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Bishop Ward grad wins Sunflower Hills title

by Alan Hoskins

Mark Browne picked a good time for his best competitive round of golf – an even par 72 in the 2015 Sunflower Hills Club Championship Saturday.

The 72 was two shots clear of runnerup Brian Shatto and four in front of Rich Laing and Stuart Hunt for Browne’s first ever tournament win.

“I didn’t hit the tee ball real well but my iron play was good,” said Browne, 28. “I hit 14 greens which is the most I’ve ever hit. And I putted decently.”

A 2005 graduate of Bishop Ward who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Kansas, Browne has been a regular in WyCo Open and Sunflower Hills Men’s Club events for several years but never a serious challenger.

“I think my best was a 75 or 76,” he said.

Browne knocked two shots off par the front nine by knocking the ball inside four feet on Nos. 2 and No. 9 and stretched it to three under on the par 5 No. 11 albeit the hard way.

“I hit my tee ball over the bunker into trees on the right,” Browne said. “I was going to hit a low shot and get it up the hill but I chunked it over the trees to about 130-135 yards.” However a 9-iron got him close for his third birdie “Not pretty but I’ll take it.”

His first bogey came at the par 4 12th and one he was glad to take.

“I had to punch out from some trees and made about a 15-20 footer for bogey,” Browne said. “That was really big because it saved me from a double.” Another bogey followed at No. 14. “I had a 20-25 foot putt for birdie and left it about six feet short and missed. It was my only bad putt all day.”

His final bogey came on No. 18 after an errant tee shot into trees but he still had plenty to spare.

“I didn’t know what others were doing but the course was playing good and I figured everyone else was playing good,” Browne said. “Getting the lead I just held on the rest of the way out.”

Married, Browne is employed at Deloitte Accounting in Kansas City, Mo. – and ready to take a shot at the 2015 Wyandotte County Open to be held at Sunflower Hills Aug. 8-9.

2015 Sunflower Hills Club Championship
Championship – 1. Mark Browne, 72; 2. Brian Shatto, 74; 3. (tie) Rich Laing and Stuart Hunt.
A Flight– 1. Bob Chatterton, 75; 2. K.C. Chung, 76; 3. Brett Ricky, 77; 4. Brad Burton, 78.
B – 1. Rick Richardson, 78; 2. Greg Loethen, 79; 3. (tie) Chris Sirridge, Steve Sirridge, 81.
C – Rick Egnatic, 81; 2. Moe Ryan, 83; 3. Jerry Verbeck, 84; 4. Bob McNellis, 85.
D – 1. Doug Winkelbauer, 81; 2. Dave Klein, 87; 3. Len Zimmerman, 88; 4. Mike Tobin, 91.
E – 1. Dan Ksiazek, 93; 2 (tie) Phil Hoffman, John Sutton and Carl Roach, 95.
Proximity prizes – Chris Sirridge, closest to pin on No. 4; Alex Sirridge, longest putt on No. 9; Michael Kessler, longest drive on No. 10.

Goldeyes hand T-Bones worst loss of season

The Kansas City T-Bones dropped the final game of a four-game series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes, 14-2, Sunday afternoon at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

The Goldeyes take the series, three games to one. That snaps Kansas City’s streak of winning or tying a series at 12, dating back to the team’s 1-10 start at the end of May.

The T-Bones attacked early, scoring two in the first inning. After Nate Tenbrink reached on an error and Jake Blackwood doubled, Adam Bailey lined a two-RBI single to the right field corner that scored Tenbrink and Blackwood.

Kansas City held off the Goldeyes until the top of the fifth when Winnipeg tied the game. Early in the inning, shortstop Ryan Cavan, one of the hottest hitters in the league, was ejected for arguing with the third base umpire. That resulted in a major shift in Kansas City’s defensive positions and sparked Winnipeg’s offense.

The Goldeyes went on to score during the last five innings of the game, including three runs in the sixth, three in the eighth and five in the ninth. Twice Winnipeg sent nine batters to the plate.

The Goldeyes took the lead for the first time in the game in the sixth, as Ryan Babineau hit an RBI single up the middle past newly arranged T-Bones second baseman Jake Blackwood, scoring Josh Mazzola and making the score 3-2.

Mazzola, who homered for the third consecutive game, had five hits in the game, including hits in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Winnipeg finished with 20 hits, including five from Adam Heisler, also.

Kansas City starter Bobby Doran (8-2) took his second loss of the season. He tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits, walked four and struck out three.

The T-Bones (32-25) will have two days before beginning a six-game road trip beginning Wednesday at Sioux Falls.

All of the action can be heard on 1660-AM in Kansas City or online at tbonesbaseball.com.

The T-Bones will return to CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Aug. 5. Tickets are available by calling the box office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.
– Story from T-Bones

T-Bones come up short in 12

For the second consecutive night, the Kansas City T-Bones put together a late rally, but for a second straight night they came up short, as the T-Bones lost in 12 innings to Winnipeg, 7-6, in front of 6,206 fans at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday night.

The T-Bones went into the bottom of the ninth tied 4-4 against the Goldeyes, but couldn’t pull together an extra run to win it. The two clubs battled until the 12th inning, when Winnipeg’s offense exploded, scoring three runs after four scoreless innings.

Kansas City fought back in the bottom of the inning, as Jacob Hayes roped an RBI single to deep right that was misplayed by the right fielder Chris Robinson. Adam Bailey and James Boddicker scored on the play, cutting Winnipeg’s lead to 7-6, while Hayes ended up at third with two outs. The next batter, Kyle Richards, flied out to center, ending the game.

On Friday night, Kansas City scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but lost to Winnipeg, 9-8.

Kansas City scored early in Saturday’s game as Ryan Cavan connected for a lead-off home run over the right field wall off Winnipeg starter Tony Smith in the first inning. It was Cavan’s fourth home run of the season.

The T-Bones scored again in the second, as Cavan smacked a double to deep left center and was brought home by Jake Blackwood’s RBI double that was hit just past the glove of Winnipeg centerfielder Reggie Abercrombie.

The Goldeyes fought back in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring one in the fourth and taking their first lead of the night in the fifth, as Josh Mazzola, who leads the American Association in home runs, crushed a two-run homer over the Winnipeg bullpen off T-Bones’ starter Blake Holovach, making the score 3-2.

The two teams were tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth, as Cavan, who went 3-for-6, reached first on a throwing error by the third baseman Mazzola that scored Hayes from second.

The score remained 4-4 until the offensive rally by Winnipeg in the top of the 12th, which the T-Bones couldn’t match, making the final score 7-6.

Holovach (5-2) took his second loss of the season after pitching 6 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, including one home run, walking two and striking out three.

The T-Bones (32-24) and Goldeyes (26-34) were scheduled to play the final game of a four-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:05.
– Story from T-Bones