Westplex Today Sports Page:   May 23, 2008

The Cardinals return to action after a day off, to open up a three-game set with the Dodgers in LA tonight.  Adam Wainwright will take on Derek Lowe at 9:40, and the pre-game shows on KWRE begin at 8:57.  Wainwright hasn't won a game since April 26th and has allowed twelve runs, ten earned over his last two contests.  Lowe is struggling as well with an ERA over nine in four May starts.  Cardinal batters crush him with a .352 average in five games in his career.  Also, expect plenty of lefty's in the Cardinals lineup tonight as they are hitting .347 off Lowe this season.

Don’t expect the whole series to be easy for the Cardinals, even though they have won four of their last five games.   The Dodgers are coming off a three-game sweep of the Reds, and like the Cardinals, they are in second place in their division.   The Cardinals enter tonight’s game just a game behind the Cubs in the NL Central, while the Dodgers are 2 ½ games behind the Diamondbacks in the NL West.  

Down on the farm in the Cardinals’ minor league systems: The Memphis Redbirds pounded out 11 hits on their way to a 10-2 win over the Sounds in Nashville.  Joe Mather went deep again for his 10th home run of the season.  He's got seven bombs in his last ten games.  Nick Stavinhoa went three-for-five with an RBI and is hitting .375 on the year.  Colby Rasmus went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and had his first hit since May 11th.  Blake Hawksworth worked six and a third innings allowing two runs, only one earned and improves to 2-and-5.  The Birds open up a four-game set at home with the Sounds tonight at 7:05. 

In the Frontier League:   The River City Rascals suffered their second straight loss to start the season, 6-5 at Rockford.   The Rascals fell behind 4-1 after the first inning, and a 3-run rally in the top of the 9^th inning fell short.   The Rascals play in Rockford again tonight to close out that series, then they will drive to O’Fallon for their home opener tomorrow against the Gateway Grizzlies at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.   The first pitch for the Rascals’ home opener will be at 7:05, and KWRE and KFAV will have live broadcasts beginning at 5:00, leading up to the Rascals-Grizzlies game.

The Oklahoma Sooners have thrown a monkey wrench into the Missouri Tigers’ Big 12 championship hopes.   The Sooners rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Missouri Tigers baseball team 4-3 in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City.  In order for Missouri to advance to the Championship Game, they'll need to beat A&M tomorrow and have Oklahoma lose to Texas. The Tigers take on number-one seed Texas A&M at 12:30. 

Senior Jacob Priday went two-for-four at the plate and drove in all three runs for Mizzou, who had its five-game winning streak snapped.  Missouri matched a season high with four errors in the game. 

Game 2 of the Western Conference finals is on tap for Friday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as the Lakers try to grab a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series against  San Antonio.  The Lakers roared back from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to pull out an 89-85 victory in Game 1 on Wednesday.  Kobe Bryant scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half for Los Angeles, which has yet to lose at home this playoff season.  Tim Duncan posted 30 points and 18 rebounds in the opener for the defending champion Spurs.

In auto racing:   Kyle Busch has the pole position for the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, and he will try to extend his 79-point lead in the Sprint Cup standings over Jeff Burton.   Busch has finished in the top-five in 7 of the 11 races this season.   Kasey Kahne will be on the outside of Row 1.   Dale Earnhardt Jr. has qualified in the #6 spot.   Columbia, Missouri native Carl Edwards will start from the 30^th position.   The Coca-Cola 600 will begin at 4:30 Sunday afternoon, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

Meanwhile, Scott Dixon has the pole position for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.   It’s his 3^rd pole this season, as he tries to use it as a springboard to leap into the top spot in the Indy Racing League standings.   Dixon is only 6 points behind overall leader Helio Castroneves.   Helio has the 4^th qualifying position, and Danica Patrick will start the Indy 500 from the 5^th spot, as she tries to improve on her 5^th place showing in the standings.   The Indy 500 begins at 11:00 Sunday morning.

In golf: The Senior PGA Championship is led in the clubhouse by Mark O’Meara, with a two-over score after two rounds.   Bernhard Langer and St. Louisan Jay Haas are one-over-par, near the midway points of their second rounds.   Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson has a one-shot lead midway through the PGA Colonial tournament.   Mickelson is seven-under par, one shot better than Matt Kuchar.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the combatants in the past two French Open finals, have been installed as the top two seeds for the year's second Grand Slam, which gets under way Sunday on the famed red clay of Roland Garros. Federer, based on his world No. 1 ranking, is the top seed, while Nadal, despite winning the last three French Open crowns and his sheer dominance on clay, is the second seed. Federer will open with American Sam Querrey, while Nadal will take on a qualifier in the first round.  The two stars are on opposite ends of the draw and can  only meet in the final.  Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who won the year's first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, is the third seed.

Maria Sharapova of Russia and Serbia's Ana Ivanovic are the top seeds in the women's draw.  Sharapova, the top seed, has been anointed the new No. 1 player in the world on the heels of the stunning retirement of Justine Henin. The Belgian stalwart won the past three French Open crowns, routing Ivanovic in last year's final by a 6-1, 6-2 count. Ivanovic, the second seed, also lost to Sharapova in the final of this year's first Grand Slam at the Australian Open. Another Serbian,  Jelena Jankovic, is seeded third and is followed by 2006 French  runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova  of Russia, 2002 French champ Serena
Williams of the United States, Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Dementieva and American Venus Williams.

In indoor football:   The River City Rage are desperate to end a 7-game losing streak, and they will get a chance to do so tomorrow on the road against the Wichita Wild.   The Rage won their first 3 games, before getting mired in their current losing streak.

In high school baseball:   Wentzville Holt was tripped up, en route to the Class 4 semifinals.   Holt was beaten by Ozark 7-2 in a quarterfinal game Thursday.   Today, top-ranked Francis Howell plays Parkway South in a quarterfinal game at Ballwin, beginning at 4:00.

In Class 3, St. Dominic has reached the state semifinals.   The #3 team in the state shut out Westminster Christian Academy 3-0 in quarterfinal play Thursday.   Also, Cape Girardeau Notre Dame routed Pacific 12-2, to set up a St. Dominic / Notre Dame semifinal next Friday at 10 a.m. in Springfield’s Meador Park.   If St. Dominic wins that semifinal game, it would play for the state championship next Saturday at 4:00.   If the Crusaders lose that game, they would play for 3^rd place next Saturday at 10 a.m.

In Class 1:   New Haven has reached the state semifinals, in its attempt to repeat as state champion.   New Haven faces Santa Fe Wednesday at 1:00 in the semifinal round.   If the Shamrocks beat Santa Fe, they would play for their 2^nd straight state championship at 1:00 Thursday.   If New Haven loses in the semifinals, it would play in the 3^rd place game at 10:00 Thursday morning.

In girls soccer:   Zumwalt West was denied a chance to defend its Class 2 state championship by Nerinx Hall last night.   The Markers defeated West 3-1 in the first round of the state playoffs.

St. Dominic and Duchesne, the top two teams in the state in Class 1, both have reached the state quarterfinals.   Defending state champ St. Dominic will face Springfield Catholic at 11:00 tomorrow morning at Columbia Hickman High School.   Duchesne meets Westminster Christian Academy in Fenton tomorrow night at 7:00.  

And, the MSHSAA Class 3 and 4 State Track & Field Meets are underway at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.   The top Westplex teams competing are Warrenton and St. Charles West among the Class 3 girls teams, Owensville and St. Clair among the Class 3 boys, Wentzville Timberland and Howell Central have the most qualifiers among the Westplex girls in Class 4, and Washington and Francis Howell have the most qualifiers among Westplex boys teams in Class 4.