(Kansas City) -- Jason Vargas tossed 7 1/3 solid innings and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim held off the Kansas City Royals, 5-2, in the second contest of a four-game series. Vargas (4-3) gave up two runs on five hits while walking four for the Angels, who have won six in a row for the first time since Sept. 3-9, 2012. Chris Iannetta hit a solo homer for Los Angeles, which got an RBI apiece from Mark Trumbo, Howie Kendrick and Alberto Callaspo. Kansas City starter Luis Mendoza allowed one run on seven hits while walking four over five innings. Luke Hochevar (0-1) gave up two runs on two hits over one-plus frame to take the loss. Miguel Tejada hit a solo homer for the Royals, who have dropped three straight. Chris Getz had an RBI.
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Lang pitches FM to win (Stanton) -- The Fremont-Mills baseball team won their Corner Conference opener on Friday night with a 10-1 triumph over Stanton. Mackenzy Lang was the star for FM, as he allowed just two hits and struck out 16 in a complete game effort. Fremont-Mills is now 2-1 and is off until Tuesday when they will host Clarinda Academy. St. Albert beats Lewis Central (Council Bluffs) -- St. Albert picked up a nice non-conference win against future Hawkeye 10 Conference opponent, Lewis Central, on Friday night. The Falcons scored three in the first and three in the seventh on their way to a 7-1 win over the crosstown rival Titans. Alex Rindone had three hits while Nick Gantt drove in three runs for the Falcons. Jon Meyerring was the winning pitcher in throwing five innings and striking out five Titans.
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Huskers survive and advance (Minneapolis) -- The Nebraska baseball team (27-29) extended its season by at least one day on Friday afternoon with a 7-4 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (32-22) in an elimination game at the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers now play tomorrow at 3:35 p.m. and will face the loser of tonight’s game between Ohio State and Indiana. Christian DeLeon is schedule to get the ball on the mound for the Huskers. With a win in the afternoon game, the Huskers would face the winner of tonight’s game tomorrow at 7 p.m. Sophomore Pat Kelly led the Husker attack on Friday at Target Field with a 2-for-3 day, including his 12th double of the year and the first home run by any player at the tournament. The Red Wing, Minn., native’s three-run blast in the fourth capped a six-run inning for the Husker. The homer was measured at 383 feet at the pitcher-friendly park.
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(KMAland) -- Here's a look at the Iowa State Golf results following one day of play in the three classes. CLASS 1A (Panora) -- Eric Rock of Riverside and Patrick Ahrens of Guthrie Cetner lead KMAland golfers at the Class 1A State Golf Tournament in Panora at the Lake Panorama National Resort. Rock and Ahrens both shot 86s on the opening day and are four shots off the lead of Jordan Kubitz of Dunkerton. Kasey Brosamle of Boyer Valley is also in the top 20 and stands at 18th with his round of 91. In the team race, Boyer Valley is sixth after shooting a 381 while Riverside is seventh with a 383. For full results from the Class 1A meet click here. CLASS 2A (Livermore) -- OA-BCIG stands in seventh place at the Class 2A State Tournament after the first day in Livermore at the Spring Valley Golf Course.
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(Waterloo) -- The Class 1A State tennis tournament got started on Friday at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center in Waterloo on Friday. Red Oak's Pete Walker is the number four seed in the singles tournament and is into the semifinals. Walker defeated Ryan Hageman of Decorah 6-0, 6-0 in the first round before taking down Brandon Stoll of Spirit Lake 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Walker moves into Saturday's semifinals and a date with top-seed and three-time runner-up Aaron Chalstrom of Fort Dodge St. Edmond. Walker's teammate, Jordan Nelson, fell in the first round, but bounced back to win his first round consolation match. Nelson lost to third-seeded Chad Moklestad of Boone 6-1, 6-1, before defeating Brett Walker of Cherokee Washington 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 in the first round of consolation and then saw his weekend end with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Brandon Schneider of Dubuque Wahlert.
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(Marion, Ind.) -- Eight former KMAland athletes are currently competing at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Meet in Marion, Indiana. Karen Hutson (Logan-Magnolia) started off the meet competing in the long jump for Northwestern College. Hutson leaped 19 feet, 5.25 inches to capture fourth place in the event. Hutson also qualified for the finals in the 400 meter hurdles with the fourth-fastest time of 1:03.74. Hutson began Friday by running in the preliminaries of the 100 meter hurdles. Hutson's time of 14.24 seconds, unofficially qualifying her for the finals on Saturday with the seventh-fastest time. Lacey Wright (Abraham Lincoln) ran on the Doane College 4x800 meter relay team, which posted a time of 9:22.34 -- qualifying them 4th in the finals later on Friday. Wright also ran on the 4x400 meter relay team on Friday, which posted a 3:47.40.
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(Lincoln) -- The 3rd annual Heroes Game between Nebraska and Iowa will again begin at 11:00 and be televised by ABC on the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 29th this year. It's the third year in a row Nebraska and Iowa will play on Black Friday. Nebraska has won the last two meetings, 13-7 last year in Iowa City and 20-7 in Lincoln in 2011. The Big Ten Conference released start times and television assignments for a few conference games over the past few days. Both Nebraska and Iowa's schedule with known time and television assignments are below.
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(Tabor) -- The Fremont-Mills softball team moved to 2-1 with a 12-4 victory over Orient-Macksburg at home on Thursday afternoon. Madison Powers got the win on the mound, going five innings and giving up one earned run on four hits while striking out eight. She also went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, a triple, two RBI, two stolen bases and three runs scored. Kendall Fichter was also a big contributor, as she finished the night with four hits, scored two runs and drove in one run. The Knights had 20 hits and seven stolen bases in the game. Hogue delivers in first start (Shenandoah) -- Jacee Hogue delivered a 2-for-4, three RBI performance in her first career varsity start on Thursday night in Shenandoah's 11-4 softball win over Essex. Hogue also stole a base and scored a run. Beth Wilson also had a good night, picking up two hits in two at bats in the victory.
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(KMAland) -- Hey there, KMAland - it’s nice to see you on a Friday. I’ve got nothing witty or zany to say so what do you say we get right to the Random Thoughts portion of your Friday? -Sometimes in life you just don’t put things together. Stuff can be happening right in front of your eyes, but you are just ignorant to it. Or maybe just at least unaware. Consider me guilty when it comes to what has gone down in the Oakland, Carson and Macedonia areas. Now, to be clear, I was well aware of each of the specific instances I’m about to mention. But, I never fully put together just how special of a year the Bulldogs are having. First, in the fall their cross country team finished in third place of the Class 1A State Cross Country Meet. The Bulldogs were actually a pretty young team too, as four of the five runners were underclassmen.
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(Clarinda) -- The Clarinda A's open the 2013 baseball season on Sunday. The players who will make up the team that starts the season have already started showing up as the A's get ready for their season opener, a home doubleheader against MINK League opponent Ozark on Sunday, in games that will not count in the standings. Those two are the first of six non-league games in May before MINK play opens up on June 1st in Omaha against the Diamond Spirit. KMA Sports talked with A's manager Ryan Eberly for Friday's Sports Feature and he says they have 2/3 of the outfield coming back from last season, which means more than 60 stolen bases back from last year. Eberly also picked up a first baseman recently that played for him three years ago and was recently released from his professional contract, but still wanted to play.
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Huskers rally, lose in 9th (Minneapolis) -- Bryan Peters tied Thursday afternoon’s game, 2-2, with a two-out single in the top of the ninth, but a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth resulted in a 3-2 walk-off win for Ohio State Buckeyes in the winner’s bracket of the Big Ten Tournament. With the loss, the Husker fall into the loser’s bracket and will play tomorrow at 3:35 p.m. Nebraska will play the winner of the 12:05 p.m. game tomorrow, which will be between Illinois and Minnesota game tonight at Target Field. Trailing 2-1 heading into the top of the ninth, the Huskers got the tying run on base with one out following a four-pitch walk to Austin Darby. Ty Kildow came in to pinch run and following a fly out from Tanner Lubach, Kildow stole second base to get himself into scoring position. Peters got ahead in the count 2-0, but OSU closer Trace Dempsey evened the count at 2-2.
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(Kansas City) -- Joe Blanton finally cracked the win column as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim held on for a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a four-game series. Blanton (1-7) avoided matching Rickey Clark's dubious mark for the worst start to a season by an Angels pitcher. The righthander allowed just two runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings and picked up his first win of the season with the help of four home runs by his teammates. Mark Trumbo belted a two-run shot while Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Chris Iannetta all added solo blasts for the Angeles, who eked out their first straight victory after Ernesto Frieri gave up two runs in the ninth. Ervin Santana (3-4) was denied win No. 100 by the team that traded him away during the offseason.
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(Des Moines) -- WHO-TV in Des Moines is reporting that long-time Iowa Hawkeye football play-by-play announcer Jim Zabel has passed away at the age of 91. Zabel, dubbed the "Voice of Iowa," spent 65 years on WHO radio and TV and called Hawkeye football games for 49 of those years. Zabel was named to the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
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(Kansas City) -- The Kansas City Royals made a bullpen move on Thursday afternoon, sending Kelvin Herrera to Class AAA Omaha. Louis Coleman takes Herrera's spot on the active roster and will be available for Thursday night's game at home against the Los Angeles Angels. Herrera is 2-4 with a 4.87 ERA in 20 1/3 innings with the Royals this season. In 19 appearances he has given up 19 hits, eight of them home runs, and 11 earned runs while walking eight and striking out 24. Coleman is 2-1 with a 1.03 ERA and three saves in 26 1/3 innings with the Storm Chasers this season. In 14 appearances he has given up 20 hits and three earned runs while walking nine and striking out 30.
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(Iowa City) -- Iowa head baseball coach Jack Dahm's contract will not be renewed. That's the announcement from Iowa director of athletics Gary Barta on Thursday afternoon. Dahm just completed his 10th season as the head of the Hawkeye baseball program. Dahm was 235-302 overall and 116-161 in the Big Ten during that time span. Barta says that the search for a new head coach will begin immediately and will be a national search.
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(Neola) -- The Tri-Center baseball team picked up their second impressive win in as many nights Wednesday with an 8-3 triumph over Logan-Magnolia. Brandon Huebner was the winning pitcher for the Trojans, throwing six innings and striking out five. He was also the star at the plate finishing 2-for-3 with a RBI. Tri-Center closes the week with two more home contests against Lewis Central and Missouri Valley on Thursday and Friday. Cavin leads CAM to road win (Griswold) -- The CAM Cougars got a complete game pitching effort from Jarrad Cavin and knocked off Griswold 8-1 in non-conference action Wednesday night. The Cougars are off the rest of the week and will return home for a Rolling Hills Conference date with Iowa Christian Academy on Tuesday.
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(Des Moines) -- The boys state golf and tennis tournaments begin on Friday. The Class 1A state tennis tournament is Friday and Saturday at the Byrnes Park Tennis Complex in Waterloo. The brackets will be put together prior to the tournament on Friday. Area qualifiers are listed below: Singles Pete Walker, Red Oak Jordan Nelson, Red Oak Doubles Tyler Fischer/Noah Welter, Atlantic Jake Arneson/Adam Wieser, Atlantic Colby Taylor/Bryce McIlravy, Creston/OM The Class 2A state tennis tournament is Friday and Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Center in Cedar Rapids. Area qualifiers are listed below. Singles Caleb Shudak, Lewis Central There are no area doubles qualifiers. The Class 1A state golf tournament is Friday and Saturday at the Lake Panorama National Resort in Panora. Area qualifers are listed below.
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(KMAland) -- Blow it up. It’s time for the Kansas City Royals to be blown up. Nobody should be safe. The fancy new hitting coaches that couldn’t coach themselves out of a wet paper bag. The manager that thinks it’s prudent to put a guy with a .250 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot and also has the NERVE to suggest Jeff Francoeur is a better defender than David Lough. The general manager that mortgaged the future of the franchise by trading two top 100 prospects to “go for it” and then has the GALL to suggest Royals fans aren’t patient. The color commentator and play-by-play man that serve as nothing more than a mouthpiece of the GM. The first baseman. The third baseman. The right fielder. The second baseman. The setup man. It’s been SEVEN years, and it’s time for some people to face some ramifications. What were you doing seven years ago? In 2006, I was just finishing up college.
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(Red Oak) -- The Red Oak tennis teams will be putting some miles in over the next two weeks. First, Pete Walker and Jordan Nelson will head to Waterloo to represent Red Oak in the Class 1A Singles Tournament this Friday and Saturday. Then, they will travel to Des Moines Tuesday for the Class 1A State Team Tournament where they will meet top-seeded Fort Dodge, St. Edmond. The following week belongs to the girls with Kate Walker playing in singles and Grace Blomstedt and Zoey Baker competing in doubles in Ankeny Thursday and Friday. They will stay in Ankeny Saturday and play in their eighth consecutive Final Four against a team yet to be determined. Coach Dan Martinez talked with KMA Sports on Thursday's Sports Feature in anticipation of the boy's tournament and says Walker will be looking to do some big things this weekend. "Pete has high expectations, as well he should," Martinez said.
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(KMAland) -- Conference baseball tournaments continue on Wednesday. Regional scores can be found below. Huskers crush Wolverines (Minneapolis) -- After dropping a three-game series to the Michigan Wolverines (29-26) last week at Hawks Field, the Nebraska baseball team (26-28) responded with a 11-2 win on Wednesday afternoon over the Wolverines at Target Field in Nebraska’s first game of the 2013 Big Ten Tournament. Sophomore Kyle Kubat dealt 7.0 innings on one-hit ball, while Blake Headley, Pat Kelly and Austin Darby each produced multi-hit days at the plate. Nebraska’s pitching staff limited the Wolverines to five hits on the day, including just a pair of hits over the first eight innings. The Husker bats produced 12 hits on the afternoon, marking the sixth straight game the Huskers have pounded out double-digit hits.
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(San Diego) -- Saint Louis left-hander Tyler Lyons had a lead before he even threw a single pitch in his MLB debut. Behind an early outburst and solid work from the rookie hurler, the Cardinals topped the San Diego Padres, 5-3, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Petco Park. Lyons (1-0) held the Padres to just one run and four hits over seven innings, with the lone blemish being a Jedd Gyorko solo shot. The 25-year-old Lyons made the start in place of Jaime Garcia, who is reportedly set to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Yadier Molina had four hits and knocked in a run for St. Louis, which has won four its last six games. It was another brief outing for San Diego's Burch Smith (0-1), who for the second time in three career starting assignments failed to make it through the second inning. He was optioned to Triple-A Tucson following the game.
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(Council Bluffs) -- The Riverside Bulldogs soccer team escaped an instant classic double overtime Class 1A Substate Semifinal game against Saint Albert with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Malachi Dillon scored on a 35-yard free kick in the second overtime period to lift the Bulldogs past the Falcons and put them on the verge of their first state soccer tournament. Riverside will play in a substate final on Saturday in Oakland against Tri-Center with a trip to the Class 1A State Tournament on the line. The loss for the Falcons ended a four-year streak of St. Albert qualifying for state.
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(Houston) -- JD Martinez hit a two-run homer and Jordan Lyles pitched six frames of one-run ball, as the Houston Astros defeated the Kansas City Royals, 3-1, to take the rubber match of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. Lyles (2-1) gave up six hits and a walk in his outing, while Jose Veras pitched a flawless ninth to notch his eighth save. Jason Castro was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Houston, which has won its first series against Kansas City since taking two of three June 17-19, 2005. George Kottaras drove in the lone run for the Royals, who had lost four straight one-run games before defeating Houston on Tuesday. Kansas City starter James Shields (2-5) allowed two runs and seven hits while striking out seven in seven innings.
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(Nebraska) -- A handful of golfers from KMAland participated in the 2013 NSAA Boys Golf Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Class C at the Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Elmwood-Murdock finished in 15th place with a two-day total of 735. After a solid 272 on Tuesday, the Knights struggled and finished with a 363 Wednesday. Raymond Behling led the way in tying for 28th place. Behling shot an 85 on Tuesday and an 83 on Wednesday for a 168 total. In Class B at the Jackrabbit Run Golf Course in Grand Island, Auburn's Trayven Blex finished in a tie for 65th after a two-round total of 182. Blex shot a 90 on Tuesday and finished with a 92 on Wednesday.
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(Des Moines) -- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released its first set of softball rankings on Wednesday afternoon. Last season's state champion in Class 2A, Treynor, opens the season on top in Class 2A. KMAland has few other representatives in the rankings. Area teams are highlighted below. The top 15 in Classes 1A through 4A and top 10 in 5A are ranked and are shown below with last year's record. Class 1A 1. Don Bosco 30-7 2. Lisbon 28-12 3. Newell-Fonda 35-9 4. Martensdale-St. Marys 41-2 5. Akron-Westfiled 35-2 6. Wayne 31-6 7. Marquette Catholic 22-17 8. Twin Cedars 23-15 9. Clarksville 19-10 10. Charter Oak-Ute 28-14 11. Remsen St. Mary's 26-9 12. Janesville 21-11 13. Sigourney 21-7 14. Exira/EHK 20-6 15. New London 23-17 Class 2A 1. Treynor 28-5 2. Durant 33-6 3. North Union 30-5 4. Sumner-Fredericksburg 33-12 5.
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