Sports

Junior Kaylee Payne delivered for the Oran softball team in the circle and at the plate, blasting a triple, two doubles and driving in two runs as the host Eagles won their first game of the season in a 12-6 victory over East Carter on Saturday and simultaneously handed the Redbirds their first loss of the spring season...

Saturday, the Southeast Missouri State baseball team found itself in familiar territory again, behind. This time, the Redhawks found a way to finish in a come-from-behind 7-4 victory over Austin Peay at Capaha Park...

By Justin Brown Southeast Missourian The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks concluded their first week of spring football with a solid team effort on both sides Saturday. Coach Tom Matukewicz and his team, who recorded the first playoff win in school history last season, are looking to keep the momentum after an exciting 9-4 season. One thing they are not doing is staying in 2018...

Freshman Nate Ware blasted a double and then belted in the walk-off single to lift the Zalma baseball team to its 5-1 season-opening victory over Leopold on Thursday at Zalma High School. Zack Findley pitched a no-hitter for two innings to earn the win for the Bulldogs (1-0). He struck out four batters and walked two...

BENTON, Mo. — Bryce Phelps led the Kelly baseball team to a 4-3 comeback win on Friday. Phelps got the game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh, as the Hawks erased a four-run deficit in two innings of work. After pitching lights out through five, East Prairie’s Carson Aycock struggled to finish the game. He went 6 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits on four earned runs and eight strikeouts...

BENTON, Mo. — Bryce Morgan shut down the New Madrid County Central baseball team on Thursday. Morgan threw six innings, of two-hit, zero earned run ball, while striking out 10, as the Hawks beat the Eagles 8-1. Peyton Eftink and Grant Menz each doubled for Kelly. Menz added three RBI, while Eftink had two...

CHARLESTON, Mo – You can’t start the season much better than Scott City’s Neal Lowery. In his team’s first game of the year, the junior hurler came away with a no-hitter to help his team down host Charleston 3-1 on Thursday. “He had command of his curveball and break pitches,” Ram’s head coach Jim May said. “He was throwing his fastball for strikes. It’s something new for him. We lost our top pitchers last year, and we have some guys who haven’t had a ton of varsity experience...

SIKESTON — Several local basketball players earned a spot on the All-State team, which got announced on Wednesday. Sikeston senior Trey Jenkins earned a spot on the Class 4 list. Jenkins had a significant hand in the Bulldogs 25-1 record this season...

ST. LOUIS — After a successful high school basketball career at Sikeston, former Bulldog Fred Thatch Jr. is continuing to succeed at the next level, helping Saint Louis University to the NCAA Tournament in his first season. Thatch, a 6-3 true freshman guard, was an integral part of the Billikens squad that won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament on Sunday and earned a 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. ...

SIKESTON — Through two games played, the Sikeston girls soccer team has yet to score a goal in regulation. On Thursday night, the game was scoreless at the end of regulation, and without any extra time needed, Poplar Bluff and Sikeston went straight to penalty kicks, with the Lady Bulldogs prevailing for a 3-2 win...

SIKESTON — Rain shortened what could have been an exciting finish to Sikeston and Jackson’s baseball game on Wednesday. The game was called after five innings, as Jackson defeated the Bulldogs 8-5, at VFW Memorial Stadium, but it didn’t come without excitement on both sides...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — After a tough home loss to Sikeston one day ago, the New Madrid County Central baseball team returned home to face Caruthersville on Tuesday. The result was different in this one, as the Eagles beat the Tigers 12-1 in five innings...

SIKESTON — Tuesday’s opener was not what the Sikeston girls soccer team envisioned. The Lady Bulldogs dropped the first game of the season to district-foe North County 1-0, at the Sikeston Recreation Complex. With the game tied after 40 minutes of action, the start of the second half was all that the Lady Raiders needed to take the lone lead...

MEADOW HEIGHTS, Mo. — Kade Lindgren touched base three of his four times at bat as the Panthers rallied in the final inning but could not overcome a seven-run deficit to fall to the undefeated Eagles on the road. Trae Davis pitched 3 1/3 innings to be marked with the loss for Meadow Heights (0-4). He gave up nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits, walked three batters and struck out one...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Now in his third year as head coach of the Portageville baseball team, Tyler Trover said that this particular group’s chemistry is fantastic. As head coach, Trover has a 37-16 record with the Bulldogs and is entering his sixth season as a head baseball coach...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Left with a sour taste in their mouths at the end of the 2018 season the Sikeston baseball team returned to the field on Monday afternoon. Looking to start 2019 on a good note, the Bulldogs did just that by beating New Madrid County Central 4-1, in New Madrid, Mo...

RICHLAND--The Kelly Hawks’ bats were hot Saturday along with having a great defense showing in a 15-3 win over Delta at Richland High School. They got a solid game from Grant Menz on the mound and at the plate. Menz would allow just two runs while striking out six. He also had two hits and an RBI on the offensive attack. Teammate Bryce Phelps and Joel McClain had terrific games as well for the Hawks. Phelps had two hits, an RBI and four stolen bases...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Cruising to a win over Neelyville, the East Prairie baseball team opened up the 2019 season with a 13-1 victory, at Hillhouse Park, in Charleston, Mo. Five Eagles recorded two hits or more. Derez Tipler, Jase Aycock, Lane Moody, and Trea Cade each had two, while Evan Howell led the team with four hits...

SIKESTON — Marc Jannin takes over the boys tennis program at Sikeston this season, replacing Tiffany Kwan. Led by state qualifier Warren Chinwuko, the Bulldogs also add three more players that had varsity time last season, giving Jannin some optimism on the season...

SIKESTON — In his first season at the helm, Kollin Groves takes over the track and field program at Sikeston. Groves, who has been an assistant coach at two different high schools in Missouri, will begin his first season with the Bulldogs with a team that he says can show much growth...

SIKESTON — A new dynamic surrounds the 2019 Sikeston girls soccer team this season. With a lot of question marks and unknowns going into the campaign, head coach Gabe Dement is using that as an opportunity to see what his new group can do. “I think finding out some of what our new girls are made of and finding out what kind of leaders our experienced girls can be is going to be what kind of year this will be based on,” Dement said. ...

Coach: Brett Kolons 2018 record: 16-10-1 Starters lost: 5 Returning starters: 6 Assignment: Class 4, District 1 SIKESTON — Coming off of a season-ending loss to Notre Dame in the Class 4, District 1 Tournament championship game, the Sikeston baseball team is gearing up for — what it hopes to be — a successful 2019 campaign...

ST. CHARLES – Jackson senior guard Kalli Mayfield was at a loss for words. For nearly three quarters Saturday, almost everything the Indians did in the team's Class 5 quarterfinal seemed to work against the taller Parkway Central. It was in the final quarter where things spun out of control in the Indians' 51-37 loss at the Hyland Performance Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University...

HILLSBORO, Mo. — Had there been two more minutes, the outcome may have been different. However, in a game where Notre Dame was down 15 midway through the second half mounting a heroic comeback, they unfortunately ran out of gas and fell to Miller Career Academy 54-48 in the Class 4 Quarterfinals at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. ...

St. Mary’s and Collins ends Central’s Dream Season HILLSBORO — What Cape Central did much of the season was jump on opponents early and often. However, a shift in momentum would allow St. Mary’s to go on a run and keep the Tigers at bay, ultimately ended the dream season, 68-62. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — With the scored knotted up at 50 and 3:30 left to play, the Oran boys basketball team was locked in a battle with Greenwood in the Show-Me Showdown Class 2 state championship game on Saturday afternoon at the JQH Arena.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Joe Shoemaker rarely shows emotions, talking quickly and without pause and often focusing on Xs-and-Os. But minutes after a heartbreaking state championship defeat, the Oran boys basketball coach, sitting on a dais and looking out at a gaggle of reporters, visibly choked up when talking about his team...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A nine-point lead had dwindled to one, and the Oran boys basketball team was going through its worst offensive drought of the day. A lead change seemed inevitable midway through the third quarter, but Oran Joe Shoemaker didn't burn a timeout. He trusted his players...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The trophy case at Charleston High School added one more to the collection on Friday. Bolting out to a 22-5 lead after the first quarter, Charleston (21-11) was clicking on all cylinders en route to a 71-58 win over St. Paul Lutheran, in the third-place game of the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown at the Hammons Student Center, in Springfield, Mo...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Going into Thursday’s matchup with Vashon, the Charleston boys basketball team knew they had to play a near perfect basketball to come away victorious. For one quarter, it looked like the Bluejays may spring off the upset. Vashon, though, had other plans, as they used a sluggish first quarter as fuel to a 70-47 win in the Show-Me Showdown Class 3 Semifinals, at the JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Trips to the Show-Me Showdown is one thing that the Charleston boys basketball program aim for every season. Competing for a state championship is always in the discussion, and head coach Danny Farmer said that is the goal for his program each time practice first begins...

A day after run-ruling North Central twice, the Raiders got swept to split the four-game series. North Central beat Three Rivers 9-2 in the opener and 10-7 in the nightcap Saturday at Roger Pattillo Field after Three Rivers won 13-0 and 11-3 the day before...

FARMINGTON, Mo – Last year the Charleston Bluejays came painfully close to claiming their 12th state championship in school history, falling to Hogan prep in the title game. This week they will get another chance at history after a dominant Class 3 playoff performance that saw Charleston win their last two games by a...

The Southeast Missouri State University men’s basketball team entered Saturday evening’s season finale against Belmont with no hope of postseason play. They were primarily playing for pride. Would Belmont, with only two conference losses and a top-four seed in next week’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament guaranteed, suffer a letdown against the Redhawks?...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — A gifted scorer, Oran senior Leah Cauble, struggled to get into a groove against Thayer on Saturday afternoon, at the Libla Sports Complex at Three Rivers Community College, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Cauble didn’t record her first field goal until 5:48 of the second quarter, as the Lady Bobcats dictated the game from start to finish and took Oran’s top player out of the game...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Returning to the final four for the second time in the last three years; the Oran boys basketball team is riding a 21-game winning streak. On Saturday afternoon, the Eagles met up with a Portageville team that was coming off of a three-game stretch of games that were decided by five points or less...

SIKESTON – The Sikeston Bulldog basketball season came to an abrupt end after Thursday’s 68-59 loss to Cape Central in the Class 4, District 1 Tournament held at Cape Central High School. It was a heartbreaking and disappointing defeat for the Bulldogs, who spent the vast majority of the season ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4 and had a perfect record of 25-0 heading into the contest...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — It has been nearly one decade since the Charleston football program has had new leadership. Entering the 2019 season, the Bluejays will look to build off of a successful 10-2 season, which ended with a 20-12 loss to Caruthersville in the Class 2, District 1 championship game, under first-year man Justin Hutchings...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — The Charleston football program is set to begin next season under a new head coach. Former head coach Brett Blackman accepted the Director of Football Operations and Equipment position at Southeast Missouri State, after nine seasons at the helm for the Bluejays...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — A dream season turned to a nightmare for the Sikeston boys basketball team on Thursday night. Trailing the entire second half, Cape Central upset the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs 68-59 in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Cape Central High School, winning the school’s first district championship since the 2013-2014 season...

DEXTER, Mo – Dominant. That’s the best way to describe Charleston’s second-half performance as they left Mountain Grove in the dust following halftime of Wednesday’s Class 1 sectional matchup. After a competitive first two quarters, the Bluejays came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, cruising to a 71-40 final that puts Charleston just a game away from a return trip to the final four...

SIKESTON – With 11.4 seconds left in Wednesday’s Class 2 sectional game against Thayer, little did Portageville sophomore Drew Irby know that his team’s fate would rest on his shoulders. Portageville coach Jason Irby, Drew’s dad, called a timeout and had a play in mind that he felt would work with the score tied 41-41...

DEXTER, Mo. — Karlee Holland was too much for the New Madrid County Central girls basketball team on Wednesday night, in the Class 3 Sectionals at the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter, Mo. Holland was lights out the entire evening for No. 3-ranked Licking, as she dropped 39 points on the Lady Eagles. She scored 20 of her game-high in the first half, as Licking won 72-50...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - It took a few extra minutes and an unforgettable comeback but the Risco Tigers boys basketball team found a way to earn its first birth in the state quarterfinals since 2010. Risco rallied from a 62-58 deficit in the final 23 seconds of overtime to edge the South Iron Panthers 63-62 in a Class 1 sectional Tuesday night at Bloomfield High School...

By David Jenkins Standard Democrat SIKESTON — Throughout his career, Kent Gibbs has taken struggling football programs and turned them into winners. He will be trying to do that once again as the veteran coach has decided to leave Sikeston and take over the Cape Central football program next season...

Cape Girardeau Central School District turned to its rival for a new football coach, hiring Sikeston's Kent Gibbs to replace Arlen Pixley, the school district announced Tuesday in a news release. Pixley led the Tigers to two district championship games in three seasons, and won the 2016 Class 4 District 1 championship, before resigning in December with a 15-20 record at the school. Gibbs leaves Sikeston after 12 years with an 85-49 record and two Class 4 semifinal appearances in 2009 and 2010.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Six seconds into Tuesday's Class 5 District 1 semifinal, Poplar Bluff began to show why it's the No. 1 seed. The Mules took the opening tip down the court with a quickness, the ball rotated and found Dominique Hardimon inside for a layup. The Mules' defense quickly turned around and forced a steal that led to a putback from Carlton McDonald-Jordan to make it 4-0...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- It didn't take long for South Iron -- who is ranked No. 4 in the state -- to take advantage of Scott County Central on Tuesday night. The Lady Panthers led 19-13 after the first quarter and 35-27 at halftime on their way to a 57-48 victory in the Class 1 sectionals at Bloomfield High School...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The top-seeded Sikeston Bulldogs took care of business in its semifinal game of district play and are back in the championship game for the 14th straight year. The Bulldogs defeated fourth-seeded Dexter 54-28 to advance to Thursday’s district final where they will play No. 2 seed and host Cape Central at 7:30 p.m...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Notre Dame and Sikeston are two rivals that know each other very well. So far this season, Notre Dame has had the upper hand in the battle of the Bulldogs, winning the first matchup 52-20 and the second 58-35. Monday night, it was the same result but was a lot closer in the end. Notre Dame ended Sikeston’s season 54-44, in the semifinals of the Class 4, District 1 Tournament, at Cape Central High School...