Sports – Page 663 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Royals fall to White Sox for first loss this spring

Posted on March 10, 2015March 11, 2015

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Jeremy Guthrie, the starting and losing pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series, got off to rough spring debut Tuesday and the Kansas City Royals lost to the Chicago White Sox 6-2.

Micah Johnson went 4 for 4, scored two runs and drove in one as the White Sox handed the Royals their first loss this spring after six wins.

Guthrie yielded three runs on four hits and a hit batter in the first inning, but retired the last four batters he faced.

“This one was a little more relaxed,” Guthrie said than his final World Series start. “The crowd wasn’t too scary here, not too much pressure.”

Guthrie had a modest goal for his debut.

“I wanted to throw a fastball harder than 91 (mph),” he said. “That’s what I was hoping for. You disappear for five months and come back and hope the arm goes as fast as before. I had the arm strength up and located pitches.”

Guthrie said he reached his goal.

“I did. I peeked up at the board,” he said.

Guthrie noted he lit up radar guns with speeds of 147 to 149 in November, while touring Japan with a major league All-Star team.

“That’s kilometers,” he said and smiled.

Johnson has six straight hits, including a tying, ninth-inning homer Monday against Arizona, to raise his average to .500.

Jose Abreu, the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year, contributed two hits, drove in a run and scored a run.

Jarrod Dyson led off the Royals first with a homer against Tyler Danish, a highly touted White Sox prospect. Danish, 20, permitted two runs on three hits in 2 1/3 innings.

“That was definitely big for me to see what I saw live today,” Danish said. “It was challenging, the World Series runner-ups, my first start in spring training. I like the competition. I’m glad I got to do it against them.”

STARTING TIME

White Sox: LHP John Danks threw four innings in a simulated game at Goodyear, instead of facing the Royals. The White Sox open the season April 6 at Kansas City and play the Royals 19 times this season, including seven in April.

Royals: LHP Brandon Finnegan, who went from a 2014 first-round draft pick to pitching in the World Series, allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in two innings.

THOMPSON BROTHERS

Golden State guard Klay Thompson, a NBA All-Star, was at Surprise Stadium to see his brother, Trayce Thompson, a White Sox outfield prospect. Klay scored 25 points Monday in the Warriors’ victory over the Phoenix Suns and remained in town to watch his brother. Trayce went 0 for 1 with a walk and started in right field.

FAREWELL TOUR

White Sox reserve OF Michael Taylor, 29, announced his retirement. Taylor hit .167 in 37 games in parts of three seasons with Oakland and the White Sox. … OF Engle Beltre, who hit .250 in 22 games last season with Texas, was moved over from the minor league camp to replace Taylor. Beltre pinch ran and subbed in center, going 1 for 1.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: Manager Robin Ventura said INFs Leury Garcia and Matt Davidson are battling shoulder soreness.

Royals: LHP Tim Collins, who has elbow ligament damage, will see Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday for a second opinion to see if surgery is warranted. … LF Alex Gordon took batting practice swings for the first time and said his right wrist, which required surgery in December, feels close to 100 percent.

UP NEXT

White Sox: Top prospect LHP Carlos Rodon, who struck out four Padres in two innings Friday, starts against the Rangers.

Royals: 2B Omar Infante, who received a cortisone shot for a bone spur in his right elbow, is scheduled to DH Wednesday against the Reds at Goodyear. The Royals have a split squad, hosting the Padres with RHP Yordano Ventura starting.

— Associated Press —

Northwest’s Mark named MIAA Hitter of the Week

Posted on March 10, 2015March 11, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State softball senior Stephanie Mark has been named the MIAA/AstroTurf Softball Hitter of the Week for her performance over the weekend in Oklahoma. The first baseman opened conference play by crushing four home runs in four games. The Ogden, Utah native collected an unparalleled .739/.750/1.348 slash line over the last six games with six extra base hits, 31 total bases and 14 RBI. In the field, Mark recorded 35 putouts and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

In Saturday’s MIAA opener against Central Oklahoma, Mark finished 4-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBI in game one and followed that up with a 4-for-4 performance in game two with two home runs and three RBI.

For the season, Mark is ranked in the top 16 in NCAA Division II in batting average (.605, 16th), runs batted in per game (2.1, 9th) and home runs per game (0.5, T11th).

The softball team will play in its home opener on Wednesday, March 11 when Upper Iowa makes the trip to Maryville. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Bearcat Softball Field.

— Northwest Sports Information —

St. Louis drops spring training game to Houston

Posted on March 10, 2015March 11, 2015

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — After a handful of spring training games, the St. Louis Cardinals like what they see at the top of their batting order.

Matt Carpenter, Jason Heyward and Matt Holliday all produced hits Tuesday in a 7-6 loss to the Houston Astros.

Heyward, the right fielder acquired in a trade from Atlanta, “fits in that second spot pretty well,” manager Mike Matheny said,

Heyward batted first and fifth last season with the Braves. His best season came in 2012 when he hit 27 home runs, mostly from the No. 3 spot.

According to Matheny, Heyward hitting second “gives us two three-hole hitters; one just gets up there before the other one.”

Carpenter singled off starter Brett Oberholtzer and scored a run. Heyward drove in a run with a third-inning single, and Holliday doubled in the fifth.

Oberholtzer gave up two runs in three innings, and criticized himself for getting “too much of the plate” on a leadoff double by Tony Cruz.

“I threw strikes, which is what you want to do in spring training, but I think I have to do a better job of finishing guys off, or at least throwing some balls to change the thought processes of them,” he said.

Cardinal starter Carlos Martinez struck out three in 2 2/3 innings, giving up a first-inning run on doubles by Luis Valbuena and Jon Singelton.

Rookie second baseman Jacob Wilson had three hits for the Cardinals including an eighth-inning home run off Josh Fields.

Jed Lowrie hit two doubles for the Astros and backup catcher Max Stassi homered off Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Jon Jay, recovering from wrist surgery, is taking batting practice and might get into a game by the end of this week or early next week, according to Matheny.

Astros: Reliever Joe Neshek will miss at least a week after an X-ray Tuesday revealed the beginnings of a stress fracture in his right foot.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Martinez said he felt more comfortable with his sinker as the game progressed. He had no walks.

THREE LONG YEARS

Jeff Bagwell, Houston’s home run leader, showed up in camp Tuesday and plans to help out the Astros this week. “I did have success, but I had some failures, too,” Bagwell said. “I struck out 1,500 (actually 1,558) times. That’s three years of striking out, so I understand it’s difficult.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Marco Gonzalez is to get his second start of the spring against the Atlanta Braves.

Astros: Dallas Keuchel will pitch and Jonathan Villar will play center field in a “B” game against the Atlanta Braves.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs sign veteran safety Tyvon Branch

Posted on March 10, 2015March 10, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs have signed veteran safety Tyvon Branch to a one-year deal, helping to solidify a position that could be thinned out considerably by free agency.

Kansas City is already poised to play without Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry, who is undergoing treatment for lymphoma. Fellow safeties Kurt Coleman and Ron Parker are free agents.

The 28-year-old Branch has been solid when he’s healthy, but injuries have kept him from appearing in just five games over the past two seasons. He’s spent his entire seven-year career with AFC West rival Oakland, making 461 tackles, eight sacks and four interceptions.

The Chiefs already have been busy in free agency, restructuring deals with linebacker Tamba Hali and defensive tackle Mike DeVito, and agreeing to terms with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.

Moustakas gets 2 hits, Royals stay perfect

Posted on March 10, 2015

PHOENIX (AP) — Mike Moustakas had two hits, including a two-run double, and the Kansas City Royals stayed perfect in Cactus League play with a 5-4 win over the winless Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

The AL champion Royals are 6-0 and the lone unbeaten team in the majors during the exhibition season. The Brewers and Cubs are the only winless clubs at 0-5.

Moustakas had been 1 for 8 this spring going into the game. Raul Mondesi, son of the former major leaguer by the same game, had two hits and drove in a run for the Royals.

Brewers star Ryan Braun fouled out and lined out, leaving him hitless in five at-bats this spring.

Matt Long and Matt Clark hit solo homers for Milwaukee.

Benedictine women knock off MidAmerica Nazarene to win HAAC Championship

Posted on March 9, 2015

OLATHE, Kan. – The No. 22-ranked Benedictine Women’s Basketball team sealed their automatic berth into the 2014 NAIA Div. I Women’s Basketball National Championship Tournament on Monday night with a 56-49 win over No. 12 MNU inside the Cook Center on the MNU campus.

Benedictine (24-8) jumped out quickly on MNU (26-5) and weathered a second-half comeback effort by the Pioneers to earn their first win over MNU since Feb. 11, 2012 when they earned a 52-48 win

While both teams in the title game were already headed for the Independence Event Center in Independence, Mo., for the NAIA Tournament next week, by winning the Heart Tournament Championship the Ravens earned the second bid to the tournament outright.

Despite a offensive drought for roughly six minutes from near the midpoint of the second half to 4:52 left in the game, the Ravens never trailed leading the Pioneers throughout.

Jackie Ziesel stepped up when the Ravens needed it.

She slowed the scoring drought with back-to-back jumpers to push Benedictine back up by six points with 3:26 remaining. Then after MNU answered that she hit her only 3-pointer of the night to push Benedictine back up by six again.

Ali Taff, Ziesel and Chayla Rutledge combined to go 4 for 6 from the free throw line over the final 45 seconds of the game to seal the win for Benedictine.

The win by Benedictine over MNU snapped a 14-game winning streak by the Pioneers and a postseason conference winning streak of 11 straight wins for MNU.

It also gave Benedictine its second Heart Tournament Championship under head coach Chad Folsom, the first since the 2005-2006 season when they beat MNU 51-48 inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.

Defensively, Benedictine held MNU to a new season-low 49 points as they held the Pioneers to just 33.9 percent from the floor on the night.

Rutledge scored a game-high 15 points as she out-dueled fellow Heart first-team selection Daria Sprew. Sprew led the Pioneers with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

For Benedictine, Lexi Villegas added 12 points off the bench while Ziesel finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Ravens, who take a seven-game winning streak into the NAIA Tournament, now wait for the NAIA to release the official tournament qualifiers on Wednesday afternoon. Tournament pairings will be followed by the official bracket release via selection show at 7 p.m. on the NAIAnetwork.

— BC Sports Information —

Missouri Western tennis falls at home to Rockhurst 6-3

Posted on March 9, 2015March 10, 2015

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western tennis team fell to the Rockhurst Hawks on Monday afternoon, 6-3. MWSU took two doubles matches but could only claim one victory through singles matches. The Griffons are now 3-2 on the year with 14 more matches to play.

Missouri Western jumped out to an early, 2-1, lead after the doubles matches concluded. Denise Chiao and Kayla Dysart tallied an 8-6 victory in the No. 1 spot. The other victory came from Lindsay Beger and Sarah Giraldo in the No. 3 spot, winning 8-6.

In singles, Sofia Aguilera was able to record a victory against Fabi Juarez in the No. 2 spot 7-5, 7-5. Aguilera fell behind in the second set and battled back to earn her first singles victory of the year. Meara Smith fell in here match to Maddy Kayser at the No. 6 spot 3-6, 7-5, 10-8.

The Griffons will hit the road for the first time in the 2015 spring season as they take on Lindenwood University on Saturday, March 14 starting at 2 p.m.

Singles competition
1. Schelble, Ema (RU) def. Giraldo,Sarah (MWSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) def. Juarez, Fabi (RU) 7-5, 7-5
3. Santos, Tami (RU) def. Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Schelble, Alex (RU) def. Chiao,Denise (MWSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Vrugturn, Kim (RU) def. Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
6. Kayser, Maddy (RU) def. Smith,Meara (MWSU) 3-6, 7-5, 10-8

Doubles competition
1. Chiao,Denise/Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) def. Schelble, Ema/Vrugturn, Kim (RU) 8-6
2. Juarez, Fabi/Santos, Tami (RU) def. Boldridge,Ceara/Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) 8-3
3. Beger,Lindsay/Giraldo,Sarah (MWSU) def. Schelble, Alex/Kayser, Maddy (RU) 8-6

Match Notes
Rockhurst 3-5
Missouri Western 3-2

Northwest baseball loses series finale at Central Missouri

Posted on March 9, 2015March 10, 2015

The Northwest Missouri State baseball team came up short in the series finale with Central Missouri, 14-4, on Monday afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo.

The Bearcats now stand at 6-9 overall and 4-4 in the conference, while the Mules improved their record to 8-7 and 4-4.

Shortstop Nick Gotta collected a pair of singles and scored one run from the leadoff spot, while Garrett Fort finished the day 2-for-3 with a double and two runs, and Freshman Nick Howard drove in a pair of runs.

Nikko Pablo started the game for the Bearcats, throwing 4 2/3 innings and giving up seven earned runs to take the loss.

The Bearcats will make their home opener next weekend when Nebraska-Kearney heads to Maryville for a four game conference series. The teams will match up on Friday, March 13 at 2 p.m. for one game, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, March 14 and the series finale on Sunday, March 15.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Kansas fires women’s basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson

Posted on March 9, 2015

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Bonnie Henrickson, head women’s basketball coach at the University of Kansas since 2004, has been relieved of her duties, KU Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger announced Monday.

“Bonnie has been an outstanding representative of the University of Kansas and Kansas Athletics,” Zenger said. “It came down to the fact that we expect this program to rank among the best in the Big 12 Conference, and we have not accomplished that goal.”

In Henrickson’s 11 seasons as coach the Jayhawks reached the NCAA Tournament twice (2012 and 2013), both times reaching the Sweet 16. KU also earned berths in five National Invitation Tournaments, reaching the championship game in 2009.

Zenger said a national search for a head coach would begin immediately. KU assistant coach Katie O’Connor will serve as interim head coach until a successor is named.

— KU Sports Information —

Mizzou hires new Athletics Director

Posted on March 9, 2015March 9, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced today that Mack B. Rhoades IV has been appointed director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Mizzou. He will assume the post in late April.

Rhoades currently serves as vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Houston, where he oversees 17 varsity sports and has led a revival in academics and facilities since his arrival in August 2009. Prior to joining the University of Houston, Rhoades was director of athletics at the University of Akron.

“Mack Rhoades brings a wealth of experience as a Division I athletic director to Mizzou, and he has demonstrated a commitment to our core values of academic integrity, social responsibility and competitive excellence,” Loftin said. “I am delighted to welcome a leader with a track record of enhancing the student-athlete experience and a proven record in fundraising and facility development. We found the right fit at the right time to take Mizzou Athletics to even greater heights.”

At the University of Houston, Rhoades rejuvenated the athletics program across the board, including enhancements in the student athlete experience, academics, facilities, fundraising and competitiveness. During the 2013-14 academic year, 10 of the 17 sports programs competed in NCAA postseason competition. The football team has participated in bowl games in four of the last six seasons, including the 2011 season when the Cougars were ranked as high as No. 6 in the BCS standings and competed in two consecutive bowl games in 2013 and 2014. In almost every academic measurement, including GPA and APR, Houston reached record levels; Rhoades created the Cougar Pride Leadership Academy to provide life-long leadership skills for student-athletes.

“The University of Missouri is a world-class institution, and I am honored to serve as its next director of athletics,” Rhoades said. “Success begins with great people and I look forward to working with our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff to keep the athletics program among the nation’s elite. Amy and the girls and I are extremely excited to become members of the Mizzou family, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Chancellor Loftin and President Wolfe. I look forward to traveling the state to meet the fans who are the heartbeat of the Tigers.”

During his tenure, Houston raised nearly $100 million and built $160 million worth of new facilities, including a new on-campus football stadium and a men’s and women’s basketball development center. Rhoades also negotiated a new multi-media rights deal for the athletics program as well as one of the top five facility naming rights deals at the collegiate level.

“Mack Rhoades is a highly respected national leader who has chaired the Athletic Directors of the American Athletic Conference, served on several NCAA leadership groups, and led key committees in multiple conferences,” University of Missouri System President Timothy M. Wolfe said. “His demonstrated excellence in all facets of athletics leadership will help MU continue the unparalleled growth and success it has enjoyed over the last few years.”

Rhoades holds a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in athletics administration/sports management from Indiana University. Rhoades succeeds Mike Alden, who announced Jan. 29 that he will step down this year to join the College of Education as an instructor. There he will participate in the Positive Coaching Program and higher education leadership courses.