Thursday September 19th Local Sports
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Held without a hit until the sixth inning, the Minnesota Twins managed only three in 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox that shrunk their AL Central lead. Minnesota is four games ahead of Cleveland after the Indians beat Detroit 2-1 in 10 innings. The surprising Twins still have a magic number of seven to clinch their first division title since 2010.
IOWA CITY — Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker says the Hawkeyes are using their bye week to get better at limiting big plays. The Hawkeyes gave up two long pass plays for touchdowns in an 18-17 win at Iowa State.
Parker says they need to do a better job communicating.
Improved health would help their cause. Iowa was missing four defensive backs due to injury against ISU.
The Hawkeyes return to action on September 28 by hosting Middle Tennessee State.
AMES — Iowa State receiver Tarique Milton says the chemistry between the receivers and quarterback Brock Purdy was developed as soon as last season ended. Milton leads the Cyclones with eight receptions for 144 yards in their 1-1 start.
Milton says they work hard on the timing of routes in practice.
Iowa State wants to win the turnover battle this week against Louisiana-Monroe and safety Justin Bickham says the defense needs to do its part. The Cyclones had a couple of chances for interceptions in a loss to Iowa but could not come up with the ball.
Bickham says they should be creating more turnovers.
Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 11 o’clock
AMES — The Iowa and Iowa State athletic departments have issued a joint statement about “rude, vulgar and, in some cases, violent behavior” directed at the Hawkeye and Cyclone marching bands during their rivalry games.
The statement indicated both the Hawkeye and Cyclone marching bands “have been the target of unacceptable behavior at football games” in Ames and Iowa City in recent years. The athletic directors said everyone should be embarrassed when students in the bands don’t feel safe when performing at an away game.
The athletic directors said fans are “a significant part of the solution” by providing a “safe stage” for both bands inside the stadiums and showing respect to the musicians.
On Monday, University of Iowa athletic director Gary Barta issued a written statement about “inappropriate actions” toward band members and staff during Saturday’s Iowa-Iowa State football game in Ames, indicating an investigation was underway.
CRESTON – The No. 19 NIACC volleyball team picked up a 25-10, 25-22, 25-14 sweep over Southwestern Community College on Wednesday in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference action.
The Lady Trojans (14-4 overall, 2-1 in conference) were led by Becca Steffen, who recorded 18 assists, 13 digs and six kills.
Kennedy Meister added 11 kills, five digs and two blocks, Megan Hollander had five blocks, Shelby Heston had seven digs, four kills and three blocks.
Meanwhile, Alexa Loftus had seven kills and four digs, Bri Powers added eight digs, Kayla Lentz had four digs and three service aces and Tessa Sienknecht had five assists for NIACC, which travels to Marshalltown Community College on Friday.
MASON CITY – The No. 12 Marshalltown Community College men’s soccer team topped NIACC 6-2 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference opener for both teams Wednesday on the NIACC campus.
Marshalltown led 3-1 at the half and outscored the Trojans 3-1 in the second half to improve its overall record to 6-1 overall.
NIACC received a first-half goal from Aleksander Trujic with an assist from Ignacio Suarez Lampidis and a second-half goal from Luke McMahon with an assist from Ojo Otitolouwa. It was Trujic’s second goal of the season and first of the season for McMahon.
NIACC (3-1 overall, 0-1 in conference) returns to action Saturday at Iowa Western.
MASON CITY — Both of NIACC’s cross country teams are in the initial junior college rankings released on Wednesday. The NIACC women are ranked ninth after placing sixth at the Luther College All-American Invitational last Saturday. Iowa Central is ranked first while El Paso Community College is ranked second. Iowa Community College Athletic Conference member Iowa Western is ranked seventh. The Lady Trojans are off until October 5th when they run at the University of Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival. The NIACC men are ranked 10th in the first poll of the season. Cloud County Community College of Kansas is ranked first while Central Arizona is second. Iowa Central is ranked third and Iowa Western is ranked fifth. The NIACC men run at the St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Lynx general manager and coach Cheryl Reeve is the WNBA basketball executive of the year. She directed the team to a ninth straight appearance in the playoffs despite losing several longtime stars. Reeve finished her second year as general manager. The Lynx finished 18-16 after the retirement of Lindsay Whalen, an indefinite hiatus for Maya Moore and the absence of injured Rebekkah Brunson. Minnesota lost to defending champion Seattle in the playoffs last week.