By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Fans of Lady Bearcat Softball will be greeted by fresh faces in the dugout this year, but not only the players; the Lady 'Cats will be sporting a new coaching staff in the 2012 season.

Leonard Morse is entering his first season as head coach of the Lady Bearcats; he assisted under previous head coach Tammy Crowley for the last four seasons, and has taught at Dexter for five years.

Chris Bolin, in his first year back in Dexter, will fill in as assistant coach.

"I started off assisting with the field work, and I could keep a scorebook; that really sealed the deal," Morse said, laughing. "I moved from groundskeeper to coach."

The Lady Bearcats only participate in the spring softball season; Morse noted this as one of his biggest challenges as a coach, as the MSHSAA State Tournament is only available during the fall season.

"Coach Bolin and I are trying to build this program back up and get more interest. We're both going to coach the summer leagues and the travel team, and most of our girls wind up playing on that team," he said. "That is the biggest challenge: to get good talent year-in, year out when you don't have a State Title to play for. You don't have a District Tournament either, so sometimes it's hard to get girls motivated. We still have the county tournament, but that's down two teams this year since Bell City and Richland couldn't get teams together. We also lost those two games on the regular season, and those would have been easy wins for us."

The two big losses from last season's roster are Alec Jackson and Mollie Whitehead. Jackson, who was the team's ace pitcher, and played catcher on her off days, was lost to graduation and is currently playing softball at Shawnee Community College; Whitehead, currently a sophomore, elected to be a member of the track team this spring.

"Mollie Whitehead flipped over to track to throw the discus, and I can't blame her; I would have too if I'd had that talent. She's got a good shot at getting a college scholarship that way," Morse said. "She set all the school records when she was in middle school, but decided to try softball last year. She was a good first basemen last year for us, and we wish her the best."

"It's going to be hard, replacing Alec. Not only for what she could do at the plate, behind the plate, or on the mound as a pitcher, but also losing her leadership. All four years I was an assistant, she was on the team," he continued. "It's what we're looking for, who is going to step up and take the mantle and prove they can be the leader of the team. It's one thing to say you're a leader, but it's another to earn the teams respect and be a leader. I think we'll be okay replacing her behind the plate - Tiffany Watson played a little bit at catcher last year, but she also plays third and short for us."

Morse will look to several young players to fill in the roster this season; the softball Lady 'Cats have eight of 14 roster slots filled with sophomores.

"We're really young; I've only got one returning senior in Whitney Leyton, plus two more that came out this year, and one junior. I've got two freshmen, and the rest are sophomores," Morse said. "We had a handful not come out this year - we lost three seniors last year, two juniors didn't come back out, and a few sophomores didn't come out."

"Our defense will be top-notch. We've got two returning starters in the outfield, and two more in the infield. Riley Rickman is coming back, and she played some first base last year, so in a way, she's a returning starter as well," he continued. "Emily Triplett was our DH last year, and she's playing third base for us now. We have some pieces that are filling in really well; one of the girls that moved in, Vicki Anderson, she's a pitcher and moved in from Imperial. She's a good pitcher, and she's not afraid to get in there and pitch inside. In left field, we'll have Whitney [Leyton] starting, and she provides a lot of leadership as well. The way she plays the game is full-out; she tends to get hurt because she's so aggressive, and she's not afraid to dive for a ball in the outfield. I can put her anywhere I want her to and she'll give me everything she has. Ashley Brown was our starting center fielder last year, and she's back; she has speed and a good arm, and she's not afraid to go after balls either."

Morse was quick to point out his team's flexibility, which will be a key asset with such a short bench. He noted sophomore Kendra Stevenson, who can play virtually anywhere on the field. Most of her freshman season was spent on the corners or on the mound, but she has the ability to play some in the outfield as well.

Both Morse and Bolin expressed the same goal for their first season coaching the Lady Bearcats: more structure, excellent defense.

"We're trying to maintain a little more structure than there was in the past; I think we're going to have one of the best defensive infields that we've had in the five years I've been associated with this," Morse said. "In spring softball, if you have a good pitcher and good defense, you'll win some games, and we fully expect to win quite a few games. It's shaping up to be a good year; we have a good vibe around this team, and it's a lot of fun right now. We've been having trouble getting everyone out here at once, because of early season injuries or other school functions, but when we have them here, we've got a good group. They work hard, and they will do anything we ask them to without complaining, which is always a good quality. We're already improving, and jumping way out ahead of where we were because they're putting in the time."

"We have a tough schedule, as we still have to play New Madrid and Kennett," he added. "The Malden Tournament is being held in Bernie this year, and some of the Arkansas teams that come up for that are really good. It's not going to be a cakewalk, but we'll be competitive no matter what."

The Lady Bearcats are set to open the season on Monday, March 26, when they host Clearwater. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

Click here to download the 2012 Softball schedule.

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DMS Volleyball team opened the season with a pair of massive wins over the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs on Thursday night. The Lady 'Cats held Sikeston to single digits in all four sets.

In the seventh grade contest, the 'Cats posted 25-6 and 25-8 wins. Madison McConnell and Sydney Rodgers accounted for 17 points in the first set, while Zoe Schumer served up 12 points in the second.

The lopsided scoring continued in the eighth grade contest, where DMS put up 25-5 and 25-3 decisions. Madison Bishop scored 13 points for the Lady 'Cats in the first set, and Mary Kate Miller was good for 16 in the second set.

Head coach Melissa Hahn was pleased with her team's preparedness and aggressiveness at the net throughout the game.

"Overall I was pleased with my girls' intensity throughout the game. I was very happy with the power and especially the consistency of our serves," she said. "We had some big streaks, led by Mary Kate Miller who served 16 straight points in the 8th grade game."

"I thought we were ready for the ball to come back over the net and made some nice passes which resulted in some big hits," Hahn continued. "Matney Davis did a great job at the net tonight. She's been hitting the ball hard in practice and it was good to see that in a game."

The Lady Bearcats expect some more competitive games next week; they play host to Scott City on Monday night, and face off against SCAA rival Bernie on Tuesday in the Hits for Hope game.

"We are preparing for some tough games with Scott City and Bernie this week which both have great programs. We sure hope to use our home court advantage and encourage our community to come out to see some great games and support our girls."

Both games next week are scheduled to get underway with seventh grade action at 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday night's Hits for Hope game will feature fundraising activities to benefit 18 FORE Life and area families battling cancer.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Shawnee State (Ohio) won the first game of the 2012 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship presented by Kentuckytourism.com in decisive fashion, 68-47, over William Woods (Mo.). The Bears improve to 2-0 in opening round play and advance to face the winner of Azusa Pacific (Calif.)/MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) on Friday at 9 a.m. The event is held at the Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky.

Solid defense and timely shooting was the theme for Shawnee State, who held the Owls to only 26.9 percent (14-of-52) shooting from the field, including a 7-for-18 effort from beyond the arc, while shooting 48.1 percent (26-of-54) on the game.

Alex Pohl posted her team-leading 16th double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Schera Sampson added 15 points and six boards, respectively.

Shawnee State took total control of the contest in the first half, outscoring William Woods, 45-18, in the opening frame. The second half was not much kinder to the Owls, who failed to cut the deficit to less than 19 points.

Sharron Andrews and Ashlee Taylor paced William Woods with seven points each. Taylor also picked up seven boards and three steals in the contest.

With the loss, the Owls finish the season with a 23-10 overall record.

Click here for the full box score.

The 10th Annual BA All-Star Extravaganza announced this year’s All-Star Players & Teams during a Coaches Team Draft meeting at Fiddlers Restaurant in Dexter, MO.

The BA All Star Extravaganza will be held Saturday, April 14, 2012 in the Bearcat Event Center in Dexter, MO. The fun filled day will highlight high school seniors nominated and voted on by coaches and athletic directors from 65 area schools. The all star Volleyball teams will compete starting at 9 am followed by the Class 1 & 2 Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball and Class 3, 4 & 5 Boys basketball games. Also included throughout the day are skills competitions and the popular 3-point shoot out and slam dunk competitions sponsored by the Bank of Advance.

Following the day’s games & competitions, the All-Star Extravaganza will close with the Awards Presentation in the Bearcat Event Center. Players, coaches and area schools will be recognized and the event will feature guest speaker, Dickie Nutt, Southeast Missouri State’s Head Basketball Coach.

The activities at the Bearcat Event Center are open to the public. Please join us as we salute the talents of our area High Schools Seniors.

Click here for the full roster!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The DHS track team is quite the unknown heading into the 2012 season. A lot of youth, coupled with inflated numbers over past seasons, leaves many questions about Coach Jill King's squad.

"It's been tough. They're so young that it's hard to figure out where you're going to put all of them. The girls, a lot are back and we have some freshman," King said. "The guys, a lot of them are young. I think we'll be better in middle-distance races than in sprints, and we'll be better in some other areas than we have in the past, so we'll see what happens. This is the most guys we have had in a long time - I think we had 28 come out this year, opposed to eight last year."

The girls squad lost some major talent in the jumps last season, but retained their state-qualifying 4x100 meter relay team. King expects to look to her senior girls for their ability to score points and leadership this year.

"Of my senior girls, I have three back, and they've all scored a lot of points for us in the past - it'll be a mixture of who is ready to step up and who keeps up what they've been doing," she said. "My girls 4x100 meter relay team that went to state last year is back - Taylor Martin, Lindsey Hindman, Brooke Baker, and Samantha Midgett."

"Taylor [Martin] will solid in sprints again, and I also have her high-jumping this season. I lost Madison Pixley and Raezheem Miller last year, and they were both excellent jumpers" King continued. "Christina Harris, a sophomore, is trying out triple jump, and if she works at it she could be amazing at that."

King noted that her throwers are looking better than they have in several years, despite having several freshman and inexperienced upperclassmen in the lineup.

"I think in the throws, we'll be more competitive this year than we have in the past. Jessica Lindsey is a powerhouse; Mollie Whitehead is outstanding in discus, and Sarah Langley, Destiny Robinson and Shana Bess are all looking great," King said. "Daniel [McCoy] and Dylan [Sandlin] both graduated last year. Andrew Collier was a solid thrower last year in middle school. Zach Lacy and Dylan Heflin are throwing this year - they don't have any meets for me to compare to anything, so I'm anxious to see how they do."

Lindsey, Robinson, Bess and Collier are all freshman; Whitehead is returning to the pit after spending her freshman year with the softball team.

"If those freshman stick with it, they can be competitive in the next three years," King noted.

The boys team's youth was a key concern for King, as well as losing junior Austin Richardson for the early part of the season. Richardson had an outstanding year in the high jump and triple jump last season.

"The guys are just so young; we don't have any outstanding sprinters that I know of, unless someone 'comes out of their shell' and shows they can do it," she said. "We have guys that want to try hurdles, and guys that want to jump and throw. Most of our guys are 400 and 800 meter runners, so we have a gap in the 100 and 200."

"I lost Austin Richardson, a great jumper, after he had knee surgery. He'll be back later this season, so we'll see how he does after he comes back."

The Bearcats have just one home meet this season, held on April 17, and are set to open the 2012 season on Tuesday (March 20), when they head to Cape Girardeau for the Cape Central Open. The meet is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.

Click here to download the 2012 Track schedule.

Photos Above:
Top: Samantha Midgett works on the hurdles under the watchful eye of coach Greg Lummukka.
Middle: Taylor Martin works on her new event for 2012, the high jump.
Bottom: Senior Zach Lacy, in his first year as a member of the track team, works on his form in the shot put during Tuesday's practice.