BREAKING SPORTS NEWS

A SMT Sports Report

Dexter High School's baseball game against the Sikeston Bulldogs, scheduled for this afternoon (Tuesday, May 3) at Sikeston has been cancelled according to DHS Athletic Director Chuck Powers.

The DHS Tennis match against Sikeston - held in Dexter at 4:00 this afternoon - is still set to go on as scheduled.

A ShowMe Times Sports Report

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – A sunny day free of spring showers is lucky, but a perfect baseball game takes real talent.

During a Sunday faceoff against St. Charles Community College on April 3, freshman Heath Horvath pitched a perfect game for the Raiders. “In 26 years of coaching baseball, I’ve only seen this happen twice,” said Three Rivers College head coach Stacey Burkey. “Needless to say, (assistant) Coach Scarano and I are extremely proud.”

Horvath’s winning moments came during the second game of a doubleheader against the St. Charles Cougars, who lost both matchups 3-2 and 3-0. “I wasn’t really expecting it to happen,” said Horvath, a freshman at Three Rivers. “I just try to play each game as they come, as best I can.”

“The first thing that a pitcher has to do in order to have a perfect game is that he has to command his pitches,” said Burkey. “Heath is a strike thrower. That Sunday, he was able to have some low pitch-count innings by throwing into great areas of the strike zone. After the first 4 innings you could tell he was in a really good rhythm, and his velocity was as good or better than it's been all spring.”

Horvath graduated from Senath-Hornsville High School last spring after being recruited for the Raiders baseball team.

“I’m going to keep trying for perfect pitching,” said Horvath. “I hope to move on and play for a four-year school after finishing at Three Rivers.” When asked about his future expectations for his team, Burkey answered, “The only thing I expect from Heath and the rest of our pitchers is that they throw their pitches aggressively through the target. Heath did a great job of controlling the things he had control over, and our defense did their part to get the perfect game.”

Thanks to Meagan Keathley of the Three Rivers Communitcations Department and Student Athletics writer Mike Buhler for this report.

BREAKING SPORTS NEWS

A SMT Sports Report

All Dexter High School athletics scheduled for this afternoon (Monday, May 2) have been cancelled.

According to DHS Athletic Director Chuck Powers, both the Lady 'Cats' softball game at Advance and the SEMO Conference Track meet at New Madrid County Central have been cancelled due to flooding in the region.

No word has been given on rescheduling for the softball game.

The SEMO Conference Track meet has been moved to Wednesday (May 4) at Kennett High School, with a 4:00 p.m. start.

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (4/27/11) – Led by All-Sun Belt Conference selections Lloyd du Preez and Chris Pledger, the Arkansas State men’s golf team finished in fourth place at the Sun Belt Conference Championships after the final round was cancelled Wednesday due to severe weather at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

A-State, which shot a combined 584, posted a first-round 293 to finish the tournament’s opening day in fourth place, and it remained in the same position at the end of Tuesday’s play after recording a 291 for the second 18 holes.

The Red Wolves finished four strokes ahead of fifth-place Louisiana-Lafayette and within seven strokes of both North Texas and Louisiana-Monroe, which tied for second place.  Denver led the 11-team field with a three-under par 577.

ASU’s fourth-place finish was its best at the Sun Belt Conference Championships since finishing fourth at the 2000 tournament as well. “We obviously wanted to play the final round,” said ASU head coach Steve Johnson. “We felt like both rounds we were on the verge of shooting a very good golf score, but with the weather that come through it became more of an issue of keeping the student-athletes safe rather than if we were going to play. “I felt good about the way we played, but I also thought we entered the conference tournament coming off a couple of other good performances. Considering the quick turnaround we had between hosting our home tournament and trying to prepare for the conference championships, I thought the guys did really well.”

du Preez collected his best finish of the season, ending the tournament tied for third place to lead the Red Wolves. du Preeze shot a first-round 72 and followed it up with a second-round 69, his second lowest score of the season. His combined 141 left him just four strokes behind tournament medalist Carlos Ortiz of North Texas. du Preez, a senior, was named an all-conference selection for the third consecutive season, becoming just the third ASU men’s golfer to ever earn the recognition three times during their career.

Pledger ended the first round tied for seventh place with du Preez and others, and despite shooting a 76 Tuesday that was four strokes over his score for the first 18 holes, still finished among the top-20 individual leaders. Pledger ended the tournament with a combined 148 and picked up his eighth top-20 finish of the season. Pledger, a junior, was named All-Sun Belt Conference for the first time, giving the Red Wolves at least two all-league players in the same season for the first time since 2009 and for the seventh time ever.

“Lloyd and Chris are both extremely deserving of the recognition they received as all-conference selections,” said Johnson. “Lloyd has kind of been the anchor for our team in the past, and the character he showed at this tournament is the kind of stuff you hope is contagious on your team. Chris has been outstanding all year, and he’s been a go-to guy for us all season. We knew that he was capable of being an all-conference-type player the last two seasons, but this year he made the changes to make him a much more consistent player.”

Cory Williamson cut eight strokes off his first-round total with a 71 Tuesday, which moved him from 43rd place into a tie for 25th. Other than du Preez’s second-round score, Williamson’s 71 was the lowest score of the tournament among ASU’s golfers.

Also competing for A-State, Chance Holden and Warren Hood finished tied for 29th place with a 151.

ARKANSAS STATE RESULTS
Place, Name (RD1-RD2--TOTAL)
4, Arkansas State (293-291--584)
T3, Lloyd du Preez (72-69--141)
T17, Chris Pledger (72-76--148)
T25, Cory Williamson (79-71--150)
T29, Chance Holden (76-75--151)
T29, Warren Hood (73-78--151)

A SMT Sports Report

The sun is shining, it's not raining (for now!) and Bearcats will have a pair of athletic activities Friday afternoon.

Dexter High School Athletic Director Church Powers announced that two teams – the golf team and baseball squad would play. Powers reports the Bearcat Golf Team will compete in district play at the Crown Pointe Golf Club in Farmington.

In addition, the Baseball ‘Cats will take to the field in the SEMO Conference Tournament at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau. The Dexter game will begin at 3 p.m.

However, Powers reported the Lady Bearcats Softball game against Woodland for Friday afternoon. Dexter was scheduled to play Woodland, and that team will not be able to travel to Dexter due to the continued flooding in the region.

In addition, the track meet previously scheduled in Poplar Bluff for today has been canceled due to the flood conditions.