Community Sports

After snapping a 7-game losing streak with a victory on Friday, the Cape Catfish broke a two-game skid on Sunday evening, by taking the second game of a doubleheader at Quincy 8-1.

On Sunday night, Charleston native James Naile received the call he’s been waiting for. On Monday, Naile will report to the St. Louis Cardinals and don the jersey of his favorite team since childhood, according to sources close to the pitcher. The Cardinals have a number of pitchers injured, including ace Jack Flaherty who was pulled on Sunday after just two innings...

The Cape Catfish drew three bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday, which resulted in a 6-5 win over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp at Capaha Field.

The Cape Catfish are in dire need of some positive mojo right now and there has been no player in the brief history of the franchise that exudes positivity more so than Ellison Hanna II.

As the Cape Catfish has become the most successful franchise in the Prospect League over the past couple of summers, putting together any extended number of losses has been a non-thought, and no one knows that more so than Kolten Poorman, who has been a fixture in the Catfish lineup for over a year.

KENNETT – School’s out, the sun’s out, and there's no better time for the next generation to learn the game of golf from the pros at the Kennett Country Club this summer.  Ground still dewy and the morning sun rising through the pine trees, Nick Kuenneke, Golf Pro at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, teed off Tuesday shadowed by around a dozen local children eager to get outside and learn the game of golf. ...

The Cape Catfish find themselves in a peculiar position – last place in the Western Conference Praire Land Division.

RICHMOND, Mo. — Alex Wiseman’s comeback in the championship match of the 22nd MGA Junior Match Play Championship on was derailed by the rules Thursday. Wiseman’s par putt on No. 14 at Shirkey Golf Course stopped on the edge of the hole after his opponent had already made par...

In the doubleheader split with Quincy on Tuesday at Capaha Field, Cape Catfish player Danny Sperling contributed four hits, two runs scored, as well as a pair of RBIs. However, his contribution defensively may have been just as important. The Southeast Missouri State senior-to-be opened has played five games for the Catfish, opening at second base, but on Tuesday, moved over to fill in at first base.

RICHMOND, Mo. — Alex Wiseman advanced to the semifinals of the 22nd MGA Junior Match Play Championship on Wednesday at Shirkey Golf Course. The Poplar Bluff golfer will face Jonathan Jordan, the No. 14 seed from Rolla, on Thursday morning with the winner advancing to the final that afternoon...

When the Cape Catfish sign a local player to a “temporary contract,” it is supposed to be just that – temporary.

RICHMOND, Mo. — Alex Wiseman will face a familiar opponent in the opening round of the 22nd MGA Junior Match Play Championship on Wednesday. The Poplar Bluff golfer is the second overall seed in the 16-player bracket at Shirkey Golf Course and plays Jackson’s Ian Lambert in an 18-hole match after both made the cut after a 36 holes of stroke play...

RICHMOND, Mo. — Alex Wiseman opened the 22nd MGA Junior Match Play Championship with a 3-over-par 74 Monday and is in fourth place, looking to make the cut following Tuesday’s second round at Shirkey Golf Course. The top 16 players advance to match play, which starts Wednesday and concludes Thursday...

Baseball is a team game, so Cape Catfish player Ty Stauss isn’t going to blame two recent losses to Burlington on any one player specifically. However, the truth is, Stauss has made a quick and significant impact for the Catfish since making his debut with the team on Friday.

Cape Catfish pitcher Mark Eddie didn’t have the smoothest of freshmen seasons in his first year at NCAA Division III Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. However, early indications are that Eddie’s summer is going to be a trend in the right direction in his development.

Two high-powered offenses met at Scott City Ball Park as the Chaffee Red Devils and Scott City Rams 17u summer ball teams split a doubleheader on Thursday night. Scott City took the opener by a 10-run margin courtesy of the mercy rule and an eight-run fifth inning which put the finishing touch on a 15-5 rout of the Red Devils. An instant response came from Chaffee, however, as the visitors led by five after the first three innings of the second game and cruised to an 8-5 victory...

A year ago, Cape Catfish pitcher Marshall Brown was coming off a redshirt season as a young guy at NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech and he lacked a bit of confidence in himself on the mound.

The Cape Catfish won a pair of road games on Wednesday and Thursday to even their season mark at 4-4.

CAPE GIRARDEAU — The Cape Ford and Sons Legion Post 63 Single-A squad got the benefit of hosting a doubleheader against Perryville’s Legion Post 133 Single-A club on Wednesday night thanks to a rainy forecast up north. Post 63 took full advantage of home field, sweeping the series with two seven-run wins at 9-2 and 8-1. Cape's deep pitching staff held Perryville to just three hits and three runs over 14 innings of play...

POPLAR BLUFF – Westwood Hills Country Club hosted the SEMO State Amateur Qualifier on Wednesday and eight golfers out of a field of 40 moved onto the Missouri Amateur Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. One of those eight that qualified was former Poplar Bluff Mules golfer Alexander Wiseman, who had to go into a five-man playoff for one of the last three spots at 1-over-par. ...

Former Jackson High School baseball standout Lane Crowden had a limited spring this year in his final season at Three Rivers Community College.

The R.W. Huntington Municipal Pool in Poplar Bluff has been undergoing rennovations for this summer. The tentative reopening date is July 1. The pool is used by the Poplar Bluff Piranhas AAU swim team in the summer, but the squad has been forced to remain indoors in the pool at the Black Water Coliseum for practices and early season meets...

This past spring wasn’t a particularly busy one for Southern Illinois junior baseball player J.D. Ortiz.

After spending his first spring at Mineral Area Community College as a redshirt pitcher, former Kelly High School standout Bryce Morgan has been anxious to get back onto a baseball diamond this summer.

CHAFFEE — The Southeast Tropics and Bottom Seam Aces 18u squads played a combined four games before meeting on Saturday afternoon, but the Tropics came away with two resounding victories thanks to a great day on the mound. Game one of the two-game series came closest, albeit not by much. ...

Former Saxony Lutheran High School pitcher Eli Brown made his debut on Friday for the Cape Catfish with mixed results, but in the end, Catfish infielder J.D. Ortiz made sure every Catfish fan walked out of Capaha Field feeling good. Ortiz smacked three hits and drove in five runs, including three in the eighth inning, to lead Cape to an 8-6 come-from-behind win over Springfield in Cape’s 2022 home opener.

After being one-hit in the first game of Thursday night’s doubleheader, the McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels 16u took the Chaffee Red Devils down to their last strike before their 10th punchout in five innings secured them a 2-1 victory. Both games finished with a final score of 2-1, with Chaffee taking the first thanks to three hitless innings on the mound from Carson Spies and two frames with one hit from Kade Atkins. ...

A memo to high school baseball players throughout Missouri: particularly in Southeast Missouri, you are being watched. And not just for your services to be utilized by the next level years from now, but sooner than you realize. The Cape Catfish open their third season of play at Capaha Field on Friday, as they host Springfield at 6:35 p.m., and they’ll have many familiar faces on the field.

The Cape Catfish continue to search for their first win of the 2022 season after losing 7-3 Thursday to the Alton River Dragons in Alton, Ill.

The Cape Catfish opened its 2022 season with a 10-5 loss at O'Fallon on Wednesday. The Hoots (1-0) scored three runs in the first inning and added four more in the third, as they built a 7-2 lead.

The Cape Catfish have been in existence for two seasons in the Prospect League. In 2019, the Catfish advanced to the final game of the championship series before falling one game shy of a title. However, the team made amends last season (2020 was canceled due to COVID) by rallying in the championship final and winning the franchise’s initial title in its brief existence.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — “I want to make sure everyone back home knows that I read every text and every message you send,” said James Naile, a pitcher for the Memphis Redbirds, demonstrating his humbleness engrained in him growing up in Charleston, Missouri...

The score Chad Niezing posted Sunday during the final round of the 76th Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational might suggest he didn’t have much trouble Sunday. “I wouldn’t say I was having fun out there,” Niezing said after a 3-under-par 68 at a windy Westwood Hills Country Club...

A windy Westwood Hills Country Club made for a long weekend during the 76th Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational. Bobby Godwin held on to win the Senior Division title by two shots over three players Sunday with a two-day total of 4-over-par 146. “I played 27 good holes then I kind of had a meltdown the last nine,” Godwin said of his 2-under 69 first round before playing the front 9 even-par Sunday...

By BRIAN ROSENER Sports Editor A windy Westwood Hills Country Club made for a long Saturday during the opening round of the 76th Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational. “It’s playing tough,” said Drake Stepter, who set tournament records to win the tournament last year...

As the players prepared to tee off on the par-3 12th hole, someone mentioned it would be a perfect time for a hole-in-one with such a large group of spectators watching. Drake Stepter disagreed. “Drake said, ‘no it wouldn’t, it would be really expensive,’” said Chance Holden. “And then 10 seconds later he makes a hole-in-one. Crazy. It was wild.”...

Drake Stepter had a round for the record books last year to win the Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational. Stepter returns to defend his title at 76th annual tournament at Westwood Hills Country Club this weekend, seeking to become the first repeat winner in 15 years...

Staff Reports The Twisted Sister ended up being a tough test for runners Saturday in the ninth annual Wolf Creek Trail Run. Daniel Mustain won the half marathon, which was held on a new course using the Crooked Branch Trail, known locally as “Twisted Sister.”...

The annual Wolf Creek Trail Run is adding a new twist this year for the half marathon. The race, which will be held Saturday, April 16, along with a 6K run and 1.7-mile walk, will feature a new route that will include the 5-plus mile Crooked Branch Trail, locally known as the Twisted Sister Trail...

The Jackson Legion baseball organization will host tryouts on Sunday, March 27 at Saxony Lutheran High School for anyone interested in playing summer baseball. Tryouts for freshman are at 12 p.m., junior legion are at 1:15 p.m., and senior legion will be at 2:15 p.m. For more information or questions on what equipment players need to bring with them to tryouts, call Mark Lewis at 573-979-0286...

The former Benton Raceway Park is set to open its gates this spring with a new name. Local businessman Rob Russell purchased the vacant acreage that was once a booming local dirt track, drag strip and jet ski race lake, and is set to host several different styles of motorsports racing as well as concerts, outdoor retreats and rodeos as well as the area's first obstacle course race in 2022...