WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The day is finally here as the Sailfish baseball team will open the 2012 season on Thursday, February 2nd at Roger Dean Stadium as they will battle Palm Beach County rival, Lynn University at 7:00 p.m.

Admission is free to all and fans are encouraged to enjoy an evening of college baseball at one of the finest facilities in the region.

This will mark the third straight season that PBA will begin the baseball season at Roger Dean Stadium which is home to Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins and the defending World Series champion, St. Louis Cardinals.

Dexter, Mo., native Sawyer Smith is a catcher for the Sailfish, and while he isn't expected to start today, he noted that the Sailfish are ready to be back in action.

"We feel pretty good; our team is very energetic and excited to get things rolling," Smith said. "It's been a buildup for the last few weeks and through the fall. Tonight we're going to set the tone for the rest of the season."

The Sailfish return a large majority of their roster from a season ago when the team finished 27-26 under second-year head coach and MLB Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter. The Fish have since added another big league veteran to its coaching staff in former St. Louis Cardinal All-Star Kent Bottenfield as the program's Associate Head Coach.

Lynn University returns a solid core from its team of last year when they finished 26-23 including an 8-4 victory over PBA at Roger Dean Stadium last February. The Knights are under the direction of Rudy Garbalosa who is entering his 11th season as the head skipper at Lynn while leading the program to a NCAA Division II National Championship in 2009.

"It's going to be a tough game; they were a rival of ours last year," Smith noted. "We opened last season with them at Rodger Dean Stadium. They got the win last year, so we're out for revenge tonight."

Fans will have the opportunity to participate in on-field promotions, enjoy traditional ballpark concessions, and experience a big league atmosphere from anywhere in the ballpark. Families are encouraged to bring everyone out for an exciting evening of PBA Baseball.

A live video feed as well as live statistics will be available for this game. Click here for the webcast of the game, and here to see real-time stats from the season-opener.

POPLAR BLUFF - A couple of minutes made all the difference for the Jeffco Vikings against Three Rivers Wednesday night.

LaQuinta Jefferson scored 11 of her 15 points and recorded all four of her steals during a 15-0 run as Jeffco needed just 91 seconds to erase a nine-point deficit early in the second half and defeat the Lady Raiders 84-73 in a Region XVI contest at the Bess Activity Center.

Three Rivers took a 38-29 lead on Whitney Mills’ basket with 18:53 left in the game, but Jefferson and the Vikings took over from there.

Jefferson converted steals into baskets on three of five possessions and added a pair of free throws on another to tie the game with 17:22 to go in the contest, then took another steal to the hoop less than a minute later to give Jeffco the lead for good. Jefferson then added two more free throws and Mhykeah Baez hit a basket to cap the run and make it 44-38 with 15:58 showing on the clock.

The Lady Raiders (8-13, 1-4 XVI) did not go away, narrowing the deficit to 47-45 on Carolyn Overton’s free throw with 13:57 remaining, but Jeffco answered with an 11-3 run to take a 58-48 lead on Lashonda Littleton’s free throws midway through the second half.

Overton’s basket with 8:51 remaining cut the Three Rivers deficit to 59-55, but came no closer and the Vikings added a 10-0 run late in the game to put the game on ice.

Earlier in the game, it was the Lady Raiders who made a run, going on an 8-0 run to wipe out an early deficit and take a 27-21 lead after back-to-back baskets by Overton with 3:07 left in the first half.

However, Jeffco (18-4, 4-2) fought back, getting six straight points from Littleton in the final 47 seconds of the first half to trail by just one point (30-29) before Tazonda Gibbs hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer.

Overton then hit a 3 in the opening minute of the second half and Mills added a basket with 18:53 remaining in the game, setting the stage for Jefferson’s heroics for the Vikings.

Overton had a game-high 19 points for Three Rivers, while Mills tossed in 18 and Brooke Godsey finished with 10.

Littleton paced Jeffco with 18 points, while Rayven Brooks added 17, Jasmine Crawford chipped in 13 – and five steals – and Baez concluded the night with 10 points.

The Lady Raiders are back in action Saturday night when they host Region XVI foe State Fair in their annual Pink-Out Game for breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and will receive $1 off admission if they do. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Bess Activity Center.

For more information on everything Three Rivers Athletics, make sure to visit RaidersAthletics.com!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Prior to Tuesady night's home contest against the Meadow Heights Panthers, the Lady Bearcats took a moment to honor one of their players and coaches for significant career achievements.

Brittany Harris joined the 1,000 Point Club during the Lady Bearcats' 56-26 victory over the Kennett Lady Indians on January 9, 2012.

Harris' name will go down in the record books as the first Lady Bearcat to reach 1,000 points in her junior season, and as the fifth Lady Bearcat to reach the mark; she as preceded by Rachel Blunt (1491 pts., 2001-2005), Katelyn Heil (1,419 pts., 2005-2009), Katie Dunlap (1,157 pts., 1999-2003), and Taylor Nelson (1,115 pts., 2002-2006).

The junior post currently stands at 1,080 career points, and if her 17.2 ppg average plays out, should finish the reguar season close to the 1,160 mark. Harris, LBB's leading scorer, stands at 327 points through 19 of the Lady Bearcats' 25 regular-season games.

LBB head coach Chad Allen was also honored before the game for picking up his 100th career win. Allen is the first coach in the history of Lady Bearcat Basketball to reach the feat; Gavin Miller, Allen's predecessor, previously held the mark with 94 wins. Rounding out the top three is Larry Louder, who had 86 wins during his time at the helm of the Lady 'Cats.

Harris and Allen, along with the rest of the Lady Bearcats, look to improve on their marks on Thursday night, when they travel to Kelly to take on the Lady Hawks. Tipoff for the JV game is set for 6:30.

On the closest thing to a national holiday in the college football offseason, Letters of Intent have been filed by high school athletes lucky enough to continue playing at the collegiate level. On top of the Missouri Tigers scoring the nation's top recrut, DHS alum Glen Johnson will welcome 19 new players to the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats next season.

BOLIVAR - SBU Bearcat football has announced the addition of 19 players for the upcoming 2012 season. The Bearcats are coming off of their third consecutive winning season and will rejoin the MIAA in the 2012 season.

"Our coaching staff has done another great job this year of signing student-athletes that understand what it means to be a Bearcat," head coach Keith Allen stated. "These signees can contribute to our team immediately, either by playing in a starring role or providing competition and quality depth at their position. We are very excited about the guys we have signed and the ten mid-year transfers that are already on campus."

The guys we have signed are not only great football players, they are quality people off the field as well. This recruiting class is exemplified by young men with great character, hard work ethic, solid academics and a burning desire to compete on the football field for the Bearcats.

Our immediate needs on offense were at the offensive line, running back, tight end and wide receiver positions. Defensively, we had immediate needs at the defensive line and with the secondary. As you can see from our mid-year signees and current signing class, we have addressed these needs and will continue to find young men that can help this team.

Again, our coaching staff did a great job recruiting and I applaud their hard work and effort. I also appreciate all the support and help our athletic administration, faculty and staff gave us in recruiting such a strong class. We will be finalizing this recruiting class over the next few weeks with a few more talented student athletes. Our fans can expect another great season with this class."

Click here to see the full list of Bearcat Signees for 2012!

SLIPPERY ROCK, Penn.- After a breakout 2011 season as a sophomore closer for the Palm Beach Atlantic University of baseball team, Alejandro De Moya appears keen on repeating the success he found last season as the Sailfish left-handed stopper in the late innings. His standout campaign helped him earn a selection to the Pre-Season All-Region Team released by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) on Tuesday.

The Sailfish are coming off a season in which they finished 27-26, a ten game improvement from the season before which was their first under head coach, Gary Carter. The Fish will begin the season just outside the top-ten of the NCBWA Regional poll as they finished in the receiving votes category.

A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the crafty De Moya led the Sailfish or was near the top in almost every statistical category last season.

De Moya finished tied for the team lead in wins with five alongside fellow left-hander Kenny Frosch while proving more than capable of handling the ninth inning responsibilities by accumulating a team-best seven saves.

He would finish 5-1 on the season over the course of a team-high 19 games while logging a total of 32.1 innings pitched. Utilizing his strong repertoire of pitches, De Moya limited his opponents to just a .191 batting average while tallying 39 strikeouts and 14 walks.

The Sailfish baseball team opens play on Thursday, February 2nd when they host Lynn University at 7 pm. The two Palm Beach County rivals will be squaring off at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, the Spring Training home of the Miami Marlins and defending World Series champion, St. Louis Cardinals.

Visit pbasailfish.com for the latest news and info on Palm Beach Atlantic University Athletics.