Saturday State Sports Briefs: Brewers back home and winners 9-3 over Pittsburgh

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MILWAUKEE - Rookie Mike Rogers won his third straight start Friday night with five and a third impressive innings of work against Pittsburgh. Bolstered by a four-run cushion after the first inning, Rogers held the Pirates to just one run and Milwaukee went on to take a 9-3 win.

Pittsburgh stayed a half-game behind the equally-struggling St. Louis Cardinals in the battle for the second National League wild card slot. A two-run single by Aramis Ramirez, followed soon after by Corey Hart’s two-run homer got the Brewers off to a strong start. The Brewers scored a run on a wild pitch in the fourth inning, then crossed the plate four more times in the eighth. Ramirez’s two-run home run was the big blast that send the Pirates reeling. Jeff Karstens took the loss, leaving the game in the first inning with pain in his hip.

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, broadcaster Bob Costas and all-time Home Run King Hank Aaron were among the dignitaries giving short speeches at the dedication of a statue of the voice of the Brewers Bob Uecker yesterday. Uecker’s statue is the fourth erected outside Miller Park. He has been broadcasting the team’s games since 1971. Uecker’s playing career covered an undistinguished 297 games, with a lowly .200 batting average and just 14 home runs in six seasons. His broadcasting career has been Hall of Fame caliber and the bronze statue dedicated yesterday is recognition of that career.

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Milwaukee Brewers’ manager Ron Roenicke is not a fan of complete games for his starters. The skipper says he does not see the importance of them, when he has six-or-seven relievers ready to go during a game. No Brewers’ starter has thrown a complete game since Yovani Gallardo in a 1-0 victory over Atlanta in April of last year. Since then, the Brewers have gone 287 contests without a complete game. That’s the longest stretch of its kind in the National League. Roenicke says he wouldn’t mind a complete game if the bullpen is overworked and needs a break. But otherwise, he says the starters need to protect their arms – and the relievers should do what they get paid to do. Roenicke says starters are more likely to risk injury and lose control once they get past 100-to-120 pitches. If a starter has a low pitch count and a big lead after eight innings, Roenicke still wouldn’t let the pitcher finish. In fact, Roenicke says it’s even more of a reason to sit him, so he can be stronger for his next outing. Zack Greinke was allowed to go nine scoreless innings in a June 22nd game against the White Sox in Chicago. But once it went to extra innings, John Axford was called in to pitch the 10th, and he got the win.

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Milwaukee Bucks’ forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is serving as a counselor for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program in South Africa. The native of Cameroon was a camp participant in 2003. Now, he’s making his third trip as a counselor. Mbah a Moute will turn 26 on September ninth. He had surgery after last season to fix a tendon in his right knee. Mbah a Moute told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the knee is getting better – and he expects to fully ready by the time next season gets underway in late October. He and Bucks’ assistant coach Jim Boylan are part of the NBA’s delegation for the 10th annual camp in Africa. Sixty players from 26 nations are taking part in the four-day camp.

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The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team will open and close its Big Ten Conference regular season on the road. The league announced its women’s schedule today. The Badgers will open at Nebraska on January second, and finish league play at Michigan State on March third. Bobbie Kelsey’s Badgers will play their first game on November first, an exhibition against UW-La Crosse at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin’s regular season begins November 11th at home against UW-Milwaukee. The Big Ten Tournament will be played March 7th-through-10th in Rosemont, Illinois near Chicago. Kelsey hopes to improve on a 5-11 conference record in her first season a year ago.

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The University of Wisconsin inducted five new individuals into its Hall of Fame at a ceremony last evening in Madison. The new inductees include former head basketball coach Dick Bennett, who led UW to its first Final Four since 1941 back in 2000; former All-American and NFL center Cory Raymer who was a part of UW's 1994 Rose Bowl team; champion wrestler Jim Haines; football and track star in the 1970s Lawrence Johnson; Jim Haluska, who quarterbacked UW's first Rose Bowl team in 1953 and Karen Lunda, who played on UW's first women's soccer team in the late 1970s. The inductees will be honored at today's UW vs. Northern Iowa football game as part of Hall of Fame Day ceremonies in Madison.

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Three-time defending national champion UW-Whitewater opened its football season in Saint Louis against Washington University last night and won 34-0. The Warhawks are No. 1 in D3football.com's preseason poll for the NCAA’s Division III. And Whitewater has a 45-game winning streak, the longest of any NCAA grouping. Meanwhile, Saint Norbert College of De Pere is opened its season in Ireland yesterday afternoon. The Green Knights lost to John Carroll 40-3 as part of the Global Ireland tournament in Dublin. It’s the first time in 20 years that a Division III regular season game was played in Europe. Also, a number of other Wisconsin small college teams will begin their seasons today. UW-La Crosse plays at sixth-ranked North Central of Illinois. Eau Claire will host Number-eight Saint Thomas of Saint Paul. Number-23 Platteville travels to Buena Vista of Iowa. Oshkosh hosts Central College. River Falls is at home against Simpson. Stevens Point plays at Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. Carroll is at Lakeland. Chicago hosts Beloit. Wisconsin Lutheran is at Ripon. Lawrence will host Cornell’s first game since rejoining the Midwest Conference. Concordia-Mequon plays at Augsburg. Maranatha Baptist hosts Martin Luther in Watertown. And Carthage travels to Michigan to play Adrian.

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Former University of Wisconsin and Minnesota Viking running back Michael Bennett has pleaded guilty to tax-related wire fraud charges. Bennett and several co-defendants were convicted of either cashing fraudulently obtained tax refund checks in other peoples’ names or seeking a loan with faked collateral in a Miami case. Court records indicate they took hundreds of thousands of dollars from their victims.

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Wisconsin’s only entry in the U.S. Open tennis tournament was eliminated. Milwaukee native Tim Smyczek lost his second-round match to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

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SCORES

MIDWEST LEAGUE BASEBALL

Beloit 10, Wisconsin 4

Cedar Rapids at Peoria, postponed

Clinton 5, Burlington 3

Dayton 7, Great Lakes 6

Fort Wayne 7, West Michigan 0

Lake County 9, Bowling Green 3

Lansing 5, South Bend 4

Quad Cities 8, Kane County 2

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COLLEGE SOCCER

--Men

Washington 3, Wisconsin 2

--Women

UCLA 2, Wisconsin 0

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COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

--Long Beach State Invitational

Wisconsin 3, Cal State-Northridge 1

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WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Algoma 42, Gibraltar 6

Alma/Pepin 35, Elmwood 26

Almond-Bancroft 27, Watertown Maranatha Baptist 16

Altoona 31, Neillsville 14

Amherst 38, Stevens Point Pacelli 0

Antigo 41, Lakeland 17

Appleton East 26, Kaukauna 14

Appleton North 35, Schofield D.C. Everest 19

Bangor 44, Necedah 37

Barron 18, Bloomer 15

Bay Port 56, Pulaski 35

Benton/Scales Mound 21, Cassville 19

Black River Falls 42, Sparta 0

Boyceville 36, Colfax 14

Brillion 35, Oconto 7

Brookfield Central 21, West Allis Hale 14

Brookfield East 33, West Allis Central 7

Brookwood 43, Wonewoc-Center 16

Cambria-Friesland 38, Oakfield 14

Cameron 48, Unity 8

Cedarburg 34, Grafton 14

Chilton 31, Sturgeon Bay 18

Clayton 32, Mondovi 28

Cochrane-Fountain City 28, Eleva-Strum 8

Colby 35, Spencer/Marshfield Columbus 0

Coleman 62, Gillett 7

Columbus 47, Wisconsin Heights 14

Cuba City 49, Southwestern 6

Cumberland 53, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 18

Darlington 40, Riverdale 0

De Pere 31, Green Bay East 7

Deerfield 41, Oshkosh Lourdes 12

Durand 20, New Richmond 0

East Troy 34, Whitewater 6

Eau Claire Memorial 14, Superior 0

Edgar 52, Auburndale 6

Elk Mound 35, St. Croix Central 0

Elkhorn 30, Delavan-Darien 13

Ellsworth 24, Amery 0

Evansville 21, Edgerton 14

Fall Creek 49, Cadott 8

Fennimore 51, Mineral Point 39

Flambeau 20, Webster 8

Fond du Lac Springs 56, Winnebago Lutheran 0

Fort Atkinson 28, Monroe 14

Fox Valley Lutheran 17, Appleton Xavier 9

Frederic 37, St. Croix Falls 0

Freedom 36, Clintonville 0

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 23, Arcadia 20

Germantown 14, Whitefish Bay 13

Gilman 28, Chippewa Falls McDonell 27

Glenwood City 19, Spring Valley 7

Green Bay Notre Dame 42, Green Bay West 0

Green Bay Preble 51, Sheboygan South 7

Green Bay Southwest 43, Ashwaubenon 13

Greendale 42, Greenfield 3

Greenwood 54, Abbotsford 7

Hartland Arrowhead 46, Muskego 15

Hayward 41, Ladysmith 24

Highland 27, Black Hawk 21

Hilbert 31, Manitowoc Lutheran 0

Hillsboro 44, New Lisbon 18

Holmen 29, La Crosse Logan 14

Hortonville 35, New London 0

Hudson 24, Rice Lake 14

Hurley 41, Lake Linden-Hubbell, Mich. 6

Independence/Gilmanton 20, Blair-Taylor 14

Iowa-Grant 48, Boscobel 0

Ithaca 23, De Soto 20

Jefferson 41, McFarland 14

Johnson Creek 46, Williams Bay 0

Kenosha Tremper 34, Racine J.I. Case 30

Kettle Moraine 35, Waukesha North 13

Kettle Moraine Lutheran 20, North Fond du Lac 12

Kewaskum 51, New Holstein 0

Kiel 32, Waupun 7

Kimberly 51, Wausau East 6

Kingsford, Mich. 20, Cedar Grove-Belgium 7

La Crosse Central 34, Tomah 24

Laconia 49, Mayville 8

Lake Country Lutheran 49, Brookfield Academy 13

Lake Geneva Badger 33, Burlington 12

Lake Holcombe 18, Cornell 12, OT

Lake Mills 56, Belleville 7

Lakeside Lutheran 31, Cambridge 7

Lancaster 63, Adams-Friendship 0

Little Chute 35, Ripon 0

Loyal 8, Owen-Withee 6

Madison Memorial 67, Madison East 6

Madison West 14, Madison La Follette 6

Manitowoc 49, Sheboygan North 12

Manitowoc Roncalli 34, Kewaunee 30

Maple Northwestern 24, Spooner 21

Marathon 57, Phillips 0

Marinette 27, Denmark 6

Marshall 44, Lodi 14

Marshfield 26, Oshkosh North 13

Melrose-Mindoro 27, Augusta 14

Menasha 30, Neenah 7

Menominee, Mich. 28, Milwaukee Riverside 7

Menomonee Falls 49, Wauwatosa East 0

Menomonie 35, Chippewa Falls 14

Mequon Homestead 36, Nicolet 14

Merrill 28, Medford 22

Middleton 23, Janesville Parker 13

Milwaukee Rufus King 35, Milwaukee South 6

Milwaukee Pulaski/Reagan/Lifelong Learning 41, Milwaukee Bay View 18

Milwaukee Thomas More 28, Somers Shoreland Lutheran 7

Mishicot 27, Southern Door 24

Monona Grove 35, Madison Edgewood 7

Montello/Princeton/Green Lake 37, Markesan 8

Mosinee 21, Rhinelander 14

Mount Horeb/Barneveld 48, Milton 26

New Berlin Eisenhower 55, Cudahy 3

New Berlin West 54, St. Francis 13

New Glarus 12, Watertown Luther Prep 7

North Crawford 47, Weston 12

Northland Pines/Phelps 53, Gogebic, Mich. 15

Oak Creek 35, Racine Washington Park 20

Oconomowoc 14, West Bend West 0

Omro 30, Lomira 6

Orfordville Parkview 49, Clinton 20

Osceola 29, Baldwin-Woodville 13

Ozaukee 31, Burlington Catholic Central 7

Palmyra-Eagle 42, Beloit Turner 0

Pardeeville 53, Dodgeland 6

Pecatonica/Argyle 46, River Ridge 6

Pewaukee 30, Brown Deer 6

Pittsville 50, Tomahawk 21

Platteville 42, Mauston 14

Plymouth 31, Sheboygan Falls 7

Port Edwards 36, Plainfield Tri-County 30

Portage 42, Sauk Prairie 35

Potosi 42, Belmont 6

Prairie du Chien 47, Wisconsin Dells 40

Racine William Horlick 35, Kenosha Indian Trails 0

Racine St. Catherine's 45, Greendale Martin Luther 0

Randolph 19, Fall River 0

Reedsburg 31, Baraboo 7

Reedsville 27, Howards Grove 24

Richland Center 39, Westfield 34

Rio 21, Hustisford 0

River Falls 36, Eau Claire North 0

River Valley 20, Nekoosa 14

Rosholt 62, Bowler/Gresham 0

Royall 36, Cashton 0

Sevastopol 36, Menasha St. Mary's 14

Seymour 50, Luxemburg-Casco 20

Shiocton 30, Manawa 0

Shorewood/Milwaukee Messmer 42, Milwaukee University School 7

Shullsburg 20, Kickapoo/LaFarge 6

Slinger 43, Beaver Dam 18

Somerset 40, Prescott 17

Stanley-Boyd 30, Osseo-Fairchild 0

Stephenson, Mich. 41, Horicon 8

Stevens Point 33, Oshkosh West 6

Stoughton 41, Oregon 21

Sun Prairie 45, Beloit Memorial 6

Sussex Hamilton 42, Milwaukee Marquette 9

Two Rivers 56, Campbellsport 14

Verona 28, Janesville Craig 14

Walworth Big Foot 42, Brodhead 7

Waterford 28, Wilmot 13

Waterloo 28, Poynette 21

Watertown 59, West Bend East 17

Waukesha West 25, Mukwonago 22

Waunakee 24, DeForest 14

Wausau West 42, Appleton West 16

Wauwatosa West 45, Whitnall 16

West De Pere 74, Oconto Falls 0

West Salem 13, Onalaska Luther 6

Westby 48, Viroqua 6

Westosha Central 34, Union Grove 20

Weyauwega-Fremont 7, Iola-Scandinavia 6

Whitehall 47, Alma Center Lincoln 6

Winneconne 28, Berlin 14

Wisconsin Lutheran 36, Hartford 24

Wisconsin Rapids 35, Fond du Lac 28

Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 42, Thorp 0

Wittenberg-Birnamwood 32, Bonduel 27

Wrightstown 47, Valders 7

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PREP FOOTBALL SCORES FROM THURSDAY

Ashland 28, Hibbing, Minnesota 24

Crandon 32, Niagara/Goodman/Pembine 28

Suring 37, Crivitz 34

Eau Claire Regis 50, Stratford 0

Florence 30, Wausaukee 12

Franklin 27, Kenosha Bradford 21 in overtime

Green Bay NEW Lutheran 56, Stockbridge 28

Peshtigo 55, Lena/Marinette Saint Thomas Aquinas 6

Waukesha Catholic Memorial 48, Waukesha South 0

Waupaca 35, Shawano 0

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