The Junction City Brigade defeated the Liberty Monarchs 5-3 Monday evening at Rathert Field.

Junction City Head Coach Seth Wheeler confirmed the win propelled Junction City ( 17-10 ) into first place by one-half game in the western division ahead of the Topeka Golden Giants, who lost to the Midwest A’s Monday evening by a score of 13-4.

The Brigade fell behind early against Liberty 1-0 after one inning and 3-2 after three innings. Pitcher Blake Grellhesl came on in relief in the third inning and pitched through the eighth inning as Junction City surged ahead 5-3 with a two-run home run by Charlie Peyla in the fifth inning, and another run in the eighth. Henry DeNoble came on to pitch a scoreless ninth inning for the Brigade.

Junction City plays the Midwest Veterans in Olathe at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday while the Golden Giants play at the Baldwin City Blues at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior quarterback Jesse Ertz and junior defensive back D.J. Reed were named to the 2017 preseason watch lists for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards, respectively, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.

 

The honors are the first of each player’s career. Ertz is the first Wildcat to be up for the Maxwell Award, given to the College Player of the Year, since 2014 when quarterback Jake Waters was one of 20 semifinalists and Tyler Lockett was a preseason candidate. Reed’s inclusion on the Bednarik Award marks the sixth-straight season a Wildcat has been a candidate for the College Defensive Player of the Year.

 

Ertz, the MVP of the 2016 Texas Bowl, was one of three quarterbacks in school history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,012) and throw for 1,500 yards (1,755), while he was one of only four in the nation a year ago to accomplish the feat. He recorded the school’s 15th 1,000-yard rushing season, while he was the third-fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards.

 

A product of Burlington, Iowa, Ertz enters his senior campaign holding the school’s career record for lowest interception percentage (1.52 percent), ranked fourth in 100-yard rushing games among quarterbacks (3) and fifth in career rushing yards among quarterbacks (1,063).

 

Reed, a community-college transfer from Cerritos College, picked up 2016 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors from the league’s coaches after tying for second on the team with 75 tackles to go along with three interceptions and a Big 12-leading 19 passes defended. A First Team All-Big 12 pick, Reed tied for third in school history and fifth nationally during the 2016 season in passes defended. He also tied for team-high honors with three interceptions, a mark that tied for seventh in the Big 12.

 

The Wildcats open their seven-game home slate and the 2017 season with the ninth-annual K-State Family Reunion on Saturday, September 2, against Central Arkansas. As K-State draws nearer to running its consecutive sellout streak to 40 games, tickets can be purchased through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

 

RYAN LACKEY

Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

The Junction City Brigade got a strong pitching effort by Nate McBroom enroute to a 7-2 win over the Topeka Golden Giants Sunday night at Rathert Field.

McBroom pitched seven innings, giving up eight hits and two runs.

Brigade Head Coach Seth Wheeler noted the win brings Junction City within one-half game of the Golden Giants in the race for first place in the Mid Plains Western Division. “Obviously not the position you want to be in. You want to be that half game up or a game up but this is the position that we’ve put ourselves in.”

Wheeler added the win over the Golden Giants and a Saturday night victory over the Sabetha Lobos were good victories for Junction City. “I think the last two nights is about as good as we’ve played for a two-night stand.”

The top two teams in each division of the Mid Plains League ( East and West divisions ) will advance to the playoffs that are due to begin this coming weekend.

The Kansas City Royals lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles by the score of 5-2. The win gave the Dodgers a sweep of the Royals in the three-game weekend series.

The All Star Break is now here.

The next action for the Royals will be Friday when they host the Texas Rangers at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Home plate umpire Kerwin Danley has left the game after being hit in the mask by a foul tip off the bat of Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger.

Danley stumbled backward and Royals catcher Drew Butera tried to hold him up before the umpire went to the ground in the first inning Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

Danley eventually sat up and drank a bottle of water as Bellinger and the Royals’ infielders gathered around the plate and watched. The temperature was 94 degrees at game time, with Los Angeles in the grip of unusually high heat and humidity in recent days.

Danley got to his feet, toweled off his face and resumed working through the top of the second inning.

But he didn’t return for the bottom of the frame. Adam Hamari moved from first base to home plate to replace Danley.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — All-Star rookie Cody Bellinger drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the winning run in the 10th inning and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.

The Dodgers (60-29) reached the 60-win mark before the All-Star break for the first time since 1974. They are just the third team in franchise history to do so since 1933, joining the 1973 and ’74 squads that had 63 wins each.

Royals reliever Scott Alexander loaded the bases on consecutive walks to Chase Utley, Corey Seager and Justin Turner leading off the inning. He was replaced by Kelvin Herrera.

With the infield drawn in, fans chanted “Cody! Cody!” as Bellinger worked a full count before walking to force in Utley.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yasiel Puig homered, Chase Utley notched his 1,000th career RBI, and the NL West-leading Dodgers beat the Royals 4-1 on Friday night in the opener of Kansas City’s first interleague visit to Los Angeles since 2003.The Dodgers won their fourth in a row behind Kenta Maeda (7-4).

The two teams play again Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

The situation looked good early for the Junction City Brigade after they jumped out to a 4-1 lead over the Sabetha Lobos Friday night at Rathert Field.

But the Lobos kept chipping away at the margin and finally took a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning, and that held up for the final score.

In the seventh the Lobs got a single from Aaron Fuller followed by a triple off the bat of Yodelvy Garcia to score Fuller with the go ahead and winning run.

Junction City ( 14-10 )  used four pitchers in the game with Colin Chandler getting the start. In his four innings on the mound he gave up just two hits and walked two as the Lobos scored one run during that stretch of the game.

The Brigade will host the Lobos again Saturday night at 7 p.m.