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Richar, T-Bones complete late comeback

Kansas City scored five runs in the eighth inning, including three off a bases-loaded triple by Danny Richar, and beat Sioux City 8-5 in front of 5,641 Wednesday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

Sioux City, protecting a 4-3 lead in the eighth, brought in former major leaguer Alex Burnett for only his second appearance in 2014. He gave up five runs on four hits, including a triple with the bases loaded by Richar, that blew things open for Kansas City, giving the T-Bones an 8-4 advantage.

Kansas City had the lead early. The second inning started harmlessly enough for Sioux City starter John Straka, retiring Richar and Nick Schwaner in order. But Darrell Hudson and Danny Masiello then drew back-to-back walks before Robby Kuzdale lined an RBI double off shortstop Nate Samson’s glove and into left field, scoring Hudson. Bryan Sabatella then legged out an RBI infield single that scored Masiello and extended the Kansas City lead to 2-0.

Sioux City responded in the fourth. Andres Perez opened the inning with a single and Rene Tosoni followed with a booming double that carried over Sabatella’s outstretched glove in right field and rolled to the wall. Samson then struck an RBI double of his own that scored Perez and Tosoni and evened the score at 2-2. Samson advanced to third, tagging on a fly ball and scoring on an RBI groundout by Peter Barrows that gave Sioux City the lead.

The Explorer lead was short-lived, however, as the T-Bones answered the following inning. Richar stroked a leadoff double into centerfield and came around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Vladimir Frias, tying the game at 3-3.

Perez finally broke the tie in the eighth for the Explorers with a solo home run off Kansas City reliever Jared Messer, knocking it off the “fair pole” in left field. The T-Bones then followed with a five-run frame, taking the lead and never looking back. Kris Regas (2-1), who entered the game in the eighth, picked up the win for Kansas City. Burnett (1-1) took the loss.

Kansas City climbs to 15-17 with the win, while Sioux City falls to 12-21, tied for the worst record in the league. The T-Bones and Explorers conclude their series Thursday night at 7:05. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=177822

– Story from Matt Fulks, T-Bones

KCK RBI kicks off season

Teams from KCK RBI participated in an opening day tournament recently. Special guests were Mayor Mark Holland and Assistant UG Administrator Bob Roddy. (Photo from KCK RBI)

The Kansas City, Kan., Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities kicked off its fifth season of play with a Parade of Champions May 16 at Eisenhower Middle School, followed by the 2014 Joe Hooker Memorial preseason tournament during the weekend.

In five seasons, KCK RBI has grown from 155 youth to 904 league participants with more than 40 teams filled with kids and participants who reside in Kansas City, Kan.

All league schedules for teams 12 and under have been posted at www.kckrbi.org (see document section). The season for youth ages 13-18 began the first week in June.

Special guests attending the KCK RBI opening day was Mayor Mark Holland, Assistant County Administrator Bob Roddy and KC Royals mascot, Sluggerrr.

“In five years we have grown from 150 kids to over 900 kids and raised our league grade point average from 1.9 to 2.6, we are excited about the future of the program both athletically and academically and we are thankful that Mayor Holland took the time out of his busy schedule to attend our opening day,” said Cle Ross, KCK RBI executive director. “Now we have kids that not only want to be Major League Citizens they also want to be future executives within the community we all reside in which will help create a positive environment for all parties involved.”

Joe Hooker Memorial Tournament results:

Coach Pitch Joe Hooker Memorial Tournament: Champs- Yankees. Runner ups- Rays, 3rd place Orioles. All games were played at Eisenhower.

9-10 Joe Hooker Memorial Tournament: Royals- Champs, Orioles 2nd place, 3rd place Dodger. All games were played at City Park.

11-12 Joe Hooker Memorial Tournament: Rangers- Champs, Royals- 2nd place, Tigers 3rd place. All games were played at City Park.

Sponsors of the event included Freightquote, Calley Tires, and The Meal Ticket . Tournament organizers thanked the Kansas City, Kan., Parks and Rec Department for their assistance in making the event possible.

Teams from KCK RBI participated in an opening day tournament recently. (Photo from KCK RBI)

Sporting KC begins Lamar Hunt Open Cup campaign Wednesday at Sporting Park

Sporting Kansas City begins the club’s 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign against Minnesota United FC on Wednesday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

The fourth round match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on SportingKC.com. The match will also be broadcast on Sports Radio 810 WHB. Tickets for the midweek matchup may be available on www.Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park box offices on game day.

Because of the heat advisory expected today, all ticket holders will be permitted to bring one bottle of water into Sporting Park. The bottle must be sealed and no larger than 20 ounces, and the bottle’s cap will be removed at the gate upon entrance.

Sporting Kansas City has won the Open Cup title on two previous occasions. In 2004, Kansas City defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0 at Arrowhead Stadium and in 2012 Sporting KC defeated the Seattle Sounders in a penalty kick shootout at Sporting Park.

In 2004, Igor Simutenkov’s second-half stoppage-time goal gave Kansas City its first Open Cup title. Eight years later, Sporting Kansas City hoisted the trophy for a second time after a series of late game heroics. Sporting KC opened the scoring in the 86th minute of regulation, but Seattle responded two minutes later with an equalizer forcing the match into extra time. After two scoreless 15-minute extra-time periods Sporting KC defeated Seattle 3-2 on penalty kicks with Paulo Nagamura’s conversion standing as the game-winner.

In 2013, Sporting KC lost to USL PRO affiliate Orlando City 1-0 in the fourth round of the tournament with Long Tan scoring the game’s lone goal in the second minute.

Minnesota United enters the fourth round of the tournament after securing a 1-0 result at Des Moines Menace on May 28. With the third round victory, Minnesota is one of six NASL teams remaining in this year’s edition of the Open Cup. The Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks and the New York Cosmos have each defeated an MLS opponent in Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA and the New York Red Bulls, respectively, to secure a spot in the Round of 16.

Minnesota United won the 2014 North American Soccer League spring season with a 6-1-2 record, edging out the New York Cosmos by a single point. Minnesota head coach Manny Lagos joined MLS for the League’s inaugural season in 1996 and was teammates with Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes at the New York-New Jersey MetroStars. 23-year-old forward Christian Ramirez led the NASL in goals (5) and assists (4) this spring and scored the game-winner in Minnesota’s third round victory over the Menace.

Minnesota’s roster also boasts several veteran players that have played professionally in Europe including: Richard Garcia (England), Juliano Vicentini (Italy) and Minnesota United’s all-time leading goal scorer Simone Bracalello (Italy).

Should Sporting KC earn a victory against Minnesota on Wednesday, the club will advance to the Round of 16 to host the winner of the Portland Timbers and the Orlando City U-23s. That match will be at Sporting Park on Tuesday, June 24, and tickets will go on sale to the public on Thursday, June 19, at 10 a.m.

The 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the 101st edition of the tournament, began on May 7 featuring 68 teams. The oldest annual tournament in American sports history, the U.S. Open Cup has origins in 1914 and is named after Lamar Hunt, the original founder of Sporting Kansas City.

– Story from Sporting KC