Sports – Page 464 – St. Joseph Post Archive

MWSU women finish fourth, men seventh at MIAA golf championships

Posted on April 20, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team finished in fourth place at the MIAA Championships, recording a 980 in the three rounds of golf. MWSU scored their tournament best on day three of competition with a 317. The event was played at Swope Memorial Golf Course which is a par 72 – 5893 yard course.

All five Griffons finished in the top-35 in the tournament. Freshman Shi Qing Ong finished the tournament tied for eighth place in with a 238 in the tournament. Ong had a 73 in the final round which was the lowest score in the round. Madison Romjue tied for 13th place individually, reporting a 244 in the three rounds of golf. Celine Lim and Callie Wilson finished with a 247 and 252, respectively.

The Griffons finished 12 strokes behind Lindenwood for third place and 22 strokes ahead of Central Missouri for the fourth place in the standings. Northeastern State recorded a 922, winning the tournament by 20 strokes over Central Oklahoma.

Baylee Price of Northeastern State finished the tournament with a 219, winning the individual title. Elizabeth Leath of Central Missouri finished second at 230.

The 2016 NCAA Central Super Regional is scheduled to be played at the Awarii Dunes Golf Course in Axtell, Nebraska on May 1 – 3.

The Missouri Western men’s golf team finished the MIAA Championships with a seventh place finish, scoring a 917.
The Griffons wrapped up the final round with of the tournament with a 304. The event was played at Tiffany Greens Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo. which is a par 72 – 6977 yard course.

Corey Knight led the Griffons with a 223 in the three round tournament, placing him tied for tenth in the individual standings. Ryan Hand was tied for 22nd in the tournament, tallying a 229 at the tournament. Cole Roberts and Jakob Rudosky finished the tournament with a 236 and 237, respectively.

Seven strokes separated the fourth place through eighth place teams at the MIAA Championships. The Griffons were two strokes behind Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney for fifth place and six strokes behind Missouri Southern for fourth place.

Central Oklahoma won the tournament with an 882 team score and Lindenwood University was second with an 891 in the three rounds.

Blake Lammers of Lincoln won the individual award, firing a 210 in the three rounds of golf.

The NCAA Division II Central/Midwest Super Regional is scheduled to be played in Allendale, Michigan on May 2 – 4.

— MWSU Athletics —

KU QB’s Cozart and Ford receive hardship waivers for 2015 season

Posted on April 20, 2016

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas quarterbacks Montell Cozart and Deondre Ford have received hardship waivers from the Big 12 Conference for the 2015 season. Both Jayhawks will enter the 2016 campaign as redshirt juniors and have two years of eligibility remaining.

“It is great to see the Big 12 is giving Montell and Deondre a year back after both of these guys had their junior seasons end prematurely,” said Kansas head coach David Beaty. “They have worked tirelessly with our medical staff to get healthy and we are fortunate to have two more seasons with them in our program.”

Cozart started three of the first four games for Kansas in 2015 before suffering a season-ending injury at Iowa State. Prior to his injury, he completed 66-of-105 passes for 752 yards and two touchdowns. The Kansas City, Missouri, native also ran 45 times for 113 yards, adding a score on the ground. He enters 2016 with a streak of 101-straight passes without an interception.

Ford saw time in two games in 2015 before his season was cut short due to injury. A native of Waco, Texas, he started at Rutgers, completing six passes for 85 yards before exiting the game with an injury. Ford completed 11-of-23 passes for 132 yards on the season.

KU will begin the 2016 season on September 3 vs. Rhode Island. The Jayhawks will also host nonconference opponent Ohio (Sept. 10/Family Weekend, Band Day) before Big 12 rivals TCU (Oct. 8), Oklahoma State (Oct. 22/Homecoming, K-Club Weekend), Iowa State (Nov. 12) and Texas (Nov. 19) visit Lawrence.

— KU Athletics —

Griffons run-rule Bearcats to extend winning streak to eight games

Posted on April 20, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – About 30 minutes after it was released that the Missouri Western baseball team was the No. 23 team in the country, the Griffons responded with eight runs in the first two innings on the way to a 12-2, eight inning win over Northwest Missouri State.

It was the Western’s eighth straight win after going 7-0 on the road last week. Missouri Western jumped on the Bearcats early as all nine came to the plate in a four-run first inning. Back-to-back doubles by Nick Gawley and Cosimo Cannella put the Griffons up 3-0. Two batters later Kody Matthews put the Griffons up four with an infield single. Gawley went 4-for-4 at the plate with seven RBIs, good for second most ever in a game for the Griffons. Matthews was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Cannella drove in three with a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Landon Mason stretched his hitting streak to 20 games, but was replaced after the first inning due to recurring eye problems.

Tyler Tuepker got the win in his first start since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2015. He picked up the win, going the first three innings and allowing three hits and two runs. David Anderson pitched three innings in relief, giving up two hits and no runs with four strikeouts. Jared Lloyd and Mike Calimeno went one inning apiece.

The Griffons finished the night tied with just Washburn for second place in the MIAA standings after Emporia State lost to Washburn. Missouri Western hosts Nebraska-Kearney this weekend for a three-game series that begins Friday night at 6 p.m .

— MWSU Athletics —

Perez homers, drives in career-best five as Royals top Tigers 8-6

Posted on April 20, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The first question posed to Royals manager Ned Yost after an 8-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night had to do with the continued struggles of high-priced, late-inning reliever Joakim Soria.

Yost responded by praising Salvador Perez, who hit a three-run homer and had a career-high five RBI, and the performance of Yordano Ventura, who twice escaped bases-loaded jams in five shaky innings.

Eventually, Yost conceded that Soria has “started off a little slow.”

The rest of the Royals have made up for it.

“We’re going to play hard until the last out,” said Perez, who had a two-out, two-run double in the third before his two-out shot in the fifth gave Kansas City an 8-2 lead. “We’re always going to play hard.”

Especially after the Tigers cut their deficit in half on Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s homer off Danny Duffy in the seventh inning — his third straight game going deep. Detroit then loaded the bases with one out against Soria in the eighth, only for Kelvin Herrera to retire Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez around a hit batter to limit the damage.

Wade Davis breezed through the ninth inning for his sixth save.

Alcides Escobar drove in a pair of runs and Jarrod Dyson returned from the disabled list to add an RBI single in support of Ventura (1-0), who allowed two runs on six hits in five innings.

“They are a very aggressive team. They like to swing at the first pitch,” said the Tigers’ Blaine Hardy, who served up Perez’s homer. “They make you change up your game plan a little bit.”

Cabrera had a pair of RBI for Detroit, but he also struck out in his other four at-bats.

It was the first matchup between teams expected to battle all season for the AL Central, and for a while it appeared Round 1 would be a rout. The Royals scored three times in the second, stringing together hits and walks in trademark fashion, and tacked on two more runs when Perez laced his double down the left-field line.

Meanwhile, the Tigers did little to help out Shane Greene (1-1), who allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The Royals scored their first run when Dyson singled to left in the second, but Kendrys Morales should have been out at the plate — the throw from Justin Upton easily beat him. The only problem was Saltalamacchia whiffed on a one-hopper, allowing Morales to chug right past him for the run.

The Tigers’ offense was almost as bad as their defense, stranding 12 runners on base.

Cabrera and Martinez were baffled by Ventura with the bases loaded in the third. Then, when they seemed to get something going in the fifth, Mike Aviles slapped a routine flyball to right field to leave three more on base.

Luke Hochevar and the rest of Kansas City’s bullpen struggled through the final four, helping Ventura earn his first win of the season and improve to 5-0 in six career starts against Detroit.

“We’re fighting back, but we’re not quite getting it,” Saltalamacchia said. “At the same time, we’re not quitting.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dyson started in RF for Kansas City hours after being reinstated from the DL. The speedster had been rehabbing at Triple-A Omaha after straining his oblique in the first game of spring training.

OTHER MOVES

The Royals put RHP Dillon Gee on the paternity list after his wife gave birth to a daughter, Charlotte, on Monday. They also optioned RF Reymond Fuentes to Omaha and recalled RHP Miguel Almonte from the same club, while the Tigers brought Hardy off the DL and designated RHP Logan Kensing for assignment.

STATS AND STREAKS

Morales had two singles, a walk and was hit by a pitch. He’s reached base in nine consecutive at-bats against Detroit dating to last season. … The Royals’ Eric Hosmer had a double in the fifth, extending his on-base streak to 21 games. … Cabrera’s double gave him 1,451, tying Jim Rice for 61st in major league history.

UP NEXT

Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 0.00 ERA) and Royals RHP Ian Kennedy (2-0, 0.66) meet in a matchup of free agent pitchers who have lived up to expectations so far. Zimmermann has thrown 13 scoreless innings in two starts while Kennedy has allowed one run in 13 2/3 innings.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western’s Glaude earns second straight weekly MIAA honor

Posted on April 19, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western senior second baseman David Glaude continued a hot streak at the plate last week that earned the junior his second straight MIAA Hitter of the Week honor.

Glaude batted. .625 in four road wins last week for Missouri Western. Of his 10 hits, five were doubles, slugging .938 on the week. He also drove in 11 and scored five runs with two walks. Glaude now has five straight multi-hit games and has an eight-game hitting streak. He’s bumped his average up to .404 on the season and is batting .607 in the team’s last seven games tih 21 RBIs, three home runs, seven doubles and a triple.

The Canadian’s hot bat has helped his team move into a three-way tie for second place in the MIAA standings. Tonight, the Griffons host Northwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. for a single game. This weekend Nebraska-Kearney will be in town for three games, beginning on Friday.

— MWSU Athletics —

St. Louis drops second straight game to Cubs

Posted on April 19, 2016April 19, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jason Hammel has three RBI compared to two runs allowed through three starts. And even though Jason Heyward isn’t getting hits, he’s impacting the game on defense.

Hammel worked six sharp innings and drove in both runs for the Chicago Cubs in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Heyward was 0 for 5, dropping his average to .170, but threw out Matt Holliday at the plate to end the fourth.

“I got a couple good knocks, my first game-winning RBI,” Hammel said. “Honestly, I don’t think I wouldn’t have been out there without Jason’s great play.”

Hammel, a career .136 hitter, is 2 for 6 with a double to go with a 1.00 ERA this season. The hits aren’t exactly coming from extra work in the cage.

“No, no,” Hammel said with a chuckle. “We hit every day but I’m not trying anything different. I’ve just been trying to get the barrel out.”

Heyward, who left the Cardinals for Chicago as a free agent, weathered more boos in his second game in St. Louis, but again didn’t seem to mind.

“The boos got louder after I threw out Holliday at home, but whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Heyward said. “The fans are always going to do what they want to do regardless, and wherever you’re playing you’ve just got to try to help your team win.”

The Cardinals stranded two runners against the Cubs bullpen in the seventh and eighth. Yadier Molina was at second base when Hector Rondon struck out pinch-hitter Jedd Gyorko to earn his third save in three chances.

Chicago leads the majors at 11-3 and goes for a three-game sweep Wednesday over the defending NL Central champions. They last swept St. Louis in three games on the road Sept. 13-15, 2010.

Cubs starters have worked at least six innings the first 14 games of the season. That’s the most in the majors since 1988, when the Astros went 22 games and the Indians 17, according to STATS.

Hammel (2-0) allowed a run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks. The right-hander also gave Cubs pitchers three RBI in two games and the lead with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fourth.

Jaime Garcia (1-1) had thrown 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings before Hammel’s hit. The lefty struck out seven but was hindered by four walks and lasted five innings after throwing a one-hitter his previous outing.

“It’s not what I want to do,” Garcia said. “Way too short and I’ve got to do a better job than that next time.”

Molina had an RBI triple in the second, but the Cardinals missed a chance for more because Matt Adams strayed off second and was picked off. The Cardinals had runners on second and third with none out in the fourth but came up empty when Heyward made a perfect throw to nail Holliday trying to score on Molina’s flyout to right.

Heyward is 0 for 9 in the series.

“I’ve had some good plays made against me and some at-em balls but it’s not about that,” Heyward said. “What’s impressive about our team is we don’t have everyone hitting right now and we’re still finding ways to win.”

St. Louis is 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position the first two games of the series.

“Against a club like that, you’ve got to get runs across,” Adams said. “Everybody was going up there having good at-bats and their pitchers just made good pitches.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: Kyle Schwarber, out for the season with a left knee injury, underwent surgery to repair two ligaments.

UP NEXT

Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 2.84) lost his last start, allowing two earned runs in six innings against Colorado. Carlos Martinez (2-0, 3.46) is 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 12 career day starts. He’s 2-0 against the Cubs as a starter, but with a 5.48 ERA.

— Associated Press —

Western’s Washington named MIAA softball hitter of the week

Posted on April 19, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The numbers show the potency of the Missouri Western softball teams lineup from top to bottom and the MIAA Hitter of the Week honors are starting to display the same.

Sydney Washington became the third Griffon to receive the award, being named Co-Hitter of the Week after going 3-5 last week against Northwest Missouri State. The junior showed her prowess in the clutch, hitting the game tying home run in the seventh inning of game two, setting up an extra-inning win for Missouri Western. She just missed what would have been a walk-off home run in the seventh of game one, but her deep fly out put Katie Klosterman on third base. One batter later, Klosterman scored, placing the potential tying run on base in what turned out to be a loss for the Griffons. In the non-conference doubleheader, Washington batted .600 with three hits, a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. She was on base four times and stole a base.

Washington joined Taylor Hamilton and Katie Klosterman as 2016 recipients of the award. Janie Smith was also named Pitcher of the Week earlier this season. Missouri Western takes a two-game lead atop the MIAA standings to Washburn on Friday for a doubleheader. The team concludes the regular season on Saturday at Emporia State.

— MWSU Athletics —

NFL rejects Chiefs’ appeal of anti-tampering violations

Posted on April 18, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs’ appeal of anti-tampering violations was denied by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday, a decision that drew a strong rebuke from influential owner and team chairman Clark Hunt.

Kansas City will forfeit its third-round pick in next week’s draft and its sixth-round pick next year, though its $250,000 fine was reduced to $200,000 and coach Andy Reid’s fine was reduced from $75,000 to $60,000.

The Chiefs were found to have had direct communication with then-free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who had been drafted by Reid in Philadelphia, during the league’s negotiating period. That communication is considered a violation of the NFL’s tampering rules.

While the Chiefs have never denied the tampering charges, they maintained that the penalties handed down last month were inconsistent with those levied in similar cases.

“We appreciate the opportunity to make our appeal on this matter, and we acknowledge the minor reduction in fines,” Hunt said in a statement Monday. “However, we continue to believe that the facts of this case combined with the league’s inconsistent enforcement of its tampering policies do not warrant the most severe penalty for player-related tampering in league history.”

In 2008, the San Francisco 49ers were found guilty of tampering with Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs by contacting his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, during the season without the Bears’ permission. The 49ers were stripped of their fifth-round pick and had to swap third-round choices with Chicago as penalties.

Three years later, the Chiefs accused Detroit of tampering when ex-coach Gunther Cunningham — then the Lions’ defensive coordinator — said he would be interested in signing players Kansas City released. The Lions lost their sixth-round pick and had to swap fifth-round picks with the Chiefs.

Last year, the New York Jets were fined $100,000 for tampering after owner Woody Johnson said he’d “love to have Darrelle (Revis) back” when the cornerback was still a member of the New England Patriots.

NFL vice president Troy Vincent said the penalties levied against Kansas City were intended “to balance the seriousness of the violation of an important and longstanding competitive rule with the appropriate recognition of the club’s history (of no prior offenses) and the cooperation shown by both the club and individual employees.”

The Chiefs have no further options under the league’s appeal process.

Maclin declined to discuss the case in detail Monday when he reported to the Chiefs’ practice facility for the start of their offseason program, though he did say he was “shocked in a way” by the penalties.

“It’s been a weird situation,” said Maclin, who appeared to validate his $55 million, five-year contract by catching a career-high 87 passes for 1,088 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

“You have to take responsibility for what we do,” Maclin said. “Stats aren’t going to justify what happened with the whole situation. …. As far as me and my situation, I did what I could to help the team.”

— Associated Press —

MWSU women tied for 4th, men in 8th at MIAA golf championships

Posted on April 18, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Western Women’s golf team is currently tied for fourth at the MIAA Women’s Championships, firing a 341 team score in the first round of the tournament. The event is being played at the Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City which plays at a par 72 – 5893 yards.

Shi Qing Ong and Celine Lim have paced the Griffons in the first round, each shooting an 83 in round one. They are currently tied for 16th individually. Senior Callie Wilson reported an 87 in her first round of action, sitting tied for 22nd.

Missouri Western is tied with Central Missouri at 341 in the first round and trail Lindenwood by 17 strokes for third place.

Northeastern State scored an impressive 306 in round one and leads the tournament over Central Oklahoma by 15 strokes.

Baylee Price of Northeastern State scored a 71 in round one of the tournament, leading all individuals.

The second round of the MIAA tournament will continue on Tuesday in Kansas City.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Golf finished the first round of the MIAA Championships with a team score of 318, placing them eighth in the tournament. The event is being played at Tiffany Greens Golf Club in Kansas City which is a par 72 – 6977 yard course.

Corey Knight sits tied for third place individually, firing a 74 in the first round of action. The Griffons received a solid round from freshman Cole Roberts, scoring a 78 and tying him for 21st in the individual standings. Ryan Hand is tied for 31st in the standings after scoring an 80 in the tournament.

The Griffons trail Missouri Southern by one stroke for seventh place and Northeastern State for sixth place.

Washburn leads the team standings, scoring a 302 in the first round of action. The Ichabods led Central Oklahoma by three strokes and Lindenwood by four strokes.

Blake Lammers of Lincoln sits alone in first place, reporting a 70 in his first round of action.

The second round of the MIAA Championships will continue on Tuesday morning in Kansas City.

— MWSU Athletics —

2016 St. Joseph Baseball Hall of Fame class announced

Posted on April 18, 2016

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The St. Joseph Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 features the city’s only high school baseball state champion, a former Missouri Western power hitter, and the most prolific softball pitcher to come from northwest Missouri.

On June 25, the 2007 Benton baseball team, Dave Lau and Cheri Kempf will officially be inducted into the St. Joseph Baseball Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony scheduled to begin at 6:35pm at Phil Welch Stadium before the Mustangs take on the Branson Nationals.

The two individuals and one team make up the sixth class to be enshrined.

Kempf earned a place as the hall’s first softball inductee after an outstanding career on and off the diamond.

The St. Joe native began building her resume in 1977 as the MVP of the ASA Girls 13-15 National Championship team in Freeport, Texas. She continued that dominance into her college career at Missouri Western. With a stunning 0.54 ERA for the season, Kempf led the Griffons to the 1982 NAIA National Championship, and was named tournament MVP. Ten years later, she earned a gold medal as a member of the U.S. National Team competing in the World Cup in Beijing, China.

Since her playing days, Kempf’s also worked as a softball analyst for ESPN, Fox Sports, MLB Network, Cox Sports, Comcast Sports and the YES Network. She’s also currently the commissioner of National Pro Fastpitch.

She’s also a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame, Missouri Western Hall of Fame and the Missouri ASA Hall of Fame.

Dave Lau enters the Hall of Fame after a playing career that took him to the New York Mets organization.

After graduating from Central, Lau played for the University of Missouri baseball team in 1982. He transferred to Missouri Western in 1983 to begin a stellar run for his hometown school.

Lau picked up second team NAIA All-America honors in 1986, and was NAIA All-America Honorable Mention in 1985. In 1985, Lau hit 12 home runs, which still ranks fifth for a single-season in school history. His 23 career home runs are second all-time in Griffon history.

He signed a free agent contract with the New York Mets in August of 1986, and played three seasons for the organization between the Columbia Mets and St. Lucie Mets. During his first season, Lau hit three home runs and 12 RBIs in 49 games.

In 1998, he returned to Central as the St. Joseph School District’s first softball coach.

In 2007, Benton won St. Joseph’s first and only baseball state championship thanks to a 2-0 win over Sullivan in the Class 3 title game.

Led by 2013 hall of fame inductee, Mike Musser, the Cardinals finished with a 24-3 record. During their run through the Class 3 bracket, Benton outscored its four opponents 32-8.

Seniors Kyle Mason and Tim Brown and junior Johnny Coy were First Team All-State Selections, while Musser was named Class 3 Coach of the Year.

For more information on the St. Joseph Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions, or to purchase tickets for the event, call (816) 279-7856.

— Mustangs Press Release —