Basketball Earns Academic and On Court Awards

Senior Center Kyle Rausch has had a storybook season. Photo/Zach Swalley

Over the past several weeks multiple Park Pirates were named to All-American teams and all-conference academic awards. Both men and women’s basketball teams were recognized by collegiate organizations which included coaches and members of the media.

Senior center Kyle Rausch put a stamp on a two-year stint at Park which ended with becoming the second player in Park history to be named to an All-American roster. Rausch was named as an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American Wednesday by the NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Association All-America Committee.

Continue reading

Posted in Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball | Tagged | Leave a comment

Park Swept at Home

Kyle Clifton went 2-for-3 in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Missouri Baptist. Photo/Park Athletics

Parkville, Mo. – Missouri Baptist swung into Parkville Friday afternoon and left with four wins leaving Park swept at Comfort Field for the first time this season. The weekend saw the Pirates drop to 7-5 in the American Midwest Conference and 15-6 overall. The Spartans (24-8) solidified their spot atop the conference at 13-1 with the sweep.

Friday saw the Pirates lose 11-3, 10-3 with Saturday not being any closer at 4-1 and 15-9 against the Spartans.

Continue reading

Posted in Baseball | Leave a comment

Baseball Team Rides Early Season Momentum

Parkville, Mo. – What the Park Men’s Baseball team lacks in overall experience, it exceeds in on field performance. Leaning on youth and key upper classman leadership, the Pirates have come through early on this season unscathed barring two snags.

Nearly one-third through their 2011 campaign, the Pirates are 13-2 overall and have dropped only one game in St. Louis to Harris-Stowe State in American Midwest Conference action where they are tied for first with a record of 7-1.

Continue reading

Posted in Baseball | Leave a comment

Park Men Suffer First Round Knock-Out

Parkville, Mo. – Tyler Price and Kyle Rausch were able to score 11 points Wednesday night and Price was 3-for-6 from behind the three point line, but the Park Pirates were unable to stop Mountain State from moving on to the second round of the Buffalo Funds NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, 83-58, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

Continue reading

Posted in Men's Basketball | Leave a comment

Oklahoma Catcher Finds Home at Park

A stuffy conference room is about as far away from a baseball field as you can get. The antiseptic nature of board rooms and what is thought to be the typical activity carried out in them could be easily described as “not baseball.”

In February or March in the Midwest however, the weather on the outside of these corporate looking and feeling bubbles can be as unpredictable as anything a stock market or profit sharing report could cook up.

Rather than finding one of these boys of summer in their natural environment, sometimes it is necessary to steal a room filled with a large, wooden table surrounded by chairs and audio video equipment to get a minute or two with one of them. At least this one has sports awards to cover the four walls like wallpaper and looks out over an area where basketball is practiced and played.

At Park, students come and go. They enroll and graduate. The same goes for athletes. They’ll get drafted now and again or play overseas. The future of what lies beyond Parkville may be a giant question mark looming, however what remains the same is each new faces emerge from all of the teams within the athletic program.

Wes Moody strolls into a cramped conference room with a quiet confidence of someone who knows what he brings to the table and where he might be going. His shaved head is hidden under a wide-billed Park baseball hat, which is ready for warmer days under a catchers helmet and mask. You may not think it now, but in Missouri during the month of May it can actually get warm.

Talking about the weather can be one of the lowest common denominators in terms of conversation, but Moody is comfortable with talking about something he is accustomed to around these parts.

Continue reading

Posted in Men's Basketball | Leave a comment

Rausch Earns All-American Academic Honors

Parkville, Mo. – Park University senior center Kyle Rausch was named to the Capital One Academic All-District VII Third Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and is one of five NAIA players to represent the 15 District VII players across all divisions.

Rausch transferred from Missouri State University prior to last season, and in 2010-11 has played and started in all 18 games, adding 38 blocked shots and 24 steals to the Pirates’ defense, while also draining 46-of-56 at the free-throw line for 81.2 percent.

Beyond the facts that make Rausch an integral part of the Pirates, he also is a top performer in the classroom. When speaking with Rausch it is apparent he savors each moment at Park along with the recognition.

Continue reading

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Park Defeat Missouri Baptist 91-64

Tyler Price turns up the heat on defense. Photo/Zach Swalley

Parkville, Mo. – The No. 13 Park Pirates rolled past the Missouri Baptist Spartans 91-64 in front of a raucous crowd stretching their winning streak at Breckon Sports Center to 14 in-a-row, not losing at home since last season.

Led by 16 points from Reco Anderson, Park (15-4) stretched their lead in the American Midwest Conference and are a perfect 7-0 in league play.

Continue reading

Posted in Men's Basketball | Leave a comment