Sports – Page 700 – North Platte Post Archive

Japan Beats California 6-4 for LLWS Title

Posted on August 25, 2013

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Ryusei Hirooka lined a decisive two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning, Shunpei Takagi hit two solo home runs, and Tokyo beat Chula Vista, Calif., 6-4 on Sunday to win the Little League World Series.

It was the 14th championship game for Japan, which was making its fourth straight appearance in the title game, and ninth title. California, making its 23rd championship game appearance, has won seven World Series titles. Giancarlo Cortez had a two-run single and Grant Holman an RBI single for Chula Vista.

Trailing 4-3 after Cortez’s clutch single in the fourth, Japan tied it on Takagi’s second homer and won it when Hirooka lined a 2-2 pitch down the left-field line for a double.

California beat Westport, Conn., 12-1 in the U.S. championship game Saturday, while Japan beat Mexico 3-2 for the international title.

Huskers Come Alive in Second Half to Down Bearcats

Posted on August 25, 2013

Lincoln – The Nebraska soccer team, which moved to 2-0 for the first time since 2005, used three goals in a 15-minute span to take control of the match and defeat the Cincinnati Bearcats by a 4-1 margin on a warm Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

The Huskers fell behind early, as Cincinnati struck first at the 12:59 mark of the first half when Mackenzie Grause picked up a favorable bounce off a deflection and beat NU goalkeeper Emma Stevens one-on-one from the top of the box. That would be the only goal Stevens allowed, as Nebraska allowed only two shots on goal in posting the victory.

Nebraska fired 14 shots in the first half, including five on goal but were unable to enter the scoring column. The Huskers would continue to put pressure on Cincinnati (0-2) in the second half. NU got its offense rolling in the 54th minute when senior Stacy Bartels received a through ball pass from Caroline Flynn to score from 12 yards out, knotting up the contest at 1-1.

Nine minutes later, freshman Sydney Miramontez earned her first career goal as a Husker after settling a cross from Jaycie Johnson to give NU its first lead of the match with 62:28 on the clock.

Johnson, who had a hand in two of NU’s four second half goals, made it three goals in 15 minutes for the Huskers when she was awarded a penalty shot after a mistimed tackle by the Bearcat defender. Johnson beat Cincinnati goalkeeper Kristina Utley to the left side giving NU a 3-1 advantage with 22 minutes remaining. The goal was Johnson’s third of the year in just her second collegiate match.

In the 86th minute of action, Katie Kraeutner helped finish off the scoring with a nicely-executed deep crossing pass from the left side to Sam Areman, who headed the ball in from close range for the 4-1 lead.

Nebraska recorded 30 shot attempts and 14 shots on goal for the second consecutive match, while the Bearcats had 11 shots, but just two on goal. Seven different Huskers recorded shots on goal in the contest, including Jordan Jackson who led with six, while Johnson posted three on net.

John Walker’s squad will hit the road starting next weekend with a match-up against BYU, an Elite Eight qualifier from 2012. The Huskers and Cougars will meet at 8 p.m. (Central) on Saturday, Aug. 31 in Provo.

Arenado Helps Rockies Beat Marlins 4-3

Posted on August 25, 2013

MIAMI (AP) — Nolan Arenado hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth and the Colorado Rockies held on for a 4-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Sunday.

Jorge De La Rosa (14-6) won his fourth consecutive decision, allowing three runs in five innings. De La Rosa improved to 7-0 with a 1.92 ERA in day games.

Five relievers then combined for four hitless innings, with Rex Brothers working the ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances. With runners on first and second, Brothers got Ed Lucas to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

Miami’s Justin Ruggiano homered and drove in two runs.

Broncos Implement New NFL Bag Policy

Posted on August 25, 2013

DENVER (AP) — Broncos fans will have to be a bit more transparent with their belongings this season because of a new NFL policy limiting the types and sizes of bags that can be brought into stadiums.

The Denver Post reports that beginning with Saturday’s preseason game against the St. Louis Rams, only two bags will be allowed per person. Spectators can bring one clear bag with maximum measurements of 12 inches by 12 inches by 6 inches or a one-gallon plastic freezer bag, and a small personal item bag 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches that does not have to be see-through.

Seat cushions, binoculars, cameras and blankets that don’t have to fit into bags are still allowed.

Broncos spokesman Erich Schubert says everything that was permitted before is still allowed in, “it’s just the way you carry it.”

Huskers Battle Alumni in Devaney Center Debut

Posted on August 24, 2013

Lincoln, Neb. – The 10^th-ranked Nebraska volleyball team held its annual Red/White Match on Saturday evening at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in front of a sellout crowd of 8,243 fans. The Nebraska alumni team, led by Olympians Jordan Larson and Nancy Metcalf, took the match 2-1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-22) on the historic night at the Devaney.

Kelsey Fien and Morgan Broekhuis led the Huskers on the night with 12 kills each. Broekhuis tallied a .357 hitting percentage, while Fien notched a clip of .280. Husker setters Kelly Hunter and Mary Pollmiller both saw playing time during the match, with Pollmiller notching 24 assists and Hunter with seven assists. Justine Wong-Orantes had 12 digs.

The Huskers started the match fighting point-for-point with the alumni. A kill by Broekhuis gave NU the lead at 5-4, but the alumni would come back to take a 15-9 lead after a kill by Metcalf and a hitting error by the Huskers. A kill by Fien would cut the alumni lead to 17-13, but it would not be enough as they would go on to take the first set 25-19.

Fien led the Huskers in the first set with five kills, while Pollmiller tallied five assists and Hunter had four assists. The Huskers also notched 11 team digs and two team blocks.

NU came out to a 5-3 lead in the second set on a kill by Amber Rolfzen. Nebraska went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a kill by Broekhuis to extend its lead to 14-8. The Huskers then strung together another 5-0 run to make it 21-12. NU would go on to win the second set 25-17 and even the match at one set apiece.

Meghan Haggerty and Broekhuis each had four kills in the second set, while Fien notched three. Pollmiller paced the offense with 11 assists. The Huskers recorded a .344 team hitting percentage of the set.

Nebraska opened the third set down 6-2 on a hitting error, but came back to cut it as close as 12-10 on a kill by Fien. The Huskers then cut it 17-16 on a kill by Ostrander, but the alumni pulled ahead 23-18 and went on to take the third set 25-22.

Haggerty and Broekhuis both had four kills in the third set, while Pollmiller tallied 11 assists. Nebraska posted 15 team digs and three team blocks in the set.

The Huskers open the 2013 season on Friday, Aug. 31 at the Billiken Invitational hosted by the University of Saint Louis. Nebraska will face Louisiana-Monroe on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and will take on Auburn on Saturday at 10 a.m., before a match-up with Saint Louis at 7 p.m.

Ogletree Shines in Rams’ 27-26 Loss to Broncos

Posted on August 24, 2013

DENVER (AP) — Rookie linebacker Alec Ogletree ruined Ronnie Hillman’s night with a strip-and-score takeaway and kept Peyton Manning from turning all those passes into points with a big interception. Yet the St. Louis Rams’ lost 27-26 at Denver on Saturday night.

Ogletree ripped the football from Hillman’s arms, scooped it up and trotted 13 yards for the score one week after Hillman’s fumble at the goal line was returned 106 yards for a touchdown in Seattle.

Manning completed 25 of 34 passes for 234 yards in one half, but Ogletree’s pickoff just before halftime set up Greg Zuerlein’s 58-yarder field goal that gave the Rams a 20-10 lead at the break.

Ogletree also had a half-dozen tackles and two pass breakups in his breakout preseason performance.

Zimmerman Leads Nationals past KC 7-2

Posted on August 24, 2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jordan Zimmermann rebounded from one of his worst career outings to go 7 2-3 strong innings, Ian Desmond hit his 18th home run, and the Washington Nationals beat the Kansas City Royals 7-2 Saturday night.

Zimmermann (15-7) tied St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright for the league lead in wins and sparked the surging Nationals to their fifth straight win, all on the road.

The right-hander, who allowed eight runs in five innings at Chicago last Monday, was charged with two runs and eight hits. He struck out seven and walked just one. After George Kottaras singled with two out in the fourth, Zimmerman retired 11 straight until Emilio Bonifacio walked with one out in the eighth.

The Nationals have won 11 of 15 overall while the Royals have been staggering.

After a 19-5 surge gave fans hope for an end to a 27-year playoff drought, they’ve lost seven in a row and 10 of 12.

Fernandez Impressive again in Marlin’s 3-0 Win over Rockies

Posted on August 24, 2013

MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Jose Fernandez struck out eight in seven innings, leading the Miami Marlins to a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.

Fernandez (10-5) allowed four hits and did not walk a batter as he lowered his ERA to 2.30. Fernandez has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors since June 1, compiling a 1.52 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 15 starts.

A.J. Ramos pitched the eighth and Steve Cishek earned his 28th save in 30 chances.

Todd Helton had two hits for the Rockies to move into 96th place on the career hit list with 2,496 in 17 seasons, all with Colorado.

The Marlins scored three runs in the fourth off Jeff Manship (0-4).

NPCC Lady Knights Improve to 4-0

Posted on August 24, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (4-0) volleyball team continued their winning ways Saturday morning as they defeated the Eastern Wyoming Lady Lancers in three straight sets (25-19, 25-12, 25-12). The Lady Knights then defeated the Colby Community College Lady Trojans in highly contested five set battle (25-22, 25-27, 26-24, 20-25, 15-9).

The Lady Knights jumped ahead early and cruised to a 25-19 win in their opening set of the day. The second and third sets were much of the same as the Lady Knights won both 25-12. Sandrina Hallahan led the team in kills with 13 while Kylie Wroot chipped in 8. Laura Beckman had 15 assists and Joli Hopping had 12. Shannon Liewer led the Lady Knights with 14 digs and Samantha Kennedy paced the team with 3 blocks.

“I thought we played really good defense,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “We played very aggressive at the net. I thought the key to the game was that we controlled the net. We will have to come ready to play against Colby.”

In the second game of the day and fourth of the tournament, the Lady Knights emerged victorious over the Lady Trojans. In the first set the Lady Knights pulled out a 25-22 victory. The Lady Trojans responded by winning the second set 25-27. The third set again was back and forth before Sandrina Hallahan had a kill and Sabrina Hallahan dinked one over for the 26-24 victory. Colby fought right back with a 20-25 win in the fourth set.

The fourth set saw the Lady Knights jump out to an early 5-1 lead and they never looked back en route to a 15-9 fifth set victory. The Lady Trojans cut the deficit to 7-6 before the Lady Knights scored six straight points before closing the game out. Samantha Byrn led the Lady Knights with 16 kills while Sam Kennedy (11), Kyle Wroot (10) and Sabrina Hallahan (10) were all in double figures. Joli Hopping had 28 assists and Laura Beckman had 19. Shannon Liewer led the team with 25 digs.

“I think every coach wants to open up their season 4-0,” said coach Thalken. “Did I think we could? I thought we were young but talented. This gives our kids a ton of confidence and even more excitement for the rest of the season. I am very proud of our kids.”

“I thought we played pretty good for our first game of the year,” said sophomore Laura Beckman. “Our defense was good; we played scrappy and talked. We got down and didn’t stop fighting and came back strong.

Final tournament standings were Northeastern Junior College 4-0, North Platte Community College 4-0, Colby Community College 2-2, Williston State College 1-3, Sheridan College 1-3 and Eastern Wyoming College 0-4. An All-Tournament team will be named on Monday. Click here for all scores, standing and all-tournament team: Subway Invite Tournament Home

The Lady Knights continue their season Wednesday August 28 as they travel to Seward to take on Concordia University JV at 7:30 p.m. You can listen to game both on the airwaves on ESPN Radio 1410 and online at www.northplattepost.com. Robert Lovell will be there on the call.

Selig, MLB Honor Civil Rights Pioneers

Posted on August 24, 2013

CHICAGO (AP) — Major League Baseball has made significant strides from the days of segregation and bigotry, but the sport’s top figures say the work is not complete.

Commissioner Bud Selig, Hall of Famers and current players honored Jackie Robinson and other civil rights heroes at an awards luncheon in dowtown Chicago before MLB’s Civil Rights Game between the White Sox and the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.

Selig says “We salute the pioneers who enriched our game and, by extension, our culture.”

Weekend events, sponsored by the Chicago White Sox, coincided with commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s landmark “I Have a Dream” speech.

The Beacon Awards honored retired major leaguer Bo Jackson and entertainer Aretha Franklin.