KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pinch-runner extraordinaire Terrance Gore stole a base and then scored on Hunter Dozier’s single in the ninth inning, lifting the Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Indians 9-8 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the AL Central favorites.

Ryan O’Hearn led off the ninth with a walk against Brad Hand (0-1) and was replaced by Gore. The speedster swiped second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Roberto Perez. Dozier then singled to left for Kansas City’s first walk-off win of the season.

Gore has 31 stolen bases over six major league seasons, despite just 25 at-bats.

The Indians had not been swept in a road series of at least three games since May 4-6, 2018, at Yankee Stadium.

The Royals roughed up two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, who allowed 11 of his 18 batters to reach base safely. He gave up six runs, six hits and a career-most five walks in just 2 2/3 innings. The five walks doubled Kluber’s season total — he didn’t walk more than three batters in any game in 2018.

Royals starter Jakob Junis gave up five runs and eight hits through 6 1/3 innings.

Lucas Duda, Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler homered for Kansas City. Duda had two hits and four RBIs.

Leonys Martin hit his second leadoff homer in five days for Cleveland during a three-run first inning. Martin had three hits, and Jake Bauers had two hits, including a tying two-run single to cap a three-run rally in the seventh.

Wily Peralta (1-1) pitched the top of the ninth.

Taylor Briggs of Chapman captured two gold medals in the Smoky Valley Invitational on Friday. Briggs won the girls 1600 meter run in 5:23.26 and the 3200 meters in 11:31.39.

The Chapman girls finished fourth in the team competition. Other highlights included a second place finish by McKenna Kirkpatrick in the triple jump at 32’9.25 and third place finish in the long jump with a leap o 16’4.75,” and Peyton Suther finished second in the jump at 5′ and second in the javelin with a throw of 118’4.” Shannon Anderson was fifth in the 300 hurdles in 52.79, Macy Bliss fifth in the discus at 96′,” Madeline Elliott fifth in the 3200 meters in 13:23.73, and Marie Meuli was seventh in the triple jump at 30’5.”

For the Irish boys team Mitchell Tiller finished second in the pole vault at 12’6,”, Aaron Modrow third in the 800 meters in 2:06.29 and second in the 1600 meters in 4:35.5, Kel Stroud third in the shot put with a throw of 44’3,” Eli Winder fourth in the 800 meters in 2:08.3 and seventh in the triple jump 37’2,” Anthony Wasylk fifth in the 800 meters in 2:09.05, Blake Vercher second in the long jump wit ha leap of 20’6.25″ and sixth in the 200 meters in 23.47. Brandon Colston was seventh in the 400 meters in 55.51, the 4×100 relay team of Anthony Wasylk, J.P. Mitchell, Brandon Colston and Blake Vercher third in 45.12, and the 4×400 relay team of Anthony Wasylk, Eli Winder, Brandon Colston and Blake Vercher third in 3:40.45. Chapman finished fifth in the boys team competition.

K-State fans had a chance to see the Kansas State Wildcat football team practice, and then scrimmage for a short time on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The event was the Spring Showcase.

Coach Chris Klieman said the team approached it like a practice. “There were just more fans here. The fact that we were able to get our practice, get our work in, all the things. This is a normal practice for us. We just finished the practice rather than with a double rep team period with a little bit of a scrimmage at the end.”

Skylar Thompson three three touchdown passes in the scrimmage, and tight end Sammy Wheeler ended it with a one hand reception in a corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Klieman said during the spring Thompson improved in his awareness of the offense. “Just his awareness of our offense, his constant ability to learn more every day about what we’re doing offensively.” Klieman added he was “so impressed with the amount of information he ( Thompson ) was able to retain in a 15-day practice in the fact that we threw everything in the playbook at him.” Klieman added when the Wildcats return for the fall it will all be recall for Thompson.

Klieman also confirmed that linebacker, senior Justin Hughes, tore his ACL last week. “In my opinion in a short time around him heart and soul of our football team, kids love him, coaches love him. He’ll be back. He’s got an opportunity to get a medical hardship and he’s going to do that because he loves the game of football. ” Klieman confirmed Hughes will miss the 2019 season, but said he was confident Hughes would be back in 2020. Hughes played in 11 games and finished third on the team with 56 tackles to go along with seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery last season.

The Wildcats open the 2019 season when they host Nicholls on August 31st.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon homered, doubled twice and singled as the Kansas City Royals stopped a 10-game losing streak, racing to a big lead and beating the Cleveland Indians 8-1 Friday night.

Gordon homered during a six-run first inning against Carlos Carrasco (1-2).

The Royals hit for the cycle in the opening inning — Whit Merrifield led off with a single, Adalberto Mondesi followed with a triple and Gordon homered, with Chris Owings’ two-out, two-run double finishing Carrasco.

Brad Keller (2-1) gave up one run on three hits, striking out a career-high 10 in 6 2/3 innings. He has pitched at least six innings in nine straight starts, the longest active streak in the majors.

Keller’s 118 pitches were the most by a Royals starter since James Shields threw 124 on July 29, 2014.

Tyler Naquin hit a 420-foot home run in the second, snapping a streak of 54 innings in which Keller hadn’t allowed a homer. It had been the longest active string in majors.

Gordon doubled in the second. He added an RBI double in the fourth, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

The Royals added a run in the sixth on a double steal.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Seniors Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade each shared the Rolando Blackman Most Valuable Player Award, as Kansas State celebrated the accomplishments of its Big 12 Championship team at the annual men’s basketball banquet Thursday night at the Hilton Garden Inn.

 

In all, Brown captured four awards (Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player, Rolando Blackman MVP, Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player and Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball), while Stokes earned three (Blackman MVP, Bob Boozer Courage and 1^st Battalion 7^th Field Artillery “Never Broken”) and Wade won a pair (Blackman MVP and Tex Winter Top Offensive Player).

 

The senior trio, which led K-State to the sixth-most wins (88) in a four-year period and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, combined for 4,533 points in their respective careers and each finished among the school’s Top 20 scorers. Brown finished as the school’s all-time leader in games played (139) and steals (254) and No. 5 on the all-time scoring list with 1,781 points, while Wade is one of just three Wildcats (Bob Boozer and Rodney McGruder) to finish among the career Top 10 in both scoring (1,510/10^th) and rebounding (685/8^th). Stokes finished among the school’s Top 5 in 3-point field goals (207/4^th), assists (415/3^rd) and steals (135/5^th).

 

Other award winners included junior Xavier Sneed (Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player and Ernie Barrett Play Hard), junior Makol Mawien (Ed Nealy Most Improved Player), junior Pierson McAtee(Keith Amerson Academic Award) and sophomore Cartier Diarra (Dean Harris Sixth Man).

 

Brown won the Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player Award for the third consecutive season, while he repeated as Rolando Blackman MVP and Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball. He won the Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Player Award for the first time. The Porky Morgan Award is the program’s oldest award and honors the longtime K-State Athletics Trainer from 1950-80.

 

The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, Brown led the Wildcats in nearly every statistical category in 2018-19, including scoring (14.6 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (28), 20-point games (seven), field goals made (184) and attempted (425), free throws made (88) and attempted (124) and steals (65). He connected on 43.3 percent (184-of-425) from the field, including 29.8 percent (42-of-141) from 3-point range, and shot 71 percent (88-of-124) from the free throw line.

 

Stokes earned the Bob Boozer Award for the fourth consecutive season, while he was a repeat winner of the “Never Broken” Award. He was a first-time winner of the MVP Award. The “Never Broken” Award is given annually to commemorate the team’s partnership with the 1^st Battalion, 7^th Field Artillery unit at Fort Riley.

 

Stokes played perhaps his best basketball in the final month of the season, averaging a team-best 14 points with 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the last 8 games. He was spectacular in his last home game, totaling a game-high 19 points to go with a game-high 6 assists and zero turnovers against Oklahoma on March 9 and a team-high 18 points in the NCAA Tournament game against UC Irvine on March 22. For the season, he averaged 11 points on 37.9 percent (118-of-311) shooting, including 36 percent (67-of-186) from 3-point range, with a team-high 110 assists. He was named All-Big 12 honorable mention.

 

Wade was a repeat winner of both the Rolando Blackman MVP and Tex Winter Awards.

 

An All-Big 12 First Team selection for the second consecutive season, Wade proved to one of the most valuable players in the Big 12, as the Wildcats went 20-5 in games in which he played, including 13-2 in league action. He averaged 12.9 points on 49.2 percent (122-of-248) shooting, including 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from 3-point range, and 78.9 percent (56-of-71) from the free throw line to go with a team-best 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30.4 minutes per game. He ranked second in scoring, double-digit scoring games (19) and 20-point games (four).

 

Sneed won the Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award for the second straight season, which goes annually to the single-season leader on the Wayne McClain Play Hard Chart and tracks deflections/blocks, steals, dives, loose balls, offensive rebounds and charges, while he shared the Jack Hartman Top Defensive honor with Brown.

 

An All-Big 12 honorable mention pick, Sneed ranked among the team’s top 4 in scoring (10.6 ppg.), rebounding (5.5 rpg.), assists (1.9 apg.), steals (1.4 spg.) and minutes (30.7 mpg.). He became the fourth member of the team to eclipse 1,000 career points in the NCAA Tournament game with UC Irvine on March 22.

 

Mawien was selected as the winner of the Ed Nealy Most Improved Player Award after the junior averaged 7.0 points on 52.6 percent (100-of-190) shooting to go with 4.9 rebounds and a team-high 23 blocked shots. One of just two Wildcats to start all 34 games, he scored in double figures in four of his last five games, including a double-double in the NCAA Tournament game with UC Irvine on March 22.

 

Diarra was named the winner of the newly-reconfigured Dean Harris Sixth Man Award, which is given to the team’s top reserve and named in honor of Harris, who passed away in 1974. He came of the bench in 17 of his 26 games played this past season, averaging 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 25.5 minutes per game. He scored in double figures in five of last seven games played, including a season-high 15 points against Iowa State in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on March 15.

 

McAtee won the Keith Amerson Academic Award for the second consecutive season after earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors as well as the league’s top honor – the Dr. Gerald Lage Award – this past season. A walk-on who saw action in 15 games, he has been a member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll each semester he has been on the team. Amerson, who played at K-State from 1990-91, passed away in January.

 

K-State concluded the 2018-19 campaign with a 25-9 overall record and advanced to the school’s 31^st NCAA Tournament. It was just the seventh 25-win season and the in consecutive seasons in school history. The Wildcats claimed their 21^st conference championship, including their 19^th won in the regular season, and captured their second in the Big 12 era. The team has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament nine times in the last 13 seasons, including five times in head coach Bruce Weber’s seven seasons.

 

2018-19 Kansas State Men’s Basketball Team Awards:

Porky Morgan Most Inspirational Award: Barry Brown, Jr.

Rolando Blackman Most Valuable Player Award: Barry Brown, Jr./Kamau Stokes/Dean Wade

Tex Winter Top Offensive Player Award: Dean Wade

Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player Award: Barry Brown, Jr./Xavier Sneed

Dean Harris Sixth Man Award: Cartier Diarra

Ernie Barrett Play Hard Award: Xavier Sneed

Ed Nealy Most Improved Award: Makol Mawien

Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball Award: Barry Brown, Jr.

Bob Boozer Courage Award: Kamau Stokes

1^st Battalion, 7^th Field Artillery “Never Broken” Award: Kamau Stokes

Keith Amerson Academic Award: Pierson McAtee

 

–www.k-statesports.com–

 

 

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Under an agreement between the Big 12 Conference and ESPN, multiple Kansas State athletic events – including exclusive football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, soccer and baseball games – will be available on ESPN+, the direct-to-consumer subscription sports streaming service, the conference office and ESPN announced Wednesday.

 

As part of the agreement, all ESPN+ events will be produced and presented under a Big 12-branded offering to be develop by the conference and ESPN, and it will be launched on ESPN+ ahead of the start of the 2019-20 athletics season.

 

“The Big 12 Conference is in the midst of one its most steady and successful periods in its history, and this new partnership with ESPN on a branded digital network is another sign of growth and solidarity for our league and 10 institutions,” K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said. “For the first time ever, fans will be able to follow all live Big 12 action in one location as we continue to evolve and be a leader in the ever-changing world of technology and broadcasting options, while putting ourselves in solid position for the future with all of our media and sponsorship rights aligning. We appreciate the work of Commissioner Bowlsby and the executives at ESPN for working together and maintaining the Big 12’s position as one of the premier athletic conferences in the country.”

 

“Our institutions are thrilled with the exposure all 10 athletics programs will receive through this Big 12-branded offering,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. “I appreciate the efforts of ESPN’s Burke Magnus, Nick Dawson and Pete Derzis in bringing this to fruition. Building on our relationship with ESPN and Disney DTCI allows our programs access to cutting-edge technology through the ESPN+ platform, and the ability for multiple live contests to be distributed simultaneously. Our goal was to be forward thinking in the use of technology to create a conference-branded platform and believe this partnership ideally positions the Big 12 now and into the foreseeable future.”

 

Additionally, ESPN and the Big 12 Conference announced an agreement that ABC or ESPN will now exclusively televise the Big 12 Football Championship every year through 2024 – adding three additional championship games (2019, 2021 and 2023) and bolstering ABC and ESPN’s Championship Saturday lineup each year on the eve of College Football’s Selection Day.

 

Under the expanded agreement, multiple K-State events annually will be presented on ESPN+, with each participating Big 12 school assigning available rights to ESPN and delivering more than 50 exclusive events per year.

 

The lineup will include:

 

• K-State’s annual exclusive regular-season football game each season.
• All regular-season and exhibition men’s basketball games not distributed on ESPN’s linear networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU).
• Women’s basketball, volleyball, soccer and baseball games not distributed on ESPN’s linear networks.
• Select Big 12 Conference championship events and original content.

 

K-State’s coaches shows, press conference, all-access series, highlight packages, individual features and other vignettes will remain on K-StateHD.TV and available through the official K-State Athletics social media platforms.

 

“We appreciate the continued collaboration with our friends at the Big 12 Conference and their commitment to innovation,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN executive vice president, programming & scheduling. “This enhancement to our rights agreement reflects an ongoing desire to give Big 12 fans access to their favorite teams and hundreds of more contests, while embracing the power of technology and the expanded nature of sports consumption with ESPN+.”

 

Eight of the conference’s 10 schools will produce and deliver multiple sports under the new Big 12-branded platform on ESPN+, with schools joining on a rolling basis. Starting in 2019, there will be games from Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, in addition to the select Big 12 Conference championship events.

 

In 2020-21, Iowa State, TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech will join the lineup. Due to existing long-term rights agreements, Texas (the Longhorn Network) and Oklahoma will not produce and deliver programming included on ESPN+ at this time.

 

Big 12 events will be available as part of any ESPN+ subscription and join a programming lineup of thousands of live sports events and thousands of hours of on-demand content, including acclaimed original programming and the 30 for 30 film library, as well as premium editorial content and tools. Fans can subscribe at www.espnplus.com.

– k-statesports.com –

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics