By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

BONNE TERRE, Mo. - After a big 6-0 win over Sikeston to open the Team District tournament, the Bearcats moved on to face the North County Raiders on Tuesday afternoon.

The 'Cats battled hard on the court, but ultimately fell 3-5 to the Raiders to be eliminated from the tournament.

Tyler Miller picked up a 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 win in his singles match against Connor McBride; Miller came back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set to get the win.

Sam Ward fell 1-6 in the first set of his singles match against Lucas Rodgers, but fought back with a 6-2, 6-1 effort in the second and third sets to take the match. Jacob Robinson picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win over Josh Ruble to round out the Bearcats' win column.

Noah Kronk fell to Paul Luebbers in two sets; the DHS freshman was able to force tiebreak games against his senior opponent in both sets of the 5-7, 5-7 singles loss.

In Doubles action, Miller and Ward fell to McBride and Rodgers in a 2-6, 4-6 decision.

Kyle Willis and Joseph Greer forced three sets against Alex Lodholz and Peter Hickman, but ultimately fell 2-6, 7-5, 3-6.

The Bearcats will return to post-season play on Saturday (May 12) afternoon, when they travel to Potosi for the Individual District tournament.

Photo Above: Sam Ward picked up a 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Lucas Rodgers in his singles match. (SMT file photo by Andrew Cato)

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

WASHINGTON, Mo. - After making the cut at Districts, the best area high school golfers converged at Franklin County Country Club to compete in Sectional competition. Finishing above the cut here would punch a ticket to the State competition, held at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, Mo.

The Bearcats were well-represented by freshman Drake Mitchell, sophomore Myles Urhahn, and senior Cody Stevens.

With the cut set at 87 strokes, Stevens would be the only Bearcat to advance after shooting a 79. The senior had been through the stress of sectional competition before, and noted that things didn't start off so well in his round.

"I started out four-over after three holes and thought it was going to be a horrible day," Stevens said. "I went to the van during the rain delay to change my shirt and hat, and then I started playing better. I just played my game, played stress-free and just had fun. You've just got to thank God for the great round after that."

"It was better than the 83 I had at Dalhousie," Stevens said of his score. "It was just one of those days where I couldn't putt; I didn't have my putter at districts, either."

Urhahn would barely miss the cut with an 89, and Mitchell ended his day on the course with a 107.

Stevens will advance to the Class 3 State Championship, held at Rivercut Golf Club in Springfield, Mo., on May 14-15.

Photo Above: Stevens prepares to tee off during a practice round earlier this season. The senior will be the only Bearcat golfer in the MSHSAA Class 3 State Championship next week. (SMT file photo by Andrew Cato)

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)