Cooke helps lead Nebraska, Kearney

Douglas High graduate Chad Cooke helped coach the University of Nebraka, Kearney to the NCAA Division II Baseball Western Regional Championships recently.

Cooke, a 1999 graduate from Douglas, was an assistant for the Antelopes, who won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship tournament to qualify for the regionals at Cal State Los Angeles.

The team scored a total of 47 runs in the conference tournament with a team batting average of .342.

In the first round of the regionals, Kearney rallied to upset one of the top-ranked Division II teams in the country, Sonoma State, 8-7.

The Antelopes then lost to No. 7 Cal State Los Angeles and ran into a wall against No. 5 Chico State 3-0.

Another Douglas grad, Shane Cauley, played for Chico in the tournament.

The Antelopes (33-24) were the only unranked team in the tournament. Their 33 wins were the second most in school history (they had 37 in 1981). It also marked the first NCAA tournament games in school history.

Cooke will receive his masters degree from the University of Nebraska in December. He coached infield, outfield and first base for the Antelopes this season.

Lewis, South Dakota State roll in tourney

Carson City's Cal Lewis and the South Dakota State baseball team rolled to a 20-2 win over Chicago State on Thursday in the Division I Independent Tournament in Orem, Utah.

Lewis, a 2002 Douglas High graduate, hit a three-run home run to cap an eight-run rally in the second inning that gave the Jackrabbits (33-18) an 8-0 lead on Thursday. Lewis also had a bases loaded walk to force in a run in the fourth that made it 13-0.

Lewis also hit a grand slam home run in Wednesday's win over New York Tech. Lewis has hit 15 homers this year, which ties him for fourth on the school's all-time single season list.

SDSU concludes its season with two games today. The Jackrabbits will play Northern Colorado at 8 a.m. and New Jersey Institute of Technology at 11:30.