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BOYS TENNIS: Thomas Jefferson wins own invite, Cavs win three of four divisions

The Thomas Jefferson boys tennis team is off to a stellar start to the 2021 season. 

Need proof?

After winning five straight duals by lopsided 9-0 scores to begin the spring, the host Cavaliers continued their winning ways by capturing the team championship at Friday’s Thomas Jefferson Invitational. 

Competing against much-larger schools, Thomas Jefferson crowned champions at No. 1 singles, No. 1 doubles and No. 2 doubles. The Cavaliers settled for second at No. 2 singles.  

“Because we weren’t able to compete last year, it’s been a couple of years for these guys, so it was nice to see them be able to do that today,” Thomas Jefferson coach Tom Brumfield said at the conclusion of the event. “We had some guys coming back that we knew would be solid and we’ve had some younger guys step up, too. It’s one of those situations…you just don’t know, but I’m not surprised. You feel like you’re going to be OK, but you don’t know for sure until you see it happen.” 

Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Brouhard serves during Friday’s invite. Photo by Jason Peake.

The Cavaliers finished with 25 points, while Webb City had 20 points to finish second and Carthage had 10 to place third. After the top three teams, Monett (7.5), Carl Junction (7), Mount Vernon (4), Joplin (3) and Aurora (0.5) rounded out the field. 

In 2019, Thomas Jefferson finished fourth in Class 1. 

Brumfield said his squad has its goals set high again this year. 

“The goals are high, but we’ve got some young kids and sometimes you don’t know what to expect from them when they’re on the court,” Brumfield said. 

Brumfield added his players have put in the time and effort in order to have a successful season. 

“Tennis is too hard to be a seasonal sport,” Brumfield added. “You have to put the time in. These guys have been playing away from the spring season and that makes a big difference. This group has worked all year long for this season. They’ve been playing from the summer, fall and winter. That really helps them by the time spring comes around. They’ve jumped right into it.” 

Friday’s doubles matches were held at Thomas Jefferson, while the singles matches were contested at Millennium Family Fitness. 

 

NO. 1 SINGLES

Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding cruised to the invite’s singles championship, winning all three of his matches by 8-0 scores. 

“Ian has really improved his game by working hard,” Brumfield said. “He’s doing a lot of good things right now. We knew Ian was going to be solid this year.” 

Ding defeated Joplin’s Hunter Merkley in the first round before beating Carthage’s Silas Smith in the semifinals. In the bracket’s title match, Ding defeated Webb City’s Trenton Hayes. 

In other first round matches, Smith defeated Aurora’s Xane Shirley 8-2, Hayes beat Mount Vernon’s Curtis Meyer 8-1 and Monett’s Dylan Lynch topped Carl Junction’s Blaine Wilkerson 8-4.

Hayes beat Lynch 8-3 in the semifinals before falling to Ding in the championship match. 

Smith defeated Monett’s Lynch in the third-place match, while Wilkerson defeated Shirley for fifth place. 

 

NO. 2 SINGLES

Webb City’s Cale Stephens defeated Thomas Jefferson’s Christopher Wheelen 8-2 in the championship match of the No. 2 singles bracket.

Stephens beat Aurora’s Angel Cruz 8-1 and Monett’s Ben Hoyt 8-1 en route to the title match. 

In other first-round matches, Hoyt beat Joplin’s Michael Mancipe 8-3, Carthage’s Colby Tandy defeated Mount Vernon’s Isaac Burks 8-2 and Wheelen topped Carl Junction’s Cade Wilkerson 8-3.

Wheelen defeated Tandy 8-2 in the semifinals.

Hoyt won the third-place match 8-5 over Tandy. In the consolation final, Wilkerson defeated Mancipe 8-0.

Thomas Jefferson’s Noah Hamlett hits a volley at the net during doubles play on Friday. Hamlett and Tyler Brouhard won the No. 1 doubles bracket. Photo by Jason Peake.

NO. 1 DOUBLES

Thomas Jefferson’s Noah Hamlett and Tyler Brouhard won the doubles bracket.

“For our doubles team, it was nice to see that they had some pressure put on them,” Brumfield said. “Sometimes you don’t know what to expect when you throw them into a pressure situation. I was proud of them. They both displayed leadership and played well.” 

Hamlett-Brouhard defeated Carl Junction’s Connor Sztamenits-Easton Sztamenits 8-0 in the first round and then beat Monett’s Angel Salas-Ethan Kutz 8-0 in the semifinals. In the title match, the Cavaliers handled Webb City’s Jackson Dill-Drake Miller 8-1.

In the first round, Monett’s Salas-Kutz edged Aurora’s Noah Pruett-James Rogers 9-7, Carthage’s Charlie Snow-Ryan Phillips beat Mount Vernon’s Chase Strong-Isaac Barker 8-2 and Webb City’s Dill-Miller edged Joplin’s Logan Merkley-Jeffrey Evenson 9-7.

Dill-Miller defeated Snow-Phillips 8-5 in the semifinals before falling to the Cavs in the title match.

Snow-Phillips took third by beating Salas-Kutz 8-2, while Strong-Barker won the consolation final 8-2 over Carl Junction. 

 

NO. 2 DOUBLES

Thomas Jefferson’s duo of Hari Nagarajan and Prithvi Nagarajan won the No. 2 doubles bracket. 

The Cavs beat Monett’s Heisman Welch-Jackson Young 8-2, Joplin’s Ben Wardlow-Colin Vermillion 8-0 and then topped Webb City’s Caiden Johnson-Tyler Wade 8-0 in the title match. 

In first-round matches, Joplin’s Wardlow-Vermillion beat Carthage’s Dani Lopez-Tyler Howard 8-4, Carl Junction’s Joe Figueroa-Jordan Markham defeated Mount Vernon’s Justin Moore-Alvin Reid 9-8 (7-4) and Johnson-Wade beat Aurora’s Dalton Hess-Lorenz Junge 8-2. 

Johnson-Wade edged Figueroa-Markham 8-6 in the semifinals. 

The Bulldogs took third place by beating Wardlow-Vermillion 8-5. Moore-Reid beat Lopez-Howard 8-4 for fifth place. 

Webb City’s Jackson Dill is pictured during Friday’s Thomas Jefferson Invitational. Photo by Jason Peake.

PRO BOXING: Lippe-Morrison to fight Saturday in Tulsa

Local fan favorite Trey Lippe-Morrison (16-0, 16 KOs) will meet Jason Bergman (27-19-2, 18 KOs) in an eight-round heavyweight clash on Saturday when Top Rank Boxing holds a professional boxing event at Osage Casino in Tulsa.

Lippe-Morrison weighed in at 225 pounds on Friday, while Bergman weighed in at 256. 

The undercard, which includes Lippe-Morrison’s bout, will begin at 4:30 on ESPN+.

The main card begins at 9 p.m. on ESPN. The main event of the evening will feature Joe Smith Jr. vs. Maxim Vlasov for the vacant WBO light heavyweight world title. 

 

 

TULSA, OKLAHOMA – APRIL 09: Trey Lippe Morrison and Jason Bergman pose during the weigh-in at the Osage Casino on April 09, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

 

RELATED STORY: PRO BOXING: Local fan favorite Lippe-Morrison to fight in Tulsa on April 10 – SoMo Sports (somo-sports.com)

PREP BASKETBALL: Joplin announces former Riverton coach Bronson Schaake as new head coach for boys basketball

Joplin High School boys basketball officially has a new head coach—Bronson Schaake.

“I think this is an exciting step (in my career),” Schaake said to SoMo Sports in a phone conversation. “In the interview over there, I got to see the facilities and meet with the administration and get a real feel for everything. I know they have some really good players over there, and they have a really good weights program. I am just ready and excited to get started.”

Schaake is the former head coach at Riverton High School, where he led the Rams since the 2016 season. This past winter, Riverton finished with a 14-5 record and fell in the sub-state championship to Galena, with the Bulldogs going on to finish runner-up in Class 3A. Schaake was a finalist for Kansas Class 3A coach of the year in 2021.

“Moving down from Kansas City and getting used to the area, they have great people over there who let me build a program,” Schaake said of his time in Southeast Kansas. “It was a little rough in the first year, but we got better and better each season after that. More and more kids came out and the expectations changed. We were winning at all levels—varsity, JV and freshmen. It just established that culture, and that is the same tempo I am going to bring to Joplin.”

Schaake is taking over for former Joplin coach Jeff Hafer, who stepped down from his post at the end of last season. The Eagles finished with a 12-13 record in 2020-21.

“I know they have a really good squad returning, and Coach Hafer did a really good job with them,” Schaake said. “I just want to keep building off of what they’ve done and take them to the next level. I know they are in a really good conference, and I just want to keep pushing them to get better. You have to have expectations, and the kids have to know that.”

One of the reasons the Joplin job interested Schaake was the competition level the Eagles play at in the Central Ozark Conference. When asked about his plans to keep Joplin competitive in a stacked conference, Schaake was quick to note the preparation starts long before the first game of the season. 

“It starts in the offseason,” Schaake said. “The weight room is No. 1 for me. Obviously, playing basketball like everyone else is important, but you have to have discipline and accountability on top of expectations. That is how you have to improve. We just have to instill that in the kids and create that mentality on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter if it’s the offseason or in the regular season.”

Schaake noted he wants to teach players coming up in his program his system at an earlier age, rather than waiting until they reach the varsity or JV level. That means getting to them as freshmen or possibly during middle school so they are prepared when they reach the varsity level.

“It’s about how to keep the floor spaced, how to read the game and how to set each other up,” Schaake said. “You want kids to be aggressive but also unselfish so they make good decisions. That just comes with repetition. 

“Our base is just playing basketball in motion, but we will also have a structured plan if things get too sloppy here and there just to get us back on track. You have to play to the strengths of your players. You have to highlight that.”

Of course, there will be expectations for success for Schaake as he takes over the Eagle hoops program. But, with the community support he has already seen for Joplin sports in his limited time in the area, Schaake is excited for the opportunity to reach those expectations. 

“That kind of support is what any coach is looking for,” Schaake said. “You just want to make sure the community and the administration has your back. Just based on what I have seen from the outside looking in, that is what I’ve noticed about Joplin. 

“Around town, I see a ton of Joplin sports calendars. When I see that many in different places, that means they are really supportive of the school. That is what you are looking for as a coach.”

While his debut with the Eagles is still several months away, one thing is certain, Schaake is ready to get started as the head coach for Joplin boys basketball.

“I am just ready to get started, but I still have to figure out all of the Missouri rules,” Schaake said with a laugh. “It’s amazing we are that close to each other, but the rules are so different from the Kansas to Missouri side. I am ready to get acclimated to the kids and let them know what I am looking for. I just want to keep the success they’ve had over the last four of five years going, and maybe amp it up a little bit, too.”

COLLEGE BASEBALL: No. 11 Lions take series opener against Newman

The 11th-ranked Missouri Southern baseball team took out visiting Newman today 8-1 inside Warren Turner Field.

The Lions (19-6, 13-6 MIAA) and the Jets (5-13, 4-12 MIAA) were slated to play two games today, but instead will play two games tomorrow. First pitch at Warren Turner Field will be at 11 a.m.

Southern got a strong outing from Zach Parish who went seven innings and struck out ten batters, allowing just one earned run and three hits. Scott Duensing and Cale McCallister threw an inning each in relief.

Jordan Fitzpatrick led off the game with a home run on the first pitch and went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Dexter Swims had a double and two runs scored, while Troy Gagan had a pair of hits and an RBI. Henry Kusiak had an RBI and two runs scored, while Joe Kinder drove in a run of his own.

The Lions got the scoring started in the first on Fitzpatrick’s homer and an RBI double from Kinder scoring Kusiak.

Newman answered with a home run in the second, but that would be the only run that Parish would allow.

Fitzpatrick drove in Swims in the second to make the score 3-1 and the Lions added five runs in the seventh. Gagan singled home Matt Miller, while he and Fitzpatrick worked a first-third stolen base combo to score Fitzpatrick. Kusiak added an RBI single to score Gagan and Swims singled home both Clay Milas and Kusiak for the final runs of the game.

 

GOLF: Joplin wins another invite, Eagles have five golfers in top 10

Joplin earned another team win as the hosts of the Joplin Invitational had all five golfers finish inside the top 10 at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

The Eagles took first place as a team with a score of 309. Carl Junction was the next closest with a second-place score of 340. Webb City (347) took third, while Carthage (365) placed fourth.

Joplin’s Harry Satterlee finished first overall with a 37-36—73 to finish one over par. Fielding Campbell carded a 38-40—78 to finish in a tie for third with Wyatt Satterlee, who scored a 37-41—78. Ethan Sage finished in a tie for fifth after shooting a 38-42—80, while Hobbs Campbell took seventh place with a final score of 39-42—81.

Nevada’s Owen Swearingen finished with a 37-40—77 to take second overall in individual scoring.

Webb City’s Keegon Dill was the low score for the Cardinals after finishing eighth overall with a 42-41—83.

Carl Junction’s Zach Wrensch (39-45—84) and Cooper Wyrick (42-42—84) tied in ninth with Carthage’s Britt Coy (46-38—84).

Carl Junction’s Jacob Teeter (45-40—85) tied with Seneca’s Mason Wilson (43-42—85)  for 12th, while Webb City’s Braxten Cahoon tied for 14th with a 44-42—86 to round out the top 15 scorers.

On other area scores, Webb City’s Cody Frazier finished in 19th (42-46—88), while Carson Frazier (44-46—90) tied for 21st. Jager Carter tied for 28th with a 47-46—93.

Carl Junction’s Noah Williams finished tied for 16th with a 49-38—87. Tommy Walker (45-45—90) tied for 21st.

Carthage’s Owen Derryberry finished tied for 24th with a 45-46—91, Brandon Gacke scored a 47-47—94. Grant Riley (35th) shot a 47-49—96, while Quinn Brewer (36th) shot a 50-47—97. 

OF NOTE: Joplin’s JV team placed eighth out of 11 teams, led by Kaden Parker’s 40-47—87 for a 16th-place finish and Ethan Satterlee’s 43-46—89 to finish in 20th.

GIRLS SOCCER: Joplin earns 3-0 win over Monett

 

The Joplin High School girls soccer team earned a 3-0 win over Monett on Thursday night.

Sophomore forward Brynn Driver scored in the 15th minute to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.

It was the lone goal of the first half.

The Eagles added two goals in the second half.

Senior Mya Johnson scored in the 67th minute. Johnson is usually Joplin’s goalkeeper, but she played the field on Thursday, JHS assistant coach Cody Brooks told SoMo Sports.

Sophomore midfielder Sage Mitchell scored Joplin’s final goal, and it came in the 68th minute and was assisted by freshman Masyn Briggs.

Senior goalie Reece Schroer made four saves. Joplin had 12 shots on-goal in the match.

The Eagles (3-1) are at Cassville on Monday night.  

PREP BASEBALL: Carl Junction breezes past Seneca; Bulldogs square off against Carthage in championship game

CARTHAGE, Mo. — After taking an early lead with a three-run first inning, Carl Junction exploded for 16 runs in the middle frames to beat Seneca 19-5 in five innings on Thursday in the Bill O’Dell Tournament.

Up 3-0, the Bulldogs crossed home five times in the third and fourth innings before blowing the game open with a six spot in the top of the fifth.

Carl Junction improves to 9-2 on the season and will battle Carthage in the championship game at 11 a.m. at Carl Lewton Stadium on Friday. 

Alex Baker earned the win after scattering two hits over four scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking one. Jaxson Mackney allowed two runs on one hit and a walk in one relief inning.

Noah Southern highlighted the first-inning scoring with a two-run double to center field. 

Carson Johnson had an RBI single with two outs in the third, while Drew Beyer drove home two with a two-out triple to right in the next at-bat to make the score 8-0.

Dylan Eck drove home a run with a single in the fifth with a single, while Johnson cleared the bases later in the inning with a three-run triple to push the lead to 13-0.

Beyer and Southern had back-to-back run-scoring singles in the fifth, with Southern driving in a pair on his ground ball through the left side.

Southern was 4-for-5 at the plate, including a double, with four RBI and two RBI. Johnson had two hits, including a triple, and led CJ with a game-high five RBI and three runs scored. Beyer tripled for one of his two hits, driving in three and scoring once. Eck had two hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Brendyn Downs doubled and scored three times.

BOYS TENNIS: Joplin drops road match at Branson, Neosho falls at Willard

 

BRANSON, Mo. — Joplin’s boys tennis team suffered a 9-0 loss at Branson on Thursday.

“Branson has a large team with a lot of depth,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. 

In No. 1 doubles play, Joplin’s Logan Merkley and Jeffrey Evenson suffered an 8-3 loss to Gavin Brown and Nathan Bartram.

At No. 2 doubles, Ben Wardlow and Colin Vermillion lost 8-4 to William Stark and Caleb Buxton.

“Ben and Colin won three straight games early in the match, but their opponents made some adjustments and were able to regain the lead,” Stump commented.

 Josh Yarnall and Michael Mancipe fell 8-1 to Garrett Beckham and Wyatt Carlson.

The Pirates also won all six singles matches.

At No. 1, Brown defeated Merkley 8-0.

Joplin’s Evenson lost 8-1 to Bartram.

“Jeffrey was landing some strong serves, but his opponent did a nice job returning them to win the match,” Stump noted.

Branson’s Stark beat Wardlow 8-4, while Beckham defeated Mancipe 8-0, Buxton topped Vermillion 8-0 and Jacob Decker defeated Hunter Merkley 8-0.

“Michael, Colin, and Hunter all had to play up a rank in singles,” Stump said. “We decided to rest Josh Yarnall as a precautionary measure due to soreness in his hand.”

Joplin will be among the teams competing at Friday’s Thomas Jefferson Invitational. 

Neosho suffers loss at Willard

WILLARD, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats suffered a 9-0 setback at Willard on Thursday.

In singles, Caden Lingenfelser defeated Kuhio Sohl  8-0, Alex Crawford beat Landon Austin 8-1, Luke Christensen topped Christian Williams 8-2, Brayden Roth beat Melvin Lopez 8-1, Austin Long defeated Brandt Gonzales 8-2 and Seth Miller got past Ryno Lee 8-2.

In doubles, Neosho’s Sohl-Williams  lost to  Lingenfelser-Crawford 8-0, while Austin-Lopez fell to  Christensen-Roth 8-1 and Gonzales-Lee lost to  Long-Miller 8-3.

PREP SOCCER: Carthage suffers first loss of the season after falling to Nixa in COC play

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage girls soccer suffered its first setback of the season after falling to Nixa 3-0 in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday at David Haffner Stadium.

Nixa scored the lone goal of the first half in the ninth minute to hold the lead by halftime. The Eagles went up 2-0 after the Tigers recorded an own goal midway through the second half. Nixa added a goal late to seal the win.

Despite the loss moving the Tigers to a 3-1 record on the season, Carthage coach Taylor Beck was pleased with her team’s performance against a quality program.

“I just got done telling them that is the best soccer I have seen Carthage play in my three years here,” Beck said. “(Nixa) is a really good team. I told the girls coming in they couldn’t be too cocky, but they couldn’t play scared either.  And they weren’t. They were settled in. We changed our formation a little bit, and I think that helped. They did a good job of getting back on defense, too. They did a solid job. I am really proud of them.”

Nixa pushed across the only goal of the first half when Kelsi Moore found the back of the net in the ninth minute to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.

In a scary moment late in the first half, Carthage keeper Kaitlin Reyes was forced to leave the game with an injury after a collision with a Nixa player. Kylie Sanchez took over in goal and recorded a save on a free kick before Reyes returned with 1:40 left until halftime and played the remainder of the contest.

“I always tell them the girls on the bench are there for a reason, and we are going to use them,” Beck said. “When we use them, they could be out there for a minute or for 50 minutes. But, however long we need, we need them to work 100 percent, and Kylie did exactly that. She was a very valuable player at that time. … Kaitlin came back in and had a strong finish.”

Nixa pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 61th minute after an own goal by Carthage.

After the Tigers just missed a goal with time dwindling, Nixa found the back of the net for the third time on a goal from Katie Kamies in the 81st minute.

The Tiger struggled to find a rhythm on the offensive end against Nixa after scoring a total of 30 goals through the first three games of the season. After a scoreless first half, Carthage intently played much of the early portion of the second half on the defensive end. The Tigers had several scoring opportunities late in the second half with a shot off the upright and one off the crossbar, but ultimately came up empty.

“We were purposefully playing back and playing more of a defensive game,” Beck said. “I think the only thing we needed to do better was connect our passes and connect as a team offensively.”

The positive takeaway from Beck—the Tigers did have a strong performance on the defensive end.

“I think that we recovered great on defense,” Beck said. “That’s what I told them to do. We wanted to play a defensive game and they did awesome.”

Carthage hosts Carl Junction on Tuesday.

“They like playing a defensive game, and they did solid at it,” Beck said when asked about her team’s preparation for the continuation of the COC portion of the upcoming schedule. “I am going to let them continue because as long as we connect offensively, they’re going to be great. … (Nixa) is one of the top teams. … We will learn from our mistakes.”

BASEBALL: Joplin earns confidence-building win over Webb City

WEBB CITY, Mo. — A stellar pitching performance, timely hitting and solid defense led the Joplin Eagles to a signature win.

Ethan Guilford dazzled on the mound, the visitors manufactured runs in four different frames and Joplin earned an 8-4 win over Webb City on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference baseball action at Chuck Barnes Field. 

After his Eagles improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference, Joplin coach Kyle Wolf noted Thursday’s outcome should be a confidence-builder for his squad.

“We all know that’s a really good baseball team in the other dugout,” Wolf said. “I felt like our kids played really hard. They executed in a lot of situations and we took advantage of some things when they were available. When we do those things, we can play a little bit, too.

“I’m hoping they understand that when we do the little things the right way, play hard and play for each other, we can be a really good baseball team,” Wolf added. “We still need to get better. But this should give them some confidence and hopefully help them understand their identity about what allows us to have success.” 

Joplin’s Ethan Guilford delivers a pitch to the plate against Webb City on Thursday. Guilford was the winning pitcher. Photo by Israel Perez.

The Cardinals, who fell to 10-2 overall and 0-1 in the COC, entered the game ranked third in Class 5 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.

A junior right-hander, Guilford limited Webb City to four hits and one earned run while striking out six and walking seven in 6 1/3 innings. 

“I feel great,” Guilford said. “They were 10-1 coming into this game and we knew as a team that we had to play well. I knew I had to pitch to the best of my ability and I feel like I did that. We just beat a team that’s really, really good. I think this will be a great confidence-booster for the team.” 

Simply put, Guilford kept the Cardinals and their potentially-explosive offense off-balance for most of the contest. He threw 102 pitches and induced seven groundouts and five flyouts. 

“My two-seamer was moving the most,” Guilford said. “I had a really good day with that. In some past outings, I’ve had some trouble controlling that, but my two-seamer was really working. The slider was working at times.”

It was Webb City’s lowest scoring output of the season to date. 

“Ethan struggled at times with his breaking ball a little, but he kept fighting,” Wolf said. “Ethan’s a bulldog. He just continues to go out and challenge hitters. And I thought we were pretty good defensively overall behind him.” 

Joplin first baseman Alex Curry stretches to take a throw while Webb City’s Aiden Brock heads to first base. Photo by Israel Perez.

Joplin committed two errors, with one coming on a throw back to the pitcher and the other coming in the bottom of the seventh. 

Webb City had five hits and five errors. 

Cardinals coach Flave Darnell noted that’s not exactly a recipe for success.

“Five hits and five errors won’t win you baseball games at all,” Darnell said. “They made us pay for any mistake we had. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do the same. We struggled a little bit on defense today. And it seemed like a hit seemed to follow after an error. That’s how baseball goes sometimes.” 

Darnell also gave Guilford credit.

“You have to tip your hat to their pitcher,” Darnell said. “He made pitches when he needed to make pitches. He got out of jams. And they made some nice plays on defense.”

 

GAME RECAP

Webb City stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, as Guilford maneuvered out of trouble.

The visitors pushed across a single tally in the top of the second. With two outs, Kirk Chandler reached on an error and charged home on Kyler Stokes’ RBI double to left.

The Cards stranded two more on-base in the second before the Eagles added a run in the third. Fielding Campbell singled and Bodee Carlson reached on an error, putting runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly from Kohl Cooper gave Joplin a two-run cushion. 

Webb City got on the board in the third, as Matt Woodmansee walked before Shane Noel and Cole Gayman both singled to load the bases. After an out. Woodmansee scored from third on an error. But the Cardinals would do no further damage, as the Eagles turned an inning-ending 4-3 double play. 

Cooper’s two-run single gave Joplin a 4-1 advantage in the fifth. Campbell and Carson Wampler both singled to start the inning off. 

The Eagles extended their lead with four runs in the sixth, as Campbell delivered a run-scoring single before two runs crossed the plate after Carlson’s single and a Webb City error. Another miscue in the field later in the inning allowed Joplin to go up 8-1.

“Those were huge runs because they took the pressure off a little bit,” Wolf noted. “It maybe makes them press a little more. It gave us more breathing room. We were able to take advantage of their errors when they happened and that’s the important thing.” 

In the bottom of the sixth, Aiden Brock drew a walk and later scored on Eric Fitch’s RBI single, trimming Webb City’s deficit to 8-2.

Guilford retired Treghan Parker to start the bottom of the seventh, but he walked Woodmansee. Wolf then went to the bullpen, with senior submariner Josh Harryman taking over on the mound.

Webb City plated two runs after an error, a sac fly by Gayman and an RBI double from Cooper Crouch. Harryman retired Brock to end the game. 

 

NAMES & NUMBERS

The Eagles out-hit the Cardinals 10-5. 

A senior right fielder, Cooper drove in three runs on one hit for the Eagles. A senior shortstop, Campbell went 3-for-4 and scored three runs from the leadoff spot.

No one had multiple hits for the Cardinals. A senior right fielder, Woodmansee scored two runs for Webb City. 

Webb City’s Cole Gayman started on the mound for the hosts on Thursday against Joplin.

A Missouri Southern recruit, Gayman took the loss. The senior right-hander surrendered two earned runs on six hits and struck out eight in five innings. 

Eli Goddard and Crouch pitched one inning apiece. Goddard gave up one run on three hits, while Crouch, who has verbally committed to Crowder College, allowed one hit.

NOTE: Webb City held an official field dedication ceremony before the game in honor of the stadium’s recent upgrades.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City plays at Nixa at noon on Saturday. Joplin is at Willard on Saturday for games against the host Tigers (9 a.m.) and Springfield Catholic (11). 

 

Webb City’s Eli Goddard receives a throw at first base against Joplin’s David Fiscus. All photos by Israel Perez.
Webb City’s Eric Fitch tags Bodee Carlson at second base during Thursday’s game.
Joplin’s Kirk Chandler prepares to round third base and head for home.