OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Brian Howard matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in seven-plus innings, Omaha native Ryan Merrill homered to start a three-run third and TCU beat Texas A&M 4-1 in a College World Series elimination game on Tuesday.

The Horned Frogs (48-16) avoided going 0-2 for the first time in five all-time CWS appearances and will play Thursday against the loser of Tuesday night’s Louisville-Florida game. The Aggies (41-23) have gone two-games-and-out in their last three appearances and have lost eight in a row in Omaha.

Howard (12-3) struck out six of the first seven batters he faced and turned the game over to Sean Wymer in the eighth. Merrill homered to right, Evan Skoug doubled in a run and Elliott Barzilli had an RBI single to make it 4-0 in the third.

Texas A&M starter Stephen Kolek (4-5) was knocked out in 2 2/3 innings, matching his shortest start of the season. Kaylor Chafin held the Frogs to three singles the rest of the way.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Yadier Molina and Tommy Pham both homered in a seven-run 11th inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 on Tuesday night. Stephen Piscotty had a two-run double off Casey Fien after Edubray Ramos (0-5) started the inning with two walks. Molina and Pham followed with homers as the Cardinals had their biggest output of the season in an inning.

Fien gave up both homers and then a single to Chad Huffman and double to Carpenter before the pitcher was removed. Philadelphia has now lost 12 of its last 13 games. Kevin Siegrist (1-1) pitched one inning in relief to earn the win.

Mike Leake started the game for St. Louis and allowed one run and three hits in six innings.  Jeremy Hellickson gave up six hits and a run in seven innings. His only blemish was a solo homer for Jedd Gyorko in the second inning. Philadelphia scored its lone run of the game on a Maikel Franco RBI single after Leake walked the first two batters in the fourth inning.

w/Chris Parks.

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Officials report record ticket sales for August’s Solheim Cup. The Des Moines Golf and Country Club will host the women’s version of the Ryder Cup which will feature three days of competition between the top golfers from the United States and the best from Europe.

Chris Garrett is the tournament director. Des Moines Golf hosted the 1999 U-S Senior Open which shattered attendance records.

Julie Inkster is making her second run as captain of the U-S team after leading the Americans to victory in Germany two years ago. Inkster says the event more closely resembles a team sport than a golf tournament.

Inkster says the team aspect and the chance to represent your country makes the Solheim Cup an emotional event.

Three days of competition begins August 18.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the regional brackets for Class 1A, 2A, and 3A softball on Monday evening. Class 4A and 5A pairings will be released on Thursday.

Atlantic will start their postseason run on July 5th at home against Clarinda with a 7:00pm start time.  The winner of that game is scheduled to play again in Atlantic against the winner of Shenandoah at Red Oak. West Marshall faces Creston and Saydel takes on North Polk on the other side of the Class 3A Region 8 bracket. The highest remaining seed will host the regional final.

Check out the full regional brackets for all three classes here:

Class 1A Regional Softball Pairings

Class 2A Regional Softball Pairings

Class 3A Regional Softball Pairings 

Atlantic 12, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 0 (4 innings, Game 1)
Atlantic 14, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 0 (6 innings, Game 2)
A-D-M, Adel 14, Carroll 7
Boyer Valley 10, West Harrison 0
Coon Rapids-Bayard 10, CAM, Anita 0
Creston 12, Clarinda 0
Denison-Schleswig 9, Harlan 2
Earlham 6, Van Meter 2
East Mills 4, Essex 3
Exira-EHK 6, Glidden-Ralston 5
IKM-Manning 8, Griswold 3
Lenox 4, Wayne 3 (8)
Lewis Central 10, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 0
Logan-Magnolia 9, Missouri Valley 2
Ridge View 9, OA-BCIG 1
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 10, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 5
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 8, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 0
Stanton 11, Fremont-Mills 1
Treynor 9, Tri-Center, Neola 1
Underwood 7, AHSTW 3
West Monona 9, Maple Valley-Anthon Oto 2
Westwood, Sloan 11, Lawton-Bronson 0
Winterset 4, Perry 0
Woodbine 22, AR-WE-VA, Westside 3

St. Albert 6, Atlantic 0
ADM, Adel 11, Carroll 0
Ar-We-Va, Westside 15, Woodbine 1
Audubon 13, Riverside, Oakland 2 (Top 5 )
Clarinda 6, Creston 2
Coon Rapids-Bayard 11, CAM, Anita 1 (5 innings)
Des Moines Christian 15, Panorama, Panora 0 (Sam Stroh: perfect game, 4 innings)
EHK-Exira 21, Glidden-Ralston 0 (4 innings)
East Mills 12, Essex 2 (6 innings)
Fremont-Mills, Tabor 14, Stanton 13
Glenwood 19, Red Oak 6
Glenwood 5, Red Oak 0
Harlan 12, Denison-Schleswig 0 (6 innings)
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 5, Lewis Central 0
Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 9, West Monona, Onawa 7
Martensdale-St. Marys 19, Lamoni 0 (4 Innings )
Ridge View 5, OA-BCIG 4
Treynor 14, Tri-Center, Neola 6
Underwood 7, AHSTW, Avoca 0
Van Meter 15, Earlham 6
Van Meter 5, Pleasantville 1 (8 innings )
West Harrison, Mondamin 9, Boyer Valley, Dunlap 3
Westwood, Sloan 10, Lawton-Bronson 6

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 last night for their eighth win in nine games. Jason Hammel pitched seven sharp innings before turning it over to Mike Minor, who loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bryce Fehmel limited LSU to two hits in eight innings, KJ Harrison hit the first College World Series grand slam at TD Ameritrade Park, and Oregon State beat LSU 13-1 for its 23rd straight win last night. The top-seeded Beavers, who matched the school-record win streak they set earlier this season, took control of Bracket 1.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — University of Missouri police say freshman basketball player Jeremiah Tilmon was arrested for possession of alcohol by a minor and released after being given a summons. Police Capt. Brian Weimer says Tilmon was pulled over early Friday for a traffic violation and the officer smelled alcohol.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines Golf and Country Club held media day yesterday for the Solheim Cup, a three-day, biennial tournament between U.S. and European women’s golfers. The events, to be held in mid-August, features four-ball, foursome and singles matches, much like the Ryder Cup for PGA Tour players.

The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association released their latest Baseball rankings late Sunday. Here is a look a the full top ten in each class with local teams highlighted:

Class 1A

1. Newman Catholic 17-1
2. North Linn 22-1
3. Martensdale-St. Marys 23-2
4. Akron-Westfield 16-1
5. Don Bosco 16-2
6. Exira/EHK 13-0
7. Lisbon 15-3
8. Saint Ansgar 14-4
9. CAM 14-2
10. West Sioux 12-4

Class 2A

1. New Hampton 19-1
2. Wilton 15-3
3. Cascade 16-2
4. Treynor 16-2
5. Beckman Catholic 15-6
6. Dike-New Hartford 15-3
7. Woodward-Granger 18-0
8. Estherville-Lincoln Central 14-4
9. Van Meter 16-1
10. Iowa City Regina 14-6

Class 3A

1. Harlan 16-0
2. Davenport Assumption 21-2
3. Vinton-Shellsburg 17-2
4. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 16-4
5. Marion 15-4
6. Carlisle 13-5
7. Saydel 17-3
8. Waverly-Shell Rock 13-3
9. Gilbert 16-3
10. Dubuque Wahlert 13-8

Class 4A

1. Johnston 16-1
2. Dowling Catholic 19-3
3. Waukee 15-4
4. Iowa City West 16-5
5. Iowa City High 17-5
6. Ankeny Centennial 14-6
7. Indianola 17-4
8. Cedar Rapids Prairie 14-7
9. Southeast Polk 13-8
10. Western Dubuque 16-3

w/Chris Parks.

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