The Junction City Brigade defeated the Liberty Monarchs 12-1 Tuesday night in Liberty, Missouri.
The Brigade ( 20-7 ) host the Midwest A’s Wednesday night at Rathert Stadium at 7 p.m. It will be Fan Appreciation Night. There will be a fireworks display after the game.
The Junction City Blues defeated Hiawatha 5-3 in the Zone Tournament in Marysville.
The Blues, who have one loss in the tournament, continue play in that double elimination competition at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Coach Pat Stivers reported the Blues need to win two more games in the tournament to advance to the State Tournament.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Kansas City Royals finally bunched together some runs to end a lengthy losing streak.
Adalberto Mondesi had a three-run homer and a career-high four RBIs, and Kansas City snapped a 10-game skid with a 9-4 win over Minnesota on Tuesday night.
The Royals scored more than five runs for the first time since June 4 and improved to 26-65 overall, percentage points ahead of Baltimore to avoid owning baseball’s worst record.
Mondesi went deep in the second inning and added an RBI single in the sixth. The middle infielder entered with just six RBIs in 17 games this year. He also impressed his manager by drawing just his second walk of the year and making several key defensive plays.
“It’s fun to watch Mondy,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He jumped on a high fastball. Another big base hit. The double play that he turned was huge at that point.”
Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy made his first start since landing on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. He pitched just three innings after experiencing a recurrence of left side tightness.
Kennedy will have an MRI on Wednesday. He said Tuesday’s injury was in a different location than the oblique strain that landed him on the DL.
“All week, the last 10 days, everything has been getting better,” Kennedy said. “It felt great all night, and then all of a sudden I felt something at the bottom of my ribs. … It’s just aggravating.”
Yost said Kennedy will not make his next scheduled start on Sunday.
Kennedy was looking for his first win since April 7 but failed to qualify. The right-hander gave up two runs and five hits while striking out three. He has gone 16 starts since his last victory.
Brian Flynn (1-1) allowed one hit in four innings of relief to pick up the win. Kansas City needed innings from the bullpen after Kennedy’s early exit, and Flynn and Jason Hammel delivered.
“It was a lot of fun tonight,” Flynn said. “We’ve been waiting for this one.”
Twins starter Aaron Slegers (1-1) allowed five runs and got just four outs in his second start of the year. His first start yielded a win with six sharp innings against Baltimore five days earlier.
Tuesday’s performance was a stark contrast from that game for Slegers.
“They’re an aggressive team. I knew that going in,” Slegers said. “Some of my pitches caught a little too much of the plate and even others that didn’t, they found a way to get the bat on the ball and found holes.”
Brian Dozier drove in the game’s first run for Minnesota with a solo homer in the first. Eduardo Escobar plated the Twins’ second run with a single in the third.
Minnesota scratched across two runs in the ninth with the game already out of hand, ending a five-game winning streak.
“Everybody is trying to stay positive,” Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario said. “But nothing’s changed from the winning streak. It was a bad game.”
JUNCTION CITY, KAN. – Junction City High School has selected Mr. Basil Nevill as the new Blue Jays Volleyball Coach. Basil is a kindergarten teacher at Eisenhower Elementary. In addition to his current teaching assignment at Eisenhower Elementary, Basil has served as an Assistant Volleyball coach for 5 years, Assistant Softball Coach, and Middle School Boys Basketball Coach.
Basil received his undergraduate degree in elementary education from Sterling College (2008) and his Masters in Athletic Administration from the University of Central Missouri (2016).
Coach Nevill is excited to begin this new assignment stating, “I’ve worked with the program for a few years now and we’ve had some success. We have a great foundation in place and I look forward to the opportunity to continue building the program and reach new heights.”
Posted by USD 475
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Thanks again to the generosity and hard work of Wildcat fans, donors, coaches and staff, K-State Athletics, Inc., produced a balanced budget in FY 2018 and achieved a surplus for the ninth consecutive year while also setting a new record through the Ahearn Fund annual giving program.
The department’s budget surplus reflects the commitment of the K-State Nation through ticket sales and annual giving in addition to support from the Big 12 Conference and K-State’s strong partnerships with sponsors. Though the annual audit is not yet complete, operating revenue is expected to exceed operating expense. This positive result, required by bond covenants, along with those of prior years, has helped the department aggressively invest back into all 450-plus Wildcat student-athletes in a fiscally responsible manner.
Overall cash gifts to the department in FY 2018 totaled $30.9 million, of which a record $18.9 million was designated for the Ahearn Fund annual giving program which surpassed its budgeted goal. K-State Athletics remains one of just a few universities nationwide, and the only institution in Kansas, to operate without use of state tax or university tuition dollars.
“We are very appreciative of the loyalty and dedication of the K-State Nation as we continue to provide our coaches and student-athletes with the necessary resources to compete for and win Big 12 Championships,” Athletics Director Gene Taylor said. “The grassroots support of our fans through ticket purchases and Ahearn Fund gifts continues to be the lifeblood of our department, and we grateful for their continued support.”
In addition, Taylor also announced that the K-State Athletics, Inc., Board of Directors has approved the department’s FY19 budget of $82.1 million, an $8.6 million increase over the previous year’s budget.
The department’s largest revenue sources will again be the combined ticket purchases and contributions from loyal fans and Ahearn Fund donors, targeted at $34 million, in addition to approximately $38 million in projected Big 12/NCAA revenue shares. While Big 12 revenues have nearly tripled since 2009, the grass-roots participation and dedication of Wildcat fans and donors remains the largest source of support for K-State student-athletes. And, direct and indirect university support of athletics was 6.1 percent of the department’s budget in FY10 and will be zero for the fourth straight year. As part of its commitment to enhancing the experience of all K-State students, K-State Athletics, in conjunction with the Student Governing Association, also ended its annual receipt of student privilege fees beginning in FY 2019, scheduled to be $200,000, one year earlier than originally scheduled.
On the expense side, KSA will again increase its student-athlete support line (up $2.2 million from FY14), along with an increase of approximately $4 million in operating/recruiting costs and $700,000 in scholarship costs as the department enters into the fourth year of providing “full cost of attendance.”
K-State’s annual debt service payment will slightly decline this year both in dollar amount and percentage of budget, while the “Administration” line item for FY19 will increase by roughly $1 million to $5 million largely in part to budgeting for the excise tax imposed by recent tax law changes. K-State Athletics’ annual institutional support fee, which KSA pays to the University to help provide administrative support, will increase by $300,000 to $884,400 in FY19.
KENNY LANNOU
Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications and Public Relations | K-State Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Eduardo Escobar had three hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh to support Jose Berrios’ strong outing as the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Monday night.
Escobar plated Joe Mauer with a seventh-inning single as Minnesota took advantage of Kansas City’s struggling bullpen to win its fifth straight game.
Berrios (9-7), elected to his first All-Star game a day earlier, allowed one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out eight while throwing a season-high 111 pitches.
Fernando Rodney allowed a walk and hit in the ninth but secured his 20th save.
Tim Hill (1-3) surrendered both runs and got just one out in relief after starter Danny Duffy’s six scoreless innings. The Royals started the game with a league-worst 5.29 relief ERA.
Duffy and Berrios nearly matched each other in a through seven innings as both teams couldn’t convert scoring chances.
The Royals were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranded five runners against Berrios. Minnesota was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base against Duffy, who has a 3.07 ERA over his past nine starts after a slow start to his season.
The Twins had a runner reach third in three of Duffy’s six innings and failed to drive him in.
Berrios was named Minnesota’s representative for the All-Star game and demonstrated his credentials on Tuesday mixing in his low-90s fastball with a sweeping curve.
Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the third for the only run against Berrios.
YOST EJECTED
Kansas City manager Ned Yost was ejected in the fourth after Lucas Duda was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Will Little. Duda checked his swing, but apparently struck out on a called strike that appeared high and out of the zone.
It was Yost’s 43rd career ejection and the first of this season.
The Junction City Blues fell to the number one seed in their American Legion Zone Tournament, Clay Center, 11-10 in eight innings Monday night. The game was played in Marysville.
The Blues are still in the tournament since it is a double elimination competition. The winner of the seven-team tournament will advance to the state tournament in Leavenworth.
The Junction City Brigade scored three runs in both the fourth and eighth innings enroute to a 9-4 victory over the Kansas City Knights Monday night at Rathert Field.
The Brigade ( 19-7 ) got a seventh inning home run from Aaron Sammaniego while Junction City product Tim Bell hit a single and drew three walks in his leadoff hitter position. Jake Steinbring was the winning pitcher for the Brigade, who play at the Liberty Monarchs at 5:05 p.m. Tuesday.
The Brigade will host the Midwest A’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday night on Fan Appreciation Night at Rathert Field. There will be a fireworks display after the game sponsored by UPU Industries and Bennett Fireworks.
The Junction City Brigade summer collegiate baseball team cruised by the Sabetha Lobos in a doubleheader sweep Saturday night in Sabetha.
Junction City won the first game 11-0 and the second contest 16-7.
The Brigade will host the Kansas City Knights Monday night at Rathert Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Stone Cold Foxes roller derby team in Junction City defeated the Screaming Mimis of Boulder County, Colorado in a bout Saturday night at Spin City by the score of 243-102.
The MVP Jammer for the Foxes was Mary Payne and the MVP blocker was Trauma Queen.
