Monday August 5th Local Sports
DES MOINES — Youth and experience led Newman to their third straight state baseball title on Saturday. Senior Josh Fitzgerald socked a two-run homer while 8th-grader Doug Taylor picked up the win on the mound as Newman beat Alburnett 11-1 in six innings in the Class 1A championship game in Des Moines, as you heard on AM-1300 KGLO and kgloam.com. Newman coach Alex Bohl says there’s a whole bunch of seniors he’ll have to replace from this year’s squad, but there’s also talented kids coming up in the program.
Bohl credits the success of Newman to the dedication shown by the players to the program.
Bohl says Taylor was able to overcome some pre-game jitters and shine from the mound.
Taylor picked up the win, facing 21 batters in 5 1/3 innings, striking out one, allowing four hits, two walks and one run.
Taylor and his catcher Max Burt are both eighth-graders and will have four more chances to win state titles.
Fitzgerald socked a two-run homer in the fourth inning and later relieved Taylor in the sixth. He says it was a good feeling to be able to finish his high school career in another state championship game at Principal Park.
For the Knights, it’s their third straight championship and 8th overall, winning titles in 1998, 2002, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017-2019.
Listen to full interviews:
Alex Bohl
Josh Fitzgerald
Doug Taylor
=== Saturday’s championship game results
2A — #5 Van Meter 6, #2 North Linn 0
3A — #1 Cedar Rapids Xavier 8, #3 Central DeWitt 1
4A — #9 Urbandale 8, #1 Johnston 2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Devin Smeltzer pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning for his first major league win, and the Minnesota Twins completed a three-game sweep by blanking the Kansas City Royals 3-0. Jason Castro homered and Eddie Rosario drove in two runs for the Twins, who maintained their three-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. Luis Arraez had two hits and scored twice.
== The Twins continue their homestand by hosting the Atlanta Braves for three games starting tonight. Tonight and tomorrow night are 7:10 first pitches with 6:30 pre-game shows on KGLO. Wednesday is a 12:10 start, with an 11:30 pre-game show on KGLO.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — After making two appearances for the Minnesota Twins following his trade from San Francisco, reliever Sam Dyson has gone on the injured list with right biceps tendinitis. Dyson allowed six runs and six hits in his two appearances with Minnesota, wasting a three-run, ninth-inning lead in a loss at Miami on Thursday. Left-hander Devin Smeltzer was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins will be minus often-injured center fielder Byron Buxton and pitcher Michael Pineda for a while. The AL Central leaders put both of them on the 10-day injured list before a game against Kansas City on Saturday. Buxton is out with a problem in his left shoulder, marking his third stint on the IL.
AMES — Iowa State coach Matt Campbell wants Brock Purdy to take the next step this season without putting too much pressure on the sophomore quarterback. Purdy took over in a week five win at Oklahoma State last season and led the Cyclones to a 7-2 record as a true freshman.
Campbell says it is important to remember Purdy is only a sophomore.
Campbell says Purdy does a good job of getting everyone involved.
The Cyclones open August 31st against UNI.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have signed cornerback Bené Benwikere, adding experience at position where their depth has taken a hit. Benwikere has been with six teams over five NFL seasons, since being drafted by Carolina in the fifth round in 2014. He broke his left leg late in 2015 and has bounced around since. With Mike Hughes still recovering from a torn ACL and Holton Hill facing an eight-game suspension, the Vikings need more options behind Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander.
