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A fire was reported at a building near 12th and Central on Friday morning, according to the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department.
The building was previously burned, and there was a significant collapse, according to authorities. The fire was fought in the defensive mode.
Merriam Lane
In a separate, unrelated fire, officials reported a fire at a warehouse in the 1800 block of Merriam Lane on Thursday evening.
T-Bones utility player and Olathe, Kansas, native, Nate Tenbrink, is retiring.
Tenbrink, 30, spent the past two seasons with the T-Bones after playing the bulk of his career in the Seattle Mariners’ organization.
Tenbrink battled injuries and played in only eight games in 2016, but he was one of the T-Bones’ top players the previous season.
Tenbrink, who went to Olathe Northwest High School before attending Kansas State University, played in 96 of Kansas City’s 99 games in 2015. He batted a team-best .335 and was first in runs (67), hits (121), doubles (23), triples (5), walks (54) and on-base percentage (.418).
Although he played 68 games at third base, Tenbrink saw action at first base, shortstop and outfield, also. On Aug. 31, 2015, Tenbrink was selected as the American Association’s Player of the Week.
“Being able to extend my career in Kansas City is something I will always cherish,” said Tenbrink, who owns and operates a baseball facility in the Kansas City area. “Having family, friends, and all of the faithful T-Bones fans come out and support me day in and day out made this experience one of my favorites and most memorable in my nine-year career. I can’t thank the front office and staff enough for everything they did for my family and me during the past two seasons.
“I look forward to passing on my passion and love for the game from here on out.”
Seattle selected Tenbrink in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Kansas State. During his nine-year career, which included winter ball in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, Tenbrink played in 749 games. He was a career .281 hitter with 739 hits, including 144 doubles, 39 triples and 73 home runs, along with 363 RBIs and 452 runs scored.
“The thing I will miss the most will be walking in the clubhouse first and turning the music up to get ready to play the game I played since I could walk,” Tenbrink said. “I took pride in being a good teammate and hope that I’m remembered for that, first and foremost. The accolades and everything else are just icing on the cake.”
The T-Bones announced, also, that they have traded pitcher Jordan Cooper to Wichita in exchange for a player to be determined and future considerations.
After spending the early part of the 2016 season with the Cleveland Indians’ double-A and triple-A affiliates, Cooper went 3-6 with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts for the T-Bones. Cooper, who’s from Topeka, Kansas, struck out 55, walked 34 and gave up 125 hits in 112 innings for Kansas City. Cooper, whom Cleveland selected in the ninth round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur draft out of Wichita State, is 36-44 with a 4.25 ERA.
The T-Bones open the 2017 regular season at home on May 19 against Lincoln.
– Story from Matt Fulks, T-Bones
Stratton 10-for-10 as every starter has at least four hits; Highland here on Tuesday
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College rolled out the bats in record fashion Thursday, pounding out 57 hits in a softball sweep of State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri.
The Lady Blue Devils pounded out 26 hits in a 12-6 win in the opener and then added 31 more in a 19-5 nightcap win that needed only five innings.
The wins boosted the KCKCC record to 8-2 heading into Jayhawk Conference play next Tuesday when the Blue Devils are hosts to Highland, one of the odds-on favorites in the conference. First pitch will be at 1 p.m.
“We obviously hit the ball well and Megan Sumonja came on to pitch well in relief,” KCKCC coach Kacy Tillery said. “Now we need to continue to deliver against one of the very best teams in the conference Tuesday.” The two wins gave KCKCC a four-game sweep of State Fair including a come-from-behind 2-1 win this past Tuesday.
Kaylynn Stratton, a sophomore outfielder from Turner, led the way with a KCKCC record 10 hits in 10 plate appearances in the two games. Rapping out five hits in each game, her record assault included a double, two triples and six runs-batted-in.
Every Blue Devil starter had at least four hits in the two games and four blasted home runs in the nightcap. The biggest was a grand slam by Sam Sudac while Allison Kasick, Mikaela Hoffart and Candice Jennings hit back-to-back-to-back homers in a 9-run fifth inning in the second game..
Catcher Amy-Grace Wilson had eight hits in the doubleheader, four singles in each game, and Kasick was a perfect 5-for-5 in the nightcap, finishing with seven hits and six RBI. Blue Devils with six hits included Hannah Bishop with one double and four RBI; and Katherina Stringer and Candice Jennings with six singles each.
Hoffart drove in five runs with her home run and four singles; Sudac had six RBI including her grand slam and four singles; and LaTisha Thomas had four singles.
Pitching beneficiaries were Megan Sumonja and Shannon Greene, Sumonja came on in relief after starter Megan Mason had given up a grand slam home run in a 6-run third inning and blanked the Roadrunners the rest of the way, allowing just two hits and striking out seven for the win. Greene went the distance in the nightcap, allowing no runs in the first three innings before giving up a pair of home runs and 13 hits.