MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and Josh Hader, breakout stars during Milwaukee’s surprising run to the NL Championship Series last year, are managing to look even better in 2019.

Yelich became the first MVP to homer in the first three games of the following season, Hader closed things out with an immaculate inning and the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Saturday night.

After a making a sliding catch in right field for the first out of the game, Yelich got Milwaukee on the board in his first at-bat, sending a hanging slider from Dakota Hudson (0-1) to left for a 1-0 lead.

“He’s swinging the bat really good,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Two opposite-field homers in the last two days.”

Travis Shaw and Mike Moustakas went deep in the third for Milwaukee, spoiling Hudson’s first career major league start after 26 relief appearances as a rookie last season.

“Those guys are really strong,” Hudson said. “A lot of veteran hitters over there. They knew what they could do and they took the ball the backside. It wasn’t like they were hitting a ton of mistakes. They knew what they wanted and executed and put a good swing on it.”

The right-hander was charged with four runs — three earned — seven hits and two walks while striking out six over 4 1/3 innings.

“He competed really well, he went after it,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “I really appreciate the way he dealt with adversity. He went right back at it. So, it’s a really good trait. Dakota’s going to be more than fine.”

Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff (1-0) held St. Louis to two runs and struck out five over five innings. The Brewers’ bullpen took over from there with four scoreless innings, capped by Hader’s perfect ninth — nine pitches, all fastballs, for three strikeouts.

EVANSVILLE, Indiana – The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team captured the program’s second NCAA Division II national championship with a perfect season at 38-0 following its 64-58 triumph over Point Loma Nazarene University at the Ford Center.

Northwest becomes only the fifth program to record to complete a perfect season (38-0) and win the national title.

Joey Witthus led the Bearcats with 24 points. Atlantic’s Ryan Hawkins scored 9 points and had a game high 12 rebounds.

Northwest had a 4 point halftime lead and held close to a seven point lead the last few minutes of the game and got the defensive stops they needed to pull off the win.

According to school officials, Fred Hoiberg has been named the next head coach at Nebraska. Hoiberg will receive a seven-year, $25 million contract, according to ESPN. Hoiberg will be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday. The 46-year old had been fired in December by the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg takes over for Tim Miles, who was dismissed on Tuesday after seven seasons.

Hoiberg was born in Lincoln and his grandfather, Jerry Bush, was the Cornhuskers’ coach from 1954-63. Hoiberg went 115-155 from 2010-15 with the Bulls. Before that, he had a successful five-year run as Iowa State’s coach with an up-tempo, spread-the-floor offense. He went 115-56 and led the Cyclones to four straight NCAA Tournaments and two Big 12 Tournament titles.

Hoiberg’s charge at Nebraska is to elevate a program whose most recent regular-season conference championship came in 1950. The Huskers remain the only Power Five conference program to have never won an NCAA Tournament game.

As a star player for Iowa State, Hoiberg competed twice a year against the Huskers from 1991-95 — the period when Nebraska enjoyed its most sustained success, with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. In the 25 years since, the Huskers have gone to the tournament just twice (1998, 2014).

Hoiberg had said shortly after the Bulls fired him that he wanted to coach again, but the speculation was that it would be in the NBA.    St. John’s assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih is expected to join Hoiberg’s staff at Nebraska, according to ESPN. Abdelmassih worked under Hoiberg at Iowa State and handled most of the recruiting for the Cyclones.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Iowa did what it always does, working the ball around and getting it to Megan Gustafson. Now the Hawkeyes are sticking around longer in the NCAA Tournament than they have in a generation. Gustafson had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead Iowa past North Carolina State 79-61 on Saturday in the Greensboro Regional semifinals.

“It’s been a magical year for us,” coach Lisa Bluder said, “and we don’t want to see it end.” Gustafson, who averages a Division I-best 28 points while also ranking second in rebounding, finished with her 33rd double-double to tie the NCAA’s single-season record. She made 10 of her 13 shots. Hannah Stewart added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

They helped the second-seeded Hawkeyes (29-6) earn their first Elite Eight appearance since 1993. Iowa will play top-seeded Baylor on Monday night in the regional final, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

Thanks to Gustafson, it’s among the Hawkeyes’ deeper marches through the bracket in recent years. This was Iowa’s first Sweet 16 since 2015 and just the third since the ’93 team rolled to the lone Final Four in program history under coach C. Vivian Stringer. Gustafson joined some elite company with her latest double-double.

Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris set the record of 33 in 2006 and did it again a year later. Natalie Butler of George Mason matched that mark last season. Gustafson has had a double-double in all but two games this season.