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NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Ryan Preece survived a green-white-checkered finish to win the NASCAR Xfinity race Saturday at Iowa Speedway for his first career victory. The 26-year-old Preece, running the second of a two-race deal in the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, held off Kyle Benjamin on three restarts in the final 17 laps. Preece started from the pole.
Benjamin was second, followed by Brian Scott, Brennan Poole and rookie Cole Custer. William Byron, who began a streak of three wins in five races at Iowa last month, finished ninth. Justin Allgaier was 20th after leading 106 laps.
The Beckman Catholic Trailblazers defeated the Kuemper Catholic Knights 9-6 Saturday at Principal Park to win the Class 2A championship game. Beckman wins its sixth state championship and its first since back-to-back titles in 2012-2013.
The Trailblazers came out firing on all cylinders, tagging Kuemper pitching for nine runs in the bottom of the first inning. Beckman sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning, drawing six walks, recording three hits and one hit by pitch. Nine runs is all Beckman would need, with starting pitcher Jackson Bennett holding Kuemper to one run in four innings of work. He gave up just two hits, walking four and striking out nine before leaving the game due to a pitch count restriction.
Kuemper clawed its way back into the game, scoring one in the fourth and five runs in the sixth to get within three runs. Six straight baserunners reached for the Knights to start the sixth inning, with the first five coming across to score. Leadoff hitter Izak Baumhover reached base in four of five plate appearances, going 2-for-3 with a double, RBI, walk and hit by pitch.
Beckman second baseman Riley LeGrand did it all for the Trailblazers, reaching base three times with two singles, two RBI and a walk, while pitching the final inning to seal the 9-6 win for the Blazers en route to their championship victory.
Beckman Catholic finishes the season with a 32-11 record as it takes home the Class 2A state championship for the third time in the last six seasons. Kuemper Catholic finishes the season with a 22-13 record.
The Newman Catholic Knights defeated the Martensdale-St. Marys Blue Devils 8-3 Saturday at Principal Park to win the Class 1A championship game. Newman wins its third state championship in the last five years, also taking home the Class 1A title in 2013 and 2015.
The Knights trailed early, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win the state championship. Martensdale-St. Marys jumped out to an early lead on a two-run single off the bat of third baseman Esa Johanson in the top of the second. Blue Devils starting pitcher Kevin Duncan retired the first nine Newman hitters he faced, striking out six. The Knights’ bats exploded in the bottom of the fourth, tagging the Blue Devils for seven runs on five hits. The first six batters of the inning reached base and scored for the Knights as they took a 7-3 lead.
Newman starting pitcher Evan Paulus pitched his second complete game of the tournament, holding the Blue Devils to three runs on five hits. Paulus did not allow a hit in his last three innings of work, and struck out five in his outing. The Knights’ offensive showcase was a spread-out attack, with all nine hitters reaching base at least once but no one recording multiple hits.
Newman Catholic finishes the season with a 35-3 record as it takes home the Class 1A state championship for the third time in the last five seasons. Martensdale-St. Marys finishes the season with a 41-5 record.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Hall of Fame outfielder Lou Brock says he is free of cancer more than three months after the 78-year-old St. Louis Cardinals great announced he had been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.
Brock said in a statement Friday that a doctor’s diagnosis that he had conquered multiple myeloma was “the greatest news ever.” He credited God and thanked family, friends and fans for their support, saying he remained hopeful.
Brock’s previous health issues have included having his left leg was amputated below the knee in late 2015 because of an infection caused by complications with diabetes. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes more than 15 years ago and has worn a prosthesis since the amputation.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.
The 7:17-a.m. Sportscast w/Ric Hanson.
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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Kansas City and Seattle have swapped linebackers, with D.J. Alexander joining the Seahawks and Kevin Pierre-Louis being sent to the Chiefs. The clubs made the trade Friday before training camp for both teams.
BOSTON (AP) — Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas homered off emergency starter Rick Porcello, who took over when David Price went back on the disabled list because of inflammation in his left elbow, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Red Sox 4-2 Friday night for their season-high ninth straight win. Kelvin Herrera pitched a one-hit ninth for his 22nd save in 25 chances.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A line drive by St. Louis first baseman Luke Voit hit Arizona starter Robbie Ray in the head in the second inning of Friday night’s game against St. Louis. Ray, a left-hander, dropped flat on the mound.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis starter Michael Wacha pitched six innings and Jedd Gyorko drove in the lone run with one of his three hits Friday night, leading the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Wacha allowed three hits, but finished strong. He has won five of his last six starts and improved to 7-1 in 12 starts at Busch Stadium.
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — For now, William Byron’s future is in the NASCAR Xfinity series. But if he keeps racing as he has, he’ll find himself in a Monster Cup ride soon enough. The 19-year-old Byron and the Number 9 JR Motorsports team, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, have dominated the Xfinity series the past six weeks.
The defending state champion Harlan Cyclones defeated the Bishop Heelan Catholic Crusaders 6-3 in a Class 3A semifinal game Friday at Principal Park. The Cyclones held on late to capture the victory after Heelan made a ferocious comeback late in the game.
Harlan got the scoring started early, notching an unearned run in the second and two earned runs in the third. Ryan Doran and Nick Foss led the offensive charge for the Cyclones, with each recording two hits and scoring a run. Doran also recorded two RBIs and Foss added one RBI.
Josh Cheek was outstanding for the Cyclones en route to the win. He threw five shutout innings before surrendering three runs in the sixth. He allowed eight hits and three runs, while walking one and striking out one.
Despite outhitting the Cyclones, Heelan could not string enough hits together to capture the win. Matt Nelson and Brenden Roder provided most of the offense for Heelan, recording two hits apiece.
TJ Chamberlain threw well for the Crusaders, going five innings and allowing five hits and three runs, only two of which were earned. Colin Kasperbauer took the loss for Heelan. He pitched the sixth inning and allowed just one hit and one walk, but the defense faltered, allowing three unearned runs to score.
Bishop Heelan finishes its season at 32-13, while Harlan improves to 36-2. Harlan advances to the Class 3A Championship Game, Saturday at 5 p.m. They will play the winner of Assumption Davenport and Wahlert
Class 3-A Semi-finals
Harlan 6, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 3
Davenport, Assumption 12, Dubuque Wahlert 2 (5 innings)
Class 4-A Semi-finals
Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 8, Iowa City, West 1
Johnston 7, Waukee 1
Today’s (Saturday’s) Championship Schedule
11:00-a.m. Mason City/Newman Catholic vs. Martensdale/St. Mary’s, in Class 1A
1:30-p.m. Dyersville, Beckman Catholic vs. Carroll/Kuemper Catholic, in Class 2A
5:00-p.m. Davenport, Assumption vs. Harlan in Class 3A
7:30-p.m. Johnston vs. Dowling Catholic in Class 4A
RENTON, Wash. (AP) – Kansas City and Seattle have swapped linebackers, with D.J. Alexander joining the Seahawks and Kevin Pierre-Louis being sent to the Chiefs. The clubs made the trade Friday on the cusp of training camp for both teams. Alexander was a Pro Bowl selection last season as a special teams player for the Chiefs and played sparingly on defense. He had 16 total tackles in the regular season on defense and made one start.
Pierre-Louis never matched his potential with the Seahawks. An exceptional athlete, Pierre-Louis struggled with injuries and with inconsistent performance when he got on the field. Pierre-Louis appeared in 34 regular-season games with one start. He had 43 total tackles playing outside linebacker for the Seahawks.
The Iowa Girls Coaches Association released their All-State Softball Selections for the 2017 season early Friday. Local selections are listed below and you can follow the links to see the full statewide teams.
2017 Softball All State teams: –1A | 2A | 3A | 4A | 5A
Class 1A
First Team
Second Team
Third Team
Honorable Mention
Class 2A
First Team
Second Team
Third Team
Honorable Mention
Class 3A
First Team
Second Team
Third Team
Class 4A
Second Team
Third Team
Class 5A
Third Team
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