By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU - The Helias Crusaders hit the Bearcats early and often during Saturday's contest in the Notre Dame Classic. The Crusaders collected 13 hits in the 13-6 defeat of the Bearcats.

Logan 'Perry' Northern (2-1, 3.13 ERA) gave up his first earned runs of the year in the loss; the Bearcat starter lasted just one-and-a-third innings, and gave up seven hits, seven runs (all earned) and walked four batters. Brad Potts entered the game in relief during the second inning; the junior right-hander lasted one-and-two-third innings, where he gave up two hits and two runs (0 earned).

Josh Overall came to the mound four the final four innings of the game, and gave up four hits, four runs (two earned), three walks and three K's.

The Crusaders struck for nine runs in the first three innings; Potts connected for an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning to record the Bearcats' first run and hit of the game.

The 'Cats were able to hold the Crusaders to just one run in the fourth inning; Owen Flowers grounded into a fielder's choice to drive in D.J. Dowdy and cut Helias' lead to 10-2. The Crusaders were again held to one run in the fifth inning, while the 'Cats were able to put together a four-run rally, kicked off by a leadoff single from Potts. Chase Young followed up with a double, and Potts was brought home after a hard-hit ball from Jordan Miller forced an error. Four straight walks allowed the 'Cats to plate two more runs in the inning and cut the Crusaders' lead to 11-6.

Helias tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning and was held scoreless in the seventh, but the Bearcats couldn't put together a late-inning rally to end the game with a 13-6 final score.

Potts led the way at the plate for the 'Cats, going 2-4 with one run scored and one RBI. Young collected the only extra base hit of the game, and went 1-1 with three walks.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Monday (April 23) afternoon, when they close out their SEMO Conference schedule at Cape Central. Head coach Brian Becker noted the incredible difficulty of the conference this season after Friday's win over MICDS, with 2012 SEMO Conference Tournament seedings being announced on Monday.

"This last week has been brutal; we had Jackson, Bluff, [MICDS] today, Helias tomorrow, Cape Central on Monday - we'll have to clean up our defense if we want to have a chance to get more wins," Becker said. "We start seeding Monday; it'll be interesting to see how the seeds go since Jackson beat Poplar Bluff 3-1 [on Thursday]. We'll be right there in the three, four, or five spot, so we'll have to see. Notre Dame is the top seed by virtue of their win over Kennett, who will be the number two; after that, it's basically a coin-flip. We'll face a tough opponent in the first round no matter who it is. It's going to be a quality team, all that'll change is the name on the front of the jersey."

The 'Cats contest with Cape Central is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start; Becker indicated that Jordan Miller (0-1, 3.26 ERA) would be on the mound for the Bearcats.

Photo Above: Josh Overall hurled four innings in relief during Saturday's 13-6 loss to Helias (SMT File Photo by Andrew Cato).

The Bearcat tennis players were able to squeeze in a tournament at Poplar Bluff before Saturday evening's prom festivities. Tyler Miller (left) and Sam Ward (right) were able to bring home first place in the doubles division of the tournament. The 'Cats will be back in action again on Monday (April 23), when they host the Cape Central Tigers.(Submitted photo by Tracy Miller; thanks Tracy!)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU - For the second time in their last three games, the Dexter Bearcats won the game on a walk-off single.

After the Mary Incarnate Country Day School (MICDS) Rams tied the game in the top of the seventh, the 'Cats chipped away at the lead until Daniel Fitts stepped to the plate for the Bearcats with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. The senior, who was 0-3 at the plate until his last at-bat, delivered a hard ground ball between second and third base to plate Josh Overall for the go-ahead run and seal a come-from-behind 8-7 victory.

Head coach Brian Becker was quick to point out the importance of this win for his team; MICDS, a private school in the St. Louis area, is ranked in the top 10 in the state, and is a perennial power in all sports.

"That was a good win for us," Becker said after the exciting finish. "Country Day is ranked sixth in the state right now in our classification, and any time you can beat a state ranked team that's a good thing. It was a good win for our program."

"Country Day, they have a lot of history there, but not just in baseball; they're great in football and other sports. They're one of the larger private schools up there, and they draw kids from all over St. Louis. Any time you can get a win against them, that's a feather in your cap."

Owen Flowers (3-1, 2.66 ERA) took the start and the win for the 'Cats. Flowers, in his third complete game of the season, struck out eight batters and walked two in the 112 pitch outing.

"Flowers threw an excellent game. He gave up five in the second inning, but I don't know that they had a hard-hit ball the whole inning. They got a couple dinkers out there, and we booted a couple balls," Becker noted. "He threw an outstanding game, but something we'll have to do moving forward is clean up our defense. We had four errors today, and that led to a lot of their runs. We'll have to clean it up; we still have some good teams to play."

An hour-long rain delay, coupled with the cool temperature at game-time, caused Flowers to take a little longer than normal to get into his usual rhythm on the mound.

"It took me a bit to get warmed up at first, but once I got warmed up, I felt like I got into a pretty good groove and got on a roll," Flowers commented. "I've never thrown really hard, so that may help me a little bit. I feel like going 100 pitches is within my range; today I went a little bit over that, and it worked out."

The Rams struck hard in the second inning, plating five runs to take a 5-1 lead. The 'Cats would cut the lead to two in the bottom of the second, and continue to chip away until an RBI single from Chase Young in the bottom of the fourth brought home Brad Potts to give the 'Cats a 7-6 lead.

MICDS pinch-hitter Will Southworth found a gap in the Bearcats' infield to drive in the tying run in the top of the seventh, but the Rams were unable to convert thanks to great pitching from Flowers.

Overall drove a single down the third base line with one down in the bottom of the seventh; Flowers laid down an outstanding bunt down the third base line and beat the throw to first base. MICDS coach Pete Jans elected to intentionally walk Jacob Miller to set up a force play at home, but Fitts' single got through the left side of the infield to score the winning run.

Flowers noted the pre-game intimidation with facing a state-ranked, much larger school, but said it wasn't really an issue for the 'Cats once they got on the field.

"There was a little bit," he said, "but we knew that we could overcome it. Once we got out there on the field, we knew we could play with them. They're human too. I think we can play with any team in this area, and even some from out of the area, too."

The Bearcats will face another tough opponent in Saturday's (April 21) round of the Notre Dame Classic - Helias Catholic High School, out of Jefferson City.

Logan 'Perry' Northern will put his undefeated record and flawless 0.00 ERA on the line when he takes the mound against the Crusaders at 12:30 p.m.

Photos Above:
Top: Daniel Fitts' single in the bottom of the seventh inning plated the Bearcats' winning run in the 8-7 contest.  Fitts was 1-4 with an RBI, one run scored, and a walk in the game.  

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD - The Lady Bearcats were back in the SCAA Title game for the first time in three years on Thursday night. The 'Cats, riding a five game win streak, had their hopes dashed at the hands of the top-seed Advance Hornets in a 15-1 run-rule contest.

Advance starter Hannah Clark didn't give up a hit until the fourth inning, and gave up one run on a bases-loaded balk, also in the fourth. The freshman right hander fanned five batters in the win.

Kendra Stevenson took the start for the 'Cats, but was lit up early; the sophomore right-hander walked four batters and gave up eight runs (three earned). Riley Rickman took the mound in relief with one down in the bottom of the first inning, giving up seven runs (one earned) while striking out six batters in three and 2/3 innings of work.

"There's a reason why Advance has only lost one game; they're just solid. They've got pitching; Hannah Clark is a heck of a pitcher," head coach Leonard Morse said. "She can put it exactly where she wants it, and she's got the defense behind her. They're a great defensive team, and they hit well; if you make a mistake against this lineup, they'll capitalize. They're a good, all-around team. The worst part for us is that [Clark] is a freshman."

Ace pitcher Becky Anderson was out of commission for the Lady Bearcats due to illness. Morse was proud of his two pitchers' efforts, despite their poor showing on the scoreboard.

"Becky [Anderson] had been in the hospital since Tuesday night, so she wasn't able to pitch today. We only had one practice to get everyone re-geared," he noted. "I thought throwing Kendra [Stevenson] out there would be a good enough idea, since I've had her catching for so long, but it just didn't work out. She and Riley [Rickman] both had trouble out there, but they're both sophomores."

"I'm proud of their effort; I'm proud of this whole team. We broke the string of fourth place finishes," Morse continued. "We may have only scored one run, but the girls were excited there at the end. They're playing like a team right now."

Despite the disappointing finale, Morse saw signs of improvement up and down the lineup in each game of the tournament.

"Monday, we stood toe-to-toe with Bernie. We came right back the next day and played a tough Woodland team; they have some very good players," he said. "We hit the ball in that game like I've never seen them hit before. We didn't have a lot of official hits, but we caused a lot of errors because we were hitting. Tonight...when you get steamrolled by a good team, you just get steamrolled by a good team."

"The girls are still in it; they're getting better about overcoming mistakes and staying in games," Morse added. "That's the biggest thing we're working on. Even there at the end, we were still hitting, still in to it. They are coming together as a team, and this is something that I hope the girls can build on."

Stevenson and Maddy Christian were both 1-1 at the plate for the Lady 'Cats; Stevenson also plated the Bearcats' only run of the game.

Kelsi Sturgeon led the Hornets' offensive attack, going 3-4 with four RBI's and four runs scored.

Dexter will be back in action Friday (April 20) when they take the field in the opening round of the Bernie Invitational Tournament.

Photos Above:
Top: Head coach Leonard Morse addresses the team before Thursday's SCAA Tournament championship game.
Bottom: Kendra Stevenson winds up for a pitch during the first inning.

CREVE COUER - Former Bearcat athlete and Chaminade standout Matthew Greer has signed to play college football for the Bulldogs of Drake University.

Greer departed Dexter to follow his father's career to the St. Louis area. Quickly making the adjustment to the metro area, he joined the strong football program of coach John Davis at Chaminade College Prep School.

A naturally gifted athlete, Greer was extremely focused on extending God-given abilities and overcoming the obstacles of his small stature and average speed. His goal was to not only compete, but to prove that he had the ability to become a competitive player at the high level of St. Louis-area high school football.

With countless hours in the weight room, a strict diet program and a dedicated training regimen, everyone started to see a significant change in his overall size and quickness.

During his career at Chaminade, Greer became known throughout the St. Louis region as the dangerous 5'9", 185 pound wide receiver that could not only catch, but could also hold his own while blocking linebackers and defensive ends. His concentration and sharp pass routes allowed him to find open areas on the field, burning opponents while making difficult receptions look easy.

His commitment to the game marked his character. His perseverance to overcome his limitations set him apart and helped him earn First Team All-Metro Catholic honors in the highly competitive St. Louis region. Greer's work ethic proved to be one of his greatest assets in high school. On any given day or night, it was easy to find him at the field catching passes with former Chaminade teammate and Boston College quarterback, Christian Suntrup.

Drake University is a private, fully accredited, coeducational university in Des Moines, Iowa; the school is consistently recognized as one of the very best universities in the Midwest for academic excellence. The Bulldogs compete at the NCAA Division I FCS level (formerly known as Division I-AA) as members of the Pioneer Football League, where they face off against opponents such as Butler, Valparaiso, Morehead State, and Jacksonville University.

"The football program is a very family team oriented group", Greer said. "I'm honored to have this opportunity to continue my football career as a Bulldog."

Finishing 9-2 overall in the 2011 season and 7-1 in the Pioneer Leage, the Bulldogs enter the 2012 season with high hopes of defending their PFL co-championship. Drake's only conference loss last year came on the road at the University of San Diego with a 31-24 final score.

The Bulldogs will return their 2011 Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Year and quarterback, Mike Piatkowski. The Bulldogs will bring back six total starters on offense, as well as six more on the defensive side of the ball from the 2011 campaign.

While most freshmen face the high probability of a redshirt season Greer's tenacious attitude toward achieving his goals, you never know what the 2012 season might hold in store for him.

The Greer family will travel to Des Moines, Iowa this weekend to participate in the Bulldogs' Blue-White Game and Youth Day. Drake opens the 2012 season on August 30th at home against the Grand View Vikings, an NAIA program also located in Des Moines.

Greer comes from a long line of quality Dexter athletes. The Greer | Espey | Hunter family was unique and were all driven competitors. This family of athletes provided great sports memories for Bearcat fans throughout the 70's and 80's, capturing many conference, district and all-state honors throughout their careers.  

Matt is the son of Matt and Lisa Greer, formerly of Dexter, residing in Creve Cour, Missouri.  He has one sister, Gabrielle, and one younger brother, Marcus.  His proud grandparents are Beverly Hunter and Gary and Judy Crump. 

Greer is the type of young man that we should all follow, encourage and become a fan. His enthusiasm for life and desire for excellence is contagious. His qualities will be a great addition to the Drake Bulldog football program.