By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

MALDEN, Mo. - Dexter’s Varsity baseball took to the diamond against the Malden Green Wave on Tuesday (March 23) afternoon. The offensive juggernaut of the Bearcats - Dexter has put at least 20 runs on the board in their first two contests - blew out Malden, ending the game with a 20-8 victory.


Owen Flowers took the start for the ‘Cats, and gave up four runs off eight hits during his four innings of work. Jordan Miller took over pitching duties for the ‘Cats in the fifth inning, and didn’t give up a run during his two innings. Josh Overall closed out the contest on the mound, but gave up four runs on four hits.


“Overall, I was pleased with the way we played,” Dexter head coach Brian Becker said. “Chase Young was out of the lineup today nursing an illness, but Daniel Fitts stepped up and filled in at shortstop for us - defensively, we played really well.”


Becker also expressed happiness with his team’s offensive ability early in the season, but noted that such lopsided scores would be difficult to consistently put out.

“Our bats are going real well right now,” Becker continued. “I was really pleased with how we swung our bats today. But you’d be a fool to think that this scoring barrage is going to continue all season long.”

‘Well’ could be an understatement for the Bearcats' offense right now. The ‘Cats had five players with multiple hits in the contest - Brad Potts and Alex Cliff both went four for five, both scored three runs, and had two and five RBI’s, respectively. Miller, Fitts, and Josh Sifford all went two for four at the plate, and all had at least one RBI - Fitts and Miller had three and two RBI’s, respectively.



The ‘Cats began and ended the game with big rallies - six runs in the first and eight runs in the seventh - with Alex Cliff hitting a booming solo shot in the fourth inning. Malden scored two runs in the opening frame, and either scored one run or didn’t score in each inning after until the seventh, where the Green Wave game up with a four-run rally.

After starting the season with two wins, the Bearcats will face a tough Kennett team in the home opener Wednesday (March 23) afternoon. Becker expressed concern with the Indians’ pitching staff, but seemed hopeful about his team’s chances for another ‘W’.


“We’re definitely going to run into a buzzsaw today - we have Kennett at home,” Becker commented. “[Kennett has] eight solid pitchers, and the one we’ll face is a flamethrower. We just have to come out, compete hard, and hopefully we can put the bat on the ball and our pitchers can keep us in the ballgame.”


First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. in Dexter’s home opener.

Photos above Top Photo: Bryn Hester readies his swing during Tuesday’s 20-8 blowout at Malden.
Bottom photo: Alex Cliff blasts a solo shot during the fourth inning. Cliff went 4-5 with 4 RBI’s on the day.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DEXTER, Mo. - The Dexter Lady Bearcat softball team had its season opener Monday (March 21) afternoon against the Bernie Mules. Both squads competed hard in the contest, albeit a sloppy one - the two teams combined for 17 errors in the game - but the Lady ‘Cats came out on top, defeating the Mules 16-12.


Lefty Alec Jackson, who looks to be the team’s ace this season, took the mound for the Lady ‘Cats, and recorded four K’s on the day. Jackson, the lone senior on coach Tammy Crowley’s squad, also got four hits on the day.

Freshman Katie Baker started on the mound for the Mules, and recorded eight strikeouts in the contest.


The ‘Cats had a six-run rally in the second inning, and held a six-run lead going into the top of the fifth, but the Mules battled back. Bernie had a nine-run fifth inning and held a 10 to eight lead, but the ‘Cats answered with an eight-run spurt in the top of the fifth.


The Mules drove in another run in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Lady ‘Cats were able to weather the storm and come with a victory.



Bernie head coach Jeff Rodgers noted his team's lack of practice time, due to the Mules' run in the Show Me Showdown, but seemed optimistic about his squad's future.

"This wasn’t a pretty game for either side, but for the small amount of reps we've had in practice, we did some good things,” Rodgers said. “A couple bad innings on defense cost us, but it's early and we'll get better with experience.”

Rodgers took pride in the performance of his pitcher-catcher duo, despite their youth. “Katie Baker did a good job on the mound for the first game,” Rodgers continued, “and our catcher [Tori Lowrey] did a great job behind the plate, I thought. Pitching and defense will determine how well we do this year.”

The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Thursday (March 24), when they will take on the Bell City Cubs on the road. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.

Photos above Top Photo: Alec Jackson fires a pitch during Monday’s game. The senior had a solid outing, recording four K’s and four hits on the day .
Bottom photo: Freshman Mollie Whitehead battles to keep her at-bat alive during the fourth inning of Monday’s 16-12 win against Bernie. .

Dexter resident Bryan Schmid got to see some racing action "up close and personal" at the Bristol Motor Speedway last week. Schmid had an opportunity to meet and talk to Trevor Bayne, winner of the Daytona 500, prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Schmid got to tour the Bass Pro Shop's crew area as well as Jamie McMurray's pit box.(Reader submitted photos from Bryan Schmid).

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Last year, in their first trip to the Final Four under coach Brad Botsch, the Bernie Mules lost to Sturgeon 82-80. In the team’s second consecutive trip to the ‘ship, the Mules would now face the Crane Pirates for the Class 2 State title. At the end of a very physical, back-and-forth game, the Mules again fell short, losing to Crane by 14 points.


“We competed hard, and I don’t think for a second that our kids didn’t compete hard,” Botsch said after the game. “Sometimes the big stage can be tough for the kids, and maybe some of the kids were a little bit timid from that. That’s just part of the game.[Crane’s] kids were probably the same way. I thought going in with our experience coming back that we’d find a way to get it done, but we just weren’t able to do it.”

Botsch noted Crane’s excellent inside defense, as well as the Pirates’ star guard Levi Cook, as key factors in the loss.

“We lost focus a little bit,” Botsch continued. “Three different trips down the floor I called our play ‘Motion Hound’, which is Jordan McGowan’s nickname, where we try to get the ball inside to [McGowan]. Three different trips, and we took alternate shots or did alternate things that we didn’t want.”


“We had to do a little bit of scrambling to figure out how to stop [Cook],” Botsch said of the junior. “We had four or five strategies to try to stop him, but that kid had an answer for every one of them, and hats off to him for that.”

Cook, a 6’ 1” junior, had 42 points and 15 rebounds for the Pirates in the game, and pointed out the Mules’ great full-court defense.

“They got out and pressured us all over the court - we usually don’t have that,” Cook said. “This was probably one of our first games of the year that we got full-court pressure the whole game. We came out a little slow, figured out how to go against it, and adjusted from there.”

Crane’s head coach Rob Guerin liked the quick tempo that both teams tried to establish during the contest, and noted the Mules’ rebounding ability.

“[It was a] very up-paced game today, that’s kind of the way we like it,” Guerin said. “I’m more confident when we are playing fast. We like it when teams try to press us, try to trap us. We can get transition buckets that way, maybe force some mismatches. I was comfortable, and as long as we’re able to make our passes and hit the shots we need to make, I’m okay with it.”

“They were hurting us on the boards in the first half, and I knew we would have to control the glass if we were going to be successful in this ball game,” Guerin continued. “We came out and were able to control the boards in the second half and get some defensive stops when we needed to, and we put our free-throws in the hole today to come away with the state championship.”

The Pirates were also successful at shutting down Bernie’s three-point game (the Mules shot 8-34 from downtown) and, when coupled with their great inside defense, became too much for the Bernie to handle. Guerin again stressed rebounding in the second half as a key to his team’s victory.

“We knew they were going to shoot a lot of three-pointers,” Guerin said. “We had to stress to our guards to at least get a hand in their face and make them possibly miss. Our guards delivered, and we were able to handle it. In the second half, we rebounded the ball better, so they only got one opportunity to score. We felt that if we limited them to one opportunity to score, we would be successful.”

The Mules will lose five seniors this year - Botsch went on to credit their hard work as big factors in another great season in Bernie basketball.

“[Jordan] McGowan’s had a tremendous career for us - he set the state record in charges, and is second most in a season for threes made,” Botsch said. “But, he’s going to have a great opportunity to play for one of the best coaches in the country in Gene Bess [head basketball coach at Three Rivers College], and he’s going to do well over there. Sammy Walker had a tremendous year for us - the kid lost his father and still got out here and competed at an unbelievable level all season long. Cameron Shipman had a great year as well; he got as hot as anyone you’d ever see. We really had a good group of kids and I’m proud to have been able to coach them.”

The Mules finished the season with a record of 28 wins and five losses. There will be a reception for the team on Sunday (March 20) in the Bernie High School gym at 4:00 p.m. 



 Photos above Top Photo: Jordan McGowan drives through the lane for an easy layup during the second half of Saturday’s loss.
Middle Photo: Jesse Shelton puts up a tough shot over Crane’s Anthony Vermillion during Saturday’s Class 2 State Championship game.
Bottom photo: Sammy Walker drops in two of his 15 points.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
BERNIE	9	16	14	24	63
CRANE	15	16	14	24	77

BERNIE: McGowan - 23. Walker - 15. Shelton - 13. Shipman - 6. Turner - 6.
CRANE: Cook - 42. Lumpkin - 10. Atkins - 10. Vermillion - 6. Bowling - 5. Moore - 4. 


By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Tradition: it’s one of the first words that come to mind when one mentions the Scott County Central basketball program. Going back to the early 1990’s, when the Braves won seven straight state titles under coach Ronnie Cookson, to now, in 2011, when the team, under coach Kenyon Wright, fought for their third straight state title. The only thing standing between the Braves and the three-peat was the Dadeville Bearcats.


After four hard-fought quarters, the Braves were able to claim their trophy, completing the three-peat and nabbing SCC’s fifteenth state championship.

“It was a hard-fought battle. It was one of those games that you come out, you’re playing for the state championship, you want to win it,” Wright said in the postgame press conference, “and we won it. We made some mistakes with the basketball a few times coming down the court that cost us a little bit, but for the most part, they fought and played through it.”


The Braves were led by the one-two punch of cousins Otto and Dominique Porter, putting in 27 and 18 points respectively. Otto was also able to haul in nine boards, five of which were offensive.

The Bearcats were far more physical with ‘Bubba’ than anyone has been in the post-season, and the senior noted Dadeville’s Jacob Goodman’s defensive ability.

“[Goodman] guarded me really well,” Porter said. “He put a body on me a little bit, but it really didn’t bother me at all. I just try to move around more, and get my teammates the ball. We knew they were gonna put one on me, I just had to move and try to get him worn out by the second half. We picked [the tempo] up a lot more in the second half. He [Goodman] played really good D, but it helped to get other guys open.”



Senior Trey Johnson, who ended with five points and two rebounds, likened the Bearcats to several teams that SCC has faced this year.


“They’re [Dadeville] like some of the teams that we’ve played. They’re like Oak Ridge - they’ve got some big guys inside that we had to box out,” Johnson said. “That big guy [Benjamin Dobbins] they had, he was a tough one to box out. He got a couple rebounds, but we came back and followed up strong. Its what we’ve been working for all year - the state championship.”


The Braves, who have blown out everyone in the post-season until Dadeville, held a 35-21 lead going into halftime, but Dadeville’s Zachary Medley and Trenton Bergmann combined for four three-pointers in the third quarter. Despite hot outside shooting, the Bearcats were never able to pull within 10 ponits.


“We just never could pull away,” Wright said. “We’d get up 17, 18 points, but we never could get over that hump and just take off. You come up here and play on this floor, you’ve made it this far, there’s no pushovers left.”


Wright noted Dadeville’s squad’s tough play, as well as their coaching staff.

“We played them here last year, and coach [Michael] Linehan had them ready to go. They wanted to come out here and fight for it - its the state championship, its not just another basketball game. They did a good job of coming out and doubling us, but we were able to make some good passes and hit some shots, and everybody stepped up and did a good job of filling in when we needed them to.”





The Braves will lose 10 seniors this year, the most notable of which will be Otto ‘Bubba’ Porter. Porter has drawn attention from all levels of collegiate basketball - Mizzou head coach Mike Anderson was in attendance for most of the state title game - but, when asked about where he would play next season, just smiled and said “I don’t know”.


Porter also set the state record for Most Points in Final Four Games against Jefferson (Conception) on Thursday (March 17). Bubba dropped in 34 points in the contest, increasing his total to 164 points, breaking a record that had stood since 1960. With his 27 points today, Otto set the bar even higher at 191 points.


Otto reflected upon his own personal successes - as well as those of his team - after the game. “When I first started playing for varsity, I just helped out. It was just an honor to play. Once I was a starter, I had to try to be as relaxed as I can. But we succeeded- we wanted to play for the ‘ship,” Otto said, smiling. “It’s what we’ve all been dreaming about. Even at school we talk about it all the time. We just wanted to bring another one home - 15 state titles..its amazing to add on to [Scott County Central’s] tradition.”





Photos above Top Photo: The SCC Braves celebrate their third consecutive Class 1 State Title.
Middle Photo: Otto Porter puts in two of his 27 points in the contest. The senior shot 10-14 from the floor, a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe, and had nine boards, three steals, and four blocks in his last game for SCC.
Bottom photo: Trey Johnson (No. 15) cuts to the basket during Saturday's State Championship game at Mizzou Arena.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL	20	15	16	18	69
DADEVILLE	10	11	18	15	54


SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL: O. Porter - 27. D. Porter - 18. S. Johnson - 11. T. Johnson - 5. Woodson - 5. Steward - 3.


DADEVILLE: Medley - 19. Bergmann - 14. Webb - 13. Dobbins - 6. Goodman - 2.