Sports

Kappelmann signs with D1 Arkansas Little Rock

EARL WATT

• Leader & Times

After spending his life pitching for the hometown teams, Liberal is no longer big enough to contain the baseball dreams of Brooks Kappelmann.

After pitching at every conceivable level in Southwest Kansas, Kappelmann will be making the move next year to Little Rock, Ark., to pitch for the Div. 1 University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

He will join a team that won the Ohio Valley Tournament in 2025 and went on to finish 3-2 at the Baton Rouge Regional, which included a 10-4 victory over No. 1 LSU before losing to the Bayou Bengals in the championship game of the regional, 10-6.

Strong defensive effort leads Saints to win over Hutchinson

Sewardsaints.com

HUTCHINSON – Through three conference games, the Seward men's scoring defense was the best in the league as they looked towards a road test at Hutchinson.

That stayed true Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena as Seward (7-3, 2-2 KJCCC) held Hutch (6-4, 1-3) to a season-low 48 points in a 53-48 win. It marks Seward's first win over Hutchinson in 12 games. The last win over the Blue Dragons came in the 2019 Region VI Championship, an 81-76 Seward win in Park City.

Despite Hutchinson shooting better from the floor – 46.7% (21-45) to 34.0% (18-53) – Seward knocked in 11 threes (11-24) to Hutchinson's three (3-17) to help earn the road win.

Poor shooting dooms Lady Saints at Hutch

Sewardsaints.com

HUTCHINSON – The Seward Lady Saints were held to season-lows in points scored and shooting percentage in a 68-41 loss at No. 20 ranked Hutchinson in the Sports Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Seward (7-3, 2-2 KJCCC) and Hutchinson (8-2, 3-1) were tied 11-11 after the first quarter but the Blue Dragons outscored the Lady Saints 57-30 the rest of the way. It marks Seward's second consecutive loss, having scored 45 points or less in both after the 55-45 home loss to Coffeyville Tuesday.

The Lady Saints finished the game shooting 10-57 (17.5%) from the field, 5-22 (22.7%) from three and 16-17 (94.1%) from the free throw line.

Lady Saints come up short against Coffeyville, 55-45

EARL WATT

• Leader & Times

The Lady Saints battled back from deficits several times Tuesday against the Coffeyville Lady Red Ravens, but a slump early in the fourth quarter was too much to overcome in a 55-45 loss.

After trailing 17-8 after the first quarter, the Lady Saints battled back to cut the Coffeyville lead to just one, 27-26 at half.

Avery Marchino hit a three pointer early in the third quarter to give the Lady Saints a 29-27 lead, and that started a competitive quarter that had three ties and five lead changes, and by the end of the period the game was tied 38-38.

Saints fall to No. 15 Red Ravens, 78-62

EARL WATT

• Leader & Times

No. 15 Coffeyville used an early run to force the Seward County Saints to battle from behind, and the Saints could never erase the deficit in a 78-62 loss.

Seward trailed 17-8 midway through the first half and struggled to get to the rim. The Saints settled for long range jump shots and threes during the stretch, and Coffeyville limited Seward to one-and-done opportunities. But the Saints went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 17-14 and had a chance to get even closer, but the Saints missed a free throw.