The Junction City Brigade ( 8-5 ) scored 13 runs in the first two innings and rolled on to defeat the Ottawa River Bandits 18-2 in a game called after seven innings due to a run rule.

Drew Repp was strong on the mount early for Junction City and the Brigade turned in a big ten-run second inning where 13 hitters went to the plate. Brigade coach Derek Francis noted his team jumped on the River Bands right away from the beginning. “The thing about the second inning is that we scored all 10 runs with two outs. ” The Brigade totaled four hits, had one batter hit by a pitch and drew four walks in that half inning.

Junction City will host the River Bandits again Saturday night at 7 p.m. You can hear that contest on 1420 KJCK AM with the broadcast beginning at 6:50 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Evan Gattis hit a go-ahead grand slam, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa also went deep and the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on a balmy Friday night for their ninth consecutive win.

Charlie Morton (8-1) overcame another bout of wildness, at one point walking three straight batters, to last six innings for Houston. He allowed four hits and four walks while striking out nine.

Brad Peacock, Tony Sipp and Collin McHugh each contributed a scoreless inning in relief.

Jakob Junis (5-7) served up all three Houston homers, getting tagged for six runs on seven hits and a walk. It was his fourth straight loss, his last win coming against the New York Yankees on May 18.

All but one of the Astros’ wins during their streak has come on the road.

The Royals tried to give Junis some support early, jumping ahead 2-0 in the third on a two-out double by Mike Moustakas. It was a buoying at-bat considering the meek-hitting Kansas City lineup managed a single run in getting swept by Cincinnati during a two-game set this week.

It appeared the lead just might stand, too. Junis retired the first 13 batters he faced.

Bregman changed all that with his ninth homer of the season, a shot that just skirted the left-field foul pole. Correa added his 455-foot home run two batters later to tie the game.

Morton’s wildness allowed the Royals to regain the lead in the fifth, but Junis coughed it back up in the sixth. He gave up three straight one-out singles to load the bases for Gattis, whose 405-foot grand slam was the second of his career and third by the Astros this season.

It was also the second slam permitted by the Royals in their last two games.

The Junction City Brigade never trailed in their 13-3 win over the Ottawa River Bandits at Rathert Field Thursday night.

Junction City scored in seven different innings in the contest, which was called in the bottom of the eighth due to the 10-run rule.

The big inning for Junction City came in the fifth, when the Brigade put four runs on the board after garnering five hits and having another base runner reach on an error that inning. Junction City improved to 7-5 on the season. The two teams play again Friday night at 7 p.m. at Rathert Field.

The Friday evening activities will include a fireworks show after the ballgame.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State’s NCAA Elite Eight men’s basketball team will be featured participants in Friday’s K-State Day at the Kansas City Royals game at Kauffman Stadium.

Several members of the team will throw out the first pitch and will be involved in pre-game interviews on the FOX Sports Kansas City television broadcast and in-game interviews on the Royals Radio Network.

The Royals will host defending World Series Champion Houston Astros at 7:05 p.m., CT.

Seniors Barry Brown, Jr. (15.9 ppg., 3.1 rpg.), Kamau Stokes (9.0 ppg., 3.4 apg.) and Dean Wade (16.2 ppg., 6.2 rpg.) form the core of a group of 10 lettermen returning for the Wildcats, who won 25 games for just the sixth time en route to the school’s 12^th Elite Eight appearance and first since 2010. Brown and Wade were both All-Big 12 selections a year ago and formed one of the top scoring tandems, ranking seventh and eighth, respectively, in scoring in the Big 12 and accounting for nearly 44 percent of the team’s scoring.

The Wildcats also return rising juniors Xavier Sneed (11.1 ppg., 5.1 rpg.) and Makol Mawien (6.8 ppg., 3.4 rpg.) as well as sophomore point guard Cartier Diarra (7.1 ppg., 2.0 apg.). Sneed, along with Brown, were members of the All-South Regional Team during the team’s run in the NCAA Tournament.

K-State enters the 2018-19 season with high expectations with preseason Top 15 rankings from a number of publications, including eighth by NBC Sports, 11^th by Yahoo! Sports, 12^th by ESPN.com, CBSSports.com and USA Today and 14^th by Sports Illustrated.

Season tickets for the 2018-19 season went on sale June 11 with a variety of pricing options available, including the return of the Pick 5 Mini-Plan. Fans can purchase season tickets in a variety of ways, including toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287), online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets and in-person at the Athletics Ticket Office located in Bramlage Coliseum.

– www.k-statesports.com –

TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

The City will fix the field at Rathert Stadium.

There was a proposal to redo the infield and fix a lip problem on the edge of the outfield submitted during City Commission budget deliberations Wednesday night. But the governing body said do it sooner….this fall after the summer baseball season ends.

Ed Lazear, Junction City Parks Director talked with JCPost.com. “What we’re looking at is completely redoing the infield at Rathert Stadium, kind of like what we did back in 2006.” He also added, “Completely strip out all the infield material and start over and work toward getting good drainage, and get the lip on the outfield repaired.”

Lazear estimated 25-30 feet of outfield grass would be moved back and then replaced with sod. The cost estimate for the project is about $39,500.

The puddling of water on the infield after it rains has been a problem on the infield for some time.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State Athletics will honor a group of nine outstanding individuals with induction into its Athletics Hall of Fame in September, school officials announced today.

The 2018 Hall of Fame class includes Christine Boucher (women’s golf), Rita Graves (women’s track and field), David Hall (men’s basketball), Ed Klimek (FB/MBB/BSB/TF), Margaret Thompson (honorary), Terence Newman (football), F.I. Reynolds (men’s basketball), Mark Simoneau (football) and Max Urick (administration).

“We are excited to announce this year’s diverse group of nine individuals and welcome them into the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame,” said Kenny Lannou, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Communications and K-State Athletics Hall of Fame Chairperson. “Each of these inductees has made a lasting impact on K-State Athletics and Kansas State University, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Manhattan this fall for a special induction weekend.”

The class is the 12th in the history of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame, including the charter class of 1990, and will be honored during the weekend of September 27-29. Official induction ceremonies will take place on Friday, September 28, before the inductees are recognized at halftime of the football game against Texas the following day.

More ceremony details, including ticket information, will be announced later this summer.

K-State Athletics Hall of Fame – Class of 2018 Biographies

 

Christine Boucher (Lynch), women’s golf (2001-2004) 
The only player in school history to earn Conference Player of the Year accolades, picking up Big 12 Player of the Year honors in 2003-04… The only Wildcat ever to earn a trip as an individual to the NCAA Championship (2003)… A three-time All-Big 12 performer, earning second-team honors in 2001-02 and first-team accolades in both 2002-03 and 2003-04… Finished on the Big 12 All-Tournament team on two occasions (2002 and 2004)… Named the Big 12 Golfer of the Month in November 2002…Holds career records for rounds and tournaments played…Instrumental in  four team victories and has school record with six individual titles….Holds K-State single-round record of 64 and 54-hole score record of 204.

 

Rita Graves (Jackson), women’s track & field (1983-86)
Eight-time letterwinner in track and field (4 indoor and 4 outdoor) 1983-84-85-86… Tied with three other female Wildcats for the Most NCAA Outdoor All-American citations (career) at K-State with four… Tied for third with three other female Wildcats for the Most NCAA Indoor All-American citations (career) at K-State with three… The 1986 NCAA Outdoor National champion and All-American in the high jump… Also won the Big Eight Conference outdoor champion in the high jump in 1986… A 1986 NCAA Indoor All-American in the high jump with a second-place finish…1985 NCAA Outdoor All-American in the high jump with a seventh-place finish and a 1985 NCAA Indoor All-American in the high jump with a second-place finish… Placed second at both the 1984 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and to earn All-America honors… The 1983 and 1985 Big Eight Conference indoor champion in the high jump… Also a 1983 NCAA Outdoor All-American in the high jump with a sixth-place finish… Still ranks fourth on the K-State indoor top-10 list in the high jump with a clearance of 6-01.00 and ranks third in the K-State outdoor top-10 list for the high jump with a height of 6-02.00.

David Hall, men’s basketball (1969-1972)

A three-year letterman (1969-72) for coaches Cotton Fitzsimmons and Jack Hartman, Hall was part of two Big Eight Championships (1970, 1972)… He still ranks among the best in several career categories, including third in rebounds (827), fourth in double-doubles (30) and double-digit rebounding games (36) and sixth in rebounding average (10.1 rpg.)… One of six Wildcat 1,000-point scorers to shoot 50 percent or better from the field in his career and one of the few players to average a double-double (12.3 ppg., 10.1 rpg.) for an entire career… Currently the President of the University of the Virgin Islands.

Ed Klimek, football/men’s basketball/baseball/track & field (1936-38) 
Kansas State’s last four-sport letterman… Lettered in football (1936-37), basketball (1936-37-38), baseball (1936-37-38) and track & field (1936)… Set the single-game record for strikeouts with 17… Helped lead the football team to an 8-8-2 record in two seasons, including a pair of wins over Kansas… Signed a contract to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals before dying tragically of a heart attack while jogging in March of 1940… The men’s dormitory at Memorial Stadium was named in his honor in 1946.

Margaret Thompson (Murdock), honorary (1965)   
Olympian (1976 silver medalist and the first woman to win an Olympic shooting medal since games began in 1886 … Five gold medals in the Pan American Games (all in men’s competition)… Once held 13 world records… Currently in six halls of fame, including the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame and a 2007 inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame…Two Big Eight intercollegiate individual rifle championships (1963, ’64)

Terence Newman, football (1999-2002)
One of the most dynamic football players in school history… Inducted into the K-State Football Ring of Honor in 2008… Four-year letterwinner… 2002 Thorpe Award Winner as top defensive back in the nation and one of five finalists for Nagurski Trophy… Consensus All-American selection by the Associated Press, the Football Writers of America, Walter Camp, College Football News, American Football Coaches Association in 2002… 2002 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Kansas City Star and the league’s coaches… 2002 First-team All-Big 12 selection as a defensive back and kick returner by Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News and the coaches… Two-time Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week as a senior… Became the second-highest NFL Draft pick in school history when he was taken fifth overall in 2003 to Dallas.

F.I. Reynolds, men’s basketball (1915-17) 
Lettered at Kansas State in 1915-16-17… K-State’s first All-American in the sport of men’s basketball in 1917… Helped lead the Wildcats to a record of 13-3 in 1916 and the 1917 Missouri Valley Conference title with a record of 15-2… K-State won the final 13 games of his collegiate career, including four straight on the road.

Mark Simoneau, football (1996-99)
2012 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee, just the second player in K-State history to be inducted… 1999 Consensus All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year… 1999 Butkus Award Runner-Up… 2008 K-State Football Ring of Honor inductee… Four-year starter for head coach Bill Snyder … Led the Wildcats to a 42-7 record during his career … Won two Big 12 North titles and appeared in four straight bowl games… Two-time All-American and four-time All-Big 12 pick… Currently ranks first in school history with 251 career unassisted tackles and third overall with 400 total tackles… Selected in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft by Atlanta.

Max Urick, administration (1993-2001)

Athletic Director for K-State …Key player in the development of the Big 12 Conference…Stabilized financial balance while in a growth period for K-State athletic facilities…Construction projects included the Academic Learning Center, JumboTron, and upgrades to the east side of KSU Stadium. Placed high priority on gender-equity issues and made significant strides in accomplishing the objectives of Title IX…At the helm when K-State made a run of eight straight bowl games…Served on the NCAA Division 1-A Athletics Directors Board of Trustees and Cost Reduction Committee…Served on the NACDA board… Inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2017.

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

KENNY LANNOU
Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications and Public Relations | K-State Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tyler Mahle is pitching well in June. Then again, most everyone is pitching well against the Kansas City Royals this month.

Mahle allowed three hits while working into the seventh, Adam Duvall hit a ninth-inning grand slam and the Cincinnati Reds beat the skidding Royals 7-0 on Wednesday night.

Mahle (5-6) allowed only one runner to touch second base in 6 1/3 innings, matching his career longest start. He is 2-0 in June, allowing two earned runs and 14 hits in 16 1/3 innings.

“I was able to make big pitches, get weak contact and guys were able to make plays behind me, and I was able to hold them off long enough for us to score some runs,” Mahle said.

The Royals have lost nine of 10 and have dropped 23 of 33 home games. They have scored 11 runs in their last eight games and 23 in 12 June games. They have scored one run in the past 25 innings.

“We’ve got to be better than that,” losing pitcher Jason Hammel said. “This losing is getting old.”

Kansas City is hitting .147 this month with runners in scoring position, including 1 for 25 in the past six games.

Duvall greeted rookie reliever Jason Adam with his second grand slam in two weeks, driving a 2-2 pitch over the left-center wall.

“He threw me a couple of curveballs earlier in that at-bat, but I knew he liked his heater,” Duvall said. “That’s what I was looking for there. It’s a good feeling to come in here and win two.”

Hammel (2-7) allowed three runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings. The Royals committed three errors, including two in the seventh helping the Reds score two runs.

“I know guys are not trying to kick the ball, not try to misplay it, but at this level those things affect the outcome,” Hammel said. “That’s the game in a nutshell.”

Alex Gordon, a five-time American League Gold Glove winner, made two defensive gems in the sixth inning. Curt Casali singled off the left-field bullpen fence and tried to stretch it into a double. Gordon threw him out from the warning track for his fifth outfield assist this season and the 85th of his career.

Two pitches later, Gordon made a diving head-first catch of Billy Hamilton’s liner to rob him of a hit.

“The first thing that went through my mind, is no wonder he’s a gold, platinum glove winner,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He’s just so fantastic out there.”

Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier grounded into double plays to end the first two Royals innings.

Mahle retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced after Gordon walked in the second inning.

The Royals didn’t have a runner touch second base until Whit Merrifield doubled with two out in the sixth.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former Kansas State football greats David Allen and Clarence Scott along with women’s basketball star Laurie Koehn have been selected as members of the 57^th Anniversary Class of 2018 to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Wednesday. The Wildcat trio will be inducted in ceremonies on Sunday, October 7, at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in the Wichita Boathouse.

With the three new members, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame now includes 49 representatives with ties to K-State, while the 2018 induction class of 13 raises the total overall number of inductees into the hall of fame to 286.

The sixth Consensus All-American in school history following the 1998 season, Allen’s Wildcat career coincided with some of the best years in K-State football history as the program put together four 11-win seasons during his playing days of 1997-2000. During that time, Allen set the school career punt-return records for yards (1,646), average (16.0), touchdowns (7) and attempts (103).

During his All-American campaign of 1998, the Liberty, Missouri, product set school records for punt-return yards (730) and touchdowns (4), while he also had a 172-yard return game against Texas to set the school mark. His contest against the Longhorns featured a 93-yard touchdown, the last of a school-record three-straight games with a punt-return score. His three-straight games with a punt-return touchdown is an NCAA record and stood alone for 15 years until it was tied in 2013.

Allen also picked up First Team All-America accolades in 1999 and 2000, and he earned four career Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Following his K-State career, Allen played five seasons in the NFL with San Francisco, Minnesota, Jacksonville and St. Louis, and he finished his professional career with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders in 2006.

For his career efforts, Allen was enshrined in K-State football lore as he was inducted into the program’s Ring of Honor in 2008. He is one of only 14 players to hold the distinction and was only one of 10 at the time of his enshrinement.

A defensive back from 1968-70, Scott played in the first game at now-Bill Snyder Family Stadium. As a senior in 1970, he earned First Team All-America honors from Sporting Newsand Look Magazine in addition to being named a First Team All-Big Eight performer.

Drafted 14th overall in the 1971 NFL Draft by Cleveland, Scott played 13 seasons in the NFL and helped the Browns earn four playoff appearances, while he was a 1973 Pro Bowler. The Decatur, Georgia, native is a member of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame, was inducted into K-State football’s Ring of Honor in 2015, and he was enshrined in the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

Koehn is the K-State and Big 12 all-time leader in career 3-point field goals made with 392 during her four-year career that spanned from 2001-05. Also the school and conference leader in 3-point attempts (942), Koehn was a two-time Second Team All-Big 12 selection (2004, 2005) and earned third-team honors as a freshman in 2002. She also picked up national Rookie of the Year honors from ESPN in 2001-02 and was a three-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week pick.

A two-time Academic All-America honoree, who earned first-team accolades in 2005, the Hesston, Kansas, product went on to earn a gold medal with the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Women Team and a silver medal as a member of the 2003 USA Basketball Pan American Games Team.

Koehn signed as a free agent with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics in 2005 and played four seasons with the organization, while she also played the 2012 season with the Atlanta Dream. She led the WNBA in 3-point field goal percentage in both 2005 (.467) and 2006 (.524).

Tickets to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony may be purchased online at www.kshof.org or by calling (316) 262-2038.

– k-statesports.com –

 
RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber was among seven individuals selected to the Southern Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame on Tuesday (June 13) by university officials.

Weber, who led the Salukis to 103 wins and consecutive NCAA Tournaments as head coach from 1998 to 2003, will be formally inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame on Friday, October 19. He will be joined in the Hall of Fame class by former player Jermaine Dearman, along with Mallory Duran-Sellers (softball), P.J. Finigan (baseball), George Loukas (football), Jeneva McCall (track and field) and Bryan Mullins (men’s basketball).

The architect of the SIU’s basketball resurgence in the early 2000s, Weber inherited a program that had posted three consecutive losing seasons and quickly turned them into a force in the Missouri Valley Conference. He led the Salukis to a 103-54 (.656) overall record from 1998 to 2003, which included back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003.

Named head coach in 1998, Weber led the Salukis to their first winning season in four years with a 15-12 record in 1998-99. He followed with the school’s first 20-win season since 1994-95 in year two, which included a trip to the 2000 NIT and its first postseason victory in four years with a 94-92 win at Colorado.

Weber’s teams were a combined 52-15 (.776) in his last two seasons (2001-03), including consecutive MVC regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2001-02 squad collected 28 wins, including 14 in league play, and made a run to the Sweet 16. He once again led the Salukis to the NCAA Tournament in 2002-03, where his team tallied 24 wins, including an impressive 16-2 mark in MVC play.

Weber is set to begin his seventh season at K-State in 2018-19, recently agreeing to a contract extension through the 2022-23 season after guiding the Wildcats to their first NCAA Elite Eight in eight seasons. He has posted a 125-80 (.610) overall record that includes four NCAA Tournament appearances. His 125 wins are the fourth-most by a head coach in school history and the most since Jack Hartman retired as the school’s winningest coach in 1986.

Weber, 61, has compiled a 438-235 (.651) record in his 20 seasons as a head coach, which includes stints at Southern Illinois, Illinois (2003-11) and now K-State. His .651 winning percentage ranks 37th among active Division I head coaches, while he is the 41^st coach (21^st active coach) in NCAA history to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Weber’s teams have participated in postseason play in 14 of his 20 seasons, including 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. He has averaged 21.9 victories a season in his head coaching career.

–www.k-statesports.com–

TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Billy Hamilton eluded a rundown tag, and the Cincinnati Reds escaped with a victory.

Joey Votto hit a bases-loaded triple in the 10th inning after Hamilton slipped out of a rundown, and the Reds beat the Royals 5-1 on Tuesday night.

“Billy showed his athleticism and got out of that jam there and set it up for Joey,” Reds manager Jim Riggleman said.

Hamilton got hung up between third and home when pitcher Kevin McCarthy (4-3) tipped Tucker Barnhart’s line drive with his glove. McCarthy picked up the ball behind the mound and threw home, and Hamilton looked done until he sidestepped Alcides Escobar’s tag and dived back safely into third base to leave the bases loaded with one out.

“I see the guy running back toward third base, I said, ‘Gimme the ball,'” Escobar said. “When I tried to tag him I thought, ‘Oh my God, where did the guy go?’ That was a great move right there.”

Hamilton’s speed and maneuvering set up the victory.

“That goes down as one of the more crazy things I’ve seen him do,” said Barnhart, who homered in the ninth to tie it.

Royals manager Ned Yost argued with third base ump Jeff Nelson that Hamilton ran out of the base path.

“In their judgment he didn’t leave the baseline,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I said, ‘In my judgment he did. Can you check with Laz (Diaz, plate umpire)?’ Laz was of the same opinion. You don’t really have much ground there.”

Votto then tripled on a 2-1 count to the right-center wall, and Eugenio Suarez singled home Votto.

“I was looking for a quality pitch that I could put a little air on,” Votto said. “Can’t hit the ball on the ground there. Can’t hit it too shallow. I got a good pitch and put a good swing on it.”

Dave Hernandez (2-0) hit a batter and struck out two.

Barnhart drove a 2-2 pitch by Kelvin Herrera over the right-field fence into in the Royals’ bullpen to lead off the ninth.

It was Herrera’s second blown save in 16 opportunities.

After Barnhart’s home run, Herrera walked Votto for his first walk of the season in his 27th relief appearance. He also walked Jesse Winker with two outs before retiring Adam Duvall on a groundball to end the inning.

Ian Kennedy, who has won one of his last 27 home starts, pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three singles. He was removed after 104 pitches and the Royals holding a 1-0 lead.

“I leave it up to the staff to make that decision, not me,” Kennedy said on coming back for the ninth. “I kind of felt like Kelvin has been so good this year I imagined that was probably my last inning.”

Kennedy retired 12 straight after navigating his way out of a bases-loaded jam to end the second.

The Reds loaded the bases in the second inning on Scooter Gennett’s leadoff single and walks by Suarez and Duvall. Kennedy got out of that jam when Jose Peraza flied out to center fielder Abraham Almonte, who threw out Gennett attempting to score.

Hunter Dozier led off the fifth with a 425-foot homer to left on a 2-2 pitch by Sal Romano.

That was the only hiccup for Romano. He allowed only three singles outside of Dozier’s home run in eight innings.

The Royals have dropped eight of nine and have lost 22 of 32 home games.