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

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jose Martinez homered and singled during a 10-run rally in the sixth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a seven-run deficit for a wild 12-11 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Down 7-0, the Cardinals put together their biggest inning of the season on the way to their sixth win in seven games. Journeyman catcher Ryan Lavarnway hit two homers, doubled and drove in a career-high six runs for Cincinnati in his first game in the majors this season.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Oscar Mercado went 5 for 5 and drove in two runs as the Cleveland Indians won their sixth straight game by defeating the Kansas City Royals 10-5. Mercado had an RBI double in the third inning and a run-scoring single in the sixth. He is batting .423 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the last eight games. He was called up from Triple-A Columbus on May 14 and became the 12th Indians rookie since 1913 to have at least five hits in a game.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The NFL will not suspend Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill under its personal conduct policy. The league had been investigating his involvement in a domestic violence case involving his 3-year-old son. The league says it has not been given access to information in the court proceedings. A district attorney said last month an investigation was dropped because officials couldn’t prove who injured the boy.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — IndyCar points leader Josef Newgarden has spent much of the season holding off Alexander Rossi. Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud looks poised to make the chase for the championship a three-car affair. Pagenaud and the No. 1 Chevrolet now trail Newgarden by just 39 points and Rossi by 35 heading into the race at Iowa Speedway this weekend.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Simon Pagenaud will start first in the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway after winning the pole for the second week in a row. Pagenaud, who won in Toronto last weekend starting from the front row, posted an average speed of 180.073 mph to capture his third pole of 2019 and his 13th overall.

CLASS 3A District Semifinals

Brett Sears had a stellar night on the mound Friday night and sent the Harlan Cyclones past the Atlantic Trojans 2-0 in a Class 3A District 15 Semifinal. Sears went the distance for the Cyclones and recorded 13 strikeouts, allowing just 5 hits with 4 walks. Chase McLaren also had a strong night for Atlantic on the mound going the full game allowing 5 hits with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks.

Luke Schaben was the man who came up big at the plate for the Cyclones. He drove in both Harlan runs with a sacrifice fly in the 1st and a single in the 3rd. The Trojans hits were scattered throughout the game and couldn’t really string anything together, leaving 7 base runners stranded on the night. The Trojans executed a nice double play to end the 6th that gave them a little juice. The Trojans got some good contact on the first two at bats of the 7th and Nathan Behrends got on base. After Joe Weaver had a strong ball caught in center Sears got his 13th strikeout of the game against Grant Sturm to end the game.

The Trojans see their season end at 7-18 under first year head coach Joe Brummer.

Harlan improved to 24-7 and advanced to the District Final on Monday night against Winterset. The Huskies won the first game of the night on Friday 12-2 over Carroll in 5 innings.

Tune in to KJAN Saturday morning at 8:30am to hear the full post game interview with Atlantic Head Coach Joe Brummer.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL will not suspend Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill under its personal conduct policy in a domestic violence case involving his 3-year-old son. The league said Friday it has not been given access to information in the court proceedings, and a district attorney in June said an investigation was dropped because officials couldn’t prove who injured the boy.
The NFL added in its statement that “information developed in the court proceeding is confidential and has not been shared with us” and all law enforcement records are sealed. “Local law enforcement authorities have publicly advised that the available evidence does not permit them to determine who caused the child’s injuries,” the NFL said.

Hill was suspended in April by the Chiefs. He is now is eligible to attend training camp and participate in all activities if the Chiefs lift their suspension. The Chiefs suspended Hill on April 25 after a local television station aired a recording of a conversation between Hill and fiancee Crystal Espinal discussing the boy’s injuries. Hill has consistently maintained his innocence, saying his son’s health is his top priority. At the time, owner Clark Hunt said he was “deeply disturbed” by the audio recording.

The investigation began after police were called to Hill’s home twice in March and determined the child had been injured. In the 11-minute recording reportedly made by Espinal in an airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, she tells Hill that when the boy was asked about his injured arm he replied: “Daddy did it.” Hill denied any role in what happened to the child, saying: “He says Daddy does a lot of things.” When Espinal tells Hill their son is “terrified of you,” he replies, “You need to be terrified of me, too …”

The Chiefs drafted Hill even though he pleaded guilty in 2015 to domestic assault and battery for attacking Espinal while a student at Oklahoma State. He was dismissed from the Oklahoma State football team and ended up playing at West Alabama, where he underwent counseling and court-mandated service work.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sportswear maker Adidas Group has been added as a defendant in a lawsuit against a former Iowa youth basketball coach now serving a 180-year prison sentence for sexually exploiting hundreds of former players. The civil lawsuit was initially filed in state court in Iowa in November on behalf of a victim identified only as John Doe who was a youth basketball player for two years. It initially sought to recover damages from former Iowa Barnstormers coach Greg Stephen, the Barnstormers and its supervising organization, the Amateur Athletic Union.

The lawsuit was amended July 11 to add Adidas, a team sponsor. The suit claims the German company failed to protect the safety and ensure the privacy of minor athletes.
Stephen is serving a 180-year prison sentence after pleaded guilty in October 2018 to sexually exploiting young players.

An Adidas spokesman did not reply to a message.

The Atlantic Trojans (7-17) baseball team will open up the postseason tonight against the Harlan Cyclones (23-7). The game is the second half of a doubleheader in the Class 3A District 15 Semifinals. Winterset takes on Carroll in the first game that will start at 5:00pm, the Trojans and Cyclones will follow at about 7:00pm. We’ll have coverage of that 2nd game of the night with pregame at about 6:45pm depending on the finish of the first game.

The Trojans and Cyclones split their meetings in the regular season. Harlan won the first meeting in Atlantic 7-5 on June 4th and the Trojans won at Harlan on June 24th 3-2.  The Trojans got a strong performance from Chase McLaren on the mound in that last meeting as he went 6 2/3 innings allowing the 2 runs on 7 hits with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. Brody O’Brien came on for the save in that game and got the final strikeout after getting into a bit of a jam with walks.

The Trojans are led by McLaren on the mound and at the plate. His season batting average is at .500 and he leads the team with 37 hits and 16 RBI. McLaren is 4-5 in 10 starts on the mound with a 3.40 ERA. He has 50 strikeouts on the year compared to just 10 walks. Brody O’Brien (.343) and Collin Mullenix (.323) are the next two top hitters for the Trojans.

Harlan finished the season ranked #5 in Class 3A by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. The Cyclones’ top hitter is Brett Sears who has a .474 average with 46 hits and 43 RBI, both of which lead the team. The Cyclones have 4 more players batting above .300 on the year. Connor Bruck and Sears have been two strong arms for the Cyclones this year. Bruck is 7-0 in 7 starts with a 1.11 ERA, 60 strikeouts, and 9 walks. Sears is 7-1 in 8 starts with a 1.23 ERA, 60 strikeouts, and 8 walks.

Tune in tonight for the season rubber-match between the Trojans and Cyclones. Once again pregame at approximately 6:45pm and first pitch scheduled for 7:00pm.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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District 15 @ Harlan

• Winterset vs. Caroll  5-p.m.
• Harlan vs. Atlantic 7-p.m. (On KJAN)

District 16 @ Dallas Center

• Glenwood vs. ADM 5-p.m.
• Dallas Center/Grimes vs. Creston  7-p.m.

District 2 @ Sergeant Bluff-Luton

• MOC/Floyd Valley vs. Spencer  5-p.m.
• Sgt. Bluff-Luton vs. Denison-Schleswig  7-p.m.

(All games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

SUBSTATE 1
#6 Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson at #1 Urbandale
#5 Sioux City, West at #2 Sioux City, East
#4 Sioux City, North at #3 Waukee
SUBSTATE 8
#6 Des Moines, North at #1 Johnston
#5 Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln at #2 Lewis Central
#4 Indianola vs. #3 Des Moines, East – at Des Moines, Hoover

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

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tommy Edman snapped a sixth-inning tie with his first career grand slam and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 for their fifth win in six games. All-Star Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Edman broke it open an inning later. The slam came one pitch after the Reds just missed what would have been an inning-ending double play.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cheslor Cuthbert and Jorge Soler homered in a five-run third inning and the Kansas City Royals stayed hot, completing a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 6-5 win. Ian Kennedy gave up a run in the ninth, but struck out A.J. Reed looking with the tying run on second base to clinch the win and earn his 16th save in 19 opportunities.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been fined $500 for pointing a laser at New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during the AFC championship with the Kansas City Chiefs in January. KMBC reports Dwyan Morgan pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, disturbing the peace. He will pay the fine with no jail time. Footage of the game showed a green light flashing on Brady late in the Patriots’ 37-31 overtime win at Arrowhead Stadium. Prosecutors say Brady was unaware of the laser.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — UNLV offensive coordinator Barney Cotton is awaiting a heart transplant and won’t coach this on the field this season. Rebels coach Tony Sanchez says the 62-year-old Cotton is in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently on a waiting list to receive a transplant. Cotton is an Omaha native and former University of Nebraska assistant coach.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — At just 20, Sage Karam had already landed his dream gig; a seat in the powerhouse Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar program. Four years later, Karam is hoping to prove that he deserves another shot at a full-time seat in the series. Karam and fellow American Conor Daly will fill in at Iowa Speedway for Carlin, a British-based team that joined IndyCar in 2018 after three years in Indy Lights, the series’ feeder circuit.

CHICAGO (AP) — It’s never too early for some Ohio State-Michigan sniping. Hours after Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh took a swipe at former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer’s legacy, Ohio State defensive end Jonathon Cooper played along. Cooper was asked about new co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who spent 13 seasons under different coaches at Michigan, including Harbaugh. Cooper said Mattison is great and has a great legacy “with the team up north.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Michigan State and Ohio State each placed two players on the preseason all-Big Ten team. Junior running back J.K. Dobbins and defensive end Chase Young were the Buckeyes and linebacker Joe Bachie and defensive end Kenny Willekes, two seniors, were named for the Spartans.