WASHINGTON (AP) – WASHINGTON (AP) – David Freese homered, drove in three runs and had a go-ahead single in the ninth inning Saturday as the St. Louis Cardinals ended a four-game skid with a wild, 10-9 win over the Washington Nationals.  Matt Holliday also homered and Matt Carpenter smacked a three-run double for the Cardinals, who had scored only one run during their four losses while allowing 32. Freese, John Jay and Allen Craig each had three of the Cardinals’ 14 hits. The NL East-leading Nationals led 6-2 in the second inning and, after falling behind by two runs in the fourth, rallied for three in the sixth to take a 9-8 lead. Adam LaRoche and Danny Espinosa each homered for Washington.  St. Louis tied it in the eighth on Carlos Beltran’s pinch-hit single off Nationals reliever Sean Burnett. Craig led off the ninth with a single against Drew Storen (1-1). One out later he stole second base and later raced home on Freese’s looping hit over the Nationals infield.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Steele Jantz threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as Iowa State beat Tulsa 38-23 Saturday to win its ninth opener in 10 years.  Shontrelle Johnson added a career-high 120 yards rushing for the Cyclones, who scored 24 straight points and held off a late rally by the Golden Hurricane. Jantz threw and ran for second-quarter touchdowns to help Iowa State move ahead 24-16 at halftime.  Cody Green’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Keyarris Garrett brought Tulsa within 31-23 in the fourth quarter. But the Golden Hurricane’s final drive fizzled when Deon Broomfield intercepted Green with 2:04 left.  Johnson’s 5-yard TD run on the next play sealed the win for Iowa State.  Green had 198 yards passing and two touchdowns in his first career start for Tulsa.

CHICAGO (AP) – Damon Bullock ran for 150 yards and scored on a late 23-yard touchdown run to lead Iowa to an 18-17 victory over Northern Illinois in the season opener on Saturday. The Hawkeyes simply got all they could handle from the reigning Mid-American Conference champions but came out on top after trailing most of the way.  They were down 17-12 when Bullock ran untouched around the left end to put them ahead by one. That happened after Iowa downed a punt at the NIU 1, pinning the Huskies against the goal line.  Rather than take a safety, Northern Illinois punted. Iowa took over on the 24 and Bullock ran it in on third down. The 2-point conversation failed, but the defense held its ground, giving Iowa a tense victory at Soldier Field.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Montee Ball rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, and No. 12 Wisconsin needed a big defensive play to survive a fourth-quarter scare from Northern Iowa in a 26-21 victory Saturday.  Wisconsin’s defense didn’t allow Northern Iowa on its side of the 50-yard line until the 4:27 mark in the third quarter – but then the Badgers nearly melted down. Leading 26-7 in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin allowed Northern Iowa quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen to throw a pair of long touchdowns to David Johnson, cutting the lead to five. With the Panthers facing fourth-and-1 at the Wisconsin 41-yard line, defensive lineman Ethan Hemer tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage to stop the drive.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals activated OF-1B Lance Berkman from the 15-day disabled list and recalled left-hander Sam Freeman from Triple-A Memphis.  Berkman, out since Aug. 3 with a right knee injury, will initially be limited to a pinch-hitting role, manager Mike Matheny said Saturday before the Cardinals game against the Washington Nationals.  In 28 games this season for St. Louis, Berkman is batting .267 with two homers and 13 RBIs. He finished 4 of 17 (.235) in six games during his rehab stint with Memphis.  In 13 appearances this season for St. Louis, Freeman is 1-0 with 6.00 ERA over 12 innings.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Chiefs signed eight players to the practice squad Saturday, including wide receiver Junior Hemingway and defensive lineman Jerome Long, their seventh-round picks in April’s draft.  All the players signed to the practice team were waived the previous day, when the Chiefs had to trim their roster from 75 players to 53 by the NFL’s deadline. The Chiefs technically have 54 players under contract because linebacker Tamba Hali, suspended for the opener next Sunday against Atlanta, does not count against the roster limit. Hali will be eligible Week 2 after violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. The other players signed to the practice squad were wide receivers Jamar Newsome and Josh Bellamy, offensive linemen Lucas Patterson and David Mims, fullback Patrick DiMarco and defensive back Neiko Thorpe.

(Podcast) Area, State and National Sports news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson….

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