Sports

Cape Central defeats Sikeston 3-1 in a pitcher’s duel on Thursday to win its third straight SEMO conference game. “It’s a good thing,” Cape Central coach Justin Lieser said. “It’s not only a conference game but also a district game so for the postseasons status, that only helps us.”...

The Bloomfield boys golf team compiled a 2-1 record Thursday in a triple dual match at New Madrid County Club. Caruthersville, led by medalist Carter Long’s 6-over 42, shot 198. Bloomfield posted 209, New Madrid County Central 212 and Malden 229. Here’s a list of individual scorers from Thursday’s meet:...

SIKESTON — It was the best of times and the worst of times for Sikeston and Charleston on Wednesday afternoon at VFW Stadium. The Bulldogs used a strong pitching performance from sophomore Trace Sullivan while pounding 11 hits and scoring 10 runs to shut out the Bluejays in a makeup game that was set for Tuesday night until the weather forced the change...

KENNETT - Oran Eagles coach Jim Eftink likes playing non-conference softball talents like the Kennett Indians ahead of the state playoffs. “We love coming down here to play Kennett,” Eftink said. “Sometimes we come out on the short end of things but we are working to get to the same level they are at.”...

SIKESTON — Many greats have walked in and out of the Sikeston Field House doors over the years. But, what if you could only choose five numbers to retire? I asked five rabid Bulldog fans who they would choose. Here is what they said: • Fred Towns: Towns played in the late 60s at Sikeston's former home, the Armory. ...

With snow falling Tuesday afternoon, the course at Westwood Hills Country Club looked as if it was the end of the golf season rather days from the annual Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational. The colder temperatures and rare late-spring snowfall this week should not have an effect on the signature greens at Westwood Hills, said Jimmy Vernon, tournament director...

One of the top baseball teams in the state won its 13th game in a row after going 1-1 after just two games played, as Oran downed Leopold Thursday, 10-1. The class one, number one ranked Eagles scored single runs in the first inning and second inning before plating four runs in the third frame, followed by one more scoring in the fourth, and finished out the scoring with three more runs crossing home plate in the fifth...

Scott City starting pitcher Mackenzie Lawless gave up 13 runs, including 10 runs in the third inning, as the Marion Wildcats defeat the Rams easily, 21-0. Scott City was only able to punch through three hits in four innings, as Lawless recorded a base hit, as did Olivia Ponder, and Harley Glueck...

The Dexter Bearcats suffered a second-straight, one-run loss against a SEMO Conference opponent on Wednesday at Jackson. The Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Dexter 7-6. The tying run scored on a triple by Quenton Dacus, and the winning run scored on an error by the shortstop...

Scott City head softball coach Alexis Atchley saw her team's offense put up crooked numbers in four straight innings, as the Rams crushed East Prairie on the road Tuesday, 11-1. Olivia Ponder led the hitting onslaught, going 3 for 4 in the game, while Avery O'Brien drove in two RBIs, to lead her team in runs driven in...

The Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association released its latest state rankings Monday. Ten teams from the Semoball Coverage area are state-ranked. Oran (12-1), which has only lost to Portageville 7-3, is ranked No. 1 in Class 1. Cooter, which suffered a 3-2 loss to Oran Saturday, is ranked No. 3 in Class 1. Advance, which is the No. 1 seed in this week’s SCAA Tournament, is ranked No. 9 in Class 1...

The Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association has released its first state rankings for spring softball. Five schools from the Semoball coverage area are state-ranked. Holcomb (12-3), which has won a dozen straight, is ranked No. 6 in Class 1...

SIKESTON — There weren't 45,000-plus fans in the stadium, but "Baseball Heaven" was just that for the Sikeston Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Playing in a major league venue is what everyone dreams about; a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the Bulldogs didn't let that opportunity go to waste...

The state of Missouri's number one team in Class 1, Oran Eagles, defeated the class three, second-ranked Saxony Lutheran Crusaders, Tuesday, 3-1, held at Oran, as runs were of a premium. Oran starting pitcher Ty Johnson threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on two hits, shutting down one of the better offenses in the state, allowing them just one run, to earn the win...

Poplar Bluff got a pair of solid rounds from Alex Wiseman and Jack Pierce to win the 16-team Jackson Invitational on Monday at Kimbeland Country Club.

Riley Massa accomplished something very few players, at any level, will get to do. Massa drove in four RBIs in a Woodland blowout win at home against Bell City, Monday, 17-1. How she did it is something you could only call bizarre. She drove them in without recording an official at-bat...

There are so many meets all over the region that one goes to over the course of a track and field season, but only one in the friendly and familiar confides of home. Cape Central senior pole vaulter saved his best for his last home meet on Saturday at the Cape Invitational when he took first place in the boys pole vault with a new personal record of 3.65 meters...

Of the four prospects that recently signed with the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program, two have never played a game past high school, while another has never played at the NCAA Division I level. That lack of experience may prove shocking to each of their athletic systems, in fact, second-year Redhawk coach Brad Korn wants it to be.

Southeast Missouri State endured a gut-wrenching 2-1 overtime loss to SIUE in the title game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Saturday at Murray State University.

In just four innings of play, the Chaffee Red Devil pitching shut down Charleston's offense, only allowing three hits total, as Chaffee defeated Charleston Monday on the road, 15-0. Alec Brown started the game on the mound for the Red Devils (11-1), throwing three innings of three hit ball, striking out five Blue Jay hitters, while issuing just one walk...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Oran and Kelly competed in the Notre Dame Showcase on Saturday, at Notre Dame Regional High School, in Cape Girardeau. The Eagles won a pair of games — one against Notre Dame and another against Cooter — while the Hawks went 0-2, losing to Valle Catholic and Helias Catholic...

MALDEN - Several days ago the Portageville baseball coaching staff made a point to set its pitching rotation in a way to maximize its chances of winning the Malden Invitational. “About a week and a half a Coach Smith and I sit down and kind of mapped out our pitching,” Portageville coach Tyler Trover said. “Fortunately for us our pitching held up good enough Friday we were able to save the guys we wanted to save and were in pretty good shape heading into the championship round on Saturday.”...

Mac Lawless pitched a two-hit shutout, and the Scott City Rams ended Bernie’s two-year reign over the Puxico Invitational softball tournament. Lawless struck out 10 and walked three over six innings in the Rams’ 11-0 victory in the championship game Saturday at Puxico...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — You would have to dig deep into the archives to find the last time that the Kelly baseball team defeated Notre Dame. For nearly two decades, the Bulldogs never fell to the Hawks — until Friday night. Leaning on a red hot offense, Kelly (11-1) downed Notre Dame (7-5) on its home field, 9-2, in the Notre Dame Showcase...

Another day, another stellar showcase by Dylan Dodd. The Southeast Missouri State ace went 6.2 innings allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts to lead the Redhawks to a 7-3 win over Tennessee Tech on Friday. Dodd has struck out eight or more batters in eight of his nine starts so far this season. He has also allowed no more than three runs per start in eight of his last nine starts...

The Notre Dame Bulldogs came away victors at the SEMO Conference Tennis Tournament, hosted at Jackson High School Friday, topping the rest of the competition with 16.5 points, while Poplar Bluff came away the runners-up, scoring 15.5 points. Dexter finished in third place with 12.5 points, while Jackson took home fourth place with 11 points...

MALDEN - Championship Day is set at the nine-team Malden Invitational baseball tournament following preliminary action Friday. Scott City, Portageville and Malden will compete in the championship pool Saturday after all three teams won their respective pools Friday...

SIKESTON — Baseball can be both a heartbreaking and heartwarming sport. For Sikeston (6-10), Thursday's game against SEMO Conference rival Jackson (9-3) turned out to be the latter, as the Bulldogs defeated the Indians 11-10 in walk-off fashion. "I was proud of our guys," Sikeston head coach Brett Kolons said. ...

ADVANCE — The Oran Eagles jumped on Advance ace Gus Garner early, and Ty Johnson silenced the Hornets’ bats in a battle between two of the top-ranked high school baseball teams in the state. The top-ranked team in the Missouri Class 1 coaches poll beat seventh-ranked Advance 4-1 Thursday at Westfield Park...

Phillip Russell knew there was something unique about the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program a year-and-a-half ago when he first signed to play for the Redhawks.

Southeast Missouri State graduate quarterback Andrew Bunch would NEVER say a disparaging word regarding the performance of his offensive line, but seventh-year Redhawk coach Tom Matukewicz wasn’t always pleased with the physical pounding that his quarterback took during this past spring season.

Sophomore Olivia Ponder was perfect at the plate, going 4 for 4 in the game, missing a triple to hit for the cycle, as Ponder drove in three RBIs, to lead Scott City to a dominating 13-3 win Friday. Ponder homered in the first inning, singled in the second, doubled in the third inning, and singled again in her last at-bat in the sixth inning...

It took nine matches, but the Kelly girls' soccer team finally found the back of the net against Valley Park on Wednesday. Trailing 2-0, senior Kiya Lambert cut the lead in half after her shot sailed past Valley Park's goalkeeper at the 35-minute mark...

SIKESTON — Life after retirement can be relaxing for some people. For Erwin Porter, though, life after retirement became busier when he decided to fulfill a dream of publishing a book on Bootheel Basketball — one of his biggest passions. On Saturday night at the Sikeston Field House, Porter, his son Chris, and niece Sydney Seabaugh were in attendance to watch the unveiling of Erwin Porter’s book, “Bootheel Basketball: A Half Century of Supremacy.”...

A long journey beginning with one step isn’t just a cliché in life, it is figuratively how the Southeast Missouri State women’s tennis program has reached where it now stands.

In a battle of Class 1 state ranked baseball teams, Oran took down Advance Thursday, 4-1, as the Eagles were led by a 2 for 4 game by Seth Cauble and a two-run home run by Connor Kern in the third inning. Oran scored ones run in each of the first two innings, followed by the two-run shot by Kern in the third inning, to make it 4-0...

The schedule for the 12-team Swing Pink softball tournament has been announced. Clearwater, Doniphan, Oran and Senath-Hornersville with Southland comprise Group 1. Bernie, Gideon with Risco, Kennett and Van Buren represent Group B, and Bloomfield, Cooter, Dexter and Winona comprise Group C.

KENNETT - Participation was at an all-time high Tuesday at the Kennett Invitational track and field meet at Metz Cherry Stadium in Kennett. A total of 21 teams competed at the event that lasted more than four hours. “This is the biggest Kennett Invitational in a very long time,” Kennett coach Andrew Webster said. “It was awesome seeing everyone out here competing. It was cool the school got TRXC Timing to come down and compile our results. The event just keeps getting better every year.”...

ORAN, Mo. — After the first inning Tuesday afternoon, it looked like another quick and easy night for the Oran baseball team. The No. 1-ranked team in Class 1 scored six runs in the opening frame against Malden (8-6), but the end didn’t turn out to be in the fashion that the Eagles expected after a great start...

NEW MADRID, Mo – A key three-run outburst in the top of the first inning gave East Prairie an early lead they never surrendered against host New Madrid County Central on Tuesday. NMCC rallied to put the tying run in scoring position in the seventh, but ultimately East Prairie held on to a 5-3 win to leave the hosts still searching first their first win...

Tennessee State University was riding a wave of euphoria on Tuesday, as the Tigers announced the hiring of former Heisman Trophy winner, and NFL great, Eddie George, to lead its football program. However, there was one fellow Ohio Valley Conference coach that wasn’t joining the parade.

NEW MADRID, Mo. — No parent ever wants to tell their child those three words. "You have cancer." Bone-chilling words that make someone look at life from a different perspective. For 17-year-old Riley Polk, New Madrid County Central's starting catcher was the victim of those words after being diagnosed with a desmoid tumor in November 2019...

SIKESTON — Over 3,000 wins congregated inside the Sikeston Field House on Saturday night for a Historic Basketball Celebration. The event honored legendary coaches and players from the past and present while also unveiling Erwin Porter’s new book, “Bootheel Basketball: A Half Century of Supremacy.”...

SIKESTON — There haven't been many positives nearly one month into the Sikeston baseball season, with Monday adding to the list — for the most part. Before Sikeston’s 8-5 loss to Dexter (3-7), the Bulldogs honored its eight senior baseball players. Each one had their names announced as they walked with their families onto the third-base side of the field, at VFW Stadium, with each player receiving commemorative bats and gift bags...

POPLAR BLUFF — It took an eagle on the last hole to catch Alex Wiseman, but the Poplar Bluff junior earned medalist honors in a playoff Monday at Westwood Hills Country Club. As a team, the Mules ran away from the field with a 297 score that was eight shots better than runner-up Jackson to claim the Poplar Bluff Invitational...

The undefeated Cooter Wildcats improved to 9-0 as it won at Senath-Hornersville 9-1 Tuesday. Cooter, which is ranked No. 3 in the latest Class 1 state poll, scored four runs in the top of the first inning, one run in the third inning, three runs in the fifth inning, and one run in the seventh frame for its 9-run total...

The Delta Bobcats hosted the Oak Ridge Blue Jays Tuesday and a slugfest broke out, as Delta produced 16 hits, edging Oak Ridge by two hits, and also defeated the Blue Jays by two, 11-9. Oak Ridge took the lead early, scoring six runs in the first inning, as Mary-Beth Jensen, Makayla Rangel, and Bailey Urhahn all singled, followed by a bases-clearing triple by Mae Masterson that scored three...

Notre Dame’s Blake Schreckenberg needed an extra game to beat Dexter’s Drew Chamberlain 9-7 and led the Bulldogs to a 5-4 victory Monday at T.S. Hill Middle School. Dexter’s Ryder Boles, Peyton Boles and Jackson Allen won in singles, and the Boles brothers won the No. 1 doubles match...

The 2019 Ohio Valley Conference football championship squad included a senior class that was the most successful group in Southeast Missouri State history.