UNDATED (AP) – Oklahoma junior guard Buddy Hield and Bill Self of Kansas are The Associated Press’ Big 12 player and coach of the year.

Hield, the Big 12’s top scorer at 17.4 points a game, was the only unanimous pick on the AP All-Big 12 first team. The yearly awards were announced Monday.

Self is the first four-time AP Big 12 Coach of the Year winner, edging West Virginia coach Bob Huggins for this year’s award.

West Virginia senior guard Juwan Staten is the only player who is an AP first-team pick for the second straight year.

Joining Hield and Staten on the first team are Baylor post player Rico Gathers, who averages 11.6 points and 11.7 rebounds, Kansas junior Perry Ellis and Iowa State junior Georges Niang.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Behind four hits apiece from Shane Conlon and Tyler Moore, the K-State offense bested its season-high in hits set on Saturday by tallying 15 on Sunday to help lead the Wildcats to a 10-3 win in the series finale of a three-game sweep of Santa Clara at Tointon

Family Stadium.

 

K-State (7-7) continued its hot-hitting carried over from the previous day by posting double-digit runs and hits for the second straight game. The Wildcats’ sweep of the Broncos (7-8), its first three-game sweep since March 14-15, 2014 vs. Northern Colorado, saw them outscore, 31-9, and out-hit, 37-17, the visitors.

 

“I was proud of the guys today,” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “You win big yesterday, and it’s easy to come out flat today. We didn’t come out flat, and that starts on the mound. Corey Fischer gets a lot of credit, too, for putting up four zeros (on the scoreboard) to start it out. It allowed us to get in the flow a little bit.”

 

Conlon established a season-high with his four hits, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple, two RBIs and three runs scored. Moore, meanwhile, set a new career-high in hits by also going 4-for-5 with two RBIs. The Coffeyville Community College (KS) transfer finished the series with seven hits and eight RBIs.

 

Conlon and Moore helped form a quartet of Wildcats with multiple hits as the pair were joined by Danny Krause and Steve Serratore, who each had two safeties. The hits for Krause helped him extend his season-best hitting streak to 11 games while Serratore lengthened his on-base streak to 14 games, tied with Conlon for the longest this season.

 

K-State now enters the upcoming week with its record back at .500 and carrying its longest winning streak, three games, of the young 2015 season. The Wildcats had not won three consecutive games since they captured 12 in a row from February 28-March 19, 2014.

 

“It’s always good to be home, but you’re also concerned about where your kids are going to be at, particularly from a confidence level,” added Hill after the Wildcats bounced back from last weekend’s sweep at the hands of Cal. “Our kids just played good baseball (against Santa Clara). We had good composure (all weekend).”

 

The Wildcats scored all the runs they needed in the first three innings, starting with two runs in the second. Serratore, after leading off the frame with a single and later advancing to third, eventually scored on a throwing error by Santa Clara pitcher Kevin George when the left-hander tried to pick off Moore at first base. The error, one of four by the Broncos in the game, also moved Moore to third base, where he was driven in by Ethan Klosterboer’s single into center field.

 

In the third, K-State added two more runs to make it 4-0 when Conlon scored on a delay steal from third base following the throw down to second during Krause’s steal attempt. Krause was later cashed in on Moore’s single through the left side.

 

K-State doubled its offensive output before Santa Clara could get on the board by plating four more in the fourth. Nine Wildcats went to the plate in the inning, with a one-out error on a groundball hit by Tyler Wolfe helping extend the frame. Clayton Dalrymple (single), Conlon (triple), Krause (double) and Serratore (double) each had run-producing hits in the crooked frame.

 

The Broncos scored their three runs in fifth when K-State starting pitcher Corey Fischer, who faced one above the minimum in his first four innings, allowed the first four batters to reach base via two walks, a hit by pitch and a groundball RBI single through the right side. Reliever Jackson Douglas spelled Fischer with the bases loaded and induced a double play to the first batter he faced that allowed Kyle Cortopassi to score. Santa Clara added another run with a bunt RBI single by Grant Meylan.

 

Douglas finished the day by throwing two innings of one-hit baseball to help him earn his first career win.

 

Douglas was also one of three K-State relievers who were not responsible for any runs, joined by Levi MaVorhis (2.0 IP) and Lucas Benenati (1.0). Benenati tossed a perfect ninth to seal the sweep.

 

K-State capped its scoring in the sixth when it answered the Santa Clara runs with RBI doubles by Conlon and Moore. The Wildcats had four doubles on Sunday, giving them 13 extra-base hits in the series.

 

The Wildcats return to action with a two-game midweek series against Creighton at Tointon Family Stadium from March 10-11. Right-hander Kyle Halbohn will get his first career start when he takes the mound against the Bluejays in the opener.

 

 

NOTES

K-State has now swept its first home series of a season in each of the last three years. In 2013, the Wildcats took three against Oakland, and in 2014, they swept Iowa in three as well.

 

K-State did not commit an error for the third consecutive game on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Broncos had nine errors over the three contests.

 

For the series, Moore hit .538 (7-for-13) with one double, one home run and eight RBIs. From behind the plate, the junior catcher threw out three of the four attempted base stealers.

 

Chris Kutz, Assistant Director, Athletics Communications

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – A swarm of bees chased players from the field and fans from their seats before the Angels’ Mike Trout hit his first spring homer and the Royals’ Eric Hosmer connected for his second, and Kansas City beat Los Angeles 6-4 Sunday.

Trout, the reigning AL MVP, hit a towering shot in the fifth inning off Miguel Almonte that nearly cleared the berm beyond the wall in left-center field 410 feet from home plate. Trout had career highs of 36 homers and 111 RBIs in 2014.

Hosmer had a two-run shot off Matt Shoemaker in the first, a drive to right-center.

Shoemaker, a surprise 16-game winner in 2014, made his first Cactus League appearance this year – after a swarm of bees delayed the start of the game for 10 minutes.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Three Wildcats – sophomore Marcus Foster and seniors Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams – were each selected All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, as the league office announced its annual men’s basketball awards on Sunday.

 

Big 12 runner-up Oklahoma earned two of the six major awards, as junior Buddy Hield was the league’s Player of the Year and seniorTaShawn Thomas was the Newcomer of the Year. Iowa State’s Jameel McKay was the Defensive Player of the Year, Baylor’sTaurean Prince was the Sixth Man Award winner and Texas’ Myles Turner was the Freshman of the Year. West Virginia’s Bob Huggins was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year.

 

Kansas State had three players collect All-Big 12 honors for the third consecutive season and for just the third time in the last 16 seasons. The three selections tie the 1951, 2013 and 2014 squads for the second-most all-league selections in school history and only trail the 1999 team, which had four honorable mention honorees.

 

Both Foster and Gipson earn their second career Big 12 postseason awards, as Foster was chosen to the league’s All-Big 12 Second Team a season ago and Gipson repeats his honorable mention selection from 2013-14. It is the first career postseason award for Williams, who was twice named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week.

 

Foster leads the Wildcats in seven statistical categories, including scoring (12.9 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (20), 20-point games (4), field goals (116), field goals attempted (294), 3-point field goals (59) and 3-point field goals attempted (169). He also paces the team in scoring on a team-tying 10 occasions.

 

One of just two players to see action in all 31 games this season, Gipson ranks first on the team in field goal percentage (54.6), rebounding (5.2 rpg.), free throws (120), free throws attempted (158) and minutes (28.7), while he is second in double-digit scoring games (17) and free throw percentage (75.9) and third in scoring (11.1 ppg.) and field goals (112). He also leads the team in rebounding on 12 occasions, including earning his ninth career double-double on Saturday against Texas.

 

One of 12 players with at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career, Gipson ranks among the Top 10 in seven career categories at K-State, including first in defensive rebounds (422), third in offensive rebounds (271), fifth in games played (130), seventh in field goal percentage (53.2), rebounds (693) and free throws attempted (492) and ninth in starts (94). He is also one of 14 players to accumulate more 1,200 points in a career with his current total of 1,216.

 

Williams ranks first on the team in 20-point games (4), rebounding (5.2 rpg.) and free throw percentage (82.4), while he is second in scoring (11.3 ppg.), field goals (115), free throws (84) and free throws attempted (102) and third in double-digit scoring games (16). He has led the Wildcats in both scoring and rebounding seven times this season.

 

Kansas State (15-16, 8-10 Big 12) finished in a three-way tie for sixth-place in the Big 12, but due to tiebreakers, will be the No. 8 seed at next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The Wildcats will play No. 9 TCU (17-14, 4-14 Big 12) in the tournament’s opening game at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday on ESPNU.

Release by Tom Gilbert, Associate Director/Athletics Communications

 

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – A swarm of bees in the outfield delayed the start of the Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals game for 10 minutes.

The feisty bees disrupted play again in the fourth inning before they were removed by exterminators.

The Angels had just taken the field when the Bees descended on the outfield and players were ordered to their dugouts. Royals and Angels players converged near the Royals’ third base dugout.

Many fans left their seats down the first base line and went up to the higher concourse. As the bees moved toward the backstop, those fans behind the plate left their seats.

When play resumed, the bees settled together on a microphone attached to the backstop netting, about 20 feet to the left of Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who sits outside the first base dugout.

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – The Royals added depth to their starting rotation Saturday by signing veteran right-hander Chris Young to an incentive-laden, one-year contract.

Young will make $675,000 in base salary, but he’s eligible for $1 million in roster bonuses based on active dads on the roster. He is also eligible for $1.975 million in bonuses for innings pitched, and $2.35 million in bonuses for games pitched.

The 35-year-old Young was 12-9 with a 3.65 ERA for the Mariners last season. He was voted the American League’s comeback player of the year after missing most of the previous season because of surgery to correct a nerve issue in his neck and shoulder.

The Royals’ five-man starting rotation is largely set with Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Danny Duffy, Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas.

Junction City High School Lady Jay volleyball Coach Megan Parks has been removed from  that position by school officials.

Parks told JC Post that she was called into a meeting with school officials this week. ” I was told that they were going to move in a different direction with the coaching staff of Junction City volleyball.” Responding to a question Parks added, “Yes, yea, I was released from the position.”

Parks admitted the decision was shocking to her, and unexpected. “It’s two years of rebuilding. The things that we’ve done with the program, our staff has done with the program.  It’s hard. The girls are looking forward to some fun things this spring, and going over and observing some practices at K-State. Summer workouts, they’re starting to get excited, I’m starting to hear more from them, and then  walk into a meeting and I’m told that I’m going to be released.” Parks said the only reason she was given for the decision by officials was that they “were just going to move in a different direction.”

Parks noted she has great memories and is at peace with the decision. “I’m very sad for the girls because I would never want them to think that I quit on them because I never would. But looking back we have created great memories since I started. I mean it’s not even just about going to state. It’s about the relationships, and where the program has come. All the kids we have interested in volleyball now in Junction City. ”

Parks has served as Lady Jay head coach over two different stints, with one occurring while Junction City was a member of the I-70 League, and most recently in the Centennial League.  She guided the 2012 Lady Jay volleyball team to a berth in the Class 6A State Tournament and two wins over rival Manhattan, including one victory in the finals of the 6A Substate Tournament at the Shenk Gym. In both cases, the state appearance, and wins over Manhattan, they were first time occurrences for Lady Jay volleyball. Junction City had losing records the past two seasons, with Parks confirming the record was 11-26 in 2014.

JC Post did contact JCHS Athletic Director Matt Westerhaus Friday afternoon for comment but  a response from the school district has not yet been received.  Due to the timing that could still occur at a later date.

DALLAS (AP) – Breanna Lewis scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead No. 8 Kansas State to a 57-49 win over ninth-seeded Kansas in the opening round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Friday night.

Haley Texada contributed 17 points, including two 3-pointers, and Kindred Wesemann added 13 points for Kansas State (18-12), which opened with a 14-3 run and carried a 23-12 advantage into the break.

Kansas (15-17) chipped away at the deficit in the second half and briefly edged into the lead with Lauren Aldridge’s 3-pointer that made it 46-44 with 4:29 left. Lewis sank a pair of free throws to tie it up, then Wesemann’s layup put Kansas State back on top for good and the Wildcats pulled away down the stretch.

Chelsea Gardner led Kansas with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Terriell Bradley added 13 points and Aldridge scored 12.

Kansas State plays top-seeded Baylor on Saturday.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber announced Friday evening that

senior Nino Williams and sophomore Jevon Thomas will be unavailable for Saturday’s game at Texas.

 

Williams will not travel due to personal reasons, but will re-join the team on Monday when it begins preparations for play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship next week in Kansas City, Weber said.

 

Thomas is being held out due to a coach’s decision and will also not travel.

 

– www.k-statesports.com –