Wilkommen bei den Schatten » State, SIU-Edwardsville and Mount St. Marys

PITTSBURGH -- From the get-go, Billy Hamilton could not be contained Sunday.Hamilton swiped four bases, got three hits and scored three times, leading the Cincinnati Reds over the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3.My job is to get on base and get into scoring position for these guys behind me to drive me in, Hamilton said. Thats my job. I felt like I did my job.Hamilton set the tone right away. He drew a leadoff walk from Gerrit Cole, then stole two bags. He finished the day with 43 steals this season, which led the majors until Milwaukees Jonathan Villar stole two bags later Sunday to match Hamilton.Hamilton helped the Reds avoid a series sweep with his bat and legs. The center fielder also made a leaping, backhanded catch that drew applause from the Pittsburgh fans at PNC Park.Pirates manager Clint Hurdle blamed himself for Hamiltons impact.We werent where we wanted to be with it. Thats my responsibility, Hurdle said. Its my responsibility to take care of that and everybody has different jobs to do. When we get those kinds of bases stolen, thats on the manager.Later, Eric Fryer hit a ball to deep center that turned around Hamilton twice before he recovered to make the catch.Through all the challenges that hes had offensively, the defense has kept him in the big leagues, to be honest, more so than the stolen bases, Reds manager Bryan Price said.Following Hamiltons leaping grab, winning pitcher Dan Straily emphatically pounded his glove while pointing back to his center fielder.I have never seen anything like him, Straily said. That ball, it started off over one of his shoulders, kind of knuckled back. It was pretty impressive from where I was standing, very much appreciated. I hung a slider. He hit the ball well. I was very fortunate.Straily (7-6) gave up two earned runs and three hits in six innings, walking none and striking out four. The Reds have won in each of his past four appearances since Straily lost four consecutive decisions.Straily got through the first four innings with 41 pitches, 32 for strikes.Straily didnt allow a hit until Matt Joyce hit a 442-foot homer in the fifth. Josh Harrison later homered off Straily.Gerrit Cole (7-7) fell to 0-6 lifetime against the Reds. He left in the sixth, giving up four runs on three hits and three walks.Cole allowed more than three earned runs for the third time in 17 starts this season.Youre not going to be able to stop Hamilton every time, but a walk to start off the game is pretty much a triple within four or five pitches, Cole said. Thats not going to get the job done.Hamiltons early steals set up an RBI grounder by and a run-scoring single by Brandon Phillips.Hamilton doubled in the third, again stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joey Votto.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: 3B David Freese did not play Sunday, a day after leaving the game because of discomfort in his left elbow.UP NEXTReds: Rookie LHP Cody Reed (0-6, 7.30) will try to earn his first major league victory when he starts Monday at St. Louis.Pirates: RHP Chad Kuhl (1-0, 4.19) will make his first start for Pittsburgh since July 17 on Tuesday, when he faces the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. Authentic Custom 76ers Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Wholesale Custom 76ers Shirts . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. http://www.custom76ersjersey.com/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Custom Moses Malone Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Cheap 76ers Jerseys . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Louisville coach Rick Pitino told reporters on Tuesday that hes still working to find the right lineup to suit his No. 11-ranked Cardinals.Its not ideal, but its likely what we need to keep going, said Pitino, who noted he expects to use four or five players in the paint until a pair of players become more reliable.That lineup will be on display Wednesday as the Cardinals (7-1) face Southern Illinois (5-3) at 7 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.Pitinos shuffle in the low block has been made more complicated recently because 7-foot center Anas Mahmoud missed the last game and will miss both contests this week with a concussion.The medical file on Anas is about this thick, Pitino said, motioning a sizable margin. He just takes a little longer to come back, actually about 50 percent longer to return that other players -- and from everything, not just this concussion. ... But it has allowed us to get a better look at Matz (Stockman).The good news for Pitino is that he has options. Louisvilles roster is loaded with talented big men -- 6-foot-9 starting forward Jaylen Johnson, 6-10 starting center Mangok Mathiang, 6-10 Ray Spalding, 7-0 Mahmoud and 7-1 Stockman.The Salukis only have one player taller than 6-8 on the roster. Thats 6-9 sophomore post Rudy Stradnieks, who averages just 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.But Pitino said his crew cant take the Salukis lightly.They are a veteran team, Pitino said. They wont be intimidated by us, thats for sure.Pitino said he likes what he has seen in practice from a tall, quick lineup of 6-6 VJ King at one guard spot, 6-7 Deng Adel at another and Spalding in the post. That lineup provides Louisville with its most-athletic lineup, Pitino said Tuesday.While Louisville would prefer to speed things up, SIU coach Barry Hinson is known for slowing down the pace of a game. His teams are infamous for grinding defensive pressure, but he says they are having to change their ways this season with the NCAAs new emphasis on flow of action.Getting up on guys -- those days are over, Hinson told the SIU Daily Egyptian.dddddddddddd Im an old school guy. Ive always been about get in their grill, get up, get in them, bother them -- do all this stuff. Those days are over.Hinson said he blames himself for not preparing his team for the changes better earlier this season.I think were finally starting to adjust a little bit, Hinson said. We fouled way too much in the first part of the season. We were way too aggressive on our defense with our hands and not getting into position and not moving, so I dont think thats as much our players fault as it is my fault.The Salukis started the season off with a tough 85-81 home loss to Wright State before falling 90-65 at Aransas. SIU returned home to beat Missouri Southern State, SIU-Edwardsville and Mount St. Marys before a 57-45 road loss at Minnesota on Nov. 25. SIU beat Murray State 89-65 in overtime last Tuesday and most recently beat Texas Southern 74-70.Senior guard Mike Rodriguez (14.5 ppg) and senior guard Leo Vincent (11.6 ppg) take the bulk of SIUs shots along with 6-4 wing Armon Fletcher (13.5 ppg).They are a veteran ball club, Pitino said. Rodriguez is always getting into the lane. Vincent can score. You have five guys scoring the ball. They play the game the right way.The Cardinals started the season 5-0 with wins over Evansville, William & Mary, Long Beach State, Old Dominion and Wichita State before falling to No. Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game 66-63. Since then, Louisville took down then-No. 15 Purdue 71-64 and beat Grand Canyon in Phoenix 79-70.I watched them play Purdue, Hinson said. I didnt sleep that night at all.Hinson, only half kidding about his lack of sleep, said he wants his team loose and ready to play Wednesday night.You know what? Lets lace them up and lets go, Hinson said. Weve got nothing to lose when we go there and were going to play. Itll be a great opportunity. Im looking forward to it. ' ' '