By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The Tennis 'Cats opened the Class 1, District 1 team tournament with a resounding 6-0 victory over the Sikeston Bulldogs on Monday afternoon.

The match is handled a little differently in District play; instead of the single eight-game match played during the season, two six-set games are played, with a tie-breaking third game played if necessary. Additionally, singles are played first in District play, rather than the doubles-first layout of regular season matches.

Senior Tyler Miller, in his last match on Dexter's home court, put up a 6-0, 6-0 shutout over Sikeston's Josiah Bill. Varsity No. 2 Sam Ward won his match 6-1, 6-2.

Jacob Robinson blanked Adam Smith 6-0, 6-0, while Freshman Noah Kronk picked up a 6-0, 6-1 win over Alex Hahn.

After picking up six wins in singles, the 'Cats already had the match won, so doubles weren't played. The 'Cats will be back on the court today, when they travel to North County in Semifinal action.

The match is set for a 4:00 p.m. start.

Photo Above: Noah Kronk returns a shot during his 6-0, 6-1 victory over Alex Hahn during Monday's Team District competition.

The Dexter Bearcats will have to wait a few more days to close out the regular season.  

According to DHS Athletic Director Chuck Powers, today's contest against Portageville, originally scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start, has been postponed due to field conditions.

The game will be made up on Wednesday (May 9) at Portageville High School with a 3:00 p.m. start.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Fresh out of their third-place finish in the 2012 SEMO Conference Tournament, the Dexter Bearcats hosted a three-team 'round robin' doubleheader on Saturday (May 5). The 'Cats split the games, with a win over Cooter and a loss to Clearwater.

In the first game, the 'Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI singles from Chase Young and Alex Cliff. The Wildcats tacked on a run in the top of the second, but Brad Potts drove home Daniel Fitts with a two-out single in the home half of the inning.

Neither team scored in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, but the sixth inning saw both teams put together big rallies. The Wildcats capitalized on two errors by the DHS infield to tie the game at 3-3, but an RBI single from Potts, a sac-fly from Young, and a two RBI single from Cliff saw the 'Cats back in the lead with a 7-3 advantage.

Cooter catcher Dustin Franklin delivered a two-run shot in the top of the seventh, but it would be all the offense the Wildcats could muster, and the Bearcats took a 7-5 victory.

Miller took the start for the 'Cats, striking out four batters in four innings of work. Potts got the win for Dexter, striking out and walking three in three innings.



In game two, the Bearcats faced off against the Clearwater Tigers; senior Josh Overall took the start for the 'Cats.

The Tigers jumped on Overall early with a leadoff home run that sparked a five run inning. An RBI single from Miller was all that the 'Cats could put together in the bottom of the first, and they trailed 5-1 heading into the second.

Overall retired the Tigers in order in the top of the second inning; in the bottom of the inning, he was stranded on first base after drawing a leadoff walk. The Tigers jumped for four runs in the top of the third to knock Overall out of the game; Potts took to the mound in relief, but the Tigers held a commanding 9-1 lead.

The Bearcats struck for three runs in the fifth inning; a leadoff single from Potts and a double from Miller - the Bearcats' only extra-base hit of the game - set up a sac fly for Cliff. D.J. Dowdy followed up with an RBI single, and Cody Neldon drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring the score to 9-4.

After a scoreless top of the sixth, the 'Cats tacked on one more run on an RBI single from Dowdy, but the Tigers struck for one more run in the top of the seventh inning. The Bearcats couldn't put together any offense in the seventh to end the game with an 10-5 loss.

Cliff had a solid all-around effort at the plate for the Bearcats, going 3-6 with four RBI's on the day, while Miller ended the day going 4-6 with one RBI and one run scored. Potts ended the day with a 4-7 effort at the plate, including two RBI's and four runs scored.

The Bearcats stand at 15-7 on the season, and will be in action again on Monday (May 7) when they close the regular season at Portageville.

The game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start, weather permitting; Owen Flowers (4-1, 2.51 ERA) will get the start for the 'Cats.



Photo Above: Bearcat seniors (from left) Josh Overall, Daniel Fitts, Alex Cliff, and Owen Flowers were honored during 'Senior Day' on Saturday afternoon. (Photo submitted by Kay Stevenson)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DHS Tennis team closed the regular season with a 6-4 record after a victory over the Poplar Bluff Mules on Friday afternoon.

The 'Cats split the match with Poplar Bluff, with Dexter earning a 5-4 victory in Varsity competition, while Poplar Bluff took the JV match 1-6.

Varsity No. 1 Tyler Miller took an 8-1 decision over Cody Hillis; No. 2 Sam Ward picked up an 8-2 win over Dylan Page. Miller and Ward also picked up an 8-0 win in their doubles match.

Kyle Willis found himself on top of an 8-5 contest in singles; he and doubles partner Joseph Greer won a 9-7 contest over Dylan Page and Paremaseer Hundal.

In JV action, Zach Simms picked up the lone victory for the Bearcats; Drew Mason and Brooks Probst found themselves on the losing end of thrilling 5-7 singles matches.

The 'Cats will be in action again this week, when they battle for the team District Championship and compete for individual district honors.

Photo Above: Joseph Greer delivers a serve during his 9-7 doubles win with partner Kyle Willis.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Players, coaches, and parents gathered to celebrate the successes of the Bearcats in the 2012 Spring Sports season on Thursday evening.

Softball coach Leonard Morse took the podium first; in his first season as head coach, the Lady Bearcats amassed a 12-8 record - one of the better records in recent years - including a third place finish in the inaugural 'Swing Pink' tournament and a second place finish in the SCAA Tournament.

"I want to thank the school for support, Dr. Sharp for attending our games, and the high school secretaries for helping with concession stands and media relations," Morse said. "My assistant coach Chris Bolin was a tremendous help; I couldn't have done it without him.

"This year was the first time since 2008 that we won 12 games. We did well in county play after struggling early in the season, he continued. "In the middle of the season, we won 9 of 10 games at one point."

Numbers were a little down this season, with just 11 girls on the squad, but Morse was proud of the girls he had for their hard work and dedication to the team.

"We only had 11 on the team, and there were several games we played with just nine girls available," Morse added. "They worked hard and put in the effort - proud of them for that."

Kendra Stevenson, with a .450 average, took home the Batting Award; Ashley Brown was voted to the Dedication Award, and Becky Anderson, who recently signed a Letter of Intent to pitch at Mineral Area College next year, was voted Team MVP. Anderson and Riley Rickman were also named to the SCAA All-Tournament Team.

Head track coach Jill King was up next, and thanked the school administrators and assistant coach Greg Lummukkua for their assistance throughout the season.

"I also wanted to thank the Booster Club for buying us new hurdles this season," King said, "and those that volunteered to help us at our home meet. Our parents had gave us great support and the kids worked hard for a great season."

The track team gives out one award that goes to a male and a female athlete for scoring the most points at meets; Zach Comstock and Taylor Martin earned the honor. King noted that Comstock scored in every meet this season in the long and triple jumps, while Martin tied the school record for the 200, and has only been defeated once this season in the 100 and 200.

Head tennis coach Leanne Dooley stepped to the podium next to honor the Men's Tennis team.

"I want to thank everyone who makes this program possible, and that's a lot of people," she said.

"A special thank to you the parents - we've actually had people attending our matches this season," Dooley added, laughing.

The team stands at 5-4 on the season in a noted 'rebuilding year' by Dooley. The team holds a first place finish in the doubles division at the Poplar Bluff Invitational Tournament, where DHS was the smallest participating school.

"This has been what you would call a rebuilding year; we have a lot of young players," she said. "Varsity has two players that are in their first year of playing competitive tennis."

The Team MVP award went to senior Tyler Miller, and was the only award given; Dooley noted that the other two awards - Most Singles Wins and Most Doubles Wins - were too close to call before Friday's match against Bluff.

Head coach Brian Becker closed out the banquet by honoring the baseball team; the Bearcats have a 14-6 record with three games to go before the District Tournament.

"Thanks to Dr. Sharp for coming to some of our games," he said. "I don't remember seeing a superintendent at games before. Also, thanks to Dexter Parks and Recreation for doing our pre-season field prep."

"We've had the best spring weather in the history of springs; 11 home games schedules and only had to move one," Becker continued. A big thanks to Coach Pixley and Coach Boyer. I'm not getting any younger and throwing BP is harder on me than it was; having Cody and his fresh arm out there is great."

The JV squad currently has a 5-6-1 record; Becker noted their steady improvement throughout the season.

"It's amazing how much these freshman improve over the year," he said. "Hopefully they'll come out this summer and work hard and keep improving."

"The Varsity is 14-6 so far; we've had some quality wins this year," Becker noted. "Oran and Scott City were big wins; we beat Sikeston twice, Poplar Bluff, Jackson, MICDS...it's always good to get a win over a private school. Five of our six losses are by a combined six runs."

"It's been a great season so far," he added. "It's been one of the most fun years I've had as a coach, and I've been at it for a long time. These kids know when to have fun and know when to work."

The 'Cats have four seniors on the roster this season - Alex Cliff, Josh Overall, Daniel Fitts, and Owen Flowers - and Becker had nothing but praise for the group.

"I really appreciate your work for all four years," he said. "They've worked hard, and I've loved coaching them for all four years."

The team gives out two awards - one for Batting Average and the Team MVP.

The Batting Average Award was a tight race between juniors Chase Young and Jordan Miller, but Young was able to narrowly take the award with a .426 mark.

Team MVP went to pitcher/first baseman Alex Cliff; the senior has a 3-2 record and a 2.33 ERA through 18 innings of work on the mound, and has yet to record an error at first base this season.

The golf team was unable to attend due to Friday's Sectional match, where Drake Mitchell, Myles Urhahn, and Cody Stevens will fight for a trip to State.

Booster Club member Kevin Bishop closed out the evening by giving out the annual Booster Club Scholarships; Tyler Miller, Dalton Putnam, and Sydnie Rinehart earned the honors.