KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nate Karns pitched six innings of one-hit ball, striking out four in his final frame, and the Kansas City Royals cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Karns (1-2) wound up striking out seven with only one walk in his best performance of the season, one that helped Kansas City assure itself at least a split of the four-game series with the finale Thursday afternoon.

Mike Pelfrey (0-2) kept the White Sox in it until the sixth, when he gave up a single, double and triple in succession. Eric Hosmer followed with a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead, a shot to center that came within about 5 feet of giving the Royals a team natural cycle.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jose Quintana gave up four singles over eight innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Tuesday night.

Quintana (2-4) walked two, struck out seven and allowed only one runner to reach second base.

The Royals lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Starter Danny Duffy (2-2) allowed six runs, 10 hits and two walks over five innings.

Yolmer Sanchez had three hits and Avisail Garcia and Geovany Soto each had two to lead Chicago’s offense.

Garcia was 2 for 2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. He leads the American League with a .382 batting average, and his on-base percentage hiked to .433. He scored a run in the second and drove in Sanchez with a third-inning single.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Add one more major award for Hutchinson Community College sophomore forward Shakur Juiston.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named Juiston its 2017 Junior College National Player of the Year. The NABC recognizes only one national player of the year from all three NJCAA Divisions as well as other junior college associations around the country not affiliated with the NJCAA.

Juiston a 6-foot-7 forward from Newark, New Jersey, is the second Blue Dragon ever to be named the NABC National Player of the Year. Juiston joins Kadeem Allen, who won the award in 2014.

Juiston is also a first-team NABC All-American. The Blue Dragons have had NABC All-Americans in two-straight seasons – Bashir Ahmed in 2016 – three of the last four seasons and four in the last eight seasons – Allen in 2014 and Darius Johnson-Odom in 2009.

Previously, Juiston has been named the NJCAA Division I National Player of the Year, the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year and Region VI Player of the Year.

Juiston was also named the NJCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Blue Dragons to their third national championship on March 25 after an 84-58 national championship game victory over Eastern Florida State at the Sports Arena. He had four double-doubles in the NJCAA Tournament. He had tournament highs of 88 points, 56 rebounds and averaged 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game over four games.

For the 2016-17 season, Juiston averaged a double-double for the season at 17.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game in his sophomore season. Juiston shot 60.9 percent from the field and averaged 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game.

Juiston had 26 double-doubles and one triple-double.

Juiston broke the Blue Dragons’ single-game rebound record of 20 against Dodge City and then went on to break the program’s career rebounding record of 741. Juiston ranked sixth in the NJCAA in total rebounds and was first in the nation in defensive rebounding average.

Juiston’s 446 total rebounds this past season were third most in team history. His 12.1 boards per game average tied Ben Davis (1994) for sixth on the season list. His 67 blocks were seventh most in team season history.

Juiston ranked fourth in Region VI in scoring, third in field-goal percentage, led the league in rebounding and tied for the conference lead in blocked shots.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eric Hosmer and Jorge Bonifacio hit two-run homers, and the Kansas City Royals snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

Bonifacio homered with two outs in the fourth after Alex Gordon doubled. It was his second home run in eight games since being promoted April 21 from Triple-A Omaha.

Hosmer’s two-out homer in the seventh inning with Christian Colon aboard finished the night for White Sox rookie starter Dylan Covey (0-2).

Salvador Perez’s single in the fifth struck the third base bag and scored Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas with two outs.

Left-hander Jason Vargas (4-1) allowed one run on five hits and three walks over six innings to pick up the win. Vargas has a 1.42 ERA in five starts.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Community College football team saw six former players head for the National Football League this past weekend.

A program record three players were selected as draft picks in this weekend’s NFL Draft in Philadelphia. Then late Saturday and into Sunday, three more former Dragons signed undrafted free agent deals.

This was the first time in Blue Dragon football history to have more than one player drafted in a single NFL Draft. Six former Blue Dragons have now been selected in the NFL Draft in the Rion Rhoades era.

With the 2017 NFL Rookie Class, Blue Dragons football has now had 31 players on NFL rosters, 14 in the Rhoades’ era.

Here is a list of the former Blue Dragon players in the 2017 NFL Rookie Class:

Gerald Everett – Los Angeles Rams (2nd round, 44th overall pick)

The highest drafted Blue Dragon came in the second round when the Los Angeles Rams drafted tight end Gerald Everett with the 44th overall pick on Friday. That made him the second-highest drafted Blue Dragon in history.

Everett never appeared in a game with the Blue Dragons in 2012 or 2013. The 6-foot-3, 239-pound tight end played only one year of high school football. Then after his time in Hutchinson, he moved onto Alabama-Birmingham where he caught 17 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown in 2014.

UAB dropped football, which forced Everett to transfer to South Alabama. He earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2015 and 2016 with a combined 90 receptions for 1,292 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Everett is the first Blue Dragon ever selected by the Rams organization.

Alvin Kamara – New Orleans Saints (3rd round, 44th overall pick)

Many draft experts think the Saints got an absolute steal by getting Alvin Kamara in the third round. The 2014 Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year and first-team NJCAA All-American made the most of his one season with the Blue Dragons.

A native of Norcross, Georgia and transfer from the University of Alabama, Kamara’s 65-yard touchdown against Coffeyville on Oct. 4, 2014 will be remembered for years, but he had a four-game stretch against Iowa Central, Dodge City, Coffeyville and Garden City that was as good as any HCC running back in history. Over those four games, Kamara produced 688 rushing yards, 817 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns.

But it was a late-game sequence against Coffeyville where Kamara earned his nickname and a spot in Blue Dragon football lore.

With Hutchinson trailing 35-28 with less than 3 minutes remaining and facing third-and-12 from its own 35, Kamara took a swing pass from Kylen Binn and despite being surrounded by four Coffeyville defenders, broke numerous tackles and found a seem to a 65-yard game-tying touchdown with 2:28 remaining.

Then with HCC on its own 2 with 40 seconds left, Kamara took a pitch to the right side and ran all the way to the HCC 38. After a long pass to the Dragon 17, Kamara again broke to the right side and scored the game-winning touchdown with 7 seconds left in the game.

Kamara became the 17th HCC running back to reach 1,000 yards for the season. Kamara finished 10th on the HCC single-season rushing list with 1,211 yards on 172 carries. He’s averaged 7.0 yards per carry, which ranks second in team history. With 21 total touchdowns, Kamara tied for second place on HCC’s single-season list. His 126 points are also tied for second place with Mack Herron.

Kamara returned to the SEC with the Tennessee Volunteers where he played for two seasons in an impressive running-back rotation.

Jeremiah Ledbetter – Detroit Lions (6th round, 205th overall pick)

Jeremiah Ledbetter was a two-year starters who was a two-time All-Jayhawk Conference performer and second-team NJCAA All-American in 2014.

Ledbetter finished the 2014 season with 78 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 quarterback sacks, the second most in single-season Blue Dragon history. Ledbetter also had seven quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks on special teams.

Ledbetter closed his Blue Dragon career with a flourish as he had three quarterback sacks and 10 total tackles in a Defensive MVP performance in the 2014 Salt City Bowl.

For his career, Ledbetter finished with 144 total tackles and his 22.5 career quarterback sacks tied Adam Davis for No. 2 on the Blue Dragon career charts.

Ledbetter then transferred to Arkansas where he was a two-year starter who amassed 104 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss and eight quarterback sacks.

Marquavius Lewis – Buffalo Bills (undrafted free agent)

A defensive end from Greenwood, South Carolina, Marquavius Lewis was also the 2014 Jayhawk Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

In 2014, Lewis racked up 63 total tackles, including 23 solo tackles. He has had 20.5 tackles for loss for 112 yards. Lewis was second on the team with 11 quarterback sacks. As a relentless pass rusher, Lewis also has 21 quarterback hurries this season.

Lewis also tallied three passes broken up, two forced fumbled and a fumble recovery. Lewis had quarterback sacks in 6 of 13 games played this season.

But it was in Hutchinson’s huge 35-26 road victory at No. 6 Butler on Sept. 13 where Lewis was simply dominant. Against the Grizzlies, Lewis had a season-high 13 tackles with four tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks in helping the Blue Dragons snap a 23-game losing streak to the Grizzlies.

Two weeks after that, Lewis earned NJCAA National Player of the Week honors with a dominant performance against Dodge City. He had eight total tackles, but 3.5 tackles for loss for 16 yards. He had two quarterback sacks, including a sack/fumble, one of three Blue Dragon takeaways.

Lewis 11 quarterback sacks this season were eight most in program history. His 18.5 career sacks rank No. 6 on that statistical list.

Lewis completed his Blue Dragon career with 132 total tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss and 40 quarterback hurries.

Lewis then transferred to South Carolina where he started every game for the Gamecocks in 2015 and 2016, finishing with 93 tackles, 4.5 quarterback sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.

Claude George – Seattle Seahawks (undrafted free agent)

Relentless was perhaps the best way to describe George, the Lafayette, Louisiana, native in his two seasons with the Blue Dragons. In earning second-team All-America honors in 2014, George finished the season with 69 takes, 14 tackles for loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks. There were times it seemed like George was all over the field as he also had one interception, four passes broken up 10 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.

George finished his career with 125 total tackles, two interceptions and 27 quarterback hurries.

George transferred to Texas A&M University where he registered 51 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and an interception in his senior season with the Aggies.

Eddie Gordon – Carolina Panthers (undrafted free agent)

Eddie Gordon played only one season at Hutchinson in 2013 as a starting offensive lineman. The 2013 Blue Dragons went 8-4 where he earned honorable mention all-Jayhawk Conference honors. With Gordon on the offensive line, the 2013 Blue Dragons ranked eighth in the NJCAA in total offense and 10th in the nation in scoring at 37.5 points per game. He also earned a Blue Dragon Athletic/Academic Achievement award.

After Hutch, Gordon went to Louisiana-Lafayette. After appearing in only six games in 2014, Gordon anchored the Ragin’ Cajuns’ offensive line with 25 total starts, 24 at center.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Miguel Sano homered and drove in five runs, helping the Minnesota Twins beat slumping Kansas City 7-5 on Sunday for the Royals‘ ninth straight loss.

Sano posted his fourth consecutive multihit game. He has 11 hits in his last 16 at-bats. He drove in nine runs in the two-game, rain-abbreviated series.

Sano connected in the third after Jason Hammel (0-3) walked Byron Buxton and Max Kepler. He added run-producing singles in the fourth and sixth innings.

It’s the longest slide for Kansas City since a 12-game skid in April 2012.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs boldly moved up in the NFL draft on Thursday night to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick, giving them an heir apparent to veteran Alex Smith.

Kansas City sent its first-round picks this year and next year and one of two third-round picks in this year’s draft to Buffalo, climbing from the No. 27 pick to take the second QB off the board. North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky went to the Chicago Bears second overall, while Heisman Trophy winner Deshaun Watson of Clemson went to the Houston Texas at No. 12.

It’s the third time in the common draft era that Kansas City has taken a quarterback in the first round, and the first since Todd Blackledge in 1983. Mahomes is also the second QB to be taken in the first round by a Reid-coached team following Donovan McNabb with Philadelphia in 1999.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — For the second time in program history, a Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball player has been named National Player of the Year.

On Thursday, Blue Dragon sophomore forward Shakur Juiston was named the NJCAA/Spalding Men’s Division I Player of the Year. Juiston led the Blue Dragons to the 2017 NJCAA National Championship, the third in program history.

Juiston, a 6-foot-7 forward from Newark, New Jersey, is the second Blue Dragon ever to be named the NJCAA National Player of the Year. Juiston joins Kadeem Allen, who was the 2014 NJCAA National Player of the Year.

In March, Juiston was named the 2017 Jayhawk Conference and Region VI Player of the Year. Last week, he was named first-team NJCAA All-American.

Juiston averaged a double-double for the season at 17.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game in his sophomore campaign. Juiston shot 60.9 percent from the field and averaged 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game.

He had four double-doubles in the NJCAA Tournament. He had tournament highs of 88 points, 56 rebounds and averaged 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game over four games.

For the season, Juiston had 26 double-doubles and one triple-double.

Juiston broke the Blue Dragons’ single-game rebound record of 20 against Dodge City and then went on to break the program’s career rebounding record of 741. Juiston ranked sixth in the NJCAA in total rebounds and was first in the nation in defensive rebounding average.

Juiston’s 446 total rebounds this past season were third most in team history. His 12.1 boards per game average tied Ben Davis (1994) for sixth on the season list. His 67 blocks were seventh most in team season history.

Juiston ranked fourth in Region VI in scoring, third in field goal percentage, led the league in rebounding and tied for the conference lead in blocked shots.