MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Kansas State gets on the field Saturday for its annual spring game, and longtime coach Bill Snyder will have his eye on several players and position battles.

The biggest one may be at running back, where DeMarcus Robinson, Jarvis Leverett Jr. and Charles Jones are all angling to replace departed senior John Hubert. There is also competition between Joe Hubener and Jesse Ertz to back up starting quarterback Jake Waters.

Speaking of Waters, he is firmly entrenched after Daniel Sams moved to wide receiver. Waters and Sams shared the job much of last season, but Sams wanted to get on the field more. His speed and athleticism could make him a dangerous pass-catching option.

The game kicks off at 1:10 p.m.

 

CLEVELAND (AP) – Corey Kluber struck out a career-high 11 and pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game, and David Murphy and Asdrubal Cabrera drove in two runs apiece, leading the Indians to a 5-1 win over the Royals on Thursday.

Kluber (2-2) didn’t walk a batter and let Cleveland manager Terry Francona give some needed rest to his bullpen.

Murphy and Cabrera delivered big hits in the Indians’ five-run fifth off Bruce Chen (1-2), who controlled Cleveland’s lineup for four innings.

The Indians have won four of five to get back to .500.

The Royals scored an unearned run off Kluber in the seventh when Omar Infante singled and scored when Indians first baseman Nick Swisher made a half-hearted attempt at Mike Moustakas’ grounder, which got by him for an error and rolled all the way into the right-field corner.

Pro Football Talk has published a report that former Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein has signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Klein helped lead Kansas State to the 2012 Big 12 championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

CLEVELAND (AP) – Jason Kipnis drove in Nick Swisher with a two-out double in the seventh inning, sending the Cleveland Indians to a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

Kipnis ripped his double off Kelvin Herrera into the gap in right-center, deep enough to easily score Swisher, who reached on a two-out single. The Indians tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on pinch-hitter Lonnie Chisenhall’s bloop RBI single.

Bryan Shaw finished the seventh and got one out in the eighth. Cody Allen retired two, and John Axford worked the ninth for his AL-leading eighth save.

Michael Bourn had three hits and two RBIs for the Indians.

Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas hit back-to-back homers in the second for Kansas City.

The Kansas State Purple / White Spring Football Game is Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 1:10 p.m.

The honorary coaches for the game will be Terence Newman and Darren Sproles.

Newman was a 2002 consensus All-American who is now playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, while Sprles was a 2003 first team All-American who will begin the season as a Philadelphia Eagle.

According to k-statesports.com tickets for the contest are $5, while children under two will be admitted free. Football season ticket holders who renewed their season tickets prior to the March 28 early bird deadline were mailed two complimentary spring game tickets per account, while K-State students who order their student pass on iSIS prior to April 25 will be sent an email voucher to pick up a free ticket just outside Gate V prior to the game.

Once again, according to k-statesports.com gates to the stadium will open at 11:30 a.m.  Fans can pick up the 2014 football poster at the open gates ( m, P, R, V on the east side and B and D on the west side). General admission seating for the game will be open in sections 1-9 on the west side and 20-28 on the east side.

The Junction City Blue Jay boys golf team finished sixth out of 12 teams at the Bob Blazer / Hays High Invitational Golf Tournament.

Hutchinson captured the team title with a score of 340. Junction City turned in a score of 356.

For the Blue Jays Steve Kim led the way with a round of 84. He was followed by Dalton Senesac with an 86, Shane Lee 93, and Madison Roether 97.

The Blue Jays will compete in a tournament Friday hosted by Salina Central at the Salina Municipal Golf Course.

CLEVELAND (AP) – Kansas City Royals first-base coach Rusty Kuntz had surgery on his broken left arm, an injury he sustained when he was hit by a line drive during pregame batting practice.

Kuntz had the operation Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was struck before Monday’s series opener by a ball off the bat of Salvador Perez.

Kuntz was standing behind a protective net in shallow center field when he was hit. Kuntz was able to poke fun at himself afterward, saying it was the first time he had broken a bone.

He was replaced for the past two games at first by coach Mike Jirschele, who is expected to fill in while Kuntz recovers.

The 59-year-old Kuntz is in the third year of his second stint with the Royals. He played in the majors for the White Sox, Twins and Tigers.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs will have to get used to playing away from Arrowhead Stadium.

Kansas City opens the season at home against Tennessee on Sept. 7, and then has just one more home game over the first seven weeks – the Patriots visit on Sept. 29.

Otherwise, the Chiefs will be taking trips to Denver, Miami, San Francisco and San Diego along with having a week off during the first half of the season.

The NFL announced the schedules for all teams Wednesday night.

If the Chiefs can navigate their early road swing, they’ll have an opportunity to finish strong at home. They welcome cross-state rival St. Louis on Oct. 26, and play home games against Seattle, Denver and Oakland before wrapping the regular season against San Diego on Dec. 28.

 

CLEVELAND (AP) – James Shields allowed two runs in six innings and Mike Moustakas hit a three-run homer to lead the Kansas City Royals to an 8-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Shields struck out nine and won his second straight start.

Moustakas’ homer sparked Kansas City’s four-run fourth that featured five hits. The Royals are 10-0 when scoring at least four runs.

Eric Hosmer had four hits, including an RBI double in the seventh.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona turned 55 years old Tuesday, but the Indians were unable to win a third straight game for the first time this season.

Danny Salazar didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, but unraveled quickly.

The Junction City High School softball team was on the road Tuesday evening in Manhattan were the picked up a double header split.

Errors were costly in game one’s 6-5 loss according to Nancy Dettmer, JCHS Head Coach.

“We committed five errors on routine plays, and Manhattan took advantage,” Dettmer said.

The Lady Jays took the lead into the sixth inning when Manhattan tied it up in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“It was tied going into the top of the seventh and we couldn’t score. In the bottom of the seventh they got a couple of base runners and were able to score one for the win,” according to Dettmer.

Katie Hollibaugh pitched the entire game and got the loss.

In game two the Lady Jays found themselves down 3-1 after the first inning but then Manhattan started committing errors and the Lady Jays took advantage.

“We were able to utilize our short game in the second game and they committed some errors and we were able to score runs off of those errors due to our short game.”

Junction City held on for the win in game two 6-3.

Livi Diestlekamp pitched three innings in game two and Holibaugh pitched the final four for the save.

Junction City will have the rest of the week off and will return to Cleary Field in Junction City Tuesday against Topeka High.