By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Dexter Middle School volleyball team was on display Tuesday night in their preseason scrimmage. Family and friends packed the T.S. Hill Middle School gym to watch the seventh and eighth grade squads duked it out on the court.

Head coach Melissa Hahn was pleased with her teams' performance in the scrimmage, but was quick to point out areas they need to work on.

"I was pretty pleased with my eighth grade's transitions, I thought we had a lot of good pass and hits," Hahn said. "The eighth grade has some really good servers, and that was our big weapon last year. We didn't have many missed serves, and I was happy with that."

"Both teams needed to work on communication. I thought that was our big weakness, and that's what we're going to be working on in practice tomorrow," she continued. "Also, staying up; getting over those mental mistakes and pre-game jitters. I saw a lot of really good things tonight."

The DMS volleyball program has set a high bar for itself in recent years; last season, both the seventh and eighth grade squads went undefeated, without losing a single set. Hahn thinks her seventh grade squad has the talent to achieve the feat this season, but notes the hard work that will be required.

"We're going to have to work hard every practice. That's our goal, to go undefeated every season," she said. "We'll have to play to the best of our ability, but if we play our game to the best of our ability and cut out the mental mistakes, we have the talent to do that."

The Lady Bearcats are set to open their season Thursday (March 15) night against the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs; the eighth grade squad posted a lopsided victory over Sikeston during their seventh grade year.

"Last year, we beat them 25-1 in the first set, with 14 aces in the first set. I'm hoping for a game that we can really show off some talent. We faced that some last year - our serves were good, but they didn't really get to play," Hahn said. "I love that we have those good servers, but I really want them to play. Sikeston just doesn't have the youth program that we have, so their seventh grade girls come in a little weaker. Once they get involved, their eighth grade comes in a lot stronger. I know a lot of those girls from Sikeston because Julia (Coach Hahn's eighth grade daughter, who is a member of the team) has played soccer with them, and they have great athletes, so I'm anxious to see what a year is going to do to them."

The season opener is scheduled for seventh grade action at 6:00 p.m., with the eighth grade squad immediately following.

Click here for the full roster. The 2012 schedule can be found here.




By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The pop of a baseball as it strikes a glove is a welcome sound to many early in the Spring, and gloves have been popping as the Dexter Bearcats are busy preparing for the 2012 season.

The 'Cats had a solid season in 2011, finishing at a .500 clip despite battling injury throughout the year. A walk-off, 12 inning win over Scott City in the District Semifinals put the 'Cats in the District Championship game against Kennett; the Tribe would down the 'Cats 8-0 and move on to the Final Four in the State Tournament.

"We've never gotten to go outside as much as we have this spring. That puts us ahead of where we usually are, but at the same time everyone else is getting to go outside too. We've made the most of our time outdoors, but we've had a big rain set in, so it will be a while before we can get back out on the field," head coach Brian Becker said. "Hopefully, by the time next Friday gets here it'll dry out and we'll be able to get back on it one or two more times before then."

The Bearcats faced a brutal road schedule last season, but will reap the benefit of playing 13 of their 18 regular-season games at home during the 2012 campaign.

"We were road warriors last year, and this year we get to stay home quite a bit more," Becker commented. "We finished .500 last year, and hopefully being the home team will lead to more victories. That final at-bat can have a big say in the outcome of the game a lot of times."

The 'Cats lost just two players to graduation last season - third baseman Bryn Hester, who is currently playing at Harding University, and center-fielder Josh Sifford. Coach Becker is excited about his team's chances, as the Bearcats return all other major contributors from last season.

"Loosing 'Siff' and Bryn, they were two good ball players, but we have a lot of experience coming back. A bunch of different kids got a lot of playing time. D.J. Dowdy started behind the plate for half the season; he did a great job for me, and he's only getting better. Cody Neldon saw a lot of action late in the year, and he's going to see the field every time we go out there. He hit over .440 in 20-something at-bats." Becker said. "We only have about 10 kids that we rotate on the varsity level, so all of my kids coming back are going to see a lot of time. Hopefully that will spell good things for us."

The 'Cats will regain the services of Josh Overall, who went down early last season after bizarre circumstances led to a season-ending shoulder surgery; the senior looks to fill in Hester's vacant third base spot and add another arm to what is shaping up to be an outstanding pitching staff.

"We lost [Overall] last year after he had shoulder surgery. He was on the mound last year in the Notre Dame game; during the first inning his dad came over and told me that I'd better enjoy him while I had him," Becker said. "He went out and pitched a great game and hit a home run, and then he was done for the year. He'll fill in some at third base, and he'll be back on the mound."

Starters Jordan Miller and Brad Potts will return to lead the rotation, as well as seniors Alex Cliff and Owen Flowers. Logan 'Perry' Northern, who saw extensive time as a reliever last season, will also return for the 'Cats.

"Jordan Miller saw a lot of time on the mound last year, and he'll slide in some at third base as well. Alex Cliff will be back - he didn't pitch any last year because of back problems. He's such a violent football player, and he stayed injured a lot. He made it through football season this year and stayed healthy, and he's going to try it on the mound again this year," Becker noted. "[Brad] Potts did an outstanding job on the mound last year; he drew a lot of the tougher teams, but finished with a .500 record and a 2.4 ERA. He did an outstanding job for us, and I look for much of the same this year. Logan Northern and Owen Flowers both did a great job for us last year. 'Perry' does a good job; he comes out, throws strikes, and uses his breaking ball effectively."

A big question mark heading into the season was the health of shortstop Chase Young. Young, a three-sport athlete, sat out the latter part of the basketball season due to a nagging knee injury, but Becker indicated the junior would be good-to-go for the season opener.

"Chase is fine. His knee was bothering him the latter part of basketball season, so he had to sit out," he said. "He's swinging the bat well, and he's showing good range out at shortstop. He doesn't seem to have any ill effects from the problems he was having during basketball. It's a different sport - you get out there on the hardwood, and that can [irritate] injuries a lot more than going out there on the dirt can."

The 'Cats look to have another great year on offense as well - Young, Cliff, and Miller all earned All-District honors, while Potts was named to the All-Conference team in 2011. Potts was the hero of the District Semifinal game against Scott City; his shot into left-center drove in the winning run in the 12 inning contest.

"It's a pretty good group to return, especially with only one of them being seniors," Becker said of the group. "We're looking for some good things from our returning players, and our big thing right now is to stay healthy. We aren't that deep, because we have some kids that just aren't ready for the 'big time' yet. It's like any program - you want your kids to grow up a little before you throw them into the fire."

The Bearcats are set to open the season on Friday (March 16) afternoon, when they host the Doniphan Dons. Becker noted the premium of multi-run innings (due to new bat regulations) would make pitching and defense be more important than ever.

"I'm going to use a lot of pitchers, and we'll hopefully go out there and throw strikes and swing the bats well," he said. "The key is to throw strikes and play good defense, and it's going to be paramount this year. A one run lead this year is almost equivalent to a two or three run lead in years past. We'll have to be smart on the base-paths and not give up easy outs."

First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on Friday, weather permitting.

For the full season schedule, click here.

Photos Above:
Top: Jordan Miller (left) delivers a pitch to Cody Neldon (right) during a bunting drill during Monday afternoon's practice.
Middle: Senior Josh Overall works with a wood bat during Monday's practice.
Bottom: Assistant Coach Aaron Pixley instructs junior Brad Potts on proper bunting technique during Monday's practice.

KANSAS CITY - After punching their dance card with a thrilling 72-67 win over Columbia College, the #25-ranked William Woods University women's basketball team learned its first round foe as the bracket for the 32nd Annual Division I Women's Basketball National Championship presented by Kentuckytourism.com was announced on Wednesday.

The Owls will play in the opening game of the tournament, tipping off at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14 against #8-ranked Shawnee State.

This is the second time that the Owls have served as the opening game of the tournament, with the Owls falling to Trevecca Nazarene in the 2009-10 season. This is the first time that these two teams have met in any action.

The first 30 contests from Frankfort, Ky., will be available via live stream from NeuLion, the digital media partner of the NAIA and the official video streaming company of 10 select NAIA National Championship events for $29.95 and any single day can be purchased for $9.95. Also, one can purchase the all-tournament package of all four basketball tournaments for $49.95.

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For more information on William Woods athletics, make sure to visit WWUOwls.com!

When she was a little girl, Madison Pixley dreamed of being a cheerleader. Well, the little girl’s dreams came true, and tonight she will be cheering on national television!

Madison cheers for the University of the Ozarks Bobcats, and tonight the Lady Bobcats will make their fourth appearance in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.

The Lady Bobcats will make their fourth appearance in the national title game in school history when they battle Northwestern on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in a game televised live by CBS Sports Network. George Wilson, who has been the coach for all three of the Ozarks’ title game losses, and the Bobcats are hoping for better luck the fourth time around.

Tuesday’s National Championship game is a rematch of the 2008 title contest when Northwestern won 82-75. Ozarks also lost in the championship in 2006 to Hastings (Neb.) and in 2007 to Indiana Wesleyan.

Madison is the daughter of Amy and Aaron Pixley of Dexter and is a 2011 graduate of Dexter High School, where she was was a basketball cheerleader, a varsity volleyball player and ran track.

The CBS Sports Network is channel 363 on New Wave cable, as well as channel 613 on DirecTV and channel 152 on DISH Network.

POPLAR BLUFF - The Three Rivers College Raiders men’s basketball team, which won the Region XVI title Saturday night, will play for the District 4 Championship at the Bess Activity Center in Poplar Bluff at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Area residents are urged to turn out to cheer on the Raiders as they take on the Region IV Champions Highland (Ill.) Cougars. The winner of this game will advance to the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament March 20-24 in Hutchinson, Kansas.

The Raiders, who were third seed in the Region XVI tournament, pulled off two upsets to win the regional title, including defeating top-seeded Moberly 66-63 on Saturday.

“These last postseason games are all that really counts,” Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said after Saturday night's Region XVI win over Moberly. “Right now, we’re 2-0 and we’ve got Highland coming in Tuesday (for the district title game). We’ve got to win one more to make it to the big house. The early games prepare you for this postseason play. We didn’t have a great season overall but what’s really important is the postseason play. That’s what really matters.”

“Wouldn’t it be amazing for us to win about five more and be the national champions,” Bess added.

Admission to Tuesday’s game is $5.

For more information about the Raiders, visit RaidersAthletics.com. For information about the NJCAA National Championship, visit njcaa.org.