WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — A softball slugger from Iowa and a baseball player from Florida won the inaugural Little League Home Run Derby on Saturday at the Little League World Series.

Everest Ouellette of Palm Harbor, Florida, topped in the baseball competition after he hit his 15th home run — the one that sealed the victory — in walk-off fashion. He edged Nate Hawton-Henley of Oakton, Virginia, who had a few dozen family and friends from his hometown in attendance.

“Everest was incredible,” said ESPN analyst and former big leaguer Mark Teixeira, who was an honorary coach for the event. “He really won it because of the last minute there of the final round. When he gets on, you can see a lot of home runs in a row.”

Everest and Nate both advanced from the East Regional, which was held at SunTrust Park in Atlanta, and have gotten to know each other well throughout their journeys to Williamsport. “(Nate) is very competitive,” Everest said. “He’s one of my best friends of the tournament and he’s just super friendly and nice.” Everest hit a total of 37 home runs throughout all three rounds.

Aubrey Clark of Johnston, Iowa, beat Jeylene Joza of Jersey City, New Jersey, in a tiebreaker in the championship round of the softball bracket. Even though Aubrey admitted afterward that she got nervous as the two-minute clock wound down in each round, she was aided a couple of times by late home runs to advance to the championship round, where she defeated Jeylene.

“Once I got my first (home run), that’s when I started to feel not as much pressure,” Aubrey said. “When I know that it’s my last pitch, I just put a lot more into it.”
Aubrey finished with 12 total home runs, including the winning home run that came on her final swing in the tiebreaker of the championship. But she almost didn’t get that far.

In the first round of the competition, she hit a home run on her final swing in the tiebreaker of the round just to move on to the second round. “It feels great,” Aubrey said. “I never thought I would be able to come here.”

Added to the opening weekend of Little League World Series to generate a little buzz and expand the number of players exposed to LLWS atmosphere, a few hundred fans gathered and cheered each home run that sailed over pink fences set up in the outfield. The event was held at Bowman Field in downtown Williamsport, where the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates will play in the Little League Classic on Sunday night.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — Dexter Fowler hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs, Paul DeJong and Paul Goldschmidt added two-run shots and the St. Louis Cardinals rocked Luis Castillo on the way to a 13-4 romp over the Cincinnati Reds. Kolten Wong had a solo homer among his four hits and Fowler, Marcell Ozuna and Tommy Edman each had three as the Cardinals piled up a season-high 18 hits and moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Montgomery outpitched Noah Syndergaard, and the Kansas City Royals ended their scoreless drought in a 4-1 victory over the New York Mets. The hottest team in the majors until this week, the Mets have lost four of five after a 15-1 stretch propelled them into the crowded NL wild-card race.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Of all the things the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to accomplish during their three-week getaway to training camp at Missouri Western, returning home with everyone healthy probably topped the list. Not only did they accomplish that, they actually improved their roster depth. Now the trick is to remain healthy while preparing for the regular season back in Kansas City, where the Chiefs will resume their camp next week.

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(Radio Iowa) — Several casinos around the state held ceremonies and began taking their first sports bets Thursday, as it became legal at noon. The sports book operator counted down three-two-one and the ribbon was cut to cheers at the Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona. Republican state senate majority leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says some Iowans were already betting illegally. ” We decided the right path forward was to bring sports wagering out of the darkness into a controlled, regulated environment that offers consumer protection along the way,” Whitver says.

The state will collect taxes from sports gambling, but it may only be a small percentage of what is already collected from casinos. Whitver and State Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines made the first bets at Prairie Meadows. Bisignano bet on the New York Yankees to win their game and Whitver – who was a standout wide receiver at Iowa State — picked the Cyclones to beat Iowa this year in football. Customers lined up after the ribbon cutting to place their bets. Mick Schminkey of Pleasant Hill put 40 dollars down on a few N-F-L preseason games. He says he’s been waiting for Iowa to approve sports gambling since the Supreme Court threw out a federal ban last year. Eventually Schminkey hopes to win a few bets, but this was for the experience. “It’s just fun to have that first bet in my pocket. I probably won’t ever throw this ticket away, unless I win,” Schminkey says.

Iowa is one of the early states to adopt sport betting but others are close behind. Places like Oregon, Illinois and Indiana are working out the final details. A similar ceremony took place at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf . Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher placed the ceremonial first legal sports bet on his alma mater. “Seeing as though I am an Iowa grad, my son goes to school there, and I was actually Herky the Hawkeye while in school, I’m going to take the Hawkeyes in their season total wins to beat seven and a half,” Gallagher says.

William Hill is running the sports betting for the Isle and Vice President Michael Grodsky says they are ready for sports gamblers.”Any questions you have at all or any concerns you have about how to bet or what way to make a bet, we are here for you,” Grodsky says. “We know this is brand new to the midwest, and we’re excited to be here.” Eighteen of the 19 state-licensed casinos plan to offer sports betting. Ten of them were ready to go for the first day and the rest are expected to complete the process in the next week or so.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — Sonny Gray struck out 10 while pitching five scoreless innings, and the Cincinnati Reds held off the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. Gray, Robert Stephenson, Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias combined for a two-hitter. Iglesias surrendered Kolten Wong’s check-swing RBI double in the ninth before retiring pinch-hitter Matt Wieters on a fly ball to center to finish his 24th save.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Of all the things the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to accomplish during their three-week getaway to training camp at Missouri Western, returning home with everyone healthy probably topped the list. Not only did they accomplish that, they actually improved their roster depth. Now the trick is to remain healthy while preparing for the regular season back in Kansas City, where the Chiefs will resume their camp next week.

UNDATED (AP) — USA Football is piloting the game’s first long-term development program in the hopes of growing the game and catching up to other sports around the world. The sport’s governing body has launched its Football Development Model. Six youth leagues will team up with USA Football in the hopes of attracting more young players and improving skills. The leagues will experiment with new ways to coach fundamentals in practice and different ways to play the game.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cardinals rookie Dakota Hudson tossed six innings of five-hit ball, Royals counterpart Brad Keller allowed a no-hit bid to crumble in spectacular fashion, and St. Louis went on to beat Kansas City 6-0 on Wednesday night. Keller carried a no-hit bid into the seventh before the Cardinals opened with five straight singles. They eventually scored five runs in the frame, allowing them to cruise to a two-game series sweep.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The first step in rebuilding the much-maligned Kansas City defense was hiring a new coordinator, which the Chiefs did in Steve Spagnuolo. The next step in their overhaul? Piecing together a staff from all corners of the football landscape.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tesho Akindele scored his team-leading ninth goal in the 21st minute and Orlando City beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0. Orlando City (9-11-6) jumped into a three-way tie for seventh place with Montreal and Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

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(Radio Iowa) — Legal sports betting in Iowa will begin for the first time Thursday at noon. One of the concerns is keeping people under the age of 21 from betting. Iowa Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says that’s one of the things the casinos will be charged with handling. “Part of the controls in place requires the operator to have ‘know your customer’ controls,” Ohorilko says.

Most casinos are partnering with wagering companies that have experience in the sports gambling business. You have to come into a casino and sign up for an account, and Ohorilko says that’s where the various measures will be used to check your age. “They vary depending on the advanced deposit sports wagering operator,” Ohorilko says. “But most of the operators are using some sort of credit verification. They’ll use government data bases, private companies that have access to multiple information sites that they can identify someone’s age.”

He says it is possible they may have to take it a step further. “If those ages are not easily identified through online sources — then those customers may be asked to provide additional information — or send in copies of their identification or proof of residency. So, it’s really a tiered approach to identify individuals to ensure that they are 21,” according to Ohorilko.

The casinos will offer in house wagering — but the majority of the sports bets are expected to be placed through their online apps. Ohorilko says that’s one area where minors might try to sneak through. “What will be difficult will be if you have a willing adult that has an account and they give that account information to someone who is under 21. That is something that cannot be easily detected,” Ohorilko says.

Eighteen of the 19 state-licensed casinos have been approved for sports gambling licenses.