By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Dexter High School baseball team was handed a tough loss at the hands of the Notre Dame Bulldogs on Wednesday (April 6) afternoon. The ‘Cats have struggled in the last few games, but coach Brian Becker remained hopeful despite the lopsided score.

“We had opportunities to get out of innings,” Becker said. “We’d have two outs in an inning and we couldn’t close the deal. We didn’t make plays that needed to be made to get us out and it killed us. Instead of making plays to limit them to one or two runs, we’d give up four or five runs. We just couldn’t limit the damage.”

The Bearcats swung the bat well, with 5 players getting a hit in the contest. Jordan Miller was the only Bearcat to get multiple hits on the day, going 2-2 at the plate. Josh Overall was also the main offensive producer for the Bearcats in the contest, going 1-2 and blasting a two-run homer during the top of the second. Alex Cliff went 0-1 with two sac fly’s and two RBI’s. Chase Young was 1-2 with two runs scored. Bryn Hester and Josh Sifford both went 1-3 with a double in the game.

“We hit the ball pretty well,” Becker continued. “We only had six hits but three of them were doubles, and we swung the bat well. [Notre Dame] made a couple nice plays defensively, and that limited us.”

Overall got the start for Dexter and lasted two and a third innings. Overall struggled to find the strike zone during the outing and gave up six walks.

“Josh took the start on the mound for us today and did a pretty good job,” Becker commented. “He just had too many walks while he was in there.”

The ‘Cats will be hit with some adversity this afternoon, when they lose Overall for the season.

“I found out as the game began that we’re going to lose [Overall] for the rest of the season,” Becker said. “He broke his collarbone on a four-wheeler a while back, but the bone didn’t grow back right when it was set. He’s going into surgery at noon today to have it re-broken and re-set. Stuff happens – we just have to roll with it, plug some people in and hope that they perform.”

The ‘Cats will face Scott City at home Thursday (April 7) afternoon.

“They started out with a big win over Jackson – which is huge for anybody – and they opened some people’s eyes with it,” Becker said of the Rams. “They’ve struggled a bit since then, going 2-4-1, but they’ll be a tough team. Their coach does a good job with them, and they’re always a solid team. I expect nothing less this year.”

Brad Potts is set to make the start for the Bearcats in the 4:00 p.m. contest.

Photo above Top Photo: Josh Overall fires during his last start at Malden. Overall went 1-2 with a 2-run homer in the contest, but will have season-ending surgery at noon today.