The Junction City High School Lady Jays took to the road Tuesday for a double header at Highland Park to finish up the regular season.

Junction City left with a sweep of Highland park 14-0 in five innings the first game and 15-2 in six innings the second game.

The Lady Jays put up 12 runs in the second inning of the second game according to Lady Jay Head Coach Nancy Detmer.

“Kaleigh Solis had a in the park home run with the bases loaded. Brittany Childs hit a triple in that game. Our short game really came together and our girls were just able to put the ball into play and get around the bases.”

Livi Diestlekamp pitched both games for the Lady Jays. Junction City improved to 5-15 on the season.

They will now wait to find out where they will play regional’s. That information will be released on Saturday.

The Junction City High School Blue Jays picked up the sweep of Highland Park Tuesday night 6-5 in game one and 10-0 in five innings in game two.

In game one the Blue Jays got out to a 5-1 lead after the second inning but Highland Park tacked on four more runs between the fourth and fifth innings.

Head Coach Heath Gerstner explained that he told his team to just keep playing baseball, one pitch at a time.

“Sometimes we get so caught up in other stuff. Our pitchers need to be throwing strike one and getting ahead of hitters and letting our defense work,” Gerstner said.

In the bottom of the fifth inning Will Ervin reached first and was bunted around before scoring on a single by Amir McFarthing for the go ahead run.

Ervin would then go to the mound in relief and breeze through the sixth and seventh innings for the win.

It was senior night and between games they recognized the five seniors on the team. They include Kemondre’ Taylor, Nate Funk, Kyle Heidenreich, Nick Zimmerman, and Will Ervin.

“They’re all great kids first and foremost, and growing into great young men. They work extremely hard. We’ve had some great seniors come through here but this group is a special group in the fact that they really buy into the process, don’t worry about the outcome, don’t worry about guys around them, they just go about their business and do the right things.”

In game two the Blue Jays jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the second. They would then add on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth innings for a 10-0 win by run rule. Junction City improved to 7-13 on the season.

With the wins it will place the Blue Jays a little higher in the regional seeding.

“I’ll find out for sure Saturday. I think we’ll be somewhere around an eight or nine seed after these two wins. Should be headed to Maize, Derby, or Dodge City somewhere in there.”

Junction City’s twelve team regional will be split into three host sites. The other teams in their regional include Garden City,  Haysville-Campus, Hutchinson, Wichita-East, Wichita-North, Wichita-Northwest, Wichita-South, and Wichita-Southeast.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – After playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules a year ago, Kansas appears to be trying to upstage itself with the release of its nonconference men’s basketball schedule Tuesday.

The Jayhawks will face Kentucky, Florida, Georgetown, Utah, Temple and UNLV, and could play additional games against Michigan State, Marquette, Georgia Tech and Rhode Island depending on how things shake out in various tournaments.

Throw in the Big 12’s double round-robin schedule and Kansas could play 16 games against teams that made the NCAA tournament a year ago.

The Jayhawks open the season against UC-Santa Barbara on Nov. 14, and then play defending NCAA runner-up Kentucky four days later in Indianapolis. Kansas is also scheduled to play in the Orlando Classic later in November.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State Athletics Director John Currie announced today that quarterback/wide receiver Daniel Sams has been granted a conditional release from his scholarship by the university.

“Daniel requested to be able to continue his playing career at an FCS institution so that he could be closer to some of his aging family members,” Currie said. “We appreciate his contributions and wish him the best.”

Sams, who just completed his redshirt sophomore season for the Wildcats, will be permitted to contact FCS institutions near his hometown of Slidell, Louisiana, with the exception of Stephen F. Austin, a 2014 Wildcat opponent, Currie said. With the release, under standard NCAA rules, Sams will be eligible to compete and receive financial aid immediately upon enrollment at an FCS institution.

“I am thankful to Coach Snyder for the opportunity I have had here at K-State and also the fans for being so supportive,” Sams said. “I have become a better teammate, football player and more importantly a better person during my time at K-State, and I want to wish my teammates and coaches nothing but the best next season.”

The Topeka High Trojans ( 7-11 ) swept the Junction City Lady Jays 9-3 and 13-4 in softball on chilly, windy Monday at Cleary Park.

Nancy Detmer, Lady Jay coach, noted she was disappointed. She pointed to the first game. “Of the nine runs that they had they earned one and we gave them the rest. We had six errors in that game. We couldn’t move baserunners. The girls just weren’t…weren’t focused.”

In game two Topeka High pitcher B. Rager hit three home runs in that contest.

Junction City ( 3-15 ) will play at Highland Park on Tuesday.

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber has completed his 2014 recruiting class with the signing of Top 100 high school prospect Malek Harris ( Orland Park, Ill. / Sandburg ).

Harris is a 6’7, 200 pound forward who played at Sandburg High School for head coach Todd Allen as well as for the Illinois Wolves of the Under Armour Association circuit for head coach Mike Mullins.

Harris is rated as the No. 80 high school prospect in The Rivals 150 by Rivals.com, No.94 by Scout.com and 247Sports.com.

Harris chose K-State over multiple scholarship offers, including Florida, Gonzaga, Marquette, and Virginia Tech.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – There are few players in the NFL draft who have a better fallback plan than Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the offensive tackle taken by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round.

After all, he only needs one more year of medical school before he becomes Doc Larry.

The 23-year-old Canadian from McGill University is planning to put those career aspirations on hold to play football for the Chiefs. He was supposed to fly to Kansas City this week and immerse himself in an orientation program, with a rookie minicamp beginning May 24.

Duvernay-Tardif first turned heads at the East-West Shrine Game, and then impressed the Chiefs enough at a personal pro day that they drafted him on Saturday.

Former Junction City Blue Jay and Kansas State football standout Ty Zimmerman has signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.

Zimmerman, a Safety,  reported to New Orleans on Sunday. He will undergo a physical Monday morning, and workouts are expected to begin Monday afternoon.

He will have company in New Orleans from Kansas State. Offensive Tackle Tavon Rooks was a sixth round draft pick of the Saints.

 

SEATTLE (AP) – Alcides Escobar hit a grand slam and Johnny Giavotella added a three-run shot to give the Kansas City Royals a comeback 9-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

Escobar had provided a 4-0 lead for the Royals in the second with his first career home run off starter Roenis Elias.

But the Mariners rallied behind Dustin Ackley’s two homers and Kyle Seager’s one to take a 7-5 lead in the fifth.

Kansas City took a 9-7 lead in the seventh, scoring four runs off reliever Danny Farquhar (1-1), highlighted by Giavotella’s three-run blast over the left-field wall.

Entering the game, the Royals had hit just 14 home runs, lowest in baseball. But seven of their nine runs scored via the long ball.

Louis Coleman (1-0), who worked a scoreless sixth, earned the victory.

Greg Holland came on in the ninth to pick up his ninth save in 10 opportunities.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs turned their attention to offense on the final day of the draft, choosing running back De’Anthony Thomas in the fourth round and quarterback Aaron Murray in the fifth round Saturday.

With two picks in the sixth round, the Chiefs added a pair of offensive linemen in Zach Fulton out of Tennessee and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif out of McGill, a school in Canada. Both of them will be able to provide depth for a unit depleted by free agency.

The Chiefs bolstered their defense the first two days of the draft, grabbing defensive end Dee Ford in Thursday night’s first round and defensive back Phillip Gaines in the third round Friday.

Kansas City did not have a seventh-round selection.