Evening State Sports Briefs: Grienke to start for Brewers vs. Rays tonight

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MILWAUKEE - Zack Greinke hopes to return to his winning ways tonight, as the Milwaukee Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays again. The right-hander won six straight decisions before getting shelled last Thursday at Chicago.

The Cubs torched Greinke for six earned runs on eight hits in five-and-a-third innings. He struck out 10 in that game – but his ERA swelled from 4.69 to 5.25. Greinke is 1-4 lifetime against Tampa. The Rays will put up right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who’s trying to end a personal two-game losing streak. He’s 7-5 with a three-point-oh-nine ERA. In his last two losses, Hellickson has given up eight runs on 11 hits in 12-and-two-thirds innings. The Brewers expect left fielder Ryan Braun to return tonight from a viral infection. Tampa Bay has won four in a row, and they’re four-and-a-half games behind first-place Boston in the American League East. The Brewers have lost six-of-eight, but they’re just a half-game behind first-place Saint Louis in the National League Central. The Cardinals open a home series against Philadelphia tonight.

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The Brewers’ first-round draft choice was named today as college baseball’s player-of-the-year. Taylor Jungmann, a junior right-hander from Texas, won the 25th annual Dick Howser Award. It was presented at the College World Series in Omaha. Jungmann went 13-3 for the Longhorns this past season with a 1.60 ERA. The Brewers chose him with the 12th overall pick in this first round of this month’s Major League Draft. He said his next step was to negotiate a contract with Milwaukee.

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In the Northwoods League, weather permitting, Madison and Eau Claire will try to keep their shares of first place in the South Division tonight. The Madison Mallards will play at Waterloo, where the Mallards scored a 7-2 victory last evening. The Eau Claire Express will try to make it two-in-a-row at home over Green Bay, after a 2-1 decision. Battle Creek is a half-game back in third place. The Bombers will host La Crosse, after a 5-4 Bombers victory in 10 innings last night. The Wisconsin Woodchucks are at home in Wausau against Wisconsin Rapids, on the heels of 5-1 Rapids victory. Elsewhere, Duluth plays at Brainerd. Rochester is at Saint Cloud. Alexandria is at Thunder Bay. And North Division leader Mankato hosts Willmar.

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University of Wisconsin women’s hockey assistant Tracey DeKeyser has resigned after 13 years with the Badgers. She had been with the program since it began – and she was the interim head coach two years ago, when Mark Johnson took a leave to coach the U.S. Olympic team. DeKeyser led Wisconsin to an 18-15-3 record in her lone season at the top. She said she was looking forward to change in routine – and she hoped to stay with UW-Madison in some capacity. This fall, DeKeyser will be a mentor for freshmen athletes. She’ll also assist the UW Life Skills staff with various projects. DeKeyser helped lead the Badgers to a national championship this past spring. Johnson said DeKeyser has been “outstanding,” and she’ll be missed for all she does.

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