Your online home for Joplin area sports coverage.

PREP TRACK & FIELD: College Heights athletes shine at Mount Vernon

 

The College Heights Christian girls track and field squad won four events at the Mountaineer Relays on Thursday at Mount Vernon High School.

Addie Lawrence crossed the line first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.5 seconds, while teammate Grace Bishop won the 1600 in 5:41.

The College Heights girls won two relays, the 4×200 in 1:49 and the 4×400 in 4:17. The Cougars were second in the 4×100 and third in the 4×800. 

Also for the Cougars, Jayli Johnson finished third in the 200, Bishop was third in the 800 and Lauren Ukena took third in the 300 hurdles. 

Allie Fiscus finished seventh in the 300 hurdles and eighth in the 100 hurdles.

For the College Heights boys, Derrick McMillan finished third in the 800, while Colsen Dickens took seventh in the 400. 

College Heights finished second in the 4×800 relay with a time of 8:51. The Cougars were fourth in both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays while also finishing fifth in the 4×200.

SENECA HIGHLIGHTS

The Seneca Indians also competed at the meet.

For the Seneca girls, Danessa Macy placed third in the 100 hurdles and Samarah Mittag finished fourth in the 200.

Isabella Renfro was fifth in the shot put, Kamryn Fox took sixth in the 400, Makenzie French was eighth in the 100, Amber Garrison took eighth in the javelin and Katelyn Fyock finished eighth in the long jump.  

For the Seneca boys, Hayden Smith and Jacob Brown were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the pole vault. 

Ethan Altic was fourth in the 1600, Max Golden took fifth in the 110 hurdles, Jaxson Graham was seventh in the 100 and Morgan Bryan finished sixth in the discus and eighth in the shot put.

LOCAL EVENT WINNERS

Mount Vernon standout Sadie Heisner won the 100 hurdles, the triple jump and the pole vault. 

Other local event winners from the girls meet were Nevada’s Tylin Heathman (300 hurdles), Taylor Thompson (discus) and Claire Pritchett (shot put) and Mount Vernon’s Payton Dennis (javelin). 

Area boys winning individual events were Greenfield’s Conner Lewandowski (100), Aurora’s Jacob Rohlman (200, 400), Southwest’s Christian Long (800) and Travis Sickles (1600, 3200), Mount Vernon’s Wyatt Cordray (110 H) and Nevada’s Drew Beachler (long jump).

PREP BASEBALL: Final Central Ozark Conference standings

FINAL CENTRAL OZARK CONFERENCE BASEBALL STANDINGS

              COC          ALL

Republic      8-1         16-9

Webb City     7-2         22-5

Nixa          6-3         18-6

Joplin        6-3         16-10

Ozark         6-3         10-14 

Willard        5-4         20-9

Carl Junction  4-5         16-9

Branson        2-7         6-15 

Carthage       1-8         8-17

Neosho         0-9         4-21


Updated May 11 (All COC games completed)



GIRLS SOCCER: Joplin, Neosho drop COC matches

 

REPUBLIC 5, JOPLIN 1

The Joplin High School girls soccer team suffered a 5-1 loss to Republic on Thursday.

Republic recorded seven shots on-goal, while Joplin had two shots on-goal.

Joplin goalkeeper Serafina Auberry made two saves. 

Regan Holmes scored Republic’s first goal in the seventh minute and it was assisted by Clara Fronabarger.

Fronabarger recorded Republic’s second goal in the 19th minute. It was assisted by Erin Brown.

Mya Johnson scored Joplin’s lone goal in the 19th minute. 

In the 32nd minute, Republic went up 3-1 after an own goal by the Eagles.

Holmes added a goal in the 56th minute and Kendra Phiri accounted for the final goal of the night in the 68th minute. 

Joplin hosts McAuley Catholic with College Heights at 4:30 on Monday.

 

BRANSON 4, NEOSHO 2

Branson defeated Neosho 4-2 on Thursday in a COC matchup.

The Pirates had 12 shots on-goal, while Neosho had six shots on-goal.

Erika Ornelas and Avery Renfro scored one goal apiece for the Wildcats. Both were unassisted goals.

Neosho goalkeeper Shelby Roberts made eight saves.

The Wildcats will compete at the Willard Invitational this weekend.

BOYS TENNIS: Neosho suffers setback to Nixa

 

The Neosho High School boys tennis team suffered a 9-0 loss to Nixa on Thursday.

In singles action, Isaac Forbis defeated Christian Williams 8-3, Ben Mills beat Melvin Lopez 8-0, Dallin Attwooll topped Ryno Lee 8-1, Mason Murray beat Brandt Gonzales 8-1, Brody Ball defeated Blaze McKay 8-0 and Trey Hartwell topped Caden Kelly 8-0.

In doubles, Forbis-Mills defeated Williams-Lopez 8-0, Attwooll-Murray defeated Lee-Gonzales 8-1 and Ball-Hartwell beat McKay-Kelly 8-0.

Neosho is scheduled to compete at the Republic Tournament on Friday.

PREP ROUNDUP: Thomas Jefferson golf wins; CJ and Neosho baseball fall

GOLF

Thomas Jefferson wins duel with Sarcoxie

Thomas Jefferson scored 184 as a team to best Sarcoxie’s 225 team score on the front nine at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

Thomas Jefferson’s Owen D’Amour took first place medalist honors after carding an even-par 36. Sarcoxie’s Eli Ellis took second medalist honors with a 48, while Thomas Jefferson’s Jack Tyrrell and Jake Jarrett tied for third medalist honors after shooting 49s.

Caden Myers shot a 61 for Thomas Jefferson. Rounding out Sarcoxie’s scores were Matt Swayne (56), Tyler Cupp (58), Justin Mandera (63) and Kenzie Chrisman (70).

 

BASEBALL

OZARK 9, CARL JUNCTION 3

OZARK, Mo. — Ozark scored three times in the first inning and added two runs in each of the fourth and fifth frames on the way to a 9-3 win over Carl Junction in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday.

The Bulldogs (12-7, 3-3 COC) were led at the plate by Alex Baker, who had an RBI single in the first and a run-scoring double in the third to lead the team in hits (two) and RBI (two). Carson Johnson hit a solo home run in the fifth and scored twice. Drew Beyer had two hits and scored a run.

Devyn Wright went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored for Ozark. Holden Sabor, Colton Casteel, Rhett Hayward and Cooper Buvid all doubled and had two hits each.

Brody Baumann earned the win after allowing three runs on six hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings.

Baker took the loss after surrendering nine runs, eight earned, on 14 hits and four strikeouts.

Carl Junction is in Springfield on Saturday with games against Springfield Catholic and McDonald County.

 

BRANSON 5, NEOSHO 3 (8 INNINGS)

Neosho and Branson took a 3-3 tie into extra innings with Branson scoring twice in the eighth inning to earn a 5-3 win on Thursday at Roy B. Shaver Field.

Neosho took the initial lead with two runs in the third inning on a two-run triple to center field to score Brett Slavens and Lane Yost. Slavens walked and Yost doubled to left earlier in the inning.

Branson added single tallies in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a one-run lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, River Brill kept the game alive for Neosho with an RBI single to left to tie the game at 3-3. Eli Zar led the inning off with a single up the middle.

In the top of the eighth, two batters following a leadoff walk, Carter Jenkins tripled to right field to score a run and give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. Jenkins scored later in the inning on a Neosho error to push the lead to 5-3.

Mark Bristow earned the win in relief after allowing one run on two hits and a strikeout in two innings of work.

Brill took the loss in relief after giving up two runs, one earned, on one hit, a walk and two strikeouts in one innings. Wyatt Keplar started and gave up one run on one hit, a walk and a strikeout in five innings.

Yost and Zar each had two hits to lead the Wildcats at the plate. Keplar had a hit and a team-high two RBI.

Neosho is at Webb City on Tuesday.

PREP BASEBALL: Republic beats Joplin 5-3 in clash between top two COC teams

After inclement weather forced a change of venue, Republic erased an early deficit with four runs in the middle innings en route to a 5-3 win over Joplin in a matchup between teams holding the top two Central Ozark Conference records on Thursday at the JHS Athletic Complex.

The Eagles took the lead with a run in the first inning before the Tigers used a two-out, two-run home run in the third inning to take a 2-1 advantage. Republic added two insurance runs in the top of the fourth to push the lead to 4-1, but Joplin answered back with two runs of its own in the bottom half to trim the deficit back to one. The Tigers added an unearned run in the sixth and held off the Eagles for the win.

“If you are going to win big games against good teams—people talk about the little things, but it’s the winning things,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “Over the course of the game, we had some opportunities. … Some of the things like catching it and throwing it a little bit and being locked into a situation and understanding what we have to do there. We didn’t do a good job of that, and we need to compete a little better.”

With the win, Republic stays atop the COC standings with a 15-6, 7-0 conference record. Joplin falls to 13-8, 5-2 in the COC.

ON THE MOUND

Vincent Pyeatt earned the win after allowing three runs on three hits, six walks and five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. Cole Iles didn’t allow a run while allowing two hits and striking out three in 3 1/3 relief innings.

Joplin’s Fielding Campbell was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits, a walk and three strikeouts in three innings. Josh Harryman allowed one unearned run on one hit, three walks and five strikeouts in four innings of relief work.

“I don’t think Josh was as sharp today as he’s been, but he battled through things and got us some outs in big situations,” Wolf said of his reliever. “He kept us in a position where if we got some guys on and could get a hit, we could tie it up or win it. Good job on him just competing on the bump on a day he might not have had his best stuff.”

GAME ACTION

Joplin drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning when David Fiscus was walked with the bases loaded to plate Bodee Carslon, who reached with an infield hit to lead off the inning.

The Tigers broke through on the scoreboard with two outs in the top of the third inning. After Gavyn Beckner doubled to right field, Ryker Harrington unloaded for a two-run home run to right field in the next at-bat to give Republic a 2-1 lead.

Republic went to work with the bats in the top of the fourth when a single, walk and single loaded the bases with no outs. Gavin Walker followed with a two-run double to right field to make the score 4-1.

Joplin used two-out magic in the bottom of the inning when Carlson drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, while Campbell followed with an RBI infield hit to shortstop in the next at-bat with the bags still full to score another run and trim the Republic lead to 4-3.

The Tigers added an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Harrington reached second base on an error by Joplin. Kyle Hill singled later in the inning and Harrington was caught in a rundown between third and home, ultimately scoring on a throwing error while in a pickle to push the lead to 5-3.

“We had some good at-bats today, but I also thought we had some incredibly uncompetitive at-bats today as well,” Wolf said of his team’s offensive approach. “Really, that is the first time all year that I would say that is true.”

AT THE PLATE

Harrington had a home run, two RBI and scored twice to lead Republic. Hill had two hits, while Beckner and Walker each doubled.

Carlson had one hit, one RBI and scored a run to go along with two walks to lead Joplin. Campbell added a hit and an RBI. 

UP NEXT

Joplin travels to Carthage for games against Smithville and the Tigers on Saturday.

BOYS TENNIS: Joplin suffers loss to Willard

 

The Joplin High School boys tennis team suffered a 9-0 loss to Willard on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference action at the JHS athletic complex.

“We knew going into today that Willard had a strong team with a lot of depth,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. 

At No. 1 doubles, Willard’s Caden Lingenfelser and Alex Crawford defeated Joplin’s Logan Merkley and Jeffrey Evenson 8-0.

In the other doubles matches, Luke Christiansen and Brayden Roth defeated Ben Wardlow and Colin Vermillion 8-1 and Austin Long and Seth Miller topped Josh Yarnall and Michael Mancipe 8-5.

“Josh and Michael started out well,” Stump commented. “Their opponents had some really strong serves to finish the match.” 

In singles play, Willard’s Lingenfelser beat Merkley 8-0 and Crawford defeated Evenson 8-2.

“Despite the score, Jeff played well,” Stump noted. “He had long rallies against his opponent and got to deuce multiple times.” 

At No. 3 singles, Joplin’s Wardlow suffered an 8-3 loss to Christiansen. 

“Ben started out pretty far behind but was able to win a few games near the end of his match,” Stump said.

In other singles matches, Roth defeated Yarnall 8-2, Long topped Mancipe 8-2 and Miller beat Vermillion 8-2. 

Joplin is at Neosho on Tuesday.

PREP BASEBALL: Webb City earns key COC win over Nixa

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City kept its Central Ozark Conference title hopes alive by earning a 5-3 win over Nixa on Thursday at Chuck Barnes Field.

Ranked second in Class 5 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association, Webb City hiked its record to 16-5 overall and 5-2 in the COC. 

“This is a great win,” Webb City coach Flave Darnell said. “Nixa’s a great team and a great program. This win keeps us in the conference race a little bit. Hopefully someone can knock off Republic along the way.”

Republic is now the lone unbeaten team in the conference, while Webb City, Joplin and Nixa all have two COC setbacks apiece. 

Webb City has just two COC games remaining, as the Cardinals host Neosho on Tuesday and Republic on Thursday. 

“We’ve got Neosho and Republic next week, so it should be a fun week for sure,” Darnell said. 

Ranked seventh in the Class 6 poll, Nixa fell to 16-4 and 4-2 in the conference. 

 

GAME RECAP

Thursday’s game was moved to Webb City due to wet playing conditions in Nixa, and the Cardinals set the tone right from the start with a three-run first inning.  

The visitors on the scoreboard, Webb City got going early against Nixa starting pitcher Keith Piepmeier.

Leadoff batter Devrin Weathers walked and stole second before Treghan Parker lined an RBI double into right.

After Shane Noel reached on a bunt single, Matt Woodmansee followed with a sacrifice fly to right.

Cole Gayman made it 3-0 with a run-scoring double into left. 

“That was big,” Darnell said of his team’s quick start. “Devrin and Treghan have been doing a great job at the top of the order. Shane’s bunt base hit was awesome. We’ve really been stressing small ball. I thought we did well on Tuesday and we did a pretty good job of that again today. We need to keep doing that stuff to put pressure on the defense.” 

Nixa got on the board in the bottom of the second against Webb City right-hander Eric Fitch, as Alek Johnson singled and later scored from third on a balk.

The Cardinals got the run back in the third, as Parker singled and later went to third on Woodmansee’s infield single. Gayman’s sac bunt brought home Parker and made it 4-1. 

Webb City extended its lead to 5-1 in the fourth, as Jeremiah Leaming singled, Fitch was hit by a pitch and Weathers reached on an infield single to load the bases.

Next, Parker lifted a sacrifice fly into center, with Leaming sprinting home. 

Nixa trimmed its deficit to three in the bottom half of the fourth.

Johnson walked, stole second and later scored on a Webb City miscue in the field, cutting Webb City’s lead to 5-2.

Nixa pulled within two runs in the sixth, as Quinn Gundelfinger doubled to start the frame. At that point, Fitch was relieved by Noel.

Nixa’s Rylan Michel delivered a run-scoring single to left to cut Webb City’s advantage to 5-3.

But Noel struck out the final two batters of the inning to maneuver out of trouble nicely. 

Back out for the seventh, Noel retired the Eagles in order to secure the win. 

 

NAMES & NUMBERS

Parker went 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Cardinals, while Gayman drove in two runs on two hits. Aiden Brock, Parker and Gayman all hit doubles.

Webb City had a number of chances to break the game open, but the Cardinals stranded 10 runners on-base.

“We had guys on-base and we had some other chances to execute some sac bunts and we were unable to do that today,” Darnell noted. “But their lefty came in and kept us at bay. We’re going to keep working.” 

A junior, Fitch was the winning pitcher. He went five innings and allowed just two runs on four hits. He struck out one and walked one.

“It was good to see his start today,” Darnell said. “Eric competed. We went hitter by hitter and Eric kept us in the game. Eric’s a competitor and it was good to see his outing.” 

Noel earned the save by going the final two frames, striking out three.

“Shane definitely came into a tough situation, but Shane’s a competitor,” Darnell said. “I’m very happy with Shane. This was a good win.” 

The Eagles were limited to six hits.

Piepmeier took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in four innings of work. Left-hander Sam Russo tossed three scoreless innings in relief.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City travels to Marshfield on Saturday for a pair of non-conference games, one against the hosts and another against Ste. Genevieve.