By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Football Class and District assignments for the 2012-2013 classification cycle were released Saturday by the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA).

Schools with less than 200 students are allowed to play in the 8-man division; in traditional, 11-man football, the 32 biggest schools (based on student enrollment in grades 9-12) will be classified as Class 6, while the smallest 64 schools are in Class 1. Classes 2, 3, and 4 are incrementally filled with the next 64 largest schools, while Class 5 fills the gap with everyone left that is too big for Class 4 and too small for Class 6.

Head coach Aaron Pixley and the Dexter Bearcats will remain in Class 3 for the new cycle - Class 3 is filled with schools enrolling between 426 and 701 students - while Centralia, Christian, Hogan Prep Academy Charter, Hollister, Lift for Life Academy Charter, Macon, Sumner, and Southwest Early College Campus will all join Class 3.

The 'Cats will also remain in the same District, but the teams have been changed from last season due to MSHSAA's new playoff format in the 2012 season.

The new format creates a nine game regular season, with the 10th week opening the District Championships. The third game of the championship 'series' will be the District Championship game, with a champion and runner-up advancing to the playoffs from each District.

Teams will now be in eight-team Districts - up from four in the previous format - and will be seeded by a point system over the nine game regular season. This point system allots 20 points for a win, 10 for a loss, and 15 for an overtime loss; additionally, a team can earn a 10 point 'bonus' for each game played against a larger school (i.e. a Class 3 school earns 20 extra points for playing a Class 5 school); the point totals will be added up and divided by the total number of games played to determine seeding within the District. The third game of the championship 'series' will be the District Championship game, with a champion and runner-up advancing to the playoffs from each District.

New Madrid County Central, Fredericktown, and Kennett will be rejoining the Bearcats in Class 3, District 1; the four teams will welcome Park Hills Central, Lift for Life Academy Charter, Potosi, and Ste. Genevive in the 2012 season.

The 2012 and 2013 seasons conclude with the annual MSHSAA Show-Me Bowl at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. State Championship games for 2012 will be played November 23-24, while the event will be held November 29-30 in the 2013 season.

Click here for the full details on realignment for all six classes.

Click here for more details on the new playoff format for 2012.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Early errors cost the Dexter Bearcats in an extra-innings contest against Class 3, District 1 foe Ste. Genevive on Saturday afternoon.

Three errors in the first three innings allowed the Dragons to take a 2-0 lead early in the game; the 'Cats uncharacteristically committed five errors in the contest. Starting pitcher Owen Flowers went the distance for the Bearcats, throwing 94 pitches in eight innings of work.

"Their pitchers did a good job against us, but on the flip side I thought Owen Flowers threw a heck of a game," head coach Brian Becker said. "He deserved a better fate than what he got; we had five errors, and that cost us."

"We've been fielding the ball well all year long, but today with the different surface we were on, I don't know if that was the difference or if it was just one of those days," he continued. "We'll be all right; I know we're a much better defensive team than what we showed today."

Despite their early struggles on the grass infield, the Bearcats worked out the kinks and turned three double plays in the last five innings of play.

"We struggled defensively early, and that spelled trouble for us in the early innings," Becker noted. "I thought after we regrouped, we played some really solid defense, but you have to give Ste. Gen. credit; they're a really good ball club and they played a good game today."

The Bearcats were held scoreless until the top of the fifth inning; after a leadoff single by Josh Overall and a hit-by-pitch to Cody Neldon, Daniel Fitts smacked a line drive into left-center to drive in Overall and advance Neldon to third. Neldon crossed home plate midway through Brad Potts' at-bat on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-all.

The Dragons were three up, three down in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Flowers' outstanding command of his two-seam fastball; both teams were retired with three batters in the sixth, and the 'Cats were short-lived in the top of the seventh, where they faced lefty reliever Derek Brown.

The Dragons were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, forcing extra innings. Fitts and Potts both recorded outs, and Chase Young took a pitch to the head to reach first base. First baseman Alex Cliff stepped to the plate and forced a 2-2 count, but ultimately popped out to third to end the inning.

Al Gunter led off for the Dragons in the bottom of the eighth, and hit a hard shot to left field for a single. Tyler Greminger stepped to the plate and worked into a full count before firing a deep line drive to left-center to plate the game winning run and seal a 3-2 victory.

Fitts had a solid effort at the plate after being moved into the leadoff slot; the senior only recorded one hit in four at-bats, but made great contact on the ball all day long.

"He's down on himself because he only had one hit," Becker said of his left fielder, "but he knocked the cover off the ball all day long. That's the way it is in baseball; you can hit rocket shots and them be right at somebody, and the next time up, you'll hit a 45-foot dribbler and wind up on first base. I moved him into the leadoff spot today, and he did a good job for me."

The Bearcats stand at 4-2 (1-2 in District play) on the season after the tough loss, and will be back in action on Monday (April 2) afternoon when they host Campbell. Logan Northern (1-0) is expected to be the starter in the 4:00 p.m. contest.

Photos Above:
Top: Owen Flowers pitched a complete game in Saturday afternoon's 3-2, extra-innings loss. The senior struck out one batter in the 94 pitch outing.
Bottom: Josh Overall lays down the tag and fires the ball to first base to complete a 6-4-3 double play in the fourth inning. Overall was 1-3 at the plate with one run in the loss.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The first annual 'Swing Pink' softball tournament kicked off on Saturday morning with perfect weather and plenty of fans in the stands to cheer on all eight teams.

The Lady Bearcats opened the day against the East Prairie Lady Eagles; despite sloppy fielding - the Lady 'Cats committed six errors in the game - trailing the Eagles 10-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth, and playing the last two innings with just eight players on the field, the Lady Bearcats were able to put together a wild finish in the come-from-behind, 13-12 victory.

Catcher Whitney Layton was forced to leave the game in the top of the fifth inning with concussion-like symptoms, but the Lady 'Cats didn't have any reserve players on the bench. The Bearcats were able to play with eight ladies on the field, but had to take an automatic out when Layton's spot in the batting order came up.

With two on, two outs, and a 3-1 count, Diana Gilliam - the #9 batter in the lineup, and the Lady Bearcats' last chance to take the lead - stepped into the batters box and waited for a pitch. The next pitch sailed over the catchers head, and Madison Christian stole home on the wild pitch to give the Lady 'Cats a 13-12 victory.

"I don't even know how you'd describe it," head coach Leonard Morse said of the whacky finish. "We had an automatic out looming right behind it, and I gave the wrong signal to her a couple times. Our girls wanted it; they came back from being way down, with all the odds stacked against them after losing Whitney to that injury. I've never see anything like it. It shows that our girls have it if they want it, and they wanted it."



The next contest pitted the Lady Bearcats against the formidable Neelyville Lady Tigers. Due to Layton's injury, the Lady 'Cats had to do some shifting in the field; Kendra Stevenson went to catcher, while Becky Anderson, who was ineligible in the first game, came in to pitch.

The Lady 'Cats were held scoreless until the fourth inning; Stevenson hit a leadoff single, and was able to steal second and third bases. Emily Triplett's single down the third base line drove in Stevenson, but the 'Cats trailed 5-1 heading into the fifth inning.

The Tigers took the field with hot bats in the top of the fifth inning; Jessica Crosby grounded out to second to lead off the inning, followed by a hot shot to left-center from Kenna Shepherd for a single. The Tigers put together a six run rally in the fifth to take a commanding 11-1 lead. The Lady Bearcats were only able to put one run on the board in the bottom half of the fifth, before the Tigers strung together another five run rally in the sixth to seal the final score at 16-2.



The Lady 'Cats moved into the Third Place contest with the loss, where the met the Zalma Lady Bulldogs. Zalma had posted a win over Arcadia Valley and a loss to East Carter County on the day.

Anderson again took to the mound for the Lady 'Cats, and recorded nine K's in the contest.

Dexter trailed 4-1 heading into the fourth inning; Celina Skaggs smacked an RBI double in the top of the fourth to give the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead, but , three straight doubles from Stevenson, Triplett, and Riley Rickman allowed the 'Cats to tally three runs in the inning and tie the game at 5-5.

Trista Clark was able to score on an error to give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Ashley Brown led the 'Cats off with a single, but was able to advance to third after an error on Zalma's first basemen. Taylor Owens stepped to the plate, and delivered a single down the first base line, but was able to cross home plate thanks to three errors on the play, ending the game with a 7-6 final score.



After the 2-1 effort in the tournament, the Lady Bearcats stand at 3-3 on the season. The Lady Bearcats will be off until Tuesday, when they host Malden in a 4:30 p.m. contest.

All proceeds from the first annual Swing Pink tournament went to the Ben Kruse 18 FORE Life Foundation, a local organization dedicated to helping the families of individuals who are battling cancer.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

SIKESTON - The DHS Tennis team was able to put together its first winning effort of the 2012 season on Thursday afternoon against the Sikeston Bulldogs. The Bearcats, who had fallen in the season opener against Poplar Bluff and a match on Tuesday with Notre Dame, swept the day with a 9-0 Varsity win and a 6-2 JV victory.

Andrew Mason and Jacob Robinson - Dexter's #4 and #6 players, respectively - were the only Bearcats who gave up more than two points in their singles matches. Mason downed Layton Jones in an 8-3 contest, while Robinson, in the closes Varsity match of the day, found himself on top of an 8-5 decision over sophomore Wade Gadberry.

In JV action, freshman Noah Kronk picked up a 6-0 victory over Christian Rehder in singles, while Brooks Propst dropped a thrilling 5-7 tie break match to Rehder.

In JV doubles, Kronk and Dalton Putnam picked up a 6-0 victory over Giovanni Walker and Rehder.

The Bearcats are off until Thursday (Apr. 5), when they travel to Poplar Bluff to take on the Mules. PBHS took home a 5-4 victory over the Bearcats in the season opener at Dexter; Thursday's rematch is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start, weather permitting.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BERNIE - The Lady Bearcats had an explosive day at the plate on Wednesday afternoon when they hit the road to take on the Bernie Mules.

It was a welcome change for Dexter, as the Lady Bearcats struggled at the plate in their first two games of the season (a 13-4 loss against Clearwater, followed by a 17-3, run-rule loss to Kennett), but big offensive production in the third, fourth, and fifth innings propelled the Lady 'Cats to a 15-5 win.

Ashley Brown and Kendra Stevenson both plated runs for the Lady 'Cats in the first inning; after already scoring one run in the third, Riley Rickman blasted a two RBI double to increase Dexter's lead to 5-2.

The scoring rally continued in the fourth inning, with the Lady 'Cats plating three runs, but the Mules responded with three runs of their own to bring the score to 8-5 heading into the fifth inning. Becky Anderson, who pitched in the contest, led off with a double and was later driven in by Taylor Owens to start the rally. A two RBI single from Emily Triplett plated the Lady 'Cats seventh run of the inning, and sealed the final score at 15-5 in Dexter's favor.

The Lady Mules struggled in the field throughout, committing a whopping 15 errors in the contest. Coach Brad Botsch noted this as a big area the team needs to improve on.

"At this point, we really just need to get better at catching and throwing the ball. We are trying to learn the fundamentals of the game and hopefully we will improve," Botsch said. "It's frustrating right now, but we aren't going to stop trying or pushing them to make improvements. They must learn how to compete."

The Lady Bearcats, now 1-2 on the season, will be in action again on Saturday in the first annual 'Swing Pink' tournament. The tournament is in the vein of the volleyball team's 'Dig Pink' contest last season, and the middle school squad's 'Hits for Hope' game earlier in the year; all proceeds raised at the tournament will go to the benefit of the Ben Kruse 18 FORE Life foundation.

All teams participating in the all-day tournament will be guaranteed three games, with contests at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.

Photo Above:
Becky Anderson fires a pitch during Monday's loss to the Clearwater Lady Tigers. Anderson's record stands at 1-1 after Wednesday's big win at Bernie, where she struck out two batters (Submitted photo by Kay Stevenson).