LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Wacha pitched seven effective innings, Jason Heyward and Kolten Wong drove in two runs each, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between the National League’s top two teams.

The Cardinals, who knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, increased their Central Division lead to 6 1-2 games over the idle Pittsburgh Pirates while the Dodgers’ West Division advantage shrunk to 1 1-2 games over the idle San Francisco Giants.

Wacha (8-1) allowed a run and seven hits without walking a batter and had five strikeouts, five days after the Dodgers beat him 5-1 at St. Louis in a game that was delayed more than 2 hours by rain. This was the right-hander’s first road start against the Dodgers, whom he defeated twice in the 2013 NL championship series while shutting them out in 13 2-3 innings.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State President Steven Leath says he’s “open minded” about how much the university is willing to pay its next basketball coach, adding that the school is looking for a return on its investment.

Leath spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since Fred Hoiberg left to take over the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. Leath says he intends to interview all the finalists identified by athletic director Jamie Pollard and weigh in with his opinion before Pollard makes the final decision. Leath says the next coach’s contract would likely be loaded with performance incentives tied to the team’s success in the Big 12 and nationally.

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Baseball:
Nodaway Valley 14, Atlantic 1
Harlan 14, Shenandoah 6
St. Albert 1, Abraham Lincoln 0
IKM-Manning 13, Griswold 8
Logan-Magnolia 9, Tri-Center 2
A-H-S-T-W 20, Riverside 4 (5 inn)
Treynor 5, Underwood 4
Lenox 15, Murray 3 (5 inn)
Coon Rapids-Bayard 10, Glidden-Ralston 0

Softball:
Atlantic 9, Madrid 3 (Ally Anderson hit a 3-run HR)
Essex 12, Red Oak 4
Denison-Schleswig 10, East Sac County 6 (8 inn)
Abraham Lincoln 11, St. Albert 1 (5 inn)
Riverside 7, A-H-S-T-W 6
West Central Valley 9, Audubon 8
IKM-Manning 5, Griswold 2
Logan-Magnolia 5, Tri-Center 2
Treynor 4, Underwood 3
Missouri Valley 9, West Monona 2
Exira/EHK 5, CAM 3
Ar-We-Va 9, Adair-Casey 0
Murray 11, Lenox 2

MIAMI (AP) — Chicago Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler, who leads all NL rookies with 15 hits, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left ankle injury. Soler might be ready to return as soon as he’s eligible, manager Joe Maddon said. Soler played in every game until he was hurt when he stepped on first base awkwardly trying to beat out a grounder Monday against the Marlins.

Junior Lake started in right field for the second game in a row Wednesday, and Maddon said he’ll be interested to see who emerges in Soler’s absence. One candidate will be outfielder Mike Baxter, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa 24 hours after being sent down.

Soler is batting .265 with four homers and 19 RBIs.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education is launching an investigation into the University of Iowa’s handling of gender discrimination claims against athletic director Gary Barta. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the department’s Office for Civil Rights notified the school of the investigation last week and requested numerous documents.

Four members of the women’s field hockey team filed a complaint in August alleging that Barta’s decision to fire coach Tracey Griesbaum was part of a pattern of discrimination against strong female coaches. Barta has denied the allegation. He says Griesbaum was fired after an investigation found concerns about how some players were treated.

The Office for Civil Rights says it will look into the school’s failure to investigate a sex discrimination complaint against Barta filed by students in October.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — John Lackey pitched seven innings and Matt Carpenter had two hits and drove in two runs, leading the Cardinals to a 7-4 victory Wednesday over the Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis improved the best home record in the majors to 22-7 and won all three series during its nine-game homestand.

Milwaukee third baseman Hector Gomez crashed into the stands behind third and left the game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Gomez was trying to catch a foul ball hit by Jason Heyward in the sixth inning on Wednesday. Gomez hit the short wall at full speed and fell head-first into the seats. After being looked at, he left the game under his own power.

A Brewers spokesman says Gomez was examined by a doctor for a possible concussion and the results were negative. Hernan Perez moved from second base to third and Luis Sardinas came in to play second.

The Fremont and Page County Crime Stoppers are asking for your help. The non-profit community-based organization is sponsoring the 5th Annual Fremont/Page County Crime Stopper Golf Tournament on Saturday, July 11th, beginning at 1:00- p.m.  The event will be held at the American Legion County Club Golf Course (1800 South Elm Street), in Shenandoah.

There will be door prizes, hole prizes and more given away, and organizers will hold an auction for the larger donations. Anyone wishing to donate to the auction is asked to give gift certificates, tickets, hotel stays, prizes, or a monetary donation. Your company name and donation will be listed for all to see. There’s also a need for hole sponsors. The cost for this is $200 per sponsor.

If you are interested in being a hole sponsor and entering a team you can do so at the discounted rate of $340 for both. Meal and registration starts at noon. The group is also recruiting teams to play in their tournament. This will be a 4 person team and the cost is $60.00 per person or $240 per team, which includes the Mulligan package and a chance to win a new car with a hole in one. To sign up, contact the American Legion Country Club at 712-246-3308.

If you have any questions, contact the Fremont County Sheriff s Office at 712-374-2424, Page County Sheriff s Office at 712-542-5193, Clarinda Police Department at 712-542-2194, or the Shenandoah Police Department at 712-246-3512.

Donations may be sent to: Fremont County Crime Stoppers, c/o Fremont County Sheriff s Department, 701Cass St., P.O. Box 359, Sidney, Iowa 51652.

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“On behalf of Iowa State University, I want to personally thank Fred (Hoiberg) for restoring a proud tradition to Cyclone men’s basketball. When Fred interviewed five years ago, he outlined a plan for how he would bring back the magic to Hilton Coliseum. He certainly delivered on that vision and has built a championship program in the process. We owe him our sincerest thanks.

Although Fred’s connections to Iowa State are evident on so many fronts, he has always expressed a desire to coach in the NBA if the right opportunity presented itself. We are happy that he’ll realize his personal dream and wish him success going forward.

We’re excited for the future of Iowa State basketball as we have an outstanding group of young men preparing for what should be another terrific season, and we embrace the opportunity to identify a new leader for the Cyclone men’s basketball program.

ISU President Steven Leath and I will conduct a national search for a new coach, and we are confident that our basketball program will continue on the upward trajectory it has established. We are energized to capitalize on the momentum of our program as we pursue a new coach at Iowa State.”

As in other coaching searches, the Iowa State Athletics Department will not have further comment on that process until a new coach is introduced.