Rossville Wins First Playoff Game

Baldwin City Blues	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0		5	8	1
Rossville Rattlers	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	2		6	9	1

    The Rattler offense was led by Michael Higgins (C) with 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI.   Collin Scribner (1B) had 1 hit and 2 RBIs.  Tim Schaerman (SS) had 2 hits and 1 run scored.  and Colton Kooser went 1 of 2 and scored 2 runs.

     Zach Holmes was the starting pitcher allowing 5 hits (including a home run), 5 earned runs,  2 walks and 2 strike-outs in his three innings on the mound.  Bryan Girder pitched 3 innings of shut-out ball allowing 2 hits, 4 walks, and 4 strike-outs.    Drew Scrimster closed out the game allowing 2 hits, no runs, 3 walks and no strike-outs.
    Rossville will play at Baldwin City Tuesday night for the second game of the best 2 out of 3 games.  They will return to Rossville if a third game is needed.   

Final MPL Standings

 

Midwest Athletics	36	25	11	0	.694	205	128
Junction City Brigade	36	22	14	0	.611	190	111
Rossville Rattlers	32	18	14	0	.563	192	167
Topeka Golden Giants	35	19	16	0	.543	211	196
Liberty Monarchs	29	12	17	0	.414	165	195
Baldwin City Blues	36	14	22	0	.389	196	282
Topeka Senators	34	9	25	0	.265	125	179

Playoffs begin 7 PM Tonight.

    Mid Plain League Post Season Playoffs begin this evening at Rossville at 7 PM with the Rattlers hosting the Baldwin City Blues to begin a best of three games series.    Click on below image to see full bracket.  
     The team pot luck dinner and team awards will take place following the game tonight.

Mary (Searcy) Miller Passes Away

      Mary Martha Miller, 93, of Topeka entered into eternal peace with Jesus July 17, 2015 at Autumn Home Plus in Topeka, Ks.
      She was born August 10, 1921 near Rossville, Ks, the daughter of Roy W. and Emma Ruth Trostle Searcy. She grew up on farms near Rossville, Wamego, Stull, Paxico, and Meriden, graduating from Meriden High School.
      After graduation, she moved to Topeka. She did housekeeping, secretarial work, and was employed by Duckwalls and then Sears for 31 years retiring in 1980 as Head Cashier. She volunteered at Stormont-Vail for many years. She was an active member of the Kansas Avenue United Methodist Church since 1949, and the Sears and Goodyear retiree groups. She enjoyed farming, animals, helping others, sharing their bountiful garden produce, spending time with family, and praising the Lord.
      She married Alvin L. Miller November 9, 1940 in North Topeka. He died June 12, 2003. She is survived by a son, Larry A. Miller (Carolyn), of Topeka; two granddaughters, Kristi R. Miller of Roeland Park, Ks, and Melanie K. Miller of Topeka; one sister, Pearl Wood (Hebron, Ky); three brothers, Edward, Carl and Ray Searcy, all of Topeka; and many nieces and nephews. One brother, Glenn Searcy, and five sisters, Thelma Stoneberger, Lucille Hosler, Dorothy Wright, Golda Plumly, and Eileen Creveling, preceded her in death.
      A funeral service will be 10:00 am Thursday, July 23, 2015, at Davidson Funeral Home, Topeka. Interment will follow at Rochester Cemetery. She will lie in state from 1:00-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Davidson Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends from 7-8:30 p.m. Memorials may be made to Kansas Avenue United Methodist Church in care of Davidson Funeral Home. To leave the family a message, or view her obituary please visit www.davidsonfuneral.com.

Rattler's Games and Dinner Rescheduled

    Sunday's games have been canceled due to the weather.
    The Rattlers will take on the Baldwin City Blues tomorrow night, 7 PM at Joe Campbell Stadium in Rossville for Game 1 of the Brett Cowdin Memorial Cup Playoffs.
    The team pot luck and team awards will take place following the game. Game 2 of the series with Baldwin City is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, in Baldwin City at 7 PM. Game 3 if necessary, Wednesday July 22, 7 PM at The Joe.

Giants Get 7-6 Win Sat. Nite

    After three innings,  the Rattlers lead 6-3.  The Rattlers have 7 hits in the first three innings,  and the Golden Giants only two hits,  but both were triples.
    After five innings,  the score is still 6-3 though the Giants have added a couple hits to their total
    Jaren Kuitzke pitched the first 5 innings allowing 4 hits, 3 ER, 4 Walks and 4 Strike-outs.  But his pitch count was nearing 90,  so Taylor Mah came in to pitch the start of bottom of the 6th inning.
In his 3 2/3 innings,  he allowed 5 hits, 4 ER, 5 walks, and 2 strike-outs while throwing 90 pitches.
    Cade Bunnell led the offense  with 2 hits.
.
Rattlers    1   1   4   0   0   0   0   0   0     6   7   0
Giants      0   0   3   0   0   0   1   2   1     7   4   2

Rattlers Lose To Giants Friday

From the Capital Journal:

A sixth-inning implosion by the Rossville Rattlers on Friday night gave the Topeka Golden Giants all they would need for their second straight come-from-behind victory.

Rossville committed two errors, walked a pair and hit a batter in Topeka’s three-run inning, which gave the Golden Giants a lead they would not relinquish in a 6-2 victory at Jerry Robertson Field.

Rattlers starter Tyler Davis, who pitches for Kansas, cruised through the first five innings, allowing just one hit and no runs. But his defense struggled behind him in the sixth in the battle between Mid-Plains League teams fighting for playoff seedings.

Topeka’s Johnny Hodges opened the sixth by reaching base on a throwing error, then moved to second when Ryan Ihle was plunked with a curve ball that didn’t curve. Davis retired the next two batters in the inning before issuing a walk to Kolton Schenker to load the bases.

Fort Hays State’s Casey Sedbrook would clear them. He hit a two-run single to right that the Rattlers right fielder overran, allowing Schenker to score all the way from first.

“I got a fastball in that got in on my hands. The pitcher got the ground ball that he was probably looking for,” Sedbrook said. “It’s baseball, and I found a hole. The right fielder came on a little hard, made an error and let the other guy score.”

Ben Dalke earned the win for Topeka, which improved to 18-16 in Mid-Plains League play.

“Ben threw well and was getting ahead of hitters,” Golden Giants coach John Tetuan said. “Having a starting pitcher set the tone in a game is huge, especially when their pitcher was throwing well. They scored two unearned runs, but that’s not on him. He pitched well enough to win and that is all we can ask.”

The Rattlers (18-13) scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Collin Scribner scored a run on a Golden Giants’ throwing error in the fifth and Jonathan Valenzuela-Reece scored in front of a Colton Kooser single in the sixth.

Dalke, who plays at Colby Community College, threw six innings and allowed six hits. He struck out seven batters while walking two. Ty Geary came in and earned the save in relief with three innings of two-hit shutout ball.

“My stuff was moving and that’s what helped,” Dalke said. “My off-speed was working tonight and I got some strikeouts which I don’t normally do. I was just happy that Ty didn’t get to snake another win from me. He came in and closed things down.”

Topeka added an insurance run in the seventh as Ihle hit a run-scoring single. The Giants then put the game away with two runs in the eighth on RBI singles by JB Eary and Kellen Myers.

The three-game series is scheduled to conclude at 7 p.m Saturday with the Golden Giants looking for the sweep.

Rattlers 000 110 000 — 2 8 3

Giants 000 003 12X — 6 6 1

Davis, Hosey (7) and Nerz. Dalke, Geary (7), and Tapia. W — Dalke. L — Davis. S – Geary.

Records — Rattlers 18-13, Giants 18-16.

Photos Of 2015 Rattlers

    For photos of the 2015 Rossville Rattlers,  go to:
http://rossvilleksphotos.blogspot.com/

Tyler Davis MPL Pitcher Of The Year

    Tyler Davis of the Rossville Rattlers is the  2015 Mid-Plains League Pitcher of the Year.   Tyler pitched  32 innings and had a  1.30 ERA, 44 SO, 14 BB, 1.031 WHIP.
    Tyler is currently attending the University of Kansas, where he just finished his  Sophomore season with the Jayhawks

Jeff Christen Catch Of The Year

    St. Marys High graduate Jeff Christen playing center field for the Rattlers made a fantastic catch on Thur. night.  There are two videos at the below link.  The top one is of the catch only.  The lower video includes the catch,  but also other plays of the game and commentary about the game and "Catch Of The Year."
http://ksnt.com/2015/07/16/rattlers-christen-makes-diving-grab-golden-giants-win-late/

Tue Night Video

    Here is KSNT video from the Rattlers 5-0 victory over the Senators.
http://ksnt.com/2015/07/14/rattlers-blank-senators-in-mid-plains-league-showdown/

TCF BBQ Contest

2015 Rossville Tall Corn Festival

5th Annual BBQ Contest

July 31st and August 1st, 2015

Limited to 50 teams

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Prize Money ~ $8,000.00

Rossville Library Events

3 Great Events  This Coming Week Crazy Craft Day on Tuesday afternoon--Walk-in hours 1:00-4:00 p.m. All ages invited! Preschool Storytime on Thursday morning at 10:15 a.m. Our Grand Finale Program for the Summer: Comic Books & Movies Program & Pizza Party on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. Best for older kids and adults

Our grand finale program for the summer that you won't want to miss! Free pizza, too! Help us use up some leftover pieces and supplies from our craft closet. Use your imagination to make a one-of-a-kind craft. Walk-in hours 1:00-4:00 on Tuesday, July 21st.

Rattlers Lose To Golden Giants

From the Capital Journal:
      The Topeka Golden Giants weathered Rossville’s typical early onslaught, then snapped the Rattlers’ three-game winning streak.
      Cam Huber’s RBI single in the sixth inning broke a five-all tie and began back-to-back two-run innings as the Giants defeated the Rattlers 9-7 in a Mid-Plains League series opener Thursday at Jerry Robertson Field.
      Topeka took the lead in the sixth as Emporia State’s Johnny Hodges reached base on a catcher’s interference call. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Johnathan Mariani, stole third base and scored in front of the Huber single, which was just to the right and under the glove of a diving third baseman. Huber would steal third as well and score on a throwing error by the Rossville catcher to add an insurance run in the sixth.
      Ben Dalke tied the game in the fifth inning with a two-run home run to left field. Dalke’s bomb came with two outs and Lance Barkley on second base — Barkley was hit by a pitch and then stole second base to get in scoring position.
      “A big swing like that energizes people and makes you feel like you are back in the ball game,” Golden Giants coach John Tetuan said. “Baseball is a different game and two runs can feel like 20 runs depending on how the game is going. That swing got us the momentum and we took it from there.”
      Score early and score often had been the mantra for Rossville of late — for the fourth straight night the Rattlers bombarded the field with an early offensive onslaught — but it was unable to hold onto an early lead.
      Rossville scored runs in the first three innings as, in the first, Colton Kooser hit a two-run single and Michael Higgins followed with a run-scoring single of his own. The Rattlers added single runs in the second and third innings with Jonathan Valenzuela-Reece driving in one run and another run scoring on a Topeka error.
      “They hit themselves into three runs in the first inning and then we gave them two runs,” Tetuan said. “We just found a way to get back in the game — locked it down a little, and found a way to finish.”
      Riley Krane drove in two runs for the Golden Giants and shortstop Ryan Ihle scored two runs hitting in the No. 2 hole. Brent Roberts earned the win in relief for Topeka and Ihle pitched a perfect ninth to earn the save.
      Rossville (18-12) played uncharacteristically poor defense, making four errors that led to multiple unearned runs in the loss.
      “The Giants are a good team and are going to battle you for nine innings,” Rattlers coach Tobi Cowdin said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little on defense, giving up some bases and easy runs, but the Giants are going to put pressure on you all game long.”
      Aggressive baserunning by the Giants (17-6) led to a team total of seven stolen bases, four by Huber, the leadoff man. Kooser finished with three hits, two RBIs, two stolen bases and scored a run for Rossville.
      The Rattlers and Golden Giants will play the second of a three-game set at 7 p.m. Friday.
■ The shorthanded Topeka Senators forfeited Friday’s rescheduled game against the Rattlers and will not compete in the postseason. The Senators finished the season with a 9-22 record.
Rattlers  311 000 020 — 7 11 4
Giants    102 022 20X — 9 7 3
Head, Christen (5), Mah (6), Hosey (8) and Nerz, Valenzuela-Reece (6). Heath, Roberts (6), Ihle (9) and Tapia. W — Roberts. L — Mah. S — Ihle. 2B — Rattlers: Schaareman; Giants: Tapia. HR — Giants: Dalke.