Bell City

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. -- A day after Austin Hicks fanned 10 batters and gave up one run in a semifinal victory, Cole Nichols one-upped his teammate and best friend. Nichols pitched a one-hit shutout in the championship game as the Bell City baseball team won its third straight Class 1 championship with a 10-0, six-inning victory over Wellsville on Tuesday at CarShield Field...

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...

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...

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...

Woodland senior Bruester Young claimed a gold medal in the javelin at the MSHSAA Class 2 Track & Field State Championships held Friday and Saturday in Jefferson City, Missouri. Young not only claimed a state title, but also set a Class 2 state record with a throw of 173 feet, 11 inches on his first attempt. ...

Woodland senior Bruester Young claimed a gold medal in the javelin at the MSHSAA Class 2 Track & Field State Championships on Friday in Jefferson City, Missouri. Young not only claimed a state title, but also set a Class 2 state record with a throw of 173 feet, 11 inches...

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...

The Woodland boys had a strong performance at the Class 2 Sectional 1 meet on Saturday at Hillsboro High School, qualifying seven individuals plus two relay teams for the Class 2 State Championship meet. Logan Thomsen grabbed a sectional title in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:40.05, and finished second in the 800 to also qualify for state in that event...

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.

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...

Jersey number: 10 Height: 6-foot-3 Position: Point guard AAU/travel team: Perryville Plans after graduation: Attend Lindenwood University and major in sports management Favorite team tradition: Team meal before big games Favorite memory from this season: Putting in 40 points against Park Hills...

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...

For a group of 12th-graders at two local high schools, this season is especially special. Delta seniors will be representing their school on the softball diamond for the first time in years, and after years of waiting Bell City has a team. At both schools, seniors led the charge to form a team, recruiting others and building support...

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...

Clay Sauceda hit a solo home run, but the Oran baseball team wasn't to fend off a determined Portageville squad, as the Eagles dropped a 7-6 decision to the Bulldogs on Tuesday in Oran, Missouri. Drew Reischman went 2 1/3 innings on the mound to be tagged with the loss for Oran (6-2). He gave up four runs (one earned) on three hits and had one strikeout and one walk. He also added a double at the plate...

BENTON, Mo. -- The Chaffee girls track and field team began and ended Monday with the same result: a first-place finish in a relay. In between there were plenty of solid finishes, including a couple other top-three finishes in relays, as the Red Devils won the Johnny Merrick Invitational at Kelly High School. Chaffee beat 16 other schools, including numerous local teams, to claim the team title with a score of 110...

Kelly baseball got a walk-off hit from Nathan Vicenzi as the Hawks edged visiting St. Vincent 5-4 with a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kyle Fitzgerald went the distance on the mound to take the win for Kelly (4-6). He gave up four earned runs, struck out five and walked three...

The Kennett softball team finally met its match as undefeated Oran flew out to a 3-0 lead and hung on to win 4-1, dealing the Indians their first loss of the season on Friday at Indian Park in Kennett, Missouri. Oran took a 1-0 lead when Kaylee Payne hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning. The Eagles extended their lead to 3-0 when Leah Cauble hit a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning...