By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Bearcat tennis team responded to a disappointing loss to Cape Central with a sweep of the Sikeston Bulldogs on Wednesday afternoon.

The 'Cats picked up a 9-0 win in the Varsity-only contest.

Tyler Miller, Noah Kronk, and Jacob Robinson all blanked their respective opponents in singles competition; Kronk and Robinson also picked up an 8-0 win in doubles.

Miller and partner Sam Ward defeated James Hines and Mark Jones 8-2 in doubles, while Kyle Willis and Joseph Greer picked up an 8-1 win over Alex Hahn and Sydney Gadberry.

The 'Cats will be on the court again Tuesday (May 1), when they travel to Sikeston for a 4:00 p.m. rematch with the Bulldogs.

In most streams south of the Missouri River, black bass season will open May 26, 2012, until that date all black bass in those streams must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. For details see Chapter 6 of the Wildlife Code.

PLEASE CHECK REGULATIONS CAREFULLY: Special regulations may apply to designated portions of water bodies; some baits and lures may not be legal for all portions.

SOUTHEAST REGION (573) 290-5858

LAKES

Clearwater Lake: 72 degrees, normal, clear; crappie fair on jigs and minnows; black bass fair on spinnerbaits and crankbaits; bluegill fair on live worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Council Bluff Lake: 66 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass good on dark colored soft plastics; crappie fair on jigs and minnows; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Cypress Lake: 62 degrees, normal, dingy; bluegill and redear sunfish good on jigs, crickets and worms in 1 - 3' depths; crappie fair on minnows and jigs in 1 - 2' depths, mostly smaller fish being caught right now; largemouth bass fair on minnows and jigs incidental to crappie fishing, and plastic worms in 1 - 3' depths; channel catfish fair on worms and stinkbait in 2 - 3' depths. (Report made on 4/26/2012)

Duck Creek CA Pool 1: 65 degrees, high, clear; bluegill and warmouth sunfish fair on crickets and jigs; largemouth bass and chain pickerel fair on spinnerbaits; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Lake Girardeau: normal, clear; bluegill and redear sunfish good on crickets; channel catfish fair on worms; all other species fair. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Perry County Lake: 64 degrees, clear; crappie good on jigs; redear sunfish good on worms; black bass fair on spinnerbaits; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Robert DeLaney Lake: normal, crappie fair on jigs and minnows; channel catfish fair on stinkbaits; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Wappapello Lake: 64 degrees, rising, crappie good on minnows and jigs; channel catfish good on trotlines and jug lines using live bait at night; black bass fair on crankbaits and plastic worms; bluegill fair on crickets; all other species slow. Anglers should note the 9" minimum length limit regulation for crappie on Wappapello Lake. Call the Wappapello Lake Recreation Hotline for updates at 573-222-8139. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

RIVERS

Black River (above Clearwater Lake): 60 degrees, normal, clear; smallmouth bass (catch and release only) and goggle-eye fair on tube baits and live minnows; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/26/2012)

Black River (below Clearwater Lake): 70 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish good on live bait and cut bait; crappie good on jigs and minnows; black bass good on jigs and minnows (season closed, catch and release only); all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Castor River (above Zalma): normal, clear; all species fair. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Mississippi River (middle): falling, muddy; channel catfish fair on worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Mississippi River (Ohio River to Arkansas): normal, muddy; channel catfish fair on beef liver and cut baits; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

St. Francis River (above Wappapello): normal, dingy; channel catfish good on live bait; black bass (season closed until May 26th) good on minnows and jigs; redear sunfish good on crickets; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

St. Francis River (below Wappapello): 61 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish fair on liver, large minnows and stinkbaits; crappie fair using chartreuse tube jigs and minnows; all other species slow. (Report made on 4/25/2012)

Anglers are invited to send pictures of their catch to the ShowMe Times - simply email a photo to SMT Sports Editor Andrew Cato, including your name, where the fish was caught, the species of the fish, and - if you care to share - what bait you were using!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BLOOMFIELD - The Lady Bearcats defeated Bloomfield in a run rule contest to open the SCAA Tournament last week.

They did it again on Wednesday afternoon.

The 'Cats had another outstanding day at the plate and cruised to an easy 26-6 victory over the Wildcats to improve to 10-6 on the season.

Riley Rickman was on the hill for the Lady 'Cats; the sophomore right-hander gave up five hits, six runs (all earned), and nine walks while striking out six in the win. Rickman made up for runs she gave up with an outstanding day at the plate, going 4-4 with three runs scored, five RBI's, and a walk.

The 'Cats hammered Bloomfield starter Summer Griffin early and often, racking up 10 runs in the first inning. Rickman drove in two runs with a one-out single; catcher Tiffany Watson followed up with a single to re-load the bases. Whitney Layton drove an RBI single to left-center during her second at-bat.

The Wildcats struck for three runs in the bottom half of the first inning; Stephanie Lambert drove an RBI single to left field to cut Dexter's lead to 10-3.

Becky Anderson, who was issued a leadoff walk, was driven in by a ground-rule double from Maddie Christian; Ashley Brown and Whitney Layton both took home on pass-balls to increase the lead to 14-3. Emily Triplett smacked an inside-the-park home run to right field to plate the final run of the inning.

Lambert came through with an RBI double in the bottom of the second for Bloomfield's only run in the inning, but the Lady 'Cats still held a big 15-4 lead.

The top of the third was the only inning the Lady 'Cats didn't go through the lineup; Layton crossed home plate after tagging up on a Triplett fly-out. Rickman connected on a deep triple for her fourth RBI of the game to put the score at 19-4.

The Wildcats were able to score in the bottom of the third to avoid the 15-run rule, but the Lady 'Cats drove in seven more runs in the top of the fourth inning to put the game out of reach and pick up a 26-6 victory in four innings of play.

The Lady 'Cats will be back in action on Thursday, when they hit the road for a 4:30 p.m. contest at Senath-Hornersville.

Photo Above: Emily Triplett slides home safely under a tag to cap off her inside-the-park home run during the second inning of Wednesday's 26-6 win.

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.