Softball

Kennett senior Caroline Byers became interested in playing softball at Central Baptist College after attending a summer camp several months ago. “I went to a couple camps in Little Rock and met their head coach,” Byers said. “I fell in love with it the first day I met her because of her work ethic. I could just tell she was a coach I wanted to play for because she is like the coaches I’ve played for in the past.”...

The amount of talent fielded on the softball diamonds throughout Southeast Missouri last season was mind-numbing.

Three Rivers College softball coach Jeff Null noticed Holcomb senior Bailey Cupples had not committed to a college when he was searching for his final recruits for next season on a recruiting website. "After we filled our initial needs I was looking for an athlete with some upside,” Null said. ...

It remains unclear as to what the intentions of the late (and oh, so great) Johnny Cash were in heading to “Jackson,” but one thing is for certain if he would have visited the town of that name in Southeast Missouri he had better have been prepared to see something victorious (and to fight traffic on a Friday night).

Cape Central senior softball player Brooke Witvoet recently signed to play at St. Louis Community College at Meramec. Shown at the ceremony are (seated, from left) sister, Scarlett Witvoet; mother, Emily Witvoet; Brooke; father, Drew Witvoet; brother, Jackson Witvoet; (standing, from left) Tiger assistant coach Ryan Medlin; and Tiger head coach Justin Lieser...

The first time Southland softball coach Maci Shearer met Southland senior Jenna Gibson she wasn’t on a softball diamond. She was working on an FFA assignment. “I met Jenna knee-deep in mud in a pig pin because I was also her AG teacher and she had this 300-pound pig we were trying to get into this trailer,” Shearer said. ...

SIKESTON — Postseason honors are out for area softball teams. For the SEMO All-Conference First-Team, Kelly had two representatives, while Sikeston had one. Notre Dame had the most, with six. Senior outfielder Kate Hughes and senior infielder Alaney Moore earned spots on the first team for the Lady Hawks, while sophomore pitcher Nayla Bonner earned a spot for Sikeston...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Three Southeast Missouri area softball players signed on the dotted line Saturday afternoon to Three Rivers College. Kelly’s Alaney Moore, Perryville’s Ann-Marie Simpson, and Poplar Bluff’s Audrey Rahlmann signed to continue their academic and athletic careers for the Lady Raiders at the Libla Sports Complex. In total, all three made-up a nine-player class...

There was 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.

VIENNA, Mo. — Emerging as district champs after a rocky start to the season, one timely hit separated Neelyville from a spot in the quarterfinals. The Tigers lost 1-0 in the MSHSAA Class 1 sectional playoff Thursday to Vienna after Eagles pitcher Marcie Messersmith threw a no-hitter with five walks and six strikeouts...

One year ago, the Perryville softball team was one inning away from winning the MSHSAA Class 3, District 1 championship before allowing Notre Dame to score four runs in its final at-bat to get past the Pirates 4-3.

There was no shortage of power on display in Thursday’s MSHSAA Class 5 Quarterfinal between Notre Dame and Marquette.

IBERIA, Mo. — And then there were four in Class 2. The Kelly softball team dugout of an early 3-0 deficit to defeat the 20-3 Iberia Rangers on their home field, Thursday, to advance to the Class 2 Semifinals, and move one step closer to winning a state championship...

There was 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. Sikeston boy’s soccer player, Brice Gordon, and Kelly softball player, Ava LeGrand, each excelled in their endeavors and were voted by fans as the Semoball.com Athletes of the Week...

Neelyville’s state playoff game at Vienna has been postponed until Thursday. Neelyville coach Cindy Siebert said she got a call Wednesday morning a little after 8 a.m. that Vienna’s field was too wet after recent rain. The current plan is to play tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Vienna, but if the field is still unplayable, the game will be moved to Neelyville...

The answer to whether the Perryville softball team CAN play with the best 3A teams in this state was answered earlier this month when the Pirates beat a now-25-win Notre Dame team 1-0. That is the same Bulldog club that just won a Class 5 District title by beating a 20-win Jackson squad 6-3.

Notre Dame (25-2) is in a familiar spot. For the second year in a row, Jeff Graviett’s squad is back in the postseason quarterfinal round and hopeful of advancing to claim the school’s first state title since 2009. There have been some changes since the last time the team was here...

BENTON, Mo. — One more win. That is all it will take for the Kelly softball team to advance to the final four for the first time since 2017. However, the task at hand won’t be easy, as the Lady Hawks prepare to take on a 20-3 Iberia team that can score in bunches and hit for a lot of power...

Neelyville softball head coach Cindy Siebert has a trusted ally as an assistant this season. With her mom, Lisa Boyer, as an assistant coach, the Tigers have made steady progress throughout the fall. Siebert did not have an assistant last year, and the extra help allowed the team to break up into groups and work on different things at different times...

ELLSINORE, Mo. — Kelly wiggled out of a first-inning jam, overcame an early two-run deficit and didn’t make any mistakes in the field Friday. The Hawks batted around in a five-run third inning to beat Twin Rivers 7-2 in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 championship at East Carter High School...

VAN BUREN — The Neelyville Tigers needed just one inning to put to rest who would end up winning the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 softball championship. The Tigers scored 10 runs in the bottom of the second inning to break a scoreless tie and roll to an 11-1 over the Naylor Lady Eagles in the district final Friday evening at Sterling Field...

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.

VAN BUREN — It has been said that a good pitcher can carry a softball team a long way. The Naylor Lady Eagles and Neelyville Lady Tigers did their best to prove that Thursday, getting strong pitching performances in their respective MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 semifinal contests to punch their tickets to Friday’s championship...

ELLSINORE, Mo. — It took a while, but there was no need for extra innings between Twin Rivers and East Carter on Thursday. The Lady Royals scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to defeat the Lady Redbirds 2-1 in a Class 2, District 1 semifinal at East Carter High School...

ELLSINORE, Mo. — They have been a mainstay in the district championship picture for nearly the last decade, and that streak will not end in 2020. For the ninth-straight season, the Kelly Lady Hawks will have a chance to win a district title. "It's always a privilege and blessing to get to this point," Kelly head coach Melanie Heuring said. ...

In Class 5, District 1 semifinal action at Seckman High School in Imperial it was all Notre Dame from the second inning on as the first seed Bulldogs defeated Fox in five innings 13-1 Thursday. After a zero was put on the scoreboard in the first inning, the Bulldog offense heated up in the second frame, scoring eight runs and was never really threatened again...

MSHSAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS Royals, Redbirds advance to semifinal Staff Reports ELLSINORE — Twin Rivers and East Carter advanced to the semifinals of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 softball tournament and will meet Thursday. East Carter, the third-seeded defending champions, beat Alton 7-1 in a quarterfinal Wednesday after second-seeded Twin Rivers beat Gainesville 11-1...

BONNE TERRE — The aspect of play early in the fifth inning which held everyone’s attention Tuesday, as Cape Central battled Festus in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 4, District 1 Softball Tournament at North County Primary School, was the fact that the black-and-orange Tigers had put four runs on the board in their last at-bat and seemingly had the game in control.

The Jackson Indians softball team may be in a different class this year but they’re right back to where they left off last season. Led by Karli Johnson’s 12 strikeouts and Brooke Gerau’s home run, the Indians defeated the Poplar Bluff Mules 6-2 on Tuesday at Jackson to advance to the semifinal round of the Class 5, District 1 Tournament...

SIKESTON — Both of the Standard-Democrat area softball teams are gearing up for, what they hope, will be long postseason runs. The Sikeston Lady Bulldogs enter the Class 4, District 1 Tournament as the No. 4 seed, while the Kelly Lady Hawks begin their quest for a district championship as the No. ...

Ainsley Burnett drove in a game high five runs to lead Notre Dame past Incarnate Word Academy Monday 13-7, leading the Bulldogs to their 23rd victory of the season, closing out the regular season on a very high note. Burnett drove in runs on a groundout in the first inning, and double in the very next inning, and a home run in the third...

Perryville jumped on Chaffee in the first inning, scoring three runs off of Devil’s starting hurler Jayden Welch and went on to win easily Monday 10-0 in six innings. The Pirates added on four more runs in the second inning and never looked back. They scored one run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to total 10 in the game to put the mercy rule in effect...

With the game tied at five in the top of the fourth, the Cape Central offense exploded for 10 runs, winning in dominating fashion Friday over Windsor 19-9, capping off a very successful regular season. Kayleigh Turk turned in an excellent game, going 2 for 3 at the plate, driving in six runs and also scored two runs...

The Notre Dame softball team put the final touches on a perfect home fall season with an 11-0 victory over Kelly in five innings on Thursday.

In a game between two very solid softball teams, it was the Perryville Pirates’ sophomore starting pitcher Alyson Stortz who gave the performance of the season, shutting down Notre Dame’s high octane offense, winning 1-0 Thursday. Stortz gave head coach Dustin Wengert her best “ace” performance, pitching the complete game, allowing just four hits while striking out three and walking one to earn the win...

Cape Central won big over visiting Saxony Lutheran in girls’ softball Wednesday, 17-2. It was a contest characterized by aggressive baserunning by Central. Leadoff hitter Lizzie Turk, senior left fielder, scored all four times she came to the plate and stole two bases. Her twin sister, Kayleigh, senior shortstop, scored three times...

Twin Rivers picked up the second seed and East Carter the third for the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 tournament next week at East Carter. Kelly (13-9) earned the top seed and got a bye into the semifinals against the winner of fourth-seeded Chaffee (4-9) and fifth-seeded Saxony Lutheran (4-8)...

Chaffee lost a very tough game on the road Tuesday as they played one of the hottest softball teams in Southeast Missouri, taking it on the chin to Farmington 15-1. Starting pitcher Lauren Wagoner just could find her nitch on the mound, giving up three runs in the first, five runs in the second, six runs in the third, and one final run in the fourth before the mercy rule came into effect...

BENTON — There was no easy out through the entire Poplar Bluff softball lineup for Kelly on Tuesday.

Three weeks after getting run-ruled in five innings against Notre Dame, the Poplar Bluff softball team took a two-run lead into the sixth Monday. But the Bulldogs found a way past the Mules’ stingy defense. Bailey Burnett cut into Poplar Bluff’s lead by starting the sixth inning with a home run, and Kadi Dohogne finished a seven-run inning with a grand slam as Notre Dame won 10-5 at Bobby Strenfel Field...

NAYLOR — Both East Carter and Naylor struggled defensively. There were 13 combined errors, and the winner was likely going to be the team to clean things up first. The Redbirds didn’t make an error after the fourth inning and retired the side in the sixth and seventh to win 9-7 Monday...

Kayleigh Turk led the attack for Cape Central Monday afternoon as she provided a four- hit day for the visiting Tigers as they held on to win 7-5 against a very scrappy Neelyville team. Turk got the hitting going in the first with a single and later singled in the third inning as well...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — It didn’t take long for the Kelly softball team to open the floodgates, on Chaffee, Monday. The Lady Hawks scored 12 runs in the first three innings to beat the Lady Devils 15-0 in five frames at Frisco Park in Chaffee. For Kelly head coach Melanie Heuring, this was an important win with the district tournament nearing...

BENTON, Mo. — Even though they didn't play the sharpest game, the Kelly softball still managed to find a way to win in the end. The bottom of the order came through for the Lady Hawks in Thursday's 7-6, eight-inning victory over Sikeston at Thomas W. Kelly High School, as a pair of underclassmen provided the game's final heroics...

Hailey Kutz was brilliant in the pitcher’s circle on Wednesday, throwing a no hitter against Chaffee and leading her Bulldogs to a 10-0 victory. She was one walk shy of a perfect game! Kutz threw only 68 pitches(40 were strikes) in the 10 run rule shortened game, going five innings, striking out nine and issuing the one walk...

Poplar Bluff didn’t waste any time Tuesday — double, triple, triple, double, single — in building a four-run lead. The Mules pushed across a season-high run total in beating North County 15-0 in three innings at Bobby Strenfel Field. “I think we had a lot more confidence,” said Poplar Bluff senior Audrey Rahlmann-Lack, who had three extra-base hits and scored three times...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Both the Sikeston and Kelly softball teams competed in the 30th Annual Jackson Varsity Softball Invitational Tournament, Friday and Saturday, at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau. The Lady Bulldogs finished 1-3, while the Lady Hawks went 2-2...

Alyson Stortz had all of her pitches working Tuesday afternoon as she shut out Saxony Lutheran 11-0 to earn the Pirates their 13th win of the season in dominating fashion. Stortz was near perfect, as she only gave up one hit in the contest. She pitched all five innings (10-run rule shortened), giving up just the one hit, striking out 11 and walking zero...

Jeff Graviett’s Notre Dame softball team is off to an 18-1 start in 2020. It seems destined for postseason glory and perhaps — if all goes well — Notre Dame’s first state softball title since 2009. The only blemish during the current campaign is a 1-0 loss September 18 to Father Tolton Regional Catholic...