Williams Daily Blog: 7/8/08
 Monday was an interesting evening in the world of high school softball and there were several upsets (as far as rankings are concerned) in KMAland. Before I jump into that, I need to start by giving a shout out to the outstanding grounds crew in Lenox.
I was there covering the Tiger/Bedford quarterfinal game on KMA-FM when it absolutely down poured for quite some time. The field did not look good but thanks to close to a dozen volunteers, it was back in playing condition in no time and the Tigers picked up the 13-2 victory. Lenox has now won four straight games and will get the winner of tonight's CAM/Villisca game.
Let's now get to some of those upsets (as far as rankings go) from last night. By the way, I'm not a big fan of using the term "upset" in high school sports because I'm a firm believer that anybody can beat anybody on any certain night.
According to rankings and rankings alone, the winner of the Fremont-Mills/AHST game caught a break with Glidden-Ralston losing to IKM 2-1. Glidden-Ralston was ranked 9th in the state heading into Monday night. Having said that, IKM is a good team that plays some solid competition all season long. Though rankings show this as an upset, it might not be. We'll find out in the next few days.
 I'll jump to class 3A now where Carroll eliminated the Harlan Cyclones 3-0. The rankings show that this wasn't a huge upset considering both teams were ranked in the state. Harlan sat at 5th while Carroll was at 12th. Nonetheless, anytime Harlan gets beat in the second round, it appears to be an upset.
RANDOM SOFTBALL NOTES FROM MONDAY
- I had a voicemail from Sidney coach Kent Larsen when I got back from Lenox last night. He said that AHST scored all five of their runs in the seventh inning in their 5-0 win over the Cowgirls. My point, that game was much closer than the score indicates.
- Lewis Central rolled over CB Abraham Lincoln by a score of 11-0 last night in class 4A. The Titans will now travel to Des Moines East on Wednesday to take on either Waukee or Des Moines East. Those two teams will play this evening.
An MLB Note For Tonight
 C.C. Sabathia gets his first start for his new team (the Brewers) tonight against the Colorado Rockies. Just a quick observation here. By making this trade, the Cleveland Indians have clearly stated that they just don't care about 2008 anymore. That's good news for the Royals. If there's a team in your division that doesn't care, there's no excuse to finish in the cellar.
Until tomorrow, stay safe KMAland.
Post Comments | View Comments
Today's Sports Feature - Mustang Wrestling Coach Todd McGinnis
In today's KMA sports feature, Chris Williams talks with Shenandoah head wrestling coach Todd McGinnis about the Mustangs upcoming camp with the University of Nebraska wrestling team. To hear the interview, click here!
 Fremont Mills Advances to Regional Semi
(Essex) Fremont Mills put it all together for a very impressive 8-2 win over East Mills in a Regional Quarterfinal game against East Mills. The game was delayed prior to the start for a half hour due to lightning, but upon resumption the Fremont-Mills Knights got the bats going. After a scoreless first, F-M scored three runs in the 2nd, thanks to a Jessica Donahue leadoff triple and some small ball to put the pressure on the East Mills defense. The Knights were in control from then on.
Freshman pitcher Mindy Lorimor struck out 12 in the win as she improved to 23 and 1 on the year. Her streak of not allowing an earned run all season remained in tact, as both of East Mills runs were unearned.
Lauren Alley and Emily Aistrope each added long home-runs in the win. The Knights have hit four home-runs in two post-season games.
F-M will meet AHST in the Regional Semi-final Wednesday night in Essex.
Lenox Wins 4th Straight
(Lenox) The Lenox softball team is now officially red hot. The Tigers picked up a 13-2 regional quarterfinal win over rival Bedford on Monday night and won their fourth game in a row, including a regional win over Stanton last week. Leah Shields was the winning pitcher for Lenox while another senior, Megan Brown knocked in an impressive five RBI's. The Tigers will now take on the winner of the CAM/Villisca game that was rescheduled to tonight.
 Chiefs TE Gonzalez saves choking man in restaurant
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony
Gonzalez has a fan for life in a California man.
The nine-time Pro Bowl selection performed the Heimlich maneuver
last week at a California restaurant where a fellow diner was
choking on food. The piece of meat popped out, and the diner -- Ken
Hunter -- says he's convinced Gonzalez saved his life.
Hunter is a lifelong fan of the San Diego Chargers but says
he'll be rooting for Gonzalez when the Chiefs visit in November.
Gonzalez lives in California during the offseason. He performed
the heroics at Capone's restaurant in Huntington Beach, where he
was dining with his wife and five-week-old daughter.
 Royals Rally Past Rays
Buck and Aviles go back-to-back in 10th. Read more HERE!
RAGBRAI route won't be changed
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ This year's RAGBRAI route hasn't been
changed, despite devastating flooding in the northern and eastern
parts of the state.
Riders will pass some flooded fields and perhaps some
higher-than-normal rivers and creeks. But for the most part, the
route for this year's annual bicycle ride across Iowa dodged the
worst of the flooding.
RAGBRAI will run from July 20-26. It will begin in Missouri
Valley and end in LeClaire, near the Mississippi River.
Shenandoah, Clarinda to Meet in District Semi
By: Brent Blum
Shenandoah and Clarinda both used the big inning to win their opening round games Saturday night at the Clarinda Municipal Stadium. In the first game, the Shenandoah Mustangs jump out early scoring four first inning runs on six hits to set the tone. The Mustanges then added a run in the the second and led 5-0. Red Oak rallied back with a five spot in the third inning to tie the game up at 5, but that was the last of their offense. Shenandoah's Joe Perkins shut the door from there retiring nine of the last ten batters. The Mustang offense added one run in the third on a Brad Swank RBI single and four more in the fifth to take control. The Mustangs won by a final of 10-5.
In game two, it was all Clarinda from the get go. The Cardinals scored four runs in the first, one in the 2nd, four and the thrid ,and one in the fourth, leading the Clarinda Acadmey 10-0 after four. A huge 5th inning capped off the night, as the Cardinals sent 17 batters to the plate and scored 12 runs to take a commanding 22-0 win in five innings.
Levi Davidschofer, Luke McClarnon and Bryant Hummel combined on a one hit shut-out, striking out 12 in five innings of work.
Shenandoah and Clarinda will meet Tuesday night at 7:00 in Clarinda. The Cardinals took three of four from the Mustangs in the regular season.
Treynor Cardinals Advance
By: Tim Wayne
The young Treynor Cardinals spotted Shenandoah a 2 run lead in the first, but came back and took a 3-2 lead in the 3rd. Shenandoah tied it in the 6th, but the Cardinals responded with 4 in the bottom of the 6th and advanced to the regional semi-final with a 7-3 win. Morgan Vorthman had the key blow with a 2 run single in the 7th. Cardinals will play tuesday night in Macedonia.
Soria, an All-Star
KANSAS CITY, MO (July 6, 2008) - Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria was named to the American League All-Star team. Outfielder Jose Guillen will be among five candidates vying for the 32nd and final A.L. roster spot through the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote.
Soria, 24, was named to his first All-Star game by A.L. manager Terry Francona. He has been one of the most dominant closers in baseball this season, converting 23-of-24 save opportunities.
He is 0-1 with a 1.22 ERA, allowing 18 hits and nine walks while striking out 41 in 37 innings. Dating to June 9, he has retired 28 of the last 29 batters faced entering today's game. He is just two saves shy of equaling Jeff Montgomery's Royals record of 25 saves before the All-Star break. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound native of Monclova, Mexico, has been scored upon in just two of his 35 outings this season. Soria is the first Royals reliever to be an All-Star since Mike MacDougal in 2003.
 Ritterbusch, Mahlstedt, Zadina and Derry top Adams County Speedway events
For the first time all season, two straight events have been completed at the Adams County Speedway for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Karl Ritterbusch, Dean Mahlstedt, Joe Zadina and Brad Derry took home the trophies after the night's action.
In the Whelen late model feature, Karl Ritterbusch jumped to the early lead with Chris Spieker carving his way through traffic to get to the runner-up spot before mid-race. Spieker would need a caution to reel in Ritterbusch, who had built a huge lead, but the caution came and Ritterbusch took off and was not to be caught as he scored his first win of the season ahead of Spieker, Jason O'Brien, Paul Glendenning and Leon Zeitner.
Jesse Dennis led lap one of the Budweiser modified feature before mechanical problems sent him into the pit giving the lead to Russell Stewart. Dean Mahlstedt launched off the bottom of the turns to jump quickly up to second place and he began to pressure Stewart for the lead. Mahlstedt soon found the front and left Stewart to try to fend off Dan Mueller and Jeremy Tibben. That trio raced hard for second and on the last lap, Tibben spun in turn two with Mueller getting second. Mahlstedt went on to the win with Mueller, Stewart, Ryan Peckham and Alison Quick rounding out the top five.
Ron Ballinger and Joe Zadina fought for the early lead in the Northland Oil pro street feature with Zadina eventually winning out in the battle. Ballinger then swapped second with Jeremy Swanson over the rest of the laps as the pair chased Zadina. Zadina was not to be caught as he scored his first win of the season ahead of Ballinger, Swanson, Jeff Orr and Matt Hudson.
Tom Myers and Pat Shiflett were the early front runners in the NAPA hobby stock feature before Shiflett retired with mechanical problems during a caution period. Matt Hudson then charged to the front and looked to be headed toward a win until a flat tire sent him to the pits. That was all Brad Derry needed to get the lead and move on to his second win of the season ahead of Chris Vannausdle, David Weeda, Jesse Sobbing and Jeremy Ribbey.
 July's "Where are They Now"-Randy Spetman
Listen to this month's "Where are They Now" with Council Bluffs native Randy Spetman. Spetman is 1970 graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School. He is currently the Athletic Director of one of the nation's most prominent programs at Florida State University. Listen by clicking HERE!
|
