KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The series opener between the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox on Monday night was postponed because of rain and will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Wednesday.

The Royals’ Yordano Ventura will be pushed back to start Tuesday night against Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello. Steven Wright will start the day game and David Price the nightcap for Boston on Wednesday and the Royals will start Ian Kennedy and Edinson Volquez in the doubleheader.

They have not decided which pitcher will start which game.

The rainout came at a good time for the Royals, who used all nine of their pitchers in a 4-2, 13-inning win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Several relievers would not have been available.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Rising junior men’s basketball player Mason Schoenwas among five Big 12 Conference student-athletes invited to participate in the Career in Sports Forum, June 2-5, in Indianapolis.

Schoen will be joined at the Forum by fellow basketball player, Toddrick Gotcher of Texas Tech, along with Oklahoma State’s Maggie Botkin and Darby Crynesand Texas Tech’sSarah Weber.

One of more than 20 annual programs and resources organized and directed by the NCAA leadership development department, the Career in Sports Forum provides college athletes with a broader scope of the career tracks available within the sports business with a primary focus on college athletics. The Forum provides student-athletes interactive experiences with successful individuals in the sports business and a peek into their day-to-day duties and responsibilities.

Schoen and the more than 200 college athletes expected to attend the Forum will hear from a number of keynote speakers and panelists, including current TV analyst LaChina Robinson, DePauw director of athletics Stevie Baker-Watson and Lees-McRae College vice president of athletics Craig McPhail.

The participants will also attend the Next Steps Fair at the NCAA Hall of Champions, which will give them tips on gaining employment in the sports world and helping them better understand expectations once they land that job.

For more information on the Forum can be f

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State track and field team saw three athletes win individual titles in the women’s discus, high jump and triple jump as the Big 12 Championship came to a close at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex on Sunday.

 

Overall, the women finished in third place with a score of 112 points, while the men recorded a fifth place finish, up three spots from last season’s eighth place finish, with 94 points. Texas won both the men’s and women’s competition.

 

“Of the 50 athletes that we brought, 39 of them scored which is really good,” head coach Cliff Rovelto said. “The men clearly maxed out in their events. They had a really, really good meet. The women had a lot of phenomenal marks today as well. We had a lot of athletes far surpass our expectations. We had a lot of people step up and compete. I am really happy for everyone because they really did a great job this weekend.”

 

Freshman Shadae Lawrence got the Wildcats off to a fast start in discus, using a huge personal best toss of 58.84m/193-00 to win the first conference title of her career. The title is the first won by a Wildcat since 1999 when Renetta Seiler won the event with a throw of 62.35m/204-07. Lawrence’s mark is good for the eighth-best mark in Division I this year.

 

In the next event of the day, junior Kimberly Williamson won K-State’s second title in as many events, winning the women’s high jump for the second year in a row with a jump of 1.87m/6-01.50, a new season best. Williamson won the event last year by jumping the same height.

 

Shadae’s twin sister, Shardia Lawrence, would add a title of her own later in the afternoon, claiming the triple jump crown with a personal best leap of 13.19m/43-03.25. Her jump moves her to fifth place on the school’s all-time list in the event.

 

The Wildcats saw numerous athletes score in their respective events throughout the final day of the meet. Sophomore Rhizlane Siba set a new personal best with a leap 1.81m/5-11.25, while freshman Shanae McKenzie also scored in her first conference meet with a jump of 1.71m/5-07.25.

 

Sophomore Christoff Bryan also had a strong performance in the high jump, finishing in third place with a mark of 2.19m/7-02.25. Fellow sophomore NaTron Gipson finished in fourth place with a mark of 2.15m/7-00.50, while newcomerThilina Karunaratne jumped 2.11m/6-11.00 to finish in sixth place.

 

K-State saw three other throwers score in the meet as well. Freshman Brett Neelly posted a seventh place finish in the discus throw with a personal best toss of 52.28m/171-06. In the women’s javelin throw, Ally Zerbe finished in fourth place with a throw of 49.85m/163-06, while Haley Pitko fell just short of her PR with a mark 46.76m/153-05.

 

Distance runner Lukas Koch scored in the men’s 1500 meter run, finishing in seventh place with a 3:54.37. Sophomores Kayla Doll and Colton Donahue set a new personal bests and scored in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Donahue finished in seventh place with a time of 9:06.07, which moves him to eighth on the school’s all-time list in the event. Doll also finished in seventh place, posting a time of 10:38.87.

 

Junior Adam Deterding had a strong race in the 110 meter hurdles as he recorded a time of 14.48 (1.3) to finish in fifth place. Freshman Rene Perla ran in the 400 meter hurdles, posting a scoring effort with a time of 54.08. In the women’s 400 meter hurdles, senior Tia’ Gamble ran a time of 58.98 while freshman Ranae McKenzie ran 1:01.08 to finish in seventh place.

 

Sprinters Terrell Smith and A’Keyla Mitchell had another strong outing after their performances on Saturday night. Smith recorded a fourth place finish in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.49 (0.2) before finishing in third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 20.83 (-0.8). Mitchell finished in fifth place in 100 with a time of 11.84 (0.1) before running a 23.63 (-0.6) in the 200 to take fifth place.

 

K-State also saw strong races from its relay teams. In the men’s 4×100 race, the team finished in fourth place with a time of 40.54. The women’s 4×400 relay team took silver with a time of 3:35.95, while the men’s 4×400 meter relay team took fourth with a season-best time of 3:11.51.

 

The Wildcats now how have a little less than two weeks to prepare for the NCAA West Preliminary, which will be held at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas on May 26-28. More information on the meet can be found at the events home page by clicking here.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kendrys Morales hit a walk-off two-run homer with two out in the 13th inning and the Kansas City Royals overcame a rare blown save by Wade Davis to defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Sunday.

The Royals took two of three from the last-place Braves after losing their five previous series. The Braves lost for the 18th time in 23 games and have won only one series this season.

Alcides Escobar, who had four hits to match his career high, singled before Morales’ blast off Jason Grilli.

The Royals used nine pitchers, tying a club record for one game, with Chien-Ming Wang (2-0) picking up the victory. Lefthander Eric O’Flaherty (0-3), the sixth of seven Braves pitchers, took the loss.

The Braves rallied to tie it with two runs in the ninth off Davis, who blew his first save since July 12 against Toronto.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women’s rowing team saw its 1^stVarsity 8 and its 3^rd Varsity 8 reach the Grand Finals as the Big 12 Championship came to a close on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on Sunday.

 

K-State finished in the regatta in fourth place with a total score of 74 points. Texas went on to win the event with a total score of 137 points.

 

“The crews raced better today,” head coach Patrick Sweeney. “The 1V8 and 3V8 posted good results, turning their results at the Sunflower Showdown around.  I thought the 1V8 rowed really well. The 2V8 showed inexperience yesterday but put a better race together today, similar to the 1V4.”

 

The Wildcats started strong on Saturday as the 1V8 posted a time of 6:39.528 to finish in third place in the second heat of the prelims and earn a spot in Sunday’s Grand Finals. Consisting of coxswain Meaghan Kuzmich and rowers Marissa Butrum, Noelle Dykmann, Mary Rose Eakes, Kayla Brock, Samantha Bendrick, Courtney Winkley, Erin Roeser and Madi Haney, the boat finished in fourth place in the Grand Finals with a time of 6:53.263.

 

K-State’s 3V8 took a similar path to Sunday’s Grand Finals, taking third in the first heat on Saturday with a time of 6:56.543 to qualify. Coxswain Aimee Farrell and rowers Maggie Burg, Kelsey Eagleman, Kaylin Edwards, Molly Ross, Grace Reilly, Nikole Cain, Samantha Samskey and Taylor DeWeeseled the boat to a fourth place finish in Sunday’s Grand Finals with a final time of 7:16.798.

 

The 2^nd Varsity 8 and the 1^st Varsity 4 recorded victories in their races, posting times of 7:05.443 and 7:51.015, respectively. The 2^nd Varsity 4 took second in its Petite Final, posting a time of 8:12.065, three seconds behind West Virginia who finished with a time of 8:09.853.

 

“The conference is definitely getting faster and we need to improve our depth and commitment,” Sweeny added. “Our young team will have seen how much more is required. Although it was a difficult year with weather conditions, they did not use that as an excuse and kept trying to improve.”

 

Haney was also recognized for her outstanding season as she was named to the 2016 All-Big 12 team. Haney raced in all of the team’s races this season and was a member of the gold medal winning 1V8 at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (SIRAs).

 

Josh Brunner – Graduate Assistant – Athletic Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Edinson Volquez pitched seven effective innings, Alcides Escobar had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run and the Kansas City Royals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 to open a six-game homestand Friday night.

The World Series champion Royals had dropped 12 of their previous 16 games, while the Braves, who have the worst record in the National League, lost for the 17th time in 25 games.

Volquez (4-3) picked up his first victory since April 21, snapping a three-game winless streak. Erick Aybar’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Jeff Francoeur, who led off the inning with a single, for the only run Volquez allowed.

Julio Teheran (0-4) is winless in eight starts this season, the longest winless streak of his career, despite a 1.48 ERA in his past five starts. Teheran held the Royals to two runs, one unearned, and four hits over seven innings.