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Baseball notebook: Kansas and Arkansas to play in winner’s bracket

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Baseball notebook: Kansas and Arkansas to play in winner’s bracket


Last year Kansas and Arkansas were in the Fayetteville Regional but never got a chance to play. That will change tonight at 5 p.m. when the top two seeds face off in the winner’s bracket of the Lawrence Regional.

Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn watched the Jayhawks last year and believes they are a better team than last year.

“They are a very good team,” Van Horn said. “They were in our regional last year. We didn’t face them, but you could see from the stands or our offices when we watched them play that they’re physical.

He continued:

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“They added to it, got a couple key guys back, and they can hit the ball over your head with the best of them. Really good here (at home). They had one rough weekend here against West Virginia. Other than that, they’ve been great.”

Kansas will face a talented pitcher in Dietz

The Jayhawks are set to face one of the best pitchers they have seen this season. Hunter Dietz is expected to start for the Razorbacks and should be healthy.

In the SEC tournament against Texas, he took a line drive off his leg that sidelined him. He threw a bullpen earlier in the week and looked good according to Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn.

“That’s the plan, is to pitch him,” Van Horn said. “Unless something crazy goes on with his leg or whatever. But yeah, he seems to be feeling good. He seems to be moving around good and no complaints. I feel like he’s ready to go, so that’s who we’ll go with.”

[Jayhawks open with a win over Northeastern]

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Dietz is projected to go in the first round and some draft analysts say he might be the best left-handed pitcher in the country. The 6-foot-6 lefty’s fastball is consistently in the 93-96 mph range and he mixes in a cutter and slider.

This year he has eye-opening numbers with 121 strikeouts and only 29 walks.

Containing the running game from Northeastern

A lot of the talk going into the first round against Northeastern was their speed on the bases. They led the nation in stolen bases by a wide margin but did not get one against Kansas.

“It was the emphasis going in,” said head coach Dan Fitzgerald. “Now, the Big 12 prepares us for that. You think of the teams that we play against, you’ve heard me refer to the Big 12 as the take-what-they-give-you league.”

Fitzgerald gave credit to his coaching staff working with the pitchers on their delivery and holding runners on.

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“It took a lot of game planning,” Fitzgerald said. “I thought that Coach Scott and Coach Holland did a tremendous job today. I thought the scout was amazing, but that was a big deal to hold them down.”

Kansas will have a rested bullpen

One good thing going into the Arkansas game is a rested bullpen. Dominic Voegele threw seven innings on 102 pitches and was followed by Boede Rahe who threw 32 over two innings of work.

Fitzgerald said after the game it was a key factor to get through game one with two pitchers.

“It was huge, and they were both fantastic,” he said. “Boede has told me daily the entire season that he’s good to go, so he’ll be able to bounce back. Dom was so efficient, and again, it’s so hard to be efficient against a lineup like that.”

Rahe leads the team in saves and he has appeared in back-to-back games this season. If he is needed in a close game tonight don’t be surprised to see him available for a limited pitch count.

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Arkansas

Joshua Harris tackles “American Ninja Warrior” and Arkansas health problems

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Joshua Harris tackles “American Ninja Warrior” and Arkansas health problems


Most people can barely conquer the monkey bars at a playground, but Joshua Harris is out here tackling American Ninja Warrior obstacles and using that spotlight to help Arkansans eat healthier.

Harris recently competed on American Ninja Warrior for the second time, calling it “an incredible experience” and saying it’s fun to be part of a national show while taking on the obstacles.

Away from the course, Harris runs a nonprofit called Well Fed, which operates across Arkansas and provides healthy food for people struggling with diet-related illnesses. He said the goal is to improve health outcomes by helping people access healthier options.

“Well, Arkansas has a lot of bad statistics when it comes to health, and we need to find ways to help change those health outcomes,” Harris said. He added that healthy food, including fruits and vegetables, can help people dealing with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and that the mission fits with his own lifestyle of training, exercise and staying healthy.

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Harris said his Ninja Warrior training and his nonprofit work connect in more ways than one. He described the Ninja Warrior community as full of like-minded people, and said the show embraced the story behind his work on food access in Arkansas.

He also said Well Fed runs food-as-medicine programs across Arkansas, working with health care to bring fruits and vegetables to people who need them. Harris said the aim is to make a measurable difference, including the possibility of seeing “type two diabetes reversed.”

As for what it’s like competing on TV, Harris said many viewers don’t realize the show is filmed overnight.

“When I’m doing Ninja Warrior on the TV show, a lot of people don’t realize that’s filmed at night, so it’s like three in the morning,” Harris said. He said he focuses on staying awake and locked in, with plenty of distractions from crowds and bright lights, but called the crew and community “amazing.”

Harris said his episode is coming up soon and he hopes people will watch and cheer him on.

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And he’s not slowing down after that. Harris said he plans to keep training and will head to Ireland in August for the OCR (obstacle course racing) world championship, where he’ll represent Team USA.



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Tulsa downs Northwest Arkansas | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Tulsa downs Northwest Arkansas | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


SPRINGDALE — Tulsa scored two runs in the first INNING and four more in the second to grab an early lead en route to a 9-1 win over Northwest Arkansas on Friday night in front of 4,076 fans at Arvest Ballpark.

The Drillers (44-23) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on Chris Newell’s two-out, RBI-single and a bases-loaded walk by Kole Myers. Tulsa snapped a two-game skid.

Naturals manager Brooks Conrad just gave credit to the Drillers for a strong effort.

“You’ve got to tip your cap to the opposing pitching staff,” Conrad said. “They threw great. We had one run in the first, then they blanked us the rest of the game. It wasn’t our lack of effort or lack of preparation. It was just one of those games where we couldn’t get anything going offensively.

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“I think the bright spot was our defense. (Carson) Roccaforte continues to do well. It’s a point now that I see him night in and night out, and it’s to the point I see him every night and it’s just another good night.”

Tulsa, which took advantage of 11 walks by Naturals pitching to go with 12 hits, has already wrapped up the Texas League North Division first-half title. The half ends on Sunday.

Myers added a two-run single in the second, while Zyhir Hope chipped in a run-scoring single and Jake Gelof drew a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 6-1.

Myers drove in three runs, while center fielder Mike Sirotka finished with three hits, scored a run and drove in one.

Naturals starter Hunter Owens (1-3) allowed six runs on seven hits over two innings of work to absorb the loss. He struck out one and walked four.

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Northwest Arkansas (29-36) got a run in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-out RBI single by shortstop Daniel Vazquez. But the Naturals had a runner thrown out at the plate when Rudy Martin Jr. tried to score from first on Colton Becker’s double.

Despite the back-to-back losses, the Drillers improved to 12-4 in June.

Drillers manager Eric Wedge declined to comment following the game.

Prior to joining the Drillers last year, he had previously spent ten seasons managing at the major league level, including seven years with the Cleveland Indians and three with the Seattle Mariners. His most successful season came in 2007, when he was named the American League Manager of the Year after finishing just one game shy of leading Cleveland to the World Series.

The same two teams continue the series on Saturday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 2:05.

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Naturals 6, Drillers 5 (10 innings)

Martin singled up the middle to drive in the winning run and help Northwest Arkansas outlast Tulsa 6-5 in 10 innings in a game that started an hour late because of a rain delay on Thursday night.

Spencer Nivens started the 10th inning at second base, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Vazquez and scored on Martin’s hit.

Northwest Arkansas rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to claim the win. The Drillers scored four times in the top of the second, but the Naturals got three back in the fourth and tied the game on Colton Becker’s RBI triple.

Tulsa bounced right back with a run in the top of the seventh, but again Northwest Arkansas bounced back to tie the game in the eighth. Martin reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch.

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Martin and Vazquez had two hits each. They drove in a run each. Martin scored twice.

Augusto Mendieta (2-2) picked up the win in relief. He tossed two hitless innings of relief, struck out five and walked one.



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Authorities report 2 Tulsa residents found dead in Arkansas from apparent murder-suicide

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Authorities report 2 Tulsa residents found dead in Arkansas from apparent murder-suicide


BENTON COUNTY, Ark. — The Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported two Tulsa residents were found dead in a car parked off an Arkansas highway in what authorities believe is an apparent murder-suicide.

On Wednesday, deputies with the sheriff’s office stated they received a report about a car parked of Old Highway 68 near Siloam Springs with what appeared to be two deceased people inside.

Once authorities reached the scene, they were able to confirm both individuals had passed away.

Following an investigation, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said they confirmed the individuals in the car were 26-year-old Kena Donshaie Knapper and 5-year-old Tyler Zane Winston from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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According to the Arkansas State Medical Examiner, Winston’s death was ruled as a homicide while Knapper’s death was ruled a suicide.

At this time, the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory is still completing the final written report in this case.

FOX23 will provide more information in this case as it becomes available.



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