AMES, Iowa – Iowa State added a 12^th game to its 2020 football schedule by agreeing to host Ball State Sept. 12 at MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium.

The match-up replaces the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game against Iowa, which was cancelled when the Big Ten decided to play conference games only this fall. Ball State was available to play as Michigan cancelled its game with the Cardinals as part of that Big Ten conference-only slate in 2020.

The Cyclones will now play their first four games at home and eight of 12 overall in Jack Trice Stadium. The first road game will be Oct. 3 at Kansas.

“I am excited for our players and fans to have eight opportunities to play in Jack Trice Stadium this fall,” Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. “Playing our first four games and six of the opening eight at home should give our team a significant competitive advantage.”

Pollard noted that Coach Matt Campbell’s teams have won nearly 80% of their home games the last two seasons. ISU has defeated a ranked team in each of the last three seasons in Jack Trice Stadium.

“There’s no question our guys like to play in Jack Trice Stadium as we’ve won 11 of the last 14 games there,” Pollard added. “We remain hopeful that we can host fans this season and the Ball State game will be a bonus for those with season tickets. We are not adjusting ticket prices despite adding another home game.”

Pollard noted the challenges of preparing a team to play in the COVID-19 environment.

“As we make every effort to keep our staff and players healthy in these challenging COVID-19-related times, it should be an advantage to avoid team travel the first month of the season,” Pollard said.

Iowa State and Ball State have played just once previously on the gridiron, a 38-0 Cyclone victory in 1998.

The Cyclone home schedule for this fall includes South Dakota (Sept. 5), Ball State (Sept. 12), UNLV (Sept. 19), Texas Tech (Sept. 26), Oklahoma (Oct. 17), Kansas State (Oct. 29), Baylor (Nov. 14) and West Virginia (Nov. 27).

Class 3A Quarterfinals

Tuesday, July 28

10:30—#4 Norwalk (17-5) vs. #5 Clear Creek-Amana (16-5)
1:30—#1 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (20-3) vs. #8 Marion (10-10)
4:30— #2 Dallas Center-Grimes (17-3) vs. #7 Benton Community (13-11)
7:30—#3 Gilbert (21-3) vs. #6 ADM (12-7)

Class 3A Quarterfinals

12:30 p.m. – Dodger Diamond – #2 Davenport Assumption (19-3) vs. #7 Boyden-Hull Rock Valley (14-2)
1:00 p.m. – Veterans’ Diamond – #3 Williamsburg (23-4) vs. #6 Algona (16-1)

Class 2A Quarterfinals

11:00 a.m. – Kruger Field – #1 North Linn (23-0) vs. #8 Ridge View (11-8)
11:30 a.m. – Iowa Central Field – #4 Northeast (19-2) vs. #5 Central Springs (17-3)
4:30 p.m. – Dodger Diamond – #2 Louisa-Muscatine (18-5) vs. #7 Underwood (14-4)
5:00 p.m. – Veterans’ Diamond – #3 Ogden (19-3) vs. #6 Mount Ayr (10-4)

Class 1A Quarterfinals

3:00 p.m. – Kruger Field – #1 Collins-Maxwell (19-1) vs. #8 Newman Catholic (19-3)
3:30 p.m. – Iowa Central Field – #4 Lynnville-Sully (18-2) vs. #5 Wayne (17-4)
7:00 p.m. – Kruger Field  – #2 Newell-Fonda (18-2) vs. #7 Lisbon (20-3)
7:30 p.m. – Iowa Central Field – #3 Clarksville (16-1) vs. #6 Akron-Westfield (17-2)

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

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

DETROIT (AP) — Maikel Franco hit two of Kansas City’s six home runs, and the Royals pounded the Tigers 14-6, spoiling Detroit’s fan-free home opener. Whit Merrifield had three hits and three RBIs, finishing a triple shy of the cycle on a night when the Royals rallied from an early 5-1 deficit. Foster Griffin won in relief, but he also had to leave his major league debut with a left forearm strain. Detroit’s Michael Fulmer allowed three homers in his first start back from Tommy John surgery.

Anthony Rizzo homered for the third time, and the Chicago Cubs held on for an 8-7 victory over a Cincinnati Reds team coping with coronavirus uncertainty. Jeremy Jeffress escaped a bases-loaded threat in the ninth for his first save with the Cubs. Wade Miley failed to make it through the second inning of his Reds debut. Rizzo scored three times as the Cubs won for the third time in four games. The Reds dropped to 1-3, a disappointing start after their $165 million offseason makeover.

Tyler Chatwood pitched three-hit ball over six innings, Willson Contreras homered and the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-1 to take two of three in their opening series. Chatwood gave the Cubs just the sort of outing they were looking for after working mostly out of the bullpen last season. He struck out eight and walked two in an impressive start for a pitcher who struggled with his control his first two years in Chicago. Contreras smacked an RBI double in the Cubs’ four-run fourth and a long solo homer in the seventh.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nobody really had any idea what training camp would like look until the NFL and its players’ union came to an agreement late last week. The deal dramatically altered the collective bargaining agreement to ensure football will be played in the age of the coronavirus. Andy Reid might well have been the first one with a plan when the details were finally decided. The coach of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs has always been a stickler for planning. That could come in handy when the pandemic is forcing plans to change almost daily.

Minnesota Vikings vice president of sports medicine Eric Sugarman has tested positive for COVID-19. Sugarman is in charge of the organization’s virus prevention plan as the infection control officer. The team announced that Sugarman and his family tested positive over the weekend. The Vikings said they’ve tested all individuals who’d recently been in close contact with Sugarman.

Class 5A Quarterfinals

#1 Fort Dodge 7,  #8 Bettendorf 0 Box Score

#5 Ankeny Centennial 5, #4 Waukee 2 Box Score

#2 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 10, #7 Pleasant Valley 4 Box Score

#6 Muscatine 3, #3 West Des Moines Valley 1 Box Score

Class 4A Quarterfinals

#1 Carlisle 5, vs. #8 LeMars 0 Box Score

#4 North Scott 11, #5 Charles City 0 Box Score

#7 Winterset 7, #2 West Delaware 4 Box Score

#6 Dallas Center-Grimes 7 #3 Fairfield 5 Box Score

Class 3A Quarterfinals

#1 Albia 12,  #8 Creston 0 Box Score

#5 Mount Vernon 7, #4 Humboldt 4 Box Score

Van Meter 1, Treynor 0 (8 inn.) | BOX SCORE

West Lyon, Inwood 13, Mid-Prairie, Wellman 3 (6 inn.) | BOX SCORE

North Linn, Troy Mills 2, Durant 1 | BOX SCORE

Des Moines Christian 2, Dike-New Hartford 1 | BOX SCORE

#1 Van Meter 1, Treynor 0 (8 innings)

(IHSAA) Defense was the name of the game Monday, as top-ranked and top-seeded Van Meter took down eighth-seeded Treynor 1-0 in eight innings to advance to the 2A semifinals.

The defending 2A state champion Bulldogs (21-2) and Cardinals (12-8) battled through a pitching duel for most of the game until an offensive break late. Van Meter pitchers totaled 17 strikeouts in a combined no-hitter. Treynor pitchers fanned six and allowed just two hits.

The deciding (and only) run came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Van Meter sophomore Jack Pettit hit a ball to right field. The ball landed just inside the foul line, sending senior Bryce Cole home with the game-winning run. Cole reached on an error with one out and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Zach Pleggenkuhle. He scored easily on the hit by Pettit.

But aside from Pettit’s hit in crunch time, offense was hard to find thanks to dominant pitching.

Van Meter’s Anthony Potthoff had himself a day, tossing a no-hitter before leaving the game due to reaching his pitch count. He struck out 13 batters in his 6.2 innings on the mound while only walking one. Pleggenkuhle finished the game, striking out four and also no-hitting Treynor in his 1.1 innings.

Meanwhile, Treynor pitcher Drew Petersen kept the Bulldogs scoreless in his five innings. Petersen struck out six batters, walking four. Reliever Nate McCombs pitched the final 2.2 innings.

Treynor nearly took the lead in the top of the fifth. The Cardinals had runners on second and third, but a fielder’s choice put the runners in the pickle. Van Meter picked up the double play, and that would be as close as Treynor would come to scoring another run.

Van Meter will face the winner of Mid-Prarie and West Lyon on Thursday in the 2A semifinals.

The Atlantic Trojans football team has a revised schedule in place for the 2020 season. The IHSAA changed the format for the season on Friday, going to a 7-game regular season instead of a 9-game schedule. All teams will compete in the playoffs which will start in what would have been Week 8 of the season.

For the Trojans they drop two home non-district games against Mount Ayr and Treynor and shift the district schedule up two weeks.

• Week 1 @ Underwood
• Week 2 @ Kuemper
• Week 3 @ Greene County
• Week 4 vs Clarinda
• Week 5 @ Des Moines Christian
• Week 6 @ Shenandoah
• Week 7 vs Red Oak
• Week 8 @ Class 2A Playoffs

The 2A Quarterfinals will be a bit behind regular schedule today at the State Baseball Tournament. Wet grounds conditions at Principal Park are the reason behind the delay. Treynor vs. Van Meter is now set to start at 12:35 p.m. The rest of the games will follow today 45-minutes following conclusion of the previous game.

#1 Van Meter vs. #8 Treynor

#4 Mid-Prairie, Wellman vs. #5 West Lyon, Inwood

#2 North Linn, Troy Mills vs. #7 Durant

#3 Dike-New Hartford vs. #6 Des Moines Christian