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Day: April 23, 2021

PREP TENNIS: Thomas Jefferson wins Joplin invite; stellar spring continues for Cavs

Posted on by Jason Peake

The spring season continues to be a successful one for the Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers.

Competing against larger schools, Thomas Jefferson claimed the team championship at the Joplin Invitational boys tennis tournament on Friday at the JHS athletic complex. 

The Cavaliers went 13-3 overall in the invite’s four divisions. Willard went 12-4 and finished second in the team standings. The event was a five-team round-robin. 

Tom Brumfield’s Cavaliers also won their own invite earlier this month and are also 10-0 in dual matches.

Pictured is Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding.

THOMAS JEFFERSON RESULTS

Both of Thomas Jefferson’s doubles teams won their respective brackets.

At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Noah Hamlett and Tyler Brouhard went 4-0. 

The Cavaliers defeated Joplin’s Ben Wardlow and Colin Vermillion 8-1, beat Branson’s Nathan Bartram and Gavin Brown 8-4, topped Carl Junction’s Cade Wilkerson and Easton Sztamenits 8-1 and defeated Willard’s Luke Christiansen and Brayden Roth 8-5.

Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Lele Qian went 4-0 at No. 2 doubles. 

The Cavaliers beat Joplin’s Hunter Merkley-Caleb Cantero 8-2, Branson’s Caleb Buxton-Jacob Decker 8-5, Carl Junction’s Jose Figueroa-Jordan Markham 8-1 and Willard’s Austin Long-Seth Miller 8-4.

At No. 1 singles, Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding went 3-1 to finish second. 

Ding beat Joplin’s Jeffrey Evenson 8-0, Branson’s Hayes Stark 8-3 and Carl Junction’s Blaine Wilkerson 8-0. Willard’s Caiden Lingenfelser defeated Ding 8-1.

At No. 2 singles, TJ’s Christopher Wheelen went 2-2. 

Wheelen beat Joplin’s Michael Mancipe 8-0 and Carl Junction’s Connor Sztamenits 8-0. 

Branson’s Garrett Beckham defeated Wheelen 8-5 and Willard’s Alex Crawford edged Wheelen 8-6. 

 

JOPLIN RESULTS

Pictured is Joplin’s Ben Wardlow.

Evenson went 2-2 at No. 1 singles. He edged Branson’s  Stark 8-6 and defeated Carl Junction’s Wilkerson 8-3 and lost to TJ’s Ding (8-0) and Willard’s Lingenfelser (8-1). 

At No. 2 singles, Mancipe went 1-3, beating Carl Junction’s Sztamenits 8-2 and falling to Thomas Jefferson (8-0), Willard (8-0) and Branson (8-0). 

At No. 1 doubles, Wardlow and Vermillion went 1-3, beating Carl Junction 8-6 and falling to Willard (8-0), Branson (8-1) and Thomas Jefferson (8-1). 

Joplin’s No. 2 doubles team of Hunter Merkley-Caleb Cantero went 0-4. The Eagles lost to Thomas Jefferson 8-2, Willard 8-2, Branson 8-4 and Carl Junction 8-2.

 

CARL JUNCTION RESULTS

Carl Junction’s lone win of the day came at No. 2 doubles, where Figueroa-Markham beat Joplin 8-2.

WILLARD SWEEPS SINGLES 

Willard’s singles players, Lingenfelser and Crawford, both went 4-0 in their brackets. 

 

Joplin Invitational 

Team standings: Thomas Jefferson 13-3, Willard 12-4, Branson 10-6, Joplin 4-12, Carl Junction 1-15.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Missouri Southern set to host Green and Gold Scrimmage

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Missouri Southern football team will welcome fans into Fred G. Hughes Stadium for the first time in almost 17 months as the Lions will take part in the Green and Gold Scrimmage this Saturday afternoon.

The Lions are under first year head coach Atiba Bradley. Southern got a win in its only spring contest this year as the Lions defeated Southern Nazarene 21-20 back in mid-March.

The team will be broken down into two rosters that were chosen draft style with one team wearing Green and the other wearing White.

Gates will open at noon with the kickoff set for 1:25 pm from Fred G. Hughes Stadium. The game will consist of four, 15-minute quarters with the first half being timed normally. The second half will feature a running clock unless the score difference is seven or less in the last four minutes of the game.

There will be a five-minute halftime where the Southern Cheer Squad will perform for the crowd.

Admission is free and there will be donation boxes at the front of the of the stadium where we will be collecting donations of non-perishable food items for the Lion Co-Op.

PREP BASEBALL: College Heights earns win over Liberal

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

The College Heights Christian baseball team earned a 6-4 win at Liberal on Thursday. 

The Cougars scored twice in the first, fifth and seventh innings to take a 6-1 lead. Liberal rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh before the Cougars recorded the final out. 

Joshua Allen went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored for College Heights. He had two doubles. 

Nathan Williams drove in two runs, while Ethan Coggeshell scored twice.

Nicholas Brueggemann was the winning pitcher. He went all seven innings and allowed four earned runs on nine hits while striking out eight. 

Liberal’s Max Dingman took the loss. He gave up four earned runs on five hits and struck out four in 4 1/3 innings. 

Payton Morrow had three hits for the Bulldogs, while Justin Payne and Chase Ray had two hits apiece. Gunner Miller homered. 

College Heights (5-7) is at Pierce City on Tuesday.

GIRLS SOCCER ROUNDUP: Joplin, Neosho suffer losses; Webb City, McAuley earn wins

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

In Thursday’s girls soccer action, Joplin suffered an 8-0 loss to Nixa, while Neosho dropped a 5-0 decision to Ozark, Webb City beat Branson 6-0 and McAuley Catholic topped McDonald County 5-0. 

 

NIXA 8, JOPLIN 0

Nixa had 12 shots on-goal, while Joplin had one shot on-goal. 

Joplin goalkeeper Reece Schroer made four saves.

Nixa’s Ashlynn Stoneberger scored three goals early in the contest, with goals coming in the 11th, 17th and 22nd minutes. Katie Kamies assisted on two of Stoneberger’s goals, with Kelsi Moore assisting on the last.

Bailey Reynolds, Emma Hartley, Abby Harrison, Josie Karlson and Kaya Cocanougher all had one goal apiece for Nixa. The final goal came in the 38th minute. 

Joplin hosts McDonald County at 6:30 on Monday. 

 

OZARK 5, NEOSHO 0

Neosho had three shots on-goal, two by Erika Ornelas and one by Breanna Alvarado. 

Ozark had 19 shots on-goal. 

Neosho goalie Shelby Roberts made 14 saves. 

Neosho hosts Carthage at 6:45 on Tuesday. 

 

WEBB CITY 6, BRANSON 0

Webb City improved to 13-2 and 4-0 in the COC. 

The Cardinals host Logan-Rogersville on Monday.

 

MCAULEY CATHOLIC 5, MCDONALD COUNTY 0

McAuley Catholic improved to 10-1. 

The Warriors are at New Covenant Academy at 4 on Monday. 

PREP TRACK & FIELD: Joplin boys take third at Willard; Dunn wins two events for JHS girls

Posted on by Jason Peake

WILLARD, Mo. — Joplin’s boys won three events and finished third out of 20 teams at the Jason Pyrah Invitational track meet on Thursday at Willard High School.

Competing in the Class 4-5 division, Joplin compiled 103.33 points. Willard took first with 122.5 points and Nixa was second with 112. 

Joplin’s girls finished fifth in the team standings with 51 points. The top four schools were Marshfield (117), Nixa (117), Ozark (101) and Ash Grove (61). 

 

JOPLIN BOYS HIGHLIGHTS

Joplin’s boys won the 4×800 relay in 8:08, with Micah Bruggeman, Hobbs Campbell, Evan Matlock and Ryan Byers competing.

The JHS team of Nathan Glades, Trayshawn Thomas, Luke Vieselmeyer and Donovyn Fowler finished second in the 4×100 relay with a time of 44.06. Willard was first in 44.03. 

Joplin’s 4×400 relay team of Nicholas Horton, Ashton Ventura, Campbell and Byers took fourth. 

Fowler won the long jump (21-6.75), while Thomas won the triple jump (44-0.75) and took second in the long jump (20-9). 

Campbell and Bruggeman finished second and third, respectively, in the 1600, while Campbell also crossed the line second in the 800. 

Donovahn Watkins finished third in the shot put. Horton and Ventura were fourth and fifth in the 800, while Zaben Barnes and Matlock placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 3200. 

Glades finished sixth in both the 100-meter dash and the long jump. 

Barnes took eighth in the 1600, Triston Stogsdill was eighth in the 300 hurdles and Blake Farmer tied for eighth in the high jump. 

 

JOPLIN GIRLS HIGHLIGHTS

Jennalee Dunn won two events for the Joplin girls.

A junior, Dunn crossed the line first in the 1600 in a school record time of 5:17. Dunn also took first in the 3200 (11:51). 

Joplin’s Alayna Merriman was the runner-up in the javelin, while Allie Keizer (3200) and Allie Lawrence (pole vault) finished third in their respective events. 

The JHS girls were fifth in the 4×100 relay, with Kylie Anderson, Lawrence, Isabella Yust and Abigail Eckert competing. The 4×200 relay team of Anderson, Eckert, Yust and Lawrence finished seventh. 

Alexandra Carson finished sixth in the 400, while Keizer was seventh in the 1600. 

Note: McDonald County’s Mariana Salas won the girls javelin with a toss of 114-2.

 

JASON PYRAH INVITATIONAL

Boys team standings: Willard 122.5, Nixa 112, Joplin 103.33, Lebanon 63, Ozark 60, Buffalo 39, Springfield Catholic 34.83, Spokane 32, Logan-Rogersville 30.5, Marshfield 29, Reeds Spring 28, New Covenant 20, Pittsburg 20, Clever 10, Greenfield 8, Hartville 7, Riverton 7, Fair Grove 5.5, McDonald County 5.33, Marion C. Early 4.

Girls team standings: Marshfield 117, Nixa 117, Ozark 101, Ash Grove 61, Joplin 51, Lebanon 49, Clever 34, Pittsburg 31.5, Logan-Rogersville 22.75, Fair Grove 22, Willard 21, McDonald County 20.75, Summit Prep 18, New Covenant 16, Riverton 12, Hartville 11, Springfield Catholic 10, Greenfield 9, Spokane 8, Reeds Spring 8, Buffalo 1. 

 

PREP TENNIS: Neosho drops COC match at Branson

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Neosho High School boys tennis team fell 9-0 to Branson on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference action. 

In singles action, Gavin Brown defeated Christian Williams 8-0, Nathan Bartram beat Melvin Lopez 8-0, William Stark topped Ryno Lee 8-0, Garrett Beckham knocked off Brandt Gonzales 8-0, Caleb Buxton beat Blaze McKay 8-0 and Jacob Decker defeated Caden Kelly 8-2. 

In doubles, Brown-Stark defeated Williams-Lopez 8-0, while Bartram-Buxton beat Lee-Gonzales 8-0 and Beckham-Decker defeated McKay-Kelly 8-0.

Neosho is at Webb City on April 27. 

 

PREP BASEBALL: Republic pulls away from Carthage in COC action

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARTHAGE Mo. — Republic struck for three runs in the top of the first before Carthage tied the game up with a three spot in the fifth before RHS scored five unanswered runs combined in the sixth and seventh innings to earn the win.

Wil McCombs took the loss for Carthage (5-11, 0-5 COC) after allowing six runs, one earned, on three hits, three walks and nine strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Parker Copeland allowed two runs on four hits, two walks and a strikeout in 1 2/3 relief innings.

Vincent Pyeatt earned the win for Republic (11-6, 4-0 COC) after allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits, two walks and three strikeouts in six innings.

McCombs had a hit, drew a walk and scored a run. Kaden Kralicek walked and drove in a run, while Kanen Vogt, Sylas Browning and Grant Collier all added base hits.

PREP GOLF: Thomas Jefferson wins triangular with McAuley and Pierce City

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Thomas Jefferson scored a 184 as a team to take first place in a triangular match with McAuley and Pierce City on Thursday at Schifferdecker Golf Course.

The Warriors took second palace with a team score of 190, while the Eagles shot a 200 collectively. 

Playing the front nine, Thomas Jefferson’s Owen D’Amour took top medalist honors with a four-over-par 40, while Pierce City’s Ashton Medlin carded a 41 to take second place. McAuley’s Evan D’Amour and Thomas Jefferson’s Jack Tyrrell tied for third medalist honors and each player shot a 44, respectively.

Rounding out Thomas Jefferson’s scoring was Luke Miller carding a 49 and Caden Myers shooting a 51.

McAuley’s Joe Lupicki scored a 46, while Joe Staton and Daniel Wagner each shot a 50.

PREP BASEBALL: No. 6 Carl Junction rallies for a walk-off win over No. 1 Willard in COC clash

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — After trailing early, No. 6 Carl Junction rallied back for a 4-3 walk-off win over No. 1 Willard in a Central Ozark Conference clash between two powerhouse Class 5 teams on Thursday.

“The bottom line is Willard is a heck of a baseball team,” Carl Junction coach Jake Stevenson said. “The COC, every game you play, is going to be a dogfight. … We talked a lot about playing for 21 outs. If it doesn’t go your way early, stay in and play hard for 21 outs. … Truly, our guys were super mentally prepared the last few days in practice, stayed the course and got it done today. I was very proud of our guys.”

With the game tied at 3-3 to start the last of the seventh, the Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1 COC) led off the inning with a bunt single to the right side past the pitcher by Cole Stewart, who ultimately reached second on the play after a throwing error. Carson Johnson and Drew Beyer drew back-to-back walks with a Willard pitching change in the mix to load the bases with no outs. The Tigers (13-7, 3-2 COC) shifted defensively and moved to five infielders and two outfielders, with left field wide open. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Noah Southern laced a line drive to an empty left field to bring home Stewart as the winning run.

“First-pitch strike,” Southern said when asked what he was looking for. “I got it and just yanked it down the line. There was nobody in left field and I am a right-handed guy, so I am going to hit to left field most of the time.

“(This win) means a lot. Our goals at the beginning of the year was to be conference, district and state champs. We got another win in conference and hopefully we see these guys again later in the season. Only time will tell.”

“The one thing about it is, and anybody can feel this way, is you could want to try to do too much there,” Stevenson said of the walk-off hit. “Noah stayed short and stayed through a baseball.”

ON THE MOUND

Alex Baker started the game and earned a no-decision after allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits, two walks and five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Johnson earned the win after pitching 1/3 of an inning in relief and didn’t allow a run. 

“They got out and got an early lead but he is such a composed individual, such a high-character kid that the moment is not going to be much for him,” Stevenson said. “There is no one you would rather see on the mound when that happens. You know he is going to overcome it. He did a nice job of settling in and getting outs when he needed it.”

Gavin Burk started for the Tigers and took a no decision after allowing three runs on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts in six innings of work. Jared Miles took the loss after allowing one run on one hit and two walks without recording an out. Evan Gaunt allowed one hit without recording an out.

GAME ACTION

Willard took the game’s first lead in the top of the first inning with two runs. After working a leadoff walk and a one-out single from Grant Merryman put runners on the corners, Cooper Hampton doubled to right-center to plate Blake Hultgren. The Tigers brought home the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Klayton Kiser.

Willard pushed the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single to left-center from Elliott Friend that scored Kiser, who reached base to lead off the fourth inning on a dropped third strike. 

Southern led off the bottom of the fourth with a deep shot to the gap in left-center for a triple before coming around to score on an RBI groundout from Dylan Eck to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard and trim the lead to 3-1. 

“It didn’t happen early, which is why they kept us at bay,” Stevenson said about the importance of getting the leadoff man on offensively. “Once we were able to get the leadoff guy on and move some guys over, we felt like we could have some success. It certainly helped us round things out there in the end.”

Carl Junction used some two-out magic to tie the game up in the bottom of the fifth. Johnson singled before Drew Beyer drew a walk. Southern reached on an infield hit to load the bases. With Alex Baker at the plate, the Bulldogs cut the lead one when Johnson scored on a wild pitch Shortly after with Baker still up, Beyer scored on another wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3.

IN THE BOX

Southern led CJ at the plate with a perfect 4-for-4 game to go along with a run scored and the game-winning RBI. Johnson had two hits, a walk and scored a run, while Brendyn Downs and Cole Stewart, who scored a run, each recorded hits.

UP NEXT

Carl Junction hosts Pittsburg at 10 a.m. on Saturday

PREP TENNIS: Joplin suffers loss at Republic

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

The Joplin High School boys tennis team suffered an 8-1 setback at Republic on Thursday.

Joplin’s lone win came at No. 3 doubles, where Josh Yarnall and Michael Mancipe defeated Republic’s Garrett Carpenter and Jacob Moody 8-6.

“Josh and Michael played a great strategic game,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “They played long rallies, avoided the net player and placed the ball.”

At No. 1 doubles, Republic’s Andrew McMillin-Ian Deckard defeated Logan Merkley-Jeffrey Evenson 8-1, while the team of Braden Snyder-Scott Parker beat Joplin’s Ben Wardlow-Colin Vermillion 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.

In singles play, McMillin edged Merkley 8-5, while Snyder defeated Evenson 8-4.

At No. 3 singles, Republic’s Deckard got past Wardlow 8-5.

“Ben was able to close the gap late in his match to make it close after a slow start,” Stump commented.

Parker topped Mancipe 8-2, Carpenter beat Vermillion 8-4 and Moody defeated Hunter Merkley 8-0.

“Hunter stepped in to play No. 6 singles since Josh Yarnall was unable to compete,” Stump said. “Michael and Colin also had to play up a rank in their singles matches.” 

Joplin is scheduled to host an invite on Friday, weather permitting. 

PREP TENNIS: Thomas Jefferson improves to 10-0 with win over Greenwood

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

The Thomas Jefferson Independent boys tennis team earned a dominant 9-0 win over Greenwood on Thursday.

The Cavaliers improved to 10-0.

In singles play, Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding defeated Nathan Fletcher 8-2, while Noah Hamlett, Tyler Brouhard, Christopher Wheelen, Hari Nagarajan and Prithvi Nagarajan all won their respective matches by identical 8-0 scores.

In doubles, Hamlett-Brouhard beat Fletcher-William Schaller 8-1, while Ding-H. Nagarajan defeated Sanjeev Manganti-Gavin Duncan 8-0 and Wheelen-P. Nagarajan beat William McQueary-Dalton Redden 8-0.

The Cavaliers are scheduled to compete at Joplin’s tournament on Friday. 

 

PREP SOFTBALL: College Heights scores 18 runs in win over Liberal

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

LIBERAL, Mo. — Ignited by an eight-run fourth inning, the College Heights Christian softball team cruised to an 18-5 win over Liberal on Thursday.

College Heights improved to 13-2 on the season. 

The Cougars, who also feature players from McAuley Catholic, scored three runs in the first, eight in the fourth, three more in the fifth and four in the sixth.

College Heights recorded 18 hits. Jayli Johnson, Maddy Colin and Avery Good had three hits apiece, while Kloee Williamson, Layne Jackson, Addie Lawrence and Aaliyah Perez contributed two hits apiece. Lawrence homered, while Colin had two doubles. 

Williamson, Colin and Lawrence drove in three runs apiece, while Perez had two RBI. Williamson scored four runs, while Johnson crossed home three times.

Lawrence pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs while striking out one. Colin pitched 3 1/3 innings, striking out nine. 

Liberal’s Kyla Porter took the loss. Ellaina LaNear went 3-for-3 with a run scored for the hosts, while Grace Bott scored twice. 

College Heights is at the Shelby Estep Tournament on Saturday. The Cougars will play Hollister and Marionville. 

 

PREP BASEBALL: Webb City rolls past Branson; Cards improve to 14-3

Posted on by Jason Peake

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City bounced back from Monday’s loss to Willard in a big way, as the second-ranked Cardinals rolled to an 11-2 victory over Branson on Thursday in a Central Ozark Conference prep baseball clash at Chuck Barnes Field. 

Webb City hiked its record to 14-3 overall and 3-2 in the COC. Branson fell to 4-12 and 0-5 in COC with the loss.  

The hosts scored runs in five of the six innings they came to the plate. 

The Cardinals plated two runs in the bottom of the first against Branson right-hander Andrew Bristow.

Devrin Weathers walked, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and came home on Treghan Parker’s groundout. 

Shane Noel singled up the middle and later scored when the Pirates couldn’t corral Matt Woodmansee’s fly ball into center field. The hosts later stranded the bases loaded. 

Webb City added a single tally in the second. Weathers singled before Parker and Noel both walked. Woodmansee lifted a sacrifice fly to right, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead. 

The Cardinals were unable to do further damage, as they once again left the bases loaded.

In a four-run third, Jeremiah Leaming singled and Eric Fitch and Weathers both walked before Parker cleared the bases with a three-run triple to right-center.

Parker then sprinted home on Noel’s run-scoring grounder, making it 7-0. 

Branson got on the board in the fourth when Ridge Schroeder homered to left. 

Webb City extended its lead in the bottom half of the fourth, as Cole Gayman singled, Aiden Brock walked and Fitch delivered a two-run single through the right side to give the hosts a 9-1 advantage. 

The Pirates added a run in the sixth, but Weathers delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the frame for an 11-2 lead.

Branson was limited to four hits in the game. 

Senior right-hander Eli Goddard made his first start of the season for the Cardinals. He went four innings, allowing three hits while striking out three to earn the win. 

Cooper Crouch struck out four in two innings of relief, while Noel pitched a scoreless seventh. 

Weathers had two hits, two RBI, stole three bases and scored three runs for the Cardinals, while Parker drove in four runs. The Cardinals had eight hits and took advantage of nine walks.

Ranked second in Class 5, Webb City travels to Francis Howell on Saturday for games against the host Vikings and Rock Bridge. Francis Howell is ranked third in Class 6, while Rock Bridge is ranked ninth. 

 

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