Sports – Page 412 – North Platte Post Archive

Army Vet Throws 1st Pitch Like Grenade Before NLDS

Posted on October 4, 2014October 4, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army veteran wounded in Iraq made a unique ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the NL Division Series, crawling toward the mound and then lobbing the baseball as if it were a grenade.

Retired vet Brian Keaton walked onto the grass before getting on his stomach and crawling several feet at Nationals Park on Saturday. He threw the ball with his left hand from behind the mound and the toss bounced home.

The crowd cheered loudly before San Francisco played Washington.

According to the Nationals, Keaton was wounded in a bomb explosion. The team said he spent 3 1-2 years at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center recovering from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Keaton walked into right field for a bear hug with Washington third baseman Anthony Rendon before the toss. As he left the field, Keaton embraced Nationals manager Matt Williams, pitcher Doug Fister and shortstop Ian Desmond.

Run-Run-Run Royals Could Knock Out Mighty Angels

Posted on October 4, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals, that scrappy run-run-run team quickly endearing itself to baseball purists, is proving small ball works on the game’s biggest stage.

After a wild win over Oakland in its first playoff game in nearly three decades, the Royals — who finished last by a wide margin in home runs this season — are just one win away from sweeping the mighty, power-hitting Los Angeles Angels.

Their best-of-five Divisional Series shifts to Kansas City on Sunday.

The Royals will be sending their ace, James Shields, to the mound at Kauffman Stadium, where he last started Tuesday night in that dramatic win over the A’s.

It will be up to C.J. Wilson to try to keep the Angels alive.

NPCC Lady Knights Drop Two Matches

Posted on October 4, 2014

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (14-12) volleyball team dropped two matches this week. The Lady Knights first traveled to Sterling, Colo. where they faced the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen for the third time this season. After splitting the first two games, the first set was an epic battle with the Plainswomen earning the hard fought 33-35 set victory. Northeastern won the next two sets to take the match 16-25 and 25-27. North Platte then returned home to host Northeast Community College for the second time this season with North Platte winning the first meeting in five sets. This time Northeast emerged victorious with a three set win 19-25, 21-25, 22-25.

Against Northeastern Junior College, Valerie Most and Samantha Byrn led the way for the Lady Knights. Most finished with 16 kills while Byrn had 13. Samantha Kennedy was held to only six kills. Joli Hopping recorded 40 assists while Erica Goodwin had 22 digs. Kennedy also had 12 digs and Byrn had 11. Anais Vargas and Yuting Qi led the Plainswomen with 12 and 11 kills respectively.

In the second game of the week against Northeast, Kennedy led the way with 12 kills while Most was right behind with 10. Joli Hopping recorded 32 assists and 11 digs. Erica Goodwin had 20 digs, Abigail Kurtzer had 19 and Kennedy had 16.

The Lady Knights return to action on Wednesday, October 8 at 6 p.m. as they face Southeast Community College who defeated North Platte in five sets earlier this year. The Lady Knights then take to the road for the Jimmy John Invite in Columbus on Friday, October 10 and Saturday, October 11 where they will face Cowley County Community College, Bismarck State College, Williston State College and Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Royals beat Angels 4-1 in 11, lead ALDS 2-0

Posted on October 4, 2014

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the surprising Kansas City Royals took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Alex Gordon had an early run-scoring single and Salvador Perez added an RBI infield single in the 11th for the Royals, who became the first team in major league history to win three straight extra-inning playoff games.

In its first postseason appearance since 1985, Kansas City’s playoff roll just can’t be slowed by the majors’ best regular-season team. Hosmer had three hits and scored two runs as the Royals moved to the brink of the AL Championship Series.

Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Sunday in Kansas City, where Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson faces James Shields.

Storm Fall To Sioux Falls In Home Opener

Posted on October 4, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm (1-1-0) fell behind in the second period and couldn’t complete a late comeback, taking a 5-3 loss to the Sioux Falls Stampede (1-0-1) on opening night at the Viaero Event Center Friday night.

The Storm got goals in the game from Matthew Freytag, Chris Wilkie and Chase Berger. For Wilkie, it was his second tally in as many games to start the season.

Blake Weyrick began the contest in net for Tri-City, but was relieved after allowing four goals through the first half of the contest. Backup Alec Dillon made 14 stops after coming into the game, holding the Stampede off the board late in the contest and allowing the Storm to make a late comeback.

First period goals from Sioux Falls forwards Logan O’Connor and Kieffer Bellows had the Stampede in front 2-1 after 20 minutes. The lone goal for Tri-City was scored by Freytag on the power play, his first of the season.

Sioux Falls opened things up in the second frame, adding goals by forward Troy Loggins and defenseman Lukas Buchta to take a 4-1 lead.

The Storm made their move in the final period, scoring twice in two minutes with goals from Wilkie and Berger.

Wilkie found a puck in front of the net off a no-look pass from his linemate Nick Master and slipped it into the far side of the goal.

Moments later, it was Wilkie’s shot that created a rebound in front for Berger, who made it a 4-3 game.

Berger’s goal ignited the home crowd, and gave defenseman Mattias Goransson his second assist of the night. Just after the goal, a slashing penalty to Bellows gave the Storm a power play with an opportunity to even the game, but Tri-City came up empty.

In the final seconds the Storm pulled Dillon for an extra attacker in another attempt to tie the game, but Stampede forward Dakota Joshua spoiled their plans, scoring an empty net goal to give his team a 5-3 win.

Sioux Falls goaltender Stefanos Lekkas earned the win for his team, making 36 saves.

The Storm will now head to Des Moines to finish their weekend, taking on the Buccaneers at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night.

Tri-City is back at the Viaero Event Center for a weekend series with the Chicago Steel on Oct. 10 and 11.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Nolan Aibel, Aleksi Ainali and Wade Allison. Defenseman Jalen Schulz was also scratched, serving a three-game suspension…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Sioux Falls – Logan O’Connor (short-handed) (Dakota Joshua) 3:35
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag (Mattias Goransson, Tory Dello) 3:52
Sioux Falls – Kieffer Bellows (power play) (Joey Raats, Bryan Sienerth) 14:10

2nd Period

Sioux Falls – Troy Loggins (Dakota Joshua) 0:18
Sioux Falls – Lukas Buchta (unassisted) 9:05

3rd Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Nick Master, Kevin Kerr) 11:12
Tri-City – Chase Berger (Chris Wilkie, Mattias Goransson) 13:03
Sioux Falls – Dakota Joshua (empty net) (unassisted) 18:43

PENALTIES

1st Period

Sioux Falls – Chris Pohlkamp – (Hooking), 2 min, 2:47
Sioux Falls – Bryan Sienerth – (Tripping), 2 min, 4:38
Tri-City – Chase Hatcher – (Slashing), 2 min, 8:27
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Fighting), 5 min, 12:33
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 12:33
Sioux Falls – Nikolas Koberstein –(Fighting), 5 min, 12:33
Sioux Falls – Nikolas Koberstein – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 12:33
Sioux Falls – Troy Loggins – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 12:33
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 12:33
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Roughing), 2 min, 12:33

2nd Period

Tri-City – Chase Hatcher – (Tripping), 2 min, 12:01
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Roughing), 2 min, 14:57
Tri-City – Nick Master – (Roughing), 2 min, 14:57
Sioux Falls – Chaz Switzer – (Roughing), 2 min, 14:57
Sioux Falls – Chaz Switzer – (Abuse of Officials) (Misconduct) 10 min, 14:57

3rd Period

Sioux Falls – Dakota Joshua – (Tripping), 2 min, 0:19
Tri-City – Bobby Nardella – (Head Contact) (Major), 5 min, 4:47
Tri-City – Bobby Nardella – (Head Contact) (Game Ejection), 10 min, 4:47
Sioux Falls – Bench Minor – (Too Many Men), 2 min, 6:41
Tri-City – Jake Wahlin – (Tripping), 2 min, 7:59
Sioux Falls – Kieffer Bellows – (Slashing), 2 min, 13:44

Power Play

Sioux Falls –1/7

Tri-City – 1/4

Shots

Sioux Falls: 12, 13, 8, = Total: 33
Tri-City: 7, 14, 18, = Total: 39

Saves

Sioux Falls – Stefanos Lekkas – 36/39
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 14/18, Alec Dillon – 14/14

Huskers Topple No. 3 Penn State, 3-1

Posted on October 4, 2014

Lincoln – The No. 8 Nebraska volleyball team rallied from a first-set defeat to take the next three sets and beat No. 3 Penn State, 3-1, Friday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Devaney Center crowd of 8,585 – a record under the new seating configuration – did everything it could to spur the Huskers to victory, and Nebraska used the energy to rebound from a 25-12 loss in set one with three straight victories: 25-22, 25-20, 25-23.

The Huskers (9-3, 3-0 Big Ten) posted their first win against a top-five opponent since a 3-0 sweep of No. 5 Washington in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Nebraska had been 0-4 against top-five teams since then. Penn State (14-2, 2-1 Big Ten), the defending national champion, suffered its first loss in four sets since the 2012 NCAA Semifinals.

Kadie Rolfzen led three Huskers with double-digit kills with 13. Alicia Ostrander had 11 kills, and Amber Rolfzen had 10 kills and 10 digs. Meghan Haggerty produced nine kills with just one error for a season-high .421 hitting percentage while adding seven blocks. Freshman Annika Albrecht led NU’s strong defensive effort with a career-high 20 digs, as NU outdug Penn State 64-56. Mary Pollmiller had 38 assists, eight digs, four blocks and four kills on five attacks.

Freshman Ali Frantti had 19 kills and nine digs for the Nittany Lions. Megan Courtney added 11 kills.

The Huskers hit .196 for the match, while Penn State was held to a season-low .191 clip.

Penn State came out of the gate on fire and bolted to a 7-1 lead, hitting .750 in the process. The Nittany Lions built the lead to 15-5 before Nebraska’s second timeout of the set and finished out the 25-12 win. PSU hit .360 in the opening frame, while the Huskers hit -.037, their low hitting mark of the season. NU had seven attacking errors in game one.

The Huskers took their first lead of the match at 4-3 in set two on a kill by Amber Rolfzen after the Huskers had fallen behind 2-0 quickly to start the set. That was part of a 5-0 Husker run, as the Huskers made it 5-3 on a Wong-Orantes service ace, 6-3 on a solo block by Haggerty and 7-3 on a PSU attacking error. But Penn State crept back into it and tied the set at 17-17 after three straight points, forcing a Husker timeout. Out of the timeout, Ostrander smashed a kill and then added a block with Melanie Keil to take a 19-17 lead. An attack error on Penn State then gave NU a 20-17 lead, but the Nittany Lions got within 22-21 on a kill by Courtney. Cecilia Hall produced a huge kill to the middle of the floor for a 24-22 lead, and a block from Haggerty and Amber Rolfzen ended the set at 25-22. NU hit .167 in the set, but more importantly held Penn State to a .100 clip.

NU rode its momentum early in the third set, taking a 5-1 lead with three kills by Amber Rolfzen pacing the Big Red. Penn State rallied to tie it 9-9 on a Frantti kill, but Nebraska answered with three straight points, finished by a Kadie Rolfzen swing to make it 12-9. The Huskers never let their foot off the gas, pulling away from a 20-18 lead with three straight points on a kill by Amber Rolfzen and two by Kadie Rolfzen. Haggerty and Pollmiller’s combined block finished off the 25-20 win. NU hit .366 in set three with 21 kills and just six errors on 41 attacks. Penn State had just two errors on 45 attacks, but the Nittany Lions also had just 12 kills as Nebraska picked up its defense, led by Albrecht’s 11 digs in the set. Her career high for a match entering the night was 12, and she nearly beat that in the third set alone. NU outdug Penn State 24-13 in the pivotal third game.

Penn State claimed the early edge in set four, going up 9-6 on a Nia Grant kill. However, Nebraska won a long rally on a dump by Pollmiller to kickstart a three-point run that tied the set at 9-9, capped by an Amber Rolfzen kill. The Huskers took a 12-10 lead on a PSU hitting error, but the Nittany Lions evened it up at 13-13. Ostrander came up with a huge kill to give the Huskers a 20-19 lead and end Micha Hancock’s serving run. She entered the match as the national leader in service aces but had just one on the evening. Kadie Rolfzen made it a 21-19 lead with a kill, forcing PSU’s last timeout of the set. After drawing within 21-20, the Nittany Lions committed three service errors, including one to close out the match as the Devaney crowd amped up the noise.

The Huskers are back at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday to host Ohio State at 5 p.m. on NET. Ohio State swept Iowa on Friday night in Iowa City.

NFL Hires Another Domestic Conduct Adviser

Posted on October 3, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has hired Beth E. Richie as a senior adviser on domestic conduct.

Richie is the director of the Institute of Research on Race and Public Policy and a professor of African-American studies, criminology, sociology, gender and women’s studies, and criminal law and justice at Illinois-Chicago. She is considered a leading expert on issues of sexual assault.

Richie joins five previously hired advisers. According to a memo sent by Commissioner Roger Goodell to all team chief executives and presidents, the advisers meet with the league daily “to help develop our educational and service programs, and to assist in revising our personal conduct policy.”

Goodell also mentioned that the NFL met with the heads of groups representing the parents of pro football players, and with Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron, the CEO of the YWCA, the largest provider of domestic violence services in the United States.

Chiefs’ Donnie Avery has Surgery on Sports Hernia

Posted on October 3, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Donnie Avery had surgery Friday for a sports hernia and has been ruled out for Sunday’s game at San Francisco, though he is expected back later this season.

The Chiefs have their bye week after playing the 49ers.

Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry also will miss his third straight game with a high ankle sprain, though wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas is expected to make his NFL debut after dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out since training camp.

The Chiefs also get right tackle Donald Stephenson back from a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Stephenson is expected to serve as the backup to Ryan Harris, who has started in his absence.

Denver Broncos Cut Ties with Matt Prater

Posted on October 3, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos have cut ties with Matt Prater, who’s about to come off his four-game suspension.

First-year kicker Brandon McManus has turned his temp job into a full-time one.

In a statement, GM John Elway said releasing Prater was “a very difficult football decision.”

He added that McManus “has earned the opportunity to continue kicking for our team with how well he’s played to start the season. He has a very strong leg and we have confidence in him on both field goals and kickoffs.”

Prater appeared in 96 regular-season games for Denver from 2007-13, connecting on 141 of 170 (.829) field goal attempts and 259 of 261 (.992) extra point attempts for 682 total points. He registered 262 touchbacks on 497 kickoffs (.527) for the Broncos while posting eight special-teams tackles.

Tough Ending to Season Drives Huskers for 2014-15

Posted on October 3, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — For Nebraska’s men’s basketball team, a sour ending to a solid season turned into motivation for this year.

The Cornhuskers return almost everybody from the team that won 19 games, finished fourth in the Big Ten and made the NCAA tournament. They start preseason practice on Sunday.

Coach Tim Miles says he can tell from offseason workouts that his players “have an appetite for work.” As good as last season was, Miles says the team remembers the ending more than what happened for the bulk of the schedule.

The Huskers blew an 18-point lead to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, and lost by 14 points to Baylor in the NCAA tournament.