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Gurriel hits grand slam, Astros rout Royals

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HOUSTON (AP) – Yuli Gurriel hit a grand slam in Houston’s eight-run second inning, helping Gerrit Cole and the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 11-3 on Sunday.

Gurriel finished with three hits as the AL West-leading Astros won for the 15th time in 17 games. Jose Altuve drove in two runs and scored twice, and Evan Gattis connected for a pinch-hit homer.

Cole (9-1) struck out eight while pitching five innings of one-run ball. The right-hander has struck out at least eight in 12 of his 16 starts.

Houston loaded the bases with one out in the second, and Tony Kemp brought home the first run when he reached on catcher’s interference on Drew Butera. George Springer then lined out, but Alex Bregman walked, Altuve hit a two-run single and Carlos Correa walked before Gurriel connected against Jason Hammel (2-9) for his second career grand slam.

Gurriel also hit a solo drive in Saturday’s 4-3 win in 12 innings. It’s the first time since July 21-22, 2017, that Gurriel has homered in back-to-back games.

Kansas City dropped to 3-18 in June. Hammel was tagged for nine runs, matching his season high, and walked five in four innings.

Lucas Duda hit his fifth homer for the Royals, and Rosell Herrera singled in a run.

TIME TO SHAVE

Bregman had been working on a mustache the last few days, but it disappeared during the game. A split-screen picture of Bregman during his at-bat in the second inning and next plate appearance in the fourth showed he had shaved at some point between the two at-bats.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHP Joe Smith (elbow discomfort) threw his first bullpen session since going on the disabled list. Smith threw about 30 pitches. He said he felt good and will know more of where he is at depending on how he feels on Monday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Brad Keller (1-2, 2.63 ERA) faces the Angels on Monday in a make-up game. Last time out, Keller got a no-decision against Houston in a 7-4 loss on June 17. Keller allowed three runs in six innings against the Astros.

Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (9-2, 1.60 ERA) faces the Blue Jays on Monday. Verlander leads the American League in ERA, WHIP, opponent OPS and opponent batting average.

Eagles drop bracket opener in Omaha

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OMAHA, Neb. – Skutt Catholic scored five runs in the first inning and beat the Hays Eagles Senior American Legion baseball team 10-2 in the opening round of bracket play Sunday at the Battle of Omaha Tournament.

Carson Jacobs recorded only one out and was roughed up for three earned runs on three hits and suffered the loss. Palmer Hutchison had two hits including a double and drove in both of the Eagles runs.

The Eagles won their first three pool play games before have their 14-game win streak snapped in a 3-2 loss to Effingham, Illinois Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles are now 18-3-1 on the season. They travel to Norton for a doubleheader on Wednesday.

Hays Senior Monarchs go 3-0 in Great Bend

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GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Hays Monarchs Senior American Legion went 3-0 in Great Bend over the weekend. Friday night they rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie then scored a run in the eighth to beat Larned 11-10.

Saturday they jumped out to a 5-2 lead then held on to beat Hoisington 5-4 then knocked off Great Bend 5-1.

The Monarchs are now 9-2-1 on the season. They are off until Friday when they travel to Hoisington for a doubleheader.

Hays Eagles open Battle of Omaha with two wins

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OMAHA, Neb. – The Hays Eagles Senior American Legion ran their winning streak to 11 games Friday with a pair of wins at the Battle of Omaha Tournament. The Eagles defeated Omaha Bryan 16-8 then knocked off the Wichita Aeros 6-3 to move to 17-1-1 on the season.

Palmer Hutchison’s three-run homer highlighted a five-run second inning which put Hays up 6-0 in the first game. They took back the lead for good with six runs in the fourth after Bryan scored six in the top of the inning to take an 8-6 lead.

Hutchison had a double to go along with his home run and drove in five runs. Cole Murphy had two hits including a double and drive in three.

Braiden Stauth allowed one hit and no earned runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief and picked up the win.

The Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings in the second game against Wichita then scored two in the sixth after the Aeros scored three unearned runs in the fourth to pull within a run.

Cole Murphy struck out 11 and walked only one and didn’t allow an earned runs over six innings for the win. Dawson Harman had two hits and drove in three runs to lead the Eagles 10-hit attack.

The Eagles continue pool play Saturday against Effingham, IL and Waverly-Shell Rock, IA. Sunday they take on Omaha Northstar.

Larks get walkoff win at home

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HAYS, Kan. – The Hays Larks split the home and away two-game series with the Dodge City A’s last night getting the 6-5 victory in dramatic fashion. With the game tied at 5-5 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Wyatt Divis lead off the inning with a hit down the first base fline for two bases. After Dodge City pitcher Brock Knoten struck out Jared Martin, the A’s wanted no part of Easton Kirk who had homered and singled in his previous two at bats, sending him to first on an intentional walk. With two on and no outs, Clayton Rasbeary would take a walk in five pitches leaving the bases loaded for pinch-hitter Matt Munoz. After getting ahead 0-2 in the count, Knoten threw a pitch past pitcher Anthony Marquez and Divis came in to score giving the Larks the win.

Frank Leo Postgame Interview

Dodge City took a 2-0 lead after the first inning thanks to a solo home run by Adam Hollar and a run scored on a fielder’s choice. The Larks would not get a run until the bottom of the third when Martin hit a RBI double scoring Daryl Meyers. The A’s would get that run back in the top of the fifth with a run scored on an error by first basemen John Rensel.

The Larks answered in the bottom of the fifth with singles by Meyers and Divis. Martin would take a pitch on the body to load the bases for Easton Kirk who launched his second grand slam of the week into right field, giving the Larks the 5-3 lead. Larks pitcher Mason Myrhe, who replaced starter Nick Skeffington in the second inning, walked the first two batters in the top of the seventh. Fabian Muniz would come in for Myhre after those walks but both runners would score to tie the game going into the eighth inning. Muniz would be flawless in the next two innings and set up the Larks for the walkoff win.

Muniz picks up the win giving up two hits in three innings with no runs, no walks and five strikeouts. Wyatt Divis was 3-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Easton Kirk was 2-4 with four RBI’s and a run scored.

The Larks are now 13-4 overall and 7-3 in Jayhawk League play. They go on the road for three straight games in Derby before coming back home on Monday to take on Dodge City again.

 

Jayhawk duo selected in the 2018 NBA Draft

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(Kansas Athletics Media Relations)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Kansas guards Devonte’ Graham and Svialoslav Mykhailiuk were among the 60 players selected in the 2018 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn Thursday night. Graham was the first Jayhawk taken at No. 34 of the second round by the Atlanta Hawks and was later traded to the Charlotte Hornets. Mykhailiuk was the 47th overall selection of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Historically, the duo gives Kansas 82 all-time NBA Draft selections, including 24 in the Bill Self era which began in 2003-04. It marked the eighth time under Self the Jayhawks have had multiple draftees.

Graham was the 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year and Kansas’ 30th Consensus All-America First Team selection. The Raleigh, North Carolina, guard broke two KU single-season records in 2017-18 with 282 assists and 1,474 minutes played. Also this season, Graham was the only player in the NCAA to averaged 17.0-plus points (17.3), 7.0-plus assists (7.2), 1.6-plus steals (1.6) and less than 3.0 turnovers per game (2.8). Graham concluded his career No. 13 in points (1,750), No. 5 in assists (632), No. 2 in 3-point field goals made (296), No. 7 in steals (197) and No. 2 in minutes played (4,498).

A two-year starter for KU who was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection in 2018, Mykhailiuk broke the Kansas single-season record for 3-point field goals made with 115 in 2017-18. The Cherkasy, Ukraine, guard, who was also a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, was second on the KU team with a 14.6 scoring average and was the only player to rank in the Big 12 in the top three in 3-point field goals made (third at 2.9) and 3-point field goal percentage (second at 44.4). Mykhailiuk concluded his career No. 4 on the 3-point field goals made list at 237, No. 5 on the 3-point field goals attempted list at 579 and No. 41 in scoring with 1,181 points.

Kansas posted a 31-8 overall record in 2017-18 and advanced to its 15th Final Four. KU won its 14th-straight, 18th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 61st overall conference regular-season championship with a 13-5 league record. KU’s 14 consecutive titles, which began in 2004-05, set record for the most in NCAA history.

Wichita State’s Shamet selected by Sixers in first round of NBA Draft

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(Wichita State Sports Information)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Landry Shamet’s professional journey will begin in Philadelphia. The former Wichita State standout was selected by the 76’ers with the 26th pick of Thursday night’s NBA Draft.

Shamet – a 6-foot-5 point guard from Kansas City — is WSU’s 23rd NBA Draft pick but the first to be taken in the opening round since 1985 when Xavier McDaniel went No. 4 overall to the Seattle Supersonics.

Shamet’s selection also ends a 33-year drought for Shocker guards, stretching back to the same 1985 draft when the Chicago Bulls used a second-round pick (No. 34 overall) on Aubrey Sherrod.

He’ll become the sixth Shocker in as many seasons to make an NBA regular season debut, joining: Gal Mekel (2013), Toure’ Murry (2013), Cleanthony Early (2014), Ron Baker (2016) and Fred VanVleet (2016).

Shamet declared for the draft on March 29 forgoing his final two seasons of eligibility. He’s WSU’s first early-entry draftee since 1982 when junior Cliff Levingston went No. 9 overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

In just over two seasons as a Shocker (a foot injury cut his freshman year short after three games), Shamet piled up 914 points and twice earned first team all-conference honors.

His 288 assists rank 20th on WSU’s all-time list and are the second-highest total ever for a Shocker at the end of his sophomore season (six more than VanVleet’s underclassman total). He ranks seventh all-time in three-point field goals (159), second in three-point percentage (.437) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.64) behind VanVleet.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2017-18, Shamet earned first team All-AAC honors and was an honorable mention Associated Press All-American for a Shocker team that finished 25-8, was ranked wire-to-wire in the AP Poll, and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Shamet averaged a team-high 14.9 points, hit a school-record 2.62 threes per game and ranked 13th nationally in three-point percentage (.442). He also led the American Athletic Conference in assists (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5).

With Shamet guiding the offense, WSU finished third nationally in assists per game (18.5) and posted its highest scoring average (82.8 points) in 39 years. The Shockers went wire-to-wire in the national polls and earned a No. 4 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

As a redshirt freshman in 2016-17, Shamet became just the second rookie to land first team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in the era of freshman eligibility, joining former Creighton standout Doug McDermott.

Shamet helped lead the Shockers to a 31-5 finish, a share of the MVC regular season title, an MVC Tournament Championship and a first-round win over Dayton in the NCAA Tournament.

Beat writer for Golden State Warriors visits Hays, recaps championship season

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DeSalvo and Letourneau in the KAYS studio.

By C.D. DESALVO
Hays Post

For the second straight year, I had the honor of talking to Connor Letourneau, who works for the San Fransisco Chronicle as a beat writer for the Golden State Warriors NBA franchise. Connor’s aunt and uncle (Steve & Suzanne Leikam) live in Hays as do other family members. Every year after a grueling season of meeting fast-approaching deadlines and little sleep, Connor spends a few days decompressing in a quieter, more relaxed environment before heading back to the Bay Area for the NBA Draft.

Connor was kind enough to stop by Eagle Communications and answer my fan-boy questions, as well as recap the season, players and moments from the Golden State Warriors’ 2018 championship season.

Here’s who Connor is and what his connection is to Hays in his own words:

I asked Connor what a typical day in the life of a professional sports beat writer is like. He usually writes five to six stories on gamedays and two to three on off days:

How this season was different than last year for a team that brought back 12 players and how the mental exhaustion of chasing a third championship in four years affected them. Also, the challenge of the Western Conference Finals:

Connor talked about the rumors that there were rifts in the locker room during the season:

I asked Connor about the unselfishness of this team and he explained how that has actually hurt the Warriors as a whole at times: 

I was interested to know about some of the individuals on the team and what they’re like off the floor and behind closed doors. Connor explained that they’re just normal people that play basketball for a living:

Kevin Durant

Steph Curry

Klay Thompson

Draymond Green

Head Coach Steve Kerr

The final thing I asked Connor was what the Warriors plans are for the future and if this dynasty will ever come to an end any time soon:

Dodge City rallies to end Larks four-game win streak

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DODGE CITY, Kan. – Dodge City scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and beat the Hays Larks 5-3, snapping the Larks four-game win streak Wednesday night at Cavalier Field.

The Larks scored two in the sixth on doubles from Easton Kirk and Cole Solomon to take a 3-2 lead.

The Athletics tied the game on a throwing error by Kirk on a steal attempt then Adam Hollar hit a two-out, two-run triple off reliever Ryan Kotulek.

Ryan Ruder allowed three runs on two hits in one inning of relief and suffered the loss.

The Larks (12-4, 6-3 Jayhawk League) slip to third place in the Jayhawk League, a game back of Liberal. They host the A’s at Larks Park Thursday at 7 pm. Free admission courtesy of the Glassman Corporation and Invenergy.

Royals lose ninth straight, fall to Rangers,

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Rougned Odor homered and the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 3-2 victory over the struggling Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

Bibens-Dirkx (1-1) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings for his first victory since last Sept. 6 in a relief appearance at Atlanta – and sent the Royals to their ninth straight loss.

Kansas City’s slump is its longest this season, and the Royals have dropped 15 of 16 overall and been outscored 102-38 while losing 16 of 18 in June. Their worst June in franchise history was 7-19 in 1970, the team’s second year in existence.

Bibens-Dirkx, a 33-year-old right-hander, spent 12 years in the minors, including two seasons with independent league teams before making his big league debut last year. He was called up to replace Yohander Mendez, who was sent to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday after violating team rules.

Jake Diekman worked the ninth for his second save, but not before yielding a leadoff homer to Mike Moustakas.

Odor homered into the Royals’ bullpen with two outs in the sixth on a 1-2 pitch from Royals starter Jakob Junis, who has lost his last five starts and has not won since May 18. Junis (5-8) has given up 19 home runs to tie for the American League lead. He allowed three runs and five hits with four walks and a hit batter.

Shin-Soo Choo led off the game with a single, extending his on-base streak to 34 games. He stole second, moved to third on Elvis Andrus’ high chopper back to Junis and scored on Nomar Mazara’s fly out to center fielder Rosell Herrera.

The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs in the second on singles by Jurickson Profar and Odor and Joey Gallo’s first of three walks. The Rangers, however, converted that into only one run when Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a double play.

Alex Gordon singled with one out in the Kansas City second and scored on Hunter Dozier’s double.

Alcides Escobar, who’s in a 3-for-53 skid, debated a called third strike to lead off the eight for Kansas City and was ejected by plate umpire Chad Fairchild. The Royals have three ejections in four games after having none in the first 70.

HYPHENATED BATTERYMATES

Bibens-Dirkx and Kiner-Falefa became the first starting pitcher and catcher in big league history with hyphenated last names. This was Kiner-Falefa’s first time to catch in the majors, although he started five games this season with Triple-A Round Rock. “He’s excited about doing it,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “It’ll be fun to watch. We think that he has a good chance to be able to make this a success.”

WHO’S CLOSING?

After the Royals traded closer Kelvin Herrera to Washington, who will inherit that role? “All of them,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of his relievers. “Opportunity exists down there. We’ll have to see who takes advantage of it. I’ll look at different guys, but I would prefer one guy to emerge, take advantage of the opportuity. But it’s wide-open right now.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: LHP Martin Perez (elbow discomfort) threw batting practice to C Robinson Chirinos and OF Carlos Tocci. He is hopeful to begin a minor league rehab assignment Monday. “There were some quality pitches inside the set, like a guy that was getting ready to take the next step of the rehab process,” Banister said. … RHP Chris Martin (right calf strain) also threw to hitters. He is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday. “He’s close,” Banister said.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Off on Thursday before opening a weekend series Friday at Minnesota with LHP Mike Minor (4-4, 5.35) starting.

Royals: Travel day on Thursday to Houston, where LHP Danny Duffy (3-7, 5.55) will start the series opener Friday.

AP sources: Tigers-Royals to play in Omaha before 2019 CWS

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals will play a regular-season game in Omaha the week the 2019 College World Series opens, The Associated Press has learned.

Major League Baseball and the NCAA have been working to arrange a game as a kickoff event to the CWS, two people close to the situation told the AP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details.

A news conference with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was scheduled for Thursday at TD Ameritrade Park, the host site for the CWS.

The move would be similar to the regular-season games played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Little League World Series.

Denver Broncos’ stadium gets a new, temporary name

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DENVER (AP) – The home of the Denver Broncos will be known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High while the team continues to look for a new naming-rights sponsor.

The team announced the temporary name change Wednesday following a vote by the district that oversees the taxpayer-built stadium.

The stadium has had two naming-rights sponsors since it opened in 2001, most recently Sports Authority. Both names included a reference to the Broncos’ original stadium. The team took down large signs with Sports Authority’s name earlier this year after the company declared bankruptcy and stopped making payments.

In a statement, Broncos Chief Commercial Officer Mac Freeman said the team has had “many productive conversations” and is confident it will find the right partner.

A deal would help pay for stadium maintenance.

Bobby Dale Earnhardt is going dirt racing in Hays, Salina

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Two 3/8-mile dirt tracks are on the schedule

By SHANE WALTERS
RacingNews.co

Bobby Dale Earnhardt is the grandson of Dale Earnhardt, son of Kerry Earnhardt. Despite the name, Bobby Dale has been circling the grassroots side of the sport on his climb up the motorsports ladder.

But, from the beginning, he’s been doing it the hard way, on purpose. “Just doing it on my own and working my way up like my grandpa Dale did,” Bobby Dale explained to RacingNews.co .

Over the weekend, he was found at Ona Speedway. He ran an open wheel asphalt modified at the 7/16-mile track in Ona, WV.

Bobby Dale Earnhardt/courtesy photo

“Well guys last night didn’t go as well as we had hoped. We ended the night in a wreck. I had no place to go once everyone started piling up on the front stretch but that’s good ole fashion short track racing for ya. But the main thing is I had a great time out at Ona Speedway,” Bobby said after the race weekend.

Now, he’s ready for a different kind of modified. Earnhardt is heading for the midwest dirt tracks. Back to back days of open wheel dirt track racing.

“I’m excited to announce I’ll be back in an open wheel modified again next weekend June 22-23 @ Salina Speedway in Salina, KS & RPM Speedway in Hays, KS. Except this time I’m going back to grass roots racing where my great grandad ran & my grandpa Dale started, ON DIRT!”

Salina Speedway and Rolling Plains Motor Speedway are on the schedule. On June 22, he’ll be at Salina Speedway in Salina. The following night, he’ll head over to RPM Speedway in Hays. Both of these tracks are 3/8-mile midwest dirt tracks.

How did this come about? “My business partner set this whole weekend up he lives up in Canton, Kansas and knows everyone around there. He has a Gelbvieh Cattle Ranch called Circle S Ranch,” Bobby Dale Earnhardt explained to RacingNews.co .

John & Carla Shearer own a Geldvia Cattle Farm called Circle S Ranch in Canton, Kansas. The Shearer family and Bobby Dale Earnhardt have teamed up multiple times. Previously, Earnhardt and Shearer fielded an ARCA Racing Series machine.

What’s your earlier memory at a dirt track? “My earliest memory is of me and my brother running our go cart on the local dirt track.”

Jeffrey Earnhardt is the younger brother to Bobby Dale.

Previously, Bobby Dale Earnhardt has run dirt late models at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, WV. He’s also turned laps at Muskingum County Speedway and Portsmouth Raceway Park.

Bobby Dale Earnhardt will be driving the #66 for Jerry Phillips Racing at both dirt tracks. JPR is based in Kansas. Main Street Towing and Dacus Auto Body & Collision Repair out of McPherson, Kansas will both be featured on the car.

Last year, he made his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well as the ARCA Racing Series.

Recently, Earnhardt Shearer Racing partnered with Honor Flight. They help military veterans visit memorial sites that are dedicated to them.

— Republished with permission

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