.

Missouri Western will conclude the tournament with Tuesday’s second round beginning at 9 a.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

K-State’s Elijah Lee named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week

Posted on October 3, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Following a career-high 14 tackles and his fourth-career interception last weekend at West Virginia, Kansas State linebacker Elijah Lee has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday morning.

Lee, who picked up his first-career player of the week accolade, gave K-State its third-consecutive weekly conference honor as Dominique Heath (Florida Atlantic) and Byron Pringle (Missouri State) picked up the special teams honors the previous two weeks.

A product of Blue Springs, Missouri, Lee bettered his previous career high of 12 tackles achieved last year against Louisiana Tech and in the 2016 season opener at eighth-ranked Stanford. He tallied eight of his 14 tackles in the first half as the Wildcats shut out the Mountaineers over the first 30 minutes, K-State’s first shutout in a half of a Big 12 road game in two years.

Lee also recorded his fourth-career interception in the first quarter, which led to a Wildcat touchdown. He became the first Wildcat linebacker since Bryan Hickman (2000-03) with four career interceptions, while he is one of four K-State linebackers under head coach Bill Snyder with at least four picks.

The Wildcats host their first Big 12 home game this Saturday as they take on Texas Tech at 6 p.m., in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a game that will be televised by ESPNU.

— K-State Athletics —

MIAA hands out weekly football honors

Posted on October 3, 2016October 3, 2016

Kansas City, Mo. – Emporia State’s Braxton Marstall has been named the MIAA Football Offensive Athlete of the Week. He is joined by two Pittsburg State Gorillas as Deron Washington earned the honor on defense and Lorenzo West on special teams.

MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week
Braxton Marstall, QB, Emporia State

Marstall set career highs going 29 of 41 for 354 yards with five touchdowns and also added 56 yards on ten carries in the Hornets 35-21 win over Central Oklahoma. He had a QB efficiency rating of 183.5 for the game. He led the Hornets to a score on their first drive for the fourth time in five games and had two drives of over 90 yards in the first half. The Hornets converted a season high ten of 16 third downs on the day. He became the first Hornet to throw for over 300 yards with five touchdowns since Brent Wilson did it against Minnesota State in last years playoffs. The 6-2 sophomore quarterback is a native of Emporia, Kan. where he competed at Emporia High School.

MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week
Deron Washington, S, Pittsburg State

Deron Washington returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown – one of two “pick sixes” for the Pittsburg State defense – as the Gorillas claimed a 45-27 road win over Washburn Saturday (Oct. 1). Washington’s return gave Pitt State a 21-13 lead with 1:07 to play in the second quarter. He made six tackles (four solo) in the game. He also forced a fumble and recovered it at the PSU 10 to halt a WU scoring threat early in the second quarter. The Pitt State defense forced four turnovers in the game and halted another WU drive on downs in the contest. The 6-1 senior safety is a native of Raymore, Mo. where he competed at Raymore-Peculiar High School.

MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Lorenzo West, RS, Pittsburg State

West returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to give Pittsburg State the lead for good as the Gorillas pulled away for a 45-27 road win over Washburn Saturday (Oct. 1). The Ichabods had taken a 13-7 lead when West received the kick, found a seam up the middle and jetted into the end zone with 8:41 to play in the second quarter. West averaged 50.0 yards on a pair of kickoff returns in the contest. The redshirt freshman prepped at MacArthur High School in Lawton, Okla.

— MIAA Press Release —

MWSU men in 6th place after day one in Minnesota

Posted on October 3, 2016

Lake City, Minn. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team is tied for sixth place after one round at the JR Watkins Invite in Lake City, Minnesota.

Kevin Kim, who is sitting tied for twelfth after shooting a 74, currently leads the Griffons. Jakob Rudosky is in nineteenth with a first round score of 75.

Jakob Majeske and Patrick McCarthy both shot a 77 on the opening day as Lucas Horseman finished with a 78 for MWSU.

The Griffons shot a team score of 303 for the first round and are just 12 strokes off the lead. Missouri Western will look to continue its strong play in the second and third rounds tomorrow morning and afternoon.

— MWSU Athletics —

Royals get swept by Indians, finish season 81-81

Posted on October 2, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Indians manager Terry Francona sat in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, moments after a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, and knew only that Boston awaited his club in the postseason.

He didn’t know where the series would begin. That was still to be determined by games elsewhere, as was whether Cleveland would need to make up a rained out game in Detroit on Monday.

“Well,” Francona said with a grin and a shrug, “we’re either going to shower and go home or shower and go to Detroit. Either way, I’m showering.”

Suds up that loofah, Tito. You’re heading home.

The Tigers’ loss to the Braves coupled with Boston’s loss to the Blue Jays gave Cleveland (94-67) homefield advantage in the divisional round. The newly minted AL Central champions open against Boston (93-69) on Thursday at Progressive field with Trevor Bauer slated to take the hill.

“You get to the last weekend of the year, you see a lot of guys kind of tailing off,” said Francona, who has yet to win a postseason game in Cleveland. “Our guys never did that.”

Not even in their regular-season finale.

Josh Tomlin (13-9) dueled with the Royals’ Ian Kennedy (11-11) into the eighth before finally pulling ahead. Carlos Santana drew a walk off Kennedy to start the inning, Jason Kipnis followed with a double and Frnacisco Lindor hit a fly ball deep enough to right field for the lead.

Tomlin got the first batter in the eighth before Andrew Miller finished it up, and Cody Allen handled the ninth to earn his 32nd save and give the Indians a nice boost heading into the playoffs.

“I’ve never really experienced the postseason,” said Tomlin, the expected Game 3 starter,” so I know I’ll be ready when that time comes. We knew we put ourselves in good position.”

It was a frustrating finale to an injury plagued season for the Royals, who had been to the past two World Series and were coming off their first championship since 1985. A dismal July nearly buried them, an inspired August got them back into contention, and a stumbling finish left them at 81-81.

It was their first non-winning season in four years.

“We were just one win away from having a winning season. We had four cracks at it at the end of the year and just couldn’t get it,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Offensively, we just couldn’t do it.”

Meanwhile, there were so many playoff permutations riding on the final day of the regular season that Francona was still trying to sort everything out 3 hours before first pitch.

The only thing he knew was his club was playing Boston on Thursday — somewhere.

They fell into a 1-0 hole when Jarrod Dyson and Whit Merrifield opened the game with doubles off Tomlin, the expected Game 3 starter in the divisional series, but the lead didn’t even last the two innings.

The Indians answered in the third when Tyler Naquin was plunked by a pitch from Ian Kennedy, and Yan Gomes went deep to left field on the first big league pitch he’d seen since July 17.

Kansas City tied it up when Cheslor Cuthbert homered leading off the fifth inning, but the Indians were able to coax across one more run to once more beat a team they’ve dominated this season.

“One mistake, I gave up a home run and it kind of cost me,” Kennedy said. “Overall, I was really happy how the outing went. At least, I gave our team a real solid chance.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: Gomes, activated from the 60-day DL on Friday, started for the first time since breaking his right hand in a rehab game Sept. 14. “It’s been a long way back,” Gomes said. “They said I can’t hurt it any more. You’ll just have to play through it, play through the pain.”

Royals: 1B Eric Hosmer missed the finale with a wrist issue he’s been battling for weeks. C Sal Perez was the DH to protect an ailing hamstring. … RHP Dillon Gee is scheduled to have another procedure Oct. 11 for blood clots in his shoulder and lung. The issue popped up during a start in Detroit.

UP NEXT

Indians: The chase begins for their first playoff victory since 2007, when they lost to the Red Sox — managed by Francona — in a seven-game AL championship series.

Royals: Time to think about next season. General manager Dayton Moore has some roster decisions to make, including whether to exercise team options on SS Alcides Escobar and RHP Wade Davis.

— Associated Press —

Cardinals defeat Pirates, but miss playoffs for 1st time since 2010

Posted on October 2, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) — All season long, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny set 10-games over .500 as a target for his team.

St. Louis, on its tenth try, finally reached that mark with a 10-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, but the Cardinals still missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

Matt Carpenter homered and Randal Grichuk keyed a six-run seventh-inning with a two-run double to lead St. Louis to its fourth win in a row.

But the Cardinals (86-76) were eliminated while still on the field when San Francisco (87-75) beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1 and earned the second NL wild card.

“That’s the danger when it’s not in your hands anymore,” Matheny said. “Our focus was to take care of our own business, and we did that.”

St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and six hits over six innings. He did not get a decision.

“To miss the playoffs by one game — that’s tough to swallow,” Wainwright said. “You think about how many times you could’ve won games, or just one or two games, and you didn’t. It gets you to thinking back a little bit.”

St. Louis outfielder Matt Holliday was brought into the game briefly to play left field in the ninth inning. He was given a standing ovation and taken out before the first pitch. The Cardinals announced Friday they plan to decline his 2017 option and allow him to become free agent.

“How special was that?” Matheny said. “What instigated it was the response of the fans, so badly they wanted to see him one more time.”

St. Louis was a big league-best 100-62 last year but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the Division Series. The Cardinals never led the NL Central at any point this season and finished with a losing record at home (38-43) for the first time since 1999.

“Anytime you don’t win the World Series, it’s disappointing,” said infielder Aledmys Diaz. “But we kept coming and never let down.”

“To get close, it definitely makes it a little more disappointing,” Carpenter said. “But that’s the nature of the business. There’s only team that doesn’t have this day.”

After making the playoffs for three straight years, Pittsburgh dropped from 98-64 to 78-83.

Yadier Molina had three hits for the Cardinals. Stephen Piscotty singled in Molina to break a 4-4 tie in the seventh.

Carpenter hit his 21st homer of the season off Antonio Bastardo for a 4-2 lead.

Jonathan Broxton (4-2) won despite allowing two runs in one inning of relief.

Juan Nicasio (10-7) gave up three runs without recording an out in the seventh.

Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run single in the fifth to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle is ready to move on from the disappointing campaign.

“Forty-one years in the game and I honor the game, I respect the game,” Hurdle said. “And I’ve also gotten very good on closing the book when it’s time to close the book.”

Pittsburgh catcher Eric Fryer had two hits in a losing cause.

“I think down the stretch we definitely competed,” Fryer said. “There’s a lot of optimism here with a lot of young arms.”

PACK THE PLACE

A crowd of 44,615, the 19th sellout of the season, watched the final game.

St. Louis drew 3,444,490, second to the Los Angeles Dodgers in major league home attendance. It was the fifth highest attendance total in franchise history and the 13th successive year the team has drawn at least three million.

— Associated Press —

Griffons snap two-game skid with big win over Northeastern State

Posted on October 1, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western football team broke its two-game losing streak Saturday as they defeated Northeastern State 45-14 at Spratt Stadium.

MWSU staked a 38-0 lead in the third quarter before Northeastern State got its first touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on the Griffons’ second-string defense. The RiverHawks would add another fourth quarter score on a 51-yard fumble recovery against Missouri Western’s reserve offense.

The Griffons rushed for 281 yards and limited Northeastern State to 280 total yards on the day. Kendall Short had a career-high three rushing touchdowns and Josh Caldwell added another, giving the Griffons four rushing TDs. Skyler Windmiller connected with Jesse Dickens for a 53-yard TD strike a little more than four minutes into the game, Missouri Western’s only passing TD on the day. Ray Winters made it 14-0 in the first quarter with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Missouri Western’s defense returned to early season form, forcing four Northeastern State turnovers, three interceptions and a fumble. Northeastern State passed for 215 yards in the game, but most of that coming late in the game.

Caldwell finished with 22 carries for 123 yards and the touchdown. Short rushed 10 times for 83 yards and three scores. Windmiller finished early in the second half, 9-15 for 199 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Dickens was one of a handful of Griffon receivers to pull in two catches. He led the team with 75 receiving yards and the TD.

The win lifted Missouri Western to 3-2 on the season and dropped Northeastern State to 1-4. The Griffons travel to Lindenwood next Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —