Sports – Page 418 – North Platte Post Archive

Royals Rally for 6-4 Victory over White Sox

Posted on September 28, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) — Kansas City’s chance for the AL Central title was erased by Detroit’s victory on Sunday, and the Royals went on to a 6-4 comeback win over Chicago in the final game for retiring White Sox captain Paul Konerko.

Coming into the final day of the regular season, Kansas City was hoping for a one-game playoff on Monday in Detroit for the division crown. But the Tigers clinched the Central with a 3-0 victory over the Twins, sending the Royals to a home wild-card game against Oakland on Tuesday night in their first playoff appearance since 1985.

Right after Detroit secured its fourth straight division title, Kansas City manager Ned Yost started pulling some of his regulars from the lineup. Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura was lifted after four innings and 73 pitches.

Kansas City (89-73) likely will have James Shields on the mound when the Royals take on the Athletics.

No. 16 NPCC Lady Knights go 0-4 at Johnson County Invite

Posted on September 28, 2014

Overland Park, KS – The No. 16 North Platte Community College Lady Knights (14-10) played in the Johnson County Invite Friday and Saturday in Overland Park, Kan. The Lady Knights faced stiff competition as three of the four teams they faced are ranked in the Top 11 in Division II and the fourth is receiving votes. On Friday, the Lady Knights first faced host No. 4 Johnson County Community College who defeated them in three sets 16-26, 23-25, 16-25. Next up was No. 10 Cowley County Community College who also swept the Lady Knights 16-25, 16-25, 14-25. North Platte returned to action on Saturday where they won the first set against No. 7 Kirkwood Community College before dropping the next three 25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 16-25. The Lady Knights finished up the Invite falling to Coffeyville Community College in straight sets 21-25, 17-25, 13-25.

Against Johnson County the Lady Knights were led by Samantha Kennedy with 11 kills ,and 14 digs and Joli Hopping who had all 25 assists. Valerie Most was second in kills with eight while Erica Goodwin and Aryn Mesigner each recorded 10 digs for North Platte.,

In the second match of the Invite against Cowley County, North Platte was again paced by Kennedy and Hopping. Kennedy finished the match with 13 kills to go along with 11 digs. Hopping again had 25 assists. Erica Goodwin led the way in digs with 12.

On Saturday against Kirkwood, three players finished in double-digit kills. Valerie Most led the way with 16 kills followed by Kennedy with 14 and Samantha Byrn with 10. Joli Hopping recorded 42 assists and Erica Goodwin finished with 26 digs.

In the final match of the Invite against Coffeyville, Kennedy again led the way for North Platte with 12 kills. Hopping had all 20 assists for the Lady Knights and Erica Goodwin had 13 digs.,

The Lady Knights remain on the road as they travel to Sterling, Colo. to face Northeastern Junior College on Tuesday, September 30 at 7 p.m. North Platte returns home on Friday, October 3 to face Northeast Community College at 5 p.m.

Dodgers Top Rockies 6-5 in 12th on Wild Pitch

Posted on September 28, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scott Van Slyke scored the winning run on Franklin Morales’ wild pitch in the 12th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Colorado Rockies 6-5 on Saturday night.

The Dodgers (93-68) have won four straight, including an NL West-clinching victory over San Francisco on Wednesday. They are locked into the league’s No. 2 playoff seed.

Colorado’s bullpen retired 18 straight, a stretch that spanned from the sixth inning until the 12th.

Van Slyke singled with one out, advanced to second when Tim Federowicz was hit by pitch, stole third and came home on Morales’ wild pitch.

Carlos Frias (1-1) pitched three scoreless innings for Los Angeles for his first major league win.

Morales (6-9) took the loss for Colorado (66-95), which has dropped three straight.

Abdullah, No. 21 Nebraska Run over Illinois 45-14

Posted on September 28, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ameer Abdullah ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns, Imani Cross added a career-high 109 yards and a TD, and No. 21 Nebraska beat Illinois 45-14 on Saturday night.

The Cornhuskers (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) are off to their best start since 2010 heading into next week’s game at No. 9 Michigan State.

Wearing all-red alternate uniforms on homecoming, the Huskers rushed for 458 of their 624 total yards.

Illinois (3-2, 0-1) started Reilly O’Toole at quarterback in place of Wes Lunt. O’Toole was 17 for 38 for 261 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted three times, twice by Daniel Davie.

Huskers Spoil Iowa’s Home Opener With Sweep

Posted on September 27, 2014

Iowa City, Iowa – The No. 8 Nebraska volleyball team spoiled Iowa’s home opener with a 25-21, 25-13, 25-16 sweep at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday night.

The Huskers, playing just their second true road match of the season, moved to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, both wins coming against the Hawkeyes (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten).

Alicia Ostrander and Amber Rolfzen paced the Husker attack with 11 kills. Kadie Rolfzen had nine, and Melanie Keil had six. Mary Pollmiller recorded 33 assists and two service aces. Justine Wong-Orantes had a team-high 13 digs. Iowa was led by Lauren Brobst’s nine kills.

The Huskers hit .378 on the night and held Iowa to a .167 clip. Nebraska outdug Iowa 31-26 and served up six service aces to just one for Iowa.

Nebraska jumped in front 3-0 in the first set and maintained the early edge thanks to three kills by Amber Rolfzen. But Iowa fought back to take a 9-8 lead before serving long to even it up. With the set tied 10-10, the Huskers put together a 4-0 run with Pollmiller serving, started by an Ostrander kill. Iowa went on a 3-0 spurt to get within 19-18 and force a Husker timeout, but Meghan Haggerty smashed a kill immediately after the timeout and Kadie Rolfzen hit one down for a 21-18 lead. NU finished the 25-21 win on another kill from Kadie Rolfzen.

The Huskers broke away from a 3-3 tie in set two to go up 9-4 after three errors by Iowa and a kill from Ostrander. After Iowa made it 9-6, Nebraska pushed the lead to 15-6 with a 6-0 run after a double block from Melanie Keil and Ostrander, and two kills by Kadie Rolfzen surrounding an Iowa error. Ostrander had three kills in the Huskers’ final five points to lead NU to the 25-13 victory. The Huskers hit .458 in the second set after just .265 in the first set. NU cut its attacking errors in half from six to three in game two.

After struggling in set three against Iowa on Wednesday, Keil made sure Nebraska got off on the right foot in set three this time by registering a combined block with Haggerty and two early kills to put the Huskers up 4-0. The Huskers extended the lead to 14-5 on an ace from Alexa Ethridge, forcing a Hawkeye timeout. Amber Rolfzen hammered two more kills and Albrecht served up an ace to give the Huskers an 18-8 lead, and the Huskers finished strong for the 25-16 win.

The Huskers return home for a pair of conference matches next week. Nebraska hosts No. 3 Penn State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Ohio State on Saturday at 5 p.m. Friday’s match will air on BTN, and Saturday’s match will be on NET.

Royals Miss Chance at 1st Place, Lose to White Sox

Posted on September 27, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) — Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer, and the Chicago White Sox kept Kansas City out of first place in the AL Central with a 5-4 victory over the Royals on Saturday night.

The Detroit Tigers, who lost 12-3 at Minnesota on Saturday, stayed one game ahead of the Royals entering the final day of the regular season. Kansas City clinched at least a wild card spot on Friday.

Danny Duffy (9-12) lasted only two innings for the Royals. He allowed four runs, five hits and one walk. The White Sox jumped on him, scoring three runs in the first inning. Abreu capped the rally with his 36th home run.

Abreu broke a 31-year-old franchise record for the most homers in a season by a rookie, previously held by Ron Kittle. They are the most by a rookie since St. Louis’ Albert Pujols hit 37 in 2001.

Ex-Buckeyes Linebacker Makes Stop of Fan on Field (Video)

Posted on September 27, 2014

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State staffer Anthony Schlegel, a former linebacker for the Buckeyes, made his first tackle at Ohio Stadium since 2005 when he slammed a fan to the turf late in the first half of his alma mater’s game against Cincinnati on Saturday night.

Schlegel, who is a conditioning coach at Ohio State, intercepted the fan who ran on the field. As the fan was running away from security personnel, Schlegel wrapped his arms around him and threw him to the turf.

A record crowd of 108,362 roared its approval.

The fan was led off the field as Buckeyes players and team personnel congratulated Schlegel on the sideline not far from where he made the tackle.

NFL Commissioner Visits Domestic Violence Hotline

Posted on September 27, 2014

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is in Texas visiting the headquarters of the National Domestic Violence hotline.

Goodell and several league officials walked into the Austin office about 7:15 p.m. Saturday for what was expected to be a private two-hour meeting. He and the league have been heavily criticized for how they handled the recent suspension of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who punched his then-fiancee in the face.

Asked for comment, Goodell only said he’s “doing the work, as they say” and that he was invited to visit the hotline.

The hotline was founded in 1996 and is housed in an unmarked building.

Goodell met with 11 former players earlier this week and was told the league must act immediately when someone is accused of domestic violence.

After Clinching Playoff Spot, Royals Look Ahead

Posted on September 27, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) — A day after the celebration, Hall of Famer George Brett was a little worn out but no less ecstatic.

The Kansas City Royals clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 29 years, and their greatest player sees no reason why they can’t make a run.

The franchise is back in the playoffs for the first time since Brett led them to a World Series championship in 1985.

Kansas City ended the longest playoff drought among the major North American sports leagues with a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Now, the Royals are looking for bigger things. They entered Saturday trailing Detroit by a game in the AL Central with two to play.

Dodgers beat Rockies 7-4 for 3rd Straight Win

Posted on September 27, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Turner’s two-run infield single highlighted a six-run sixth inning, and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-4 Friday night for their third win in a row.

The Dodgers’ 92nd victory tied their total from last season, and the club has posted consecutive 90-win seasons for the first time since 1976-78.

Justin Morneau of Colorado went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and a walk to move past Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison for the NL batting lead at .319. Harrison was at .318 after going went 1 for 4 in a win over Cincinnati.

The Rockies fell to 6-37 on the road since June 16 with their second straight loss and third in their last four games.