The Thomas Jefferson Independent School boys tennis team defeated Carthage 5-4 on Monday.
The Cavaliers improved to 3-0 with the close dual victory.
The Tigers won two of the three doubles matches.
At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Tyler Brouhard defeated Carthage’s Charles Snow and Silas Laytham 8-1.
Carthage’s Joshua Rivera and Danilo Lopez-Gramajo defeated TJ’s Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue 8-5 at No. 2 doubles, while William Wallace-Eli Scott beat Sam Li-Nathaniel Curtis 8-1 at No. 3.
The Cavaliers won four of the six singles matches.
Thomas Jefferson’s Nagarajan beat Snow 8-4, Qian defeated Laytham 8-4, Brouhard topped Rivera 8-3 and Goodhue beat Lopez-Gramajo 8-1.
Carthage won the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches, as Wallace defeated Li 8-1 and Scott beat Curtis 8-3.
Thomas Jefferson is Monett on Tuesday. Carthage (0-1) meets Carl Junction on Tuesday at the Joplin Athletic Complex.
The visiting Grove (Oklahoma) Ridgerunners found multiple ways to generate offense and score runs and limited the host Seneca Indians to only a pair of runs with a combination of solid pitching and defense on their way to a 7-2 win on Monday at historic Joe Becker Stadium.
Grove scored two runs in the first, one in the third, three in the fifth, and one in the seventh, while Seneca managed one run in the fourth and one again in the fifth.
Hunter Wall’s RBI double in the fifth and Jayce Baser’s RBI double in the seventh highlighted the Ridgerunners’ offensive efforts, while Seneca’s Kade Johnson connected with a RBI double in the fifth.
Grove starter Hagen Hacker allowed both runs and finished with eight strikeouts during his five innings of work, and reliever Taylor Lee pitched two scoreless innings, with an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play turned by third baseman Baser and second baseman Nick Brown.
This defensive gem fed straight into Grove’s offense as Wall and Baser hit consecutive doubles to start the seventh.
“We’re a team that has to do a lot of different things to try and generate runs,” Grove coach Drew Osborne, a former Neosho and Grove assistant for Donny Pennington, said. “Today, we were successful with that. Hagen led off the game with a base hit. He’s done that five games in a row. Nick bunted him over. He’s done that five games in a row, so we were able to get the first inning scripted pretty much and after that, it was just guys coming through.
“We got walks in tough at-bats, getting hit by pitch down in the count, and sac flies. Dayton’s hit three or four sac flies in the last couple games as well. Our goal right now is to manufacture runs. Get guys on, move them over, and score them.”
Grove catcher Dayton Keller picked up an RBI with sacrifice flies in the first and third.
Pitching, defense, and timely hitting, as well as aggressive but smart baserunning, are fundamental elements to winning baseball games, and the Ridgerunners had them Monday.
“Hagen did a great job for us,” Osborne said. “He got a spot start today. Typically, he throws in relief for us as a closer type of guy, but we played five games last week and we have six games this week, so we needed a good start from him. He was in the zone early, he got ahead early, and he made hitters hit his pitches. Then, Taylor came in and did a great job in relief. We were pleased to see that because it sets us up for the rest of the week as far as pitching.
“Defense is something that we strive to be good at every day. We try to put guys in positions to be successful anywhere on the field defensively. We have a couple guys off the field with injuries, but you couldn’t tell because those other guys are ready to come in and make big plays. We’re proud of those guys.”
Grove, who earned wins against Missouri schools Webb City (6-4) and Willard (7-6) earlier this season, improved to 12-2 overall entering Tuesday’s doubleheader against Tulsa Nathan Hale.
Meanwhile, the Indians stranded two runners in the first, one in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, and had a potential rally eliminated with a double play in the sixth.
Johnson and Colton Curtis hit consecutive singles in the first, Cade Galindo was denied a single in the second by Grove shortstop Corbin Houseman on a running stop and strike to first, Curtis and Hagen Ginger hit back-to-back singles to start the third and Ginger scored Seneca’s first run, and Kaden Clouse singled in the sixth.
The Indians made a pair of outstanding defensive plays in the fourth: Curtis caught a line drive up the middle and doubled up a Grove runner at second, then Clouse made a diving catch in left with two outs and the bases loaded with Ridgerunners.
Grove would not be denied, though, in the fifth.
“If we make a couple pitches, if we make a couple plays, it’s a 3-2 game right there,” Seneca coach Chris Yust said. “We’re right in it, and you can’t give a good team leadoff walks and those extra outs, they’ll take advantage of it every day. We struck out too many times with runners in scoring position. Overall, we played well, but there’s a couple plays that we’d like to get back and get in some extra at-bats and extra swings. Definitely, we hope to get better and to learn from it.”
Seneca dropped to 5-5 on the season and the Indians return to action Tuesday with a game against Carthage (1-7 overall) at Wendell Redden Stadium inside the Joplin Athletic Complex.
The Indians and the Tigers are familiar foes after years of playing each other in Carthage’s Bill O’Dell Varsity Tournament. They have played 12 times since 2010, for example.
SENECA, Mo. — Seneca’s girls and Jasper’s boys captured the team championships at the inaugural Bordertown Relays on a warm and windy Monday at the Seneca Schools Athletic Complex.
Seneca’s girls compiled 186 points to top the team standings, while Pierce City was second with 171.
Rounding out the girls team standings were Jasper (109), Wyandotte (83), Fairland (76), College Heights Christian (48) and McAuley Catholic (16).
The top three boys teams were Jasper (136), College Heights (130) and Seneca (128.5).
Also competing were Pierce City (99), McAuley Catholic (67.5), Fairland (56), Wyandotte (54) and Ketchum (34).
McAuley Catholic’s Kendall Ramsey, Seneca’s Dalisia Reed and College Heights Christian’s Marla Anderegg are among the athletes competing in the 1600 on Monday. Photos by Jason Peake.
SENECA HIGHLIGHTS
Seneca’s Addyson Jones competes in the 4×200 relay on Monday at the Bordertown Relays.
Seneca’s girls won six events en route to capturing the team championship at their new facility.
Seneca won the girls 4×200 relay in 1:59, with Anna Adkins, Addyson Jones, Olivia Leonard and Savannah Johnson competing.
The team of Adkins, Cambry Long, Riley Hamilton and Johnson took first in the 4×400 with a time of 4:40.
The Indians were second in the 4×100, with Johnson, Jaycie Graham, Parker Long and Leonard competing.
Winning individual events for the Seneca girls were Cambry Long (400, triple jump), Isabella Renfro (shot put) and Amber Garrison (javelin).
Taking second for the Seneca girls were Jones (high jump), Garrison (shot put) and Harley Lankford (discus).
Finishing third in their respective events were Parker Long (javelin), Jaime Eitemiller (discus), Grace Elliott (pole vault), Johnson (100), Dalisia Reed (800) and Cambry Long (200).
Seneca’s boys won the 4×100 relay in 46.42 seconds, with Morgan Vaughn, Brodie Probert, Jackson Marrs and Blake Hurn competing.
The Indians were second in the 4×200 relay, with Ethan Altic, Canaan Miller, Probert and Hurn competing. Seneca’s 4×400 team of Nash Crane, Gavyn Hoover, Jude King and Miller finished fourth.
Seneca’s Grant Landers won two individual events, the long jump (19-7) and the triple jump (40-0.75).
Seneca’s Brock Pendergraft won the javelin (119-4).
Probert was the runner-up in the 400, while Altic (triple jump, 800), King (javelin), Pendergraft (discus), Hurn (100) and Miller (300 H) all finished third in their events.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS
Pictured is CHC’s Colsen Dickens.
College Heights’ boys won the 4×200 relay in 1:38, with Colsen Dickens, Caleb Quade, Ethan Ukena and Logan Decker competing.
The Cougars also won the 4×400 in 3:44, with Ukena, Levi Durling, Quade and Dickens competing.
The CHC boys were second in the 4×800, with Ian Edwards, Jace Edwards, Zach Beaty and Steven Calandro running.
The team of Dickens, Durling, Ukena and Decker finished third in the 4×100.
College Heights’ Calandro and Ian Edwards took first and second in the 110 hurdles. Calandro crossed the line at 19.8 seconds, with Edwards finishing in 20.09.
A junior, Calandro also won the 300 hurdles in 47.1 seconds.
Ukena was the runner-up in the triple jump, Quade took second in the high jump, while Durling and Quade placed third and fourth in the 200.
Also for the Cougars, Josiah Thomas took third in the 3200, Derek Bowman was fourth in the long jump, with Calandro fifth, Layden Shaffer finished fourth in the discus, Jace Edwards took fifth in the 300 hurdles, Bowman placed sixth in the triple jump, Dickens was sixth in the 100, Ian Edwards was sixth in the 300 hurdles and Derrick McMillan was sixth in the 1600.
On the girls side, College Heights sophomore Marla Anderegg won the 800-meter run in 2:44 and also took second in the 1600 in 6:04.
CHC’s Bailey Peoples was the runner-up in both the long jump and triple jump and was also seventh in the high jump, while Amelia Hagale took fourth in the 200 and seventh in the 100.
McAuley Catholic’s Michael Parrigon is among the athletes competing in the 1600 on Monday at the Bordertown Relays.
MCAULEY CATHOLIC HIGHLIGHTS
McAuley’s boys won the 4×800 relay in 9:25, with Michael Parrigon, Connor Taffner, Drew Zeb and Alex Bohachick competing.
The Warriors took third in the 4×400, with Parrigon, Dylan Taffner, Bohachick and Jack Jones running.
Parrigon was the runner-up in two events, the 1600 and the 800, while McAuley’s Trae Veer finished second in the 3200, fourth in the 1600 and fourth in the triple jump.
Zeb placed fourth in the 3200, while Jones took sixth in the long jump and Ethan Stabb placed seventh in the 300 hurdles.
For the McAuley girls, Kendall Ramsey was the runner-up in the 3200 and also finished third in the 1600.
OTHER LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
In the girls meet, Jasper sophomore Crystal Smith won four events—the high jump (5-1.5), the 100 hurdles (15.48 seconds), the 300 hurdles (47.36) and the 200-meter dash (26.82). Jasper’s Chandler Spear won the pole vault.
Winning individual events for Pierce City’s girls were Hayden Kramer (discus), Liliana Lasker (100) and Emma Hunt (1600, 3200).
Pierce City’s Clayten O’Hara won three events in the boys meet, the 100, 200 and 400.
Other individual event winners in the boys meet were Jasper’s Wyatt Durman (3200) Austin Taylor (shot put) and Noah Neher (discus) and Pierce City’s Austin Beaty (high jump) and Lincoln Johnson (pole vault).
Second place finishers for the Jasper boys were Durman (javelin), Taylor (discus), Juan Rivera (pole vault), Neher (300 H) and Mitchel Avalos (200).
Jasper’s Crystal Smith took first place in the 100-meter hurdles on Monday at the Bordertown Relays in Seneca. Smith won four events for the Eagles.
Athletes compete in the 4×200 relay on Monday at the Bordertown Relays in Seneca.
Athletes compete in the 100-meter dash on Monday at the Bordertown Relays at the Seneca Schools Athletic Complex.
Threes were wild in McAuley Catholic’s win over Wheaton in Ozark 7 action on Monday
The Warriors (3-3, 2-0 Ozark 7) scored three runs in the first and three runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead. Wheaton cut the lead in half with a three-run third inning before the Warriors responded with three runs scoring in the fifth and three more in the sixth to pull away to the win.
Brek Sickman highlighted McAuley’s first inning with a two-run single before Kable Reichardt added an RBI single in the second inning.
Sickman and Case Richards had back-to-back RBI singles to fuel the fifth inning, while Richards added an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
Sickman had three hits, three RBI and scored a run to lead McAuley at the plate. Reichardt had two hits, scored three times and drove in a run, while Kendall Jones had two hits and scored twice. Joe Stateon had two hits, one run scored and one RBI.
Trey Martinez earned the win in relief after allowing one run on one hit and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 relief innings.
Preston Johnson took the loss after allowing 11 runs on 10 hits, two walks and three strikeouts in five innings.
McAuley takes on College Heights on Tuesday.
PURDY 19, COLLEGE HEIGHTS 4 (3 INNINGS)
PURDY, Mo. — Purdy hung crooked numbers in each of the first three innings on the way to a three-inning win over College Heights on Monday.
Purdy scored four times in the first, six times in the second and nine more times in the third inning. The Eagles finished with 14 hits.
Jimmy Felipe earned the win after allowing four runs, three earned, on one hit, four walks and five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
Smoke Ezell took the loss after allowing four runs, two earned, on five hits in an inning of work.
Ezell had the lone hit for College Heights. He also had two RBI.
Felipe had four hits, including a double, two RBI and scored three runs to lead Purdy at the plate. Alexis Aldoba doubled twice, scored three runs and drove in two.
