Month: March 2014

K-State women rowers capture Kansas Cup at Wyandotte County Lake

The Kansas State University women’s rowing teams won the Sunflower Showdown over the University of Kansas on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan. In this race, KU (in the foreground) was trying to catch K-State rowers when K-State (in the back) won by a few feet. It was the fourth year in a row that K-State won the Kansas Cup. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

There were several close races at the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. K-State women rowers won the annual event against KU. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
K-State rowers competed Saturday, March 29, at the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

K-State rowers competed Saturday, March 29, at the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
KU rowers competed Saturday, March 29, at the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

KU rowers competed Saturday, March 29, at the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Rowers held their hands over their hearts as they listened to the national anthem before the start of events at the Sunflower Showdown Saturday, March 29, in Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

One of the K-State rowing teams jogged through the parking lot at Wyandotte County Lake Park before events began on Saturday, March 29. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

Rowers carry their boat after a race on Saturday, March 29, at the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
A team from Southern Methodist University competed in rowing events Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

 

A team from Drake University competed in rowing events Saturday, March 29, at Wyandotte County Lake. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
Scout Troop 133 held a benefit concession stand at the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake Park. The troop meets at Kensington Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kan., and includes special education students. (Staff photo)

 

The morning scoreboard at the Sunflower Showdown showed some wins for Kansas State, and some for the University of Kansas. K-State won the overall trophy for the fourth straight year. (Staff photo)

 

 

Pitchers shine as KCKCC sweep knocks Coffeyville out of Jayhawk lead

Freshman Geoffrey Birkemeier kicked off KCKCC’s sweep of Coffeyville Friday by retiring the final 11 hitters to complete a 3-hit 2-0 win. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins

Kansas City Kansas Community College continued its assault on Jayhawk Conference leaders Friday, knocking Coffeyville out of first place behind the shutout pitching of freshmen Geoffrey Birkemeier and Preston Bailey.

Birkemeier pitched a 3-hitter in leading the Blue Devils to a 2-0 win in the 7-inning opener; Bailey gave up only two singles and no runs over seven innings in KCKCC’s 4-3 win in the 9-inning nightcap.

The wins were the fifth and sixth in a row over first place teams for KCKCC, which handed previously unbeaten Cowley its first four-game series loss last weekend.

The sweep also stretched KCKCC’s winning streak to eight in a row heading into a return doubleheader Saturday at Coffeyville, which fell to second place at 15-3 behind Johnson County (14-2).

The Blue Devils improved to 8-10 in the conference and evened their overall record at 15-15.

A righthander from Papillion, Neb., Birchemeier allowed only six Ravens to reach base, striking out four and walking two while retiring the final 11 Ravens in order.

The Blue Devils scored the only run they would need in the first. Lucas Norton led off with a single, stole second, took third on an infield error and scored on Christian Arnold’s squeeze bunt.

The second run came in the fifth. Eric Hinostroza led off with a single, moved to third on sacrifice bunts by Tyler Raymond and Zane Mapes and scored on Tanner Foerschler’s base hit.  Bailey, a righthander from Savannah, Mo., allowed only one runner to reach second base in seven innings of the nightcap.

The Blue Devils took a 4-0 lead into the ninth before the Red Ravens scored their only runs of the day, scoring three times on three hits and a walk off reliever Hunter Phillips before Phillips stranded the tying run on second.

KCKCC took a 2-0 lead in the third. After a leadoff single by Mitch Glessner, Zane Mapes beat out a bunt and both runners moved up on Foerschler’s sacrifice bunt.

Norton’s sacrifice fly scored the first run and Mapes scored on a double steal.

Garrett McKinzie opened the fourth with a triple and scored on Arnold’s sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead and Arnold drove in what proved to be the winning run with a two-out single following a hit batsman and a wild pitch in the sixth.

Sporting KC travels to Colorado to play Rapids Saturday

Sporting Kansas City will head west looking for its fist road win of the 2014 MLS regular season against the undefeated Colorado Rapids Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.

The match will be televised on KMCI-TV, Channel 38, with coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Radio broadcasts are on ESPN, 102.9 FM, and La Gran D, 1340 AM.

Sporting KC has won just four games on the road against the Rapids all time, but is in the middle of a seven-game unbeaten streak versus Colorado dating back to 2009, including three draws in Commerce City.

In the last meeting in the series, Benny Feilhaber opened the scoring in the 33rd minute and Graham Zusi notched a late game-winner to give Sporting KC the 2-1 victory at Sporting Park.

Sporting KC and Colorado both earned victories last weekend against Western conference opponents Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers.

The Rapids have scored three goals during the 2014 regular season and all have come from the penalty spot, including two in two minutes during last week’s 2-0 victory.