Baseball

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.

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels 19-under baseball squad has beaten the Jackson Tribe four times this summer. However, in three of those Squirrel victories, Jackson put a good amount of offense on the board, which explains why veteran Squirrel manager Michael Minner isn’t overconfident as his team prepares to face Jackson again on Saturday.

CHARLESTON — Losing is not an option for the Southeast Tropics if they plan to defend its state championship. After falling to Mineral Area 3-1 on Thursday, the Tropics forced themselves into a win-or-go-home situation at the Senior Babe Ruth State Championship Tournament at Hillhouse Park in Charleston...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Another day, another game where the Charleston Fighting Squirrels’ offense explodes. The Fighting Squirrels used a five-run first inning to pace themselves toward a 12-1 victory over the Cardinals Legacy Perfectos, in the second round of the Missouri Senior Babe Ruth State Championship Tournament, at Hillhouse Park, in Charleston, Mo., on Thursday...

One day after opening the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament with an 11-1 rout of Festus 17-under, the Jackson Tribe rode its pitching to a 2-1 victory over Potosi on Thursday at Hillhouse Park in Charleston.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — It was quite the opening performance for former Sikeston Bulldog Payton Howard. Howard hit for the cycle as the 19-and-under Charleston Fighting Squirrels routed the 17-and-under Southeast Tropics 17-2 in the first round of the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament, on Thursday, at Hillhouse Park, in Charleston, Mo...

CHARLESTON — The Jackson Tribe 18-under baseball squad nabbed a pair of victories in the opening round of the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament at Hillhouse Park Thursday in Charleston.

CHARLESTON, Mo. - Southeast Tropics cleanup hitter Peyton Eftink felt good at the plate before the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament got underway Wednesday afternoon at Hillhouse Park in Charleston. “I was really confident coming into today,” Eftink said. “I had a good gut feeling before the game. I just tried to see the fastball and hit it every time I went to the plate.”...

This summer is nowhere near ready to fade off into memory either from a heat perspective or a baseball one.

The building of the Missouri Bulls 16-under baseball squad has been an on-going process throughout this summer, as manager Todd Pennington has molded a “really talented” group of athletes together for the first time as a unit.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — The regular season has concluded and the wait is over. Today (Wednesday) marks the first day of the 2020 Senior Babe Ruth Championship Tournament at Hillhouse Park in Charleston, Mo. A six-day tournament, the event features 11 different teams from across the state. Of the 11 teams, the defending state champion Southeast Tropics is one of them and head coach Dustin Schwartz is eager to try and defend his crown...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Poplar Bluff went with the roster it hopes to see this upcoming spring. Cape Central went with the roster it hoped to have this past spring. The older and more seasoned Tigers put up six runs in the first inning of the opener and 11 in the first inning of the nightcap of the doubleheader Tuesday at Bobby Strenfel Field in Poplar Bluff, Mo...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Tensions flared late and a wild comeback ensued in the championship game of the Junior Babe Ruth Championship Tournament between the 17-and-under Southeast Tropics and the Cardinals Legacy Perfectos. Leading 10-1 at the end of the fourth inning, it looked all but over for the Perfectos as Chaffee’s Alec Brown was throwing a gem. In his first four innings, Brown fanned eight batters, walked two and gave up two base hits...

There were a numerous reasons to be saddened by the cancellation of high school sports throughout Southeast Missouri this year. However, for Sikeston baseball fans, missing the opportunity to watch Payton Howard display his athleticism and skills one more time is near the top of that list.

Local baseball players will have the opportunity to have their skills evaluated by Prep Baseball Report next week. Prep Baseball Report is slated to host the Southeast Missouri Open Wednesday at Ultimate Sports in Kennett, Missouri. The event is available for baseball players who will graduate high school in 2021-2024...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Pitching dominated the early stages of Thursday afternoon’s 17-and-under Babe Ruth State Championship matchup between the Charleston Fighting Squirrels and the 15-and-under Southeast Tropics. Sikeston’s own Heath McCain tossed a gem for the Fighting Squirrels, pitching a shutout and helping lead his team to the quarterfinals of the tournament, after a 10-0 win over the Tropics at Harmon Park in Chaffee, Mo...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Every streak comes to an end eventually. For the Charleston Fighting Squirrels, it took 27 games for them to suffer a loss. After falling 12-1 in the first game of a doubleheader on Monday, the Southeast Tropics didn’t let a rout rattle them. Instead, a late run by Ty Johnson in the top half of the seventh inning was the difference in a 5-4 victory...

Scott City High School boy’s basketball coach and athletic director Mark Dannenmueller doesn’t mince words when it comes to describing what it was like to coach former Ram athletic great Joe Panagos.

SIKESTON — Simplifying Sikeston senior Clark Steward’s baseball career in one word would be unimaginable. An up-and-down four years filled with highs, injuries, recovering and then ultimately coming back for one last go-around with his team all ended when a global pandemic occurred shutting down spring sports nationwide. However, despite all of that, the future Mississippi State Bulldog finally received his much-needed closure on Monday afternoon...

Daryl Vaughn decided to pass on an opportunity to play college baseball to join the Air Force. He took flight to keep his team from falling behind at the SEMO Conference Senior Baseball Showcase on Monday. The recent Poplar Bluff graduate made a diving catch in the right-field gap leading to a double play in a tie game...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A pair of Kennett teammates gave their team a spark in the fourth game of the SEMO Conference Baseball Showcase on Monday night at Capaha Field. Marshall Brown pitched a one-hit shutout, and Seth Tice scored the only run for the Kennett-Poplar Bluff team who beat Jackson-Dexter 1-0...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Rain covered the field at Hillhouse Park on Tuesday, forcing the Fighting Squirrels game to end prematurely. Despite Mother Nature, Charleston still managed to put up runs in three innings of play, before the contest ended. The Fighting Squirrels defeated Festus 9-0, scoring five runs in the first and four in the third...

COOTER, Mo. - Friday evening students from Cooter High School gathered at Elk Chute Lodge in Gobler after months of having to postpone prom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the evening was one they all enjoyed, it sadly turned to tragedy after an accident occurred just after the students ended the event and were leaving...

SIKESTON — After a week off, the Southeast Missouri Challenger Tournament concluded Monday at VFW Stadium in Sikeston. Featuring the 18-and-under Charleston Fighting Squirrels and 17-and-under Perfectos, the Squirrels prevailed in six innings — as the game ended due to time limit — 4-3...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Scoring came in droves in the Charleston Fighting Squirrels doubleheader sweep of the Mineral Area Orioles on Sunday at Hillhouse Park in Charleston, Mo. In the first game, the Fighting Squirrels defeated the Orioles 15-6 and then turned around and won 13-1 in the second game to improve its perfect resume to 21-0...

The Southland Rebels baseball squad will be under the direction of a new head coach when it returns to the diamond this fall. The Southland Board of Education recently hired Chris McCormick as its varsity baseball coach for the upcoming school year. McCormick takes over for Matt Bailey who is departing to work at another school district...

JACKSON, Mo. — Runs came at a premium to start the first game of the doubleheader for the Southeast Tropics on Wednesday evening. Leading 1-0 after the first inning, the Tropics did not push another run across the plate until the fourth and, from there, managed to score 10 more runs in the final four frames. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Fifteen games into the 2020 summer season and the Charleston Fighting Squirrels have won every one of those games. A loaded group, this season’s Charleston team can beat you in more ways than one. At the plate, on the mound, or running the bases, this team continues to show how cohesive a unit they are...

SIKESTON — For six innings, the Sikeston Silver Sox gave the Jackson Tribe all it wanted, as Jackson only outscored the hosts 2-1 at VFW Memorial Stadium in summer baseball action Tuesday.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — There are four games — made up of seniors from all eight SEMO Conference baseball programs — scheduled for July 6 at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. Seniors from Cape Central and Sikeston play seniors from Notre Dame and New Madrid County Central at 1 p.m...

SIKESTON — For the second-straight year, a belt is up for grabs, as pool play started for the Southeast Missouri Challenger Tournament Thursday afternoon at VFW Stadium. Six teams make up the tournament and after the first night of pool play, Sikeston Silver Sox general manager Craig Templeton is looking forward to the weekend...

DEXTER, Mo. — It was a promising start for the Sikeston Silver Sox on Thursday night against the SEMO Spartans. Sikeston led 1-0 after the first inning after an RBI single by Kadin Wilburn plated Hayden Alcorn, but that would be the only offense that the Silver Sox would muster for the game...

In the infamous 1989 baseball movie “Major League,” Cleveland Indian relief pitcher, Ricky Vaughn, was often mocked because of his ‘Mohawk’ haircut and propensity to be a tad erratic when throwing his blazing fastball.

Kennett graduate Brenton Tidd entered his sophomore campaign at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, hoping he would enjoy enough success on the diamond to receive an offer to play baseball at the University of Missouri. “Last fall I got a chance to talk to one of the assistant coaches at Mizzou,” Tidd said. “He planned on coming and watching me play in the spring after he liked what he saw when he watched me last fall.”...

Former Jackson High School baseball standout Justice Crosnoe recently signed to play for his remaining three seasons of college baseball with NCAA Division II McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois.

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels and Jackson Tribe are both figuring out how to manage this summer baseball season, which is like no other the players and coaches have ever navigated before.

The coronavirus pandemic has altered the 2020 Semoball Awards into a production like never before, as the event will be conducted as a “virtual” event on Facebook Live on July 11 at 7 p.m. instead of a live show that the sports fans throughout Southeast Missouri have grown accustomed to through the years.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — He never appears in boxscores, never gets a hit, or never strikes out a batter, but Izaac Pursley is just as important to any baseball team he helps as any of the players. A Jackson, Mo., native, Izaac has helped with the Indians baseball team, the Bell City Cubs, multiple college teams and during the summer, you can see him at Hillhouse Park, in Charleston, as a member of the Charleston Fighting Squirrels...

JACKSON, Mo. — Pitching had its share of struggles for the Sikeston Silver Sox on Wednesday against Jackson. Two hurlers had an appearance on the mound for the guests, with both wanting to have the game back. Sikeston pitchers gave up 10 earned runs, 14 hits, and threw three wild pitches in its 10-0 loss in five innings to the Tribe, at Saxony Lutheran High School...

Kennett baseball standouts Reese Robinett and Riley Henfling didn’t get an opportunity to impress a growing list of scouts this spring due to fact their high school season was cancelled. But the up-and-coming talents put together eye-popping performances when they returned to action last weekend at a PBR Baseball Showcase in Emerson, Georgia...

Kennett native Kevonte Mitchell isn’t passing up an opportunity to share his baseball knowledge this summer. Mitchell, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs shortly after graduating high school in 2013, has been offering youth baseball lessons at Ultimate Sports in Kennett since he returned from the spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona, in March...