Morning State Sports Briefs: Brewers' Braun belts homer in victory over Cubs

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MILWAUKEE - Ryan Braun’s homer was the difference yesterday, as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game home sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 3-2 victory.

Braun leads the National League with 34 homers this season. His solo shot in the sixth inning provided the eventual game-winning run. Braun fell a single short of the cycle. He and Corey Hart both hit RBI doubles in the first inning to provide Milwaukee’s only other runs. David DeJesus and Brian LaHair both hit solo homers off Yovani Gallardo, who managed to win his fifth straight start. Gallardo struck out nine in seven innings, while giving up both Chicago runs on four hits. He improved to 13-and-8 on the year. John Axford struck out the side in the ninth for his 20th save. Travis Wood struck out six in seven innings, but he took the loss to fall to 4-10.

The Cubs have only won four-of-their-last-22 games. Milwaukee continued its hot streak at home, winning 26-of-its-last-38 at Miller Park. But the Brewers will play 14-of-their-next-18 contests on the road, where they’re 19-38 this season. The Crew opens a three-game series in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.

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Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin said he cut Randy Wolf yesterday to give him a chance to hook up with a contender for the final month of the season. And Melvin said Wolf would have been taken out of the rotation anyway, so the Brewers could get a closer look at their younger arms like Tyler Thornburg and Wily Peralta. Wolf was let go on his 36th birthday – something Melvin said he didn’t know when he made the move. The veteran left hander struggled this season, going 0-4 in his last five starts and 3-10 overall with a 5.69 ERA. Wolf said this season was the toughest of his 14-year Major League career – mainly because he felt better on the mound, but had little to show for it. Brewers’ manager Ron Roenicke said Wolf could benefit from a new team and a new atmosphere. He has just over a week to sign with a contender and still make the playoff rosters. Ryan Braun said Wolf did some great things in his nearly three years with the Brewers. His best outing may have been Game-Four of last year’s National League Championship Series at Saint Louis – when he struck out six in seven innings to get one of just two Milwaukee wins in that set. Wolf said he had a great experience in Milwaukee, and he leaves with fond memories.

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Jordan Kohout has returned to the Wisconsin football team as a volunteer coach. The junior defensive tackle quit playing after he had a series of migraine headaches during the Badgers’ spring practices – and they later resulted in two minor strokes. Kohout said he felt good to be back on the practice field, even if he couldn’t play. And he feels better, after losing 40 pounds since the spring. He said he weighs about 255 – and he hasn’t been this light since his senior year in high school. Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said Kohout was at peace with his decision to quit playing and be a volunteer coach. He said the 21-year-old Kohout faced his future and made his decisions over the course of about a month. The Badgers are in the third week of their pre-season camp. Next week, they’ll start getting ready for the Wisconsin season opener on September first at home against Northern Iowa.

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The University of Wisconsin football team will have six captains this year. Senior running back Montee Ball was among those elected – along with senior linebacker Mike Taylor, senior tackle Rick Wagner, senior safety Shelton Johnson, junior linebacker Chris Borland, and junior center Travis Frederick. Borland and Frederick were the first juniors to be named as captains since Jonathan Casillas in 2007.

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UW-Whitewater has been picked to win its fourth straight WIAC men’s soccer championship. The Warhawks received three first place votes in a pre-season poll of the league’s sports information directors. Oshkosh received the other two first-place votes, and is picked to finish second. There are only three other men’s soccer teams in the WIAC – and Platteville is projected to take third, followed by Superior and Finlandia. Men’s soccer has been an official conference sport for just three years – and Whitewater is 14-0-2 against WIAC opponents during that time. The Warhawks went 8-0 in league play a year ago.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team has lost out on one of its main recruiting targets for next fall. Forward Sam Ojeleye of Ottawa Kansas told Rivals-Dot-Com that he’s down to four choices among the numerous schools recruiting him – Duke, Stanford, Oregon, and Indiana. The Wisconsin State Journal said Bo Ryan’s coaching staff had been recruiting the 6-6 Ojeleye for about the last two years – and the Badgers were among schools he was considered before he narrowed it down to four. Wisconsin has three known verbal commitments for next fall – guard Bronson Koenig of La Crosse Aquinas, Pasadena, California guard Jordan Hill, and guard-forward Riley Dearring of Minnetonka, Minnesota. The paper said two more scholarships are available for Ryan’s Class-of-2013.

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SCORES

In the Midwest League…

Wisconsin 5, Cedar Rapids 1

Peoria 9, Beloit 6 in 12 innings

Clinton 5, Burlington 1

Quad Cities 6, Kane County 2

Bowling Green 12, Dayton 5

West Michigan 3, Fort Wayne 2

Lansing 7, Great Lakes 1

Lake County 9, South Bend 3

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