Baseball

The Sikeston baseball team enjoyed a deep postseason run for the first time in a decade and Trey Smith helped spearhead that effort with an all-state senior season. Sikeston’s dynamic leadoff hitter hit for both power and average giving the Bulldogs a presence on the base paths each and every game. ...

The Semoball Cup ended up being a battle of the Bulldogs that needed overtime to decide. Megan Heisserer's golden goal to lift Notre Dame to the Class 2 soccer title also happened to clinch the Cup. In the closest finish in the early history of the award, Notre Dame edged Van Buren by 4.79 points in the standings that determine which area school had the most athletically successful school year...

From across Southeast Missouri, people descended upon Cape Girardeau on Saturday night for the region's premier sports awards show. More than 150 student-athletes from 57 area high schools were on hand for the Fourth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, as awards were handed out in 25 sports categories...

Austin Hicks was 9 years old when he took the mound for the first time during a game. Suddenly, he felt in control -- an enticing feeling for a kid who wasn't a particularly good hitter or fielder at the time. Hicks soon realized pitching was his strong suit, so his dad built him a mound in their backyard, using a tire as a strike zone. Sometimes he imagined he was pitching in a "big game."...

Twelve high school student-athletes earn recognition for their accomplishments on the baseball field this spring

Welcome back for Episode 16 of the Semoball Podcast. We are a week and a half away from the 2017 Semoball Awards at the Southeast Missouri State River Campus, so podcast host and Southeast Missourian sports editor Josh Mlot caught up with two of the finalists set to be honored at the event...

Chase Simmons, a 2013 Notre Dame Regional High School graduate, received an NCAA Division II Gold Glove as a catcher, the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods announced Wednesday. Simmons, who wrapped up his senior season with Lubbock Christian University in May, had a .995 fielding percentage this past campaign. That was second on the team among day-to-day positional players. He committed just two errors in 49 games, including 48 starts...

This spring, three area high school teams won state championships. With the success came accolades. Numerous local student-athletes earned recognition, including all-state honors. On the baseball diamond, Bell City won its third straight Class 1 state championship. Along the way, five Cubs earned all-state distinctions...

Ten months after the high school sports calendar began, we now know all 148 of our on-field nominees for the 2017 Semoball Awards. On Friday, the spring sport finalists for baseball, softball, girls soccer, boys and girls track and field, golf and boys tennis for the event -- to be held Saturday, July 8, at the Bedell Performance Center at Southeast Missouri State's River Campus -- were announced as part of a live selection show on SEMO ESPN Radio...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- For the second day in a row, the St. Vincent baseball team fell behind early and couldn't come back. The Indians, who overcame multiple-run deficits late in sectional and quarterfinal games, couldn't recreate that magic at state. St. Vincent's surprising postseason run came to a bitter end in a 9-3 loss to Lincoln in the Class 2 third-place game on Wednesday afternoon at CarShield Field...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- The St. Vincent baseball team has become accustomed to overcoming deficits late in postseason games. On their way to the Class 2 final four, the Indians notched comeback victories over Van-Far in the sectional round before defeating South Pemiscot in the quarterfinals. In both games, they battled back after trailing by multiple runs in the fifth inning...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Taylor Ogden heard the chants. After Bobby Wright's three-run home run in the second inning extended the Bell City baseball team's lead to seven runs, fans along the right-field line briefly yelled, "Three-peat! Three-peat!" Ogden responded by lifting three fingers into the air. The Cubs have struck that pose at various times this year, including after their quarterfinal win six days earlier. A third state final four appearance wasn't the goal, though. A state title was...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Austin Hicks is no stranger to championship game appearances. The Bell City senior has been an integral part of a program that has won back-to-back Class 1 baseball state titles and is gunning for a three-peat. But for the Cubs' ace, the third time feels just like the first when it comes to advancing to the final...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ethan Pecaut knew something was amiss when he heard his father crying while running up the wood steps outside their house. The then-junior St. Vincent baseball player had already woken up that Saturday morning in November to a barrage of text messages from friends offering their condolences. A family friend from Ste. Genevieve, where Pecaut used to live, texted him, "If you ever need anything just let me know, and I love you."...

We chat with athletes from each of the four state-bound teams this week.

Before each season, Bell City baseball coach Justin Simpher gathers his team together and delivers a message. "Last year's over with," Simpher tells his bunch. It's a new group with a new dynamic. While that may sound cliche, the Cubs take his words to heart, and it helped keep the two-time defending Class 1 state champions grounded this season...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Just minutes after the final out had been recorded and cries of "We're going back to state," had died down, the Bell City baseball team lined up along the left-field line. Under the eye of coach Justin Simpher, the Cubs sprinted halfway toward second base and back. Then, they did it again, and again, and again...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ethan Pecaut was in a mini-slump. The St. Vincent designated hitter had struck out in five of his last six at-bats, so when he stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with one out and a Class 2 sectional baseball game against Van-Far hanging in the balance, he turned to his mother above for help...

COOTER, Mo. -- The Bell City baseball team had two major advantages when it took to the field in a Class 1 sectional at Cooter on Monday -- its experience with big-time playoff games, and pitcher Austin Hicks. Hicks was every bit the ace as he befuddled a young Wildcats team that left the door open enough for the Cubs to kick it down, 7-1, and roll back to a third consecutive state quarterfinal...

The Leopold baseball team watched its season come to an end on Wednesday, as top-seeded Valley combined for eight hits to claim a 6-4 win in the Class 1 District 3 championship game at Wilson Rozier Park in Farmington, Missouri. Blake Boyer finished with a double and three RBIs to lead the way for the Vikings, while Thad Heifner, Ethan Matthews and Keeton Loughary each added a pair of hits...

ORAN, Mo. -- After watching Austin Hicks give up two hits to the first two batters and then escape the inning unscathed, his coach and catcher had an idea. Maybe you need to speed up your pace on the mound, Bell City baseball coach Justin Simpher and catcher Bobby Wright suggested to Hicks after the first half-inning of the Class 1 District 2 championship. At times this season, he's gotten into trouble by taking too much time in between pitches, Hicks said...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- This time it was Poplar Bluff's turn to celebrate. At the bottom of a maroon dogpile Monday following the Class 5 District 1 championship game was Tanner Tibbs. The senior tossed a three-hit shutout and pushed across the first run of the game with a bases-loaded walk as the Mules beat Jackson 8-0...

Nobody in a Notre Dame baseball uniform knows anything other than winning a district title, so when it looked like that might change, the Bulldogs did something about it. Second-seeded Notre Dame rallied from five runs down, got a momentum-swinging inside-the-park home run from Trevor Haas and a shutdown relief effort from ace Will Ferrell to break the hearts of Perryville yet again, 8-6, in a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Monday at Notre Dame Regional High School...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- The game had ended 25 minutes ago. Photos with the district plaque had been snapped. A bus had already whisked the opposing team away. But the St. Vincent baseball team remained on the field, soaking in the moment with friends and family. This championship had been 16 years in the making, and the first district title in any sport for eight seniors. The Indians were going to savor the feeling...

Jeff Graviett sat in the hospital room the day after the accident and told Layne Robinson everything would be all right. He would be back in a year, Graviett told the then-freshman. But deep down, Graviett wasn't so sure. The longtime Notre Dame baseball coach had never seen this type of injury before in baseball. Even as Graviett told Robinson he still had a future in baseball, he felt like he was lying to the teenager. More than a year later, it turns out Graviett was spot on...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- The Chaffee baseball team was one strike away from a district title game appearance, and then with one swing of the bat, Bismarck's Hunter Drake turned the game on its head. Suddenly, the Red Devils were down a run with just three outs to work with. They couldn't recover...

Sixth-seeded Cape Girardeau Central baseball saw its season come to an end Friday, as it fell to third-seeded Hillsboro 5-2 in a quarterfinal of the Class 5 District 1 Tournament in Hillsboro, Missouri. Cooper Crosnoe and Drake Mills each had a hit and an RBI as the Tigers...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — The Meadow Heights baseball team looked poised to break a 3-3 deadlock late in Friday’s Class 2 District 3 quarterfinal, but when it failed, St. Vincent capitalized. The fourth-seeded Indians got out of a one-out jam with a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh inning, then delivered the finishing touch in the bottom half of the inning to grab a 4-3 victory over the fifth-seeded Panther’s at Valle Catholic's Alumni Field...

The top-seeded Notre Dame boys tennis team didn't drop a single match in its 5-0 sweep of fourth-seeded Arcadia Valley in a semifinal of the Class 1 District 1 team tournament on Tuesday at Notre Dame Regional High School. The victory set up a clash of familiar foes, as the Bulldogs (11-1) will go up against second-seeded and two-time defending district champion Dexter at 4 p.m. ...

Braden Cox had an all-around stellar day on the field, blasting a three-run home run and throwing all but the last three pitches on the mound, to lead the Scott City baseball team to a 9-2 victory over East Prairie on Monday and clinch the regular-season Scott-Mississippi Conference championship in Scott City, Missouri...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- With district seeding already announced, Monday's meeting between the Bell City and Oran baseball teams meant little. But it was a potential preview of a Class 1 District 2 title matchup next week, and Oran (12-3) took advantage of some early opportunities and then held off the Cubs down the stretch to grab a 3-2 victory at Bell City High School...

A pair of guests, plus Phillip Suitts in studio to talk baseball (and softball) playoffs.

After Notre Dame got the better of Poplar Bluff earlier in the season, the Mules exacted revenge with an 8-3 victory in Saturday's rematch in a SEMO Conference Tournament semifinal at Capaha Field. Poplar Bluff (17-5) found the offensive breakthrough it needed in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring six runs on four hits, but it was the defensive side of things that vaulted the Mules into the championship game...

Emma Brune scored a pair of goals to lead the Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Cape Central in SEMO Conference action Wednesday at Central High School. Makayla Mueller and Laurel Mueller each had an assist for the Crusaders. Ashley Fritsche earned the shutout in the net for Saxony (7-11, 3-3 SEMO Conference)...

Jonathan Bell and D.J. Lynch each carded a 10-over-par 81 as the Notre Dame boys golf team won the Class 3 District 1 tournament championship for the second year in a row on Tuesday at the Fox Haven Country Club in Sikeston, Mo. The Bulldogs all finished below 90 as the defending district champions edged Farmington by five strokes in the team standings to come away with the district championship. Nicholas Westrich shot a one-over-par 82 to earn the medalist honors for the Knights...

Chaffee baseball coach Brian Horrell didn't expect Austin Copeland to return before the season opener in mid-March. He thought the junior might return by late April or early May, just before playoffs began. After all, Copeland had just torn his left ACL in an early September football game. Just 10 or 15 years ago, that injury would have ruled Copeland out for the remainder of the school year, Horrell said...

The Notre Dame boys tennis team won all but one singles match, defeating host Sikeston 8-1 in its regular-season finale on Monday. The win improved Notre Dame's record to 10-1, while Sikeston dropped to 0-8. Notre Dame will now turn its attention to the Class 1 District 1 tournament, which is scheduled for next week in Sikeston...

Cape Central baseball coach Tatum Kitchen didn't mince words following a 7-1 loss on Monday night. Minutes after the seventh-seeded Tigers fell to No. 3 Sikeston in a SEMO Conference Tournament semifinal at Capaha Field, Kitchen said his team simply wasn't good enough, at the plate or in the field, to punch its ticket to the championship...

Elijah Huey had the game-winning RBI single as seventh-seeded Cape Central baseball upset No. 2 Jackson 3-2 in eight innings Friday in the first round of the SEMO Conference Tournament at Whitey Herzog Stadium. Joe Baker went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Tigers (5-11) and got the save as he pitched a scoreless eighth. Drake Mills picked up the win as he gave up two runs (one earned), seven hits and two walks in seven innings. He also struck out two...

Layne Johnson held the Bulldogs to six hits on the mound, as the Oran baseball team knocked off Sikeston 10-2 on Thursday in Sikeston, Missouri. Johnson threw 6 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs, striking out seven batters and walking two. Drew Reischman secured the final out for the Eagles...

Ben Womack hit two doubles and batted in two runs but it was ultimately not enough as the Notre Dame baseball team was unable to erase a five-run deficit and fell just one run short in a 5-4 loss to host Sikeston on Tuesday, dropping a crucial conference game that awarded the regular-season SEMO Conference championship to Poplar Bluff...

Notre Dame's Jonathan Bell carded a six-over-par 77 to tie for second individually, as the Bulldogs finished 16 strokes behind champion Poplar Bluff to receive second place Monday in the SEMO Conference Boys Golf Tournament at Fox Haven Country Club in Sikeston, Missouri...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — The SEMO Conference game between Jackson and Poplar Bluff was a standoff even before the first pitch Monday. Each side opened with a three-run first inning, but Poplar Bluff got a pair of two-out RBI singles in the fourth to pull ahead. That was enough to back Ronin Rice’s complete-game effort as the Mules won 5-3 at Bobby Strenfel Field...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Austin Hicks was back on the mound Wednesday in the Stoddard County Activities Association Conference Tournament after the Bell City senior tossed two perfect innings of relief the previous night in the semifinal. He earned his second win in less than 24 hours, as the Cubs defended their title with a 2-0 win over top-seeded Bernie...

ORAN, Mo. -- In baseball, pretty and exciting are not always synonymous. Oran and Saxony Lutheran combined for three errors, 14 walks, eight wild pitches, a bevy of missed opportunities and multiple base-running blunders before the host Eagles walked off with a bases-loaded free pass in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory on Tuesday at Oran High School...

Corin Carroll scored two goals, leading the St. Vincent girls soccer team to a 2-1 win over Poplar Bluff on Monday in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Carroll netted the equalizer off an assist from Faith Kapp before putting the Indians ahead in the 44th minute...

The Scott City baseball team won two games Saturday as they claimed first place in the runners-up bracket at the Malden Invitational Tournament. The Rams (12-4) first defeated Cooter 9-7 and then beat Caruthersville 7-3. In both games, Scott City struck early...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team opened up its series against Jacksonville State with a back-and-forth 7-6 victory Thursday behind the power of three home runs and a strong performance from the bullpen at Capaha Field. The Redhawks (18-14, 9-7 Ohio Valley Conference) took the lead back on four different occasions, while never trailing. Each time the Gamecocks tied the game, Southeast responded and broke the tie the next half inning...

Notre Dame girls soccer got a golden-goal winner in extra time from Megan Heisserer to get past Saxony Lutheran 3-2 in a conference matchup on Wednesday in Jackson, Missouri. It was a fourth straight overtime game for the Crusaders and a second extra-time loss in as many days...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- For the Bell City baseball team, a string of four losses in five games left the two-time defending Class 1 state champions looking for consistency. On Wednesday, two critical veterans provided some. Cole Nichols led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to set the tone and Austin Hicks shined yet again on the mound as the Cubs dropped Kelly 6-0 at Bell City High School...