The Junction City Blue Jay baseball team has clinched a berth in the Class 6A State Baseball Tournament.

Junction City opened regional tournament play Tuesday afternoon in Dodge City with a 7-3 win over Wichita East. Then in the championship game Junction City defeated Dodge City 3-1 to claim the tournament title, and the berth at state.

Junction City is now 9-13, while Dodge City finished the season 14-8.

The Manhattan Indians have also qualified for the state tournament. They defeated Lawrence 6-5 in nine innings to win a Regional Tournament in Manhattan Wednesday evening.

The Class 6A State Tournament is May 29th and 30th in Lawrence.

The Junction City Lady Jay soccer team fell to Topeka High 7-0 in the semifinal round of a Class 6A regional tournament Tuesday in Topeka.

The Lady Jays end their season 7-8-2, while Topeka High improved to 10-7.

The Junction City Blue Jays have advanced to the championship game of the Class 6A Regional tournament in Dodge City.

The Blue Jays got a complete game pitching performance from Will Ervin enroute to a 7-3 tournament win over Wichita East. Junction City will play the winner of the Dodge City – Wichita Southeast game for the tournament championship at 7 o’clock this evening.

The game between Junction City and Wichita East was tied 1-1 after five innings, but the Blue Jays scored once in the top of the sixth, and then added five more runs in the top of the seventh inning to surge ahead. The Blue Aces scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Junction City is now 8-13 on the season, while Wichita East finished the season 11-10.

If the Blue Jays win the championship game they would advance to the Class 6A State Tournament, which is in Lawrence May 29th and 30th.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs signed defensive tackles Kyle Love and Jermelle Cudjo and placed defensive tackle Cory Grissom and linebacker Ridge Wilson on waivers in a series of roster moves Tuesday.

The Chiefs also signed defensive lineman Kona Schwenke, a rookie free agent.

The 6-foot-1, 315-pound Love spent some time with the Chiefs last season, and has also played for New England and Jackson. The 6-2, 304-pound Cudjo spent his first four seasons with the Rams, starting four of the 38 games that he played.

Schwenke played collegiately at Notre Dame.

The Chiefs begin a three-day rookie minicamp this weekend. They begin full-squad organized team activities next week.

 

Following a debut season that produced good reviews and a steady throng of visitors Fans will be able to visit the new 215,000 square foot facility three days a week during the months of June and July with a single tour on each day. the facility will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with tours beginning at 12 p.m. on each of those days. Each tour will last approximately 45 minutes, and advance reservations are required.

The tour, led by Ahearn Fund Athletic Hospitality staff, will begin outside Gate D where fans will receive informational materials on the facility. The tour will continue through the south concourse, highlighting the new Hall of Honor and enhanced restrooms and concessions areas.

Other key points of interest during each tour, fans will exit the West Stadium Center at Gate B near the K-State Super Store at the Stadium.

Reservations for the tours can be made by calling the Ahearn Fund Athletic Hospitality office at 785-532-7952 or by emailing Chelsey Barnes at cbarnes@kstatesports.com.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State baseball team garnered two All-Big 12 honors on Tuesday as senior Ross Kivett was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and Tanner DeVinny was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team, the conference announced. 

Selected as a utility player to the Second Team, Kivett finished among the Big 12’s top-10 in three categories for conference-only games, including first in stolen bases (12) and tied for 10th in hits (28) and runs scored (15). For the entire season, Kivett started all 55 games and batted .333 (70-for-210) with 13 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 33 RBIs, 35 walks, and 21 stolen bases. Defensively, the Broadview Heights, Ohio native started at three different positions – second base, center field, and designated hitter – and also saw time as a mid-game replacement at first base.

Kivett wrapped up his K-State career as the program’s leader in career stolen bases with 80 and finished among the top-10 in career games played (2nd, 225), games started (2nd, 215), runs scored (T-2nd, 181), hits (3rd, 277), walks (T-5th, 108), and triples (T-7th, 11).

For Kivett, it is his second All-Big 12 distinction in his career after he was named All-Big 12 First Team – as well as Big 12 Player of the Year – in 2013. He is the fifth Wildcat to earn All-Big 12 First or Second Team honors two or more times in a career.

DeVinny, a native of Lucas, Texas, led K-State with three home runs in conference-only games while he was also tied for the team-lead in RBIs with 11 and extra-base hits with six. The designated hitter finished the season batting .257 (36-for-140) with six doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 31 RBIs in 46 games. His 31 RBIs were the most by a K-State freshman since Jared King, who was the last K-State position player to earn All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors, had 40 in 2011.

DeVinny is the fifth Wildcat in school history to be named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team since the conference created the team in 2011.

With the addition of Kivett’s and DeVinny’s honors, K-State has received 78 All-Big 12 Team or All-Big 12 Freshman Team selections in program history, and 45 honors under head coach Brad Hill.

Big 12 Champion Oklahoma State led all schools with six First Team honorees while TCU led with 13 total selections among the First Team, Second Team, Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team.

Release from the K-State Athletics Department.

Three members of the Junction City Blue Jay golf team have qualified for the Class 6A State Golf Tournament next Tuesday in Topeka. They include Shane Lee, Minwook ( Steve ) Kim, and Dalton Senesac. 

Coach Tim Hickert confirmed that Lee shot an 86 in the regional tournament Monday in Derby, while Kim shot an 87, and Senesac a 91.  Other JCHS scores included a round of 97 for Madison Roether, 105 for Trey Reynolds, and 109 for T. J. Allen.

In the team competition Junction City finished fourth in the seven team tournament with a score of 333. Washburn Rural captured first place with a score of 308, followed by Manhattan 330, and Derby at 333. The top three teams advance to state as well.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior center B.J. Finney was one of 64 players nationallyto be named to the spring watch list for the Rimington Trophy, the Boomer Esiason Foundation announced Monday. It is the third time Finney has been a candidate for the award that is presented to the nation’s premier center.

A product of Andale, Kansas, Finney is a three-time All-Big 12 performer who has started all 39 career games, including the last 38 at center. He was a First Team All-Big 12 center in 2013, while he was also named to the preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy prior to his junior campaign.

Finney became the first offensive lineman in program history to serve as a team captain for three seasons as he was selected by his teammates prior to April’s Purple/White Spring Game.

The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.5 million. The 14-year old award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $100 million for CF Research.

Dave Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus first team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the Outland Trophy’s only double winner as the nation’s finest college interior lineman. For more on the Rimington Trophy and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com.

Other Big 12 centers on the list include Iowa State’s Tom Farniok, Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington, TCU’s Joey Hunt and Texas’ Dominic Espinosa.

Led by its 23rd-year head coach Bill Snyder, K-State returns 41 letterwinners – including 12 starters – from a team that turned a 2-4 start to the 2013 campaign into a 8-5 finish that was capped with a victory over Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

The Wildcats open the 2014 campaign on Saturday, August 30, with a matchup against Stephen F. Austin in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a game that serves as the sixth annual K-State Family Reunion. Following a trip to Iowa State on September 6, the Wildcats return home for a nationally-televised primetime matchup against BCS National Championship Runner-Up Auburn on Thursday, September 18.

To order tickets, including single-game tickets that go on sale on June 11, fans can contact the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or by visiting the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

Release from kstatesports.com.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs have signed former Vikings and Bears offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb and three undrafted free agents as they prepare for the start of organized team activities next week.

Webb started 45 of the 54 games he’s played in over four seasons in the NFL. He has played both tackle positions and should compete for one of the backup jobs in Kansas City after starting left tackle Branden Albert departed in free agency.

The Chiefs also signed James Baker, a fullback out of Idaho; Ben Gottschalk, a center from SMU; and Cairo Santos, a kicker out of Tulane.

The Chiefs begin a three-day rookie minicamp Saturday. Full-squad OTAs begin May 27.

The team announced the moves Monday.

 

The Class 6A Softball Regional Tournament is being moved up one day. Originally scheduled Thursday at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka will now be played on Wednesday at that location.

Lawrence Free State will play Olathe North at 2 p.m., Junction City will meet Washburn Rural at 3:30 p.m., and the championship game will be at 5 p.m.

The change in date for the tournament is due to concerns about weather on Thursday.