Dein erstes Forum » never doubted his sluggers would start

Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - The 23rd-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers are hoping to match the best start in school history when they pay a visit to the Rams of VCU on Saturday evening. Northern Iowa comes in at 9-0, its best start as a Division I program, and a win tonight would tie the program record for the best opening to a season with the 1963-64 squad that won its first 10 games en route to a 23-4 overall record. The Panthers were most recently in action at Denver on Wednesday night, and they used a record-setting shooting performance to knock off the Pioneers, 65-55. VCU had begun the season as a member of the Top-25, and after opening with three straight wins, the team has lost three of five, with the most recent being a 74-57 setback to a ranked Virginia squad last Saturday. The Rams other defeats came against another Top-25 foe in Villanova (77-53), as well as to regional rival Old Dominion (73-67). This is the first of two straight, and four of the next five VCU will play at home. The series between these two teams is knotted at 1-1, with both meetings taking place over the last two years. VCU won at home in 2012, 77-68, while UNI returned the favor last year with the identical score. Northern Iowa set a Missouri Valley Conference record for shooting percentage in a half in Wednesdays win at Denver, as it knocked down 15-of-17 (.882) field goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 70 percent shooting effort for the entire game. The Panthers also impressed at the foul line (19-of-23, .826), while logging a 21-13 edge on the glass. Seth Tuttle paced UNI with 12 points, Deon Mitchell and Wes Washpun added 11 each, and Paul Jesperson pitched in with 10. Tuttle has been a man possessed for the Panthers here in the early going, as he is netting 64 percent of his total shots in averaging a team-best 15.9 ppg. He also is among the club leaders in rebounds with 6.4 rpg, trailing only Marvin Singleton (6.6 rpg) in that department. Washpun (10.6 ppg, 3.3 apg) is the only other double-digit scorer for a team that is putting up 67.4 ppg while doing a masterful job at the defensive end in yielding only 55.2 ppg. Mitchell is averaging just 6.4 ppg, but he is just three points away from reaching 1,000 for his career. Poor shooting and a lack of effort both on the glass and at the defensive end proved to be the Rams undoing in their recent loss to Virginia. VCU hit only 38.3 percent of its total shots, while the Cavaliers were successful on a gaudy 68.3 percent of theirs. The Rams suffered a 35-21 rebounding deficit, and had only two players score in double figures. Trevon Graham hit for 17 points thanks to a 5-of-9 showing from 3-point range, while Melvin Johnson added 15 points. Briante Weber only finished with five points, but he handed out five assists and was credited with five of the teams 12 steals in the game. Graham continues to pace the Rams in scoring with his 17.4 ppg, but Johnson is right there at 16.9 ppg. The team as a whole is netting 74.8 ppg, but the defensive stance, which has been a mainstay of VCUs stellar effort in recent years, hasnt performed up to par as foes are generating 70.2 ppg in hitting close to half of their field goal attempts (.473), and better than 40 percent of their 3-point tries (.408). Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night. 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Cheap Padres Jerseys Authentic . -- Mississippi State was crushed twice by Florida last season, once by 35 points and the other by 25.ST. LOUIS -- Matt Adams might want to have his fathers visit last longer. Adams homered for the third straight game -- all with his father in attendance -- and Matt Holliday also went deep, helping the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-2 victory and series sweep Sunday over the Washington Nationals. Adams gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch, his sixth homer of the season. Adams father, Jamie, has been visiting from Pennsylvania on Fathers Day weekend. "Unfortunately, hes going to go home," Adams said. There were going to meet before Adams father left for the airport. "He might give me a big hug and start crying," Adams said. "Hes an emotional guy." Adams has homered in all three games since coming off the disabled list with a torn calf muscle. Holliday put St. Louis up 3-0 in the third with his fifth home run. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny never doubted his sluggers would start to hit the long ball after a slow start. The Cardinals are last in the National League in homers. "Weve been saying for months now these guys have done that," Matheny said. "Its not a surprise. Its not like these guys have never hit any home runs in their lives. I think that everybody just thought that we were either brainwashing them not to hit home runs or else they all lost it collectively and both of them are ridiculous." Last year, Adams had 17 homers in 108 games and Holliday had 22 in 141 games. "We knew that our power didnt go anywhere," Adams said. "We knew the type of hitters we are. We go out there on daily basis and grind through our at-bats." Jaime Garcia (3-0) pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and a run for St. Louis. He struck out six and walked two. Trevor Rosenthal got the final out for his 20th save. Washingtons Doug Fister (5-2) had his five-start winning streak snapped. He pitched six innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. "The two home runs were the biggest things for me," Fister said. "I need to find a better effort." St. Louis has won 12 of the last 14 regular-season meetings with Washington. The Nationals are 2-18 in the newest version of Busch Stadium. "We have a bitter taste in our mouths going home," Nationals outfielder Scott Hairston said. &"I think we definitely didnt play up to our capabilities.dddddddddddd" The Nationals loaded the bases in three innings, stranded 10 runners and scored on two bases loaded walks. The timely hit didnt come for Washington. "Its the ebbs and flows of the game," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "Its that time of the year where heavy legs start to set in a little bit." Garcia pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the second. Third baseman Matt Carpenter caught Sandy Leons grounder on a short hop and threw out Hairston at home. Garcia then struck out Fister. Jayson Werth drew a bases loaded walk in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-1. "I didnt have my best stuff today but at the same time you go out there and you compete," Garcia said. "You battle and you keep your team in the game." St. Louis got the run back in the fifth, when Kolton Wong snapped an 0-for-16 skid with a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Holliday, who has 999 RBIs in his career. Craig doubled home Holliday in the seventh for a 5-1 lead. Rosenthal walked pinch-hitter Adam LaRoche in the ninth with the bases loaded to make it 5-2. NOTES: Reliever Carlos Martinez will make his second career start Monday when the Cardinals host the New York Mets. Martinez is taking the start in place of Adam Wainwright (elbow). ... Before Sundays game, the Cardinals purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Nick Greenwood from Triple-A Memphis and optioned outfielder Randal Grichuk back to the affiliate. ... After starting 1,114 MLB games at third base, and 12 in left field, Ryan Zimmerman started Sunday at first base for the Nationals. ... Washingtons Danny Espinosa was hit by a pitch in the second inning, the eighth time this season. ... Washington CF Denard Span was scratched from the lineup due to back stiffness and replaced by Nate McLouth. ... St. Louis native boxer Devon Alexander threw out the first pitch. Alexander (25-2 with 14 knockouts) is a former WBC and IBF light welterweight champion and a former IBF welterweight champion. He has a welterweight fight against Robert Guerrero (31-2-1) on June 21. ... Randy Choates one-pitch win in Saturdays game made him the sixth pitcher in Cardinals history to throw one pitch and record a victory. ' ' '