A ShowMe Times Sports Report

It was a chilly afternoon , but the Lady Bearcats’ bats were hot as they travelled Thursday afternoon for a game against Bell City.

The Lady ‘Cats won 11-1 against the Cubs in five innings by the 10-run rule. A strong – but bundled for warmth – crowd of Dexter fans traveled to Bell City for the afternoon game.

Catcher Alec Jackson, leading off for the 'Cats, scored twice in the game – in the first and second innings. Jackson, a senior, recently signed a national letter of intent to play softball next year at Shawnee Community College in Ulin, Ill.

“Alec is a great leader for the team,” said coach Tammy Crowley. “She sets a competitive example and steps up to help us be a great team.”

Freshman Kendra Stevenson was on the mound for the Lady ‘Cats, and got her first varsity 'W' with the 11-1 win. Stevenson also chalked up 10 strikeouts during the match.

Stevenson and teammate Jerrica Wood both joined Jackson and scored twice - in the first and fourth innings.

The lone score for Bell City came in the final inning from Lindsey Rendlemen.

Crowley said it was a really cold game, but she was proud of the Dexter team.

“Kendra Stevenson pitched the entire game and is a freshman. I had four freshman playing on the field and another was the designated player/hitter. We have a very young team, but we are coming together nicely,” Crowley said.

Photo Above:
Freshman Kendra Stevenson pitched her first varsity baseball game Thursday, helping lead the Lady Bearcats to an 11-1 victory over Bell City.

Photo Below:
Despite a cold and dreary afternoon, a young Lady Bearcats squad came on strong Thursday, defeating the Bell City Cubs 11-1.

Photos submitted by Reader Kay Stevenson. Thanks, Kay!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

MALDEN, Mo. - Dexter’s Varsity baseball took to the diamond against the Malden Green Wave on Tuesday (March 23) afternoon. The offensive juggernaut of the Bearcats - Dexter has put at least 20 runs on the board in their first two contests - blew out Malden, ending the game with a 20-8 victory.


Owen Flowers took the start for the ‘Cats, and gave up four runs off eight hits during his four innings of work. Jordan Miller took over pitching duties for the ‘Cats in the fifth inning, and didn’t give up a run during his two innings. Josh Overall closed out the contest on the mound, but gave up four runs on four hits.


“Overall, I was pleased with the way we played,” Dexter head coach Brian Becker said. “Chase Young was out of the lineup today nursing an illness, but Daniel Fitts stepped up and filled in at shortstop for us - defensively, we played really well.”


Becker also expressed happiness with his team’s offensive ability early in the season, but noted that such lopsided scores would be difficult to consistently put out.

“Our bats are going real well right now,” Becker continued. “I was really pleased with how we swung our bats today. But you’d be a fool to think that this scoring barrage is going to continue all season long.”

‘Well’ could be an understatement for the Bearcats' offense right now. The ‘Cats had five players with multiple hits in the contest - Brad Potts and Alex Cliff both went four for five, both scored three runs, and had two and five RBI’s, respectively. Miller, Fitts, and Josh Sifford all went two for four at the plate, and all had at least one RBI - Fitts and Miller had three and two RBI’s, respectively.



The ‘Cats began and ended the game with big rallies - six runs in the first and eight runs in the seventh - with Alex Cliff hitting a booming solo shot in the fourth inning. Malden scored two runs in the opening frame, and either scored one run or didn’t score in each inning after until the seventh, where the Green Wave game up with a four-run rally.

After starting the season with two wins, the Bearcats will face a tough Kennett team in the home opener Wednesday (March 23) afternoon. Becker expressed concern with the Indians’ pitching staff, but seemed hopeful about his team’s chances for another ‘W’.


“We’re definitely going to run into a buzzsaw today - we have Kennett at home,” Becker commented. “[Kennett has] eight solid pitchers, and the one we’ll face is a flamethrower. We just have to come out, compete hard, and hopefully we can put the bat on the ball and our pitchers can keep us in the ballgame.”


First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. in Dexter’s home opener.

Photos above Top Photo: Bryn Hester readies his swing during Tuesday’s 20-8 blowout at Malden.
Bottom photo: Alex Cliff blasts a solo shot during the fourth inning. Cliff went 4-5 with 4 RBI’s on the day.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

DEXTER, Mo. - The Dexter Lady Bearcat softball team had its season opener Monday (March 21) afternoon against the Bernie Mules. Both squads competed hard in the contest, albeit a sloppy one - the two teams combined for 17 errors in the game - but the Lady ‘Cats came out on top, defeating the Mules 16-12.


Lefty Alec Jackson, who looks to be the team’s ace this season, took the mound for the Lady ‘Cats, and recorded four K’s on the day. Jackson, the lone senior on coach Tammy Crowley’s squad, also got four hits on the day.

Freshman Katie Baker started on the mound for the Mules, and recorded eight strikeouts in the contest.


The ‘Cats had a six-run rally in the second inning, and held a six-run lead going into the top of the fifth, but the Mules battled back. Bernie had a nine-run fifth inning and held a 10 to eight lead, but the ‘Cats answered with an eight-run spurt in the top of the fifth.


The Mules drove in another run in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Lady ‘Cats were able to weather the storm and come with a victory.



Bernie head coach Jeff Rodgers noted his team's lack of practice time, due to the Mules' run in the Show Me Showdown, but seemed optimistic about his squad's future.

"This wasn’t a pretty game for either side, but for the small amount of reps we've had in practice, we did some good things,” Rodgers said. “A couple bad innings on defense cost us, but it's early and we'll get better with experience.”

Rodgers took pride in the performance of his pitcher-catcher duo, despite their youth. “Katie Baker did a good job on the mound for the first game,” Rodgers continued, “and our catcher [Tori Lowrey] did a great job behind the plate, I thought. Pitching and defense will determine how well we do this year.”

The Lady ‘Cats will be in action again on Thursday (March 24), when they will take on the Bell City Cubs on the road. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m.

Photos above Top Photo: Alec Jackson fires a pitch during Monday’s game. The senior had a solid outing, recording four K’s and four hits on the day .
Bottom photo: Freshman Mollie Whitehead battles to keep her at-bat alive during the fourth inning of Monday’s 16-12 win against Bernie. .

Dexter resident Bryan Schmid got to see some racing action "up close and personal" at the Bristol Motor Speedway last week. Schmid had an opportunity to meet and talk to Trevor Bayne, winner of the Daytona 500, prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Schmid got to tour the Bass Pro Shop's crew area as well as Jamie McMurray's pit box.(Reader submitted photos from Bryan Schmid).

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Last year, in their first trip to the Final Four under coach Brad Botsch, the Bernie Mules lost to Sturgeon 82-80. In the team’s second consecutive trip to the ‘ship, the Mules would now face the Crane Pirates for the Class 2 State title. At the end of a very physical, back-and-forth game, the Mules again fell short, losing to Crane by 14 points.


“We competed hard, and I don’t think for a second that our kids didn’t compete hard,” Botsch said after the game. “Sometimes the big stage can be tough for the kids, and maybe some of the kids were a little bit timid from that. That’s just part of the game.[Crane’s] kids were probably the same way. I thought going in with our experience coming back that we’d find a way to get it done, but we just weren’t able to do it.”

Botsch noted Crane’s excellent inside defense, as well as the Pirates’ star guard Levi Cook, as key factors in the loss.

“We lost focus a little bit,” Botsch continued. “Three different trips down the floor I called our play ‘Motion Hound’, which is Jordan McGowan’s nickname, where we try to get the ball inside to [McGowan]. Three different trips, and we took alternate shots or did alternate things that we didn’t want.”


“We had to do a little bit of scrambling to figure out how to stop [Cook],” Botsch said of the junior. “We had four or five strategies to try to stop him, but that kid had an answer for every one of them, and hats off to him for that.”

Cook, a 6’ 1” junior, had 42 points and 15 rebounds for the Pirates in the game, and pointed out the Mules’ great full-court defense.

“They got out and pressured us all over the court - we usually don’t have that,” Cook said. “This was probably one of our first games of the year that we got full-court pressure the whole game. We came out a little slow, figured out how to go against it, and adjusted from there.”

Crane’s head coach Rob Guerin liked the quick tempo that both teams tried to establish during the contest, and noted the Mules’ rebounding ability.

“[It was a] very up-paced game today, that’s kind of the way we like it,” Guerin said. “I’m more confident when we are playing fast. We like it when teams try to press us, try to trap us. We can get transition buckets that way, maybe force some mismatches. I was comfortable, and as long as we’re able to make our passes and hit the shots we need to make, I’m okay with it.”

“They were hurting us on the boards in the first half, and I knew we would have to control the glass if we were going to be successful in this ball game,” Guerin continued. “We came out and were able to control the boards in the second half and get some defensive stops when we needed to, and we put our free-throws in the hole today to come away with the state championship.”

The Pirates were also successful at shutting down Bernie’s three-point game (the Mules shot 8-34 from downtown) and, when coupled with their great inside defense, became too much for the Bernie to handle. Guerin again stressed rebounding in the second half as a key to his team’s victory.

“We knew they were going to shoot a lot of three-pointers,” Guerin said. “We had to stress to our guards to at least get a hand in their face and make them possibly miss. Our guards delivered, and we were able to handle it. In the second half, we rebounded the ball better, so they only got one opportunity to score. We felt that if we limited them to one opportunity to score, we would be successful.”

The Mules will lose five seniors this year - Botsch went on to credit their hard work as big factors in another great season in Bernie basketball.

“[Jordan] McGowan’s had a tremendous career for us - he set the state record in charges, and is second most in a season for threes made,” Botsch said. “But, he’s going to have a great opportunity to play for one of the best coaches in the country in Gene Bess [head basketball coach at Three Rivers College], and he’s going to do well over there. Sammy Walker had a tremendous year for us - the kid lost his father and still got out here and competed at an unbelievable level all season long. Cameron Shipman had a great year as well; he got as hot as anyone you’d ever see. We really had a good group of kids and I’m proud to have been able to coach them.”

The Mules finished the season with a record of 28 wins and five losses. There will be a reception for the team on Sunday (March 20) in the Bernie High School gym at 4:00 p.m. 



 Photos above Top Photo: Jordan McGowan drives through the lane for an easy layup during the second half of Saturday’s loss.
Middle Photo: Jesse Shelton puts up a tough shot over Crane’s Anthony Vermillion during Saturday’s Class 2 State Championship game.
Bottom photo: Sammy Walker drops in two of his 15 points.

                                                                     

	1st Q	2nd Q	3rd Q	4th Q	FINAL
BERNIE	9	16	14	24	63
CRANE	15	16	14	24	77

BERNIE: McGowan - 23. Walker - 15. Shelton - 13. Shipman - 6. Turner - 6.
CRANE: Cook - 42. Lumpkin - 10. Atkins - 10. Vermillion - 6. Bowling - 5. Moore - 4.