Joplin is the fifth seed and Carthage is the seventh seed in the Class 6 District 6 baseball tournament.
The Eagles take on fourth-seeded Lebanon at 1:30 p.m. on May 17, while Carthage battles second-seeded Republic at 4 p.m. later that day. All games will be hosted by Springfield central.
The semifinals are slated for May 19, with the district title game scheduled for May 20.
Top-seeded Diamond edged second-seeded East Newton 9-8 in the championship game of the Class 2 District 5 softball tournament on Thursday.
With the win, Diamond (19-2) will meet College Heights Christian (18-3) on May 13 in a quarterfinal contest of the state tournament.
East Newon led 3-2 when Diamond plated three runs in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead.
The Patriots trailed 9-6 entering the seventh inning. East Newton pushed across two runs before the Wildcats recorded the final out.
Diamond’s Madison Bentley was the winning pitcher. She struck out eight and allowed six earned runs on 12 hits.
Grace Frazier went 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Wildcats, while Caitlin Suhrie, Lexy Bridges and Piper Brewer all had two hits apiece.
Leslie Watson drove in three runs on one hit, while Suhrie scored three runs.
Gracie McMahan was charged with the loss. She allowed six earned runs on 11 hits and struck out six in five innings. Kaylie Kester pitched one inning and gave up two runs.
East Newton’s Mackenzie Brasier drove in three runs on three hits, while Kayla Higginbotham, Kinzie Massey and Josie Guinn all had two hits apiece.
Massey scored three runs for the Patriots (24-6).
BRANSON, Mo. — Two points. That’s all that separated Webb City and Joplin at the top of the team standings at the Central Ozark Conference Track Meet on Thursday at Branson High School.
Webb City captured the conference championship with 126 points and Joplin settled for second with 124.
Nixa (107), Willard (101) and Branson (65) rounded out the top five teams. Carthage (53), Ozark (51), Neosho (50), Republic (41) and Carl Junction (23) completed the team standings.
Webb City’s boys won two events and finished second in five others.
Grayson Smith (4.27 meters) and Pryce Mason (4.10m) placed first and second, respectively, in the pole vault, while Justin Allen was fourth in the same event.
Mekhi Garrard won the triple jump (14.42m) and was the runner-up in the long jump.
The Cardinals took second in the 4×200 relay, with Isaiah Brisco, William Wolfe, Mason and Garrard competing.
James Morgan took second in the 110 hurdles and Luke Brumit placed second in the high jump. Brumit was fourth in the javelin and Robert Hollis was fifth in the same event.
Jordan Thornburg finished fourth in the 100, while Roman Borboa took fourth in the 1600 and Garrard was fourth in the 200.
Webb City’s 4×100 relay team of Brentan Wilson, Wolfe, Thornburg and Brisco took fifth, while the 4×800 relay also finished fifth, with Sam Winesburg, Owen Weller, Blake Vaughn and Joseph Dawson competing.
Matt McDaniel and Wolfe were fourth and sixth in the high jump, while Brisco took fifth in the triple jump.
Wolfe placed sixth in the 200, Borboa finished sixth in the 800 and Caleb Cook was sixth in the 110 hurdles. Jacob Shonk finished seventh in the long jump.
Joplin’s boys won five events.
Hobbs Campbell crossed the line first in two events, winning the 1600 with a time of 4:22 and the 3200 in 9:40. Campbell also finished third in the 800.
Donovyn Fowler won the long jump (6.88 meters) and finished second in the triple jump (14.30m).
The JHS 4×100 relay team of Dominick Simmons, Trayshawn Thomas, Luke Vieselmeyer and Fowler took first in 44.34 seconds.
Joplin’s 4×800 relay team of Ashton Ventura, Zaben Barnes, Ryan Byers and Nicholas Horton finished first with a winning time of 8:14.
Fowler took second in the 200, while Micah Bruggeman took second in the 800 and the Missouri recruit also finished third in the 1600.
Barnes and Matlock finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 3200. Matlock was also fifth in the 1600.
Thomas finished third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.
Donovahn Watkins placed third in the shot put and also finished fifth in the discus.
Joplin’s boys were sixth in the 4×400.
The Tigers won two events.
Carthage’s Miguel Solano crossed the line first in the 800 with a time of 1:58, while teammate Caleb Calvin won the javelin with a toss of 55.97 meters.
The Tigers were third in the 4×800 relay, with Solano, Malcolm Robertson, Ty Lewis and Mariques Strickland competing.
Carthage’s 4×100 took fourth, with Cale Patrick, Calvin, Tyler Burt and Aiden Rogers running. The Tigers were fifth in the 4×400.
Also for Carthage, Aiden Logan placed fourth in the discus, while Bryce Miller took sixth in the pole vault and Zachary Lansford was sixth in the javelin.
For the Neosho boys, Kaden Cole was the runner-up in the 1600 and he also placed fourth in the 800.
Neosho’s 4×400 relay team of Isaiah Hill, Evan Haskins, Tristan Clanton and Isaiah Green finished third.
Clanton placed third in the 400, while Tristen Linders took third in the discus, Jeremiah Larson finished fourth in the 300 hurdles and Green took fourth in the triple jump. The Wildcats were sixth in the 4×200 relay.
Carl Junction’s Brendan Jewell won the high jump (1.96m).
Also for the Bulldogs, Collin Emmert finished third in the 3200 and Drew Patterson finished fourth in the 110 hurdles.
BRANSON, Mo. — Webb City and Carl Junction had female athletes capture gold medals at the Central Ozark Conference Track Meet on Thursday at Branson High School.
Nixa (147.5), Ozark (126.5) and Webb City (104) were the top three teams in the standings.
Republic (104), Branson (88), Carl Junction (71), Neosho (38), Carthage (27), Willard (15) and Joplin (14) rounded out the team standings.
Webb City’s girls were led by Riley Hawkins, Haidyn Berry and Emily Beres.
Hawkins won the 1600 in 5:29, finished second in the 3200 and was fourth in the 800.
Berry won the javelin (37.28m) and Beres won the shot put (11.57m).
Beres was also the runner-up in the discus, while Dawsyn Decker took second to Berry in the javelin.
Abi Street finished third in the 3200 and was fourth in the 1600.
Ripley Shanks took fourth in the pole vault, while Kaylyn Gilbert took fifth in the shot put and discus and Essence Robinson placed fifth in the long jump.
Webb City’s girls were fourth in the 4×400, with Khloe Rhuems, Rachel Davison, Maci Brown and Kylie Jennings competing. The Webb City girls were fifth in both the 4×100 and 4×200 relays.
Carl Junction junior Ally Montez was the COC champion in two events, winning in the 100 hurdles in 15.86 seconds and the 300 hurdles in a meet and school record time of 45.89.
The CJ girls captured gold in the 4×100 relay with a meet record time of 50.06 seconds, with Olivia Vediz, Montez, Salma Lewis and Shiloh Sluder competing.
Also for the CJ girls, Emerson Lundien was the runner-up in the pole vault, Sluder finished third in the 100-meter dash, Lewis placed third in the high jump and Hannah Lee was third in the shot put.
Vediz finished sixth in the long jump and triple jump, while Loren Lee was sixth in the shot put.
Neosho’s Jayden Browning took second in the triple jump, Riley Kemna finished fourth in the 3200, Bailey Miller was sixth in the 400 and Kendall Platner took sixth in the 100 hurdles.
Neosho’s Makenna Davis, Lakyn Prough, Heaven Kivett and Kemna took fourth in the 4×800 relay, while the Wildcats were fifth in the 4×400.
Kenedy Smith placed third in the long jump and took fifth in the triple jump, while Joey Hettinger and Smith were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the high jump.
The Carthage girls were fourth in the 4×200 relay (Katie Crowe, Sydnee Dudolski, Ashlynn Patrick, Karly Sullivan). The Tigers finished sixth in the 4×400.
For the Joplin girls, Alayna Merriman finished fourth in the javelin, Allie Keizer finished sixth in the 1600 and the team of Kylie Anderson, Allie Lawrence, Isabella Yust and Bailey Ledford finished seventh in the 4×200.
Joplin’s girls were without standout distance runner Jennalee Dunn.
The Joplin High School girls soccer team suffered a 4-2 loss to Willard on Thursday.
The Eagles are now 6-11.
Willard had 12 shots on goal, and Joplin goalkeeper Serafina Auberry made eight saves.
Joplin managed 10 shots on goal and Willard goalie Rylie Salyers made eight saves.
Jada Holloman had all four of Willard’s goals. All four goals came in the first half, with Holloman scoring in the second, ninth, 32nd and 39th minutes.
Emily Delman scored Joplin’s first goal in the 52nd minute on a free kick.
Paisley Parker recorded Joplin’s second goal in the 67th minute on a penalty kick.
Joplin hosts Neosho on Tuesday.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction ballooned a 1-0 lead with a four-run second inning to propel the Bulldogs past Branson 7-1 in Central Ozark Conference play on Thursday.
With the Bulldogs (15-8, 4-4 COC) on top 5-0 after two innings, Carl Junction added two runs in the fourth with the Pirates (6-15, 2-7 COC) breaking through with a run in the sixth before CJ closed out the victory.
Carl Junction honored seniors Keaton Johnston, Cole Stewart, Carson Johnson, Jaxson Mackney, Alex Baker, Noah Southern, Lance Smith, Dylan Eck, Drew Beyer and Brendyn Downs in their last regular season home game.
Baker got the scoring started for the Bulldogs in the first with an RBI single to plate Beyer, who singled through the right side earlier in the inning.
Dalton Mills had an RBI single in the second, which was later followed by a two-run single from Beyer to highlight the frame.
Carl Junction added a pair of runs in the fourth after scoring twice on wild pitches.
Baker earned the win on the mound after allowing one run on nine hits, three walks and six strikeouts in a complete-game, seven-inning effort.
Jackson Miller took the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks in three innings pitched.
Beyer, Downs and Mills all had two hits each to lead Carl Junction at the plate. Beyer and Mills each scored a run and drove in one, while Downs scored a run. Johnson, Southern, Baker, Dylan Eck and Smith all recorded hits for Carl Junction.
Carl Junction is at Seneca for a doubleheader on Saturday with the first pitch for Game 1 set for 10 a.m.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Ozark scored three runs in the second inning and battled to a 4-2 lead through six innings before scoring three times in the seventh en route to a 7-2 Central Ozark Conference win over Carthage on Thursday at Carl Lewton Stadium.
Hunter Tennison earned the win for Ozark after allowing two runs on seven hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts in six innings.
Kaden Arr took the loss after allowing four runs, three earned, on 11 hits, three walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Parker Copeland led Carthage at the plate with two hits and an RBI. Caden Kabance, Wil McCombs, Kaden Kralicek, Sylas Browning, Max Templeman, Grant Collier and Braxdon Tate all recorded hits for Carthage.
Carthage hosts Lebanon and Aurora in a doubleheader slated for 10 a.m. on Saturday.
NEOSHO, Mo. — Nixa scored nine runs in the last three innings to rally back for a 13-10 win over Neosho in the Wildcats’ final Central Ozark Conference matchup of the season on Thursday.
Neosho scored three runs in the first inning, four times in the second and two more runs in the fourth to take a 9-4 lead. Nixa rallied with a four spot in the fifth to cut the lead to 9-8 before adding three runs in sixth and two more in the seventh to earn the win.
Keith Piepmeier earned the win in relief after allowing three runs on seven hits, a walk and 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Carter Fenske took the loss after allowing three runs on two hits, three walks and a strikeout in one relief inning. Lane Yost started and allowed eight runs, three earned, on five hits, three walks and a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings.
River Brill had three hits, including a solo home run, to go along with two runs scored and an RBI, while Yost had three hits, including a double and a triple, and a team-high four runs scored and two RBI to lead Neosho at the plate. Eli Zar had two hits and two RBI, whil Chase Flynn had one hit and drove in two.
Neosho hosts East Newton on Monday for Senior Night.
BRANSON, Mo. — Webb City and Carl Junction had female athletes capture gold medals at the Central Ozark Conference Track Meet on Thursday at Branson High School.
Nixa (147.5), Ozark (126.5) and Webb City (104) were the top three teams in the standings.
Republic (104), Branson (88), Carl Junction (71), Neosho (38), Carthage (27), Willard (15) and Joplin (14) rounded out the team standings.
Webb City’s girls were led by Riley Hawkins, Haidyn Berry and Emily Beres.
Hawkins won the 1600 in 5:29, finished second in the 3200 and was fourth in the 800.
Berry won the javelin (37.28m) and Beres won the shot put (11.57m).
Beres was also the runner-up in the discus, while Dawsyn Decker took second to Berry in the javelin.
Abi Street finished third in the 3200 and was fourth in the 1600.
Ripley Shanks took fourth in the pole vault, while Kaylyn Gilbert took fifth in the shot put and discus and Essence Robinson placed fifth in the long jump.
Webb City’s girls were fourth in the 4×400, with Khloe Rhuems, Rachel Davison, Maci Brown and Kylie Jennings competing. The Webb City girls were fifth in both the 4×100 and 4×200 relays.
Carl Junction junior Ally Montez was the COC champion in two events, winning in the 100 hurdles in 15.86 seconds and the 300 hurdles in a meet and school record time of 45.89.
The CJ girls captured gold in the 4×100 relay with a meet record time of 50.06 seconds, with Olivia Vediz, Montez, Salma Lewis and Shiloh Sluder competing.
Also for the CJ girls, Emerson Lundien was the runner-up in the pole vault, Sluder finished third in the 100-meter dash, Lewis placed third in the high jump and Hannah Lee was third in the shot put.
Vediz finished sixth in the long jump and triple jump, while Loren Lee was sixth in the shot put.
Neosho’s Jayden Browning took second in the triple jump, Riley Kemna finished fourth in the 3200, Bailey Miller was sixth in the 400 and Kendall Platner took sixth in the 100 hurdles.
Neosho’s Makenna Davis, Lakyn Prough, Heaven Kivett and Kemna took fourth in the 4×800 relay, while the Wildcats were fifth in the 4×400.
Kenedy Smith placed third in the long jump and took fifth in the triple jump, while Joey Hettinger and Smith were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the high jump.
The Carthage girls were fourth in the 4×200 relay (Katie Crowe, Sydnee Dudolski, Ashlynn Patrick, Karly Sullivan). The Tigers finished sixth in the 4×400.
For the Joplin girls, Alayna Merriman finished fourth in the javelin, Allie Keizer finished sixth in the 1600 and the team of Kylie Anderson, Allie Lawrence, Isabella Yust and Bailey Ledford finished seventh in the 4×200.
Joplin’s girls were without standout distance runner Jennalee Dunn.
BRANSON, Mo. — Two points. That’s all that separated Webb City and Joplin at the top of the team standings at the Central Ozark Conference Track Meet on Thursday at Branson High School.
Webb City captured the conference championship with 126 points and Joplin settled for second with 124.
Nixa (107), Willard (101) and Branson (65) rounded out the top five teams. Carthage (53), Ozark (51), Neosho (50), Republic (41) and Carl Junction (23) completed the team standings.
Webb City’s boys won two events and finished second in five others.
Grayson Smith (4.27 meters) and Pryce Mason (4.10m) placed first and second, respectively, in the pole vault, while Justin Allen was fourth in the same event.
Mekhi Garrard won the triple jump (14.42m) and was the runner-up in the long jump.
The Cardinals took second in the 4×200 relay, with Isaiah Brisco, William Wolfe, Mason and Garrard competing.
James Morgan took second in the 110 hurdles and Luke Brumit placed second in the high jump. Brumit was fourth in the javelin and Robert Hollis was fifth in the same event.
Jordan Thornburg finished fourth in the 100, while Roman Borboa took fourth in the 1600 and Garrard was fourth in the 200.
Webb City’s 4×100 relay team of Brentan Wilson, Wolfe, Thornburg and Brisco took fifth, while the 4×800 relay also finished fifth, with Sam Winesburg, Owen Weller, Blake Vaughn and Joseph Dawson competing.
Matt McDaniel and Wolfe were fourth and sixth in the high jump, while Brisco took fifth in the triple jump.
Wolfe placed sixth in the 200, Borboa finished sixth in the 800 and Caleb Cook was sixth in the 110 hurdles. Jacob Shonk finished seventh in the long jump.
Joplin’s boys won five events.
Hobbs Campbell crossed the line first in two events, winning the 1600 with a time of 4:22 and the 3200 in 9:40. Campbell also finished third in the 800.
Donovyn Fowler won the long jump (6.88 meters) and finished second in the triple jump (14.30m).
The JHS 4×100 relay team of Dominick Simmons, Trayshawn Thomas, Luke Vieselmeyer and Fowler took first in 44.34 seconds.
Joplin’s 4×800 relay team of Ashton Ventura, Zaben Barnes, Ryan Byers and Nicholas Horton finished first with a winning time of 8:14.
Fowler took second in the 200, while Micah Bruggeman took second in the 800 and the Missouri recruit also finished third in the 1600.
Barnes and Matlock finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 3200. Matlock was also fifth in the 1600.
Thomas finished third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.
Donovahn Watkins placed third in the shot put and also finished fifth in the discus.
Joplin’s boys were sixth in the 4×400.
The Tigers won two events.
Carthage’s Miguel Solano crossed the line first in the 800 with a time of 1:58, while teammate Caleb Calvin won the javelin with a toss of 55.97 meters.
The Tigers were third in the 4×800 relay, with Solano, Malcolm Robertson, Ty Lewis and Mariques Strickland competing.
Carthage’s 4×100 took fourth, with Cale Patrick, Calvin, Tyler Burt and Aiden Rogers running. The Tigers were fifth in the 4×400.
Also for Carthage, Aiden Logan placed fourth in the discus, while Bryce Miller took sixth in the pole vault and Zachary Lansford was sixth in the javelin.
For the Neosho boys, Kaden Cole was the runner-up in the 1600 and he also placed fourth in the 800.
Neosho’s 4×400 relay team of Isaiah Hill, Evan Haskins, Tristan Clanton and Isaiah Green finished third.
Clanton placed third in the 400, while Tristen Linders took third in the discus, Jeremiah Larson finished fourth in the 300 hurdles and Green took fourth in the triple jump. The Wildcats were sixth in the 4×200 relay.
Carl Junction’s Brendan Jewell won the high jump (1.96m).
Also for the Bulldogs, Collin Emmert finished third in the 3200 and Drew Patterson finished fourth in the 110 hurdles.
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Third-seeded College Heights (with McAuley) clinched its program’s first berth to the quarterfinal round of the state tournament after defeating top-seeded Mount Vernon 9-6 in the Class 2 District 6 title game on Thursday.
The Mountaineers (18-6) scored a run in the first before the Cougars (18-3) scored twice in each the third and fourth innings to take control, 4-2. College Heights and Mount Vernon traded single tallies in the fifth before CHC pushed across four runs in the top of the sixth for a 9-3 advantage. The Mountaineers rallied for three runs of the bottom of the seventh before CHC snuffed out the comeback bid.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” College Heights coach Mike Howard said to SoMo Sports. “The challenges and adversities they’ve had to overcome this year, from injuries to key players getting very limited practice time together as a result of having to share athletes, they have stayed the course and have done what many people thought was impossible. It says so much about their character and focus on the task at hand.
“This was a very difficult district and none of the games were easy. I thought our girls found their confidence at the right time and rode that momentum to the end. I’m so happy for our kids and cannot wait to get started preparing for a state run.”
College Heights matches up with Diamond (19-2) on May 13 in the Cougars’ first trip to the quarterfinal round of the state tournament. The site and time of first pitch are still to be determined.
IN THE CIRCLE
Maddy Colin earned the win after allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits, zero walks and eight strikeouts in a complete-game, seven-inning effort.
Harley Daniels took the complete-game loss after allowing nine runs, six earned, on 13 hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.
GAME ACTION
After Mount Vernon took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout from Josey McChesney in the first inning, College Heights broke through for two runs in the third on a two-out, two-run single to left by Layne Jackson to score Sarah Painter, who doubled to lead off the inning, and Kloee Williamson to go up 2-1.
McChesney singled home a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, but College Heights answered again with two runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, 4-2. Addie Lawrence led off with a single before coming around to score on an RBI double to left by Avery Good two batters later. Painter followed with a run-scoring single to plate Good and cap the scoring.
Williamson doubled to lead off the fourth and later scored on a double-steal, first-and-third play to make the score 5-3. Mount Vernon got a run back in the fifth on a CHC error.
After Lauren Ukena brought home a run on a fielder’s choice bunt in the sixth, Jayli Johnson essentially put the game out of reach with a two-run home run to left to make the score 8-3. Jackson drove home the fourth run of the inning with a sac fly to right field to plate Williamson.
Payge Evans singled home a run for Mount Vernon in the seventh, with two more runs scoring on a groundout to make the score 9-6 with the final out made moments later to end the game.
IN THE BOX
Jackson had a hit and a team-high three RBI for CHC. Williamson had three hits, including a double, and scored a team-high three runs. Lawrence had three hits and scored a run. Good and Painter both doubled and had two hits, with Good scoring twice and driving in one and Painter scoring once and driving in one. Johnson homered, scored a run and had two RBI.
Evans had two hits, scored twice and drove in one for the Mountaineers. McChesney had two hits and drove in a team-high two runs, tying with Hadley Cornell. Kennley Weaver and Allison Burk each had two hits and combined for three runs scored.
Class 5’s top-ranked Willard jumped out to an early lead and used a four-run fourth to take control before adding insurance three times en route to a 9-2 win over Joplin on Thursday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
The Tigers (18-9, 5-4 COC) scored a pair of runs in the first inning before the Eagles cut the lead in half with a run in the third. Willard took a commanding advantage after crossing home four times in the fourth, while scoring a single tally in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to keep the momentum on its side to an eventual Central Ozark Conference win.
“We’re just trying to find consistency,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “Showing up to the ballpark everyday with the same mindset, locked in and ready to go. There have been days when we’ve done that and we’re pretty good. There’s been days we haven’t and we’re not very good. We’re just trying to find that consistency to be the same team and play the game the way we are capable of playing. Today, there were some situations where we didn’t, and they’re a good team and they’re going to take advantage of those things.”
The matchup with the Tigers was the final COC contest of the season. The Eagles (15-10) finished with a record of 6-3 in conference play.
“Anytime you can have a winning record in this conference you’ve done some things because it’s just a really good conference,” Wolf said. “That being said, I felt like we left a couple out there that maybe we could have gotten. It needs to tell these guys that we are a good baseball team, but we have to do things consistently.”
ON THE MOUND
Gavin Burk earned the win after allowing two runs, one earned on three hits, five walks and three strikeouts in six innings of work. Evan Gaunt pitched a perfect inning in relief.
Justin McReynolds started and took the loss after allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits, two walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. Kirk Chandler allowed two runs on one hit and a walk in 1/3 of an inning, while Josh Harryman allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits, four walks and two strikeouts. Fielding Campbell pitched a perfect 2/3 of an inning in relief.
In total, Joplin allowed nine free passes, with seven walks and two hit batsmen.
“Six out of seven innings, we put the leadoff guy on,” Wolf said of the pitching against Willard. “A lot of them were walks and hit-by-pitches. It’s going to be difficult to win a game when you do that.
“The thing is, we’ve been pretty good on the bump all year. I am not blasting our pitching staff because Josh Harryman has been lights out all year. Kirk threw really well last Saturday. Justin threw really well against Ozark in his last start. So, we’ve been there and done good things. But at the end of the day, in this particular game against those guys, when you walk and hit that many people, they are going to be aggressive and it’s going to change the game.”
GAME ACTION
Willard crossed home twice in the top of the first inning to take the initial lead of the contest. After Blake Hultgren singled to left-center field to lead off the inning and stole second base to get into scoring position. Two batters later, Hultgren scored on a fielding error by Joplin and the lead moved to 2-0 after an RBI double to left by Kade Biellier.
Joplin got onto the scoreboard in the top of the third inning after Bodee Carlson drove home Carson Wampler, who led off the inning with a walk, with an RBI single through the right side to make the score 2-1.
The Tigers took control of the game in the top of the fourth with four runs touching home. The first run scored on a bases-loaded walk from Grant Merryman before Cooper Hampton followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to make the score 4-1. Biellier brought home two runs in the next at-bat with a single to right side to push the lead to 6-1.
“I felt like we just kind of got flat,” Wolf said when asked about his team’s response to the early deficit compared to Tuesday’s game against Carl Junction. “We were just taking the game as the punches came at us, but you have to stand back up and punch back. I don’t think we punched back real well today.”
Joplin added a single tally in the last of the fourth when Ethan Guilford brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 6-2.
Willard brought home a run on an infield hit by Kyden McMain to extend the lead back to five runs, 7-2. The Tigers added a run on a sac fly from Biellier in the sixth and the final insurance run scored in the seventh on a Hultgren RBI single to left.
IN THE BOX
Carlson led Joplin with a hit and an RBI at the plate. Campbell and Kohl Cooper each recorded a hit, while Wampler walked twice and scored a run.
Biellier doubled for one of his two hits and finished with a team-high four RBI for Willard. Hultgren had two hits, an RBI and scored a team-high three runs.
UP NEXT
Joplin is at Glendale on Monday before hosting Lamar to wrap the season on Tuesday in the Senior Night game.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Cole Gayman had plenty of extra motivation ahead of Thursday’s game against the Republic Tigers.
For starters, Gayman was set to take the mound on the night he and his fellow seniors were recognized for their contributions to the program.
That’s not all. Gayman was also taking the hill against a team that had just clinched an outright conference championship.
With that extra incentive in mind, Gayman delivered a masterful performance, leading Webb City to an impressive 8-0 victory over Republic in the final Central Ozark Conference clash of the season at Chuck Barnes Field.
A 5-foot-11 senior right-hander, Gayman dazzled for 6 2/3 innings, keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard, striking out a career-high 15 and limiting the visitors to just four hits in a memorable performance.
“My bullpen today was kind of iffy honestly,” Gayman said. “I didn’t have very good control in my bullpen. Once I went out there and did my warm-up pitches before the first inning, I found my stride and it just carried over for the rest of the game. Today and at CJ I think I really found my release point. I think that’s been a big factor.
“It feels good to know that I’m hitting my stride at the right time of the season,” Gayman added. “I hope that carries over so I can help my team win more games.”
“Cole had an awesome performance,” Webb City coach Flave Darnell said. “Cole’s an awesome competitor. He’s worked real hard with Coach (Andrew) Doennig in the bullpen on developing a couple of other pitches and he was able to show those tonight. He had an awesome game and it’s really easy to coach when someone pitches like that.”
Gayman struck out the side in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings and he did not walk a batter.
“His slider was good, his fastball jumped and he had a good change-up going tonight,” Darnell said. “He looked really, really good tonight. He had a really good outing against Carl Junction last Tuesday and he looked fresh and ready to go tonight. He looks really strong right now.”
Ranked third in Class 5, Webb City improved to 20-5 overall with a sixth straight win. The Cardinals finished 7-2 in the COC, good for second place.
Republic, now 16-7 overall, had a nine-game winning streak snapped. The Tigers, who are receiving votes in the Class 6 poll, finished on top of the COC standings with an 8-1 record.
Republic had clinched an outright conference championship by beating Nixa on Wednesday, so it’s safe to say the Cardinals earned a statement victory on Thursday.
And although the Cardinals were unable to secure a COC championship this spring, they can now make this claim—they beat the conference champion twice.
“We beat them twice this year so we think we’re right there with them,” Gayman said.
Webb City defeated Republic 11-8 back on March 22 in a LAEL Classic matchup.
“The COC is a really tough league and hats off to Republic for winning their first eight conference games,” Darnell said. “We stubbed our toe a little bit along the way, but that’s how it goes. But we feel like we’re a really good team and we want to be as good as we can in May. Right now, we’re playing really well and we hope we can keep that up.”
Webb City pushed across two runs in the first against Republic starter Vincent Pyeatt, as Devrin Weathers walked and later scored on Shane Noel’s RBI groundout before Matt Woodmansee delivered an RBI single into left for a 2-0 cushion.
The Cardinals added four runs in the third.
After Parker, Woodmansee and Gayman all singled, Eli Goddard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, allowing Treghan Parker to trot home. Aiden Brock contributed a sacrifice fly, a run scored on an error and the final tally crossed home on a wild pitch.
Republic threatened in the fourth, as Gavyn Beckner reached on an error and Kyle Hill doubled with one out. But Gayman fanned the next two batters to get out of the jam.
Webb City added a couple of insurance runs in the fifth. Eric Fitch hit an RBI double to left, allowing Gavin Stowell to score. Fitch later came home on Parker’s run-scoring groundout, making it 8-0.
The run support was more than enough for Gayman, who continued to put up zeroes inning after inning.
Gayman left with two outs in the seventh after reaching his pitch count after plunking Richard Potter. How bad did Gayman want to finish the game?
“Really bad,” he said. “My last pitch I think was my 105 pitch. It was kind of a bummer.”
Noah Mitchell recorded the final out to seal the win.
Webb City’s seniors — Woodmansee, Weathers, Gayman, Parker, Noel, Goddard and Mitchell — were recognized after the game.
Webb City is hosting Hillcrest and Harrisonville at 10 and 2 on Saturday.
Experienced sports journalists providing great local sports coverage in Southwest Missouri.