OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Stage fright was no factor for a Michigan baseball program that’s in the College World Series for the first time in 35 years. The Wolverines just kept doing what they’ve been doing since the NCAA Tournament started.

“Pitching, defense, timely hitting seems to be the recipe of the postseason,” coach Erik Bakich said. The Wolverines got all three once again Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park. Jimmy Kerr’s first triple in two years helped build an early lead, Karl Kauffmann pitched seven strong innings and the Wolverines opened their first CWS appearance since 1984 with a 5-3 victory over Texas Tech.

The last time Michigan made it this far, a team led by future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin went 0-2. The Wolverines had lost four straight in the CWS since winning their first game in 1983.
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Michigan, a No. 3 regional seed and one of the last four teams awarded at-large bids for the 64-team NCAA Tournament, plays a Bracket 1 winners’ game Monday night against the winner of the Saturday night game between Florida State and Arkansas. Texas Tech meets the Florida State-Arkansas loser on Monday.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — The NASCAR Truck series race at Iowa Speedway has been postponed until Sunday because of inclement weather. The sport’s organizing body made the call Saturday after repeated thunderstorms and lightning strikes in central Iowa left the short track too soaked for racing.

Qualifying was canceled as well, so the field for Sunday’s start will be set by owner’s points. Sixteen-year-old Chandler Smith will start from the pole in his series debut in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 truck, followed by Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen and Matt Crafton.

Sunday’s race will start at 11 a.m., followed by an Xfinity race at 4:30 p.m.

The 7:18-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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

NEW YORK (AP) — Dexter Fowler hit a go-ahead, three-run homer moments after Paul DeJong’s tying shot in the eighth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 9-5 to sweep an odd double feature. Hours earlier, DeJong helped the Cardinals complete a rally that started the night before, grounding an RBI single against Edwin Díaz in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win. The series opener Thursday was suspended following 8 1/2 innings, and St. Louis needed 18 minutes to complete the victory.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mitch Garver’s two-run homer in the eighth inning snapped a scoreless tie, and Kyle Gibson gave up two hits in eight innings in the Minnesota Twins’ 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Garver’s 11th home run of the season was deep to the berm in center field off Kansas City reliever Jake Diekman (0-4) after Max Kepler had walked.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Arkansas has tried to move on from the foul ball that dropped and cost the Razorbacks the national championship last year. The Razorbacks have returned to the College World Series and will open Saturday night against Florida State. Pitcher Isaiah Campbell said it left some of his teammates with a sense of unfinished business. The CWS opens Saturday afternoon with Michigan playing Texas Tech. Sunday games pit Louisville against Vanderbilt and Auburn against Mississippi State.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Ross Chastain seems like the busiest driver in NASCAR. He opened the season with 36 consecutive starts across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, The 26-year-old Chastain has logged a staggering 7,501 laps since February, a streak that only came to an end when he sat out last week’s Cup event in Michigan. He will run this weekend in Iowa.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Texas A&M assistant coach Will Bolt is returning to Nebraska to become the Cornhuskers’ head baseball coach. Bolt played on Nebraska’s Dave Van Horn-coached teams that reached the College World Series in 2001 and 2002 and has been in coaching 16 years. Bolt signed a five-year contract paying him $300,000 annually. He replaces Darin Erstad, who resigned June 3 after eight seasons.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Organizers of the celebration to honor the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues expect a massive crowd, and security will be tight. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected Saturday for a parade and rally beneath the Gateway Arch to celebrate the Blues’ first-ever NHL championship. The Blues beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 Wednesday in the decisive Game 7.

Red Oak 4, Atlantic 3
CAM 4, West Harrison 3
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 5, Pleasant Valley 4
Martensdale-St. Marys 6, Lenox 1
Murray 6, Seymour 5
Stanton 9, Essex-South Page 1
Treynor 21, Riverside 1 (4 innings)

Ft. Dodge Tournament

Muscatine 14, Atlantic 1
Central Springs 9, Atlantic 2

Other Scores

ADM 15, Benton 3
ADM 2, Solon 0
Bedford 4, East Union 3
Exira-EHK 7, Coon Rapids-Bayard 2
OABCIG 10, Lawton-Bronson 0
Twin Cedars 11, Orient-Macksburg 0
West Harrison 13, CAM 6
Winterset 8, Bishop Heelan 2

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A homeless man charged in the killing of a former Iowa State University golfer has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. The Des Moines Register reports that 22-year-old Collin Richards entered the plea during a hearing Friday. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison when he’s sentenced Aug. 23. Richards had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge and was set to stand trial in September.

Police say Richards fatally stabbed 22-year-old Celia Barquín Arozamena last September while she was playing a round at a public course in Ames, near the university campus, and leaving her body in a pond on the course. Investigators say Richards he had been staying in a small homeless encampment in the woods near the public course.

Barquín Arozamena was a top golfer in Spain as a teenager and came to Iowa State to pursue her career.

Atlantic Assistant Wrestling Coach Tucker Weber is set to become the new Head Wrestling Coach at Glenwood. The Glenwood School Board just needs to approve the new hire at their next meeting.

Weber was a four-time state medalist at Clear Lake, graduating in 2009. He went on to wrestle at Wartburg and then completed his education at the University of Northern Iowa. He has spent time with the Dike-New Hartford and Atlantic school districts. He has been on Atlantic/CAM’s Wrestling staff since 2016.

Weber will take over for Brad Asch in Glenwood. Asch recently resigned to pursue another career. He’ll be teaching Middle School Physical Education in Glenwood.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has released the postseason baseball District assignments for 2019. Match-ups and schedules will be released at a later date.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their 4th edition of the high school softball rankings on Thursday. Here’s a look at highlights from each class.

In Class 1A Collins-Maxwell is top ranked. Westwood checks in at #10.

In Class 2A North Linn holds the top spot. Mount Ayr is 15th.

In Class 3A Davenport Assumption is #1. Treynor falls from 5th to 7th. Atlantic dropped three spots to #10.

In Class 4A ADM remains #1. Harlan jumps into the poll at #14 this week.

In Class 5A Waukee remains in the top spot.

Take a look at the full rankings list here: softball-2019-61319rankings