Sports – Page 660 – St. Joseph Post Archive

MWSU tennis defeats Lindenwood for first MIAA win

Posted on March 14, 2015March 14, 2015

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s tennis team picked up its first MIAA win of the season in a 6-3 victory at Lindenwood.

MWSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after taking all three doubles matches. Those doubles wins included the duo of Denise Chiao and Kayla Dysart battling back from a 7-1 deficit to claim their match, 9-8. Dysart joined Ceara Boldridge and Meara Smith as winners in singles action. Dysart won 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot, while Boldridge won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5 and Smith won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6.

The Griffons are 4-2 overall and 1-1 in MIAA play, having already matched last season’s MIAA win total and surpassed their overall win total from a season ago. The Griffons will return home for three in a row, beginning with a match against Nebraska-Kearney on Mar. 19 at 2 p.m.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. El Ghazi/Giraldo (MWSU) def. Marras/Picamiglio 8-5
2. Boldridge/Aguilera (MWSU) def. Ivanova/Pinol 8-5
3. Chiao/Dysart (MWSU) def. Castro/Medvedeva 9-8 (7-1)

Singles
1. Gloia Marras (LWU) def. Sarah Giraldo 6-1, 6-4
2. Clara Picamiglio (LWU) def. Sofia Aguilera 1-6, 6-1, (11-9)
3. Kayla Dysart (MWSU) def. Daria Ivanova 6-2, 6-1
4. Mariana Pinol (LWU) def. Yasmine El Ghazi 2-6, 6-4 (10-5)
5. Ceara Boldridge (MWSU) def. Diana Castro 6-3, 6-0
6. Meara Smith (MWSU) def. Savannah Martin 6-1, 6-1

— MWSU Sports Information —

Selden, Ellis lead No. 9 KU past 16th-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 semifinals

Posted on March 13, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bill Self was the first to admit that Kansas and Baylor set basketball back Friday night. In fact, the Jayhawks coach said the late Phog Allen and Henry Iba would have been rolling in their graves watching their ugly execution.

Then again, it was exactly what Self wanted to see.

“I think sometimes when it’s not very artistic, people say, ‘You didn’t play well,'” Self explained. “But if we played a pretty game with Baylor, they would have beat our butts.”

Instead, the ninth-ranked Jayhawks muddied things up enough to earn a 62-52 victory over the No. 16 Bears in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Wayne Selden Jr. led the way with 20 points, and Perry Ellis returned from a right knee injury to add 11 as the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-7) cruised into Saturday night’s championship game for the 11th time. They’ll face the winner of No. 2 seed Iowa State and No. 3 seed Oklahoma.

Wearing a bulky brace on his knee, Ellis limped off late in the game. He never returned, but said afterward that he simply took a shot to his thigh and would be ready for the title game.

“I could have put him back in late,” Self said, “but I thought we had the game.”

Indeed, they did.

Rico Gathers had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Kenny Chery added 20 points for the fourth-seeded Bears (24-9), who should still feel quite secure heading into Selection Sunday.

With a school-record seven wins over ranked teams this season, the Bears are a near-lock to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large in back-to-back years for the first time.

“We didn’t take care of the ball well enough. Shooting obviously wasn’t good, wasn’t pretty. But the turnovers is the one that got us,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team coughed it up 17 times — one turnover fewer than the Jayhawks.

The Bears came in touting one of the best defenses in school history, a vexing 1-3-1 mashup of zones. But the simpler, man-to-man defense of Kansas was even more effective in the first half, holding the Bears to 5-for-25 shooting from the field as the Jayhawks built a 26-18 lead.

It was the Bears’ lowest-scoring half since they managed just 16 points over the first 20 minutes in a loss to Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

It took the Bears another 3 minutes in the second half before they finally scored another field goal, a layup by Lester Medford. Selden promptly answered with an and-one at the other end, pushing the Jayhawks’ lead to 35-20 and leaving a heavily-pro Kansas crowd roaring.

Baylor responded with its only real run of the game, getting within 41-35 and energizing a smaller bunch of green-clad fans. But the Jayhawks clamped down on defense one more time.

They forced turnovers on two of the next three possessions, Gathers missed a pair of foul shots and Baylor missed seven straight field goals. The scoring lull allowed the Jayhawks, driving to the basket almost at will, to crank out a 10-0 run that gave them control.

Kansas managed to put the game away from the foul line in the closing minutes, beating the Bears for the first time in three tries in the Big 12 tournament.

“We knew we hadn’t been playing defense to our capability the last few games,” Selden said. “We wanted to get out and pressure their guards and play with a lot of energy.”

PRINCE OR PAUPER

Baylor’s Taurean Prince was just 1 for 11 from the field and 0 for 7 from beyond the arc. He finished with two points in 22 minutes. “It happens to the best of us,” Chery said. “We weren’t making shots tonight and you can’t do nothing about it.”

ABOUT THE ARC

After going 0 for 8 in the quarterfinals against TCU, the Jayhawks hit their first two 3-pointers. Then, they made one of their next 10. “We were on fire from 3, because we made 3 — we were 3 for 12,” Self said, sarcastically. “That’s the best we’ve shot it in a while.”

TIP-INS

Baylor: Gathers fouled out in the closing minutes. … The Bears finished 4 for 22 from the 3-point line. … Baylor’s largest lead was two points, the first time all season it has not led an opponent by at least six. … The Bears trailed at halftime for just the fifth time.

Kansas: Kelly Oubre Jr. had nine points, one night after scoring a career-high 25 against TCU. … The Jayhawks outrebounded Baylor for the first time in three games this season. … Kansas has won its last five against the Bears.

UP NEXT:

Baylor: waits for its NCAA tournament seeding on Sunday.

Kansas: will play for the Big 12 tournament title on Saturday night.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats score 20 runs in home opening win against UNK

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team put on an offensive clinic in their home opener on Friday, defeating Nebraska-Kearney 20-10 in seven innings.

The Bearcats improved their record to 7-9 and 5-4 in the conference, while the Lopers fell to 12-8 and 6-3 in MIAA play.

Northwest batted around in two different innings after plating 10 runs in the third and seven more in the fifth.

Friday was just the third time since 2010 that the Northwest baseball team scored 20 or more runs in a game.

All nine starters scored at least one run for the Bearcats.

Left fielder Kolby Greenslade reached base five straight times and finished 3-for-4 with a triple and three runs, while Nick Gotta collected three hits and scored three runs while driving in another.

Senior Steven Garber reached base three times, scoring two runs and driving in two more and catcher Derek Meyer finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

Anthony Caenepeel started the game for Northwest, spreading nine hits over six innings of work. The sophomore struck out six batters and walked none.

The Bearcats will continue their series with Nebraska Kearney in a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at noon.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Kansas City signs WR Avant, TE Gordon & S McCray

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Friday that the club has signed wide receiver Jason Avant, tight end Richard Gordon and safety Kelcie McCray.

Avant (6-0, 210) has played in 132 games (52 starts) in nine NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2014), Carolina Panthers (2014) and Philadelphia Eagles (2006-13). His career numbers include 331 receptions for 3,999 yards (12.1 avg.) with 13 touchdowns. Avant spent seven seasons with Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid in Philadelphia while Reid served as the Eagles head coach (2006-12). He owns 58 catches of 20-plus yards and has produced 205 first down grabs in his career. Avant originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (109th overall) of the Eagles in the 2006 NFL Draft. The Chicago, Illinois, native, played collegiately at Michigan.

Gordon (6-4, 265) has played in 34 games (five starts) in four NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2013, 2014), Tennessee Titans (2014), Pittsburgh Steelers (2013) and Oakland Raiders (2011-12). He owns four receptions for 14 yards with one touchdown. He has served two stints with the Chiefs, the first in 2013 where he saw action in two contests and his second in 2014 where he played in two games including one start. The Miami, Fla., native played collegiately at the University of Miami (Fla.). He prepped at Norland High School and Milford Prep in his hometown.

McCray (6-1, 205) has played in 31 games in three NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2014), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2013) and Miami Dolphins (2012-13). His career numbers include 10 tackles (five solo), one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. He has 13 career special teams tackles. McCray joined the Chiefs on Aug. 21, 2014 via trade with Tampa Bay. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Dolphins in 2012 before being claimed via waivers by Tampa Bay on Oct. 2, 2013. McCray was a four-year letterman at Arkansas State and prepped at Hardaway High School in Columbus, Georgia.

— Chiefs Media Relations —

Perez hits three-run homer as Kansas City tops Athletics

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Edinson Volquez had a shaky start, but Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer to offset a two-run double by former teammate Billy Butler and the Kansas City Royals beat an Oakland Athletics split squad 8-4 Friday.

Perez homered to left in the four-run first with Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales aboard. Lorenzo Cain doubled and scored on Hosmer’s single.

“He’s really scorching the ball,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Perez.

Butler, who played his first eight seasons with the Royals before signing with the A’s as a free agent in November, drove in Billy Burns and Ben Zobrist in the first with his hit off Royals newcomer Volquez.

He visited the Royals’ clubhouse before the game.

“I think they would have been mad if I didn’t,” Butler said. “It was just good to go over there and see all those guys, a lot of guys I have a personal relationship with. Just because I play on the other side doesn’t mean we don’t have relationships still. Just a lot of good memories.”

Butler said “it wasn’t that strange” facing the Royals.

“It was strange when I had to face Louis Coleman, who I’ve known six or seven years,” Butler said. “It was weird having Salvy catching. He probably knows my weaknesses, playing with me for so long.”

Volquez yielded two runs and five hits, three in the first inning, before exiting after 52 pitches in 2 1/3 innings.

“I can’t complain about it,” Volquez said. “I made a couple of mistakes. I’m just trying to find my rhythm. I threw some good changeups and some bad ones.”

Chris Bassitt, who is competing for a job in the A’s rotation, allowed five runs and seven hits in three innings.

The Royals improved to a Cactus League-best 10-1.

STARTING TIME

Athletics: Bassitt said Perez hit a changeup out in the first. “Which I never ever throw to righties,” Bassitt said. “I’ve been working on it and that’s what happens. In spring training, you have to work on things. Sometimes you’ve got to take bad results to have good results in the future.”

Royals: RHP Chris Young, who signed March 7, made his debut, throwing a scoreless seventh. After two singles to lead off the inning, Young retired the next three batters, striking out two.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: INF Rangel Ravelo had right wrist surgery Friday. He doubled in his only spring at-bat.

Royals: 2B Omar Infante, who has been limited to DH duties because of a right elbow bone spur, indicated he may have postseason surgery. … RHP Jeremy Guthrie has a stomach virus and will be pushed back from a Sunday start.

ZOBRIST BACK IN RIGHT

Ben Zobrist, who was acquired to play second base, started in right field for the second time. With A’s RF Josh Reddick likely to begin the season on the DL with an oblique injury, Zobrist could open in right. He played 331 games at right while with Tampa Bay.

FIRST ROYALS CUTS

RHP Christian Binford, who tossed three scoreless innings Thursday against Cleveland, was among eight players reassigned by the Royals. LHP John Lamb was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, while LHPs Scott Alexander, Sean Manaea and Chris Dwyer, RHPs Miguel Almonte and Binford and Cs Cameron Gallagher and Zane Evans were reassigned to minor league camp.

UP NEXT

Athletics: have a split-squad with RHP Jesse Chavez starting against the Giants at Mesa, and RHP Jesse Hahn will start against the Cubs in Las Vegas.

Royals: Closer Greg Holland will make his third relief appearance Saturday against the Angels.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State softball splits with Southwest Baptist

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015

The Northwest Missouri State softball team took one of two games on Friday afternoon against Southwest Baptist in Maryville.

The Bearcats took game one by a final score of 2-1, while SBU rallied to take the second game of the day, 7-6.

Northwest is now 7-7 and 3-3 in the MIAA, while SBU moves to 8-13 and 2-6 in conference play.

In game one, Sarah Baldwin carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finishing her fourth complete game. The junior surrendered just three hits and one walk, compared to five strikeouts.

Stephanie Mark slapped a pair of singles to finish 2-for-3, Torri Blythe had one triple and scored a run and Rebecca Maher collected the only RBI for Northwest.

In game two, sophomore Chantel Adams reached base in all four of her at bats, smashing a pair of doubles and one single while totaling three RBI.

Torri Blythe clubbed her second triple of the day and finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base, one run and one RBI, while Stephanie Mark scored a pair of runs after reaching on an infield single and drawing a walk.

Abbie Vitosh started game two for the Bearcats and gave up one earned run on four hits in three innings pitched. The senior struck out two and walked one.

Kendle Schieber came in to pitch in the fourth and took the loss after giving up five runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Northwest will travel to Missouri Western for another MIAA doubleheader this Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Cardinals drop spring training game to Miami

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Mat Latos allowed two hits over three scoreless innings in his first appearance in a Miami Marlins’ uniform, a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Acquired from Cincinnati in an offseason trade, Latos angered the Reds when he told Fox during spring training that the Reds rushed him back from knee and elbow injuries last season.

“As far as what happened, it’s done and it’s over with,” Latos said. “Turn the page.”

Latos struck out two and walked two, throwing 22 of 39 pitches for strikes.

“I was good enough to make pitches and get outs when I needed to,” he said. “A couple ground ball double plays, those saved me.”

Mike Morse singled in Dee Gordon in the first, tying him for the team high with six RBIs in the spring. Reid Brignac’ hit a three-run triple in the second that fell barely inside the left-field line and just out of reach of a diving Tommy Pham. Center fielder Peter Bourjos tracked down the ball in the corner while Pham remained on the ground. Pham left the game with a quad strain.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Zach Petrick allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in two innings. Petrick, likely starting the season at Triple-A Memphis, was making his first spring training start this year and third appearance.

Marlins: Tom Koehler, originally listed to start Saturday against Washington, will instead throw on a back field at the Marlins’ spring complex. Slated to be a member of Miami’s rotation, Koehler has made only one exhibition start.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Now that he’s thrown two batting practice sessions, Adam Wainwright began agility drills Friday. Wainwright sustsined a minor abdominal strain early in camp and has yet to appear in a spring training game. St. Louis has yet to announce a date for Wainwright’s first exhibition start.

Marlins: Adeiny Hechavarria didn’t play but is expected to appear in consecutive games for the third time this spring training this weekend. Hechavarria had been dealing with what the Marlins called a tired shoulder.

DOUBLE TIME

In an effort to give some younger players more game action, the Cardinals and Marlins played an early exhibition on the back fields prior to their Grapefruit League game. Bourjos, who is working on a new swing, played in both games, going a combined 2-for-7. His single in the fifth inning of the main game stopped an 0-for-13 Grapefruit League start. “Overall he’s making good progress, he just needs to see some success,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

SUPER VERSATILE

The Marlins started Ichiro Suzuki in left field, and he threw out Mark Reynolds at the plate. The Marlins signed Suzuki to be their fourth outfielder, and he has started at every outfield position. “The beauty of Ichiro is that he can do all those things; he can play all those positions,” Miami manager Mike Redmond said.

MOVING TIME

Miami reassigned pitchers Brian Ellington and Ryan Reld, catcher Sharif Othman and infielders Viosergy Rosa to minor league camp. They also optioned pitcher Grant Dayton to Triple-A New Orleans.

UP NEXT:

St. Louis hosts Minnesota on Saturday, and the Cardinals give Michael Wacha his second start. Miami plays Washington in Viera, and the Nationals planned to start Gio Gonzalez.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs Sign Long-Snapper

Posted on March 13, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs have signed long snapper James Winchester to a two- year contract, yet another move in what has turned into a massive roster overhaul this offseason.

The signing Friday came one day after the Chiefs traded a fifth-round draft pick to New Orleans for Pro Bowl offensive guard Ben Grubbs and signed offensive lineman Paul Fanaika, a former Cardinals starter.

Kansas City also signed wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and safety Tyvon Branch this week, and released veteran wide receiver Dwayne Bowe in a cost-saving move.

Kansas City now has three long snappers on the roster in Winchester, Brandon Hartson and Jorgen Hus, which means the club appears to be moving on from incumbent Thomas Gafford.

Mid-Buchanan rallies past Canton to advance to Class 2 state championship

Posted on March 13, 2015

The Mid-Buchanan boys’ basketball team played its first Final Four game in school history Thursday, and now the Dragons will play for their first state championship in school history Saturday.

Mid-Buchanan defeated Canton in the Class 2 semifinals Thursday inside Mizzou Arena 60-53 to improve to 30-1 this season.

Canton led by as many as six points in the first half and took a 28-26 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Mid-Buchanan used a 10-0 run early in the third quarter to regain the lead and they never trailed again.

Austin Scaggs led the Dragons with 18 points, Garet Moulden added 17 and Braydn Kemper scored 15 points.

Mid-Buchanan will face Scott County Central in the Class 2 state championship game as the Braves defeated Crane 60-49 in the other semifinal to improve to 26-4.

The Dragons and Braves will tip off at 11:00 a.m. Saturday inside Mizzou Arena.

No. 9 Jayhawks hold off TCU 64-59 in Big 12 Tourney Quarterfinals

Posted on March 12, 2015March 12, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kelly Oubre Jr. admitted that Kansas underestimated TCU the first time the teams met this season. Underestimated them a little bit the second time, too.

Good thing they didn’t do the same thing the third time.

The ninth-ranked Jayhawks needed just about every one of Oubre’s career-high 25 points, along with a couple of big defensive stops, to hold off the Horned Frogs for a 64-59 victory Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

“This game, we wanted to show we could handle their punches,” Oubre said, “and they threw a lot of them. We withstood them.”

Still, the top-seeded Jayhawks (25-7) had to sweat out all 40 minutes against the No. 9 seed Horned Frogs for the third time this season. It wasn’t until Oubre got loose for an easy jam with a minute left that Kansas finally had some breathing room.

Trey Zeigler turned the ball over at the other end for TCU (18-15), and Kansas was able to run down the shot clock before Frank Mason III found Landen Lucas for an alley-oop jam and a 63-57 lead with 30 seconds left. The Jayhawks were able to hold on the rest of the way.

“We didn’t play particularly well,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought TCU played really smart and really tough and we didn’t make as many plays as I’d like throughout the game.”

Still, they made enough to advance. Kansas will play No. 16 Baylor in the semifinals Friday night. The fourth-seeded Bears beat No. 18 West Virginia 80-70 in an earlier quarterfinal.

Zeigler finished with 20 points for TCU (18-15), which must wait to see whether it has done enough to qualify for one of the lower-tier postseason tournaments. The Horned Frogs have missed out the past two years, their last appearance coming in the CBI in 2012.

“I thought we competed really, really hard, had opportunities to make plays down the stretch,” TCU coach Trent Johnson said, “and we didn’t make them.”

Self was hopeful that leading scorer Perry Ellis would return from a sprained knee, but the junior forward was still feeling sore after practice Wednesday. Ellis wound up spending the game in a sweatsuit on the sideline, and his availability for Baylor was still in question.

The Jayhawks also played again without freshman forward Cliff Alexander, who has been sitting out while the NCAA investigates concerns that his family received improper benefits.

The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, played most of the way without leading scorer Kyan Anderson, who picked up his fourth foul with 15:58 left in the game. He sat for nearly 10 minutes before getting back on the floor, then picked up his fifth foul about 30 feet from the basket.

“Kyan is a big part of what we do,” Zeigler said, “so not to have him out here was really tough. Me and him usually share the ball-handling responsibility for our team. It sort of got put in my hands the whole second half.”

The teams were tied 51-all after Brandon Parrish made a pair of free throws for TCU with 6:42 left in the game. Oubre responded by driving to the basket and getting fouled on four consecutive trips down floor, making enough of his free throws to give Kansas a bit of a cushion.

The Jayhawks held on the rest of the way, improving to 10-1 against TCU. They also improved to 25-5 in the Sprint Center, just a short drive from their campus in Lawrence.

“We’re just kind of make-shifting,” Self said. “Today was a good game for us in this regard because we had to play a way we haven’t practiced very much at all.”

NO 3S

The Jayhawks finished 0 for 8 from beyond the arc, the second time in three games that they have failed to his a 3-pointer. “It’s not concerning because we know we can shoot,” Oubre said.

TIP-INS

TCU: The Horned Frogs were done in by 15 turnovers. Zeigler had eight of them. … Anderson finished with three points. … TCU dropped to 1-12 when tied or trailing at the half.

Kansas: Lucas finished 6 for 7 from the field. He also had seven boards. … Kansas overcame 17 turnovers in part by blocking nine shots. … Kansas has won at least 25 games 10 straight years. … The Jayhawks improved to 5-1 in neutral-site games this season.

UP NEXT

TCU is left to wait for a call from one of the postseason tournaments.

Kansas won a pair of close games against Baylor in the regular season.

— Associated Press —