The Stone Cold Foxes roller derby team in Junction City conducted an intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday night at Spin City.

The scrimmage provided an opportunity to work on moves and techniques they have been working on since January. Coach Bill Able noted it was a good learning experience for some of the newer players. Team member Candice Garcia called it a fun learning experience for all of the new players, and great team bonding.

The next bout for the Stone Cold Foxes will be on June 23rd. Tickets can be purchased from any team member or at the door. On the 23rd doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

 

The Junction City Brigade picked up their sixth win in seven games with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Knights in Kansas City Tuesday night.

The Brigade are 6-5 on the season.

They are off Wednesday and host the Ottawa River Bandits Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Rathert Field.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Marcus Semien didn’t have much time to think after making a diving stop on Salvador Perez’s sharp grounder in the eighth inning. With Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield off third base and breaking for home, the Oakland shortstop had no one choice but to throw to the plate.

It worked out perfectly for both Semien and the A’s.

Matt Chapman homered leading off the bottom of the eighth, moments after Semien’s defensive gem cut down the go-ahead run, and the A’s beat the Royals 3-2 on Sunday.

“Just reaction,” Semien said. “I had a tough grip. I had my whole palm on the ball so I just tried to throw it as hard as I could from there. Merrifield’s pretty quick so you got to get the transfer and the throw there as quick as you can. That was good.”

Oakland manager Bob Melvin called it one of the best plays of Semien’s career. Closer Blake Treinen, who was on the mound and had a perfect view, termed it ‘incredible.’

The Junction City Brigade completed a series sweep of the Sabetha Lobos Saturday night at Rathert Field.

On United Way Night at the ballpark Junction City scored five runs in the second inning and never trailed again enroute to a 16-6 win over the Lobos. The game was called after eight innings due to a 10-run rule.

United Way organizations were in attendance at the ballpark to provide information to the public about their organizations and services. They ranged from Big Brothers Big Sisters to CASA ( Court Appointed Special Advocates).

In the ballgame Nate McBroom in his first outing of the season got the pitching win for Junction City. He went five innings on the mound. The Brigade won their fifth game in a rows to improve to 5-4 on the season, and complete a three-game sweep of the Lobos. Junction City defeated the Lobos 11-5 and 11-1 Friday night at Rathert Field.

Junction City will host the KC Knights Monday night at 7 p.m. at Rathert Field. That game will be broadcast on 1420 KJCK beginning at 6:50 p.m. Monday.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Danny Duffy can blow away hitters with a mid-90s fastball.

He’s learning that his softer stuff can be just as effective.

Duffy pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, and the Kansas City Royals snapped a six-game skid with a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

Duffy (3-6) struck out a season-high 10 and walked three.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez noticed early his team’s ace had a devastating changeup, and he wasn’t shy about calling it — even in fastball counts.

“Salvy called a fantastic game and certain times revealed themselves where we went back-to-back-to-back-to-back changeups,” Duffy said.

“You don’t do that very often when you throw in the mid-90s, but it was enough to keep people off balance today.”

Chris Bassitt (0-1) also allowed three hits in seven innings in his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery on May 6, 2016. He struck out six and walked one, allowing one run — on Paulo Orlando’s RBI single in the second inning.

Orlando’s hit snapped a 0-for-14 stretch.

The Royals scored again in the ninth on Alex Gordon’s home run — his fifth — off Yusmeiro Petit.

Kevin McCarthy pitched the eighth and Kelvin Herrera worked a scoreless ninth to complete the four-hitter and earn his 14th save in 15 opportunities.

With the Royals’ offense sputtering, manager Ned Yost shuffled the lineup, moving Gordon into the cleanup spot, Mike Moustakas from third to second and Perez from cleanup to third in the batting order. Gordon’s homer was the only hit by the trio.

Moustakas played his 900th career game for the team — becoming the 13th player in Royals history to reach that plateau — and started at first base for the first time.

Bassitt was called up from Triple-A Nashville for a spot start in place of Trevor Cahill, who is out with an Achilles injury. He didn’t arrive in Oakland until late Friday night.

Bassitt is the seventh starter the A’s have sent to the mound in as many days and the 11th different starter they’ve used this season.

He lost his seventh straight decision dating to April 28, 2016. His last win was on Aug. 4, 2015, against Baltimore.

The 29-year-old acknowledged he’s had doubts about his baseball future.

“There was some dark days,” Bassitt said. “Even this year there was some dark days.”

The Royals beat Oakland for the second time in six tries this season.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Frankie Montas has somehow had an easier time succeeding as a starter in the big leagues than he did in the minors.

Montas pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning to win his third straight start since being called up to the majors and Khris Davis homered twice to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 7-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

“I always trusted myself and I always believed in myself,” Montas said through an interpreter. “Now things are going well.”

It wasn’t that way in the minors this season when Montas (3-0) had a 1-5 record in nine starts at Triple-A Nashville. But he is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA with the A’s this season, including eight shutout innings against Kansas City last Friday.

Montas was sharp once again, allowing six hits and holding Kansas City scoreless until Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth. He relied heavily on his hard sinker.

“It’s very unpredictable,” catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “For me behind the plate, I don’t know where it’s going to be at. It’s a good thing, because if I don’t, a hitter definitely doesn’t. He pitches to contact and just attacks. He has a great mentality out there.”

Dustin Fowler also homered and Lucroy drove in three runs to help the A’s send the Royals to their sixth straight loss and drop them to a season-worst 22 games under .500.

The Junction City Brigade rolled to a pair of wins over the Sabetha Lobos in a doubleheader at Rathert Field Friday night by the scores of 11-5 and 11-1.

In game two they had a big sixth inning with six runs in that at-bat to roll past the Sabetha Lobos 11-1 in a 10-run rule game after seven innings Friday night at Rathert Field. Game one was already a scheduled seven-inning contest.

Junction City coach Derek Fisher says a four game winning streak sounds good. “It’s something that we didn’t do that first week, but it’s part of it when you’re trying to jell a bunch of new guys together. You got to get through that part and hopefully it turns out to be a good time. Right now that’s happening.”

Some new players have arrived for the Brigade team. Fisher noted Christian Rawlings pitched three innings of relief and gave up just one run in the game one victory over Sabetha and in that contest a K-State newcomer, Blake Burrows hit a home run in his first at-bat. Burrows will be a freshman at Kansas State.

The Brigade will host Sabetha again Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Rathert Field.  It will be Junction City / Geary County United Way night at the ballpark.

You can hear Saturday night’s game on 1420 KJCK beginning with the broadcast beginning at 6:50 p.m.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Pete Hughes, a proven program builder who has accumulated more than 650 victories in 21 seasons as a head coach, was named the 21st head baseball coach at Kansas State, Director of Athletics Gene Taylor announced Friday.

Hughes, who will be formally introduced at a press conference at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 12 in the Vanier Complex’s Steel & Pipe Team Theater, agreed to a five-year contract approved by the K-State Athletics, Inc., Board of Directors and President Richard B. Myers. Hughes was selected after a national search headed by K-State’s Taylor, Executive Associate Athletics Director Casey Scott and Ventura Partners and will be paid $375,000 in the first year of the deal with $10,000 annual increases each year remaining on the contract.

“My wife Debby and I could not be more elated to be bringing our family to one of the nation’s finest college communities,” said Hughes. “I am honored that President Myers and Director of Athletics Gene Taylor have given us this opportunity to become a member of a university and department that are integrity-driven, deeply rooted in core values and that represent all that is good in college athletics.

“I am beyond excited to continue the winning tradition of Kansas State baseball that Coach Hill tirelessly created over the past 15 years. It will be a privilege to wear the Purple and White.”

“We are excited to welcome Pete, Debby and the Hughes family to K-State,” Taylor said. “When we set out to hire our next baseball coach, we concentrated on finding someone with a proven track record of building and developing a successful program at the Power Five level. That is our need at this time – rebuilding a competitive program. Everyone that we talked to throughout this process emphasized the gritty determination of Pete’s teams, his emphasis on preparation and fielding fundamentally sound teams, his relentless approach to recruiting, his focus on identifying and developing the hard-working, blue collar-type of player that will bleed purple, his commitment to community service and his devotion to his family. His record of success is impressive, and he operates his program the right way. Combine all these factors and we felt we had the right man to help lead our program back to the level of success we want to achieve at K-State. Pete and his family will fit right in at K-State, and we look forward to them joining the Wildcat family.”

Hughes, who has a proven track record of setting new standards of excellence, has compiled a career record of 652-492-3 (.570) in 21 seasons as a head coach, serving as head coach at Trinity University (1997-98), Boston College (1999-2006), Virginia Tech (2007-13) and Oklahoma (2014-17).

Twice named both the New England Coach of the Year and BIG EAST Coach of the Year, as well as the 2000 American Baseball Coaches Association Northeast Region Coach of the Year, Hughes owns a well-deserved reputation as a relentless worker, tireless recruiter and charismatic leader.

Hughes has made a name for himself within the community throughout his career, starting with his 19 Ways Foundation. During his time in Norman, his teams raised over $80,000 to fight childhood cancer through the Vs. Cancer Foundation and the OU Children’s hospital. The Sooners also put on an annual ALS Awareness Halloween Game to benefit the ALS Foundation at the conclusion of each fall season.

Hughes comes to Manhattan after spending the 2018 season at the volunteer assistant coach at Georgia, where he helped the Bulldogs earn a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Primarily working with the team’s infielders, Hughes elevated UGA’s defense from the bottom of the SEC in 2017 to 10th-best in the nation in his one season in Athens.

In 2017, the Sooners registered a 35-24 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Louisville Regional. Hughes collected a 128-107-1 (.544) record in four seasons at the helm of the Sooners.

In his final season as the OU skipper, Hughes tutored 10 players that were honored with Big 12 annual awards – the most in program history – including Brylie Ware who was named the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team along with outfielder Steele Walker.

Inheriting a Virginia Tech club in 2007 that had not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2000, Hughes went on to lead the Hokies to five straight 30-win seasons, including a pair of 40-win seasons that culminated with berths in the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and 2013, the latter marking the school’s first-ever selection as a regional host site. Hughes compiled a 222-174 (.561) record in seven seasons at Virginia Tech.

Hughes produced an even more remarkable turnaround at Boston College, as he took over a program that had averaged just 13 wins a year over the previous 35 seasons. The Golden Eagles finished 17-23-1 the year prior to his arrival in 1998 and, two seasons later, the team registered an 18-game improvement as it finished 35-20 and qualified for the program’s second-ever appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament. In 2005, he guided BC to a school-record 37 victories.

Averaging 31 wins a season while at Boston College, Hughes owned a career mark of 250-181-2 (.580) as the Eagles’ skipper. He coached 37 all-conference selections while at Boston College, including Jared McGuire who was named 2005 BIG EAST Player of the Year.

In 21 seasons as a head coach, Hughes’ teams have finished .500 or better 19 times while he has overseen 74 former student-athletes selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including 15 taken in the first 10 rounds.
Hughes is a 1990 graduate of Davidson College where he played third base on the baseball team and quarterback for the Wildcats’ football team. He was captain of the baseball team as a senior and graduated that year with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology/anthropology.

Hughes began his coaching career at Hamilton College in New York in 1990-91, serving as an assistant in football and was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for baseball. He continued in that dual role at Northeastern University in Boston from the fall of 1991 until the spring of 1996 when he landed the head baseball coaching position at Trinity.

A native of Brockton, Massachusetts, Hughes and his wife Debby have five children: Thomas, Hal, Dominic, Grace and P.J. Thomas is a rising senior infielder at Oklahoma while Hal, also an infielder, just completed his freshman season at LSU.

THE PETE HUGHES FILE
Born: January 11, 1968 in Brockton, Mass.
High School: Boston College High School, Boston, Mass.
College: Davidson College, B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology, 1990
Family: Wife: Debby; Children: Thomas, Hal, Dominic, Grace, P.J.
Playing Career
Davidson College, 1986-90, Baseball and Football

Coaching Career
Asst. Baseball Coach/Asst. Football Coach, Hamilton College (Clinton, N.Y.) 1990-91
Asst. Baseball Coach/Asst. Football Coach, Northeastern Univ. (Boston, Mass.) 1991-96
Head Baseball Coach, Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) 1997-98
Head Baseball Coach, Boston College, 1999-2006
Head Baseball Coach, Virginia Tech, 2007-13
Head Baseball Coach, Oklahoma, 2013-17
Volunteer Coach, Georgia, 2017-2018
Head Baseball Coach, K-State, 2018-pres.

COACHING HIGHLIGHTS:
2017 NCAA Regional (Oklahoma)
2013 NCAA Regional, Host (Virginia Tech)
2010 NCAA Regional (Virginia Tech)
2005 New England Coach of the Year
2002 BIG EAST Coach of the Year
2000 New England Coach of the Year
2000 BIG EAST Coach of the Year
2000 ABCA Northeast Coach of the Year

PETE HUGHES BY THE NUMBERS:
74 MLB Draft picks
15 Top-10 round picks
76 All-Conference selections
20 All-District selections
6 All-Americans
6 Freshman All-Americans
3 NCAA Regional berths
32 Academic All-Big 12 selections
19 seasons .500 or better
1 BIG EAST Player of the Year (Jared McGuire, 2005)
1 Big 12 Freshman of the Year (Sheldon Neuse, 2014)
1 Brooks Wallace Award Winner (nation’s top shortstop – Sheldon Neuse, 2016)
1 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year (Brylie Ware, 2017)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT PETE HUGHES:
“I couldn’t be happier for Pete Hughes and his family. He sacrificed a lot to join our program and made a huge impact here at Georgia. Kansas State is getting one heck of a baseball coach and a better person. They are getting a coach that will work tirelessly with their players on and off the field and will help bring the Wildcat baseball program back to prominence.”
-Scott Stricklin, Georgia head baseball coach

“I have known Pete Hughes since he was the coach at Boston College and I was at Notre Dame. During that time, I grew to respect Pete as an outstanding coach, competitor, and molder of young men. His teams have always played with great passion and energy. The players at Kansas State will be taught to play the game the right way and will represent the university with great class – because Pete will demand nothing less. He is a tireless worker in recruiting as well as working with the players on the field. He will not stop until the job is done.”
-Paul Mainieri, LSU head baseball coach

“Pete Hughes is an outstanding coach, recruiter and leader. His teams are always fundamentally sound and relentless competitors. I am so happy for him and his family.”

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn couldn’t wait for the postgame meal following his first start of the season. Jittery nerves kept the right-hander from eating beforehand, and he was anxious to dig in.

Matt Chapman doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning to make a winner of Blackburn in his season debut, and Oakland beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Thursday night.

“The last 48 hours have been pretty rough for me,” said Blackburn, who was activated off the disabled list before the game. “I don’t think I’ve ate anything. I was just sitting there, stomach turning. It was excitement with nerves, with just everything, getting back out there and competing with the guys.”

Matt Olson hit his 13th home run, Stephen Piscotty singled three times and Marcus Semien added two hits and an RBI to help the A’s to their third win in four games against the Royals over the past seven days.

But Oakland’s pitching was the difference.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State’s 2018 season opener against South Dakota on Saturday, September 1, will kick off at 6:10 p.m., and be televised by ESPN3, K-State Athletics officials announced Wednesday.

The 10^th-Annual K-State Family Reunion game will be the seventh time in the last eight years that the Wildcats’ home opener will be a night kickoff.

The Wildcats and Coyotes are meeting for the fifth time in series history with K-State holding a 4-0 advantage. Kansas State earned a 34-0 shutout in the 2015 season opener, while the Wildcats also won home meetings over USD in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

Following the matchup against South Dakota, K-State will host Mississippi State on September 8, in an 11 a.m., game that will be shown on ESPN. The Wildcats then host UTSA at 3 p.m., on September 15 in a game televised by FSN prior to a road contest at West Virginia on September 22, to open Big 12 play.

Season tickets are still available for the 2018 season starting at just $199 for the mobile Flex Season Ticket. Single-game tickets for the 2018 season go on sale online only for Ahearn Fund members on Monday, July 9, and for the entire public online on Thursday, July 12. Group and single-game tickets are available by phone at 1-800-221-CATS beginningFriday, July 13.

 

K-State’s Kick Times/TV Selections for First Three Games

Date              Opponent                   Time              TV

Sept. 1          South Dakota             6:10 p.m.     ESPN3

Sept. 8          Mississippi State       11 a.m.         ESPN

Sept. 15        UTSA                             3 p.m.           FSN

 

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