The West Kentucky United U-14 girls soccer team won the Music City Invitational Tournament. Pictured from left to right in the front row: Bailey Wood (Marshall County), Macy Wessel (Massac County, IL), Allie Fiske (Marshall County), Callie Thomas (Graves County), Allye Darnell (Graves County), Kaitlin "Cookie" Cook (Marshall County), Julie Kinsolving (Caldwell County) and Skylar Hargrove (Graves County). Back row: Coach Aaron Fenton (Mid Continent University Assistant Coach), Ashley Zimmerman (Lone Oak), MaKayla Waldner (Dexter, MO), Linda Arakelyan (Murray), Liz Armstrong (Murray), Bailee Bostick (Mayfield), Anna Ferguson (Hickman County), Erica Zetter (Mayfield) and Hannah Bowles (Caldwell County). Congratulations!
Photo submitted by Lou Zimmerman.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Seeds and schedules for the 2012 SEMO Conference baseball tournament have been released; the Dexter Bearcats' 5-3 record in conference play was good enough to nab the fifth seed, which speaks volumes about the outstanding baseball within the conference this year.

"This conference is as tough as it's ever been. From town to town, there is good baseball all over southeast Missouri. The conference is as good as I've ever seen it this year," head coach Brian Becker said earlier this season. "It's going to be really tough to seed this tournament. It's going to be really interesting to see who has who where; it's going to be a fun tournament with some good baseball."

To further prove the parity within the conference, #4 Sikeston beat #1 Notre Dame 10-7 on Tuesday (April 24) night; the victory didn't have any bearing on the Bulldogs seeding, however, as the teams were seeded Monday evening.

The Bearcats' three conference losses came to #1 Notre Dame, #2 Kennett, and #3 Poplar Bluff by a combined four runs. Dexter holds wins over #4 Sikeston (5-4), #6 Cape Central (6-2), #7 Jackson (6-5), #8 NMCC (1-0), and #9 Kelly (13-1).

The Bearcats will open the tournament on Friday, when they play #4 Sikeston at the Sikeston Legion field; if the Bearcats win, they will play Saturday (April 28) at Notre Dame High School in an 11:00 a.m. contest. If the 'Cats fall to Sikeston, they will play Saturday in a 10:00 a.m. contest at Cape Central High School.

Championship Day will be Monday (April 30), with all games played at Capaha Park starting with the fifth place game at 2:00 p.m.

The full schedule for the 2012 SEMO Conference Tournament can be downloaded here.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DHS Tennis team fell on hard times Monday when they hosted the Cape Central Tigers.

The Tigers were dominant on the courts, and pulled off a complete sweep of the Bearcats on both the JV and Varsity levels.

Kyle Willis and Joseph Greer put up the best match of the day in Varsity doubles, where they faced off against Alvaro Jaramillo and Jake Wright. The Dexter duo fell 8-9 after losing a 2-7 tiebreak.

Keaton Altom dropped a 5-8 decision to Austin Shupert in Varsity singles; Willis and Sam Ward both found themselves on the losing end of 4-8 contests.

The 'Cats will return to the court on Wednesday (April 25), when they host the Sikeston Bulldogs in a 4:00 p.m. match.

Photo above: Drew Mason returns a shot during his singles match against Ryan Watts on Monday afternoon.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Both the Bearcats and the Tigers scored all of their runs in one respective inning, thanks to errors committed by the opposing team.

The Bearcats were able to come out on top in a 6-2 contest over SEMO Conference foe Cape Central on Monday afternoon.

Jordan Miller (1-1, 2.39 ERA) went the distance for the Bearcats, including four K's and two walks. Freshman Chase Hagerty took the start for the Tigers and lasted five and 2/3 innings. Luke Hinkebein closed out the game and took the loss.

The 'Cats were three up, three down in each of the first three innings. The Tigers struck for two runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to errors and third base and shortstop by the Bearcats.

Chase Young delivered a two-out single in the top of the fourth, but the 'Cats couldn't capitalize on their first baserunner of the day. Miller retired the Tigers in order in the bottom half of the inning to keep the score at 2-0 in Central's favor.

The 'Cats were three-up, three down in the top of the fifth; Ethan Dambach led off with a single for the tigers in the bottom half of the inning, but was caught stealing second for the first out of the inning. A groundout and flyout moved the game to the sixth.

A leadoff walk to Owen Flowers in the sixth inning would prove fruitful for the Bearcats. Flowers advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and was brought home by a two-out single from Brad Potts to start the rally. Central's infield imploded during the inning, giving up three runs on errors. Josh Overall and Owen Flowers hit back-to-back singes to plate one and two respective runs and put the 'Cats up 6-2.

After a leadoff single by Ramsey Scott, Miller forced two flyouts and a fielder's choice to escape the sixth inning with a four-run lead.

The 'Cats couldn't put anything together in the top of the seventh inning, but Miller retired the Tigers in order to seal a 6-2 victory for the Bearcats.

Potts led the way at the plate for the 'Cats with a 2-4 effort. He also scored a run and had an RBI. Flowers was 1-2 with a run, an RBI, and a walk.

The 'Cats will be in action again on Friday afternoon, when they face off against Sikeston in the opening round of the 2012 SEMO Conference Tournament.

The game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start from the Sikeston Legion field.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

A seven-run effort in the bottom of the second inning would be all the offensive production the Lady Bearcats would need to seal a victory over the Caruthersville Lady Tigers on Monday afternoon; the eight other runs were just icing on the cake in the 15-1 run-rule contest.

"Our girls came out hitting. After we had a tough game with Bernie on Friday in the [Bernie Tournament], we had to come back a couple times, and the girls kept fighting," head coach Leonard Morse said after the game. "Even though today, we were only down by one run, our girls are not letting that get to their heads. They continue to fight and get over those obstacles and deficits; they don't let it get in their head and getting down like we did early in the season."

"We're really focused and playing well," Morse said of his team's progress. "We played great defense today. Our girls knew what we needed to do to win today, and they came out and did it."

Riley Rickman took the start for the Lady 'Cats; the sophomore right-hander gave up two hits and struck out six, but walked four in the win. Morse was quick to note how much Rickman has improved over the season, especially with confidence on the mound.

"Riley is getting more and more comfortable on the mound, and thats why I'm using her as much as I have been lately," he said. "Some games may not be as tight as others, but the bottom line is that she's getting experience and every time she's pitching she's getting better. She's become a lot better pitcher as the season has gone on."

Rickman has also shown great strides with her stamina throughout the year, and has been able to go much deeper into games as the season has progressed.

"Her stamina is improving; she's thrown a lot of innings and a lot of pitches," Morse said. "She's developed into a good pitcher, which is good because we'll rely heavily on her next year."

Kendra Stevenson mustered the only hit for the Lady 'Cats in the bottom of the first inning. Tiffany Watson was driven in by an RBI single from Taylor Owens to kick off the big second inning rally for the Lady 'Cats. Mattie Christian and Emily Triplett both had RBI extra-base hits in the inning.

Rickman worked out of a big jam in the third inning; with two outs, Rickman issued three walks before forcing a groundout to get out of the inning.

A leadoff walk was issued to Owens in the bottom of the third; Diana Gilliam and Ashley Brown both reached base on singles when Whitney Layton stepped up to the plate. Layton drove a ball to right-center to score a three RBI double, and then advanced home after two infield errors on the play to increase Dexter's lead to 11-1.

An RBI double from Brown in the bottom of the fourth drove in Gilliam to plate the winning run and seal the final score at 15-1.

Gilliam led the way at the plate for the Lady 'Cats, going 3-3 with 3 RBI's. Owens went 2-2 with 2 RBI and a walk, while Layton was 2-4 with 4 RBI.

The Lady Bearcats will be back in action again on Wednesday afternoon, when they hit the road to take on the Bloomfield Wildcats in a 4:00 p.m. contest. Dexter already holds a 16-6 victory over Bloomfield during last week's SCAA Tournament.

Photos Above:
Top: Whitney Layton drives in three runs with a double in the bottom of the third; after a pair of errors on the throw, Layton crossed home plate.
Bottom: Riley Rickman struck out six batters and gave up just two hits in the 15-1 win.