Sports – Page 457 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Holliday gives Cardinals 5-4 walk-off win over Phillies

Posted on May 5, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Holliday delivered the St. Louis Cardinals’ first walk-off win of the season on Wednesday night and then was mobbed by his teammates.

“That’s why I work out,” he said, “just in case something like that happens.”

The Cardinals scored twice in the bottom of the ninth and Holliday’s RBI single with two outs was the difference in a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It was an important game for us to win,” Holliday said. “We needed it and we need to win tomorrow to win the series. All games are important but this was one we needed to win.”

The Cardinals had lost five of their last six while the Phillies had won seven of eight and 10 of 12.

St. Louis rallied in the ninth against Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez, who had converted his first nine save opportunities this season.

Pinch-hitter Kolten Wong led off with a walk. With one out, pinch-hitter Matt Adams doubled off the wall in right-center, a play that was reviewed to see whether it went over the fence.

“I thought it hit that flower bed out there and bounced back,” Adams said. “I saw the umpire’s arms signal not a homer and I just had to get to second safely.”

After an intentional walk to load the bases with one out, Stephen Piscotty delivered an RBI infield single to tie the game and pitcher Carlos Martinez, pinch running for Adams, was out after rounding third.

Holliday then smacked a single through the left side of the infield to drive home the winning run.

“It’s, I think, a great example of the fight in this team to not let a 4-0 lead get us down and to fight right back so that’s a big win,” said Piscotty, who had three hits and two RBI. “That’s a confidence booster. We’re going to hopefully keep that momentum going.”

Ryan Howard’s seventh home run of the season, a three-run shot to center field in the fourth inning, gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead. That was the St. Louis native’s 23rd homer in 67 career games against the Cardinals.

Odubel Herrera added a solo home run in the fifth, his third, to make it 4-0.

Cardinals starter Mike Leake, the team’s big free agent addition of the offseason, entered the game with an 0-3 record and 5.83 ERA. He allowed four runs and four hits in five innings, his ERA rising to 6.03 after six starts.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth with the help of two reviews.

Ruben Tejada led off the inning with a hit down the third-base line that was originally called foul but ruled a double after a 5-minute review. After a walk to Eric Fryer and pinch-hit single by Brandon Moss, Aledmys Diaz hit a single off the glove of shortstop Freddy Galvis that scored two runs. Fryer was safe at home on a close play that was reviewed, but not overturned.

Piscotty followed with an RBI single to score Moss and chase Phillies starter Adam Morgan, who allowed three runs and six hits in four-plus innings.

Phillies left fielder Tyler Goeddel made a catch at the wall to take a hit away from Jedd Gyorko to end the eighth inning.

“We walked five guys and three of them scored so the walks kind of hurt us,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “But like I said Gomez walked the leadoff guy, which I wasn’t real happy about, but then he had a situation to get a ground ball. That’s what we wanted him to do, and he gave us a ground ball that found a hole.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Tommy Pham, out with a left oblique strain since opening day, began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday night. He went 1 for 2 with a two-run single, walk and stolen base.

WHO’S ON FIRST?

Yadier Molina got a break from his catching duties on Wednesday and became the Cardinals’ fifth starter at first base this season. Adams and Moss have started 11 games there, while Holliday has started four and Matt Carpenter has started one.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-3, 4.15) has never faced the Cardinals. He is coming off a no-decision against Cleveland after allowing three runs and six hits over six innings.

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (1-2, 3.73) will make his eighth start and 10th career appearance against Philadelphia. He is 2-4 with a 3.27 ERA in his previous nine appearances against the Phillies.

— Associated Press —

Western tennis lands three on the All-MIAA team

Posted on May 5, 2016

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western Women’s Tennis continues to see improvement and recognition as Yasmine El Ghazi, Sarah Giraldo, and Joanna Abreu Roman all earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention in 2016.

Junior Yasmine El Ghazi earned No. 1 singles All-MIAA Honorable Mention. El Ghazi finished the year with a 14-8 overall record and a 7-4 record in the No. 1 singles positon. She also recorded a 3-0 record in the No. 3 spot.

Senior Sarah Giraldo earned No. 2 singles All-MIAA Honorable Mention. Giraldo accumulated a 9-11 overall record this year and went 5-6 in the No. 2 singles spot.

Freshman Joanna Abreu Roman was a strong point for the Griffons all season, earning No. 4 singles All-MIAA Honorable Mention. She went 14-4 overall, going 9-2 in the No. 4 spot. In her last 10 matches, she finished 8-2.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Patricia Husakova, Northeastern State

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Alli Hodges, Central Oklahoma

COACH OF THE YEAR
Amanda Stone, Northeastern State

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Tawni Griffey, Emporia State

FIRST TEAM
1S: Patricia Husakova, Northeastern State
2S: Maria Josie Zehnder, Southwest Baptist
3S: Lara Soares, Northeastern State
4S: Molly Worden, Northeastern State
5S: Lani Tuemmers, Southwest Baptist
6S: Jenny Bond, Central Oklahoma
1D: Patricia Husakova/Molly Worden, Northeastern State
2D: Maria Josie Zehnder/Lani Tuemmers, Southwest Baptist
3D: Paula Jiminez/Emma Neil, Nebraska-Kearney

SECOND TEAM
1S: Alli Hodges, Central Oklahoma
2S: Daria Panfernova, Northeastern State
3S: Valeriia Efimenko, Northeastern State
4S: Klara Vickov, Southwest Baptist
5S: Emilie Semo, Central Oklahoma
6S: Karla Tomaic, Northeastern State
1D: Christina Zentai/Lara Soares, Southwest Baptist
2D: Sthefani Rodriguez/Sherry Sun, Nebraska-Kearney
3D: Kaja Emersic/Andrea Gallardo, Northwest Missouri

Honorable Mention
#1S: Tawni Griffey, ESU; Yasmine El Ghazi, MWSU; Christina Zentai, SBU
#2S: Kirtana Bhat, UCO; Sarah Giraldo, MWSU; Kaja Emersic, NWMSU
#3S: Alex Williams, UCO; Paula Jiminez, UNK
#4S: Joanna Abreu Roman, MWSU; Emma Neil, UNK
#5S: Easton Parker, NSU
#6S: Lori Ahuja, ESU; Sarah Durham, ESU; Rebeca Aguilar, LWU; Leigha Limbach, UNK; Vilune Sestokaite, NWMSU; Zorana Jovanovic, SBU; Gwen Shepler, WU
#1D: Kirtana Bhat/Alli Hodges, UCO; Lorena Rivas/Vilune Sestokaite, SBU
#2D: Anna Minakova/Shali Shoepflin, UCO ; Valeriia Efimenko/Daria Panfernova, NSU
#3D: Emilie Semo/Jenny Bond, UCO; Easton Parker/Karla Tomaic, NSU; Klara Vickov/Zorana Jovanovic, SBU

— MWSU Atheltics —

Royals rally past Nationals with three runs in the ninth

Posted on May 3, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lorenzo Cain capped a three-run ninth inning with a two-out single to left, bringing home Mike Moustakas and giving the Kansas City Royals a 7-6 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.

Tanner Roark lasted into the eighth inning for Washington, but he was relieved by Felipe Rivero with runners on the corners and one out. Eric Hosmer grounded into a fielder’s choice to make it 6-4.

Rivero got through the rest of the inning and turned the lead over to Jonathan Papelbon (1-1), who served up back-to-back singles to start the ninth. After Omar Infante struck out, Moustakas came on to pinch hit and guided a single through the left side to knot the game 6-all.

Alcides Escobar kept the line moving with a single to center, and Cain ripped a liner into the gap in left-center to keep the Royals from losing for the seventh time in eight games.

Chien-Ming Wang (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy hit early homers, and Jayson Werth hit one late for Washington. The Nationals coaxed across three runs in the sixth inning, giving them what looked like an insurmountable lead against the sluggish Kansas City offense.

Luke Hochevar allowed those three runs in his only inning of work, the reliever following another subpar outing by Chris Young. He lasted 4 2/3 innings to put a massive burden on his bullpen.

After falling behind on Rendon’s homer in the first, the Royals answered with three runs in the third inning. Escobar tied the game with his RBI single, and hot-hitting Hosmer’s two-out, two-run jab through the right side of the infield gave Kansas City a 3-1 lead.

Murphy went deep in the fourth inning before Washington continued its rally in the sixth, but the Royals hung around long enough to deliver their second walk-off win of the season.

The result? Two clubs on wildly different trajectories changed directions.

The Nationals began their 10-game road trip with a three-game sweep in St. Louis, and were an inning away from being perfect at the midway point. Meanwhile, the Royals (14-12) avoided dropping back to .500 after a hot start to the defense of their World Series championship.

NATIONALS VISIT HALL

Several members of the Nationals, including NL MVP Bryce Harper, spent the morning visiting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Harper called it “an honor and pleasure” to visit the museum and its president, Bob Kendrick. The museum is a popular spot for visiting teams to spend time in Kansas City.

HARPER INKS WITH UA

Under Armour announced Tuesday that Harper had signed a multiyear extension with the company, likely one of the largest endorsement deals in the majors. Harper has endorsed the brand the last five years. His new line of baseball cleats, “Harper One,” will be available in July.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Moustakas got the night off from the field after aggravating a thumb injury in Seattle over the weekend. “It blew up in Seattle,” manager Ned Yost said. “It’s just a day-by-day thing. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. Yesterday it was really swollen.”

UP NEXT

The series concludes Wednesday when Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg, 4-0 for the first time in his career, takes on Royals RHP Kris Medlen. The afternoon game is “School Day at the K.”

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western women’s golf tied for 2nd after day two at NCAA Super Regional

Posted on May 3, 2016

AXTELL, Neb. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf fired the best round in MWSU history for the second straight day, shooting a 295 on day two and sit tied for second in the standings. The event is being played at Awarii Dunes Golf Course which is a par 72, 6,248 yard course.

The Griffons have been propelled by Tiffanie Yabut and Celine Lim in the first two rounds of the tournament. Yabut currently sits tied for second in the individual standings with a 145, shooting a 74 and 71 respectively in her rounds of play. Lim is at 146 through two rounds, tying her for sixth in the standings. Shi Qing Ong is tied for 10th, tallying a 75 and 73, respectively in the first two rounds. Madison Romjue and Callie Wilson finished the two rounds with a 154 and 158.

Missouri Western dropped one spot and sit tied for second in the overall standings with Northeastern State. Augustana dominated the second round of action, moving up four spots in the standings and taking an eight stroke advantage into the final day. Central Oklahoma moved down four spots in the second round of action.

Daniela Martinez of Central Oklahoma leads the pack individually, recording a 144 in the first two rounds. Four individuals are tied for second at 145.

The top three teams and top three individuals not with a team from each super regional will make up the championship field. The final round of the Central Regional will be played on Wednesday morning.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State tennis teams earn NCAA Regional bids

Posted on May 3, 2016

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State University men’s and women’s teams each earned bids to the 2016 NCAA Division II Tournament on Tuesday. The Bearcat men are the Central Region’s No. 1 team and will host No. 4 on Southwest Baptist at Frank Grube Courts in Maryville, Mo. The Norhtwest women will face Augustana University in Bolivar, Mo., with the winner of that match taking on the winner of Central Oklahoma and host Southwest Baptist. Match dates and times will be released at a later time.

The Bearcat women finished the year at 12-12, advancing to the MIAA semifinals. This is the second straight year the Northwest women have qualified for NCAA play and the 17th time overall. This will be the first meeting in NCAA play between the Bearcats and Augustana. The two teams met earlier this season in St. Joseph, Mo., with the Vikings taking a 5-2 decision on March 6.

Northwest’s men captured the MIAA Tournament and were co-regular season champions, going 19-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play. The Bearcats were 6-0 at home and entered the tournament with the ITA’s No. 12 national ranking. This will be the 19th NCAA tournament selection for the Northwest men and the 11th straight year, dating back to 2006. Northwest is 2-0 all time vs. SBU in NCAA play. Southwest Baptist beat Northwest in the regular season, 5-4, back on April 16. But Northwest won, 5-0, last weekend in the MIAA Championship match.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffon women add two guards from Northern Iowa Area Community College

Posted on May 3, 2016

ST. JOSEPH. – Missouri Western Women’s Basketball head coach Rob Edmisson has announced the signings of two additional student-athletes for the 2016-17 season.

Savannah Lentz and Trudy Peterson will both come to Missouri Western from North Iowa Area Community College, where they became the school’s top two three point shooters of all time. The two most recent signees join Erin Anderson, who signed earlier this spring.

Savannah Lentz | 5-6 | G | Cresco, Iowa | Northern Iowa Area Community College
Lentz is NIACC’s all-time three point leader with 171 made. Lentz ranks 15th at NIACC in all-time scoring and was a first team All-NJCAA Region XI selection and third team NJCAA Division II All-American last season. She scored more than 300 points both seasons at NIACC.

“Savannah’s hard-nose style of play will bring toughness to our team,” Edmisson said. “Her ability to shoot the three will help us on the perimeter.”

Trudy Peterson | 5-10 | G | Clear Lake, Iowa | Northern Iowa Area Community College
Peterson ranks second at NIACC with 145 three-point field goals made in her career. She was also a first team All-NJCAA Region XI selecion and scored 635 points in two years, including a school record 51-point game against Kennedy King College last season.

“Trudy also adds an immediate perimeter threat to our team,” Edmisson said. “Her size and shooting abilities will allow her to contribute to our future success.”

Erin Anderson | 5-7 | G | St. Louis, Mo. | Kansas City Kansas Community College
Anderson is fresh off an NJCAA Division II National Championship at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The 5-7 guard led the Blue Devils, averaging 15.5 points per game. She also averaged 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. She also shot 39.2 percent from three-point range and was a first team All-Jayhawk and All-Region VI selection. Anderson was also named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team.

“We are excited to add a player like Erin to our Missouri Western family,” Edmisson said. “Her competitive spirit and skill set will make an instant impact. Playing on a national championship team sets her apart from a lot of players.”

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcat basketball signs Iowa prep Daric Laing

Posted on May 3, 2016

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Chariton (IA) High School guard Daric Laing has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Northwest Missouri State. Head Coach Ben McCollum announced that the first-team 3A All-State performer will join the Bearcats this fall.

“Daric loves to be in the gym and works extremely hard at his game,” said McCollum. “We love the qualities he brings to our program. He is competitive, has a good feel for the game and can really shoot the three. Even more, he is a high character kid and our faculty and fans will enjoy being around him and interacting with him.”

Laing was a four-time South Central Conference first team performer, recording 1,937 points and 433 assists in his prep career. His team, coached by Ben Schooley, won three straight conference championships. As a senior, he led his team to a fourth place finish in the 3A state tournament, earning first team all-state honors. He earned third team all-state honors during his sophomore and junior seasons.

In the classroom, Laing is a member of the National Honor Society, garnered the Principal’s Award, earned Academic All-Conference honors and will graduate in the top-20 of his class at Chariton High School.

— Northwest Athletics —

Tigers fall to Illinois in annual Braggin’ Rights baseball game

Posted on May 3, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball dropped its annual Braggin’ Rights game to Illinois, 6-4, on Tuesday night (May 3) at GCS Ballpark as Illinois has now won the last two meetings in the series. The loss drops Mizzou to 24-22 while Illinois improves to 22-19. Mizzou junior SS Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) tallied his fifth homer of the year and also added a double, reaching base in three of four plate appearances. He also made a pair of sparkling plays in the field.

The start went to freshman righty Grant Macciocchi (West Chester Township, Ind.) who was masterful over three perfect innings. Illinois then tagged four runs on five hits in the fourth inning after Macciocchi exited the game and that broke it open for Illinois. Freshman Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) took the loss, just his second of the season, after allowing the four runs and five hits in the fourth. Illinois RHP Andrew Mamlic earned the win, moving him to 4-6 on the year.

Mizzou got on the board in the top of the first as Howard continued his hot hitting of late, launching a solo shot on a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left center to give Mizzou an early 1-0 lead. Macciocchi got three 5-3 groundouts in the first as he looked sharp early. He sat down the first nine he faced in three perfect innings, getting seven ground balls, a strikeout and a flyout.

Howard again got things started for Mizzou in the fourth, leading off the frame with his 10th double of the year. He then scored on a two-out error by Illinois 3B Trent Hammond off the bat of Mizzou C Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and that gave Mizzou a 2-0 lead.

Tim Jamieson went to the bullpen in the fourth in favor of Sharp and he surrendered a leadoff homer to Jack Yalowitz as that cut the lead in half at 2-1. He then allowed a two-run homer to Pat McInerney to put Illinois on top, 3-2. Illinois then added another on an RBI single and that ended Sharp’s day as Illinois tagged him for five hits and four runs and took a 4-2 lead into the fifth inning.

Illinois added another run in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Jason Goldstein. Mizzou then threatened to get to Mamlic in the sixth, putting the first two men on after a Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) double after a 10-pitch at-bat and an eight-pitch walk by Howard. But senior Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.) grounded into a 3-6-1 double play and Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) grounded out to end the threat.

Sophomore RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) was sensational in relief, settling things down following late and keeping Mizzou in the game. He tossed 2.1 innings and struck out a career-high three batters. Mizzou then tallied two runs in the eighth inning on Lavy’s nation-leading eighth triple, cutting the lead to 5-4. Illinois then added an insurance run in the eighth inning.

Mizzou heads to Starkville, Miss., for a Thursday-Saturday series at No. 3 Mississippi State.

— Mizzou Athletics —

No. 1 recruit Josh Jackson officially signs with Kansas

Posted on May 3, 2016

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Top-ranked recruit Josh Jackson has signed and will be a freshmen at the University of Kansas in 2016-17, KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced Tuesday. Jackson verbally committed to KU in early April.

Jackson (6-foot-8, 205 pounds) is the second No. 1 rated player to sign with Kansas in the past three seasons. Jackson, No. 1 by Rivals.com and 247Sports, joins current Minnesota Timberwolves standout Andrew Wiggins who played at KU in 2013-14.

“Josh has been a guy that is so respected in all high school circles the last four years,” Self said. “He is probably as highly thought of as any recent player to come out of high school because of his competitive nature. He left Detroit to finish his high school career at Prolific Prep in the Napa (California) area. He is very similar to Andrew Wiggins. He’s a tall guard that can do a lot of everything. We feel his impact on our program next year will be as much as any freshman will have on any college program. He’s extremely athletic but more importantly extremely competitive. We have a very competitive culture at Kansas but I think it just got improved with the signing of Josh. He’s a guy that everybody enjoys playing with because he is so unselfish but also a guy that can take a game over.”

The list of accolades is aplenty when talking about Jackson. He was named McDonald’s All-America in 2016 where he earned co-Most Valuable Player honors of the McDonald’s game after scoring 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting in leading the West team to a 114-107 victory. He also competed in the 2016 Nike Hoops Summit where the USA team defeated the World Team 101-67 on April 9 in Portland, Oregon.

Jackson grew up in Detroit and has played the past two seasons at Prolific Prep in Napa, California. He averaged 26.9 points, 13.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game at Prolific Prep in 2015-16 for head coach Billy McKnight. In his first season at Prolific Prep, Jackson averaged 31.2 points, 17.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals in 2014-15. Prior to going to Prolific Prep, Jackson led Detroit Consortium to the Class C state title his sophomore year in 2013-14. Jackson is described as an athletic wing who plays above the rim and is an ultimate competitor.

“I played him at the 1-4 positions this year,” McKnight recently told reporters. “Defensively, I adjusted our scheme this year because of Josh. We literally didn’t help off other players when Josh was guarding 1-on-1. He guarded 1-5 for us. He’s so quick off the ground. His ability to block shots and rebound will make a huge impact.”

Jackson has quite the resume when competing for USA Basketball. He has won three gold medals for USA at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Maldonado, Uruguay, the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship in Heraklion, Greece.

“Josh has a great feel for basketball, in large part, because his mother, Apples Jones, who played college basketball at Allen County Community College in Kansas and UTEP,” Self said. “His recruitment was fierce, and deservedly so. Coach (Kurtis) Townsend has done such a good job for a long period of time making sure Josh and Apples were both comfortable and educated on our situation and how Kansas could be a good fit for them.”

Jackson joins forward Mitch Lightfoot who signed with Kansas in November 2015. Lightfoot (6-foot-8, 219 lbs.) had an outstanding senior season at Gilbert Christian High School in Gilbert, Arizona. Named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year for 2015-16, Lightfoot, 6-foot-8, averaged 22.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots this past season in leading Gilbert Christian to a 21-6 record. Lightfoot, who is ranked No. 67 by ESPN100, scored 32 points in the BallisLife All-America game April 30, at Long Beach City College in California.

“Mitch is going to be a guy that nobody can sleep on,” Self said. “Give him a little bit of time and he is going to continue to grow and get stronger. He’s going to be a guy that will help us win games as a freshman but could be a big contributor as moves forward in his career.”

— KU Athletics —

Northwest’s Pablo repeats as MIAA Pitcher of the Week

Posted on May 3, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second straight week, Northwest Missouri State University junior Nikko Pablo was named the MIAA/AstroTurf’s Pitcher of the Week. Pablo threw the third no-hitter in Bearcat history on Tuesday, April 26, against Missouri Western.

Pablo went the full 9.0 innings, allowing no hits, no runs and just one walk. He struck out six batters on the day and at one point, retired 21 straight batters between the first and eighth innings. Even more remarkable, Pablo withstood a 49 minute rain delay between the eighth and ninth innings. He emerged in the ninth after sitting for close to an hour to strike out the side in the ninth. Only three Griffon batters reached base against the right hander, one via a walk, one was hit by a pitch and one reached on an error.

Northwest will conclude the 2016 regular season with a three-game series at Fort Hays State in Hays, Kan., starting on Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —