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Day: April 28, 2023

TRACK & FIELD: Sarcoxie girls win conference meet, boys take 2nd

Posted on by Jason Peake

SARCOXIE, Mo. — The Sarcoxie High School girls track and field squad captured the team championship at the Southwest Conference Meet on Thursday.

The top five girls teams were Sarcoxie (174), Pierce City (163), Stockton (87), Ash Grove (76.5) and Pleasant Hope (52).

The Sarcoxie boys finished second in the team standings with 141 points. Stockton was first with 204. Finishing third, fourth and fifth were Marionville (118), Ash Grove (84) and Diamond (52).

The Sarcoxie girls won all four relays.

Winning individual events for the Sarcoxie girls were Madison Chrisman (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Alexis Letts (high jump), Ariel Wilson (long jump), Jordyn Misner (triple jump) and Nikki Roth (javelin).

Wilson (400), Laney Dorris (800, 1600) and Lily Garrison (3200) all finished second in their respective events.

Stockton’s Kylie Hunter won three events, the 100, 400 and 800.

Other individual event winners in the girls meet were Pierce City’s Liliana Lasker (200) and Emma Hunt (1600, 3200), Marionville’s Olivia Hopkins (shot put), Ash Grove’s Jamalynn Atkinson (discus) and Pleasant Hope’s Gwendolyn Montle (pole vault).

Diamond’s top finishers were Jernie DeWitt and Ashlyn Daniel. DeWitt placed fourth in the 100-meter dash and the 300 hurdles, while Daniel took fourth in the 100 hurdles.

Sarcoxie’s boys won two relays, the 4×100 and the 4×200.

Winning individual events for the Sarcoxie boys were Noah Garrison (200), Jaron Malotte (110 hurdles, pole vault) and Garrett Smith (javelin).

Malotte was the runner-up in two events, the 300 hurdles and the long jump.

Marionville’s Wil Carlton won three events, the high jump, long jump and triple jump.

Other individual event winners were Diamond’s Zachary Roughton (300 hurdles), Marionville’s Braydon Bellah (100) and Stockton’s Jay Baxter (400), Braden Postlewait (800, 3200), Caden Duncan (1600) and Jayse Sharif (shot put, discus).

Diamond’s Roughton was also the runner-up in the 110 hurdles. Diamond’s Alexander Brown placed third in the discus, while Nicholas Meza finished fifth in three events, the 100, 200 and long jump.

 

Southwest Conference Meet

Girls team scores: Sarcoxie 174, Pierce City 163, Stockton 87, Ash Grove 76.5, Pleasant Hope 52, Marionville 51, Miller 35, Lockwood 34, Diamond 30.5.

Boys team scores: Stockton 204, Sarcoxie 141, Marionville 118, Ash Grove 84, Diamond 52, Lockwood 38, Pierce City 36, Miller 28, Pleasant Hope 3.

 

BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Mac County beats Seneca; Republic rallies past CJ; Nixa cruises past Carthage

Posted on by Lucas Davis

 

MCDONALD COUNTY 5, SENECA 2

ANDERSON, Mo. — McDonald County scored in five straight innings to rally past Seneca on Thursday.

Seneca scored twice in the top of the second inning to take the initial lead before McDonald County added single tallies in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to pace the way to the win.

Isaac Behm earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits, four walks and three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Drew Sherwood took the loss after allowing five runs, four earned, on seven hits, a walk and two strikeouts in six innings.

Tucker Walters had two hits, drove in one and scored once for the Mustangs (14-6).

Cade Galindo had a hit and scored a run for Seneca (12-10).

McDonald County is at Rogersville on Friday.

Seneca hosts Lebanon on Friday.

 

NEVADA 9, EAST NEWTON 1

NEVADA, Mo. — Nevada scored nine runs in three innings to pace the way to a win over East Newton on Thursday.

The Tigers (11-6) scored three runs in the second inning to take the lead before adding four insurance runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth inning. 

Case Sanderson earned the win after striking out 10 without allowing a hit or walk over six innings.

Mason Hailey took the loss after allowing nine runs on five hits, six walks and three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Riddick Shook had two hits, including a double, four RBI and scored two runs, while Drake Ketterman tripled and drove in three.

Nevada is on a road doubleheader at Joplin on Saturday with a matchup against the Eagles and Smithville.

 

REPUBLIC 8, CARL JUNCTION 2

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction held a 2-0 lead before Republic scored four times in the third inning and three more times in the fourth to fuel a win over the Bulldogs on Thursday.

Myles Lozano earned the complete-game win after allowing two runs on seven hits, two walks and two runs scored in seven innings.

Cooper Vediz took the loss after allowing eight runs, four earned, on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts in six innings.

Collin Myers doubled, drove in two and discord a run, while Garrett Lester had a hit and two RBI. Devon Hughes had two hits and scored twice for Willard.

Brody Pant had three hits and scored a run to lead Carl Junction at the plate.

Carl Junction (7-14, 2-5 COC) is at Mount Vernon on Monday.

 

NIXA 15, CARTHAGE 1 (5 INNINGS)

Nixa scored nine times in the fourth inning and five more times in the fifth inning to beat Carthage in Central Ozark Conference play on Thursday at Joe Becker Stadium.

Ethan Taylor earned the win after pitching four scoreless innings, scattering five hits, walking one and striking out five in four innings.

Brodie Cole took the loss after allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on seven hits, six walks and four strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

Tanner Grant homered on the way to four hits, six RBI and a run scored to lead Nixa at the plate.

Brody Carlton had two hits and an RBI to lead Carthage at the plate.

Carthage (3-19, 0-7 COC) takes part in the Lawrence River City Festival over the weekend.

 

BOYS TENNIS: Neosho falls to Republic

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Neosho High School boys tennis team suffered an 8-1 loss to Republic on Thursday.

Neosho’s lone win came at No. 1 singles, as Christian Williams defeated Republic’s Jonathon Cole 8-3.

In other singles matches, Republic’s Gavin Collyott defeated Willis Jarvis 8-2, Caleb Long beat Reid Snyder 8-2, Cooper Davis topped Peyton Williams 8-2, Austin Hardcastle beat Breckin McAffrey 8-0 and Joseph Mountain defeated Noah Schade 8-5.

In doubles, Cole-Collyott defeated C. Williams-P. Williams 8-5, Davis-Cooper Choate beat Jarvis-Snyder 8-2 and Long-Mountain topped McAffrey-Schade 8-2.

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

BASEBALL: Neosho’s late rally falls just short against Branson

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEOSHO, Mo. — The host Neosho Wildcats dug themselves a 7-2 hole Thursday in their Central Ozark Conference game against the visiting Branson Pirates.

Branson plated four runs in the second and three in the fifth, then Neosho rallied back with three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh during a 7-6 win for Branson at Roy B. Shaver Field within the Marion Sports Complex.

The Wildcats had tying run Quenton Hughes on second when Kael Smith flied out to left to end the game.

Nixa scored four runs in the second Tuesday during a 6-1 loss at home for Neosho, and the second inning Thursday mirrored the one two days earlier in that Branson scored four runs on two hits and three walks.

“Not the outcome that we wanted,” Neosho coach Bo Helsel said. “The kids competed today after we got down big early. For the most part this year, we have limited the big innings. Today, we didn’t. They got a four spot, and we probably could have kept it to a two spot. Then they got a three spot and probably could have kept it to one, but that’s baseball sometimes.

“I thought the kids competed well and they worked hard. They stayed in it. We got our bats going after that third inning. Drake (Swift) came in and got a big hit to get us out of the funk and from there on we hit pretty well. That kid (Branson junior pitcher Hunter Jones) is pretty good. He’s sitting 85, probably some of the hardest we’ve seen all year. We’ll try and take some positives from it, but it definitely hurts.”

After being retired in order in the first and second, Neosho junior Drake Swift connected on the Wildcats’ first hit of the game with a single to left and he stole second, but the home team remained scoreless as Jones picked up a pair of strikeouts to retire the side.

With one down in the fourth, Neosho cut a four-run deficit in half after a Wyatt Shadwick ground rule double and an Austin Rodriguez RBI double.

The Pirates answered with three runs on five hits and one Neosho error in the fifth against Rodriguez, who spelled Neosho starter Carter Fenske in relief for one inning.

In the sixth, Rodriguez hit a leadoff single, Hughes reached on a single, and pinch hitter Hudson Williams worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases with Wildcats and just one out. Fenske, hitting between Rodriguez and Hughes, was denied a potential extra-base hit by a diving catch from Branson center fielder Collin Ross.

Swift took one for the team with the bases loaded and Eli Zar contributed a sacrifice fly.

Shadwick led off the seventh with a first-pitch single against Branson side-armed reliever Kyler Lankton and scored on Hughes’ two-out RBI single to draw the Wildcats to 7-6.

Hughes stole second and nearly had another 90 feet to advance were it not for center fielder Ross backing up a throw from catcher Aaron Strohm to nobody at the bag at second.

Smith, who delivered a walk-off single earlier this season in the ninth inning of a 4-3 win against Strafford for the Roy B. Shaver Classic title, just missed on a game-tying hit Thursday.

“It was nice that Shaddy stepped up to hit the first pitch for a hit,” Helsel said. “It got us rolling. Again, it is tough to see from that arm angle. You never see it, especially all the righties coming from behind them. But, for the most part, we competed like we had from the fourth inning on.

“We’ve been coming out a little flat. We’ve got to fix that. I don’t know if it’s our preparation or what it is, but we’ve got to come out and hit a little better early in innings and put some pressure on teams like they did to us. That’s usually a good recipe to get a win.”

In Branson’s four-run inning, Strohm hit a sacrifice fly and Ross a two-run single as the Pirates’ junior center fielder impacted the game both offensively and defensively.

Sam Adkisson, Jones, and Strohm connected with RBI singles in the fifth.

Jones earned the win and Fenske took the loss. Hughes pitched scoreless sixth and seventh in relief to give the Wildcats a chance late.

Hughes led Neosho with three hits and Rodriguez and Shadwick each had two.

Neosho dropped to 13-11 overall and 1-6 COC, and the Wildcats return home Monday for a contest against Hollister.

The Wildcats have two weeks remaining in the regular season and they would like to enter the postseason playing their best baseball. They are 1-7 over their last eight games, including two losses against state-ranked Nixa and one against state-ranked Willard.

“We’ll take the positives from (Thursday),” Helsel said. “We competed, the bats were much better, defense was pretty good, a couple too many walks, but Branson hit the ball so give them credit. We have three games next week. We play Hollister on Monday, so come out and see if we can get it fixed then.”

BOYS TENNIS: Thomas Jefferson tops Nevada

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Thomas Jefferson boys tennis team defeated Nevada 8-1 on Thursday at the TJ courts.

Tom Brumfield’s Cavaliers are now 9-0 this spring.

The Cavaliers swept all three doubles matches.

At No. 1 doubles, Prithvi Nagarajan and Devan Murali defeated Jayden Thankamani and Michael Earnest 8-0, while Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue beat Gage Miller-Zade Lee 8-0 at No. 2 doubles and Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis topped Kenneth Johnson-Henry Campbell 8-4.

Thomas Jefferson won five of six singles matches.

In singles, TJ’s Nagarajan defeated Thankamani 8-0, Murali beat Earnest 8-5, Qian topped Miller 8-2, Goodhue defeated Lee 8-2 and Li beat Johnson 8-1.

Nevada’s Campbell defeated Curtis 8-5 at No. 6 singles.

Thomas Jefferson hosts Aurora on Tuesday.

 

BASEBALL: Production in the middle innings leads No. 5 Willard past Joplin

Posted on by Lucas Davis

Willard hung crooked numbers up on the scoreboard in the middle innings to fuel a 9-1 win over Joplin in Central Ozark Conference play on Thursday at the JHS Athletic Complex.

After both teams went scoreless through the first pair of innings, Willard (18-8, 6-1 COC) struck for three runs in the top of the third to take control. After Joplin (6-13, 2-4 COC) answered in the bottom half of the inning with a single tally to trim the lead to two, the Tigers, who totaled 12 hits in the win, added three more unanswered runs in the fourth and added a two spot in the fifth for an  8-1 lead en route to the win.

“They’re a good baseball team and have won a lot of games over the last however many years for a reason,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “They do things well. I thought we did some good things over the course of the game, we just couldn’t stack them together.”

Willard took the lead in the top of the third inning after plating three runs to break a scoreless tie. Landon Moore led the inning off with a single before coming around to score later in the frame on an RBI single by Cooper Wilken with one out. The Tigers pushed the advantage to 3-0 when Kaelin Adams doubled to left-center field with two outs and runners on second and third to plate both runners.

Joplin cut the lead to two in the next half inning when Brady Mails singled to center with two outs and a runner on second, with the runner scoring on a fielding error by Willard to make the score 3-1.

The Tigers’ offensive production continued in the fourth, touching home three more times to build a 6-1 lead. Klayton Kiser singled to center with runners on the corners to drive in the first run of the inning. Drew Quinlan followed with a sharp single through the middle of the infield to push two more runs across for a five-run cushion. 

Willard added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single from Moore before a second run came around to score on an error. The Tigers wrapped their scoring with an inside-the-park home run by Kyle Beeman in the top of the seventh inning.

Cooper Wilken earned the win after allowing one unearned run on two hits and six strikeouts in five innings. 

“We didn’t get enough base runners,” Wolf said. “Their kid did a good job of pounding the zone with his fastball early in the count to get ahead of us, and then we had to chase a little bit. I thought we put some balls in play and hit some balls hard, just right at people. 

Kutler Schwarting took the loss after allowing six runs, four earned, on 10 hits, two walks and two strikeouts in four innings. Eli Sotlar allowed three runs, two earned, on two hits, three walks and a strikeout in 2 2/3 innings.

“Kutler did a good job of trying to keep them off balance,” Wolf said. “We got some weak contacts—groundouts and pop ups. … 

Moore had three hits, scored twice and drove in one, while Wilken had three hits, drove in one and scored once to lead Willard at the plate. Kiser and Beeman had two hits each, with Beeman scoring three times and drove in one and Kiser scoring once and picking up an RBI.

Mails had two hits and Sotlar, who doubled, had two hits for Joplin’s total in the game. Sotlar also scored a run.

Joplin hosts Smithville at 11 a.m. and Nevada at 3 p.m. for Senior Day on Saturday at the JHS Athletic Complex.

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