ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pedro Alvarez homered in a seven-run first inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates broke an eight-game losing streak at Busch Stadium, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 Thursday night. The Pirates moved within six games of the first-place Cardinals in the NL Central with their 12th victory in 18 games. St. Louis, which won the first two in the series, has won the last seven sets between the teams at Busch Stadium.

Alvarez had three hits as the Pirates held on. The Cardinals closed their seven-run deficit to 7-5 in the seventh. Francisco Liriano (8-6) pitched six innings. Lance Lynn (9-7) got just two outs in the shortest of his 119 career starts.

Scott Strohmeier knew the Iowa Western Community College football program had potential when he was named the school’s first head coach back in 2008 but even he admits he had no idea the they would become a national power so soon. The Rievers won a national title in only their fourth season as a program and they enter this season fourth ranked in The Sporting News junior college pre-season poll.

Strohmeier has led Iowa Western to a 57-10 record in six seasons and says they welcome the lofty expectations. Iowa Western has succeeded by mixing talented players who need to go the junior college route to become eligible for division one with multi-sport Iowa kids who want to play at a higher level.

The Rievers will play a demanding schedule including road trips to the top four contenders in the Jayhawk Conference. Iowa Western closed last season by losing to East Mississippi in the national championship game. The Rievers open the new season August 29th with a visit to Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.

(Learfield Sports)

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles sounded off on the ineptness of his offensive line last season following Wednesday’s practice at Missouri Western State University. Rarely one to speak out, the Pro Bowler acknowledged the hodge-podge of players the Chiefs had block for him was a big reason why he was less productive last season. It was also a big reason why he was banged up almost the entire way.

Kansas City lost starting guard Jeff Allen to a season-ending injury in Week 1, then had to make do with fill-ins Mike McGlynn and Jeff Linkenbach the rest of the way. Not only is Allen back in the mix, but the Chiefs traded for Pro Bowl offensive guard Ben Grubbs in the offseason – much to the delight of Charles.

The Cass County Conservation Board is considering a resolution to open the east half of the Turkey Creek Wildlife Area to public hunting. The Turkey Creek Wildlife Area is located between Atlantic and Lewis, just off Highway 6. The area is currently not open to public hunting, and the Conservation Board feels the area is underutilized.

A public hearing will be held August 27th beginning at 5-p.m. to address the matter. The hearing takes place at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Office at Cold Springs State Park, at Lewis. Input will be taken at that time with regard to a proposal to open the area to public hunting.

If you have any questions, please call Micah Lee with the Cass County Conservation Board, at 712-769-2372.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union is weighing options in the hopes of attracting new officials for the various sports. Lisa Brinkmeyer of the girls’ union says over the last five or six years they have lost more than 400 officials.

Brinkmeyer says “It used to be that colleges offered an officiating class and credits. Well, those kind of fell by the wayside, although our officials coordinator Joe Oswald is working with some of the colleges trying to get that started up again. And also mentoring. We’ve got so many great officials out there. We talk to them a lot about ‘find some young guy or young gal in your community, to get them interested in it.'”

Brinkmeyer says there have also been discussions about the possibility of offering credits to high school students who officiate junior high contests. She says a national study showed that one in ten new officials don’t return for a second year.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa women’s basketball team is headed to Italy where the Hawkeyes will play three exhibition games. Coach Lisa Bluder’s team is coming off a 26-8 season in which they made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Bluder says with a young nucleus of four sophomores and four freshmen the Hawkeyes will beneft from the trip.

The Hawkeyes play their first game on Friday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Martinez was strongest at the end of his eight innings and Jason Heyward had two hits and two RBIs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals edge the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Tuesday night in a matchup of the National League’s top two teams.

Yadier Molina tied it with a sacrifice fly and rookie Stephen Piscotty singled in the go-ahead run on consecutive at-bats off Jeff Locke (6-7) in the fifth inning. Kolten Wong singled twice for his first multihit game of the month and Piscotty had three hits.

Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the ninth for his 34th save in 36 chances. The Cardinals lead the Pirates by six games in the NL Central and are 6-5 in the season series with seven of the games decided by one run and five in the final at-bat.

St. Louis is 72-40 overall, at 32 over .500 it matches the season’s high water mark, and 41-16 at home — both major league bests.