Sports – Page 205 – North Platte Post Archive

Guthrie throws 6 scoreless innings; Royals top Reds 7-1

Posted on May 20, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jeremy Guthrie pitched six shutout innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night.

The Royals tied a club record with 24 consecutive scoreless innings, which was set June 9-12, 1976. That streak ended in the seventh when Brandon Phillips’ two-out double off reliever Ryan Madson scored Zack Cozart.

The Royals, who won for the fifth time in six games, improved to 26-14, the franchise’s best record after 40 games.

Guthrie (4-2) pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out predicament in the first inning and won his third straight start. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out three. Guthrie retired 13 on fly balls and two on grounders.

Reds right-hander Jason Marquis (3-4) was pulled after 3 2-3 innings, yielding four runs, four hits, two sacrifice flies, two walks and a wild pitch. In losing his past three starts, Marquis has surrendered 21 hits and 15 runs in 12 1-3 innings for a 15.33 ERA.

Higgins, Thalken Honored at MPCC Board of Governors Meeting

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015

Pictured from left to right are: MPCC President Ryan Purdy, Higgins and Area Vice-President of Academic Affairs and NPCC Jody Tomanek.

Janelle Higgins, NPCC softball coach, was presented with the Region IX Division II Coach of the Year Award during the MPCC Board of Governors meeting Wednesday night.

Former NPCC Head Volleyball Coach Sally Thalken was presented with a Women of Achievement Award in the category of Education during the Wednesday night MPCC Board of Governors meeting. The award was co-sponsored by the North Platte Telegraph and NebraskaLand National Bank.

Thalken was also presented with the Junior College Athletic Association’s Service Award. The award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the NJCAA on a national level for an extended period of time.

NPCC Lady Knights Basketball Sign Duncan

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team announces the signing of Aljahnay Duncan of Sherwood, Ark.

Duncan, a 5’7” forward, played for the Sylvan Hills High School Lady Bears. Duncan averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game.

Lady Knights head coach Richard Thurin said, “Duncan drives to the basket very well and has good quickness.”

At Sylvan Hills, Duncan also ran track, competing in the 100 and 200 meters, the 100 meter hurdles, high jump and triple jump as well as the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams.

Duncan is the fifth player signed in the 2015 – 2016 Lady Knights recruiting class. The others include Mickenzie Brennan of Alliance, Linsey Frost of Knoxville, Ark., Suhmer Mitchell of Big Sandy, Texas and Thomesha Wilson of Omaha.

Kade Folchert Night Rescheduled at Bill Wood Field

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015

The North Platte First Nationals have rescheduled their Kade Folchert night events to Thursday, May 21 at Bill Wood Field in North Platte. There will be a 9-inning joint Junior-Senior squad game vs. Ogallala at 7 pm followed by the regularly scheduled raffle event. All proceeds will go to the Folchert family.

Nebraska DB Boaz Joseph fined $300 for marijuana possession

Posted on May 20, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska reserve defensive back Boaz Joseph has been fined $300 for marijuana possession.

Joseph had a charge for possession of drug paraphernalia dropped during his sentencing Tuesday in Lancaster County Court.

University police last month found marijuana in a tobacco tin in Joseph’s room at his Lincoln apartment. Officers were there to execute a search warrant in connection with an unrelated fraud investigation. Two other people were ticketed for having drugs and paraphernalia.

Coach Mike Riley has not commented on the case.

Joseph had been ticketed last June for bike theft in Lincoln. That case was dismissed in December after he completed a pre-trial diversion program.

Assault charge against former Nebraska coach dismissed

Posted on May 20, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A domestic assault charge against a former University of Nebraska football coach has been dismissed.

Online court records filed Monday say Rick Kaczenski (kuh-ZIHN’-skee) decided to participate in the Community Corrections Diversion Program, so Lancaster County prosecutors in Lincoln agreed to dismiss the misdemeanor charge. The charge can be refiled if he doesn’t complete the program.

In March Lincoln officers were sent to a Lincoln home to check a report about a domestic argument. Officers found a woman with a cut to her forehead and scratches to her face and neck. Officers say Kaczenski had thrown a picture frame at the 33-year-old woman.

The 40-year-old Kaczenski was the Huskers’ defensive line coach from 2012 through 2014. He joined Nebraska after five years as the University of Iowa’s defensive line coach.

Hundley’s homer lifts Rockies to 6-5 win over Phillies

Posted on May 19, 2015

DENVER (AP) — Nick Hundley hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies beat Philadelphia 6-5 on Tuesday night to snap the Phillies’ six-game winning streak.

Hundley lined a 1-2 pitch from reliever Justin De Fratus (0-1) into the seats in left-center. Hundley also had an RBI single in the first.

Scott Oberg (2-1) earned the win by getting the Rockies out of a jam in the eighth. John Axford pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save as a steady mist began to fall.

The first pitch was delayed 17 minutes by rain that was supposed to hit the area, only to miss. The Rockies have now been interrupted by weather at Coors Field six times in the last three weeks, including four postponements.

Ventura, 2 relievers shut out Reds, 3-0

Posted on May 19, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yordano Ventura, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis combined on a four-hitter and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 on Tuesday night.

The Royals, who beat the New York Yankees 6-0 on Sunday, logged consecutive shutouts for the first time since Sept. 29-30, 1992, when Dennis Rasmussen and Rick Reed blanked the California Angels.

Ventura (3-3), who was 0-3 in his five previous starts since a victory on April 12, allowed four singles, struck out six and walked none. He reached a three-ball count on only four hitters and retired all of them, lowering his ERA to 4.56.

Herrera gave up a walk in the eighth, but nothing else. Davis worked a spotless ninth, claiming his seventh save in as many opportunities.

Mike Moustakas went 3 for 4 with two doubles and drove in two runs. His double in the fifth scored Paulo Orlando, while his seventh-inning double brought home Omar Infante.

Big Ten ADs see year of readiness fueling debate on balance

Posted on May 19, 2015

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Big Ten athletic directors believe commissioner Jim Delany succeeded in one key area when he introduced the idea of a so-called year of readiness.

He helped fuel the conversation about the imbalance between athletics and academics.

Iowa AD Gary Barta says it has created a national dialogue about improving “the student-athlete experience.”

Delany pitched the idea of a year of readiness in February. He followed that up last month with a 12-page letter titled, “Education First, Athletics Second: The Time for a National Discussion is Upon Us,” outlining a plan to make football and men’s basketball players sit out their freshman seasons without losing a year of eligibility.

The odds of it becoming a reality are slim.

NPCC Knights Basketball Adds Pair of Big Men

Posted on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015

The North Platte Community College Knights basketball team bolsters their front court by the signing of two players, David Ramon-Prada and Jon Reese Woodson for the upcoming 2015 – 2016 season.

Ramon-Prada, originally from Madrid, Spain, is a 6’ 8” forward. He will come to the Knights as a transfer from the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC), where he redshirted.

Ramon-Prada is regarded as a very good long-range shooter. In the 2013 Spain National U18 Championship League, Ramon-Prada shot 48 percent from behind the arc. In the U16 Madrid Regional Championship, Ramon-Prada led his team to the tournament title and won most valuable player honors with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

As a student, Ramon-Prada attended Virgen de Atocha High School and was awarded an honors diploma from the Madrid Regional Government, averaging 9.7 on a 10.0 scale. At UIC , he majored in engineering.

Jon-Reese Woodson (Photo Courtesy Andrew Mitchell, Corpus-Cristi Caller-Times) — Jon-Reese Woodson (Photo Courtesy Andrew Mitchell, Corpus-Christi Caller-Times)

Woodson, a 6’7” power forward, was a four-year starter at Carroll High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. As a senior, Woodson averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks per game. He was named to the First Team All-District and Second Team All-South Texas.

Woodson was in the Top 20 percent of his graduating class with a 3.32 grade point average. He was a First Team All-Academic.

These two signings brings the Knights 2015 – 2016 recruiting class to five. Earlier they signed Jordan Mills from Alliance, Diontae Champion from Arlington, Texas and Tim Wagner from Galesville, Wis.