CINCINNATI (AP) — Matt Adams’ second homer sent St. Louis to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in 16 innings on Wednesday night, protecting the Cardinals’ hold on second place in the NL Central. Adams broke an 0-for-17 slump by connecting in the 14th. After St. Louis let that lead get away, he homered again off Logan Ondrusek, ending the Reds’ longest game of the season.

The Cardinals had dropped the first two games in the series, letting the Reds get within a game and a half for second place. They finish their season series on Thursday. St. Louis leads it 11-8. Carlos Martinez escaped a threat in the 15th, when Shin-Soo Choo reached third with two outs but was caught in a rundown.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig sprained his left foot while rounding first base and left the game in the fourth inning on Wednesday night. Craig hit a grounder to Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who threw too high to pitcher Bronson Arroyo covering the base. Craig twisted his foot and ankle while rounding the base and fell hard, allowing the Reds to retrieve the ball and tag him out while he was still down. He walked off slowly. Matt Adams replaced him in the field. Craig will be re-evaluated on Thursday.

The Cardinals have been bothered by nagging injuries while losing five of their last six games. Right fielder Carlos Beltran missed two games with a stiff back, and catcher Yadier Molina left one game with a sore left wrist.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Nothing seems assured for Iowa State after it lost to FCS school Northern Iowa last weekend. The lower-tier Panthers exposed issues on both sides of the ball for the inexperienced Cyclones, who showed that those who picked them to finish ninth in the Big 12 might end up being right. At least Iowa State has an extra week to fix what went wrong before hosting Iowa on September 14th.

Defensive coordinator Wally Burnham says missed alignments and tackles plagued his unit. The Cyclones’ offensive line struggled to establish the run or protect quarterback Sam Richardson, who sprained his ankle late in the game. Offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham says Richardson will be ready to play by the time the Hawkeyes visit Ames.

w/ Jim Field

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Megan Deist of Audubon won the girls title and Jake Weber of Boyer Valley was the boys champion at the Logan-Magnolia Cross Country Invitational Tuesday.  The girls team champion was St. Albert with 68 points.  Tri-Center also had 68 points for second place.  The St. Albert boys also won with 37 points.  Click the links below for the complete results!

Lo-MaHSGirls (1)

CINCINNATI (AP) – Speedy Billy Hamilton got his first major league steal Tuesday night and came around on Todd Frazier’s double in the seventh inning, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 1-0 victory, their second straight over the St. Louis Cardinals.  Hamilton set a professional record by swiping 155 bases in the minors last year. He got an ovation when he made his big league debut as a pinch runner for Ryan Ludwick, who led off the seventh with a single against Seth Maness (5-2).

After Maness threw to first three times, Hamilton took off and beat catcher Yadier Molina’s off-target throw. He scored easily on Frazier’s hit and got congratulatory slaps in the dugout.

(3-1) Glenwood 25-25-22-25, Atlantic 17-6-25-10
(3-0) Creston 25-25-25, Norwalk 16-13-21
(3-1) Audubon 18-25-25-25, Guthrie Center 25-13-20-14
(3-1) Clarke 25-25, Lenox 21-19
(2-1) East Mills 22-25-15, Sidney 25-16-12
(3-1) Essex 25-25-23-25, South Page 15-17-25-14
(2-0) Interstate 35 25-25, Lenox 12-15
(3-0) Martensdale-St Marys 25-25-25, Nodaway Valley 23-23-23
(3-0) Paton-Churdan 25-25-25, Orient-Macksburg 13-14-22
(2-0) Prairie Valley 25-25, West Central Valley 23-23
(2-1) River Valley 28-25-16, Logan-Magnolia 30-22-14
(3-0) Southwest Valley 25-28-25, Central Decatur 17-26-19
(2-0) Underwood 25-25, East Mills 16-9
(2-1) West Monona 25-23-15, Logan-Magnolia 23-25-13
(2-0) Winterset 25-25, Lenox 5-18

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — An upbeat Tony Stewart says he views his broken right leg as “a small bump in the road” and believes he’s on pace to return to racing in time for next year’s Daytona 500. The three-time NASCAR champion made his first appearance Tuesday since his Aug. 5 injury in a sprint car crash in Iowa. He underwent two surgeries on a broken tibia and fibula and has been homebound for almost a month.

Stewart used a wheelchair to get around Stewart-Haas Racing before sliding into a chair on the stage for his news conference. It’s the first significant injury for the 42-year-old owner/driver of SHR, who saw his streak of 521 consecutive starts come to an end with the injury.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lost again last weekend to MAC school Northern Illinois— its seventh straight dating back to 2012 and first in an opener in 13 years. But don’t mistake a loss for lost confidence. The Hawkeyes (0-1) showed signs that the misery of last season could eventually be a thing of the past, even in defeat.

New starting quarterback Jake Rudock played well. The running game showed signs of progress and Iowa’s defense appears to be in decent shape heading into Saturday’s game with FCS school Missouri State. Coach Kirk Ferentz says he saw a lot of “good things,” from both the offense and defense.