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Ullin, Illinois - Freshman righthander Brad Potts had the John A. Logan College hitters off stride all day as the host Shawnee College Saints upended the Volunteers Wednesday afternoon, 4-2, in Region 24 play.
Potts allowed only two runs on eight hits. The Dexter, Mo. native struck out four and walked three. He induced 14 flyball outs. The Volunteers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Walker Owens singled in Tanner Scott, who had doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball.
Logan extended its lead to 2-0 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of John Tolliver, driving in Zach Ditto, who had reached on an error and advanced on two bunts. That would be the last time JALC would dent the scoring column.
Vols’ sophomore pitcher John Schram tossed two scoreless innings to start the game Wednesday against Shawnee. Schram is back from Tommy John surgery. (Logan Media Services photo by Jon LeBlond)
The Saints scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the fifth off reliever Kyle Schneider in his third inning of work. Sophomore Pete Plesko of Anna walked. Brent Taylor, also of Anna, bunted him to second. Another walk, this one to Alex McRaven of Anna, left runners on first and second with one out.
Schneider managed to strike out Cody Gilbert for the second out, but Carterville native Daniel Allen followed with an RBI single. Logan centerfielder Joba Ferrell’s ill-advised throw home allowed both McRaven and Allen to move up to second and third on the play. Ethan Browning then singled home both runners to give Shawnee the lead at 3-2. An error by rightfielder Jamal Fletcher led to the Saints’ fourth and final run.
The Vols loaded the bases in the top of the ninth off Potts, but failed to score as Jacob Carpenter flied out to deep left to end the game.
Logan freshman Zach Ditto slides back safely and head first into first base on a pickoff move Wednesday at Shawnee College. (Logan Media Services photo by Jon LeBlond)
“Give Shawnee (5-0 at home, 10-3 overall) credit. They’ve beaten everyone they’ve played here at home,” said a disappointed Logan head coach Jerry Halstead. “Coach (Greg) Shepard’s done a great job. They were the better team today. They made all the plays. We played some bad baseball. We made errors in the field. We didn’t hit with runners in scoring position. And we couldn’t throw strikes in the fifth inning. When you walk batters, that’s a recipe for disaster.”
On the positive side for Logan, sophomore John Schram, tossed two scoreless innings to start the game as he continues his trek back from Tommy John surgery and freshman Ryan Dunne retired all nine batters he faced in the sixth through eighth innings.
Offensively, Tanner Scott and Carpenter each collected two hits. Defensively, Ditto made two sparkling plays at second base ranging far to his left.
The Vols are now 13-10 overall and are scheduled to play a single game at 3 p.m. today at Olney. It’s the start of a three-game series between the top two teams in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference. Logan also hosts Olney for two on Saturday beginning at noon.
Article by John A Logan College News - BY JOHN D. HOMAN, Logan Media Services
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Dexter, Missouri – The Lady ‘Cats won their home opener despite the wind, rain and cold temperatures. It felt more like football weather than spring softball weather. Dexter overcame a 5-1 deficit to win 6-5 in the seventh inning. The girls owned the 6the inning when they scored four runs.
Dexter jumped out with a 1-0 lead, but the Hornets fought back and scored 5 runs.
“We were down 5-1 going into the bottom of the 6th,” commented head softball coach Chris Bolin. ”The girls put together a great comeback and had some really good at bats in that inning to tie the game up.”
Kendra Stevenson was credited with her second win of the season. The Lady ‘Cats defeated Bloomfield on Tuesday by a score of 20-6 in Bloomfield.
“Kendra did a great job,” continued Bolin. “She had a really good command and as the game went on she seemed to get stronger. She was able to work out of some of the situations which helped keeping us in the game early on.”
The final inning had Ashley Brown hitting a single putting her in the perfect spot to bring home the winning run. Kendra Stevenson hit a single, advancing Brown to second base. Amber Spence grounded out,but advancing the girls to second and third. With the first out of the inning Dakota Silliman hit a ground ball just shy of the outfield allowing Brown to score getting their second win of the season.
“We executed very well in the bottom of the seventh by getting the first two girls on and then Amber Spence had a great at bat by moving the runners over to second and third,” stated Bolin. “Dakota came up with 1 out and did exactly what we had talked about as a team and she hit a hard ground ball to score Ashley, which was the game winner.”
Kendra Stevenson had 12 strike outs and gave up 5 hits. She is 2-0 on the season.
Halley Sielert has a great game at bat. She finished 3 for 3.
The Lady ‘Cats will travel to Woodland on Friday. Game time 4:30 p.m.
Final Score Dexter 6 Advance 5
Advance 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 - 5 6 5
Dexter 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 - 6 9 0
WP - Kendra Stevenson. LP - Hannah Clark. 2B - Clark (A). Multiple hits - Dexter: Ashley Brown 2-4, Halley Sielert 3-3; Advance: Clark 3-3.
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Jackson, Missouri – The Dexter High School Track Team had their season opener on Tuesday after being rescheduled due to weather on Monday. Overall the boys tied for third place with Saxony Lutheran. Jackson came in first with Notre Dame second and Cape Central game in last. The girls finished third behind Jackson and Cape Central.
"I thought our teams performed well for our first meet," commented head track coach Greg Lummukka. "It's good to get some times or distances in the books, so our athletes can set some goals as we look to improve our performances each and every time we step onto the track and field."
Individually, MaKayla Waldner and Melanie McKuin had a tremendous day. After placing second in the state with their basketball teammates over the weekend in Columbia, they came out ready to tackle running, jumping and hurdling. McKuin placed 3rd in 100 meter, 2nd in the 200 meter, and 3rd in the triple jump.
Waldner earned first place in 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, and first place in high jump with a personal best of 5’2”.
Top Finishers in Boys from Dexter were:
400 Relay – Dexter placed second with a time of 51.90 Team: Carson Dean, Dalton Rickel, Austin Mitchell, and Dylan Bazarian
800 Relay – Dexter placed second with a time of 1:43.30 Team: Carson Dean, Dalton Rickel, Houston Burnett, and Dylan Bazarian
100 Meter - Dylan Bazarian - 4th place with a time of 12.26
Triple Jump – Dalton Rickle placed second 34-7 ½
Top Finishers in Girls from Dexter were:
100 Meter – Melanie McKuin 3rd place with a time of 13.60
200 Meter – Melanie McKuin 2nd place with a time of 29.76
800 Meter – Kelsi Wood 3rd place with a time of 2:47
100 Hurdles – MaKayla Waldner – 1st place 16.16,
Chandler Crowley 2nd place 17.89
300 Hurdles – MaKayla Waldner – 1st place 48.26
400 Relay – Dexter placed 2nd with a time of 56.89 Team: MaKayla Waldner, Julia Hahn, Taylor Ivy, and Melanie McKuin
3,200 Relay – Dexter placed 3rd with a time of 12:04 Team: Hailee Anderson, Shania Case, Madison McConnell, and Kelsi Wood.
Triple Jump – Melanie McKuin placed 3rd 29-11 ½
High Jump – MaKayla Waldner – 1st place 5-2
Chandler Crowley – 2nd place 4-10
"This is a good group of young people to work with so far, their effort and attitude has been very good in the early part of the year, and I am looking forward to seeing tremendous improvement with us being a young team," continued Lummukka.
Congratulations to all of the participants! The Track Team will be back on the road on Saturday when they travel to the Notre Dame Track Meet in Cape Girardeau. Go Bearcats!!!
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Little Rock, Arkansas - Chance Holden finished tied for 11th place to lead the Arkansas State men’s golf team at the UALR/First Tee Classic, which concluded Tuesday with the Red Wolves finishing eighth among 14 teams.
Arkansas State shot a final-round 315 today at the Chenal Country Club, giving it a three-round 918 total. The Red Wolves posted a 303 and 300 for the first and second rounds, respectively, to end the tournament’s initial 36 holes tied for seventh place.
While A-State dropped one place in the final standings Tuesday, three Red Wolves improved their standing. Holden remained tied for 11th place, but Sean Brock jumped seven places to tied for 31st, Seth Garner climbed three spots to tied for 46th and Brayden Brown moved from 63rd place to tied for 51st.
Holden finished the tournament with a 226, including an opening-round 71 that was the lowest score of the tournament by an A-State player. He came back to record a 76 for the second 18 holes and carded a final-round 79.
Easton Key followed Holden with a 231, which placed him in a tie for 31st with teammate Brock. Key entered today’s final round tied for 14th place, but fell in the standings after posting an 83 that followed his 74 for each of the opening two rounds. Brock shot an 80-73-78 to match Key’s total.
Garner shot a final-round 80 and Brown a 78 to move up in the standings on the final day. Garner concluded the tournament with a 235 total, while Brown was only one stroke behind with a 236.
The Red Wolves finished ahead of Northern Iowa, Nebraska-Omaha, UALR, Oral Roberts, Abilene Christian and Southern Illinois. A-State ended the tournament just two strokes behind sixth-place Stephen F. Austin and UT Martin and within seven of fifth-place Missouri State. Louisiana-Monroe claimed the tournament championship with an 889, while Sam Houston State finished runner-up with an 893 and McNeese State third with an 895.
Arkansas State returns to action March 31-April 1 at the Memphis Intercollegiate. It will then host the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate April 7-8 before competing in the Sun Belt Conference Championships April 21-23.
ARKANSAS STATE RESULTS
Place, Name (RD 1-RD 2-RD 3--TOTAL)
8, Arkansas State (303-300-315--918)
T11, Chance Holden (71-76-79--226)
T31, Easton Key (74-74-83--231)
T31, Sean Brock (80-73-78--231)
T46, Seth Garner (78-77-80--235)
T51, Brayden Brown (81-77-78--236)
Way to go Chance!! We are so proud of you and your accomplishments!!
Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor
Malden, Missouri - The Dexter Bearcat baseball team got off to a fantastic start of the 2014 season with a win over the Green Wave of Malden. Malden earned the first run in the second inning and it was not until the fourth inning before Dexter answered with a run of the their own.
Jason Mattison pitched the first three innings for Dexter. He struck out four, walked three and only allowed one run. Colton Averett pitched the fourth and fifth innings allowing one run and was credited with the victory. Garrett Keathley came in with the save striking out five of the Green Wave.
The fifth inning belonged to the Bearcats with three runs. Dalton Manuel scored first, followed by D.J. Dowdy and Austin Aldridge to bring the score to 4-2.
“I was proud of my kids,” commented Becker. “We played decent ball. We did some stuff that made us look like we were playing our first game of the season and at other times we did things that made it look like we knew what we were doing. Anytime you get a win it is a good thing so I am proud of the kids and they way the way they cam back today.”
Malden scored again in the sixth, but it was not enough to defeat the Bearcats!
Shown in the photo is senior D.J. Dowdy behind the plate catching for the Dexter Bearcats.
Final Score Dexter 4 Malden 3
Malden 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 - 3 8 3
Dexter 0 0 0 1 3 0 X - 4 6 2
WP - Colton Averett. LP - Toby Miller. SV - Garrett Keathley. 2B - D.J. Dowdy (D), Garrett Potts (M). Multiple hits - Dexter: Dowdy 2-3; Malden: Potts 3-4.
