Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miles Mikolas pitched a four-hitter for his first career shutout and Tyler O’Neill homered for the third straight game and drove in four runs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. Mikolas needed just 109 pitches to remain unbeaten and struck out a career-high nine.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas has fired athletic director Sheahon Zenger. Chancellor Douglas Girod says “progress has been elusive” in some areas of the program. Girod has named deputy director Sean Lester interim athletic director while the university searches for a replacement.
UNDATED (AP) — LSU is usually among the nation’s best teams, not this year. A rare up-and-down season has left the Tigers unsure of their NCAA Tournament future heading into this week’s SEC Tournament. LSU is among the eight teams that will play in Tuesday’s single-elimination knockout round, which kicks off the six-day tournament.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Courtney Force has won her second straight Funny Car race, capturing the rain-delayed NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kansas. She defeated defending world champion and teammate Robert Hight in the final round. It was her third victory of the season and 11th of her career. Also winning were Clay Millican in Top Fuel and Deric Kramer in Pro Stock.