There are eight teams participating in this years Post 45 Baseball Summer Tournament hosted at Rathert Field.

The 16 and under tournament will feature the Junction City Blues, Kansas Senators, Salina, Hays, Scrappers, Emporia, Rock Creek, and Manhattan.

Rock Creek and Manhattan will face off in game one Thursday night starting at 5:30 p.m., with Junction City taking on the Kansas Senators at 7:45 p.m..

Games are scheduled throughout the weekend with the Championship game being played Sunday at 3:45 p.m.. Junction City will play Friday at 4:45 p.m. against Hays, and again on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Salina.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Three Kansas State players – offensive linemen B.J. Finney and Cody Whitehair, and defensive end Ryan Mueller – were named to watch lists for awards announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on Thursday.

Finney and Whitehair were named to the watch list for the Outland Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman, while Mueller is a candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player.

This marks the second-straight season that Finney is a candidate for the Outland Trophy, while he was also named to the watch list for the 2014 Rimington Awardon Tuesday. K-State is one of four teams to place multiple players on the Outland Trophy watch list. Mueller is a first-time candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and picked up his third preseason honor as he is also a candidate for the Bednarik Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. The Leawood, Kansas, also registered K-State’s sixth candidacy for the Nagurski Trophy in the last four years.

The watch list for the 2014 Outland Trophy includes 64 players across the country, including nine from the Big 12, while the 2014 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list is comprised of 81 total players and 13 from the Big 12.

Finney and Whitehair started all 13 games in 2013 at center and left guard, respectively. They helped the Wildcats average 35.9 points per game and 404.7 yards per game during the final seven contests of the year in which K-State tallied a 6-1 record. Both Kansas natives, Finney and Whitehair earned All-Big 12 status a year ago as Finney, a product of Andale, was a first-team honoree, and Whitehair, from Abilene, picked up second-team honors.

The 2013 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, Mueller tied the school record in sacks with 11.5, a figure that ranked second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally. His total included a school-record tying three sacks at Texas Tech as he picked up Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades, while he also earned the honor following the Iowa State game by totaling seven tackles with 2.5 sacks.

The Wildcats kick off the 2014 season with an August 30, matchup against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The sixth-annual K-State Family Reunion will begin at 6:10 p.m., and be shown world-wide on K-StateHD.TV.

Season tickets for the 2014 campaign sold out on June 5, while only a small number of scattered singles remain for games against Texas Tech (Oct. 4), Texas (Oct. 25) and Oklahoma State (Nov. 1). Standing-room only tickets are available for the Stephen F. Austin, UTEP, Texas, Oklahoma State and Kansas contests.

Visiting teams will also have opportunities to return unused tickets up to a month prior to their visit. Stay tuned to www.kstatesports.com for information regarding returned ticket availability. All returned tickets will be sold at the full public rate and season ticket wait list accounts will have first opportunity to purchase. Fans can now join the 2015 waiting list online or by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-221-CATS or by visiting www.k-statesports.com/tickets.

 

Wildcats on Preseason Watch Lists

Jack Cantele – Lou Groza Award

B.J. Finney – Outland Trophy, Rimington Trophy

Tyler Lockett – Maxwell Award, Paul Hornung Award

Ryan Mueller – Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy

Jake Waters – Maxwell Award

Cody Whitehair – Outland Trophy

Release by Ryan Lackey, K-State Asst. Director/Communications

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Salvador Perez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Kirby Yates (0-1), the fifth Tampa Bay reliever, entered with runners on first and third with one out and gave up Perez’s towering shot into the left-field corner.

It’s been a big week for Perez, chosen Sunday to start at catcher for the American League in next week’s All-Star game.

Aaron Crow (4-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Greg Holland got three outs for his 24th save.

The second-place Royals return home Thursday night to begin a four-game series against AL Central-leading Detroit, which has a 4 1/2-game lead.

 

Dalton Shalberg pitched six strong innings, and Sean Talkington came on in the seventh to help the Junction City Brigade ( 15-8 ) shut out Baldwin City 3-0 in the first game of a baseball doubleheader at Rathert Field on Wednesday night.

Junction City batters carved out five singles and drew five walks in the ballgame.

In game two Baldwin City ( 8-13 ) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning and then held on for a 3-2 victory over the Brigade.  Junction City had two runners thrown out at the plate in that contest.  B.B. Kimbrel hit two doubles for the Brigade, and Brooks Debord hit one double as well for Junction City.

The Brigade will play a doubleheader at Baldwin City Thursday night.

Kansas State junior place kicker Jack Cantele was one of 30 players nationally and one of four from the Big 12 to be named to the Lou Groza Award watch list, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced.

Cantele’s honor marks the eighth time a Wildcat place kicker has been mentioned for the award, and the first since his older brother, Anthony, was a semifinalist in 2012.

A former walk-on, Jack Cantele was true on 11 of 13 field goals in 2013, including a 4 for 6 mark on attempts from at least 40 yards. He was 40 of 41 on extra point attempts.

Kansas State senior offensive lineman B. J. Finney was one of 66 players nationally to be named to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, the award’s committee announced Tuesday.

Finney is a candidate for the award, presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding center, for a third-straight season,

K-State’s first offensive lineman to serve as a team captain three times, Finney is a three-time All-Big 12 performer who earned first-team honors in both 2012 and 2013. The Andale, Kansas, product has started all 39 career games, including the last 38 at center for the Wildcats.

CLEVELAND (AP) – T.J. House allowed three runs over 6 2-3 innings for his first major league win and the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Saturday night.

House (1-2) scattered nine hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. The rookie left-hander was making the eighth appearance, and seventh start, of his career.

Michael Bourn’s leadoff homer sparked a three-run third inning while Nick Swisher’s bases-loaded single scored two runs in the fifth and finished Jeremy Guthrie (5-7).

Michael Brantley had three hits, including an RBI single in the eighth, for Cleveland.

There is a change in the schedule for the Junction City Brigade baseball team on Monday.

The Brigade had planned to host the Baldwin City Blues in a doubleheader at Rathert Field, with games beginning at 6 and 8 p.m.

But officials from Baldwin City and Junction City have now decided to have their teams play a single seven-inning game Monday evening at 7 p.m. at Rathert Field, and then a doubleheader at Rathert Field Wednesday evening.

Tyler Moore of the Baldwin City Blues hit a grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth

inning to help the Mid-Plains League All-Stars defeat the Kansas City Amateur Baseball Association / MSBL All-Stars 5-4 Saturday night at Rathert Field.

Moore’s walk off home run came off of Kansas City relief pitcher Kyle Watt.

Moore said he never expected a grand slam. Remembering his winning hit he stated the first pitch to him was a little high. “Second pitch got what I wanted, belt high fastball right down the middle. And I really capitalized on it.”

The Mid-Plains League team was comprised of four players from each of the six teams in the conference including Junction City. The Brigade were represented by pitcher Dalton Shalberg, outfielders Max Brown and Cole Brecheisen, plus first baseman Brett Nickle.  Brecheisen was one of the players on base knocked in by Moore’s hit at the end of the game.

This was the first ever All-Star game for the Mid-Plains League, which is a summer collegiate baseball conference. The Kansas City team featured older players who had already completed their college eligibility.

Cecil Aska, Junction City Brigade General Manager, said more than 600 fans attended the All-Star game. “Lot of people out here. It was great.”

On the reaction from fans of the other teams who visited Rathert Field, some for the first time, Aska stated, “The biggest reaction I get from them is one…they are impressed with the Stadium itself, just the look of it. They are impressed with the upkeep that we’ve done on it. ” Aska said at the end of the game the conversation he hears involves how good the fans are. “And they like playing before a crowd of people that they think are knowledgeable about the game, and then follow the game while they’re playing.”

The evening culminated with a fireworks display by Bennett Fireworks.

 

LONDON (AP) — American Jack Sock a graduate of Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park and Canadian Vasek Pospisil made their first tournament together a championship-winning one.

The pair defeating Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the all-North American Wimbledon doubles final on Saturday.

Sock and Pospisil broke the Bryan brothers’ service in the final game on their fifth match point.

The 21-year-old Sock was 80–0 in his Kansas 6A High School tennis career, winning four consecutive state championships.

On Saturday became the third-youngest player to win both a Grand Slam men’s doubles title and a Grand Slam mixed doubles championship in the Open era, adding to the mixed title he won with American Melanie Oudin at the U.S. Open in 2011.

Todd Woodbridge and John McEnroe, both 20, were the only men to win both titles at a younger age, with McEnroe being the youngest.