By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Lady Bearcat softball team struggled in its home contest against the Malden Lady Green Wave on Tuesday afternoon; the Wave only scored four hits in the game, but 17 walks given up by Dexter's pitching staff allowed Malden to post a 21-10 victory.

The Lady Bearcats took an early 6-0 lead thanks to a 2 RBI double by Emily Triplett in the first inning, and a RBI double from Taylor Owens and a 2 RBI single from Kendra Stevenson in the second.

The Green Wave offense had a productive third inning, scoring five runs off one hit, three walks, and four errors by the Lady 'Cats. The Lady Bearcats were three up, three down in the bottom of the third, and the Green Wave continued its barrage, scoring four runs without recording a hit in the inning to take a 9-6 lead.

The Lady 'Cats were again three up, three down in the bottom of the fourth inning, while Malden recorded four more runs without a single hit; the Green Wave held a commanding 13-6 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

After a leadoff line-out to third base by Owens to open the fifth inning, Stevenson and Triplett got on base with back-to-back singles. Riley Rickman drove in Stevenson with a double, and Tiffany Watson brought home Triplett with a single to pull the Lady 'Cats within five runs heading into the sixth inning.

Malden was held to just one run in the top of the sixth inning, while Dexter stranded runners on second and third. In the seventh inning, the Green Wave plated seven runs to set the score at 21-8. Diana Gilliam and Ashley Brown both drove in runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Lady 'Cats weren't able to recover from the big deficit, and ended the game with a 21-10 final score.

The Lady Bearcats will be back in action on Monday (April 9) when they host the New Madrid County Central Lady Eagles. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., weather permitting.

Brittany Harris was the lone Lady Bearcat honored on the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association All-State Basketball team. Harris, a 5'11" junior, averaged 16.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game; she also surpassed the 1,000 Career Points mark midway through the season. The Lady Bearcats ended the season with a 24-5 record, and ranked sixth in the final poll. Congratulations!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Missed opportunities were the downfall of the Dexter Bearcats on Tuesday afternoon, when they hosted district rival Notre Dame. The Bearcats stranded 13 base runners in the 4-2 loss.

"We had opportunities all day long, we just couldn't get the big hit when we needed it. [There were] four times where we had the bases loaded with a full count and two outs. The wheels were turning, we just couldn't get the base hit that we needed to plate some runs," head coach Brian Becker said. "Hopefully, if we get ahold of these guys again, we'll put the bat on the ball and start scoring some runs. It's scary to think how many runs we could have put on the board today against a very good team."

"You've gotta give some credit to Notre Dame; they made the pitches when they counted," he continued. "A 3-2 count and they threw a strike when they needed to, and we didn't get it done at the plate when we needed to."

As in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Ste. Genevive, fielding errors proved costly for the Bearcats early in the game. A botched double play ball in the third inning allowed the Bulldogs to increase their early lead.

"We had a double play ball, and if we could have turned that, then we get out of the inning without any runs scoring," Becker noted. "With the error, they end up tacking on two runs after they already took a 2-1 lead. It seemed like we never could get over the hump today."

Jordan Miller took the start for the Bearcats, but intermittent struggles with pitch location - all six of Notre Dame's hits came off the junior righty - would cut his day short after four innings of work.

Miller redeemed himself at the plate with a 3-4 performance including one RBI. Miller, who leads the team with a .538 batting average and is tied with Chase Young with 11 RBI's, was the only Bearcat with multiple hits on the day.

"He's been swinging the bat well for us all year, and today was no different," Becker said. "It just seemed like he was never at the plate when we were in those bases loaded situations."

Alex Cliff took to the mound in relief of Miller in the top of the fifth; the senior pitched three shutout innings - improving his season ERA to 1.40 - while fanning three batters.

"Cliff did a great job on the mound for us today, and he's done well all season long," Becker noted. "He came in, threw strikes, mixed his pitches up well, and did a real good job for us."

The Bearcats fall to 5-3 (1-3) on the season with the loss, and will be back in action on Thursday afternoon, when they hit the road to take on the Scott City Rams in yet another Class 3, District 1 contest.

Brad Potts (1-0, 3.15 ERA) is expected to get the start for the Bearcats in the 4:00 p.m. contest.

Click here for the full stats sheet.

Photos Above:
Top: Chase Young (left) applies a tag on Notre Dame's Jon Lynch during Tuesday's contest.
Bottom: Jordan Miller drives an RBI single into right field during the first inning on Tuesday afternoon. Miller had another great day at the plate, going 3-4 with one RBI.

The Dexter Bearcats picked up a win on their home course Monday afternoon, tallying a team score of 173. The Kelly Hawks finished second with 196 strokes, barely edging Kennett's 197 stroke total. Cody Stevens and Bryce McPhearson both scored a 39 on Hidden Trails Country Club's front nine; Brandon Strickler finished with a four-over 40, and Ryan Joyner tallied a 47 stroke score. Above, Myles Urhahn tees off on the first hole on his way to a 47 shot outing.

Kurt Lovelady, winner of the inaugural SMT Hoops Challenge,  claimed his prize on Monday afternoon - an Apple iPad 3!  Lovelady correctly picked 178 games in the 12 week contest, and plans to use the iPad to help keep stats for the DMS Baseball team, which he manages.  
Congratulations, Kurt!