We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Category: Sports

Jayhawks’ Pardula Earns national and Big 12 honors

Posted on

KUKansas kicker/punter Trevor Pardula is being rewarded for his game-changing performance in the Jayhawks’ win over Louisiana Tech Saturday as he was named the Ray Guy Award Player of the Week, College Football Performance Awards Punter of the Week and was also named Special Teams Player of the Week by the Big 12 Conference.

Pardula, a native of San Jose, Calif., came up huge for the Jayhawks in their win over Louisiana Tech. He set a Kansas record for punting average in a game after averaging 57.6 yards on five punts in the game. He recorded a career-long 78-yard punt in the third quarter, which tied for eighth-longest in school history and was the longest Jayhawk boot since Rich Reith hit a 78-yarder on Oct. 18, 1986. His 78-yarder is tied for the fourth longest in the NCAA this season.

Later in the third quarter, Pardula added a 65-yard punt. Prior to the win over Louisiana Tech, his previous best was a 59-yarder against Rice. Pardula now leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally in punting average at 49.7 yards. Additionally, three of his five punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Pardula also handled kick off duties for KU, recording one touchback on his three kickoffs. The Kansas kickoff coverage team stopped the Louisiana Tech returner short of the 20 yard line on the other two kickoffs providing the KU defense with good starting field position.

Though he has only played in three games in his Kansas career thus far, Pardula’s presence has made an immediate impact for the Jayhawks. He has a total of seven punts of more than 50 yards, one short of last year’s season total of eight and on kickoffs Pardula has seven total touchbacks through three games, the entire season total for the Jayhawks from a year ago.

Pardula is the first Kansas player to be honored by the Big 12 Conference in its weekly awards since D.J. Beshears was tabbed Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 10, 2011.

The Augusta Sports Council presents the Ray Guy Award, given to the collegiate punter of the year at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN in Orlando, Fla. In addition to having strong punting statistics, the winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.

The College Football Performance Awards are based on objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.

Pardula and his KU teammates will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 5 when the Jayhawks play host to Texas Tech at Memorial Stadium at 11 a.m., on FOX Sports 1.

— KU Sports Information —

MIAA hands out weekly football awards

Posted on

riggertMIAAEmporia State’s Brent Wilson was named the MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week after a record-breaking performance. Washburn’s Bryce Atagi was named the Defensive Athlete of the Week while John Brown won the Special Teams Athlete of the Week Award.

MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week
Brent Wilson, QB, Emporia State

In just his third collegiate start, Wilson had the best statistical day of any quarterback in MIAA history in Emporia State’s 54-38 win at Central Oklahoma. The sophomore went 38 of 47 for 522 yards and seven touchdowns and added 49 yards on 11 carries for 571 total yards. He set MIAA records for passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense as the Hornets improved to 3-0 on the year. He is the first MIAA quarterback to throw for more than 500 yards in a game, breaking the record of 493 set by TSU’s Matt Tisich in 2007 and tied by UCM’s Harlon Hill Trophy winner Eric Czernewski in 2010. His seven touchdown passes breaks the previous record of six shared by seven different players. The 571 yards of total offense breaks MSSU’s Josh Chapman’s record of 533 set in 2002. His 38 completions were one shy of the Hornets single game record of 39 set by Pete Jelovic in 1995. As a team ESU had tied their school record for total offense at 703 yards before losing four yards in victory formation and settling for 699 total yards. Through three games Wilson is 82 of 110 (74.5%) for 1,120 yards and 14 touchdowns with no interceptions. The 6-0 sophomore quarterback is a native of Ponca City, Okla. where he competed at Ponca City High School.

MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week
Bryce Atagie, LB, Washburn

Atagi led the Ichabods with eight tackles including six solo stops and a pick six for a touchdown in Washburn’s 48-3 win at Northeastern State playing into the start of the fourth quarter. He was part of a defense which held the RiverHawks to 12 first downs (NSU received six of those by Washburn penalties). NSU was also limited to only 159 total offensive yards in the game with 53 of those on the ground. The 5-10 senior linebacker is a native of Shawnee, Kan. where he attended Shawnee Missouri Northwest High School.

MIAA Special Team Athlete of the Week
John Brown, KR-PR, Pittsburg State

Brown returned the opening kickoff of the second half 95 yards for a touchdown to help spark a 28-point third quarter as No. 14 Pittsburg State rolled to a 59-7 victory over Southwest Baptist. He compiled 298 all-purpose yards in the game. He caught five passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. The 5-11 senior return specialist is a native of Homstead, Fla. where he competed at Homestead High School prior to playing at Coffeyville Community College.

— MIAA Press Release —

KU’s Wyman named Lou Groza Award Star of Week

Posted on

KUKansas redshirt freshman kicker Matthew Wyman was named one of three Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award “Stars of the Week” Monday morning after booting the Jayhawks to a 13-10 win over Louisiana Tech Saturday afternoon in Memorial Stadium.

The Jayhawks never led in the game against Louisiana Tech until the only time that matters, as Wyman’s 52-yard field goal attempt sailed through the uprights as time expired for the 13-10 victory. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native also connected from 39 yards and converted the point after try on the team’s only touchdown. The 52-yarder is the longest by a Jayhawk since 2009 and marks the first time Kansas has won on the final play of the game since 2005.

Wyman’s game-winning field goal, a 52-yarder, was tied for the sixth longest make in the NCAA this season. He’s one of 16 NCAA Division I athletes to hit from 50+ yards this season. All three of Wyman’s made field goals this season have been longer than KU’s longest field goal during the last two seasons (37).

Each week the Lou Groza Award singles out three “Stars of the Week” with Texas Tech’s Ryan Bustin and Northern Illinois’ Matthew Sims also being honored Monday.

The Lou Groza Award will be presented as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday, December 12th. The three finalists will be honored at the 22nd Annual Lou Groza Awards Banquet on Tuesday, December 10th at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. For more information on the Lou Groza Award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, and to vote for your favorite Star of the Week, visit LouGrozaAward.com.

Wyman and his KU teammates will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 5 when the Jayhawks play host to Texas Tech at Memorial Stadium.

— KU Sports Information —

Missouri Western soccer falls to Lindenwood in MIAA opener

Posted on

MWSUThe Missouri Western women’s soccer team gave up two goals in the second half falling 2-0 in their MIAA opener against Lindenwood on Sunday afternoon. The Griffons had nine shots falling to 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in MIAA play.

The two teams played the first half to a 0-0 tie with the Lions taking eight shots and Western had four. MWSU goalie Rayelin Garcia had four saves while the Bailey Tracy of LWU had two. Tara Russell and K.C. Ramsell both had two shots in the opening frame while the Lions were led by Kristen Crabtree and Miranda Huebner with three apiece.

The second half was all Lindenwood as Crabtree scored her first two goals of the season. She got her first goal in the 59th minute and then put the game away in the 68th minute with a blast form 20 yards out. With the victory the Lions improve to 5-2 on the season and 2-0 in MIAA play.

The Griffons will be back in action on Tuesday, September 24 with a home non-conference match up with Northwest Missouri State. Game time is set for 7:00 pm from Spratt Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Maxwell’s grand slam lifts Royals past Rangers in home finale

Posted on

RoyalsIf this was the last swing of the season at Kauffman Stadium, it was one to savor.

Justin Maxwell ended the Kansas City Royals’ home season with a two-out grand slam in the 10th inning Sunday for a 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of AL playoff contenders.

”I kind of blacked out after I looked at Gordo (Alex Gordon) over there going crazy,” Maxwell said. ”I just saw the excitement in all my teammates’ eyes. I couldn’t wait to get around the bases and to home plate.”

The Oakland Athletics clinched the AL West with the Rangers’ loss.

Texas dropped 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card spot. Kansas City is 3 1/2 back.

Maxwell connected off former Royals All-Star closer Joakim Soria.

”I’ve never faced him before,” Maxwell said. ”With a 3-2 count, bases loaded, two out, I was just looking for a fastball strike and I got one. I didn’t try to do really do too much. Paralysis by analysis. I try to dumb it down and try to hit the ball hard.”

Soria knew he couldn’t afford to throw a borderline pitch and have the winning run score on a walk.

”I had to throw a strike in that situation, and it couldn’t be close,” Soria said.

Royals starter James Shields gave up six hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out two.

Texas starter Alexi Ogando pitched two-hit ball for seven innings, striking out five and walking one.

Eric Hosmer led off the Royals 10th by punching a double with two strikes down the left-field line off Neal Cotts (5-3). Soria relieved and intentionally walked Billy Butler, and an infield single by Salvador Perez loaded the bases.

Mike Moustakas popped up and pinch-hitter George Kottaras grounded into a force play at the plate before Maxwell’s grand slam.

Tim Collins (3-6) worked a perfect 10th to pick up the victory.

Ogando, who had three stints on the disabled list this season, excelled in just his eighth start since May 15. He left after 77 pitches.

”I thought overall it went very well,” Ogando said through a translator. ”I was really able to locate my pitches and able to

throw them for strikes. You know what’s going to happen if you can throw strikes where you want and be able to be aggressive with your pitches.”

Maxwell hit a leadoff single in the third and moved up on a sacrifice, making him the lone Royals runner to get past first base off Ogando.

Shields, who was 4-1 in his previous five starts, lowered his ERA to 3.21. He was struck in the right elbow by David Murphy’s liner in the second, but remained in the game after making some warmup tosses as manager Ned Yost watched from the mound.

”You can probably see the big bump in my elbow,” Shields said. ”I had a hard time feeling the baseball the whole rest of the game. It’s just one of those games, one of those moments where I wasn’t coming out of the game. I told Skip I wasn’t hurting. I wasn’t necessarily feeling good, but I felt fine to go back out. It was kind of tightening up between every inning.

”Ogando pitched his heart out and it was just fortunate we got the win. The fans were unbelievable. It was electric in the stadium as I’ve ever seen it. They were into every single pitch,” he said.

Shields allowed two-out singles to Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus before getting out of the inning.

Royals closer Greg Holland took over in the ninth. Alex Rios made it to first when he struck out on a wild pitch to lead off the inning and stole second. But Rios was thrown out trying to take third on Adrian Beltre’s fly to left, with Gordon getting his AL-leading 16th outfield assist.

”Rios was trying to make something happen, which you can’t blame him,” Gordon said. ”I was just trying to make the play, keep the score zero-zero and help Greg out. Alex Rios is a long strider, very fast, so I had to make a good throw. That’s what I planned to do. I didn’t do much all day, but that was key.”

Perez helped out Shields by throwing would-be basestealers Andrus at third base in the first and Leonys Martin at second in the fifth.

”Stealing third is easier than stealing second for me,” Andrus said. ”He throws well. I took my chances. That kid Perez is amazing. It’s pretty tough the way they play defense. You have to tip your cap.”

— Associated Press —

MWSU men’s golfers sit in 13th after first day at St. Cloud State Invite

Posted on

riggertMissouriWesternAfter day one of the St. Cloud State Invite the Missouri Western golf team sits in 13th out of 15 teams with a 327. The leader of the event is Bemidji State who finished with a 291 which is eight strokes better than Concordia St. Paul.

Evan McCarthy, Scott Sheldon and Dylan Watts lead the Griffons with 81’s while Derek Hawkins and Tyler Gast finished with 84 and 89 respectively. Dylan Queen was playing as an individual and he finished with an 82.

AJ Oster of Bemidji State and Jack Pexa lead the way with an one under 71.

The final round of the event will be played tomorrow with tee times scheduled for 8:30 am.

— MWSU Sports Information —

St. Louis drops series finale at Milwaukee Sunday

Posted on

CardsThe young Brewers got a taste of what a pennant race is like.

The 6-4 win Sunday night over the NL Central-leading Cardinals might be even more valuable next season for Milwaukee than in a 2013 campaign weighed down by injuries and the doping suspension of slugger Ryan Braun.

Norichika Aoki scored three times and doubled home a run, and Jim Henderson got Matt Adams, representing the potential go-ahead run, to strike out to end the game and close out the season at Miller Park on a high note.

”I think it’s great for them. You play the Cardinals right now, it’s a playoff atmosphere,” manager Ron Roenicke said. ”But all this is growth for them, and (when) the pressure spots come up, because they will, they can handle them better.”

The Brewers are in fourth in the NL Central, long out of the pennant race at 17 games under .500. More pressure is on the division-leading Cardinals, who learned earlier Sunday they were assured of at least an NL wild card after Washington lost its doubleheader opener against Miami.

The Cardinals chased Peralta after loading the bases in the sixth with nobody out. Reliever Donovan Hand allowed two runs to score on consecutive sacrifice flies to cut the Brewers’ lead to 4-3, but he got out of the jam by getting Matt Carpenter to strike out on a curve with the tying run at third.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina misplayed a throw to the plate for another error in a two-run seventh that restored Milwaukee’s three-run cushion. St. Louis also committed two errors in the Brewers’ two-run second.

For some reason, the Cardinals just weren’t sharp.

”We made many mistakes and were lucky to have been that close,” manager Mike Matheny said. ”From here on out we have to play clean baseball and they know that. But when you don’t do it, you have to make up for it somehow.”

Working through a nagging blister on his right index finger, Wily Peralta (11-15) struggled through five-plus innings by giving up five hits and walking five. Henderson earned his 26th save after allowing Carlos Beltran’s RBI single in the ninth before striking out Adams.

The Brewers lost Braun in late July to suspension. Rickie Weeks was lost for the season in August to strained left hamstring. Corey Hart never even made it out of spring training and hurt both knees this year.

So Milwaukee has turned to young players to solidify the team. For instance, Peralta, 24, will be counted on to continue to mature and solidify the rotation next year.

The blister that has plagued him of late felt the worst it’s been all season on Sunday.

”You know, I walked a lot of people, but I think I made big pitches when I needed to,” Peralta said.

St. Louis remains two games up in the division, but now has two teams to fend off in second after the Reds defeated Pittsburgh 11-3 to pull into a tie with the Pirates.

Errors by third baseman David Freese and starter Joe Kelly (9-5) helped contribute to the two Milwaukee runs in the second.

Kelly hesitated on what could have been an inning-ending double play in the first after getting Carlos Gomez to bounce sharply back to the mound with runners on first and third. That allowed a run to score from third.

Aoki had led off the first with a single and came home on an RBI single by Aramis Ramirez with one out. Aoki then reached on an RBI double in the second before scoring after Kelly threw away a sacrifice bunt attempt by Scooter Gennett.

”My stuff felt good,” Kelly said. ”Obviously, me throwing away a ball didn’t help. Just one of those games and that kind of stuff happens.”

Kelly went seven innings, allowing seven hits and six runs – three of them unearned.

— Associated Press —

MWSU women’s golf team finishes 6th at Mustangs Invite

Posted on

riggertMissouriWesternThe Missouri Western women’s golf team finished in 6th place at the Mustang Invite which was played at the Marshal Golf Club in Marshall, Minn. MWSU fired a two round total of 662 (334-328) which was four strokes better than Minot State (666) and three strokes behind St. Cloud State (659). Minnesota State-Mankato won the event with a 620 (300-320).

Callie Wilson led the Griffons with two rounds of 80 for a 160 placing her in a tie for 12th. Anna Kloeppel finished tied for 19th with a 163 (86-77) while Amber Chivington finished in a tie for 33rd with a 167 (78-89). Darcy Smith (90-86) and Shelby Stone (91-85) finished in a tie for 46th firing a two round 176.

The winner of the event was Kenya Sethasompobe of Minnesota State-Mankato with a two round 145 (70-75).

The Griffons return to action on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8 participating in the Northwest Missouri State Bearcat Fall Invite. The event will be played at Mozingo Lake Golf Course in Maryville, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State tennis concludes ITA/USTA regionals

Posted on

Northwest2013riggertThe Northwest Missouri State tennis team concluded play at the ITA/USTA Regional Championship on Sunday in Springfield, Mo.

Alvaro Riveros had advanced to the final day of competition in the men’s singles draw but fell to Ouachita Baptist University’s (OBU) Vitor Oliveira in the semifinals, 6-4 2-6 10-5.

Northwest’s top seed doubles team of Lluis Altimires and Sergio De Vilchez fell to OBU’s Marko Boskovic and Oliveira in a tough fought final 6-2 7-6.

This will conclude the Bearcats’ fall tennis schedule.

— Northwest Sports Information —

No. 6 Griffons hold off UNK rally to stay unbeaten

Posted on

MWSUThe No. 6 Missouri Western football team defeated the University of Nebraska Kearney Saturday evening to win its second consecutive road game and stay unbeaten. The Griffons are now 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in the MIAA.

Dalton Krysa opened the game up with a 12-yard touchdown run. The Griffons led 7-0  midway through the first quarter.

Two more touchdowns followed as Missouri Western began to open up the lead. Stephon Weaver scored on a 13-yard pass from Travis Partridge. Weaver’s score made it 14-0 right before the first quarter ended.

Partridge plunged into the end zone on the next score from the 3-yard line, giving the Griffons a 21-0. UNK came right back and Bronson Marsh scored on a 9-yard carry to cut the Griffon lead to 21-6 after the ensuing point after try was blocked. John Schmiemeier nailed a 33-yard field goal to close the half with a 17-point lead.

Marsh scored two more touchdowns to push the Griffons into the fourth quarter with a slim lead, 24-19. Quarterback Dalton Sealey missed on a two-point conversion that would have cut the lead to three. But MWSU held the ball for over four minutes on the following possession. The drive ended as Weaver collected his second score. Weaver caught a 5-yard pass to go ahead 31-19.

That’s how the game would end in Kearney as the Griffons continued their six-game conference win streak.

Raphael Spencer carried the team with a ton of yards on the ground. Spencer’s 171 yards came on 27 carries for a 6.3 average. Weaver had six receptions for 50 yards and his two touchdown grabs. Dee Tolliver had four big catches that tallied 63 yards.

Partridge had a good game as well, throwing 22 completions on 35 attempts for 277 yards. Nick Williams led the defense with 10 tackles. The Griffons’ defense cause three turnovers on the day as well, with Marcus Thompson collecting two interceptions and Stephen Juergens had one.

The Griffons play against this Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Game. At halftime, the 2013 Hall of Famers will be introduced.

— MWSU Sports Information —

 

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File