The Junction City Blue Jays defeated Topeka High 4-3 in the first round of their Class 6A Regional Baseball Tournament Thursday afternoon at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka.
Junction City ( 11-10 ) will advance to play the winner of Washburn Rural – Lawrence semifinal game in the championship game tonight. The championship game is scheduled at 6 p.m.
Work continues to try and develop a new sports complex in Junction City.
One member of a committee working on the project, Brian Field, provided information this week.
–A local architect is working on a plan, and hopeful will be ready in a few weeks.
–Cost estimates could then be determined. The committee is costing the project more locally in an effort to lower the price on the facility.
–A four baseball / softball field and four soccer field facility is now being pursued, instead of a complex with eight baseball / softball and eight soccer fields. The complex would be built to allow for future growth.
–Two sites ( not yet named ) are under consideration as a site for the sports complex. They hope to have the final site locked down in the next 60 days.
–Part of the fields will have artificial turf, and part of them will have natural grass. Field added, “We want to have the play ability of the turf, but we also want to have the option for people to have grass, especially for soccer, which seems to be the preference as far as the turf for that sport.”
–Among the local committee members spear heading this project include Brian Field, Ben Bennett, Brett Deam, Ty Arneson, Cecil Aska, Clint Francis, and Michelle Stimatze.
MANHATTAN, Kan. The Kansas State Athletics Department and football program will welcome four new members to the K-State Football Ring of Honor as former Wildcat greats Michael Bishop, Jordy Nelson, Clarence Scott and Darren Sproles will comprise the third class inducted into the elite fraternity, bringing the total number to 14.
“Like previous Ring of Honor classes these are not only skilled athletes and All-Americans at the positions they played at Kansas State but quality gentlemen who genuinely care about their university and their football program,” Hall of Fame Head Coach Bill Snyder said. “They join the previous 10 Consensus All-Americans having represented their university with class and dignity. I am so very proud of this and previous classes having coached nine of the 14 of them.”
These four legends of Kansas State football will have their names permanently affixed to the facing inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium during a halftime presentation of the 2015 season opener against South Dakota. The names will also be prominently shown on the Ring of Honor display in the West Stadium Center concourse inside Gate B.
“We are thrilled to honor these four football greats and K-State graduates who have had a transformational impact on the success of our football program and continue to be tremendous ambassadors for our university,” said Athletics Director John Currie. “Each of these individuals has displayed tremendous integrity and overall excellence both on the field, and we are proud to recognize them for their commitment and contributions.”
One of the most dynamic players in program history, Bishop played a major role in propelling the Wildcats to their first-ever No. 1 national ranking during the second of his two seasons at K-State (1997-1998). The 1998 Heisman Trophy runner up and the Davey O’Brien Award winner, Bishop still holds the K-State season passing efficiency record after a 159.6 rating in 1998 (164-of-295 for 2,844 yards and 23 TDs/4 INTs) in addition to the season total offense mark at 3,592 yards. He went 22-3 as a starter, including a 15-1 mark in Big 12 play, while also earning All-Big 12 honors both as a junior and senior. Bishop was taken in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by New England.
A former walk-on who started his Wildcat days as a defensive back, Nelsonmade his mark on the Wildcat program during his final season as he was named a 2007 Consensus All-American and finalist for the Biletnikoff Award. In 2007, Nelson set school records for receptions in a game (15) and season (122), receiving yards in a game (214) and season (1,606) and yards per game in a season (133.8). He finished the year with 122 catches for 1,606 yards and 11 touchdowns and went on to be taken 36th overall by Green Bay in the 2008 NFL Draft. He finished his career with 206 catches for 2,822 yards and 20 scores.
A defensive back from 1968-70, Scott played in the first game at now-Bill Snyder Family Stadium. As a senior in 1970, he earned First Team All-America honors from Sporting News and Look Magazine in addition to being a First Team All-Big Eight honoree. Drafted 14th overall in the 1971 NFL Draft by Cleveland, Scott played 13 seasons in the NFL and helped the Browns earn four playoff appearances, while he was a 1973 Pro Bowler. He also is a member of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Sproles was one of the most dangerous all-purpose players in college football during his time at K-State (2001-2004) and as a junior helped lead the Wildcats to the 2003 Big 12 Championship and a berth in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy race that season, but his career rushing and all-purpose numbers still rank atop the school records. K-State’s all-time leading rusher with 4,979 yards, Sproles currently has three of the school’s top four season rushing marks and totaled 24 100-yard rushing games including a string of 10 straight during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. His 2,735 all-purpose yards in 2003 are the 10th-most in NCAA history, while his career total of 6,812 is also tops in schools history. He was then drafted by San Diego in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
The inaugural class, which was honored in 2002, included Lynn Dickey,Steve Grogan, Jaime Mendez, Sean Snyder, Gary Spani and Veryl Switzer, while David Allen, Martin Gramatica, Terence Newman andMark Simoneau were added in 2008.
The Ring of Honor is designed to recognize those in the football program who have distinguished themselves on and off the field. Among the criteria considered is quality of character, whether the person is an excellent representative of K-State, whether a person has achieved performance that warrants consensus All-America level status at Kansas State University or performed at a program-transformational level that warrants consideration, and the student-athlete has to be at least five years out of school.
-k-statesports.com-
Kenny Lannou
Assistant A.D. for Communications – K-State Athletics
The Chapman High School softball team has qualified for the Class 4A Division Two State Tournament.
Chapman won their Class 4A Regional on Wednesday at the Beemer Sports Complex in Chapman by defeating Smoky Valley 13-1 in the first round of that tournament,and then defeating Clay Center 6-4 in the championship game.
The Class 4A Division Two State Tournament will be at the Hummer Sports Complex in Topeka May 28-29.
TULSA, Okla. – Colton Kalmus matched his career-high in strikeouts with six while Max Brown went 4-for-4 with a pair of two-out RBIs as six-seed K-State opened its trip to the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship
with a 7-3 win over third-seeded Oklahoma on Wednesday at ONEOK Field.
The Wildcats (27-28) notched their third win in the opening game of the postseason tournament in their last four trips with the help of a five-run lead through the third inning. K-State scored a run in the first, two in the second and another two in the third, building an insurmountable lead over the Sooners (32-26).
“I thought we just came out ready to play,” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “We were right on fire from the start. [Carter] Yagi gets us going with a base hit [in the first]. We do a hit-and-run right away. Coach [Andy] Sawyers does a great job getting aggressive with a hit-and-run. Again, we just got momentum on our side early. Offensively is where it all started.”
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jeremy Guthrie pitched six shutout innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night.
The Royals tied a club record with 24 consecutive scoreless innings, which was set June 9-12, 1976. 
That streak ended in the seventh when Brandon Phillips’ two-out double off reliever Ryan Madson scored Zack Cozart.
The Royals, who won for the fifth time in six games, improved to 26-14, the franchise’s best record after 40 games.
The Reds lost their fifth straight, a season high.
Guthrie (4-2) pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out predicament in the first inning and won his third straight start. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out three. Guthrie retired 13 on fly balls and two on grounders.
Reds right-hander Jason Marquis (3-4) was pulled after 3 2/3 innings, yielding four runs, four hits, two sacrifice flies, two walks and a wild pitch. In losing his past three starts, Marquis has surrendered 21 hits and 15 runs in 12 1/3 innings for a 15.33 ERA.
Mike Moustakas, who hit .212 last season, had three hits for his 16th multi-hit game to raise his average to .342.
Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon drove in two runs each. Morales’ 32 RBIs ranks second in the American League.
Phillips had three of the Reds’ nine hits.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: LHP Manny Parra (strained neck), who struck out the side in his only inning Tuesday, will continue his minor league rehab with Triple-A Louisville with another inning on Friday. . LHP Sean Marshall, who has not pitched this season, had season-ending shoulder surgery Wednesday.
Royals: Backup C Erik Kratz (torn left planter fasciitis) will report Thursday to Triple-Omaha for a minor league rehab. . LHP Jason Vargas (flexor strain) will throw a simulated game Friday.
UP NEXT
Reds: RHP Mike Leake, who starts the series opener Friday at Cleveland, gave up a career-high nine runs and three homers in five innings in his previous start, Saturday at San Francisco.
Royals: RHP Chris Young has never beaten the Cardinals, his Friday opponent. He is 0-3 with a 3.65 ERA in five career starts against St. Louis.
TULSA, Okla. — Shane Conlon became the second Wildcat ever to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors twice in a career as the redshirt senior, who was a unanimous selection, and Nate Griep, who was named All-Big 12 Second Team, highlighted a group of seven Wildcats to pick up postseason honors announced by the conference office.
Along with Conlon and Griep’s Big 12 accolades, senior Max Brown and newcomers Corey Fischer, Tyler Moore andTyler Wolfe were named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention while freshman pitcher Bryce Ward was selected to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team.
In addition to being the second Wildcat to ever earn All-Big 12 First Team honors twice — joined by Pat Maloney (2001-02) — Conlon is the 10th player in K-State’s overall history to earn all-conference first team honors two times. Eight players were selected to the All-Big Eight First Team from 1958 to 1996.
A fifth-year senior, Conlon paced the Wildcats with a .308 batting average, 57 hits and a .401 on-base percentage during the regular season. Within his second-highest hit total of his career, Conlon notched his 200th career hit on May 5 at Wichita State, becoming the 18th player in program history to reach that milestone.
In 49 games this year, Conlon had 13 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 26 RBIs and 10 stolen bases to go with his .300+ batting average. Defensively, the first baseman committed a career-low three errors, turning in a .994 fielding percentage.
Conlon enters this week’s Big 12 Baseball Championship tied for sixth in K-State history with 209 career games played while he is also tied for fourth in hit by pitches with 34.
Griep, who is the seventh Wildcat pitcher in the last nine years to be named All-Big 12, has put together one of the best seasons by a starting pitcher in the Brad Hill era as he is 6-2 with a 2.35 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 12 starts this season. In six Big 12 starts, the redshirt sophomore had a 1.96 ERA, which finished as fourth-best in the conference. His overall ERA, registered over a career-high 76 2/3 innings, was seventh-best.
Griep limited hitters to a .215 batting average against over the course of the season, which is the best clip against by a Wildcat starting pitcher in program history.
Brown hit .272 (53-for-195) with six doubles, six triples and a career-high 33 RBIs in 53 games of his final season in a Wildcat uniform. The Bellevue Community College transfer not only led the Wildcats in RBIs for the overall season, but in Big 12 play, Brown had a team-best 17 RBIs, which were more than he had in all 43 games as a junior (14). Meanwhile, his six triples were the second-most by a Big 12 hitter this regular season and the most by a Wildcat since 2011.
A transfer from Madison College, Fischer went from a starting pitcher to key reliever for K-State down the stretch of the season. In 10 relief outings in conference-only games, the junior was 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA and .212 batting average against. Over his first nine Big 12 relief appearances, the right-hander allowed just one run and recorded a stretch of 13 1/3 innings without a run and just three hits against from April 2-May 10.
Moore, a Coffeyville Community College transfer, played in 46 games in his first regular season as a Wildcat, hitting .302 (48-for-159) with 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 29 RBIs. The junior, who was awarded a Big 12 player of the week honor twice this year, had the most home runs by a K-State catcher since 2012. Behind the plate, the Shawnee, Kansas native threw out 38% of attempted base stealers (16-for-42).
Starting every game at shortstop for K-State, Wolfe finished the Big 12 season leading the Wildcats with a .366 batting average, 30 hits, 13 walks and .448 OBP, which were fourth, eighth, 11th and third, respectively, among all conference hitters. The junior finished out the regular season hitting .411 (23-for-56) with 10 walks and 14 RBIs in the final 14 games, as he batted .286 (53-for-183) on the year.
Wolfe also appeared in three games as a pitcher, including in two Big 12 games, and did not allow a run while surrendering just one hit in four total innings.
Ward, the sixth Wildcat since 2011 to be named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team, appeared in 18 games this year, posting a 2.56 ERA and .254 batting average against. In eight relief outings in Big 12 games, the Jenks, Oklahoma native had a 1.38 ERA and .191 batting average against. He recorded his first career save at Oklahoma State on March 27, helping the Wildcats to a 4-2 win over the No. 12 Cowboys.
The All-Big 12 team and individual awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. For a complete list of all Big 12 postseason awards, click here.
This year marked the third time since 2009 that K-State had seven or more All-Big 12 honors.
K-State will open the 2015 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when it takes on third-seeded Oklahoma at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The sixth-seeded Wildcats went 1-2 against the Sooners in the regular season, a series held in Manhattan from May 8-10.
All-Big 12 First Team
Shane Conlon, RS Sr.
All-Big 12 Second Team
Nate Griep, RHP, RS So.
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Max Brown, OF, Sr.
Corey Fischer, RHP, Jr.
Tyler Moore, C, Jr.
Tyler Wolfe, INF, Jr.
All-Big 12 Freshman Team
Bryce Ward, RHP
k-statesports.com
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Andrew Hamor, who spent a decade as a member of the K-State Athletics staff before spending two years at the University of Texas, will return to his alma
mater as the Associate Athletics Director for Development, Athletics Director John Currie has announced.
In his new role, which begins June 22, Hamor will lead the athletics department’s development efforts and serve as a member of the senior staff.
“We are very fortunate to have such a uniquely well-positioned and capable candidate available to continue our momentum and maintain the culture of service and productivity that we expect from our development team,” Athletics Director John Currie said. “Andrew is yet another example of a proven professional who recognizes that K-State is a special place and wants to be a part of our vision of being A Model Intercollegiate Athletics Program, and we are excited to welcome Kiley and Andrew back to Manhattan.”
As Assistant Athletics Director for the Longhorn Foundation at Texas, Hamor was directly responsible for all aspects of the department’s comprehensive annual giving program and helped membership in the Longhorn Foundation increase by 4 percent to 13,050 members in his first year, the highest departmental total since 2010. Total giving to the Longhorn Foundation also increased by 6 percent in 2013-14, while philanthropic annual gifts for 2014-15 are currently $1.5 million ahead of last year’s pace.
“Kiley and I are excited to return to Manhattan and reconnect with the K-State family,” Hamor said. “The Ahearn Fund has been established as one of the top development programs in the country, and I look forward to continuing that tradition. I’m also very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside a great staff as we work toward providing the Best Fan Experience in the Big 12 and a World-Class Student-Athlete Experience.”
In addition to his role with the annual giving program, Hamor also established the Longhorn Foundation Leadership Society for the department’s top-level donors, and gifts of more than $25,000 annually increased by 30 members since 2013 representing more than $1 million in revenue. He also was responsible for suite and premium seating areas for football, basketball and baseball where he helped generate more than $21 million in revenue in 2013-14.
Prior to his time at Texas, Hamor spent a total of 10 years at K-State serving in various capacities, including Director of Annual Giving and Assistant Director of Development.
As the Director of Annual Giving, Hamor helped the re-launched Ahearn Fund improve membership by 43 percent to 9,240 members from 2010-2013, while annual giving increased by more than 30 percent from 2008-2013 and total giving more than doubled to a record $26 million during that same time period. He also helped secure and close 44 major capital gifts during the West Stadium Center campaign which resulted in more than $1.8 million in capital revenue, while also managing the West Stadium Center Club, Loge and Suite campaign which sold out and totaled $583,500 annually in new revenue.
“We are thrilled to have Andrew and Kiley back in Manhattan and look forward to him leading our Ahearn Fund staff and development efforts,” Executive Associate Athletics Director Laird Veatch added. “With more than a decade of experience working at K-State, in addition to being a Kansas native, Andrew will bring great perspective to our staff while already having established trusting relationships with many of our donors.”
A native of Coldwater, Hamor worked as a student in the athletics event management office while earning his undergraduate degree in business management and finance. After graduating in 2003, he moved on to graduate school where he earned a master of science in education in 2005 while working as a graduate assistant. He then spent three years as a compliance assistant (2005-2008) before beginning a six-year stint with the Ahearn Fund.
May 28-30 are the official days for the Cabela’s National Team Walleye Championships at Milford Lake.
There are other scheduled activities as well.
Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director Connie Hall provided more information.
–Sixty Soldiers from various units at Fort Riley will fish with the NTC anglers from 7-11 a.m. May 27. They will take off from the Milford Marina at Milford State Park.
–The pre-tournament banquet for the anglers is May 27 at 6 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center in Junction City.
–An information tent will be set up at the tournament site in the State Park featuring a Community Table, plus information from Manhattan, Council Grove, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks & Tourism.
–A cannon shot will signal the start of the tournament on the morning of May 28. Boats will launch in four flights.
–The fish weigh-in each day of the tournament will begin at 3 p.m.
–Following the weigh-in on the first day of the Tournament, there will be a Kids Fishing Clinic. The first 100 youth can pick up a ticket at the Community Table in the Information Tent and receive free rod-and-reel combos courtesy of Cabela’s and the Walleye Federation. Kids will be able to meet NTC competitors and learn techniques on casting and fishing.
–On Saturday, May 30, the field of contestants in the Tournament will be narrowed to the top 25 teams.
–This is the 14th edition of the championship.
–185 two-person teams will vie for more than $274,000 in cash and prizes. First prize is $30,000 in cash plus a $68,000 Evinrude E-Tec powered 620 Ranger Boat.
–overall, the Cabela’s NTC pays out $121,000 in cash to the top 50 teams, $14,600 in Cabela’s gift cards to the remainder of the field, and $100 in Cabela’s gift cards for big fish and big basket awards. In addition, the top 25 teams earn the title of “Cabela’s All-Americans” and receive commemorative rings marking their achievement.
–Participating anglers had to qualify in their individual states. They are from mostly the northern states…from the Dakotas to New York, and a few western states. More than 50 boats are already at Milford Lake and once the Memorial Holiday weekend is over more will begin to arrive.
–The public can watch the boats take off from the Milford Marina at 7 a.m. each morning and watch the weigh-ins at 3 p.m. daily.
–The tournament will be streamed live on the internet at cabelas.com/ntc and also filmed for national television, to air in early August on “Americana Outdoors” on NBC Sports, the Pursuit Channel, and other regional networks. Exact dates and airtimes will be announced at walleyefederation.com.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The NFL is moving back extra-point kicks and allowing defenses to score on 2-point conversion turnovers.
The owners on Tuesday approved the competition committee’s proposal to snap the ball from the 15-
yard line on PATs to make them more challenging. In recent seasons, kickers made more than 99 percent of the kicks with the ball snapped from the 2.
That proposal places the 2-point conversion at the 2, and allows the defense to return a turnover to the other end zone for the two points, similar to the college rule. The defense can also score two points by returning a botched kick.
The vote was 30-2. Washington and Oakland voted no. The rule change will be reviewed after one year.
New England and Philadelphia also made suggestions on changing the extra point, but the owners went with the powerful committee’s recommendation.