Baseball

ELLSINORE, Mo. — Jacob Saffle broke up a perfect game with his first home run. It was the second home run of the entire Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament, and the first damage by either team during a scoreless pitching dual in the championship game Thursday...

There were no shortage of intense moments on the athletic fields and courts throughout Southeast Missouri last week, as area athletes prepare for the looming postseason competition.

ELLSINORE, Mo. — Doniphan was achingly close to picking up its first win of the season and opening the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament with a big upset. The seventh-seeded Dons had a three-run in the bottom of the seventh, but second-seeded Greenville rallied to force extras, and then won it 11-10 in nine innings...

ELLSINORE, Mo. — After putting up a crooked number in the second inning, Twin Rivers led by at least three runs the rest of the way. The fifth-seeded Royals scored five in the second, breaking a tie game, and went on to beat fourth-seeded Clearwater 9-5 in the quarterfinals of the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament on Monday in Elsinore...

ELLSINORE, Mo. — A week after losing by 19 runs, Naylor gave East Carter a much tougher challenge. East Carter trailed 6-4 after three innings, but then Redbirds scored eight unanswered on their way to winning 12-9 in the quarterfinals of the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament in Ellsinore...

There have been no shortage of stellar athletic performances throughout Southeast Missouri of late and that was evident last week, as Bernie baseball player John Nimmo and Meadow Heights volleyball player Kylee Denman excelled in their efforts. Both were recognized Wednesday as this week's Semoball.com Athletes of the Week by Semoball.com readers...

Neelyville has picked up the top seed in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament. The Tigers (11-8, 5-1 OFC) edged Greenville (7-3, 4-1) for the top seed with its slightly better conference record and will get a bye in the first round. The Bears beat the Tigers 7-6 on Sept. 8...

CAMPBELL - Things got interesting late but the top-seeded Campbell Camels found a way to prevail in the title game of its own nine-team baseball tournament.

Woodland was able to grab the lead late in the game on a ground out by Lane VanGennip in the fifth inning, scoring a runner from third base, and never looked back, defeating Twin Rivers 4-2 on Tuesday, wrapping up their season with a win and improving their final record to 7-3...

Cecil Abernathy didn’t allow a single run against Clearwater, throwing a complete game shutout, leading the visiting Cardinals to a 13-0 win on Monday. The offense came to play for Woodland, out-hitting the Tigers 12 to two on the day. Leadoff hitter Lane VanGennip, Jo Cook, and Trenton Braswell led the Cardinals with two hits each in the game...

The semifinals are set at the Campbell Fall Baseball Classic after an exciting opening day Saturday. Four of the five games on Saturday were decided by three runs or less. No. 8 seeded Bernie beat No. 9 seeded Senath-Hornersville 8-5 in a play-in game Saturday morning. ...

With the game tied at three and Clearwater batting in the bottom of the ninth, an RBI single would seal Woodland’s fate, losing 4-3 Friday afternoon at Clearwater. The Cardinals led for most of the game but the Tigers knotted things up on an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth...

High school athletes throughout the state are trying to hit their stride with the MSHSAA postseason nearing and that was exhibited by both Anna Eaton and Dylan Thornbrough last week.

The bracket is set for the 2020 Campbell Fall Baseball Classic. The nine-team tournament begins Saturday at Campbell High School and Malden High School. No. 8 seeded Bernie takes on No. 9 seeded Senath-Hornersville Saturday at 10 a.m. at Campbell in a play-in game. The winner plays No. 1 seeded Campbell Saturday at noon in a quarterfinal. The loser of the Bernie/Senath-Hornersville contest is eliminated from the tournament...

MALDEN - The Malden Green Wave baseball squad continues to put up runs in bunches in its inaugural fall season. Three Green Wave entered Tuesday averaging over nine runs per game. “We’ve been pleased,” Malden coach Tim Harmon said of his 11-player squad. ...

The Malden Green Wave scored three runs in the bottom of six inning Tuesday to beat Bloomfield 5-2 at Malden. Bloomfield tied the score at 2 with a run in the fifth. Ethan Campbell picked up the win, allowing two unearned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks in seven innings...

GREENVILLE — Greenville played its first game in nearly three weeks. The Bears, shut down for two weeks because of COVID-19, returned to practice late last week and beat Twin Rivers 16-9 on Monday. “It feels good, but you could tell we haven’t played in a while,” Greenville coach Benji Stahl said. “We’ve got to get better at pitching, at hitting, baserunning, just fundamentals.”...

Blake Wagster went 2 for 3 with a double, three RBIs and four runs scored to lead the Bloomfield baseball team a 15-0 rout of Risco on Monday at Bloomfield. Will Thorn went 2 for 3 with three runs scored and one RBI, as part of Bloomfield’s seven-hit attack...

Leopold errors proved costly as Woodland helped themselves, scoring two runs off those mistakes to win 6-1 Friday afternoon. The Wildcats commited five errors in the game. But it wasn't just the errors that led to the loss. 10 Cardinals hits( three by Jo Cook, two each by Rafe Johnson and Seth Abernathy) helped the cause also...

ELLSINORE — There were seven combined strikeouts through two innings. Both East Carter’s Ray Ochoa and Neelyville’s Parker Jeffries worked quick and well from the mound as both teams looked to turn rare baserunners into runs. Neelyville adjusted at the plate midway through the game for a 4-2 win and Jeffries added two more strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh to get the complete-game victory...

It was a good week for Notre Dame athletes both on AND off the field, as a pair of Bulldogs earned success in their athletic quests, as well as proved to be popular with Southeast Missouri fans.

The Advance Hornets baseball team’s seventh-inning rally came up short in a 6-5 loss to SCAA rival Woodland on Tuesday at Marble Hill. Woodland picked off a runner at third base — the potential game-tying run — to end the game. The Hornets had the bases loaded with only one out.

With only four games left on the fall schedule, the Oran Eagles looked to stay hot against Bernie. Senior Ty Johnson led the way for Oran as the offense hit just enough to get by the visiting Mules Monday afternoon, by the final of 5-1. Johnson, who hits in the third in head coach Joe Bicking’s lineup, paced the Eagles in the hit column, recording three hits in four at-bats. He also scored two of the five runs for Oran...

Malden 6, Risco 0 Malden beat Risco 6-0 in Game 1 of a home doubleheader Saturday. Trey Miller pitched four scoreless innings and Easton Randl pitched three scoreless innings for Malden against Risco. Neither pitcher allowed a hit. Dylan Bader was 2 for 3 with one RBI and Carter Stewart was 2 for 3 with two RBIs against Risco...

The Woodland baseball team lost a very close game to Bloomfield Friday at home by the score of 5-4 to drop their record to 1-2 on the shortened season. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, plating two runs in their half of the first inning. The Cardinals answered, scoring one run in the third inning and then three more in the fourth inning, capped off by a 1 out, RBI single by Seth Abernathy...

Twin Rivers softball player Abbey Hester and Notre Dame swimmer Nick Landewe were strong in their competitive sports last week and popular off them, as the two earned the latest Semoball.com Athletes of the Week honors.

Cooter out-hit New Madrid County Central nine to six and improved their record to 7-1 on the season with a 8-4 win Thursday afternoon at home. Luke Barnes, the Wildcat’s lead-off hitter, led the charge offensively, racking up two hits (both doubles)...

Malden 12, Clarkton 2 The Malden baseball team run-ruled Clarkton 12-2 Wednesday. Clarkton led 2-1 until Malden scored eight runs in the bottom of the second inning to move ahead 9-2 and never trailed after. Ethan Campbell finished 3 for 3 with one RBI, Dylan Bader was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Zach Wiseman was 1 for 3 with two RBIs and Trey Miller finished 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs for Malden...

Malden 13, Campbell 6 The Malden baseball team rallied to beat Campbell 13-6 Tuesday. Campbell led 2-1 until Malden scored eights runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a commanding lead. The outburst was highlighted by RBI singles by Trey Miller, Ethan Campbell, and a 2 RBI single by Griffin Riley...

Malden 8, Doniphan 7 The Malden baseball squad rallied from a 7-5 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Doniphan 8-7 in Game 1 of a doubleheader Saturday. The trouble started for Doniphan in the final frame when Ethan Campbell collected a base hit. Cooper Thomas followed by drawing a walk. RBI hits by Dylan Bader and Griffin Riley tied things up at seven-all...

Bell City’s Easton Newell and Bryson Maddox combined to pitch a five-inning no-hitter Thursday in the Mules’ 14-0 victory over Gideon. Newell secured the win, striking out seven and walking five in four innings of a game played at Gideon. Maddox retired the side in the fifth on only five pitches...

SENATH, Mo. - Things remained close most of the way but the Campbell Camels baseball squad finally strung together the clutch hits it needed to build a comfortable lead in its opener. Campbell broke a 1-1 tie when it scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning and drove home seven more run in the top of the seventh inning as it beat the Senath-Hornersville Lions 10-1 Tuesday afternoon...

The Malden Green Wave baseball team opened its inaugural fall season with a 16-2 five-inning home victory against Gideon Wednesday. Malden built a 6-1 lead by the end of the third inning. The Green Wave scored 10 runs on five hits and eight walks in the bottom of the fourth inning to pad its lead to 16-1...

Seth Jones was planning to be a walk-on for Shawnee Community College’s baseball team during his freshman year at the school. He arrived on campus a few weeks ago, coaches saw what he could do, and decided to offer the former Naylor pitcher and outfielder a full ride...

Oran would have no problem scoring and scoring often in an early season defeat of Bloomfield, throttling the Wildcats 14-2 at a game played at Capaha Park. Senior starting pitcher Carter Heuring would also bat leadoff for the Eagles, getting on base 5 times to set the aforementioned tempo. He would cross home plate two times...

Cooter baseball coach David Mathis called his latest squad "the youngest Cooter team ever," following its latest outing. However, he also said the team, which starts seven players who are either sophomores or freshman "the funniest bunch to coach."

CAMPBELL, Mo. — It wasn’t the start of the season that the Portageville volleyball team wanted on Monday night at Campbell. The Bulldogs lost in straight-sets to the Lady Camels. Portageville (0-1) lost the first set 25-3, the second 25-14, and the third 25-12...

It was a barrage of extra base hits for the home team Cooter in the shortened contest that would spell doom early for Clarkton.

NAYLOR, Mo. - Naylor center fielder Cody Jones bought a new red and black Wilson glove in the spring. It still looks brand new because a week after he got it, high school sports were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been 10 long months since the Eagles won the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament for the first time since 1989...

Cape Central three-sport athlete Zach Moore recently signed to play baseball at Fontbonne University.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — What a summer it was for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels. Overall, the team won 41 games, won the Missouri Senior Babe Ruth state title and capped off the season by winning the Southern Invitational Series in Mobile, Ala., against top competition...

MOBILE, Ala. — It was his final baseball game of the summer, but former Sikeston Bulldog Payton Howard didn’t let it end without a memory. Tied at four and heading to the top of the seventh, Howard made sure to capitalize with runners in scoring position and nobody out, in the Fighting Squirrels 5-4 victory over Mid County, Tex. in the championship game of the Southern Invitational Series, in Mobile, Ala., at Hank Aaron Stadium...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Baseball isn’t quite finished for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels this season. The team will play in the 2020 Southern Invitational Series, starting Friday, at Hank Aaron Stadium, in Mobile, Ala. There are 15 games scheduled with a tournament, based on records, to follow on Tuesday...

Kennett graduate Marshall Brown elected to play baseball for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels this summer after being contacted by pitching coach Jamie Johnson last fall. “Their coaching staff contacted me and encouraged me to tryout,” Brown said. “They said it would be really fun and it has been. It’s been one of the best summers I’ve ever had.”...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Mission accomplished. After nearly two months of baseball games, Missouri crowned a state champion on Monday evening at Hillhouse Park in Charleston, as the Charleston Fighting Squirrels staved off the defending state champion Southeast Tropics 3-2, to win the Senior Babe Ruth State Championship Tournament...

CHARLESTON, Mo. - It took a little extra time but the Southeast Tropics found a way to avoid elimination at the Missouri Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament yet again Sunday afternoon. The Southeast Tropics put up a five spot in the top of the eighth inning to break a 2-all tie on its way to a 7-2 eight-inning victory against the Mineral Area Orioles in an elimination game at Hillhouse Park in Charleston...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Expect the unexpected when you watch a baseball game at any level. That would be one way to summarize how the Southeast Tropics played in their extra-inning 8-7 victory over Festus in the loser’s bracket final of the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament at Hillhouse Park, in Charleston, on Sunday...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — One win now separates the Charleston Fighting Squirrels 19-and-under team from a state championship. After a marvelous performance on the mound from Luke Nichols, Charleston is now 21 outs away from a goal they had at the start of the season...

CHARLESTON — The Charleston Fighting Squirrels have been a powerhouse program all summer long and that continued Saturday at the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament at Hillhouse Park, as they won a pair of games to advance to Monday’s championship game. The Fighting Squirrels (35-3) opened the day by beating the Jackson Tribe 8-3 and closed a very late night by topping Festus 19-under 6-1.

CHARLESTON — The Jackson Tribe baseball squad has struggled to put seven innings of good baseball together at times this summer and that was the case Saturday, as it dropped a pair of games to close its season in the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament at Hillhouse Park in Charleston.