Baseball

Friday night won't be a particularly memorable one for the Cape Girardeau Central football team, taking a 57-17 beating from Chaminade, but it was a day to remember for a number of Tiger athletes who have pulled on the uniform in the past. Prior to the game, the school athletic department held its 2017 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, introducing the newest class of Tigers greats, which included former Central and Southeast Missouri State baseball standout Rhett Pierce, soccer star Craig Scheer, two-sport -- including football -- standout Jeff Tullis and the entire 1962 Central football team.. ...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- The Neelyville Tigers have quietly been rebuilding for a few years now. Fielding many quality but youthful teams over the past three seasons, the Tigers have come up short in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament, even losing as the sixth-seed in the 2014 final...

PIEDMONT -- Clearwater ended the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament with a win, although it didn't come in the game they Tigers had hoped. Tied at 2-2, third-seeded Clearwater scored seven unanswered runs in the fourth inning to come away with an 8-2 win over No. 4 Twin Rivers and third place in the conference...

Tye Huff tossed a no-hitter and Alex Hicks provided all the offense as the Greenville baseball team handed East Carter a 1-0 loss in an Ozark Foothills Conference game on Tuesday. Huff needed 79 pitches to mow down the Redbirds. He struck out six and walked one while throwing 57 pitches for strikes in the win for Greenville (3-9, 1-3 OFC)...

Hannah Landewe nailed seven kills as the Notre Dame volleyball team avoided a scare from Leopold in the second set to get the 25-17, 25-23 win at home. Shelby Bauwens hammered six kills for the Bulldogs (14-6-3) and Brooke Blankenship provided 17 assists. Megan Heisserer tallied 14 digs to pace Notre Dame defensively...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- It took an unlikely comeback to erase 14 years of frustration for the Poplar Bluff volleyball team Monday night. The Mules survived five set points in overcoming a 23-15 deficit to take the opening game, then beat defending district champion Farmington for the first time in 21 matches, 26-24, 25-14 at the Senior High Gym...

The Notre Dame softball team posted three consecutive wins on Saturday and downed Parkway South 10-0 in five innings to win the championship of the Jackson Invitational Tournament at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex. Aba Estes hit a triple and drove in two runs to lead the Bulldogs in their championship victory over the Patriots while Alex Lovell added a double and two RBIs...

The Advance volleyball team captured its fifth win in a row, defeating Saxony Lutheran 25-23, 24-26, 25-18 on Thursday at Saxony Lutheran High School. Allie Sprink recorded a double-double to lead the way for the Crusaders, finishing with 15 assists and 15 digs to go along with seven kills. Lexie Barnes also had a double-double for Saxony (12-6), recording 13 kills, 10 assists and eight digs, while Laurel Mueller chipped in 17 digs and five kills...

The Notre Dame volleyball team overcame a 20-17 deficit in both games to eke out a 25-23, 25-23 conference victory over Poplar Bluff on Tuesday in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Alexa Clark's serve clipped the net and fell in to break a 23-all tie in the first game, while her serve helped the Bulldogs rally in the second game...

Lainey Broussard dished out a whopping 42 assists and had four digs as the Jackson volleyball team had to dig deep but eventually found a way to pull out a three-set squeaker over Park Hills Central -- 25-18, 25-27, 25-23 -- on Monday in Park Hills, Missouri...

Shelby Sievers hit her fourth home run of the season and doubled while Adrienne Stucker struck out a season-high 10 in Poplar Bluff's 13-1 win in five innings Thursday. Audrey Lack was 2 for 2 with three RBIs while Calli Gerber drove in a pair of runs for the Mules (11-4). Brylee Misner had a triple among her two hits, Savannah Hicks and Adrienne Stucker each doubled as seven different batters drove in a run...

NAYLOR -- Chaney Trout and the Neelyville baseball team were perfect Wednesday. Trout struck out 12, threw 56 of 73 pitches for strikes including 17 first-pitch strikes to record his first career perfect game. Trout induced six groundballs and three pop flys to improve to 3-0 on the mound and also tripled in the Tigers' win...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Nik Rowland had a hat trick before halftime Tuesday as the Poplar Bluff soccer team won its home opener 4-0 against Murphysboro (Ill.) at Mules Stadium. Rowland also had an assist on Wyatt Rowland's second-half goal while Juan Ventura, Alex Ketcherside and Daniel Orozco-Lozano each had an assist for the Mules (3-3)...

Kristen Barwick doubled twice and scored two runs as Notre Dame softball beat Van Buren 8-3 to deal their visiting Bulldogs their first loss of the season in the opening round of pool play at the Notre Dame Softball Fest. Ali Lynch went the distance in the circle to take the win for Notre Dame (7-1). She allowed three earned runs, struck out four and walked two...

Thanks to two second-place finishes, St. Vincent cross country won both the boys and girls team titles in the largest-ever St. Vincent Invitational at Perry Park Center in Perryville, Missouri, on Wednesday. On the boys side, Joseph Baer came in second with a time of 18 minutes, 5 seconds, as the Indians finished 13 points ahead of second-place Steeleville (Ill.). Corin Carroll was second in the girls race, and St. Vincent edged Valle Catholic and Poplar Bluff by five points...

Lexie Barnes posted a double-double with 10 assists and 10 digs to go along with seven kills, as the Saxony Lutheran volleyball team defeated St. Vincent 25-18, 20-25, 25-18 on Tuesday in Perryville, Missouri. Allie Sprink recorded 13 assists and seven kills for Saxony Lutheran (6-1). Macy Morehead finished with 16 digs and five kills, and Laurel Mueller added five kills and nine digs. Ashley Fritsche notched 12 digs to pace the Crusaders defensively...

Olivia Hukel served four aces and dished out five assists, as the Cape Girardeau Central volleyball team defeated Puxico 25-10, 25-19 for its first win of the season Tuesday in Puxico, Missouri. Karly Thomas notched 19 digs and hammered four kills for Central (1-2)...

Saxony Lutheran junior Caleb Cornelius offered up a standout performance as he finished fourth in a field of more than 400 cross country runners at the First to the Finish Kickoff Classic on Saturday in Edwardsville, Illinois. Cornelius ran a 16:40.20 to garner a top-five result, just 11 seconds off the winner, Jackson Stewart of Decatur St. Teresa...

It was a wild final night at the Woodland Invitational volleyball tournament, as the final four matches all went three sets, capped off by the third-seeded host Cardinals pulling off their second upset of the night with a 25-21, 26-28, 25-20 victory over top-seeded Saxony Lutheran for the championship...

A look at games from Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017.

Doniphan drops fall baseball as football prepares for comeback

Bridgette Swinford blasted a grand slam to lead the Chaffee softball team to its first win of the season, a 17-6 decision against Jefferson on Thursday in Festus, Missouri. Kylie Wilhite was the winning pitcher and also doubled for Chaffee (1-2). She allowed four earned runs and recorded seven strikeouts and one walk...

Mules beat visiting Puxico 25-16, 25-16

Allison Bray carded a 3-over-par 75 to earn co-medalist honors, as the Notre Dame girls golf team started its season on a high note and clinched the championship of the 13-team Midwest Shootout Classic on Tuesday at Far Oaks Golf Course in Caseyville, Illinois...

A look at area games from Monday.

Chloie Raines served four aces to pace the Rams in their season-opening lopsided 25-5, 25-11 loss to the Hornets on the road Monday. Skylar Rhymer notched seven digs for Scott City (0-1) while Rylee Stroup finished with two kills for the Rams. It was also the first game of the season for Advance (1-0)...

Allison Carnell hit a double and drove in two runs to lead Jackson softball to its first win of the season, 6-2 over Linn, in the opening round of the People's Bank of Sullivan Back-to-School Classic in Sullivan, Missouri. Sicily Johnston went the distance in the circle to get the win for Jackson. She allowed two earned runs and recorded four strikeouts and two walks...

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...