Wednesday Morning Sports – Kearney Baseball Drops Home Opener, Big Red Baseball Falls at Creighton, Japan Downs USA for WBC Title, UNK Football Begins Spring Practices, Loper Softball Drops Doubleheader, Local Sports Scores and Schedules

KEARNEY BASEBALL DROPS HOME OPENER; HEADS TO LINCOLN TODAY:

The Kearney Bearcat Baseball team dropped their home opener to Papillion-LaVista on Tuesday evening, falling to 0-2 on the year with the 11-5 loss to the Monarchs.

Kearney (0-2) had five runs on seven hits with five errors. Papillion-LaVista (2-0) scored eleven runs on eight hits with three errors.

The Bearcats head to Lincoln to face Lincoln Southeast at Sherman Field on Wednesday afternoon with KGFW’s pregame coverage set for 4:15 PM and first pitch at 4:30 PM.

MISTAKE COSTS BIG RED BASEBALL AT CREIGHTON:

Nebraska fell 6-5 at Creighton after surrendering three runs in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday night at Charles Schwab Field.

The Huskers (11-7-1) scored five runs on 10 hits and an error, while the Bluejays (8-7) scored six runs on seven hits and an error.

Will Walsh toed the rubber for a career-high six innings. After Walsh sat down the first 11 batters he faced to maintain the 4-3 lead through six, the NU offense tacked on a run on three hits in the seventh to double the lead to 5-3.

Walsh blanked the Bluejays in the seventh and eighth innings, allowing only one baserunner on an NU throwing error to preserve the 5-3 lead going into the ninth.

CU opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, and a sacrifice bunt placed a runner on second with one out. An RBI single up the middle trimmed the Husker lead to 5-4. A hit batter, passed ball and a sacrifice fly to right allowed the Jays to tie the game at five and placed the winning run on third with two outs. A wild pitch in the next at-bat brought the winning run home from third to give CU the 6-5 walk-off win.

Nebraska begins conference play this weekend, hosting Illinois for a three-game series at Hawks Field on Friday-Sunday, March 24-26.

USA FALLS TO JAPAN IN WBC:

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout had dreamed of this moment, along with millions of fans throughout Japan and the United States: the two biggest stars on the planet, longtime teammates, facing each other at 60 feet, 6 inches, the world title at stake.

Of course, the count went full. And then Ohtani got Trout to swing under a slider on the outside corner, sealing Japan’s 3-2 win Tuesday night and its first World Baseball Classic title since 2009.

Ohtani, the two-way star who has captivated fans across two continents, was voted MVP of the WBC after batting .435 with one homer, four doubles, eight RBIs and 10 walks while going 2-0 with a save and a 1.86 ERA on the mound, striking out 11 in 9 2/3 innings.

Japan joined the Dominican Republic in 2013 as the only unbeaten champions of baseball’s premier national team tournament.

UNK FOOTBALL BEGINS HELD ERA WITH SPRING PRACTICES TODAY:

The Nebraska Kearney football team begins workouts today, with a spring game set for Saturday, April 22.

NCAA Division II teams are allotted 15 practices over a 30-day period in the spring. The Lopers will mainly practice two or three times a week from 4-6 p.m. with one morning scrimmage set for Saturday, April 1. All practices and scrimmages are open to the public.

Head coach Ryan Held took over the reins of the Loper program in late December and brought in an entirely new staff of coaches. UNK then signed 25 players in February (seven transfers and 18 high school seniors) and will add some more newcomers prior to fall camp in August. Four of the transfers enrolled in January and having been taking part in winter conditioning.

UNK went 8-3 in 2022, tying for third place in the MIAA and spending several weeks in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) D2 Top 25 poll. Seven offensive, three special teams and two defensive starters return, as do nine All-MIAA selections (2021 and 2022 honorees).

The “super seniors” include quarterback TJ Davis, left guard Hunter Hays and punter Hunter Kraus, each a 2022 All-American.

LOPER SOFTBALL CHECKED BY AUGUSTANA IN DOUBLEHEADER:

Sophomore Hailey Houston threw a complete game one-hitter and senior catcher Gracey Brink scored with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to help lead Augustana to a double header sweep of Nebraska-Kearney, 7-0 and 2-1, Tuesday afternoon in Council Bluffs, Ia.

These games weren’t on either the Lopers (12-16) or Vikings (13-8) original schedules but added over the weekend to help make-up for the canceled Missouri Western Invite. Augie, coming off a 50-10 season, has won five in a row and improves to 6-3 vs. the MIAA this spring.

UNK’s Wednesday double header at Upper Iowa has been called off due to frosty field conditions. The Lopers are thus off until an MIAA double header Saturday at Fort Hays State. 

UNK WOMEN’S GOLF BATTLES WEATHER AT UCM; FINISH FIFTH:

The Nebraska Kearney women’s golf team shot a 36-hole total of 662 to finish in fifth place at the annual Midwest Intercollegiate Tuesday in Warrensburg, Mo.

The 14-team event also featured a Loper “B” team and was held at the par 70 Mules National Golf Club (5,667 yards). Conditions were less than ideal as tee times were pushed back on both days due to weather. The average round was an 87 on Monday and an 85.5 on Tuesday.

UNK had efforts of 340 and 322 to move up a spot on Tuesday. The host and 26th-ranked Jennies (621) won with No. 32 Augustana (627) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (628) close behind. Drury (653) was ahead just ahead of the Lopers.

UNK is now off until a trip to Joplin, Mo., on April 10-11. A “B” team will take part in a Concordia Invite in Lincoln on April 3-4.

HUSKER SOFTBALL FACE CYCLONES IN HOME OPENER:
The Nebraska softball team will face Iowa State on Wednesday, March 22 for its home opener at Bowlin Stadium. The Huskers (19-9) will face the Cyclones (11-13) at 4 p.m. 

Nebraska currently is in the top three in the Big Ten in numerous offensive categories including batting average (.326), runs (156), hits (245), doubles (54), home runs (31), slugging percentage (.549) and on base percentage (.433). 

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

TUESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: v. Papillion-LaVista @ Memorial Field
    • PLV 11-5 KHS
  • Girls Soccer: @ Fremont
    • KHS 3-0 FHS
  • Boys Soccer: v. Lincoln Northeast @ Kearney High School
    • KHS 4-2 LNE
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Soccer: v. Northwest
    • GINW 4-0 KCHS
  • Boys Soccer: v. Northwest
    • GINW 2-0 KCHS
• UNK:
  • Softball: v. Augustana @ Council Bluffs, IA
    • Augustana 7-0 UNK
  • Softball: v. Augustana @ Council Bluffs, IA
    • Augustana 2-1 UNK

WEDNESDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: @ Lincoln Southeast @ Den Hartog Field – 4:30 PM
    • KGFW Pregame at 4:15 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • Softball: @ Upper Iowa @ Fayette, IA – CANCELED
  • Softball: @ Upper Iowa @ Fayette, IA – CANCELED
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Softball: @ College of St. Mary – 3 PM
  • Softball: @ College of St. Mary – 5 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Kearney Baseball @ Lincoln Southeast (4:15 PM – 7:15 PM)
  • Sports Nightly (7:15 PM – 8 PM)

THURSDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Track & Field: @ Lincoln Northeast Relays – 10:30 AM
  • Girls Soccer: @ North Platte – 6 PM
  • Boys Soccer: @ North Platte – 7:30 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Tennis: @ Hastings – 4 PM
  • Track & Field: @ Minden Triangular – 4 PM
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • WNIT – Nebraska Women’s Basketball @ Kansas (6 PM – 9:15 PM)

FRIDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Baseball: @ LNK Invite @ Densmore Fields – 11 AM
  • Track & Field: v. KHS Indoor Invite @ UNK – 4 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Track & Field @ Aurora Invite – 1 PM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Emporia State Relays @ Emporia, KS – 10 AM
  • Women’s Tennis; @ Newman @ Wichita, KS – 1 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • N/a
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Illinois (5:30 PM – 10 PM)

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Boys Soccer: v. KHS Invite
    • KHS v. Burke – 10 AM @ KHS
    • KHS v. Lincoln High – 4 PM @ KHS
  • Baseball: @ LNK Invite @ Densmore Fields – 12 PM
  • Girls Soccer: v. KHS Invite
    • KHS v. Lutheran NE/Norfolk Catholic @ KHS – 2 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Tennis: @ Ralson Invite – 8:30 AM
  • Girls Soccer: @ Seward Tournament – 9:30 AM
  • Boys Soccer: @ Seward Tournament – 9:30 AM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Emporia State Relays @ Emporia, KS – 11:30 AM
  • Women’s Tennis: @ Emporia State – 11 AM
  • Softball: @ Fort Hays State – 12 PM
  • Softball: @ Fort Hays State – 2 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE: 
  • Men’s Tennis: @ Concordia – 11 AM
  • Women’s Tennis: @ Concordia – 11 AM
  • Softball: v. Doane – 1 PM
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 1 PM
  • Softball: v. Doane – 3 PM
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 4 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Illinois (1:30 PM – 6 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 12 PM
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 3 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Illinois (12:30 PM – 5 PM)