Community Sports

When the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame inducted Three Rivers College basketball coach Gene Bess in 1983, he had 370 wins. As decades passed and Bess kept setting records, the irony of the outdated bronze tribute was not lost on the Poplar Bluff community...

An over-flowing parking lot, RV’s, grills, lawn chairs, televisions and hundreds of fans would make one think Dexter High School was being taken over by a college football game Saturday. In reality Charles Bland Stadium was invaded by the Heartland Youth Football League. The eight team league was initially scheduled to be playing the jamboree at Kelly High School, but a late scheduling conflict forced the move to Dexter...

Delayed by COVID-19, former Three Rivers men’s basketball coach Gene Bess is getting a well-earned retirement celebration. Mt. Calvary Powerhouse Church, where many of Bess’ former players attended services during his 50-year career at Three Rivers, is celebrating Bess at 5 p.m., Sept. 11...

Kameron Misner made his Double-A debut on Tuesday. The Poplar Bluff alum was recently called up to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos after playing the first five months of the year in High-A ball for the Beloit Snappers. While it was a quiet debut — he was 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout — Misner was on a tear during August...

Cape Catfish manager Steve Larkin and four of the team’s players were honored Wednesday morning when the Prospect League announced its 2021 award recipients. Larkin was named the Prospect League Manager of the Year for the second straight season. The Cincinnati native helped lead the Catfish to their first Prospect League championship in just their second season, posting a record of 38-22...

People in and around the Bootheel know the last name Booker very well, especially in Portageville. Two ex-Bulldogs come to mind, as Roy Booker, and his older uncle, Jamie, were local high school basketball stars who took their games to both the college and professional levels. The prior Booker had a stellar 13-plus year career playing professionally overseas.

The summer of 2021 for the Cape Capahas was one full of peaks and valleys. Manager Tom Bolen will be the first to tell you it was quite the difficult season, full of rainouts and mass re-scheduled games down the stretch that stretched his team thin, but he couldn’t be more proud of his players as his Capahas lost both games of a possible three game championship series, Saturday, to the eventual Mon-Clair League champions Millstadt Green Machine, 5-3 and 13-7, to finish the Cape season two games above .500 at 15-13.. ...

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball player Ellison Hanna III returned to play this summer for the Cape Catfish “for one reason,” he screamed after helping the Catfish win their first Prospect League championship on Thursday over the Lafayette Aviators.

Olivia Thetford is looking to punch her ticket to Augusta National, home of The Masters, in a few weeks. The 14-year-old Poplar Bluff golfer recently advanced to the regional qualifier of the Drive Chip & Putt competition with the winners advancing to the national finals, which are held the Sunday before The Masters Tournament in April...

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The epic finale scene in any “Rocky” movie had nothing on what the Cape Catfish game with the Lafayette Aviators had on Thursday.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – There are many things to enjoy about the Cape Catfish baseball club being in Cape Girardeau.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Cape Catfish kept their hopes of winning the Prospect League championship alive with a convincing win in Game 2 against the Lafayette Aviators to tie the series 1-1. The Aviators’ pitching gave them the edge Monday night but cost them Wednesday as the Catfish took advantage en route to a 10-3 victory...

Cape Capahas manager Tom Bolen can say he has done something in his short managerial career that not even his father done in 50 years of managing the oldest semi-professional baseball team in the nation. In just five years, the son of legendary Capahas manager Jess Bolen, has a chance to bring a league championship back to Cape Girardeau as they will play the Monroe Division winning Millstadt Green Machine Saturday for the Mon-Clair League title. But it will not be an easy feat to overcome...

Cape Girardeau native Mitch Craft has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of coaching his son Landyn in the Little League World Series. 12-year-old Landyn Craft plays for the Lafayette Louisiana little league team comprised of all-stars from the eight teams that compete in the state tournament. Once the team is created it begins playing district games in order to qualify for the World Series, which runs from Aug. 19-29 in Williamsport, Pa...

In 2019, the Cape Catfish dominated their way to the Prospect League Championship Series with sheer talent, as their players were atop (or near so) in most of the statistical categories.

JACKSON, Mo. — One team from Southeast Missouri is guaranteed to advance to the Mon-Clair League Championship. The Cape Capahas and Southeast Tropics each won their games Saturday and will face off in a 1 p.m. tilt on Sunday at Capaha Field for the St. Clair Division title and a berth in the league championship series...

For the first eight innings of the game on Sunday, Cape Capaha catcher Landon Tenkhoff had not performed well at the plate, going 0-for-4, while leaving several runners stranded.

Case Englehart (Jackson), Buddy Allen (Pevely), and Jeffrey Patton each took home honors at the recent 2021 Southeast Missouri Amateur Championship at Dalhousie Golf Club.

O’FALLON, Mo. — The O’Fallon Hoots may have won the regular-season series against the Cape Catfish, but the ‘Fish came through when it counted. The Catfish are advancing to the Prospect League’s Western Conference Championship with a 10-2 win over the Hoots on Thursday at CarShield Field...

If baseball were a subjective sport, then the McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels may not be in the position that they currently find themselves in.

With a win Saturday night against the Clinton LumberKings, the Cape Catfish have an opportunity to advance to their second straight Prospect League championship series. The Catfish ended the regular season 38-22 — five wins fewer than their 2019 West Conference championship-winning campaign — which was good enough for the second-best record in the league...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Cape Catfish took a page out of the Alton River Dragons’ playbook in Wednesday night’s 8-3 loss to the Springfield Sliders, playing mostly pitchers in the field while mostly throwing non-pitchers. With the division crown for the second half of the season and a playoff berth locked up, Wednesday’s loss was inconsequential...

Having clinched a playoff berth, the Cape Catfish were determined to have some fun in their final regular-season home game against the Alton River Dragons on Tuesday night. The Catfish had a blast, recording 14 hits in a 13-0 mercy-rule victory at Capaha Field...

Neither of the two local baseball squads got off to the type of starts that they wished for at the 2021 Babe Ruth 16-18 World Series over the weekend in Mobile, Ala.

After Sunday, Cape Catfish outfielder Andrew Stone, who calls Cross Lanes, West Virginia home and attends West Virginia State University, can call himself a Hall of Famer in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as it was announced prior to first pitch at Capaha Field that Stone was the first member of the Cape Catfish Hall of Fame...

Cape Capahas manager Tom Bolen was hoping to play two final games against the St. Louis Spikes on Saturday to wrap up the regular season, but mother nature had other plans. That seemed to be a common theme in 2021 for the Capahas. In a previous interview, Bolen said the Capahas summer schedule had been riddled with rainouts, pushing the team to end the season by playing 15 games in 17 games...

After clinching the West – Prairie Land Division title 24 hours earlier, the Cape Catfish came back to earth in a 12-2 loss to O’Fallon on Saturday at CarShield Field.

If you ask Cape Catfish manager Steve Larkin, every game and every win is equally important. Friday night’s victory against the Alton River Dragons — the Catfish’s sixth straight win - may be a little more special. The Catfish topped the Dragons 8-4 to claim the West—Prairie Land Division title for the second half of the season, securing a spot in the Prospect League playoffs against the O’Fallon Hoots...

The Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons Senior Legion Post 63 19U baseball team was eliminated in the American Legion Missouri state tournament. Oak Grove Post 379 proved to be Cape's kryptonite, defeating Post 63 twice in two days to eliminate them from the tournament...

The Cape Girardeau Capahas were playing their best baseball of the summer, but making up numerous games in a short amount of time caught up to them on Friday evening, as the Capahas lost both games of the doubleheader, 4-0 and 3-0, to the Valmeyer Lakers, and overall just looked like a team that was worn down...

The Cape Catfish were solid in all aspects of Thursday night’s 10-1 victory — their fifth straight — over the O’Fallon Hoots at Capaha Field. Catfish pitcher Colten Weber threw another gem. The Jackson native struck out eight batters and allowed just four hits and an earned run - a solo home run to open the sixth - in 5 1/3 innings of work...

Poplar Bluff native Noah Burkey remained perfect this summer season on the mound, as he kept the O’Fallon offense at bay and led the Cape Catfish to a 6-2 road win on Wednesday.

The Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons Senior Legion Post 63 19U baseball team avenged a loss on Saturday to Ste. Genevieve Legion Post 150 by opening Sunday's contest with 11 runs in the first inning. Cape Post 63 went on to defeat Ste. Gen Post 150 16-9 to win the American Legion AAA Zone 4 championship in Jackson and advance to the state tournament...

CHARLESTON - As the month of July began, the McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels were more resembling the “faltering” Squirrels than playing like a tough nut to crack. The 16-18-year-old baseball team dropped four of their first six July games and an extended postseason was not a certainty in anyone’s minds.

Capahas manager Tom Bolen put it best when describing what he and his team went through on Tuesday evening when he stated, “It was a long night,” as the Cape Capahas made up two games that were previously rained out on the schedule against the Southeast Tropics, winning the late-night finale, 9-5 at Capaha Field...

Cape Capahas first baseman Sean Bard delivered in game one of a double-header on Tuesday, smashing a walk-off home run to give Cape a 3-2 victory over the Southeast Tropics at Capaha Field. Capahas starting pitcher Kaleb Richards was electric on the mound, throwing seven strong innings, striking out 11 Tropic batters, but would garner a no decision in the game...

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cape Catfish were one strike away from beating the West -Prairie Land Division team, the Alton River Dogs, which is nipping at its heels of the first-place ‘Fish.

CHARLESTON - There are obstacles for the McDonald’s Fighting Squirrels to reach the 2021 Babe Ruth Baseball 16-18 World Series in Mobile, Ala., not the least of which was trying to beat their rival, the Southeast Tropics, in the Regional and State Tournaments last week.

Cape Catfish starting pitcher Jalen Borders wasn’t especially sharp in his outing Saturday at Springfield. However, with a Catfish offense that pounded out 12 hits and scored 17 runs, Borders didn’t need to be great.

The Cape Catfish got off to a fast start in Sunday’s Prospect League game against Springfield, as the hosts took early leads of 2-0 and 5-2 before hanging on for a 5-4 victory at Capaha Field.

The Cape Catfish put two runs on the board early in Friday's game against Springfield but ultimately fell to the Sliders after giving up a six-run fifth inning. Catfish pitcher Colten Weber was solid through four innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four...

The Cape Catfish scored a total of 22 runs on Thursday night, sweeping a doubleheader on the road against the Normal CornBelters. In the opener, both teams combined for 27 hits and 31 runs, but it was the Catfish who picked up the victory 19-12 in seven innings. Cape had 17 hits, two home runs and six extra-base hits en route to victory...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Todd Obergoenner bounced back from a rough morning round Thursday with an even-par 71 to finished tied for 24th at the 24th Missouri Stroke Play Championship. The Cape Girardeau golfer shot 76 in his first round playing 36 holes on a hot day at Twin Oaks Country Club. He finished at 3-over 287 for the tournament...

CHARLESTON – The numbers from Tuesday’s Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regional Tournament championship game, as they pertained to McDonald’s Fighting Squirrel pitcher Luke Nichols, didn’t necessarily lie, but boy, were they deceiving.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Todd Obergoenner, Adam Friga, Brevin Giebler and Alex Wiseman made the cut Wednesday at the 24th Missouri Stroke Play Championships. The area golfers will play 36 holes Thursday at Twin Oaks Country Club to wrap up the event. Jack Parker of Columbia will take a one-shot lead into the final day after a 6-under-par 65 second round put him 9-under for the tournament...

Cape Catfish catcher Mason Speirs blasted his second home run of the season in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game against the O’Fallon Hoots. “It’s kind of funny actually,” Speirs said. “I asked Gio (Giovanni Del Negro) the at-bat before — because he got jammed a little bit — what the pitch was, and he was like, ‘Inside fastball.’...

WAITE PARK, Minn. — The Sikeston 9u All-Stars won the Cal Ripken 9 year old Midwest Plains Regional Tournament Tuesday morning in Waite Park, Minnesota. Sikeston defeated DGF, Minnesota, 11-1 Tuesday, avenging their only loss in the regional. Sikeston defeated Waite Park, Minnesota 8-0; Bemidji, Minnesota 9-1 and West Fargo, North Dakota 20-5 in pool play while dropping their game with DGF by a close 5-4 score...

The Scott County Cardinals won the Midwest Plains 8 year old machine pitch regional in Harper, Kansas. The team will compete in the Cal Ripken 8 year old World Series June 30-Aug. 8 in Ocala, Florida. Team members are: Isaac LeGrand, Kolbey Landewee, Ridge Glastetter, Hollis Collier, Gunner Uhrhan, Canon Graham, Johnny Drake, Lincoln Eskew, Bennett Ressel, Tristan LeDure, Drew Benson and Drake Arteme. Coaches are: Tommy Arteme, Dustin Benson, Steve Drake, Chase Eskew and Jordan LeDure...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. - Serv Pro scored 12 runs on five hits to win the Poplar Bluff Park Dept. Pony League Tournament championship. With Nortek Global HVAC missing its top two pitchers, who were away on vacation, Serv Pro drew 11 walks to win 12-0 in four innings...

Cape Catfish manager Steve Larkin went with his big left-hander, Jalen Borders, on the mound to start the game Sunday against the 20-25 Alton River Dragons at Capaha Field, and boy did Borders deliver, throwing six shutout, two-hit innings for Cape, leading the home team to an 8-2 win...