Kelly outduels Hull in quarterfinals
5/24/2013
There was only one day of buildup to promote the duel between two of the best Class 1 pitchers in Mid-Missouri, and the stakes were a trip to the state semifinals.
The matchup between New Franklin’s Tyler Hull and Sturgeon’s Spencer Kelly lived up to its billing. They matched each other punch for punch, inning after inning. Each struck out 11 batters over the full seven innings.
But one outdid the other at the plate. Kelly had two singles to Hull’s one, and the Sturgeon senior scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning that led to Sturgeon’s 3-2 victory, advancing the Bulldogs to their second consecutive semifinal appearance.
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Harrisburg ends season with sectional loss to Russellville
5/24/2013
Russellville didn’t seem to mind coming to the plate with two outs in Tuesday’s Class 2 sectional baseball game at Harrisburg. In fact, the Indians seemed to thrive on the opportunity.
That was the scenario when Russellville scored its first four runs, rallying past Harrisburg for a 5-2 win.
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Fayette shows improvement from top to bottom
5/24/2013
Fayette head coach Chris Kendrick found his own way of going out on top with the Falcons.
It started by leading the basketball program to its second district championship game appearance in four years, drastically overachieving to an 18-win season. He followed that up this spring by having his best season in five years as the Falcons’ baseball coach.
Fayette finished the 2013 campaign with a 6-8 record, with three of those losses coming against eventual district champions. Fayette took second place in the Lewis & Clark Conference tournament, its highest finish since 2004. And the Falcons defeated Pilot Grove, one of the top-ranked programs in Class 1, on Senior Night to wrap up the regular season.
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Local athletes perform well at state
5/23/2013
Heading into Saturday’s finals of the Missouri State Track and Field Championships held at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, two area relay teams had legitimate chances at winning state titles. One was trying to defend its title, the other was wanting to finish its season as a winner.
In the end, both relays fell short of their goal. The New Franklin girls 4x100-meter relay claimed a top-three finish in Class 1 for the third straight season, while the Glasgow boys 4x400-meter relay came off a strong preliminary performance Friday to take fourth place in the finals.
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CMU men’s golf places 27th at nationals
5/23/2013
Central Methodist finished the third round of the 62nd annual NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship 27th overall, concluding its first-ever run in the national tournament. The five-member team tallied a three-day score of 652 (330-322-317) at Creekside Golf Course.
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Driftwood Outdoors: MDC stocking Bull Shoals with striped bass
5/23/2013
We are gliding across glass flat water along the rocky shoreline of Norfolk Lake by the light of a crescent moon. Darrell Binkley, a.k.a Bink, owner of Bink’s Fintastic Guide Service points to a hardly noticeable finger of rocks and tells Kevin Eastwold to throw his 6-inch surface plug directly at it. Eastwold obeys and a split second later it sounds as if someone has dropped a bath tub in the lake.
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Jay of all trades
5/22/2013
Jay Thompson graduates from high school on Sunday, and there’s one thing he wants to do before receiving his diploma.
He wants to stand on a podium.
No, it’s not just any podium, and it actually has nothing to do with graduation. This podium is big and white with multiple levels, and during one particular weekend in May, it rests on the infield at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City.
In other words, Thompson wants to medal at the Class 1 State Track and Field Championships this weekend. And he’ll have three chances to receive All-State honors to get to the podium.
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Double trouble
5/22/2013
For the second time this season, Pilot Grove brought in its ace pitcher, Trenton Young, to shut the door on New Franklin.
The junior right-hander got the job done in the teams’ first meeting on March 19, leading Pilot Grove to an extra-inning win to start the season. New Franklin wasn’t about to let the Tigers come away unscathed this time.
With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning, Tyler White and Tanner White had back-to-back two-run singles off Young to open the floodgates of a 9-1 New Franklin win in the Class 1 District 10 championship game. It’s the second consecutive district title for the Bulldogs.
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Harrisburg wins district title over South Shelby 8-2
5/22/2013
Harrisburg head coach Brian Simpson gave the ball to his ace pitcher, Ethan Beringer, in Wednesday’s district championship game against South Shelby. Beringer didn’t disappoint his head coach.
The senior scattered three hits in a complete-game victory, leading the Bulldogs past the Cardinals 8-2 in the Class 2 District 7 tournament.
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Santa Fe blows past Glasgow in semifinals
5/22/2013
Going against one of the top teams in Class 1 during Tuesday’s semifinal game of the Class 1 District 14 tournament, Glasgow needed all the help it could get.
After hitting two home runs the day before against Slater, the Yellowjackets were greeted with winds up to 30 mph blowing toward left field. The winds turned out to be more harmful than helpful.
Santa Fe belted three wind-aided home runs and Keaton Graf’s one-hitter lifted the Chiefs to a 14-1 victory over Glasgow in five innings.
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CMU softball goes 1-2 in Opening Round of NAIA tourney
5/22/2013
Central Methodist jumped out to a 7-0 lead through two innings and cruised to a 9-4 victory over Morningside (Iowa) in a Rogers State Bracket elimination game in the 2013 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.
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Schoephoerster ties for 47th at Class 1 Golf Championship
5/22/2013
On the second day of the Class 1 State Golf Championship at Silo Ridge Golf Club in Bolivar, Fayette senior Kirby Schoephoerster shot an 18-over par 90, finishing with a two-day total of 182 to finish in a five-way tie for 47th place.
According to Fayette golf head coach Kirk Besgrove, Schoephoerster shot a 46 on the front nine and finished his high-school career with a 44 on the back nine.
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Foland takes fifth in pole vault to end career
5/15/2013
Fayette head coach Tom Oakley was so close to going back to state, he could almost envision it.
Nickie Foland cleared each of his first five jumps without a scratch in the pole vault, matching his personal-best height of 11’-0”. If he could go six inches higher, he had a shot to go to state.
On his third and final attempt at 11’-6”, Foland knocked the bar loose on his way down to the landing mat, leaving him with a fifth-place finish. He was one spot away from qualifying for state.
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Glasgow qualifies 17 athletes in 18 events for state
5/15/2013
It’s not an easy task to find the true highlight for the Glasgow boys and girls track team at Saturday’s Class 1 Sectional 3 meet in Boonville.
One could argue it would be the Yellowjackets sweeping first place in the boys and girls pole vault. Another might say it was Devyn Yung tying the school record in the girls high jump. Or one might jump to the conclusion that winning the boys and girls 4x400-meter relays to end the day was the decisive highlight to cap the meet.
But ultimately, Glasgow head coach Becky Thompson would likely argue that sending 17 different athletes to state sums up the big picture. The Yellowjackets are lined up to compete in 18 different events at this weekend’s State Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City.
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New Franklin girls 4x100 relay set to defend state title
5/15/2013
The New Franklin girls track team nearly had a flawless performance at Saturday’s Class 1 Sectional 3 track meet in Boonville.
New Franklin had nine entries at sectionals and eight are going to the State Track and Field Championships this weekend. Of those eight, three set new school records.
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Cochran’s strong finish lands junior at state in hurdles
5/15/2013
Sometimes, it’s all in the lean.
That’s what it took for Harrisburg junior Blake Cochran at Saturday’s Class 2 Sectional 2 track meet at Boonville. As he came over the last hurdle, Cochran’s momentum caused him to lean forward as he moved across the finish line. He crossed the line fourth in a time of 16.15 seconds, qualifying for the Class 2 State Track and Field Championships by just over two-tenths of a second.
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Finding their groove
5/15/2013
Two weeks ago, Harrisburg was trying to fight off a four-game losing streak. Since being on the downside of a doubleheader sweep to Sturgeon, the Bulldogs are one win away from claiming a district championship.
Cody Colyer put Harrisburg in the Class 2 District 7 Tournament championship game, throwing his second straight four-hit shutout in the Bulldogs’ 4-0 win Monday night at home against Paris.
Harrisburg, the top seed in the district, will host No. 2 South Shelby Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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Fayette falls to Paris in district opener
5/15/2013
It’s not often the Fayette baseball team finds itself as the home team in district play, let alone a favorite to win the first round in districts.
Fayette, the No. 4 seed in the Class 2 District 7 Tournament, battled Lewis & Clark Conference foe Paris on Saturday afternoon at Harrisburg in their first meeting this season. After just half an inning of play, the Coyotes had Fayette right where they wanted.
Paris batted around the order in the top of the first inning, scoring six runs and never trailed in the game. Fayette’s season ended with an 11-5 loss, unable to overcome such an early deficit.
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Schoephoerster shoots 92 on day one at state
5/15/2013
Fayette senior Kirby Schoephoerster shot a 20-over par 92 Monday on the first day of the Class 1 State Golf Championship at Silo Ridge Golf Club in Bolivar.
The score put Schoephoerster in a five-way tie for 52nd place, 16 strokes behind the leader.
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Eagles softball falls to Rogers St. in opener
5/15/2013
No. 2-seed Central Methodist saw its school-record 19-game winning streak come to an end Monday evening after dropping a 2-0 decision to No. 3 Rogers State (Okla.) in the first game of the 2013 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round for both teams.
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