The summer continues to be filled with baseball as many of the traveling teams from the area continue their competitive tournament league play.

The Southeast Missouri Cobras age 16 and Under team traveled this past weekend to Carbondale area the 6th Annual Fun-In-The-Sun 16 & Under Baseball Tournament. The tourney had a 4-game guarantee with two separate divisions for 16U and 18U teams.

The team is comprised of players from 9 different high schools with a roster of 12 athletes. The majority of the Cobras are entering their junior year of high school, therefore the team competes in the 16u age brackets. The team has had the majority of the players playing together since they were 9 years old.

Referred to as the SIU Showcase Tournament, the tournament is an extremely competitive league with teams from throughout the region competing. This three day baseball tournament found five area teams from Champagne, Springfield and three other regional teams squared off against each other.

Games were played in two locations with the Thursday, Friday and Saturday games held at the baseball facilities at John A. Logan College. Saturdays late game and all Sunday games were held at SIU-Carbondale.




The SE Missouri Cobras capped off the weekend by going 3-1 during the tournament. During the tournaments opening game, the SE Cobras defeated the SI Diamond Dogs by a score of 7 to 4.

The Cobras were matched against the Champagne Dream on Friday, winning by a score of 3 to 1. But on Saturday, the Cobras didn't fair as well against the Springfield Mustangs' powerful bats as they were handed a 11 to 1 loss in that contest.

On Sunday, the Cobras defeated the Lids Missouri Bulls 11-0. Brad Potts pitched a 5 inning no-hitter, while striking out 9 in the victory. The SE Cobras' bats turned hot as Calvin Lovig, Caleb Koehler, Travis Phillips, and Potts all had 2 RBI in the victory for the SE Missouri team. The SE Missouri Cobras now stand at 18-7 on the season.

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2011 SE Missouri Cobras Baseball Team Roster

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2011 SE Missouri Cobras Baseball Team Stats

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"We mostly have been playing 18u tournaments, as playing older competition, you only get better by playing better competition," says Anderson, Head Coach of the Cobras.

Only 9 of the Cobra players gained varsity experience in their respective high school programs during the 2011 Spring season. Their work with the Cobras this summer will certainly pay dividends next season for their local high school teams as these young athletes assume leadership and starting roles.

"Keep in mind we have only played 5-6 games against teams our own age," added Coach Brian Anderson. "We are playing mostly 18u or senior level teams."

In early June, the Cobras took the championship at Lake St. Louis in the Midwest Regional Club Championships. This was in fact one of the tournaments where the Cobras played up an age division in the 18 and up catagory.

The team has been led in hitting by Ryan Fortner with a .417 avg ; and Tyler Anderson of Cape Central with a .362 avg.

Pitching Leaders for 2011 has been James Dickerson 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA , Brad Potts 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA, and Trey Tigart with a 4-3 record and 6 saves with a 3.46 ERA. "These statistics are even more impressive when a person considers the age of the competition we are competing against." reminds Coach Brian Anderson. Most of the 2011 scheduled tournaments have been in the category of 18 and Up age groups. The Cobras will continue their play throughout July. With their current record stands at 18-7, the real reward will be delivered for these young men throughout their high school career when they put this experience into action in 2012.

The tournament was sponsored by Diamond Sports Promotions Inc. located in Normal, IL. This group is committed to the support of young people through competitive baseball leagues throughout the Midwest. Interested parties can contact Tim Brownlee at (812)455-2513 or email him at butch.brownlee@comcast.net.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

”Hard work and winning are contagious!”

- John Wooden

Bernie High School will be hosting a basketball camp July 18 - 22 at the BHS gym.


The Mules’ camp is open to all athletes entering the third through eighth grades. Grades three through five are set to practice from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., with the sixth through eighth graders taking the courts from 10:30 to noon.


Participants are asked to wear clean tennis shoes, shorts, and t-shirts each day of camp, and parents are encouraged to come on the last day (July 22) of camp to watch their youngsters compete in the camp ‘finals’.


Registration is $35, with all checks made payable to Bernie High School.


For more information, contact Brad Botch at (573) 293-5334, ext. 232, or at botschb@bernie.k12.mo.us, or Jason Long at (573) 293-5334, or at longj@bernie.k12.mo.us.

POPLAR BLUFF, MO – Two student athletes from Three Rivers College have been named Academic All-Americans by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Baseball player Cody Holt of Deepwater, Mo., earned the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence with his 4.0 grade-point average.

Softball player Bethany LeGrand from Ellsinore, Mo., received the Exemplary Academic Achievement honors recognition for her 3.78 GPA.

Holt was a starting outfielder for the Raiders this spring, and is expected to play for Park University in Kansas City next year.

“Just budgeting two things like school and baseball is very demanding,” said Three Rivers head baseball coach Stacey Burkey. “It’s pretty unique for an athlete to go through two years of college with straight As, while also contributing to our baseball team like Cody did. It was just amazing.”

Head softball coach Jack Childress had similar words of praise for LeGrand, an East Carter high school graduate who helped the softball team reach its overall GPA of 3.37.

“She was always the first or second person to make it to practice,” said Childress. “She was looking to step up. At bat, she’d (either) get the hit or draw a walk; she was as good as anybody at getting a hitter’s count.”

According to Childress, LeGrand plans to attend either Southeast Missouri State or Arkansas State University this coming year.

“We are extremely proud of Cody and Bethany,” said Vice President for Student Success Jason Hoseney. “We value these Academic All-American achievements more than any award. These two are outstanding representatives of our athletic program and our college as a whole.”

For more information on athletics teams at Three Rivers College, contact the office for Student Success at (573) 840-9669.

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Photo and story provided by Megan Keathley of the Three Rivers News Service. Additional information about Raider athletics can be found at www.raidersathletics.com.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

At the conclusion of a high school athlete’s career, the select few have the opportunity - and a rare one, at that - to continue playing their sport of choice at the collegiate level. Even rarer is making the decision between multiple sports in college. A DHS Alum had that opportunity, and is making a move that will put her closer to home.


Abbie Warren, a 2009 graduate of Dexter High School, is the daughter of Phil and Cindy Warren, and is transitioning from a collegiate volleyball career at Mineral Area College to playing basketball at Three Rivers College


Warren enjoyed success in two sports during her time at DHS: volleyball and basketball. In volleyball, the team finished second in districts three years in a row. She was selected to the All-District Second Team her sophomore and junior year, the All-Conference Second Team her junior year, the All-Region Second Team and SCAA All-Tournament Team her junior and senior year, and the All-Conference and All-District First Team her senior year.


Impressed? That was just one sport.


The Lady ‘Cats finished fourth in the state, along with an undefeated record going into the Show-Me Showdown, during Warren’s junior season. She was named to the All-Region Second Team and received the team’s Rebound and Free-Throw awards during her junior season. Warren’s senior year, the team finished second in districts, and she was named to All-Conference, All-District, and All-Region First Team and the Twin Rivers Christmas Classic All-Tournament Team. She won the team’s Free-Throw, Rebound, Defensive, and MVP Awards, was named DHS Female Athlete of the Year, and was the Standard Democrat Player of the Year.


 Warren began playing basketball at a young age - her career essentially began once her family moved to Dexter from Bethalto, Ill. - and began playing competitively in elementary school.

“I started playing on a traveling team in fourth grade through sixth grade,” Warren recalled. “We were coached by Kim Waldner. I decided to just stick with school ball in middle school and high school though.”


Warren initially chose to take a volleyball scholarship to Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., despite a full-ride offer from Three Rivers College and noting that basketball was always ‘the favorite’.

“I picked volleyball over basketball my senior year,” Warren said. “I had a week to decide if I was going to take the full ride offer [to Three Rivers]. I thought I would get burnt out on basketball since I’d played it longer. I thought I’d have more fun with [volleyball] and I had more room to improve, but it turned out that I missed my true love of basketball.”


“I’ve always liked the physicality of basketball more - the higher contact involved was more fun,” Warren added. “They’re both team sports, but with volleyball, if one person is down and one person isn’t doing their job, the whole teams gets down. I liked the teamwork aspect better, and all the trick plays, but basketball was definitely always the favorite for me.”



After an outstanding freshman season at MAC - the Cardinals posted one of the most successful seasons in school history, including a 26-8 record and being consistently ranked in the top 20 of the NCJAA national polls - Warren decided that it was time to make a change.

“I enjoyed [my time at] MAC, but I missed basketball,” Warren said. “I only wanted to play one sport; MAC wanted me to play both. That’s why I chose to switch to Three Rivers, because I could just play basketball and not both."


Warren contacted Three Rivers to see if there was still a chance for her to play basketball there.


“I decided that I just wanted to play basketball, so I contacted Three Rivers to see if there was still room for me to play,” Warren said. “They said there was, and I accepted.”


A tenacious rebounder during her high school days, Warren noted her older brother, James Ford - a key contributor on the Bearcat’s 2004 trip to the State Tournament - as a key influence on her physical style of play.

“My brother was a huge influence for me as a basketball player. James is six years older than me, and he was always playing basketball out in the yard. He taught me everything - I didn’t like it sometimes,” Warren said, laughing, “but he was patient and always went over and over things I needed to learn and get better at. I went to all his games and watched his journey to state, and I grew up always wanting to be like him - he was a good influence for me.”

Warren will be the third member of the Lady Cats’ State Tournament team to go on to play at Three Rivers College - Jill Temples and Ashlee Taylor graduated from TRC in 2010 - and the fifth player to move on to play at the next level - Katelyn and Cathryn Heil are currently playing at Missouri S&T.


Three Rivers College has already signed three other young ladies to fill an inside role, with Warren being the most recent addition to the roster. She aims to land a starting spot this winter, and to hopefully help lead the Lady Raiders to a national title.

The last night of the Dexter Park & Recreation Department's youth leagues season went like all the other evenings: full of fun, lots of kids, even more parents, family and friends in the stands, and ... dry weather!

Thursday evening was the end of the regular league season for youngsters at the Dexter Sports Complex. And it was a season with no "rain outs" and no make-up games.

While one Thursday evening set of games had to be moved to Friday night, it was not because of weather factors. That evening was really a "lights out" situation due to a technical problem with the complex lights.

As a result of no rain-cancelled games, this is one of the first seasons in youth league veterans' memories of no make-up games.

Action was fast on all the fields at the complex Thursday night, and many players were looking forward to that end-of-season party!

Congratulations to all the players, and special recognition for all the umpires, officials, and workers at the Complex! It was a great season!

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The ShowMe Times staff enjoyed attending the youth league games this season. Several photo galleries of photos from the season are posted on the SMT website. Just click on the PHOTOS menu to see all of SMT's photo galleries!