POPLAR BLUFF -- Sikeston golfers are still struggling to get into the swing of the 2003 season. The Bulldogs lost another match on Thursday afternoon, falling 157-162 to Poplar Bluff.
One bright spot for Sikeston was junior Matt Bain, who earned low medalist honors with a one-over par 36.
Behind Bain, Martin Schaefer scored a 41, E.C. Atchison checked in with a 42 and Tanner Fritz added a 43.
"One might notice the names for scores that count keep changing," said Sikeston coach Rick Oetting. "I don't mind seeing the name change when its lowest scores earning those spots. Right now, the scores reflect how early the season is and how long the winter was. We've got a long break before we see another dual meet. We're going to train hard during that time to get our swing back."
Poplar Bluff was led by Dexter Busby at 38. Other scores came from Ryan Hendricks at 40, Adam Hutson at 40 and Palmer McDonald at 41.
Sikeston will compete in the Notre Dame Tournament on Monday at the Bent Creek course in Jackson.
"Maybe this is what we need to get things going," said Oetting.
In Thursday's junior varsity match, Sikeston lost a match of 3-on-3 by a score of 134-145.
Clint Bohannon led the Bulldogs with a 41. He was followed by Darris Butler at 47 and Ed Pike at 57. Poplar Bluff scorers were Brandt at 43, Spurgeon at 44 and McCoy at 47.
East Prairie Triangular
EAST PRAIRIE -- East Prairie's track team opened the 2003 season on Thursday with a triangular meet, hosting Charleston and Dexter.
In the boys meet, Dexter took first place with 110 points, Charleston came in second with 54 and East Prairie took third with 48.
For the Eagles, Brent Harland had a big day. He placed first in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 17.7. He also took first in the 300 meter hurdles at 46.12, and won the long jump with a leap of 18 feet.
"We expect a lot out of him," said East Prairie track coach Brett Blackman. "he placed third and fourth in the district the last couple of years and has been right on the bubble. We're hoping he can take it to state this year."
Harland's younger brother Aaron placed first in the 2-mile run with a time of 11:35.39 and took second in the mile at 5:05.
Benji Miller won the shot put with a throw of 39-3.
In the girls meet, Dexter took first with 139 points, followed by Charleston with 28 and East Prairie with 24.
Michelle Redman took second in the mile with a time of 6:39 and placed second in the 2-mile with a time of 14:38. Foreign exchange student Wiebke Bartscher placed fourth in the 100 meter dash, second in the 400 meter dash and second in the 300 hurdles.
East Prairie's track team will be back in action April 4, hosting the East Prairie Invitational.
BELL CITY -- Bell City plated 14 runs on 14 hits in Thursday's season-opening win over Clarkton.
The Cubs had several players with multiple-hits and played error-free in the field, pleased head coach Matt Asher.
"I thought we hit the ball well," said Asher. "We put the ball in play and didn't make any errors. You can't ask for much more than that."
Ben Duncan pitched the first four innings for the Cubs, allowing two earned runs on three hits and five walks. He took five batters down via strikeout.
Darrell Bailey threw the final frame for Bell City. At the plate, Ty Brown was 3-for-4 with three runs, four RBIs and a homer in the third inning. Duncan was 3-for-3 with three runs and two doubles. Jack Daniels was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a triple. Zak McIntyre was 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.
Other hits came from Kenyon Wright, Bailey, Blaine Stewart and Garrett McIntyre. Ryan Hubbard also scored a run and Kerry Lasters provided an RBI.
For Clarkton, Simpson was charged with the loss. Bell City (1-0) will play Bloomfield on Wednesday.
PORTAGEVILLE -- The Portageville Bulldogs improved to 2-0 on the young season Thursday afternoon, beating traditionally-strong South Pemiscot 12-8.
"It's always nice to beat South Pem," said Portageville coach Lee Wallace.
Tyler Boatwright drew the start for the Bulldogs and lasted four innings. He allowed six hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Danny Scherer threw the final three innings, giving up one hit, three walks and had three strikeouts.
At the plate, Scherer went 1-for-3, blasting a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Lance Penn also had a solo shot for Portageville's final run in the sixth inning.
"We had a big second inning and that was kind of courtesy of South Pem," said Wallace. "We kicked it around and gave them a few, and they gave us a few. Our bats came alive there towards the end and got the kids' minds off of (the errors). It's not the pretty win you want, but one we'll take."
Other hits came from Kyle Ezell (1-3, 2 r), Jared Brewer (1-4), Chris Bates (1-4), and Andrew Deere (1-3).
Portageville (2-0) will travel to Caruthersville next Friday. On Monday, Portageville beat Charleston in its season opener, 15-1. Deere got the win.
KENNETT -- Charleston's tennis team rolled to its second victory of the season on Thursday, sweeping Kennett 9-0.
In varsity singles, Alec Peterson beat Kennett's Carter Carter 8-1. In the No. 2 spot, Blake Branum edged Kennett's Matt Collins 8-4. Kyle Kemp beat Kennett's Stephen Roowey 8-2, Lee Hess toppled Kennett's Brandon Burcham 8-4, and Derek Hoppe defeated Kennett's Dustin Harris 8-2.
In the No. 6 spot, Jake Gerrard beat Kennett's Tyler Carter 8-2.
In varsity doubles, Peterson and Kemp won 8-1 over Carter and Collins. Branum and Hess defeated Harris and Burcham 8-3, then Hoppe and Gerrard beat Tyler Carter and Roowey 8-3.
"I don't think we played as well as we did against Bluff, but the wind was unbelievable," said Charleston coach Mitch Baker. "All in all, for the second match of the year, we played pretty well."
In Thursday's junior varsity match, Drew Kemp won two matches and Seth Stevenson won one.
Charleston (2-0) will host Dexter on Monday.
KENNETT -- New Madrid County Central's softball team faced another tough opponent on Thursday afternoon, beating Kennett on the road 6-1.
Two years ago, Kennett defeated NMCC pitcher Heather Robey as a sophomore. Robey and the Lady Eagles haven't lost since, winning their next 38 straight games.
Robey got a measure of revenge on Thursday, taking 15 Kennett batters down by strikeout. The southpaw did allow six hits and one walk in her seven innings of work.
"We're going to be in every game as long as Heather is pitching," said NMCC coach Steve Rogers. "It was another good win for us against quality competition."
At the plate for NMCC, Megan Rinehart and Heather Redd each had two hits. Robey and Lauren Daniels each contributed one. Kennett's Trish Pfeffer was charged with the loss. She gave up six hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.
The Lady Indians saw one hit each from Mitchell, Heather Pfeffer, Kara McNabb, Christy McNabb, Pool and Trish Pfeffer.
"They've got one of the best hitting teams I've seen," said Rogers. " They hit it well."
NMCC (2-0) will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Blytheville, Ark., for a doubleheader.