MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State University soccer team’s Friday match with Minnesota-Crookston has been moved to St. Joseph, Mo., and will be played at Spratt Stadium at Missouri Western. The game will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Admission to the event will be free of charge at Missouri Western. Northwest will return back to Bearcat Pitch on Sunday at noon to take on Sioux Falls.
— Northwest Athletics —
The fifth annual Armed Forces Classic – a men’s college basketball doubleheader to be played Friday, Nov. 11 – will be staged at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii campus in Honolulu, ESPN announced Thursday. Kansas will face Indiana at 8 p.m. (Central), 4 p.m. (HT) in the second game of the doubleheader.
The event was originally scheduled to take place at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, but has been relocated to provide basketball fans of both the military and the community an opportunity to see the games up close.
The 2016 Armed Forces Classic will be held on Veterans Day – just under a month from the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Arizona will play Michigan State at 6 p.m. CT (2 p.m. HT) followed by the Kansas-Indiana contest.
The games will be televised on ESPN as part of the network’s America’s Heroes: A Salute to Our Veterans initiative honoring the men and women who are serving and who have served in the United States military, both at home and abroad.
Kansas has won six of the last seven meetings with Indiana but the Hoosiers lead the overall series 7-6. KU and IU last met in 1995 in Kansas City with the Jayhawks claiming a 91-83 victory on Dec. 16. This series dates back to 1940 with the first two meetings, both IU wins, in the NCAA title game in 1940 and 1953.
Previous Armed Forces Classic games have been played from Ramstein, Germany in 2012 (Connecticut vs. Michigan State), Pyongtaek, South Korea in 2013 (Georgetown vs. Oregon), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico in 2014 (Louisville vs. Minnesota) and Okinawa, Japan in 2015 (Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh).
— KU Athletics —
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Miguel Sano’s hustle led Minnesota to a pair of early runs and his RBI double tied the game in the decisive seventh inning, helping the Twins dodge a series sweep by beating the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Wednesday night.
Brian Dozier didn’t hit a home run for Minnesota, ending his club-tying record at five straight games, but he singled and stole second before scoring on Sano’s double off Joakim Soria (4-8). Dozier also started a dazzling double play to finish the fifth inning, with a diving stop of Eric Hosmer’s grounder and a glove flick to second base to get the ball out while he was flat on the dirt.
Alex Wimmers (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh in relief of Kyle Gibson to record his first major league victory. Brandon Kintzler gave up Jarrod Dyson’s two-out RBI single before finishing the ninth inning for his 14th save in 16 attempts.
Kendrys Morales had three hits, including his sixth home run in the last eight games, and Drew Butera also went deep for the Royals. Danny Duffy struck out 10 batters without a walk over six innings, but the bullpen cost Kansas City an opportunity to creep forward in the AL wild-card race. It stayed four games behind Baltimore, which holds the second spot.
Sano beat a relay throw in the first inning to stave off a double play after his bouncer back to the mound and later scored on Robbie Grossman’s single. In the fifth, the burly slugger ran fast enough after his routine grounder to shortstop that Alcides Escobar threw high to first for an error. Byron Buxton raced home from second base to score on the play, touching home plate as he hurdled Sano’s bat with a head-first dive to elude Butera’s tag.
Grossman and Buxton each homered for the Twins, who won for only the third time in their last 20 games.
MORALES OF THE STORY
Morales, who also drove in a run with a fourth-inning single, went deep to lead off the sixth. He has a 10-game hitting streak going, with 15 RBI and 17 hits in 42 at-bats for a .405 batting average during the stretch.
LESSON NOT LEARNED
Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando started the game with singles, but both of them were picked off first base with a quick throw by the right-handed Gibson, who had only six pickoffs in 93 previous major league starts.
PLOUFFE’S FAREWELL?
Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe was diagnosed with a strain of the intercostal and oblique muscles on his left side, his third injury this year to that area including a broken rib in July. This one will keep him out at least a few weeks, so with only 22 games to go he’s not likely to play again this season. Sano’s presence means Plouffe might have played his last game for the team that drafted him out of high school in the first round in 2004.
“If it happens that that was my last at-bat, it would be pretty sad. I hope it’s not,” said Plouffe, who is making $7.25 million with one more year of eligibility for salary arbitration. “My No. 1 thing, if I had my choice, would be to be back here.”
LONG WAY, MATES
The parents of Twins rookie James Beresford traveled 25 hours from their native Australia to surprise their son in a touching moment outside the clubhouse before the game that the team arranged. The 27-year-old Beresford, an infielder, played in 1,070 minor league games before being called up on Tuesday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
ROYALS: Butera played behind the plate for Perez, who was out with a bruised right wrist after being hit there by a pitch the night before. Perez could be back in the lineup by Friday.
TWINS: 1B Joe Mauer was given a day to rest his strained quadriceps muscles, an injury that has lingered for the last three weeks.
UP NEXT
ROYALS: After a travel day, Kansas City starts a three-game series on Friday in Chicago. RHP Yordano Ventura (10-9, 4.22 ERA) will take the mound, opposite LHP Carlos Rodon (6-8, 3.90 ERA) of the White Sox.
TWINS: Following an off day at home, Minnesota hosts division-leading Cleveland for three games. RHP Tyler Duffey (8-10, 6.24 ERA) pitches for the Twins, against RHP Danny Salazar (11-6, 3.78 ERA) of the Indians.
— Associated Press —
The Northwest Missouri State soccer team opened its 2016 campaign with a 3-1 loss at Rockhurst on Wednesday.
Danielle Wolfe scored her first goal of the season in the 35th minute. Rockhurst moves to 3-0, while Northwest opens 0-1.
Jessica Spradley had the assist to Wolfe’s goal, while Ashley Malloy recored five saves for the Bearcats.
Northwest took six shots in the contest, three of which were on goal. On the other end, the Hawks attempted 19 shots with eight being on frame.
Northwest Missouri State will host Minnesota-Crookston on Friday at 5 p.m. on Bearcat Pitch in the team’s home opener.
— Northwest Athletics —
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jung Ho Kang led off the eighth inning with a home run, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Kang hit a drive deep into the bullpens in left-center off rookie Alex Reyes (1-1) for his 17th homer and third in two games. It helped snap the Pirates’ longest skid since dropping 10 straight in 2011.
The Cardinals are percentage points ahead of the New York Mets for the second NL wild card, and the Pirates drew within 4 1/2 games of St. Louis.
Trevor Williams (1-0) allowed one unearned run in three innings for the win in his major league debut.
Reyes gave up one run in 3 2/3 innings and also singled off Williams in the seventh for his first major league hit.
Tony Watson worked a perfect ninth inning for his 11th save after blowing his previous two opportunities, including Tuesday night when he allowed three home runs in the ninth inning of a 9-7 loss.
The Cardinals ended a streak of 25 consecutive games with a home run, a club record.
Pirates starter Jameson Taillon pitched five innings. The rookie gave up two runs, six hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Mike Leake went 4 1/3 innings in his first start for the Cardinals since Aug. 21 after being sidelined by the shingles virus. He gave up three runs, nine hits and a walk while striking out three.
The Cardinals’ Yadier Molina scored in the sixth to make it 3-3. Molina reached second base when right fielder Adam Frazier dropped his fly ball, then scored on a single by Randal Grichuk.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: LF Matt Holliday (broken left thumb) was cleared to resume baseball activities and is hopeful of returning before the end of the regular season. He has been on the disabled list since Aug. 12.
Pirates: LF Starling Marte sat out a second straight game because of back spasms. … RHP Neftali Feliz, who was removed from Saturday’s game with arm discomfort, is still unable to play catch and likely won’t return until next week. … C Elias Diaz, who was expected to be recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Indianapolis, has instead been shut down for the season after undergoing surgery for a bacterial infection in his left leg.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (10-11, 4.41 ERA), who has lost his last three starts, faces Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.85) on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game home series.
Pirates: RHP Ivan Nova is 4-0 with a 2.89 ERA in six starts since being acquired from the New York Yankees in a trade Aug. 1. He starts against Cincinnati RHP Dan Straily (11-7, 3.83) to open a four-game home series Thursday.
— Associated Press —
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mike Racy has been selected as the next commissioner of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) by the conference’s Chief Executive Officers Council.
Racy will succeed Dr. Bob Boerigter, who after six years with the MIAA announced in May his retirement effective January 31, 2017. Racy will be the fifth full-time commissioner in MIAA history.
“The MIAA is a great NCAA conference, with a stellar reputation for academic excellence, national championship success and service to community. I am thrilled to be selected as the next commissioner of the MIAA. I would like to thank Chancellor Kristensen and the MIAA CEO Council for giving me this opportunity to lead the conference office and to serve the CEO’s, student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administrators at MIAA member institutions,“ stated Racy.
Racy joined the NCAA staff in November 1993 and went on to serve as the NCAA Division II vice president from 1999 to 2013. In that position, he was a member of the NCAA President’s Cabinet; managed the Division II governance structure and the division’s $30 million annual budget; provided leadership in the consideration of policies, legislation and issues that affected Division II member institutions and conferences; and coordinated the national office staff support and services for the division’s membership. Most recently, Racy has served as a collegiate athletics consultant.
“Mike Racy’s experience on the national level and his strong sense of the values of Division II make him a perfect match for the MIAA. I am confident he will lead the tradition-rich MIAA with a forward-looking strategic view,” said Doug Kristensen, Chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and chair of the CEO Council.
Under Racy’s leadership, Division II developed and implemented a groundbreaking strategic-positioning platform; created a National Championships Festival series; and passed landmark “Life in the Balance” legislation that reframed the educational and athletics experience for Division II student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
A Kansas native, Racy was born in Lawrence and grew up in Abilene. He attended Washburn University in Topeka and worked for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) after his graduation, then went on to earn a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, in 1992. That was followed by his legal practice with Gage and Tucker (now Lathrop and Gage) law firm in Kansas City as a general litigation attorney.
— MIAA Press Release —
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kendrys Morales has resumed his form as a feared power hitter. The Kansas City Royals hope it has come in time to push them back to the postseason.
Morales had two home runs, including a three-run blast in Kansas City’s seven-run ninth inning that propelled the Royals to a 10-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
Morales hit a two-run shot in the first inning to help the Royals overcome the loss of catcher Salvador Perez, who left the game with a right wrist contusion after he was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. It was his 17th career multihomer game and extended his hitting streak to nine games.
“It’s been some time now where I’ve been starting to feel really, really good,” Morales said through an interpreter. “Now I’m, really comfortable at the plate and I’m making good, hard contact.”
Brian Dozier hit his 39th home run of the season for the Twins, moving him into a tie with Rogers Hornsby (twice) and Alfonso Soriano for fourth-most home runs by a second baseman in a season. He has homered in five straight games, tying Harmon Killebrew and Marty Cordova for the longest streak in Twins history.
Former Twin Drew Butera’s bases loaded single off Brandon Kintzler (0-2) broke a 3-3 tie and got the Royals rolling in the ninth.
Morales has five homers in his last seven games.
“He’s swinging the bat real well right now, that’s for sure,” manager Ned Yost said. “The second (homer) was huge. We were trying to keep (reliever) Wade (Davis) out of the game.”
The Royals started the day two games behind the second wild card in the AL, but with five teams ahead of them. The margin of error is getting slimmer by the day, and a loss to the team with the worst record in the majors certainly would not have helped their cause.
After giving up three homers to Dozier on Monday night, Royals starter Dillon Gee fell behind 0-2 in the first inning and left a fastball up in the zone. Dozier hit it an estimated 395 feet into the second deck in left field, giving him 25 home runs since the All-Star break. Three of those were hit as a DH, but his 22 as a second baseman surpassed Hall of Famer Joe Gordon’s 21 for the most ever by an American League second baseman.
GEE’S START
Gee gave up three runs and eight hits and struck out two in six innings. Kelvin Herrera (2-4) pitched one inning for the win.
Yost said he thought he might have to get a tired bullpen up early when Gee served up long balls to Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Eddie Rosario in the first two innings. But the right-hander settled in after that and allowed just two hits over the final four innings before yielding to the bullpen.
“Everything he was throwing was elevated in the zone and his location was off but after the second inning he came in and made an adjustment and got in a groove and did a phenomenal job of getting us through six innings and keeping us right there in the game,” Yost said.
ROSTER MOVES
Royals: Recalled INF Christian Colon and selected the contracts of OF Daniel Nava and RHP Kevin McCarthy from Triple-A Omaha. OF Reymond Fuentes and RHP Nick Tepesch were designated for assignment to make room.
Twins: Recalled RHP Tyler Duffey, 1B Kennys Vargas and INF James Beresford from Triple-A Rochester. Manager Paul Molitor said Duffey would return to the starting rotation on Friday against Cleveland.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: OF Lorenzo Cain missed his sixth straight game because of left wrist inflammation. He is listed as day to day.
Twins: Plouffe had to leave the game in the middle of an at-bat in the eighth inning with a left oblique strain. Plouffe left after falling behind 1-2 and was replaced by Vargas. … LHP Tommy Milone (left biceps) and RHP Trevor May (back) threw simulated games on Tuesday. Molitor said both would likely be activated on Friday.
UP NEXT
The Royals send LHP Danny Duffy (11-2, 3.13) to the mound to face Twins RHP Kyle Gibson (5-9, 5.31) in the series finale. Duffy has been dominant for most of the season, but has allowed at least eight hits in three straight starts. Gibson has been largely disappointing in his Twins career, but is 5-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts against Kansas City.
— Associated Press —
ST. JOSEPH – After no scoring through the first 64 minutes, the Missouri Western soccer team and Bemidji State erupted for four goals in a 12 minute stretch that left the Griffons down 3-1. Western eventually dropped its home opener 4-1 to the Beavers after surrendering another goal in the final five minutes.
Cassidy Menke put Missouri Western up 1-0 on a shot from the right side about 20 yards out in the 64th minute. But Bemidji State answered quickly with a goal from Tia Teuharth in the 65th minute. The Beavers scored again less than two minutes later to take a 2-1 lead then added their third goal in the 76th minute.
The four Bemidji State goals were the most allowed by Missouri Western since a 4-0 loss at Central Missouri on Nov. 2, 2014. The Griffons outshot Bemidji State 14-6, controlling the tempo throughout the first 65 minutes, but just two of those shots were on goal for Missouri Western. Meanwhile, all but one of Bemidji State’s shots were on frame. Missouri Western also took nine corners, nine more than Bemidji State.
Paige LaBadie took her first loss of the season, giving up all four games and recording one save. The Griffons fell to 2-1 and host Minnesota Crookston on Sunday at Noon. Bemidji State defeated Minnesota Crookston, 5-1 this past Saturday.
— MWSU Athletics —
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — One of the best fan bases in the country boosted the St. Joseph Mustangs into the top 10 of the summer collegiate baseball attendance rankings once again in 2016.
Baseball Digest and Ballpark Biz announced that the Mustangs’ attendance landed in the top ten among all summer collegiate baseball teams in the country for the fourth consecutive season.
St. Joseph drew an average of 2,275 fans per game, which ranks seventh in the nation. The Mustangs saw a total attendance of 65,967 throughout the summer — an increase of more than 4,000 fans from the previous year. That total is the eighth most among all summer collegiate teams.
“We had a hot summer, and we even lost a Saturday night on 4th of July weekend to rain, and to still finish seventh in the nation is just a testament to how great this fan base is,” Mustangs’ general manager Ky Turner said.
St. Joe kicked the 2016 season off with a 7-3 win over the Ban Johnson Raiders in front of 4,493 fans at Phil Welch Stadium. That set a new opening night attendance record for the team.
The Mustangs’ largest crowd of the season came on July 16 which was Healthcare Appreciation Night and also featured a Mosaic Life Care Fireworks Spectacular after the game. Phil Welch Stadium saw 4,768 fans pack the stands that evening.
“The support the Mustangs receive from St. Joe is tremendous,” Turner said. “The people in this community have made Phil Welch Stadium and the Mustangs one of the top baseball stops in the country- we received phone calls from people who lived in Kentucky, Nebraska, and other states that wanted to visit a game because they had heard about the experience here.”
The Mustangs reached the playoffs in 2016 with a 36-17 record overall, 27-16 in the MINK.
— Mustangs Press Release —
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Down to his final strike and his team trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth, St. Louis pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter told himself to just find a pitch he could handle.
When the fastball from closer Tony Watson ended up right down the middle and not up and away as Watson hoped, Carpenter pounced. His solo homer — a major league record 15th by a St. Louis pinch-hitter this season — tied it and sent a jolt through the Cardinals. A home run each from Randal Grichuk and Jhonny Peralta followed, and St. Louis rallied for a stunning 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
“We’ve got a team that I think the best way to describe it is a dangerous team,” Carpenter said. “We’ve got a team that I don’t think anybody wants to match up with, especially in a postseason scenario. It’s a fun team to play on. We never quit, and tonight was a good example of it.”
St. Louis blew an early five-run lead and the Pirates were a pitch away from ending a seven-game losing streak when Watson’s 0-2 fastball turned into Carpenter’s 18th home run. An All-Star two years ago as a setup man who moved into the closer role when Mark Melancon was traded to Washington at the deadline, Watson gave up as many homers in the ninth as he did during the entire 2015 season.
“We’re not playing good ball and to go out there and (have) guys fight back and be a strike away and serve up four more runs, it’s tough to swallow,” Watson (2-4) said after his third blown save since replacing Melancon.
Yadier Molina went 4 for 5, including a first-inning grand slam for St. Louis. Mike Mayers (1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth for the win, and Seung-Hwan Oh worked around a solo homer to Jung Ho Kang in the ninth for his 16th save.
The Cardinals finished with five home runs in all, including Matt Adams’ 436-foot drive over the seats in right field that plopped into the Allegheny River on the bounce. The comeback allowed St. Louis to remain a game in front of the New York Mets for the second wild card in the National League.
“I’m speechless,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “Just, I love how this team competes, right down to the last out. Having a guy like (Carpenter), who hadn’t felt quite right, to be able to come into that situation, and then right after that … I’m at a loss.”
Jung Ho Kang had two homers for Pittsburgh and Jordy Mercer hit a two-run double in the fifth as the Pirates took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Cardinals to overcome an early five-run deficit. Watson’s implosion, however, sent Pittsburgh to its eighth straight defeat.
The Pirates came in reeling during their longest skid in two years, one that dropped them to the fringe of playoff contention. Opponents have outscored them 47-22 during the slide, including a 12-6 setback on Monday night in which the Cardinals simply overpowered Pittsburgh’s struggling pitching staff.
It looked like more of the same early on Tuesday. The Cardinals loaded the bases against Ryan Vogelsong and Molina cleared them with his first grand slam since 2012, the 25th straight game the Cardinals have homered, a club record.
MARTINEZ FINALLY ARRIVES
St. Louis rookie outfielder Jose Martinez made his long-awaited major league debut when he entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. The 28-year-old son of former major leaguer Carlos “Cafe” Martinez grounded out to third in his first plate appearance after more than a decade in the minors.
“It was good to see him get that chance,” Matheny said. “This is a good day for him. Long time coming.”
TRAINING ROOM
Cardinals: RF Stephen Piscotty was initially held out of the lineup to give his aching left wrist a breather. Piscotty took a pitch off the wrist on Monday. Postgame X-rays were negative and Piscotty doubled as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
Pirates: Pittsburgh held C Francisco Cervelli out of the lineup a day after he experienced discomfort in his left hand trying to block a pitch.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: Mike Leake returns to the rotation after a stay on the disabled list while battling a case of the shingles. Leake is 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA in his career against Pittsburgh but is 1-2 with a 5.71 ERA this season.
Pirates: Rookie Jameson Taillon will face the Cardinals for the first time in the series finale. The 24-year-old has a 2.80 ERA over his last 10 starts and pitched six innings of one-run ball last week against Milwaukee.
— Associated Press —
