Community Sports

Cape Girardeau Capahas manager Tom Bolen admits his team has several games already in the books but the real kickoff to the Caps’ 2020 season, he says, is this weekend. The Capahas (2-3) return to their home field to play a doubleheader Saturday against Millstadt (Ill.) and a Sunday twinbill against Valmeyer (Ill.)...

The Cape Girardeau Capahas were sailing toward a three-game season-opening sweep of the Valmeyer (Illinois) Lakers this weekend at Jackson Indians Stadium. Friday, the Tom Bolen-managed squad posted a 2-0 shutout, holding the visitors to three hits...

The Cape Girardeau Capahas got its 2020 summer season off to a good start as the team won its home opener Friday night, a 2-0 shutout of visiting Valmeyer at Jackson Indians Stadium.

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Brevin Giebler won three straight holes to take the lead midway through his second round match Friday at the 113th Missouri Amateur. But the Cape Girardeau golfer lost the next two holes and was knocked out by Nicholas Sheppard of Springfield, 2 up at the Ozarks National Golf Course...

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Brevin Giebler advanced to the second round of match play at the 113th Missouri Amateur. The Cape Girardeau golfer earned a 2 and 1 victory over Jake Mikesch of St. Joseph on Thursday at the Ozarks National Golf Course. Jackson’s Case Englehart survived a 10-player playoff for the final seven spots to earn the 63rd seed in the 64-player field after climbing from 139th place with a 2-under 68 round Wednesday...

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Brad Thielemier started his round Wednesday with an eagle as the Poplar Bluff golfer clawed his way back at the 113th Missouri Amateur. Thielemier, who started the day tied for 94th, made the cut for match play with an even-par 71 at the Ozarks National Golf Course...

Holcomb native Cayden Mitchell knew she wanted to speed down a dirt track when she was less than 10-years-old. “My dad has always been my best friend,” Mitchell said. “Growing up we always went and watched the races together at Poplar Bluff, Malden, and Paragould. I was drawn to it right away and wanted to do it. My dad got me started with drag racing, then we got in go-karts, and two years ago I started racing modified.”...

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Area golfers will be need to be on the move Wednesday during the final round of stroke play at the 113th Missouri Amateur. None of the players from Southeast Missouri are in the top 64 following Tuesday’s opening round at the Ozarks National Golf Course...

The fact that the world needs some positivity at this time is not debatable and the Southeast Missouri Food Bank and Dalhousie Golf Club are collaborating to bring some of that to Southeast Missouri.

Golfers of all ages competed on a couple of different Southeast Missouri courses recently. The PGA Gateway Junior Series competed at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson recently and here are the results.

When Kennett graduate Chris Sledge returned home to run the family business in 2001 he wanted to find a way to give back to his community. “Once I got back I really wanted to give back to the youth,” he said. “I just wanted to give back to the community and make a difference in kids’ lives.”...

During this time of social distancing, the SuperFan series of articles focuses on fans who are geographically distant from the teams they support, who are fiercely loyal to a team outside the state of Missouri. Today: Jen Odden, 42, afternoon radio personality, K103 Radio, and program director of 93.9 “The River,” and SEMO ESPN. ...

Kennett native Kevonte Mitchell isn’t passing up an opportunity to share his baseball knowledge this summer. Mitchell, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs shortly after graduating high school in 2013, has been offering youth baseball lessons at Ultimate Sports in Kennett since he returned from the spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona, in March...

The stage is set for the sixth annual FCC Behavioral Health “Fore Wellness” Golf Tournament. The four-person golf scramble is slated to take place Thursday at Kennett Country Club. “This year we are going to do things a little bit different,” FCC Chief Administrative Officer Seth Roso said. ...

Major League Baseball ownership and its players continue a standoff as to whether professional baseball will ever be played this summer, while the Prospect League recently put the kibosh on the 2020 Cape Catfish season. However, fear not baseball fans, Capaha Field will be filled with the sounds of baseball being played over the next four days.

POPLAR BLUFF — Brad Thielemier went from 1-under-par to 1-over at the midpoint of his round Wednesday trying to qualify for the state amateur tournament. “I knew where I was, just don’t do anything silly,” the Poplar Bluff golfer said of his score in relation to the field...

Memorial Day traditionally kicks off the summer for everyone across this country and for many that means heading to the local water park for some fun.

The Capahas will play aluminum-bat baseball this summer, despite the anxiety over COVID-19. “We’re officially announcing the kickoff to Mon-Clair League action with an eight-team tournament on July 4,” Capahas manager Tom Bolen said Friday, who added play will occur on Independence Day on fields in Valmeyer, Illinois and Waterloo, Illinois.

In the first game in franchise history, the Cape Catfish fell behind 9-2 by the sixth inning and eventually lost to the Quincy Gems 11-3 in front of a packed Capaha Field throng that enjoyed the atmosphere, if not the result.

A year ago, the Cape Catfish orchestrated a “dream season” through its inaugural year as a franchise. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been more of a nightmare than any dream.

Longtime Kennett swimming coach Malinda Harris has never struggled getting swimmers to sign up to participate in her summer league swim program. “We are fortunate enough to have so many swimmers in our own program we can have a very competitive meet without going beyond our own team boundaries,” Harris said. “We typically have several swimmers in each age group competing against each other within our own program.”...

POPLAR BLUFF — Carr Vernon is playing pain-free golf this year and that may be better than any hole-in-one on the scorecard. The Poplar Bluff golfer had surgery in December on his left wrist after playing with pain over the past three summers playing professionally...

POPLAR BLUFF — Nobody was around when Carr Vernon had his first hole-in-one as a young teenager playing a round at Westwood Hills Country Club. His second came playing college golf in California and No. 3 was during a tournament on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada last summer...

POPLAR BLUFF — There will be no postgame handshakes and umpires will be calling balls and strikes from a different location, but baseball and softball will be played at McLane Park this summer. Lanny Corcimiglia, director of the Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department, said procedures are being put in place to make the youth and adult summer leagues as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic...

The sport of swimming is notorious not just for the level of physical work put in by those who compete in it, but the amount of training is just as important.

POPLAR BLUFF — The 2020 Wolf Creek Trail Run ultimately had 34 people and one dog complete the course despite no official race actually taking place. Amidst social distancing, organizers opted to allow anyone who registered and wanted to compete to run the trail on their own and report times on the honor system. The annual spring event still raised around $3,700 for Kiwanis Bacon Park...

POPLAR BLUFF — Registration is open for the Poplar Bluff Park & Recreation Department’s adult men’s and women’s softball. A league meeting will be held Tuesday, May 26 in the Community Room at the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce, 1111 West Pine. The men’s meeting will be held at 6 p.m. followed at 7 p.m. with the women’s meeting...

The Prospect League announced Wednesday that it was delaying the start of its 2020 season from May 28 to July 1, with the season culminating on August 15.

SIKESTON — Emotions ran from shocked to upset to sadness when the news hit the East Prairie and surrounding communities that Steve Stokes had passed away. “It was crazy because I had seen him a couple of days before, and he was doing well,” Portageville head boys’ basketball coach and East Prairie resident Jason Irby said. “Steve, over the last 10 years or so, kept himself in great shape and had lost a lot of weight, so I had no clue this was coming. To get the call, it was a total shock.”...

Arguably the best-known figure from the first Gulf War, the late Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, loved few things more than taking off his combat helmet and putting on a fishing cap, festooned with artificial lures.

POPLAR BLUFF — The Poplar Bluff Parks Department, in coordination with the Butler County Emergency Management Agency and the Butler County Health Department, has decided to close the Ozark Ridge Golf Course because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The action was a precautionary and proactive measure, Director of Parks and Recreation Lanny Corcimiglia said, and the decision will be reviewed as things evolve...

Capahas manager Tom Bolen is bullish about his team’s upcoming 2020 season, no matter when it may start. “I’m the most excited I’ve ever been about the product we’re going to put into Capahas’ uniforms,” Bolen, 44, said Tuesday. The Capahas, generally comprised of unpaid college students, are supposed to begin their season May 17 at Capaha Field against Belleville...

The St. Louis Cardinals were to have spent Sunday evening wrapping up a three-game road series against Central Division foe Cincinnati Sunday, but as every baseball fan knows all too well at this point, there is no crying IN baseball, but there is crying ABOUT no baseball due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has engulfed the world.

Fishing is perhaps the most social distancing-friendly sport around. Consider the facts. For many anglers, perhaps most, fishing is a solitary activity. It’s often done entirely alone. Bait can be secured without encountering anyone. In addition to being a safe sport in this time of coronavirus anxiety, fishing is also ideal for the frugally-minded...

It’s still safe to go outside and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will soon be giving folks incentive to do so. In a move prompted by the current coronavirus emergency, MDC has announced permit-free fishing in Missouri beginning Friday and continuing through Wednesday, April 15...

While one area race has been postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, another looks to keep running in a different format. The Badge of Honor Benefit Run postponed the April 4 race due to the coronavirus. A new date will be announced later. Meanwhile, the seventh annual Wolf Creek Trail Run will not have an official gathering, which was set for April 11, but will have runners and walkers post their times between April 11 and May 1...

The third annual Special Olympics Basketball Exhibition was held in the Kennett Middle School gymnasium on Saturday. Athletes were able to showcase their skills in front of the largest crowd ever to attend the exhibition. Kathy Rogers, a coach for the Kennett Special Olympics team, appreciated the community support and sponsors for the exhibition...

SIKESTON — Clay Graviett loves pool. “Whenever I was about three-or-four-years-old, I used to have wooden soda crates,” Graviett said. “I used to stack them up to where I could see over the pool table so I could shoot. I’ve been playing pool ever since I was three-four-five-years-old. I enjoy it.”...

MINER, Mo. — Former Sikeston baseball standout Lance Rhodes returned to his hometown on Monday evening, as the Fellowship for Christian Athletes hosted the SEMO South FCA Fundraising Banquet at the Miner Convention Center. The current head baseball coach at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., Rhodes made the trip down for an event that enters its second year in the area...

The Poplar Bluff baseball team will be hitting the road this spring with trips to Kansas and either side of Missouri. To help with travel costs, the Mules will be hosting a Home Run Derby at Bobby Strenfel Field on Saturday, March 14. There will also be a Fungo Golf Tournament starting at 7:30 a.m. before the 10 a.m. start of the derby...

Good Sports is a weekly feature appearing in the Southeast Missourian and online at Semoball.com. It profiles the life of a person connected to sports and allows readers the opportunity to know the people who are impacting athletics throughout Southeast Missouri in a deeper way. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity...

The Kennett High School Key Club recently hosted a Hooping for Hunger fundraiser for the local backpack program. “We decided to sponsor a four on four basketball tournament benefitting the Kennett Backpack Program,” said Key Club President, Jonathan Jain. “The backpack program works in conjunction with the SEMO Food Network to provide backpacks of food for students full of non-perishable food.”...

Sports Destination Magazine, a trade journal, is highlighting Cape Girardeau as a new and emerging sports market. In its latest edition, the publication targeted what it called a “carefully curated list” of 19 cities in 11 states. Cape made SDM’s cut for having “professional-grade facilities…a mix of environments (catering) to nearly every popular sport and all within 10 minutes of a major highway and other amenities.”...

As a native western Pennsylvanian, I’ve been to Punxsutawney, Pa., and specifically to Gobbler’s Knob, the promontory above the town in which top-hatted men dressed in black drag an unwilling woodchuck out of an enclosure on February 2 each year.

Chayton Bass of Jackson is just fine with people who don’t understand his affection for the 49ers. Bass, 18, will be rooting for San Francisco in Sunday’s Super Bowl LIV, perhaps the only occasion in 21st-century American culture in which Roman numerals are used widely...

In the Tom Hanks film, “A League of Their Own” (1992), Tom Hanks, a washed-up major leaguer coaching a woman’s team during World War II, confronts a weeping ballplayer. “Are you crying?” Hanks asks. “There’s no crying in baseball!” Maybe not, Mr. Hanks, but in real life, there sure is cheating in the most leisurely of all professional sports...

It took an hour for Reiley Calvert’s family to drive from Risco, Mo. to Monday’s Cardinal Caravan. “I’m here to see the players and get my baseball signed,” said Reiley, 12. “I think (the Redbirds) are going to make it to the World Series,” young Reiley added...

Good Sports is a weekly feature appearing in the Southeast Missourian and online at Semoball.com. It profiles the life of a person connected to sports and allows readers the opportunity to know the people who are impacting athletics throughout Southeast Missouri in a deeper way. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity...