Morning State Sports Briefs: State teams still active in NCAA tourney

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NCAA National Competition

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WHITEWATER - All three Wisconsin teams are still playing in the NCAA Division-Three baseball regional at Whitewater.

But they all have one loss, after the host Whitewater fell to top-seeded Saint Thomas 5-3 yesterday. Saint Norbert and UW-La Crosse dropped their opening games on Wednesday. And that means all three Wisconsin teams face elimination with one more loss. One of them will be going home around noon today, after Whitewater and La Crosse square off in the loser’s bracket. Saint Norbert plays its next game this afternoon against Aurora. Yesterday, Saint Norbert stayed alive by eliminating Concordia-Chicago 5-0. And La Crosse sent North Park home with a 4-2 Eagles’ victory. Six-of-the-eight teams in the regional are still alive. The champion will be determined either tomorrow or Sunday, and that team moves on the Division-Three World Series which starts next week near Appleton.

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In the Midwest League, the Beloit Snappers enter the weekend with a two-game lead over the second-place Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Western Division. Kane County is four games back in third. Beloit improved to 26-15 for the first half of the season, after beating Quad Cities at home last night 7-3. The Timber Rattlers are 24-17 after falling at home to Burlington 8-3. Kane County is at 22-19, after losing at Cedar Rapids 7-5. All three of those series continue tonight. Also tonight, Peoria plays at Clinton. Lansing hosts Fort Wayne. Lake County plays at South Bend. West Michigan is at Great Lakes. And Bowling Green entertains Dayton. Lansing enters the weekend with a five-and-a-half game advantage over Bowling Green in the Eastern Division.

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The UW-Milwaukee baseball team is playing its final regular season series, taking on Wright State at home. The Panthers edged the Raiders 7-6 in last night’s series opener. Senior Phil Striggow won the game with a two-run homer with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Game-Two of the series is this afternoon at Henry Aaron Field in Milwaukee.

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In the Arena Football League, the Milwaukee Mustangs will host Georgia tonight. The Mustangs are 3-5, after losing two straight at home and four-of-five overall. Coach Bob Landsee says the Mustangs need to play the solid defense it’s capable of playing, and focus on committing fewer turnovers. Georgia is 5-4, and has won its last two games by a total margin of six points. The Force is 2-2 on the road. Former Mustang R.J. Archer starts at quarterback for Georgia.

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The Green Bay Gamblers can win the U.S. junior hockey league championship this weekend – but they would have to win twice at Waterloo. The best-of-five Clark Cup Finals are tied at a game-apiece, and Games Three-and-Four will be played tonight and tomorrow night in Iowa. Waterloo has won 15 straight home games, and Green Bay set a league-record with 25 victories away from home this season. Gamblers’ forward Alex Broadhurst leads the USHL with 14 points during the playoffs, including eight goals. He’s expected to play tonight, after getting a cut during last Sunday’s Game-Two at home. Waterloo’s Taylor Cammarata was named this week as the USHL’s Rookie-of-the-Year. He had 27 goals and 42 assists in 60 regular season games. Meanwhile, the Gamblers have hired Denver student assistant David Carle as an assistant coach to replace Jon Rogger, who has become the head coach at Des Moines.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team has recruited a third player from the Chicago Mission midget major program. 16-year-old defenseman Peter Tischke is the latest to commit. He’s a high school sophomore from Hinsdale Illinois, and he expects to join the Badger program in the fall of 2014. Mission coach Gino Cavallini says Tischke is a physical player who reads a play and then quote, “hits like a freight train.” The other Chicago Mission players committing to the Badgers are winger Seamus Malone and defenseman Jake Linhart.

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Former UW-Madison golf coach Jim Schuman won his fourth Wisconsin PGA Match Play title yesterday, and his second in a row. Schuman defeated Foy Swenson of Oconomowoc 4-and-3 in the championship match on the Straits course at Kohler’s Whistling Straits.

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Jerry Kelly of Madison is tied for 24th after the opening round of the PGA’s Byron Nelson Championship. Kelly shot a two-under-par 68 yesterday at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas. He’s four shots behind first-place Ryan Palmer, who’s at 6-under-64.

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SCORES

In the Midwest League…

Beloit 7, Quad Cities 3

Burlington 8, Wisconsin 3

Cedar Rapids 7, Kane County 5 in 10 innings

Peoria 4, Clinton 3

Lansing 5, Fort Wayne 1

South Bend 2, Lake County 1

West Michigan 6, Great Lakes 3

Bowling Green 5, Dayton 4

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At the NCAA Division III baseball tournament…

Whitewater Regional

Saint Norbert 5, Concordia-Chicago 0 (Concordia eliminated)

UW-La Crosse 4, North Park 2 (North Park eliminated)

Saint Thomas 5, UW-Whitewater 3

Saint Scholastica 8, Aurora 4 in 13 innings

Tags: wisconsin sports, sports, proam