Tigers advance before sun sets on Royals-Bears (10/07/08) By ROB TATE ~ DAR Sports Writer The Neelyville Tigers made sure right off the bat that they weren't going to be upset in the first round of the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament like they were as a fifth seed last season against Doniphan. Neelyville scored a run in every inning to take a 14-5 victory over East Carter, but at times, the Tigers were sloppy defensively as they committed four errors in the middle innings of the game...

Twin Rivers, East Carter not looking too far ahead (10/07/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer The Lady Royals' memories haven't faded from a season ago. Twin Rivers remembers all too well the loss in the district title game to East Carter. This year, the Royals are the top-seeded team and East Carter got the bye on the other side as No. 2...

Clearwater closes out run of OFC baseball (10/05/08) By DAR STAFF PIEDMONT -- The Clearwater Tigers are bringing a little bit of momentum into this week's Ozark Foothills Conference tournament after they beat Greenville Friday afternoon, 16-6, in six innings. After Clearwater got off to a 4-0 start through the first two innings, the Bears didn't back down as they got their first of two three-run home runs on the day. ...

ROUNDUP: Redbirds edge Naylor in eighth (10/01/08) By DAR STAFF ELLSINORE -- East Carter rallied with six runs in the fourth inning before getting one in the eighth to move past Naylor 7-6 on Tuesday afternoon. Derek Saffle hit a grounder to third base that scored Austin Stephens to give the Redbirds the win...

ROUNDUP: Poplar Bluff wins volleyball battle of Mules (09/23/08) By DAR STAFF BERNIE -- Six different players had two or more kills for Poplar Bluff and the Lady Mules combined for 13 blocks in a 25-16, 25-20 win Monday night at Bernie. "A true team effort," Lady Mules volleyball coach Mike Berry said. Blake Talkington led Poplar Bluff (8-6) with five kills, while Jamie Fritts added four kills and three solo blocks and five block assists...

Twin Rivers volleyball edges Greenville (09/17/08) By ROB TATE ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- Judging by the faces and the postures of the coaches during the third game Tuesday night, one could tell there was some anxiety. Both Twin Rivers volleyball coach Kelly Null and Greenville coach Brent Huff were sitting on their respective benches with elbows rested on their laps and hands over their mouths at the exact same moment about midway through the third game. Both were hoping that their teams would pull off the tightly-contested match...

Clearwater's Logan Morris no-hits Twin Rivers (09/16/08) By DAR STAFF Logan Morris was dominant from start to finish Monday afternoon, as he allowed no hits in a 10-0 win over Twin Rivers. "Logan has had a really dominating fall," Clearwater coach Joe McCallister said. "He has had really good command. Right now, he is doing all the things I'm asking him to do, pitching well and getting ahead in the count, using his breaking ball at the right time."...

Doniphan holds off Greenville (09/16/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- Doniphan's Daniel Newman turned to the dugout, pumped his fist and let out a yell of accomplishment. With two outs, Newman battled back from a 3-0 count to strike out Greenville's Trevor Bennett with the bases loaded and preserve Doniphan's 6-5 win, the Dons' first OFC victory of the season...

Redbirds, Royals roll in OFC baseball action (09/12/08) By DAR STAFF ELLSINORE -- The Redbirds erupted for 11 runs in the final two innings of a 14-4 win over Greenville on Thursday. Derek Saffle led the Redbirds with two hits and four RBIs while Dan Stromat added two RBIs. Stromat threw the complete game for East Carter as he had four strikeouts and just one earned run in the win...

Naylor's Lane tosses no-hitter (09/09/08) By DAR STAFF Chelsea Lane threw a no-hitter Monday as Naylor beat Neelyville 4-0. Lane had 10 strikeouts and just two walks in the win. "She kept them off-balance and is starting to hit her spots," Naylor coach Gene Deckard said. "She was hitting the corners and moving the ball around."...

Neelyville jumps all over Greenville for win (09/03/08) Tigers get out of gate with six-run first inning

ROUNDUP: Greenville rallies past Ellington 10-9 (08/29/08) By DAR STAFF GREENVILLE -- Greenville rallied for five runs in the sixth inning and got a walkoff single from Tyler Dougherty in the bottom of the seventh to move past Ellington, 10-9, Thursday afternoon. Dougherty finished the game with three hits and two RBIs...

ROUNDUP: Royals turn triple play but fall to Camels (08/27/08) By DAR STAFF Twin Rivers fell to Campbell 8-2 Tuesday afternoon but did turn a triple play in the process. Campbell's Cody Huber popped up a bunt attempt and Royals pitcher Garrett Stockton made a diving catch and threw to Jon Stevenson at second who threw to first base to complete the play...

Greenville softball has plenty of changes (08/26/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- This fall season brings a change at the top of the Greenville softball program as Bobby Montgomery will lead the Lady Bears. The Lady Bears will no longer have the services of Sara Condray, who graduated, but Leah Hillis is shaping up to be solid on the mound, Montgomery said...

Catching up with: Justin Hill (07/15/08) Greenville graduate goes from swinging lumber to caring for it as a resource assistant for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

ROUNDUP: Sixth-seeded Greenville advances (05/13/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer The Greenville Bears didn't pay attention to the seeds of the Class 2 District 3 tournament. Behind ace Joey Morey, the No. 6 seed Bears scratched across two runs and beat No. 3 seed Alton on Monday at Raider Field, 2-0...

Pitching dominates OFC softball field (05/04/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer When the Ozark Foothills Conference softball tournament gets underway Monday at Three Rivers' Rains Field, there is no telling what may happen. With rain wiping out a good portion of the season, teams enter the tournament with little in the way of actual game experience. That could be a factor, especially in the first round, as opponents may face each other for the first time since last fall...

Neelyville pounces on Greenville (05/02/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- After seeing an early five-run advantage dwindle in the later innings the Neelyville Tigers escaped with a 7-4 win Thursday at Greenville. "We got our offense early and that's not the problem," Neelyville coach Jared Beaird said. "It's early that we do better but it's the 3-4-5 innings that we struggle."...

ROUNDUP: Bearcats edge Cape Central (04/23/08) By DAR STAFF CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Dexter Bearcats scored four first-inning runs but needed a late rally to knock off Cape Central 8-7 on Tuesday. Jared Laird scored on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Mills in the fifth inning for the winning margin. After surrendering a pair of runs to start the game, the Bearcats (10-3, 6-1 SEMO) took advantage of control issues by the Tigers' starting pitcher to take their early lead. ...

Clearwater's Swofford throws no-hitter in defeat (04/22/08) By DAR STAFF Clearwater's Tisha Swofford threw her third no-hitter in four games but walked eight as the Lady Tigers lost 5-0 Monday at Greenville. The Lady Tigers had their best chance to score when Lydia Wymore led off the second inning with a double, only to be stranded on second as Sara Condray retired the next three hitters in order...

Clearwater tops Bears for fifth straight win (04/22/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- Clearwater had to pull out all the stops Monday afternoon. After the Tigers blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning against host Greenville, they scored one in the eighth and held on for the win, 4-3. "Sometimes you have to win them ugly," Clearwater coach Justin Dobbins said. "Sometimes heart and guts have got to come through when you are not playing real well."...

ROUNDUP: Parish, Vancil toss no-hitters (04/18/08) By DAR STAFF Libby Parish and Carlee Vancil each pitched no-hitters Thursday to lead their teams to wins. Neelyville 11, Clearwater 0 Parish struck out four and walked one at home for Neelyville. Parish found her success by forcing Clearwater into ground ball after ground ball...

Lucky seven: Twin Rivers pulls away from Greenville (04/18/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer BROSELEY -- A third-inning onslaught by Twin Rivers buried the Greenville Bears as the Royals battered their way to a 13-2 win in five innings Thursday. After scoring four runs in the first two innings, the Royals (4-2) put seven of their runs on the board in the third, sending 11 batters to the plate and collecting six hits to knock Bears starter Tyler Dougherty out of the game...

ROUNDUP: Naylor bounces back with win (04/16/08) By DAR STAFF One day after dropping an extra-inning affair at home against Greenville, the Naylor Lady Eagles bounced back with a 10-0 five-inning win over East Carter on Tuesday. Hailee Deckard and Courtney Sullivan each scored three runs as the Lady Eagles (3-2) used a balanced effort to overwhelm the Lady Redbirds...

'Never-quit' Greenville stuns Naylor in nine (04/15/08) Greenville scores three in the seventh to tie en route to 5-3 win.

ROUNDUP: Greenville rallies, walks away with victory in eighth (04/15/08) By DAR STAFF The Greenville Bears rallied from a three-run deficit to force extra innings and scored the winning run on a bases-loaded walk to defeat Naylor 8-7 in eight innings Monday. D.J. Robinson went 3-for-5 and scored three times while Joey Morey went 3-for-4 and also scored three times for the Bears...

Offenses post crooked numbers (04/09/08) By DAR STAFF ZALMA -- Joey Morey struck out seven and Greenville's offense dominated Zalma in a 25-2 win in five innings Tuesday. "I was pleased with our bats hitting the ball after a long layoff," Greenville coach Jason Hill said. "We had a good all-around offensive attack."...

It's official: TRCC lands Woodgeard (04/09/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- Sara Woodgeard has had to wait over a month, but she can now breathe a small sigh of relief. After verbally committing to play basketball at Three Rivers in late February, Woodgeard signed her letter of intent Tuesday to play for the Lady Raiders next season...

Neelyville softball holds off Lady Bears (03/28/08) By DAR STAFF The Neelyville Lady Tigers overcame three errors and held on to beat Greenville 6-5 on Thursday. The Lady Tigers scored half of their runs in the third inning and added the final three in the sixth. "We hit the ball well," Neelyville coach Bill Alexander said...

Neelyville settles down, beats Greenville (03/28/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer NEELYVILLE -- After Greenville scored four runs in the top of the first inning, it looked like the Neelyville Tigers were in for a long game Thursday afternoon. However, the Tigers battled back and took the lead in the second inning before adding six runs in the third on their way to a 16-6 win...

Greenville senior Sara Woodgeard makes all-state again (03/27/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer Sara Woodgeard sat glued to a chair, watching her teammates run and down the floor and make up all the plays. Now she is the one everyone is watching. Back in sixth grade, Woodgeard sat the bench, but now she has just finished her Greenville basketball career and was recently named to the Class 3 All-State squad for the third time...

ROUNDUP: Greenville holds off Bell City 2-1 in baseball (03/26/08) By DAR STAFF The Greenville Bears picked up a pair of runs in the first inning and held on for a 2-1 road win Tuesday at Bell City. Leadoff man Nick Wren reached on an error to start the and came around to score game on a double by Robert Abernathy. Jacob Wood then drove Abernathy home with a single...

Greenville opens season with seven-run rally (03/18/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- The Greenville Bears didn't have to look hard to find their offense Monday very as they opened the season with an 11-1 win over visiting Bloomfield. The Bears scored seven times in the first inning of the season and later got three more on a third-inning home run by Tim Hill that cleared the left-center field wall with plenty of room to spare...

PREVIEW: Twin Rivers softball wants another title shot (03/17/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer The Twin Rivers Lady Royals have a bitter taste from the fall softball season. After winning 16 of their first 17, the Lady Royals suffered an 1-0 loss to East Carter in the district championship. Now they are looking to turn their fortunes around as they begin their drive for a conference title...

Seniors lead teams in playoff runs (03/09/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ Sports Writer FARMINGTON -- Naylor's Hailee Deckard and Greenville's Sara Woodgeard have had some great battles over recent seasons. However, both players' careers came to an end Saturday afternoon as their respective teams fell in the MSHSAA quarterfinals at the Farmington Civic Center...

Metro stops Greenville in Class 3 quarterfinal (03/09/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer FARMINGTON -- Greenville was lulled into hibernation Saturday afternoon by the defending state champs. The Lady Bears, who averaged just over 70 points per game during their playoff run, were held to half that by Metro of St. Louis, losing 43-34 in the MSHSAA Class 3 quarterfinal...

Woodgeard, Greenville end Portageville's season (03/06/08) Greenville senior nets 41 points as PHS finishes 25-4

Portageville hopes to tame Lady Bears (03/04/08) Lady Bulldogs looking to advance to the quarterfinals

'Total team ball' lifts Greenville girls (03/02/08) By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor Through all the celebrating, the hugs, the team photo and talking with fans in the lobby of the Bess Activity Center, Greenville senior Lindsay Henson still held onto the MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 championship plaque Friday night...

Greenville girls over 'mental' road block (02/22/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer Greenville is heading into the MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 tournament as the top seed. The Lady Bears will face East Carter in the first round of competition and will also have the advantage of being the host school. Last year, the Lady Bears lost in the second round to Doniphan after being up by 14 points early and the year before that fell to Kelly in the district final, 50-49. ...

ROUNDUP: Bloomfield rallies past Kelly; Naylor wins in OT (02/20/08) By DAR STAFF BLOOMFIELD -- Kyle Williamson's layup with three seconds left Tuesday gave Bloomfield an 80-79 win over Kelly. The winning basket completed a Wildcat charge from a 17-point first-half deficit and gave Williamson a total of 19 points in the game, all in the second half...

Perryville girls advance to district semifinal (02/20/08) The Perryville girls basketball team played tenacious defense to advance in the Class 4 District 1 tournament Tuesday. Alicia Kueker scored 16 points and Alyssa Bauwens added 15 as the Pirates downed Ste. Genevieve 45-30. The Pirates advance to face top-seeded Dexter on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Perry Park Center...

Naylor comes away with OFC title in third try (02/10/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer For the third straight year, Naylor participated in the championship game of the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament, and for the first time in those attempts came out on top, surviving a hard-fought battle with Greenville Friday night at the Bess Activity Center...

Second-half surge lifts Lady Bears in OFC tourney (02/07/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer BROSELEY -- There will be another meeting between Naylor and Greenville and this one will decide the Ozark Foothills Conference championship. Greenville controlled the beginning of each half to defeat Doniphan 56-45 Wednesday, moving into the championship game of the OFC girls bracket...

Lady Bears advance with defensive gem (02/05/08) Greenville jumped to a big lead in 82-20 win against East Carter.

Clearwater, Naylor advance in OFC tournament (02/03/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer BROSELEY -- The first day of competition at the Ozark Foothills Conference tournament provided little drama and one impressive individual scoring effort as No. 4 seed Clearwater and No. 3 seed Naylor both advanced to the semifinal round in the boys' bracket...

A game-by-game preview of the OFC tournament (02/01/08) Here's a game-by-game look at the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament, which starts Saturday at Twin Rivers. BOYS (1) Doniphan The defending champion Dons have a first-round bye as the top seed and will face the winner of the Clearwater-Neelyville matchup on Tuesday. ...

Baby Bear: Greenville coach enjoys special season, pregnancy (01/31/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer With a few minor changes in her work habits and a lot of good-natured ribbing from her team, Greenville girls' basketball coach Diane Meyer has had a season like no other. Meyer, who is in her 15th season coaching, is pregnant...

Woodgeard, Blue choose Three Rivers (01/29/08) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer Twin Rivers' Kaylee Blue and Greenville's Sara Woodgeard may see each other as opponents now, but next year that may be changing. Blue and Woodgeard both recently verbally committed to playing college basketball for the Three Rivers Lady Raiders next season, Three Rivers coach Jack Childress said...

Porter, Woodgeard lead Greenville girls past Ellington (01/29/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- Tara Porter and Sara Woodgeard scored 24 points apiece for Greenville as the Lady Bears used their size advantage inside to wear out the visiting Ellington Lady Whippets 59-43. The Lady Whippets hung around through the first 20 minutes of the game before the Lady Bears' defense and rebounding became too much for them to overcome...

Ellington rallies, beats Liberty 61-60 (01/27/08) BY DAR STAFF Ellington overcame a 14-point first quarter deficit and then dodged a bullet in the end to hold on Friday night for 61-60 victory over Liberty. The Eagles had the ball down four with four seconds left and got to within one on a 3-pointer before time ran out...

Puxico faces Cubs in Stoddard County final (01/25/08) By DAR STAFF Puxico will get another shot at the state-ranked Bell City Cubs. The Indians will face Bell City in the championship game of the Stoddard County tournament at 8:30 p.m. tonight. The Cubs won the last meeting between the two teams, a 69-62 overtime game at Puxico...

Doniphan boys, Naylor girls have top seeds in OFC brackets (01/24/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer Doniphan and Naylor took the top seeds in the upcoming Ozark Foothills Conference boys and girls tournaments, which will take place Feb. 2-7 at Twin Rivers. The championship games will take place Feb. 8 at Three Rivers Community College...

Puxico shakes slow start at Stoddard County tourney (01/22/08) By DAR STAFF Puxico overcame a slow start Monday night to beat Richland 55-45 in the Stoddard County Tournament. "They got off to a 6-0 start and we started pressing and we established ourselves," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. "I felt like it turned the game around."...

Central, Jackson girls come up short at shootout (01/20/08) Central struggled to get going during its game at the Notre Dame Shootout girls basketball event Saturday. The Tigers faced Nerinx Hall in the first game of the day, and fell to the Markers 68-29. Nerinx Hall led 53-15 at halftime. Wendi Zickfield led the Tigers with 11 points before fouling out. Central went 9-of-20 (45 percent) from the free-throw line...

Naylor girls soar past Greenville (01/18/08) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- The latest installment of one of the area's most competitive rivalries almost didn't happen Thursday night. "We've been under the weather all week and were very leery about coming and playing tonight because we weren't even sure we were going to have enough (players) to play," Naylor coach Stephana Deckard said...

ROUNDUP: Greenville beats Van Buren; Twin Rivers pair tops 1,000 points (01/15/08) By DAR STAFF VAN BUREN -- Sara Woodgeard scored 26 points and Lindsay Henson added 14 as Greenville earned a 60-44 road win over Van Buren on Monday. The Lady Bears (11-2) got out to a quick start to keep the host Lady Bulldogs from gaining any momentum from the crowd. Keyed by their defense, which resulted in a slow start for Van Buren, Greenville built a 15-4 edge by the end of the opening quarter and stretched it to 29-11 by halftime...

Donettes edge Alton Comets (01/11/08) By DAR STAFF DONIPHAN -- Senior Jordan Hart came up big for Doniphan in the clutch, knocking down a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left to seal a 51-48 Donettes win over Alton. The free throws capped off a wild finish to the game in which each team had a chance to come away with the victory...

ROUNDUP: Bell City sinks Puxico with OT 3s (01/09/08) By DAR STAFF Ethan Watkins hit two 3-pointers in overtime Tuesday night to lead Bell City past host Puxico. "We didn't do a good job closing out on him and the kid stepped up and made the shots," Puxico coach Josh Dowdy said. Watkins finished the game with 22 points and teammate Nick Niemczyk added 21 in the win...

Royals hold on; Van Buren gains another upset (12/28/07) Twin Rivers holds off East Prairie

Upsets claim Bernie, Bloomfield (12/28/07) BLOOMFIELD - Upsets are becoming as common as the opening tip-off at the 51st Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament with the number of higher seeded teams to fall reaching six after Thursday's second day of action. Defending champion Malden pulled off the biggest shocker when the No. ...

Tribe rolls past Bears (12/28/07) BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Sometimes change is just what a team needs to break out of a slump. That seemed to be the case for the Kennett Indians, which responded with an 84-35 rout of the Greenville Bears in consolation play Thursday at the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament as Tribe coach Jim Vaughan shuffled his starting lineup...

Twin Rivers' comeback falls short vs. South Pemiscot (12/27/07) By DAR STAFF BLOOMFIELD -- Twin Rivers erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit Wednesday night, but couldn't overcome an upset in the first round of the 51st Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. Caleb McIntyre scored with 16.6 seconds remaining to give 11th seed South Pemiscot a 64-62 win...

Greenville places fifth in Lady Royals classic (12/23/07) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer BROSELEY -- Sara Woodgeard scored 23 points, nearly half of her team's total Friday night, as Greenville put away host Twin Rivers 48-32 in the fifth-place game of the Lady Royals Classic. The Lady Royals held their opponents in check in the first quarter, but Greenville's offense warmed up as the game went along and gradually stretched the margin between the teams...

Greenville beats host Twin Rivers for fifth place (12/23/07) Staff reports ~ Standard Democrat BROSELEY -- The Greenville Lady Bears rolled to a win in the fifth place game over the host Twin Rivers Lady Royals 51-32. Twin Rivers kept the game close in the first half, trailing only 23-16 at the half. However, Greenville's Sara Woodgeard scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the third quarter as the Lady Bears built a 37-23 lead after three...

Neelyville girls pull off upset of Doniphan (12/17/07) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer BROSELEY -- Neelyville jumped out to a quick lead against heavily favored Doniphan and held on for the upset, 63-54, Saturday in the first round of the Lady Royals Classic. "Inexcusable," Doniphan coach Jimbo Blackwell said of his team's performance...

Campbell wins its own tournament (12/17/07) By DAR STAFF CAMPBELL -- Campbell held a 20-point lead after three quarters against Armorel, Ark., in the final of the Campbell Christmas Classic Thursday night but won by just six points, 60-54, to secure the title. The Tigers outscored the Camels 25-11 in the final frame and Campbell was 15-of-28 from the free-throw line which helped Armorel close the gap...

Defending champ Dexter is top seed in Lady Royals Classic (12/14/07) By Brad Hurt ~ DAR Sports Writer If you ask Dexter coach Chad Allen how his Lady Bearcats got to be the top seed heading into the Lady Royals Classic, which begins Saturday in Brosley, the answer is simple. "My girls work well together," he says. Allen and his team sit in the precarious position of being labeled the best in a field of 16 teams, meaning they will get everyone's best shot, beginning with No. 16 seed East Carter when the tournament starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday...

Dons win OFC opener; Ellington beats Greenville (12/05/07) By DAR STAFF Doniphan used a 29-6 first quarter spurt to cruise to a 78-30 win over East Carter in Ozark Foothills Conference play Tuesday night. "I thought we came out really intense and got after them defensively which generated offense," Doniphan coach Jason Andrews said...

Couch wins Lady Dawg tourney title (12/03/07) By DAR STAFF VAN BUREN -- Tara Combs scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to help lift Couch to the Lady Dawg Classic title Saturday night. The top-seeded Lady Indians surged ahead for good in the third quarter to beat sixth-seeded Ellington 46-30...

Greenville girls move past Neelyville in tourney (11/30/07) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer VAN BUREN -- Greenville jumped out to an early lead and withstood a brief second-quarter rally to blow past Neelyville 70-40 and advance to the fifth-place game in the Lady Dawg Classic against Van Buren. After falling behind in the opening quarter, the Lady Tigers tried to take advantage of sloppy play by the Lady Bears, only to see them close the half with a 9-2 run...

Central, Jackson boys advance to semifinal showdown (11/28/07) Central and Jackson set up a Friday meeting in the semifinals of the Farmington Invitational with wins Tuesday in the opening-round games. The teams will meet 7:30 p.m. at the Farmington Civic Center, with the tourney's third-place and final games set for Saturday...

Naylor girls beat Scott County Central (11/27/07) By DAR STAFF VAN BUREN -- Hailee Deckard put on a show Monday, pouring in 31 points and collecting seven rebounds to lead Naylor to a 68-25 win over Scott County Central at the Van Buren Lady Dawg Classic. In other games, it was Ellington 45, Twin Rivers 40; Thayer 51, Greenville 42; Couch 43, Neelyville 23...

West County knocks out Greenville (10/25/07) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer GREENVILLE -- After seeing a close first game get away from them Wednesday night at the MSHSAAClass 2 District 3 tournament, the Greenville Lady Bears found their early hole too much to overcome in a 25-16, 25-16 loss to third-seeded West County...

East Carter rallies late to oust Greenville (10/05/07) By ALEX ABATE ~ Sports Writer Up to the fourth inning of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 semifinal, the East Carter offense was nearly silent. It all changed in that frame as Courtney Saffle and Mariah Randazzo both reached on errors. With two outs, Nicole Neidenberg hit a double that knocked in Saffle and Randazzo to make it 2-0. A single by Tiffany Baker made it 3-0...

East Carter, Greenville, Malden take care of district business (10/04/07) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer East Carter softball coach Angie Bowman always tells her players to never take an opponent lightly. The Lady Redbirds took their coach's advice Wednesday and left nothing to chance as they rolled past Clearwater, 11-1 in five innings, to start the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 tournament at Raines Field...

Wild, wacky OFC openers: Naylor upsets Bears; Dons edge Tigers (10/02/07) By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer Last year's surprise team in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament has a few more tricks up its sleeve. The No. 6 seed Naylor Eagles have come to this year's tournament eager to prove that they are better than their three wins might suggest, upsetting third-seeded Greenville 12-7 in the first round Monday...

Naylor beats East Carter; Vancil whiffs 20 in Twin Rivers' win (09/18/07) Naylor and Twin Rivers will square off this week.

Twin Rivers pulls away from Greenville for volleyball win (09/12/07) By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer BROSELEY -- Already having one game in the bag Tuesday night, Twin Rivers faced the possibility of heading into a third against Greenville. The Lady Royals were ahead by three points late, but the Lady Bears tied the game at 20 and put the pressure right back on Twin Rivers...

Davis serves as Leopold's good luck charm in tourney (09/09/07) Leopold placed second in the B.A. Sports high school volleyball tournament at the Show Me Center on Saturday, its best finish since 1989 when assistant coach Sandy Davis was wearing the blue and white Wildcats uniform. "The last time we got in the championship game was my senior year," Davis said, laughing. ...

BA Promotions Volleyball Classic -- Day 1 scores (09/07/07) Friday Night Pool Play Scores St. Louis Notre Dame def. Holcomb 25-19, 25-5 Cape Central def. Clarkton 25-11, 25-7 Bernie split with Jackson 25-14, 25-23 Scott City def. Twin Rivers 25-13, 25-16 Leopold def. Perryville 25-6, 25-14 Cape Notre Dame def. Oak Ridge 25-11, 25-8...

Condray leads Greenville softball past Malden (09/05/07) DAR Staff Sara Condray drove in a pair of runs in the seventh inning with a bases-loaded single and and struck out seven hitters to help the Greenville past Malden 4-3 on Tuesday. Condray's game-winning hit came after Malden rallied to tie the score at two in the sixth on a single by Lindsay Henson...

Greenville wins softball opener against Clearwater (08/24/07) Greenville 14, Clearwater 3 Tara Porter went 2-for-2 with a triple and drove in four runs to help the Lady Bears to a home victory in their season opener against Clearwater. Sara Condray struck out five and scattered five hits in five innings to pick up the win...

ALL-STATE BASEBALL (06/26/07) The all-state team from the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association:

FINAL TRACK HONOR ROLL (05/29/07) Top 10 performances in each event as reported in the five newspapers that are media partners with Semoball.com, through the state meet May 26: (Note: Performances in preliminaries and by individuals in relay meets are not included; only events where an individual is eligible to score points for his or her team.)...

Clearwater waiting in Class 2 District 3 baseball final (05/16/07) The top-seeded Tigers will play Thursday in the championship game.

BASEBALL, GIRLS SOCCER DISTRICT BRACKETS (05/11/07) Check out the schedules for the upcoming tournaments.

Neelyville softball tops Greenville for third place in OFC tourney (05/11/07) By TROY HYDE ~ Sports Writer Who would have thought a team full of overachieving underclassmen would make some serious noise in the OFC Tournament? Who could have predicted that a team which fielded the minimum of nine players -- most of which are too young to drive -- would have made it to Thursday?...

BASEBALL, GIRLS SOCCER DISTRICT PAIRINGS (05/11/07) BASEBALL Class 4 District 1 (at Hillsboro) Monday, May 14 -- First round: (4) Seckman vs. (5) Fox, 4 p.m.; (3) Hillsboro vs. (6) Poplar Bluff, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 15 -- Semifinals: (1) Cape Central vs. Seckman or Fox, 4 p.m.; (2) Jackson vs. Hillsboro vs. Poplar Bluff, 6:30 p.m...

Track honor roll (05/10/07) BOYS AND GIRLS top performers through May 9

Naylor slugs its way into Ozark Foothills softball final (05/09/07) By TANNER KENT ~ Sports Writer During their first-round win against Clearwater on Monday, the Naylor Lady Eagles scored 15 runs on only five singles. Maybe after 15 walks, the bats just weren't real warm. Maybe the Lady Eagles (25-9) were a bit rusty after not practicing for a week because of all the rain. For the balanced and aggressive Naylor offense, the production was there -- but the pop was not...

Greenville, Naylor advance in tournament (05/09/07) By TANNER KENT ~ Sports Writer During Monday's 6-5 win in the opening round of the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament, the Greenville Lady Bears recorded eight hits. But it just took two of them to make all the difference. The third-seeded Lady Bears trailed sixth-seeded Doniphan 3-0 in the third inning. To that point, Greenville had recorded just one hit against Donettes pitcher MaryBeth Cosgrove and was 0-4 with runners in scoring position...

MSHSAA members vote to expand football playoffs (05/04/07) By BRIAN ROSENER ~ Sports Editor There won't be a separate playoff for private schools, but the postseason bracket for football will expand in 2008. Missouri State High School Activities Association member schools voted 321-92 against a proposal to split the public and nonpublic schools into separate playoffs for every sport except football...

Semoball Girls Track Honor Roll (05/03/07) Top 10 performances in each event as reported in the five newspapers that are media partners with Semoball.com, through April 29...

Bernie baseball holds off Portageville, improves to 13-2 (05/01/07) DAR Staff The Bernie Mules grabbed five runs in the first inning against Portageville on Monday and held on to win, 6-5, behind two hits each from Jake Welch and Jake Owens. Owens had two RBIs in the five-run first inning while Silas Dill, Marcus Massey and Devin Busby also knocked in one run each as the Mules improved to 13-2 this spring. Welch homered in the second to make it 6-2 and Bernie survived a late rally by Portageville...

Massey twirls two-hitter for Bernie; Neelyville rallies for win (04/25/07) DAR Staff Marcus Massey faced one batter more than the minimum during his complete-game victory Tuesday evening, as Bernie improved to 12-1 following a 7-0 win over Leopold. Massey allowed just two hits and walked none while striking out five in the victory and Doug Johnson and Silas Dill each had two hits to lead the offense...

Twin Rivers baseball stays in conference hunt (04/24/07) DAR STAFF Twin Rivers stayed in the hunt for the Ozark Foothills Conference regular season title with a 10-5 home win against Naylor on Monday. With the win, the Royals -- who were the OFC Tournament winner last fall -- remain tied with Greenville and Clearwater for the best combined fall and spring record in the OFC. All three teams have three conference losses...

Twin River balks away with win over Greenville (04/20/07) By TANNER KENT ~ Sports Writer For a game that was as exciting and as intense as Twin Rivers' 4-3 win against Greenville on Thursday, the Royals' winning run was a bit anti-climactic. The Ozark Foothills Conference foes had battled their way to a 3-3 tie when Twin Rivers (5-4) came to the plate in the top of the sixth. ...

Freshman Lane leads Naylor softball past Greenville (04/17/07) GREENVILLE -- Two seemingly innocent groundballs to second base were the difference in Naylor's 4-2 Ozark Foothills Conference win on Monday. Before the fifth inning, Naylor (9-2) freshman pitcher Chelsea Lane had recorded nothing but 1-2-3 innings and had yet to surrender a hit. ...

Naylor freshman Lane fights illness, twirls no-hitter (04/13/07) DAR STAFF Naylor freshman Chelsea Lane overcame sickness and threw her first no-hitter of the season Thursday as the Lady Eagles rolled past Bernie, 10-0, in six innings. Lane finished with five strikeouts and four walks despite missing significant time earlier in the week because of an illness...

Jackson shuts out Central (03/28/07) The Jackson girls soccer team started its season with a bang, routing rival Central 4-0 on Tuesday at Central. The Indians were playing their first game while this was the sixth game for the Tigers, who fell to 2-4. Bobbi Jo Schlick gave Jackson a 1-0 halftime lead on an assist from Casey Schwab. Chelsea Dale added two second-half goals and Hannah Roach had the other...

Massey nets 29 to lead Mules over Richland (02/14/07) ESSEX -- The Bernie Mules improved to 11-9 on the season with a 70-61 victory over the Richland Rebels as Marcus Massey exploded for 29 points -- including 10 in the pivotal third period that pushed Bernie to a 54-37 lead with eight minutes to play...

Hawks capture battle of state-ranked teams (02/13/07) Kelly's girls basketball team hit 27 of 38 free throws and escaped Scott County Central with a 61-55 win Monday in a match of state-ranked teams. The Bravettes, ranked No. 8 in Class 1, led 23-14 after one quarter, but Kelly (18-4) outscored Scott County 18-6 in the second quarter to pull ahead 32-29 at halftime...

Bulldogs put on defensive display, beat Parkway South (01/07/07) The Notre Dame defense has been torched at times this season, allowing 65 or more points six times. Of the nine boys basketball teams Notre Dame had held below 65 points, five were Class 3 or lower. The Class 4 Bulldogs had allowed 83 points in two of their previous three games, both losses...

Greenville edges Naylor (01/04/07) NAYLOR -- Greenville 6-foot-7 junior forward Corey Keele was dominant at times during his team's 53-50 Ozark Foothills Conference road win Tuesday against Naylor. Keele's backdown layup and subsequent block on Naylor's next offensive possession helped keep the game close in the first quarter as the Bears fell behind early...

50th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament (12/28/06) Puxico is lone SCAA representative in the hunt

50th annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament (12/27/06) Trio of SCAA teams advance

Dexter wins, host provides upset special at LRCC (12/20/06) BROSELEY, Mo. -- The Dexter Lady Bearcats used all 12 players on the roster to near-perfection Tuesday night as they dominated once again in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic to post a 70-25 victory over the Neelyville Lady Tigers. The win pushed the second-seeded Lady 'Cats (7-2 overall) into Thursday's semifinal matchup with No. 3 Naylor...

Dexter crushes Lady Tigers to advance (12/20/06) BROSELEY -- The Dexter Lady Bearcats used all 12 players on the roster to near-perfection Thursday night as they dominated once again in the Lady Royal Christmas Classic to post a 70-25 victory over the Neelyville Lady Tigers. The win pushed the second-seeded Lady 'Cats (7-2 overall) into Thursday's semifinal matchup with No. 3 Naylor...

Central nabs first home win for Church (12/20/06) The Central boys basketball team picked up its first home win for first-year coach Drew Church on Tuesday with a 70-38 rout of SEMO Conference foe Kennett. The Tigers (4-5) had dropped their home-opening contest a week ago to Eureka. Tuesday's game was the conference opener for Central...

Lady Royal Classic Roundup (12/18/06) Neelyville, Greenville and Doniphan roll in wild LRC By TROY HYDE/Sports Writer BROSELEY -- Libby Parish drained five 3-pointers and scored 23 points Saturday evening as 10th-seeded Neelyville upset No. 7 Sikeston, 60-32, in the first round of the Lady Royal Holiday Classic in Broseley...

Delta, Kelly, Scott Central win openers of Lady Devils Inv. (12/05/06) Fifth-seeded Scott County Central handled No. 4 Oran 64-49 on Monday in the first round of the 30th annual Lady Devils Invitational girls basketball tournament at Chaffee. The Bravettes were led in scoring by Brittney Peet with 20 points and Samantha Jones added 12...

Lady Bears open season with loss (12/05/06) By DAR STAFF The Greenville Lady Bears kicked off their season -- and a four-game week -- Monday with a tough 63-53 loss at Woodland. And if one number could tell the story of the game, it was 24 -- the number of free throws Woodland made in 38 attempts. Greenville got to the line just 11 times, shooting 5-of-11...

Advance turns back Kelly in opening round at Oran tourney (11/29/06) Advance used a 22-5 fourth-quarter scoring edge to secure a 67-44 win over No. 5 Kelly on Tuesday in the opening round of the Oran Invitational. Alex Steil led the Hornets with 26 points, and Trenton Moses added 11. Spencer Ayers led Kelly with 11 points...

Doniphan looks to dominate Ozark Foothills Conference (11/22/06) OFC BOYS At the beginning of the season, the Daily American Republic sports department sends out a short preseason questionnaire to area coaches. Included among the questions is one asking about that particular team's conference outlook. The coaches' answers pertaining to the Ozark Foothills Conference boys' season were telling...

OFC girls have star power (11/22/06) OFC Girls Warning to all Southeast Missouri basketball players, fans and coaches: This story may cause extreme jealousy, upset stomach and, in some advanced cases, intense defensive discomfort. After last season in which three area underclassmen were named to All-State girls basketball teams, the secret is undoubtedly out of the closet. The film footage has been reviewed and the stat sheets have been tabulated...

Area teams begin defense of titles (10/23/06) Four area volleyball teams brought home district titles last season -- all in classes 1 or 2 -- and Bell City went on to place third in Class 1. The same four squads enter district play today as top seeds, and again the Cubs lead the way into the postseason...