Community Sports

Cage of Honor 92 saw a jam-packed crowd file into the Show Me Center for an absolute spectacle of an event that featured some of the top mixed martial artists in the Midwest region on Saturday night, Dec. 7. Twelve fights took center stage, including a Fight of the Night nominee in Cape Girardeau native and middleweight Nathan Stearns’ knockout victory on the main card...

The mecca of Midwest regional mixed martial arts is coming to the Show Me Center on Saturday, Dec. 7. With hopes and aspirations of forging a path to the UFC, a handful of the area’s top fighters will be competing under the bright lights at Cage of Honor 92...

The Cape Catfish found a new manager for the 2025 summer season, as the club announced the hiring of former longtime Austin Peay coach Gary McClure on Friday. “This is a big deal for our program,” Catfish GM Mark Hogan said in a press release. “Gary and I go way back as we battled for years when I was head coach at SEMO and he was at Austin Peay. ...

Senath State Bank clinches the first-ever Kennett Co-Ed Softball League Championship, led by MVP Shane McElwrath.

Jimmy Vernon and Tyler Norton teamed up for a bogey-free 36 holes while their teammates also played under par as the Westwood Hills Country Club team claimed the SEMO Cup on their home course Saturday. Westwood Hills won for the 14th time and first since 2021 in the event which started in 1989. The course hosted the event just 4 1⁄2 months after a tornado destroyed over 100 trees...

There has been a crescendo of faith building in people throughout Southeast Missouri this fall, as the Southeast Missouri chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has held several “Fields of Faith” gatherings.

MALDEN, Mo. - Board members of the Carl Townsend scholarship and Malden’s Beta Club help put together the fourth annual Carl Townsend golf tournament on the morning of Monday, Sep. 23. The tournament was a three-person scramble put on to honor the memory of former Malden educator Carl Townsend, who passed away in 2020...

At last month’s Babe Ruth Baseball World Series, when the teenage athletes weren’t competing on the Capaha Field diamond, it was a safe bet that they were flocking en masse up the hill at a display of vibrantly adorned wooden bats. “This is a metal bat tournament,” David Keathley said, “and we sell wooden bats. We’ve done very well today.”

Tiger Woods didn’t stay on top of his game of golf for three decades, but you can’t necessarily say the same about a group of 40 women, who gather each week at the Cape Girardeau Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. The Tee Time Tuesday Evening Ladies Golf League tees off throughout the late afternoon at the course each Tuesday and is celebrating its 30th year of existence this season.

KENNETT, Mo. - What started off as a vision and dream for Darrell Watson and Kennett Co-ed Sports came into fruition on Saturday, Aug. 24.  The newly revitalized Darrell Watson Field at Jones Park hosted its first round of softball games for the inaugural Kennett Co-ed Sports slow pitch softball league...

When Charleston Fighting Squirrels head coach and Babe Ruth World Series tournament director Michael Minner addresses the crowd after the championship game between Alabama and Kelso, the key phrase he mentioned in between his message was, “We made new friends.”...

Thursday night’s 18U Babe Ruth World Series Championship game was a long-awaited one for the Alabama Rawdogs. After falling to the Southeast Tropics in the 2023 title game and facing ridicule for an infamous age-limit dispute, the Rawdogs coasted to a world championship behind a 1-0 victory over Kelso (WA) at Capaha Park...

KENNETT, Mo. - After graduating from Kennett High School in 1983, Darrell Watson left for almost 40 years. Eventually, he began to feel something pull him to come back home. Upon his arrival back at Kennett, his nephew Ryne Branum pitched the idea of a men’s softball team. Along with this, other members of the community began working out plans to bring back a co-ed softball league in Kennett...

Talan McDaniel's stellar relief pitching led the Aycorp Fighting Squirrels to a thrilling 12-11 victory over Altoona, securing a semifinal spot in the 2024 Babe Ruth World Series.

The Aycorp Fighting Squirrels clinched the top seed in the Babe Ruth World Series playoffs with a commanding 12-2 win over the Netherlands, showcasing strong offense and strategic pitching.

Memo to the remaining teams competing in the Babe Ruth World Series on Thursday: You might want to think twice about pitching to Southeast Tropics cleanup hitter Trey Benthal.

Sonora, Mexico, a state known for agriculture, livestock and cowboys is also home to the best Babe Ruth League team in the country. The team from Hermosillo, the state's capital and largest city, won three different tournaments on their way to the World Series in Cape Girardeau...

Every coach, regardless of the sport, wants his/her team to be playing its best when the season is on the line.

On a day in which two 3-0 teams lead to a lopsided result, the early evening game between two teams searching for their first win in the Babe Ruth World Series led to the most exciting outcome. Jake Markowsky hit a sharp line drive to bring home Dylan Richmond and deliver Canada a walk-off 7-6 victory over Salina (Kansas) on Tuesday, Aug. 13, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON — The Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, a PRCA Top 40 event, concluded its four-day run on Saturday night, August 10th, awarding over $178,000 in prize money to cowboys and cowgirls across eight disciplines. Oftedahl Ropes His Way to All-Around Cowboy Title...

Wyatt Friley's grand slam ignited a nine-run first inning, propelling the Aycorp Fighting Squirrels to a 13-3 mercy-rule victory over Altoona. The Squirrels remain undefeated in the Babe Ruth World Series.

The Southeast Tropics finished the pool portion of the Babe Ruth World Series with a 12-3 drubbing of Stamford (CT) on Monday, Aug. 12, at Capaha Field. Waylon Hale led the Tropics at the plate with a 3-for-4 night and two RBIs. Aaron Dunlap was the only other player with multiple hits...

Puerto Rico has a great history of baseball players, with all-time great Roberto Clemente, St. Louis Cardinals legend Yadier Molina and countless other players hailing from the island. This summer Puerto Rico’s 18U team returned to Cape Girardeau to participate in the Babe Ruth League World Series. On day one, the team suffered a bad loss to the Missouri State Champion Southeast Tropics but has since bounced back for three wins in a row...

One thing that cannot be debated about the Southeast Tropics is that this group of players can be stunningly oblivious to any adversity that confronts the squad.

A lesser team would’ve taken an 18-0 drubbing by the Southeast Tropics in the Babe Ruth World Series’ opening slate of games as an early end of a run. Puerto Rico was not ready to give up, as the team rebounded with a 5-3 win over Mountain View (Ca.) on Saturday at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Mo...

Kelso (Wa.) edged Lexington (Ky.) 4-3 to become the first 3-0 team in the Babe Ruth World Series on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Boston Caron secured the win for the Pacific Northwest representatives with a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the 7th. The catcher powered Kelso with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs...

The Aycorp Fighting Squirrels pulled off a dramatic late-game comeback to defeat Manassas 3-1, thanks to a stellar performance from pitcher Peyton Hodges and some clutch hitting from Owen Osborne.

The late summer surge by the Southeast Tropics continued Saturday, as they topped Aruba 6-2 in the second game of the Babe Ruth World Series at Capaha Field.

The Aussie Drop Bears' journey to the 2024 Babe Ruth World Series in Cape Girardeau is a testament to their love for baseball. Despite the odds and a grueling selection process, these 12 players are making Australia proud.

Giancarlo Gonzalez turned in the most impressive pitching performance of the first day of the Babe Ruth World Series on Friday, Aug. 9, at Cape Central High School. Gonzalez threw a complete game shutout with 12 strikeouts to lead Lexington (KY) to a 3-0 win over Canada...

Aruba, an independent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a small Caribbean island no more than 30 kilometers long. One of the most popular sports on the island is baseball with a number of Arubans making it to Major League Baseball, this season the 18U team has come over 2,000 miles to take part in the Babe Ruth League World Series in Cape Girardeau...

The Southeast Tropics wanted to send a message on Friday to the other 15 teams participating in the 2024 Babe Ruth World Series at Capaha Field after winning the tournament a year ago.

Veteran Southeast Tropics manager Dustin Schwartz acknowledges that the road to a championship repeat for his team in the 2024 Babe Ruth World Series won’t be an easy journey.

Would you believe a man with a master's degree in finance would be a well-renowned rodeo clown? It's a surprise to everyone including the funny man himself, Justin Rumford, who has been a rodeo clown for 13 years. Rumford is in his fifth year performing at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, which began on Wednesday, Aug. ...

In some regards, veteran Southeast Tropics manager Dustin Schwartz is living the existence of a minor league manager, whose team advances to the postseason. As is often the case at that level, the manager loses players to September call-ups, right as he could utilize them for his playoff success.

Every experience in life is an opportunity to learn and guiding a baseball team through the Prospect League for the first time in his career proved that to be the case for Phil Butler.

A full field of 36 four-person teams and a chance to see friends old and new added up to a great day for golf Friday at the 16th annual Muleskinner Golf Tournament at Westwood Hills Country Club. The Muleskinner is the biggest fundraiser each year for the Poplar Bluff Mules Booster Club, and this year did not disappoint, said Derek Rahlmann, the booster club president. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — The mercury isn’t the only thing rising in Charleston this summer. The Fighting Squirrels are on fire, having won 10 of their last 11 games. The latest conquest, a doubleheader sweep of the Missouri Marlins at Hillhouse Park on Wednesday, July 31, clearly indicates that the team is peaking at the right time...

Lane Crowden's Cape Catfish career has come to an end after the team fell to the Thrillville Thrillbillies 13-6 in the South Division Championship on Thursday, Aug. 1, in Marion, Illinois. Looking back, his impact on the local summer baseball team has been indelible. “Everybody sees (Lane’s) baserunning,” Catfish manager Phil Butler said recently of Crowden. “Lane does so many little things for this team defensively and offensively for this club. You just can’t replace a guy like him.”

In the end, betting against the Cape Catfish didn’t prove to be a wise move for the skeptics this summer.

After one year of retirement from coach, Notre Dame athletic director Jeff Graviett will be enshrined among fellow area legends in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024. The luncheon will take place at the Drury Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in Cape Girardeau at 11 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. ...

There is no pitcher in Cape Catfish history who has the lore of right-hander Korey Bunselmeyer. So, it is a pretty positive thing that the former University of Illinois pitcher is finding his groove with the Prospect League playoffs nearing.

It took Michael and Heather Gurnow less than two years from their powerlifting debuts to shatter national records together. That kind of progress is almost unheard of, but the married couple out of St. Louis made sure everybody heard it with their performances at the World Raw Power Mid-American Regional Championships this past May in Benton, Ill...

Every athlete knows that regardless of their circumstances, it pays to be ready for an opportunity when it presents itself. For former Cooter High School standout, Hayden Nazerenus, he took full advantage of that in Saturday’s 4-3 Cape Catfish victory over Dubois County at Capaha Field in front of 676 fans.

At the start of this month, the Cape Catfish were floundering at the plate regarding the number of times Cape hitters whiffed.

This summer has been a rollercoaster for the Cape Catfish, which is a tad unusual for its fan base to follow after watching the franchise methodically achieve success year after year after year since its inception.

As the Cape Catfish summer has turned decidedly in the right direction over the past few weeks, there have been several factors that the Catfish coaching staff can point to as to why that has occurred.

On the hunt for a last-ditch bid into the 2024 Prospect League playoffs, the Cape Catfish inched closer to a second-half South Division title with a merciless 16-1 trouncing of Springfield on Wednesday. The first of a two-game set in light of a July 9 postponement, the Catfish made quick work of the Lucky Horseshoes with five, four and seven-run innings in the second, fourth and fifth respectively...

Lane Crowden stole eight bases this past college baseball season at Southern Indiana. However, with the Catfish this summer, he leads the Prospect League with 37 stolen bases and is 15 bags away from the league record set by Slater Schield of Rex Baseball (52)...