Joplin suffered an 8-1 loss to Republic in a Central Ozark Conference girls tennis matchup on Tuesday.
Joplin’s lone win came at No. 3 singles, as Alex Carson defeated Matilyn Carpenter 8-6.
In other singles matches, Republic’s Mari Davidson defeated Mya Ndedi-Ntepe 8-5, Lilly Carlo topped Izzy Zananzadeh 8-4, Ellayna Woodward beat Julia Reyes 8-1, Ella Lashley defeated Lily Compton 8-2 and Katelyn Teeter topped Gwenna Street 8-3.
The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches were close, but went Republic’s way.
At No. 1 doubles, Carlo and Lashley edged Ndedi-Ntepe and Carson 8-6, while Davidson-Monica Henry got past Zamanzadeh-Reyes 9-8 (7-4).
At No. 3 doubles, Republic’s Carpenter and Teeter defeated Compton and Street 8-1.
The Eagles have had a busy stretch, as the team dropped a match to Branson last Thursday and then competed at the Heather Bradshaw Invitational over the weekend in Edwardsville, Illinois.
Joplin (2-10) hosts Ozark at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho High School boys soccer team nipped Webb City 1-0 on Tuesday night.
“Varsity got off to a bad start, we had little time on the ball in the first half,” Neosho coach Steve Schnackenberg said. “The boys made great adjustments in the second half and listened and followed our game plan well. We had some good shots and created more opportunities. Zeek Pupo came up with the game winner about seven minutes into the half.”
Webb City took 18 shots to Neosho’s six, and both teams had five shots on-goal.
Neosho goalkeeper Jonathan Tribbey was credited with five saves.
Neosho (2-2) is at Carthage next Tuesday.
Webb City (1-2) is at the Parkview Tournament this weekend.
JOPLIN 3, REPUBLIC 2
The Joplin Eagles recorded win No. 1 for new head coach Desmond Williams by beating Republic 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Joplin trailed 2-0 before scoring three unanswered goals.
Ely Montanez scored two goals for the Eagles, while Alex De La Torre had one goal.
Joplin (1-1) will compete at the Parkview Tournament this weekend.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — The host Tigers captured the team championship at the Carthage Duals on Tuesday night at the Fair Acres Family YMCA.
The team title wasn’t secured until the conclusion of the final event, as Carthage and Blue Springs were neck and neck. In the final event, the Tigers took second and Blue Springs finished third.
Carthage finished with 265 points and Blue Springs had 262.
Also competing were West Plains (184), Camdenton (153), Monett (144), Lebanon (76) and Marshfield (59).
Carthage’s team of Kellen Frieling, Braxton McBride, William Wright and Maveric Allphin won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:46.
In the 400 freestyle relay, the Tigers finished second in 3:37, with McBride, Wright, Frieling and Nye competing.
The Tigers were fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, with Daryl Martin, Noah Blackford, Nye and Allphin competing.
McBride won the 100 freestyle in 51.72 seconds and placed second in the 50 free with a time of 23.12 seconds.
Wright took second in two events, the 200 IM and the 500 freestyle.
Frieling and Aydan Nye placed second and third in the 200 freestyle, while Frieling was also the runner-up in the 100 backstroke.
Carthage will compete at the Belton Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
Taking the court without their top performer, the Joplin Eagles were able to come from behind and finish strong to capture a home victory on Tuesday night inside Kaminsky Gymnasium.
Joplin defeated Springfield Central 26-28, 25-19, 25-18, 25-12.
“We had to make some changes after Bailey Owens’ injury and I felt like we settled into the changes in sets two, three and four,” Joplin coach Staci Saunders said.
Raelin Calderon had 15 kills, while Janiah Vaughn added nine kills and Sahni Martin contributed eight kills.
Adalynn Noirfalise compiled 27 assists, 16 digs, five aces, four kills and two blocks, while Phia Vogel had nine digs and Vaughn had seven digs.
Saunders noted she was proud her team was able to rally after dropping the first set.
“Adalynn Noirfalise had 23 service points for the match and she served eight points in a row in the last set,” Saunders said. “Raelin and Janiah stepped up and led our team after a rough start.”
Joplin (2-2) is at McDonald County on Thursday.
CARL JUNCTION 3, MCDONALD COUNTY 0
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Carl Junction had a strong showing in a 25-2, 25-9 and 25-10 sweep of McDonald County on Tuesday.
The win moves the Bulldogs to a 7-1 record, while the Mustangs fall to 0-4 on the season.
Kylie Scott led Carl Junction with 12 kills, while Miya Carnes had 22 assists and four aces in service. Karissa Chase had eight kills and four blocks. Jocelyn Wengert earned seven digs, while Jadyn Howard had seven aces.
MCAULEY CATCHOLIC 3, NORTHEAST VERNON COUNTY 2
McAuley Catholic earned its first win of the season after rallying back to defeat Northeast Vernon County 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-13 and 16-14 on Tuesday.
The Warriors are 1-7-2 on the season and are at Rich Hill on Thursday.
No other information was made available.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 3, EXETER 0
Thomas Jefferson earned a clean sweep over Exeter with a 25-15, 25-12 and 25-16 win on Tuesday.
The victory improves the Cavaliers to 7-1 on the season.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The versatility of the Webb City Cardinals was on full display on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome.
Solid in all aspects of the game, Webb City earned a convincing 3-0 victory over El Dorado Springs in a non-conference volleyball matchup.
In a match that took just under an hour to complete, the Cardinals defeated the Bulldogs 25-4, 25-8, 25-12.
“We played at our level tonight,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “We stayed strong and consistent. We found some things we still need to work on. The more the girls play together, the camaraderie will get tighter. I think our team chemistry is getting better and better, so that makes me feel good. The mix is starting to get more consistent, and I think we’re getting better every day we’re in the gym.”
Just three matches into the season, the Cardinals (2-1) have the look of a well-rounded squad.
Webb City features a solid 1-2 punch at the net in senior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter and sophomore outside hitter Jaeli Rutledge. The hard-hitting duo provided plenty of offense and blocking on Tuesday, combining for 19 kills.
“Keeping them opposite gives us more options, and when they’re on the front row together it’s fun to watch,” Lawrence said. “They give us consistent front row power, along with Mia Lenker and Kirra Long, too.”
Webb City sophomore setter Savannah Crane handed out 11 assists in Tuesday’s win over El Dorado Springs. Photo by Israel Perez.
While the Cardinals feature plenty of firepower at the net, the team also has a strong defense, with senior libero Sophia Crane playing a key role.
A returning all-state performer, Crane covers a lot of ground and digs up virtually everything in her vicinity for the Cardinals.
On Tuesday, Crane recorded a whopping 36 digs.
Lawrence noted Crane has been piling up digs for several seasons now, and she’s nearing a milestone.
“Sophia is one dig away from 1,000 for her career,” Lawrence said. “We were hoping she would get it tonight, but we’ll have to celebrate on Saturday.”
On Tuesday, the Cardinals also served extremely well, with several players contributing to the team’s 11 aces.
“We served pretty consistently and aggressively tonight,” Lawrence said. “I thought we looked more calm with our serving tonight.”
Coming off a Final Four berth last fall, Webb City definitely has the goals set high this season.
“We want to make it back to the Final Four,” Lawrence said. “We’re super proud of what we did last year, but we didn’t finish like we wanted to. This group got a taste of it, and they want to keep pushing to accomplish more. We have a good core back and our newer players were there to watch it and they were part of it too. I think that’s helped this team gel together a little easier this year.”
El Dorado Springs began the fall by winning the Stockton Tournament and entered the night with a record of 7-1-1.
But the Cardinals simply had too much firepower for the Bulldogs on Tuesday night.
Webb City reeled off 14 straight points in the opening set en route to a lopsided set victory.
An ace from junior Mia Lenker and back-to-back kills from Lassiter gave the Cardinals a comfortable 14-3 lead.
After the 14-0 run by the hosts, the Bulldogs were finally able to get a sideout, but late kills from sophomore Savannah Crane and Rutledge made it 24-4 before the visitors committed an attack error on set point.
The second set was close early before the Cardinals rattled off five straight points on kills from Lassiter, junior Kirra Long and Lenker and an ace from Sophia Crane.
Jadyn Catterson is pictured during Tuesday’s home match.
Later in the set, Lassiter slammed a big kill from the right side and then served an ace for a comfy 21-7 advantage. Rutledge hammered home a kill on the final point of the second set for a 25-8 win.
A pair of aces from Sophia Crane gave the Cardinals an early 7-2 cushion in the third set.
El Dorado Springs stayed within striking distance but kills from Savannah Crane and a block at the net and a kill from Long gave Webb City a 17-6 lead.
Late in the set, Rutledge recorded a kill and served an ace as the Cardinals finished off a clean sweep.
Lassiter recorded 13 kills to lead the Cardinals, while Savannah Crane added eight kills, Rutledge had six and Long added five. The Cardinals hit .424 for the match.
Lenker and Sophia Crane served four aces apiece.
Savannah Crane handed out 11 assists from the setter position, while senior defensive specialist Jadyn Catterson contributed seven digs.
Webb City will compete at the Hillcrest Tournament this weekend.
Webb City junior outside hitter Kirra Long hits at the net against El Dorado Springs on Tuesday night inside the Cardinal Dome. The Cardinals defeated the Bulldogs 3-0. Photos by Israel Perez.
Webb City junior outside hitter Mia Lenker is pictured during Tuesday’s match against El Dorado Springs. Webb City won the match 3-0.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage held a 6-5 lead heading into the seventh inning when Joplin rallied for five runs and the eventual win in the Central Ozark Conference opener on Tuesday.
Joplin’s Jadyn Pankow led off the top of the seventh with a walk in front of Riley Kelly’s single before Taryn Casey sacrificed them up to second and third with a bunt. Gracie Williamson delivered the first big hit with a game-tying single up the middle to plate a run. Lily Glover followed with an infield hit to score the go-ahead run. Maria Loum singled to center field with two outs later in the inning to bring home a run and Abby Lowery added an RBI single to center to wrap the scoring for the Eagles.
Carthage loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning, but a pop out and a strikeout ended the threat.
Ava Wolf started and took a no-decision after allowing five runs, one earned, on eight hits, two walks and three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Caelyn Bobski earned the win in relief after allowing one run on two hits, five walks and two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.
Addie Wallace took the loss after allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on 14 hits, three walks and two strikeouts in seven innings.
Pankow led the Eagles at the plate with three hits, a two-run home run in the top of the fifth and two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored. Lowery had two hits, two RBI and scored twice, while Loum had two hits, two RBI and scored a run. Kelly, Glover and Bailey Ledford had two hits each, with Kelly and Ledford each scoring a run.
Lexa Youngblood had three hits, including a double, and an RBI for the Tigers. Brooklynn Dolon-Main had two hits and scored twice. Jenna Calhoon doubled and scored a run.
Joplin (7-5, 1-0 COC) hosts Branson on Thursday.
Carthage (6-5, 3-1 COC) hosts Ozark on Thursday.
NEOSHO 8, NIXA 7
NEOSHO, Mo. — After Nixa scored a run in the top half of the inning to take a two-run lead, Neosho rallied with a three-run seventh to earn the walk-off win over the Eagles in the Central Ozark Conference opener on Tuesday.
Trailing 7-5 with three outs left, the Wildcats loaded the bases with the first three batters reaching on a walk by Kynden Smith, a single from Beclynn Garrett and a walk by Carleigh Kinnaird before Journey Arnall drove home two with a one-out single to right to tie the game at 7-7. After a strikeout for the second out in the inning and an intentional walk to load the bases, Ashlyn Stevens brought home the winning run on a fielder’s choice bunt, with the throw going home not in time.
Kinnaird started and took a no-decision after allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings of work. Olivia Emery earned the win after allowing one run on two hits and three strikeouts in two innings of work.
Paige Garetson took the loss after allowing three runs on two hits, three walks and four strikeouts in 1 2/3 relief innings. Brienne Chilton started and took a no-decision after allowing five runs on seven hits, two walks and four strikeouts in five innings.
Garrett had three hits, including a double, to lead Neosho at the plate. She also had a team-high three runs scored. Addy Hart had two hits and a team-high three RBI. Journey Arnall had a hit and two RBI for the Wildcats.
NEOSHO, Mo. — Carl Junction swept all three doubles matches and all six singles matches in a Central Ozark Conference matchup with the Neosho Wildcats on Tuesday.
In doubles, Carl Junction’s Naiyah Wurdeman and Isabel Read defeated Keely Keeton-Emma VanDorn 8-0, while Jenna Besperat and Emily Rice topped Francisca Ruiz-Sydnee Minton 8-0 and Brooklin Leggett and Brooke Jasperson beat Abigail Coutu-Lauren Nageotte 8-2.
The Bulldogs won all six singles matches by identical 8-0 scores. Wurdeman topped Keeton, Besperat defeated VanDorn, Read beat Ruiz, Rice got past Minton, Leggett handled Coutu and Jasperson defeated Nageotte.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 9, COLLEGE HEIGHTS 0
With a clean sweep over the College Heights Cougars, the Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers improved to 3-0 on the season.
In doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding and Jeanna Jeyaraj defeated Natalie Brueggemann and Ella Bishop 8-0, while Esther Yang and Kyla Yang beat Jeanna Smathers-Lilly Cummins 8-1 and Warda Morsy and Mayson Solum topped Cloee Shackelford-Londyn Eidson 8-3.
In singles, Ding defeated Brueggemann 8-2, Jeyaraj topped Bishop 8-3, Esther Yang beat Smathers 8-1, Morsy edged Cummins 8-6 in the night’s closest match, Solum topped Shackelford 8-2 and Kyla Yang defeated Eidson 8-0.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City faced a 6-1 deficit at one point before putting on a furious rally, including a six-run third inning, on the way to a 10-7 win over Carl Junction to open Central Ozark Conference play on Tuesday.
Carl Junction scored three runs in its first two trips to the plate to lead 6-1 before Webb City chipped away with three runs in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to two. The Cardinals rallied all the way back with a six-run third inning—highlighted by a grand slam from Karsyn Cahoon—to go on top for good.
“This has been the story of our season so far,” Webb City coach Shauna Friend said. “We’ve come from behind in our last three games and another one before that. These girls are confident in themselves, which is good to see because we know if we give up a few runs we still know we can come back offensively.”
“These girls really wanted it today,” Carl Junction coach Zak Petty said. “We’ve built (the program) up the last couple of years to where we can compete really well, but we’re not going to be happy just competing and that’s where we’re at right now. Webb can swing, but I think we are right there with them. … We really only lost one inning today, so we are going to look at that and move forward with it.”
IN THE CIRCLE
Kenzie Wynn earned the win in relief for Webb City, allowing one run on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Laney Taylor started and took a no-decision after allowing six runs on four hits, five walks and two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.
“Kenzie came in and was solid,” Friend said. “That’s the thing with our pitching staff—we have several quality pitchers. If one is struggling or having a tough day, there is another one ready to come in and get outs. Kenzie did a fantastic job knowing her role as a relief pitcher, coming in and calming things down while getting us in a position to win the game.”
Kiley Spencer took the loss after allowing 10 runs, nine earned, on 13 hits and two strikeouts in three innings. Hannah Cole pitched three scoreless relief innings, allowing one hit, striking out one and walking one.
RALLY CAPS
Trailing by five after an inning and a half, the Cardinals cut into the lead once again in the last of the second inning when Rilley Hanes doubled off the third baseman’s glove to plate the runner from second and a 6-2 score. Cahoon added a two-run double off the wall in left-center later in the inning to trim the deficit to two, 6-4.
Webb City cut the lead to one in the next at-bat when Alex Maturino singled through the left side to score the runner from second to make the score 6-5. Sidney Strickland followed with a shallow single behind first to plate Maturinto and tie the game at 6s. Cahoon delivered the big blow, coming up clutch once more for the Cardinals after ripping a two-out grand slam to left field to put Webb City on top 10-6. It was Cahoon’s first-ever home run.
“I am so excited for her,” Friend said. “She has been swinging it really well these last few games and it was just a matter of time for her. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Spencer trimmed the Webb City to 10-7 with an RBI groundout in the fourth inning.
STRONG OUT OF THE GATE
Carl Junction wasted little time with the bats as Hannah Cantrell started the game with a triple to left-center on a 3-2 pitch before Ryleigh Palmer followed with a double off the base of the wall in left-center to bring home Cantrell for a 1-0 advantage. Consecutive walks loaded the bases and after a strikeout, Spencer helped her own cause with a walk to force in a run for a 2-0 lead. Hannah Cole followed with a sacrifice fly to right-center to give the Bulldogs an early three-run cushion.
Webb City cut into the lead with a run coming home in the bottom of the first inning when Abby Sargent, who doubled on a flare past third to lead off the frame, came around to score on a wild pitch.
Kady Hunt got the run back for Carl Junction in the top of the second inning when she singled to center field with runners on first and second with two outs for an RBI and a 4-1 lead. After a Webb City pitching change, Spencer helped herself out even more with a two-run single to shallow left-center to bring home two more runs during the two-out rally for a 6-1 advantage.
“We said we wanted to score first, and we did. We felt really good about it,” Petty said of the early offense. “It wasn’t there on the other side of it, pitching and defense-wise. It will be there, and it usually is. That is just how it tolls sometimes. Offensively, we know we can stay in it and that is a positive for us.”
AT THE PLATE
Sargent had three hits, including a double, and scored three times. Cahoon had a grand slam and a double to finish with a game-high six RBI and a run scored. Brown had two hits and scored a run, with Jensyn Pickett also collecting two hits for the Cardinals.
Hunt had two hits, an RBI and scored a run, while Kinley Spindler had two hits. Spencer had a hit and four RBI, Maddi Olds had a hit and scored three runs.
ON DECK
Webb City (8-2, 1-0 COC) hosts Willard on Thursday.
Carl Junction (5-2, 0-1 COC) hosts Nixa on Thursday.
