MANHATTAN, Kan. – For the third consecutive season, all available K-State football season tickets have been sold as department officials announced that public season sales for the 2015 season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium have surpassed the 36,000 mark, while three contests are already sold out of contiguous seats.

Fans who ordered season tickets but did not receive a ticket location during the priority seating process will be refunded and placed on a waiting list for the 2016 season, which currently sits at more than 250 accounts with 1,000 tickets requested.  Those fans will also receive a promotional code by email on Friday, June 12, for an exclusive one-day pre-sale on Monday, June 15, at k-statesports.com for any remaining tickets from visitor allotments. Any future visiting team returns throughout the fall will be offered first to current season ticket holders, Ahearn Fund members, and fans on the 2016 football season ticket waiting list. Fans wanting to join the wait list can do so by calling the K-State Athletics ticket office at 1.800.221.CATS.

“A third consecutive season ticket sellout is further proof that the K-State Nation is excited for the 2015 football season,” said Athletics Director John Currie. “We appreciate our fans filling Bill Snyder Family Stadium each week and providing a world-class experience for our student-athletes. With just a small number of tickets available for next week’s single-game on-sale, we are well on our way to 27 straight sellouts and a packed house for all seven home games, beginning with our Family Reunion game and debuting of the new Vanier Football Complex on September 5.”

Department officials also announced that the South Dakota, Louisiana Tech and Oklahoma games are down to scattered singles following pre-order sales. Information regarding ticket availability, including standing-room only options, for the single game public on-sale scheduled for Monday, June 22, at k-statesports.com will be issued in the coming days. Fans wishing to find tickets for sold-out games can do so through Vivid Seats, a secondary market that has partnered with K-State Athletics. To find tickets, fans can visitwww.kstatesports.com and click on the link for Vivid Seats in the ticketing menu or call (844) 545-6702.

The 2015 season-opener against South Dakota on September 5 will be broadcast live on K-StateHD.TV beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the K-State Gameday preview show followed by a 6:10 p.m. kick, while the Louisiana Tech game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be televised by FSN.

-kstatesports.com-

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals are sticking with Drew Butera as their backup catcher, reinstating Erik Kratz from the disabled list Thursday and designating him from assignment.

Kansas City acquired Butera from the Los Angeles Angels last month to back up Salvador Perez when Kratz went on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Kratz had been on an injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Omaha.

Kratz and Butera are both out of options, which meant the Royals had to choose between the two backups. Kratz was hitless in four games earlier this season, while Butera has fared little better offensively but has been solid in handling the Royals staff.

Kansas City was off Thursday before opening a three-game set in St. Louis on Friday.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Nine games at Bramlage Coliseum, the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center and a return to INTRUST Bank Arena for the Wichita Wildcat Classic highlight the 2015-16 Kansas State men’s basketball non-conference schedule released on Thursday.

 

The non-conference slate could include as many as six teams that participated in the postseason a year ago, including three from the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Competition could come from as many as nine different conferences, including the Atlantic 10, ACC, Big Ten, Big Sky, Mountain West and SEC.

 

The 113^th season of K-State men’s basketball begins Sunday, November 6 when the Wildcats host Division II foe Fort Hays State in an exhibition game. The season officially gets underway less than a week later on Friday, November 13 when the squad hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first of two opening round games of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

 

“We felt with so many new players that we needed to get some home games under our belt early to develop some confidence in our team,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “Obviously, we have a nice challenge with the games in Kansas City at the CBE Hall of Fame Classic against a longtime rival in Missouri, a Big Ten team in Northwestern and a national championship contender in North Carolina. We then have a couple of road games to give us some experience in Georgia, who beat us at home last year, and Texas A&M, who has had two of the best recruiting classes in the country the past two seasons.

 

We finish it off with the game in Wichita against Colorado State, who has been one of the top teams in the Mountain West since Larry (Eustachy) took over, before the home games with Saint Louis and Ole Miss. The Saint Louis game starts a home-and-home series, which will give us the opportunity take D.J. (Johnson) next season. All in all, we feel like we have built a non-conference slate that works well with the make-up of our team.”

K-State previously announced several components of its non-conference schedule, including the CBE Hall of Fame Classic on Monday-Tuesday, November 23-24, the Wichita Wildcat Classic contest with Colorado State at INTRUST Bank Arena on Saturday, December 19 and the home game with Ole Miss in the Big 12-SEC Challenge presented by Sonic on Saturday, January 30.

 

In all, the Wildcats will play at least 18 home games in 2015-16, including the nine-game Big 12 slate with visits from NCAA Tournament teams Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and West Virginia. The complete Big 12 schedule, along with game times and television information, will be released at a later date.

-kstatesports.com-

The Junction City Reds swept Abilene in Babe Ruth baseball action Wednesday evening by the scores of 18-3 and 10-8.

Jorden Butler led the Reds by going 5-for-7 with 8 rbi’s, including a walk-off single.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Kansas City Royals reclaimed first place with a resounding three-game sweep on the road of division rival Minnesota.

The Twins were beaten so soundly, well, they lost their shirt.

One of them, at least.

Alex Gordon hit a three-run homer, Edinson Volquez struck out six batters over seven innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Twins 7-2 on Wednesday, a night spiced up in the eighth inning by an ejection of Torii Hunter that prompted an equipment-throwing tantrum by the Minnesota star.

“You know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to fire everybody up and get `em going,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “They’ve been in a little slow bat period themselves, and he’s trying to get everybody fired up and get `em going. It’s a bit entertaining.”

Hunter was heaved by home plate umpire Mark Ripperger for arguing a called third strike. Hunter had to be restrained briefly, before yanking off his elbow pad, shin guard and batting gloves and throwing them around the batter’s box area.

Then Hunter ripped off his jersey and hurled that over the first-base line, before retreating to the dugout.

“We have bad days, all of us, as hitters, pitchers. Even umpires have bad days, and he had one,” Hunter said.

Hunter has long been a fiery player, but his blow-up likely wouldn’t have happened had the Twins not been swept at home for the first time this season. Manager Paul Molitor was given his first career ejection during the conflict, too.

Was that satisfying to see for the Royals, who arrived at Target Field on Monday trailing the Twins by one game in the American League Central?

“No, I find satisfaction in winning baseball games. To get out of town sweeping the series, it’s a good feeling,” Yost said.

The Twins scored 11 runs while stumbling to a 1-5 record on this home-stand. They hadn’t been swept since the opening series of the season at Detroit.

Volquez (5-4) pitched the Royals to victory by reaching the seven-inning mark for only the second time in his last nine starts. He scattered seven singles, walking two.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals are showing off their memorabilia heading into a high-profile matchup.

The Columbia Missourian (https://bit.ly/1BZ2uPP ) reports that this weekend could be the second time this year the Interstate 70 rivals will play while first in their divisions if the Royals maintain their one-game lead in the American League Central. The series starts Friday in St. Louis.

The Missourian went in search of fans, photographing 66-year-old Don Boes of Jefferson City in front of memorabilia, some of it from the 1985 World Series. Photographers also captured 55-year-old John Thessen, of Taos, with a collection that includes seats from the old Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals and Royals also had the best records in Major League Baseball when they played in May.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chris Young took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Salvador Perez homered to help the Kansas City Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Young (5-2) left after giving up a triple to Trevor Plouffe with one out in the seventh for his only hit of the game. The 6-foot-10 right-hander struck out two and walked three to bounce back from a pair of ugly starts and put the Royals in a position to sweep the Twins on Wednesday.

Trevor May (4-4) gave up one run on seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six innings for the Twins, who managed just the one hit and have scored five runs in their last four games.

On a night when San Francisco’s Chris Heston no-hit the Mets, Young looked prime to equal him as he carved up the slumping Twins lineup through six innings.

He faced the minimum number of batters through five innings, walked two in the sixth and finally yielded when Plouffe just missed an opposite field homer that bounced high off the big wall in right field.

Royals manager Ned Yost immediately pulled him, turning things over to the American League’s best bullpen to finish of Kansas City’s third straight victory. Franklin Morales and Kelvin Herrera kept Plouffe stranded at third and Greg Holland picked up his 11th save in 12 chances.

It should come as no surprise that Young didn’t let a couple of shaky starts get him down. He started this season with the Royals with wins in his first three starts, but had given up 10 earned runs over his previous two against the Yankees and Indians.

That was nothing compared to what he overcame just to stay in the big leagues. Young broke in with the Rangers in 2004 and also pitched for the Padres and Mariners. But his career was in jeopardy in 2013 after he had surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve disorder that gave him chronic pain in his shoulder and neck.

He recovered and went 12-9 with a 3.65 ERA for the Mariners last year to earn AL comeback player of the year honors before signing with the AL champions in March.

He got all the help he would need against the Twins in the first inning when Alcides Escobar led off the game with a double and scored on a single from Mike Moustakas. Perez added his ninth homer of the season in the ninth.

The Royals (33-23) can complete the three-game sweep of the Twins (33-25), who have fallen behind AL Central-leading Kansas City, on Wednesday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy, who has been on the disabled list since May 17 with left biceps tendinitis, was scheduled to return to the mound on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha.

UP NEXT

The Royals send RHP Edinson Volquez (4-4, 3.26) to the mound in the series finale to face RHP Kyle Gibson (4-3, 3.00). Volquez is 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA on the road this season. Gibson has given up a combined four earned runs on 13 hits in his two starts against Kansas City this season. He is 1-1 in those starts.

K-State’s Nate Griep has been selected on the 8th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

As a redshirt sophomore for the Wildcats this past season the right handed pitcher was a second team All-Big 12 selection. He went 6-3 with with a 2.63 eaned run average with 64 strikeouts and 33 walks in 13 starts.

Griep held opponents to a .218 batting average against, the lowest clip against by a Wildcat starting pitcher since 2000.  He was also a two-time Big 12 pitcher of the Week this past season and was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on March 24.

Griep was the 241st player selected in the MLB Draft.