Fall baseball returning at Doniphan

The Dons will return to the baseball diamond this fall following a vote by the Doniphan R-I School Board.

Adam Epps, Doniphan’s athletic director, said coach Dalton Pennington is working on a schedule and that the Dons will be able to play Ozark Foothills Conference rivals.

Schools that play baseball in the fall do not compete for a MSHSAA championship. The OFC holds a season-ending tournament in early October.

The board voted during its regularly-scheduled meeting Tuesday, July 26, for the Dons to play fall baseball for the second time since the 2016-17 school year.

Golf will also be returning to the spring season, the board voted June 13, after the program was set to be discontinued by a May vote.

Practice for all fall sports will start Monday, Aug. 8, and there are plenty of options for Doniphan students.

Along with baseball and football, which is entering its fifth varsity season, there is cross country for both boys and girls, volleyball and softball, which also competes in the spring.

Last spring, Doniphan’s four golfers on the varsity team were all girls. MSHSAA has a girls golf season during the fall while girls can also play during the spring with boys.

Epps said there was discussion about competing during the fall golf season.

There were only eight schools in the 21-county Southeast region that competed in girls golf last school year with Poplar Bluff set to join those ranks this fall. That leaves very few options for matches or tournaments without trips to St. Louis or Springfield, Epps said.

By keeping the golf program in the spring, Doniphan can still field a team with boys and girls.

The board voted 7-0 to discontinue the golf program during its April 19 meeting. Ashlynn Fowler, a member of the team, addressed the board during its May 17 meeting.

The Dons last played fall baseball during the 2020-21 school year after the previous spring season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to MSHSAA's website, 91 teams offered fall baseball last season and Doniphan would be the only one to offer both baseball and football during the fall.

Doniphan’s 343 enrollment number last school year makes it the largest of the fall baseball teams listed and the largest school in the OFC.

Many schools smaller than Doniphan offer multiple team sports in the fall.

Of the 155 schools that played 11-man football in the same class size or smaller than the Dons, 42 also competed in boys soccer, including 29 public schools.

A few had success in both sports last season with Maryville reaching the Class 2 quarterfinals in football while the soccer team finished third in Class 1. Brentwood won district titles in both sports while Fair Grove and Chillicothe each won a district title in soccer and reached the final in football.

Since the departure of Doniphan from the fall OFC baseball tournament, the top two seeds earned a first-round bye into the semifinals with only two first-round games.

The Dons last appeared in the OFC Tournament championship game in 2007, losing to Twin Rivers 6-1, and last won a district championship in 1986.

The OFC softball tournament is held in the spring. MSHSAA holds championship seasons in both fall and spring for softball. Schools may only enter one but can play both fall and spring regular season schedules.

Doniphan competes in the fall softball championship season along with volleyball.