The Junction City Brigade baseball game at the Kansas City Monarchs Monday evening was postponed due to a wet field in Kansas City.

The game was rescheduled for Wednesday evening.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jason Vargas threw six shutout innings and Kendrys Morales hit a long home run against his former team to push the Kansas City Royals to a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Vargas (5-2) gave up five hits and struck out two, Morales hit a two-run shot in the second inning and Eric Hosmer drove in another run in the eighth to move the AL champion Royals (32-23) ahead of the Twins (33-24) by percentage points for first place in the AL Central. Greg Holland got his 10th save in 11 chances.

Phil Hughes (4-6) had one of his strongest outings of the season for the Twins, but didn’t get enough from his offense. Hughes gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out three.

Eddie Rosario had two hits, including a solo homer for Minnesota.

 

According to K-StateSports.com K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has announced the addition of senior guard Megan Deines to the 2015-16 roster, and the immediate eligibility of sophomore Kaylee Page for the upcoming season.

Deines, after graduating from Louisville, joins the roster and adds to a K-State roster that includes Kaylee Page, and freshman guards Kayla Goth, Anna Hammaker, and Lanie Page ( Wamgeo ), plus freshman center Cheyenne Hooper.

Deines, a 6’1 product of Springfield, Missouri, joins the Wildcats after three seasons at Louisville which saw the Cardinals reach the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons. While with the Cardinals she played in 94 games with 16 starts with an average of 14.1 minutes per game. Deines averaged 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.7 steals per game. She will have one season of eligibility remaining for the Wildcats.

In a ruling from the NCAA Page has been determined immediately eligible for the start of the 2015-16 season after transferring from Nebraska. Page is a 6’2 forward from Wamego who joined the Wildcats prior to the start of the second semester of the 2014-15 season. While with the Cornhuskers Page played in five games and averaged 0.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists.

During her high school career at Wamego, Page was the 2014 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year. SHe averaged 18.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.8 blocks, and 1.8 steals in her four-year career with the Lady Raiders.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Head coach Cliff Rovelto, as well as student-athletes Akela Jonesand Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye were honored by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in the annual announcement of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Regional Awards. Announced earlier today, Rovelto was named Midwest Women’s Coach of the Year, while Jones and Otuonye swept the men’s and women’s portions of the Midwest Field Athlete of the Year.

 

For Rovelto, his latest accolade adds to an extensive list of awards accumulated during the Wildcat head coach’s 23^rd season as head of the track program. He was honored by both the Big 12 and USTFCCCA during the indoor season, earning Women’s Coach of the Year honors in the conference and Midwest Region, respectively. Sweeping the regional award for this year overall, Rovelto has now earned the honor for a seventh time in his head coaching career.

 

The Wildcat women, who enter this week’s NCAA Championships as the No. 10 team in the country, have excelled under Rovelto’s watch during the outdoor season. The women have totaled 10 entries to compete for national titles, making them one of only 10 women’s programs in the country to have 10 or more entries competing in Eugene, Oregon. K-State also competed well at Big 12s, totaling a Big 12-era high 129.50 points to finish a 12-point runner-up to Texas. Individually, the women nabbed three Big 12 individual titles, as well as broke six school records.

 

In the field awards, Jones and Otuonye completed the overall season sweep for the Wildcats in the Midwest Region – Jones and freshmen high jumper Christoff Bryan earned the honors during the indoor season.

 

Her first season as a Wildcat, Jones has followed up a stellar indoor campaign with an equally as impressive showing outdoors. She enters NCAAs set to compete in both the high jump and heptathlon, as well as part of the 4×400-meter relay squad. Along with a loaded slate of action in Eugene, Jones has shined elsewhere earning High-Point Scorer honors at Big 12s in Ames, Iowa, and breaking the long jump school record. She also ran a leg on the record-breaking 4×400 squad in Austin, Texas, at West Prelims. Primed to add All-American outdoor honors to her three indoor All-American nods, Jones’ season-bests in the heptathlon (6,049 pts.) and high jump (1.87m/6-01.50) both rank top-five in Division I and in school history.

 

On the men’s side, Otuonye’s Field Athlete of the Year nod adds to what has been a career year for the junior from Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. The national record holder in the long jump, Otuonye has racked a number of impressive accomplishments, including winning the first-ever Big 12 men’s outdoor long jump title, as well as qualifying for NCAAs in the event. His wind-legal season-best of 7.87m/25-10 ranks him No. 5 in school history, while his all-conditions season-best of 7.98m/26-02.25 is fifth in the country.

 

The 12 and Under Brigade coached by Carl Laughlin captured third place at this weekend’s Cowtown Showdown in Kansas City. They will also be starting their fundraising to help with their trip to the USSSA World Series in Des Moines, IA in July.

The Topeka Senators defeated the Junction City Brigade Saturday night in Topeka 4-1, to leave the Brigade 6-3 on the season.

It was the first series loss of the season for the Brigade, who lost two out of three over the weekend to the Senators.

The next home games for Junction City will be at Rathert Field, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday June 11, 12, and 13.

 

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Salvador Perez hit a solo home run with two outs in the eighth inning, lifting the Kansas City Royals over the Texas Rangers 4-3.

Perez hit his eighth homer, sending a pitch from Keone Kela (4-2) into the Royals’ bullpen.

Wade Davis (3-1) picked up the victory, working around Prince Fielder’s double in the eighth. Greg Holland pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 10 opportunities.

The Junction City Brigade split a doubleheader with the Topeka Senators in Topeka Friday evening. The senators won the first game at Lake Shawnee 3-2 but Junction City took the nightcap 5-1.

The Brigade record stood at 6-2 after the doubleheader.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven strong innings and the Texas Rangers defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-2 Saturday for their seventh win in eight games.

Texas has won six straight series for the first time since 2012. The AL champion Royals have lost nine of 11.

Rodriguez (3-2), a 36-year-old lefty who signed with the Rangers in early April after Atlanta released him in spring training, gave up one run and six hits. He walked none and struck out four.

Yordano Ventura (3-5) continued to struggle early, allowing four runs in the first two innings.

RICHARD ROSENBLATT, AP Racing Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — At long last, a Triple Crown!

American Pharoah ended a record 37-year drought without a Triple Crown winner by soaring to victory in the Belmont Stakes on a historic Saturday in front of 90,000 cheering fans.

The brilliant 3-year-old colt seized the lead from the start and fought off every one of his seven challengers, and made no doubt he was worthy of Triple Crown glory by refusing to wilt in the final quarter-mile of the 1 1/2-mile “Test of the Champion.”

What a win for the record books. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert failed on three previous Triple Crown attempts, and jockey Victor Espinoza was 0 for 2 in Triple attempts, including last year with California Chrome.

A roar from the crowd went up as soon as American Pharoah came around the far turn, and it Belmont Park was rocking when the colt came barreling down the stretch.

American Pharoah becomes the 12th Triple Crown winner, first since Affirmed in 1978, and joins the likes of Secretariat, Citation and Seattle Slew in racing’s most exclusive club.

American Pharoah, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 2 and the Preakness on May 16, won the Belmont by 5 1/2 lengths over Frosted. The winning time was 2:26.65.

‘He’s just a great horse,” Baffert said. “It takes a great horse to do it.”

Keen Ice was third, followed by Mubtaahij, Frammento, Madefromlucky, Tale of Verve and Materiality.

“It’s just an amazing thing,” Espinoza said.

Penny Chenery, the 93-year-old owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, was in the crowd, and she’s “thrilled.” To owner Ahmed Zayat, she said, “Welcome.”

The names of the 11 Triple Crown winners are on separate signs on the Belmont infield, and American Pharoah’s name and silks were put up moments after he crossed the finish line.

The race was big news at other sports events, too. At Fenway Park in Boston and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, American Pharoah’s win was shown on the video board.