Baseball

Three Rivers rallied from down 5-1 in the second inning to beat Southwestern Illinois 11-5, and it all started when Tony Rudd hit the first home run in his entire life. “(My mom) is not going to believe me,” Rudd said. With one out in the fourth inning, Rudd pulled a long fly ball to left field. As he neared second base, the Three Rivers (2-3) dugout started celebrating the homer, but Rudd didn’t believe it...

List of college signees in the Southeast Missourian coverage area that were submitted to the newspaper

Longtime Notre Dame baseball and softball coach Jeff Graviett will be inducted into the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 19. Graviett became the head baseball coach at Notre Dame in 1999. Under Graviett, the Bulldogs are 405-130 and have won 11 district titles and two state championships while making six final four appearances. He is also MHSBCA vice president of Class 4...

BROSELEY — For the first time since Feb. 13, a varsity event was played in the Twin Rivers gymnasium. After water damage in the fall led to replacement of the gym floor, the new gym hosted its first game in nearly 10 months. Twin Rivers and Hayti exchanged baskets throughout the first half, but a 15-3 run in the third quarter allowed the Indians to pull away from the Royals for a 64-50 victory Monday...

The Bootheel Cultural and Performing Arts Center is committed to meeting the cultural and arts needs of the Bootheel. As part of the mission to meet the cultural needs of the community the Bootheel Arts Center recognizes the need to work closely with the local educational systems...

Landon Hahn grew up attending Southeast Missouri State baseball games at Capaha Field, watching with his friends from the hill above the left-field fence. Years later, Hahn will now get a chance to play for the hometown Redhawks after signing a national letter of intent with the program Monday in front of friends and family at Jackson High School...

Sikeston's Nate Self signs his letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Tennessee-Martin, on Wednesday, at the Sikeston Field House in Sikeston, Mo. Pictured are head coach Brett Kolons, assistant coach Josh Hopkins, and members of Self's family...

Sam Houston State baseball coach Matt Deggs speaks to the public at the Miner Convention Center in Miner, Mo., on Tuesday. Deggs discussed his trials and tribulations and how that changed his life and baseball career. Deggs also spoke about his love of God and how God helped him through dark times in his life, and about FCA and what that organization means to him, and what he is, likewise, trying to teach to everyone else...

MINER, Mo — The Southeast Missouri Fellowship of Christian Athletes is hosting a fundraising event on Tuesday at the Miner Convention Center in Miner, at 6:30 p.m. Featuring special guest, Sam Houston State University baseball coach Matt Deggs, this event is for people to hear the story of Deggs and how his coaching style — and life in general — has changed for the better...

The Tri-County Conference baseball awards have been released. Cooter’s Jacob Watkins has been selected Tri-County Conference Baseball Player of the Year. Watkins batted .548 with 24 RBIs, 29 runs scored and one home run. Cooter coach David Mathis has been selected Tri-County Conference Baseball Coach of the Year. Cooter finished its fall campaign 17-1, went undefeated against Tri-County Conference opponents and repeated as champions of the Tri-County Conference Tournament under Mathis...

CAMPBELL, Mo. - It took until the final at-bat but the Campbell Camels finally received the clutch hit it needed to secure the top prize at the Campbell Fall Baseball Classic Tuesday. Campbell leadoff hitter Charles Parker stepped to the plate with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and hammered a line drive up the middle...

GIDEON, Mo. - A season-long streak of success continued for the Cooter Wildcats baseball program in the Tri-County Conference Monday afternoon. Cooter beat No. 4 seeded Gideon 15-0 in a semifinal and knocked off No. 3 seeded Risco 10-0 in the title game to repeat as champions of Tri-County Conference Tournament...

Wil Essner and Jake Sauerbrunn each sank two goals to lead the Jackson boys soccer team to a 7-0 victory over North County on Monday at Jackson Junior High School. Ryan Kinder and Noah Sparks netted one goal apiece for the Indians, who improved to 12-1-2 with the win. Chalon Domian had the other goal and also had an assist for the hosts and Chayton Bass added one assist...

After every team huddle, the Advance volleyball team yells the word "Mission" in unison. Mission was accomplished on Saturday as the defending tournament champion Hornets didn't drop a match to clinch their second consecutive championship at the 20-team Perryville Tournament...

The stage is set for the Tri-County Conference baseball tournament. The five-team event takes place Wednesday and Thursday at Gideon High School. No 5 seeded Southland plays No. 4 seeded Gideon in quarterfinal Wednesday at 4 p.m. The winner plays No. 1 seeded Cooter in a semifinal Thursday at noon. The other semifinal between No. 2 seeded Holcomb and No. 3 seeded Risco takes place Thursday at 2 p.m...

SIKESTON — Senior night turned into a night to remember for the Sikeston boys soccer team on Thursday at the Sikeston Recreation Complex. The Bulldogs completed a clean sweep in their week of matches, with it all culminating in a golden goal win 15 seconds into overtime against Poplar Bluff...

The Cape Girardeau Central girls tennis team finished one point ahead of Kennett to dethrone the defending tournament champion Indians and win the SEMO Conference Tournament on Friday at Notre Dame Regional High School. Jordan Maxton won the singles championship for the Tigers in an 8-4 victory over Kennett's Emma Phillips. Kennett's Sydni McAtee and Darcy Campbell defeated Jackson's Sarah Fetterhoff and Chloe Pipkin 8-0 for the doubles championship...

Sierra Burch blasted a home run, a double and drove in three runs to lead the Jackson softball team to a 6-4 victory over rival Notre Dame on Thursday at Jackson City Park. Notre Dame scored three of its runs in the top of the seventh before Karli Johnson shut the door for a complete-game win in the circle. She allowed four earned runs and recorded five strikeouts and three walks...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Down two goals with 10 minutes to play, the Sikeston boys soccer team found a way to claw back into the game against Saxony Lutheran on the road on Monday. The Bulldogs scored two goals in that time frame — both by Alfonso Vera — to get the game into overtime, and eventually win in penalty kicks 4-3. Vera finished with three goals in the match...

Hannah Shinn put down nine kills as Jackson volleyball clinched the regular-season conference championship of the SEMO Conference North Division with the 25-13, 25-21 win over Sikeston. Mackenzie Stoner slammed eight kills for Jackson (9-1, 4-0 SEMO North Conference) while Emily Scott added five kills and two aces. Lainey Broussard tallied 20 assists, two kills and two aces for the Indians...

The Advance volleyball team added two more wins to its flawless record and improved to 7-0 on the season with victories over Valle Catholic and host Jackson at the inaugural Spike Fest Challenge at Jackson High School on Saturday. The Hornets swept the Warriors in straight sets (25-23, 25-22) in their first game of the day, dropping the Warriors' record to 2-4. ...

Jackson scored single runs in the first two innings and road the shutout pitching of Karli Johnson for a 2-0 road victory over Rockwood Summit in high school softball action Friday. Morgan Conklin doubled twice in the win as Jackson (9-7) finished with nine hits...

The Advance volleyball team kept its undefeated season alive and picked up a key district win on Thursday night with a 25-18, 25-14 sweep of Leopold at Advance High School. Both teams will be competing in Class 1 District 3 Tournament and Thursday's result could tilt the potential district seedings in the Hornets' favor...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — East Prairie did not have much luck against the Sikeston softball team on Thursday. The Eagles fell to the Bulldogs 15-5, behind some abysmal defense. East Prairie (0-7) committed seven errors in the game. On the mound, Emma Drury pitched strong, as she gave up four hits on zero earned runs. She also struck out five batters and walked just one...

Macy Morehead recorded 17 digs and nine kills as the Saxony Lutheran volleyball team escaped with a straight-set sweep of Sikeston (25-12, 25-23) on Thursday in Sikeston, Missouri. Olivia Spanley also had nine kills for the Crusaders (4-4), who got 21 assists from Olivia Voelker. Makayla Mueller notched 12 digs and served four aces for Saxony...

BLOOMFIELD — The Bloomfield Wildcats want what the Puxico baseball team has — a win. In a battle of two winless teams, the Indians scored in each of the last three innings and beat Bloomfield 10-6. “We’ve been working toward this,” Puxico coach Jay Pierce said. “Our first game was kind of a blowout. Then we’ve been progressing toward getting better, and this is the fruition of that. … We are making that progress we need to win some games.”...

BENTON, Mo. — Down three runs going into the fifth inning, the Kelly softball team needed to start cashing in on scoring opportunities. The Lady Hawks would end up doing just that, as they defeated North County (2-2) 8-6 at Kelly High School, on Tuesday, but it came with missed opportunities early. Through four innings, Kelly left five runners on base and was down 6-3...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — After a tough loss on Tuesday against Naylor, the Sikeston softball team lost another close, rough, road game on Thursday, at Poplar Bluff High School. The Bulldogs’ fell 4-2, after taking an early 2-1 advantage after the first inning...

Cape Girardeau Central senior Jared Neikirk was the first runner to cross the finish line with a first-place time of 10 minutes, 36.94 seconds to help lead the Tigers to second place at the Fleet Feet Cross Country Kickoff Classic at the Arnold City Park on Thursday...

The Cape Girardeau Central girls tennis team quickly rebounded after dropping its first game of the season a day earlier to eke out a historic win over crosstown conference rival Notre Dame in a 5-4 decision on Tuesday at Central High School. It was the Tigers' first win ever against the Bulldogs. ...

The Scott City volleyball team picked up a season-opening win by fighting through a tight first set before sweeping Fredericktown 26-24 and 25-16. Courtney Enderle nailed eight kills to lead the Rams (1-0), while Chloie Raines provided 17 assists and three aces for the hosts. Chloe Clayton also served three aces for the Scott City and Carlie Estes notched 11 digs...

Notre Dame junior Blake Morris was the first runner to cross the finish line with local foe Saxony Lutheran senior Caleb Cornelius right behind him in second place in Saturday's First-to-the-Finish Kickoff Classic on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois...

Sophomore Logan Lemons put up four blocks and hammered three kills to lead host Zalma to a 25-18, 25-15 sweep of South Iron as both teams opened their high school volleyball seasons Friday. Senior Alexus Hubbert contributed three kills and two aces for Zalma (1-0). Junior Haley Gunn and sophomore Harley Littleton served four aces apiece for the Bulldogs...

Ask Michael Minner how he's doing, and undoubtedly the response is always the same. "Livin' the dream." At first blush it might appear to be a tongue-in-cheek throwaway line, especially from a man who admits he's done some hell-raising in his time, describes himself as "a kid for going on 39 years" and has been known to loosen up a room with a one-liner or two. But about this, he is completely serious...

For the first time in eight years, the Holcomb Hornets baseball squad is set to begin its fall campaign under a new head coach. Marty Young, who served as varsity girls basketball coach at Holcomb last season, is taking over for longtime coach Matt Casper who is leaving the baseball program to be the new head softball coach at Holcomb...

The Senath-Hornersville Lions high school baseball squad enters its fall campaign looking to make noise with a slew of returning starters. The Lions return seven starters off of last season’s squad that went 3-11 in the fall and 10-11 in the spring...

A swarm of Charleston players dogpiled on Sikeston’s Will Pratt, Sunday afternoon, as the former Bulldog recorded the final out of the Babe Ruth World Series, and a championship for the Fighting Squirrels — the first one in program history. Charleston defeated Mobile, Alabama, 4-1 behind strong pitching and timely hitting...

No longer will Missouri high schools have to wait to see an enrollment spike or drop take effect. Beginning this year, the Missouri State High School Activities Association will release new class and district assignments annually. The goal is to make sure schools of similar size are competing against one another, accounting for sudden, drastic shifts in student enrollment...

Charleston is just two wins away from claiming a World Series championship, as the Fighting Squirrels went 3-1 in pool play to earn the No. 1 seed — in the American Division — at the Senior Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown, New York. The Fighting Squirrels face West End, Williamsport, Penn., in the semifinals today at 5 p.m. The winner of the game advances to the championship game, which will be on Saturday, at 1 p.m...

SIKESTON — Sikeston junior infielder Nate Self committed to play collegiate baseball at the University of Tennessee-Martin on Monday, Aug. 6. In his junior campaign for the Bulldogs, Self led the team in batting average, at .432, runs, with 36, hits, with 38, doubles, with nine and home runs — with six...

Charleston will embark to the Empire State for the Senior Babe Ruth World Series, starting this weekend, in Jamestown, New York. The Fighting Squirrels begin the tournament in pool play, where they play four games in five days, from Saturday to Wednesday, August 8. The Michael Minner-led team takes on Southern Tier at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday in its first game...

Everyone has dreams. And for those who realize those dreams in some form or fashion, most have an idea, even if only in a hazy scene that plays out in the back of their mind, of how they'd most like to see that dream come to its conclusion. Many in the baseball community in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding areas know John Rice -- he has been the voice of so many area teams during the past decade. ...

Headline Local baseball athletes make Future Games Hunter Hiett, junior at Central Junior High School, and Brayden Eftink, junior at Notre Dame High School, have been selected to participate in the upcoming Future Games. These games will take place next week in Indianapolis, IN. The Future Games are the premier summer scouting event for class 2020 prospects. More than 250 college coaches and pro scouts from all over the country are expected to attend...

Behind stellar pitching and hot hitting, Charleston was able to go undefeated at the Midwest Plains Regional in Bismarck, North Dakota from Friday, July 20 to Monday, July 23. In pool play, the Fighting Squirrels went 3-0, defeating Bismarck, Scott County, and East Twins. In all three games, Charleston outscored their opponents 33-3 — the largest run differential of any team in the tournament...

Regional action begins, as the Charleston Fighting Squirrels will battle for a regional championship at the Midwest Plains Regional, at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark in Bismarck, North Dakota, with games going from today to Monday, July 23. In this regional, eight teams were broken up into two different pools, with the two best teams from each pool advancing to bracket play on Monday. Every team is guaranteed three games in its respective pool, as pool play will take place from Friday to Sunday...

Ultimate Baseball Senior Babe Ruth of Kennett is set to begin play at the Midwest Plains Regional in Bismarck, North Dakota, Friday after placing second at the Missouri State Tournament in Charleston on July 8. “We are excited,” Ultimate Baseball coach Tony Sandifer said. “We are going to be without a couple of our big-time guys so we will see how we end up playing. But we’ve still got some good arms so if we can generate some offense and minimize our errors on defense we should be OK.”...

Student-athletes from across Southeast Missouri were recognized for their outstanding achievements Saturday night at the region’s premier sports award show. More than 150 athletes from 57 area high schools were on hand for the Fifth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at the Donald C. ...

The wait is finally over. The fifth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH kicks off Saturday. Southeast Missouri's premier sports award show will welcome more than 150 student-athletes from 57 area high schools to the Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State's River Campus for an evening of recognition and celebration...

SIKESTON — The summer season came to an end on Friday for Sikeston, as it fell to Perryville Senior Legion 11-2 in the loser’s bracket of the Senior Babe Ruth District Tournament at VFW Memorial Stadium in Sikeston. Sikeston dropped both of its games that it played in in the tournament and finished the season without recording a victory on the schedule...

SIKESTON — Sikeston continues to ride the struggle bus, and Wednesday did not help make the ride any more joyful, as it fell to South Pemiscot Senior Legion in five innings in the first round of the Senior Babe Ruth District Tournament at VFW Memorial Stadium in Sikeston...