June 2014 – Page 65 – North Platte Post Archive

Cardinals Bounce Back, Beat Royals 5-2 in 11

Posted on June 4, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Carpenter had a career-high five hits, including the go-ahead double in the 11th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

After the Royals rallied with two runs in the ninth, Peter Bourjos worked a one-out walk off Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera (1-2) in the 11th. Carpenter then rapped his double to center field, drawing a roar from a crowd comprised mostly of Cardinals fans.

Allen Craig added a two-run single off Tim Collins later in the inning, and Pat Neshek breezed through the bottom half to end the Royals’ six-game winning streak against National League clubs.

Sam Freeman (1-0) earned the win with a perfect 10th inning.

Williams puts LA Kings past Rangers in OT Opener

Posted on June 4, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Williams scored 4:36 into overtime after a turnover by Dan Girardi, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday night in the Stanley Cup finals opener.

Williams was left alone in the slot after Girardi’s pass from his knees went straight to Mike Richards. Williams put his eighth goal of the postseason past Henrik Lundqvist, who made 40 saves and nearly stole a series-opening win for the Rangers.

Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for the Kings, who moved one victory closer to their second Stanley Cup title in three years after a hair-raising finals opener.

Game 2 is Saturday at Staples Center.

Boldt Named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American

Posted on June 4, 2014

Lincoln – Nebraska freshman outfielder Ryan Boldt picked up another accolade on Wednesday, as he was named a 2014 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball. The Red Wing, Minn., native is the 12th Husker freshman since 2000 to earn freshman All-America honors and the first do so since 2012 when Pat Kelly and Kyle Kubat were both tabbed as freshman All-Americans.

An unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten Freshman team and a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree in 2014, Boldt started in center field in 55 of NU’s 62 games. The freshman hit leadoff for the Huskers 29 times on the year, including the final 28 games of the season. NU posted a 22-7 record on the year with Boldt in the leadoff spot.

Boldt finished the year third on the team with 74 hits, two shy of Kelly’s team-high 76 hits. Boldt led NU in runs scored (47), triples (6) and stolen bases (7). He ranked second on the team with 12 doubles and notched 31 RBIs, including a team-high 20 RBIs with two outs.

Tabbed as the No. 2 freshman in the country prior to the 2014 season by Baseball American, Boldt excelled in the postseason with a .462 average. With the Huskers playing in their first NCAA Regional since 2008, Boldt led the team in hits (6) and runs (5). Half of his hits in NU’s three games in Stillwater were for extra bases, as he roped a pair of triples and notched a double.

Boldt was one of six freshman in the Big Ten Conference to earn freshman All-America honors on Wednesday. He was joined by Tanner Tully (Ohio State), Brett Adcock (Michigan), Adam Walton (Illinois), Ronnie Dawson (Ohio State) and Carmen Benedetti (Michigan).

Beatrice Man Pleads Not Guilty to Making Threats with Gun

Posted on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A Beatrice man accused of holding a gun to a woman’s head has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.

39-year-old Kristopher K. Spencer entered the plea Wednesday in Gage County District Court.

Spencer faces multiple charges, including use of a firearm to commit a felony and third-degree assault. A message left for his attorney was not immediately returned.

Spencer is accused pushing a woman around at her home on March 23. The woman told authorities that Spencer put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her.

First Nationals Win the Rivalry Game against Kearney (Update)

Posted on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014

The upcoming games for the North Platte First Nationals Senior team have been changed.

The article previously stated, “The First Nationals Seniors next game is Friday, June 6 at 4:00 pm against Canon City, Colo. at Bill Wood Field. North Platte also plays JC Brager at 7:00 pm Friday night.”

The schedule now has North Platte playing one game Friday as they host Canon City, Colo. at 6:00 pm at Bill Wood Field. The schedule for Saturday and Sunday was changed as well. The First Nationals will now play JC Brager at 1:00 pm Saturday and Canon City, Colo. at 7:00 pm both at Bill Wood Field. The final game of the weekend will be Sunday against JC Brager at 1:30 at Bill Wood Field.

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The North Platte First Nationals American Legion baseball team beat Kearney Runza 6-5 Tuesday.

Kearney took the lead in the first inning, 1-0 and added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to go on top 3-0 over North Platte. The First Nationals (8-6) responded in the bottom half of the fourth inning with four runs to take a 4-3 lead. Alec Wesslund delivered a two-run single, followed by an RBI triple by Jack Kenny and Darian Allberry capped the fourth inning scoring with an RBI single.

Kearney regained the lead by scoring a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. But once again North Platte responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the 6-5 win. Ty Brockmoller delivered the two-run single in the sixth. Allberry led the way at the plate for the First Nationals by going 2-3 with an RBI and both Brockmoller and Wesslund delivered two RBIs, while Kenny had North Platte’s only extra-base hit with his fourth inning triple.

Luke Volz earned the win on the mound after he came in, in relief of Jayden Kruse. Volz pitched the final three innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits. Kruse pitched the first four innings and gave up three runs on six hits and recorded six strikeouts.

The First Nationals Juniors also played Kearney on Tuesday and lost 14-9. The loss is the first of the season for the North Platte Juniors (10-1).

Miss. Man Gets Life for Killing Nebraska Man

Posted on June 4, 2014

SARDIS, Miss. (AP) — Thirty-two-year-old James D. Willie has been convicted of fatally shooting a Nebraska man along a North Mississippi highway in 2012.

A jury Tuesday in Panola County Circuit Court convicted Willie of murder in the shooting death of Thomas K. Schlender.

Willie was sentenced to life in prison by Circuit Judge Jimmy McClure

Prosecutors say the 74-year-old Schlender, of Raymond, Nebraska, was found on May 8, 2012. He had been shot inside his 1999 Ford F-150, which was located in the median of southbound Interstate 55 near Pope, Mississippi.

Authorities say Schlender was traveling to Florida to pick up his grandson from college.

Paul Meyers Resigning as Nebraska’s Associate AD

Posted on June 4, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska associate athletic director Paul Meyers has announced his resignation to pursue other opportunities.

Meyers had been head of athletic department development since 2005 and is credited with raising $250 million. He played an integral role in securing donations for a series of facilities upgrades in recent years.

Meyers said Wednesday night he’s proud of what he accomplished and that he’ll continue to support the Cornhuskers as a fan. He declined further comment.

Athletic director Shawn Eichorst said Meyers was a valuable member of the athletic department for many years and wished him the best.

Meyers was an All-America outfielder for the Huskers’ baseball team in 1986. He joined the athletic department as a development officer in 1994.

Royals GM Moore Hinted to Brett about Coaching

Posted on June 4, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals general manager Dayton Moore says he hinted to George Brett a couple of weeks ago about the Hall of Famer reprising his role as interim hitting coach for the struggling franchise.

Moore says Brett told him that he had “a lot going on” this summer.

Moore also says he hoped Brett would have stayed on longer than he did last summer, when he joined Pedro Grifol in a two-person team responsible for overhauling the Royals’ offense.

Brett wound up stepping aside after nearly two months. Grifol was given the job on a full-time basis, but was relieved of his duties last week with the team in another slump.

Dale Sveum has taken over the job. Counting Brett, he’s the sixth hitting coach the Royals have had since Kevin Seitzer was let go at the end of the 2012 season.

Klinsmann: US Defense Still ‘Work in Progress’

Posted on June 4, 2014

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. is getting a little defensive about its defense.

After allowing several decent scoring chances early against Turkey last Sunday, the Americans settled down in the 2-1 victory. But the rocky start caused more conversation and maybe more concern about what many believe is the team’s glaring weakness heading into the World Cup in Brazil.

Players brushed aside questions about the sometimes sluggish back line as they practiced in Jacksonville for Saturday’s sendoff series finale against Nigeria.

Defender Geoff Cameron says “I think we were great on the day. … We’re headed in the right direction. It’s one step in the right direction. That’s what we’ve kind of been doing the last three weeks: one step, one process; another step, another process.”

Settlement Reached in Boy’s Suicide After Bullying

Posted on June 4, 2014

TEHACHAPI, Calif. (AP) — The mother of a Central California teenager who committed suicide after years of anti-gay bullying has reached a $750,000 settlement with her son’s school district.

Wendy Walsh, whose 13-year-old son, Seth, hanged himself in 2010, accused the Tehachapi Unified School District of failing to take adequate steps to stop her son from being harassed. U.S. Department of Education investigators agreed, saying the district southeast of Bakersfield did not adequately investigate or respond to the bullying.

The settlement was reached in March. Walsh initially sought more than $6 million. Her attorney, Daniel Rodriguez, says she took the reduced amount in part to avoid the trauma of a trial.

Tehachapi Unified Superintendent Lisa Gilbert says the district now requires bullying to be reported and investigated in a timely manner.