Harrington homers, Republic ends Joplin’s season in district quarterfinals

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Republic Tigers topped the Joplin Eagles 5-0 in the Class 6 District 6 quarterfinals on Monday afternoon.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to be able to swing it a little better to give ourselves a chance,” says Joplin head coach Kyle Wolf, “I thought we competed on the mound. I thought we did some things defensively that were good. When you’re struggling to score runs it’s hard to get any energy and any mojo going. Credit to their kid on the mound. He kept us off-balance and never really gave us a chance to feel really good about anything in the box.”

The loss ends Joplin’s season with a 14-15 overall record.

“It’s hard right now and it’s easy to think back on losing your last game. The reality is, that happens to everybody in the state except for one,” Wolf says, “I think there’s a lot more to this game than that. We had some great times this year. We had some really big wins and a lot of fun at times. I told them let it hurt for a while, but give yourself a couple days and think back to all those fun things that happened throughout the course of the year, too.”

Neosho tops Pembroke Hill to earn first district tournament win since 2017

WATCH: Neosho hangs on to beat Pembroke Hill 9-7 in the class 5 district 7 quarterfinals. It’s the Wildcats first district tournament win since 2017. Neosho advances to the semifinals and will face Webb City on Monday at 4pm.

Frontenac’s McCartney signs to Fort Scott CC baseball

FRONTENAC, Kan. – Frontenac High School senior Collin McCartney signed on Friday morning to continue his baseball career at Fort Scott Community College.

“They have great coaches. The facilities are nice. When I went there I just felt like it was a home,” McCartney says of choosing Fort Scott, “It’s a great program for me. I love coach Hill and coach Middleton. They seem like great guys.”

McCartney is one of the best all-around athletes in southeast Kansas.

He’s a three-sport standout for Frontenac High School, earning All-CNC honors as a basketball player and All-State recognition in both football and baseball.

“I ended up with baseball, but football was definitely there,” McCartney says of choosing to play college baseball, “I feel good with my choice. I feel great and relieved that I finally have a place to go next year, so it’s awesome. Hopefully they can develop me more as a pitcher, get my velocity up and throw with more spin on the ball.”

 

Carlson, Talbot sign at Joplin High School

JOPLIN, Mo. – Joplin High School seniors Bodee Carlson and Kayla Talbot signed on Friday afternoon to continue their careers in college.

Carlson will play baseball at Mid-America Nazarene, while Talbot signs to play soccer at Crowder College in Neosho.

Crowder is close to home. I didn’t really want to go very far, and they have what I wanted to do academically. I thought it was a great opportunity to stay home and go to the school that I wanted to go to,” Talbot says, “When he reached out to me, I was very nervous and very excited at the same time. I tried not to cry when I got the opportunity and when he talked to me,” she adds of speaking to Crowder head coach Jason Bond, “I was very excited and very grateful for the opportunity.”

“I’ve wanted to play college baseball since I was 6 years old, so this is a dream come true for me,” Carlson says, “They just seemed like they were really honest with me and up front about what next year would look like. I really appreciate that. It just felt like a really good fit,” Carlson adds, “Right now I’m just trying to be the best that I can be and give myself the best opportunity. I have some older guys who are ahead of me right now, but I’m just trying to work hard to make the best of the opportunities that I do get.”

Four local swimmers sign to compete at the college level

WATCH: Four Berzerker Swim Club athletes sign to continue their careers in college. Travis Griffing signs to Quincy University in Illinois. Jack Rosebaugh will stay in Missouri, signing to William Jewell. Tristen Wells signs to Old Dominion in Virginia and Tristan Clanton is headed south to compete at Florida Southern University.

Seneca’s Gabriel Commons signs to NEO wrestling

SENECA, Mo. – Seneca High School senior Gabriel Commons signed on Thursday afternoon to continue his wrestling career at NEO.

Commons is a 3X state qualifier for the Indians and a 2X state medalist. He finished 2nd at state as a junior and 3rd as a senior.

He helped Seneca finish top-5 in the state all three seasons – so he’s going from one program with high expectations, to another one at NEO.

“I’m going to meet their expectations with workouts and practices, and I’m going to try to exceed that bar to where I meet my goal of being an All-American,” Commons says, “NEO stood out to me the most because…I just know if I’m going to go anywhere to wrestle, I’m going to get better at NEO.”

Girard hosts CNC track and field championships

WATCH: Girard hosts the CNC track and field championships Thursday.

Girard’s Olivia Cullen wins the shot put with a mark of 38 feet.

Colgan’s Ali Scripsick tops her personal-best in the long jump by more than 7 inches, winning the event with a jump of 16-10.75.

Riverton’s 4X100m girls relay team breaks the CNC and their own school record.

Colgan’s Lily Brown wins the triple jump with a mark of 37 feet, 0.5 inches.

Girard’s Kinley Smith breaks the school record and finishes 2nd in the triple jump with a mark of 35-11.75.

The Girard boys won the CNC team championship

Colgan takes the girls CNC league title.

 

Jasper dominates Liberal to capture district tournament title

WATCH: Jasper rolls by Liberal 15-3 to claim class 1 district 6 championship. The Eagles punch their ticket to the state tournament and will play Miller in the quarterfinal round next Tuesday, May 17th.

Girard’s Senecaut catches fire to close regular season

GIRARD, Kan. – Girard junior outfielder Emmaline Senecaut has seen a power surge at the plate over the last few weeks.

“It feels good getting hot the the right time,” Senecaut says, “Coach Vinze always says be happy, but never be satisfied. We’re always trying to get better every day.”

Senecaut hit a home run in each of the team’s final four games of the regular season, and she has seven home runs over the team’s last nine games.

“She’s finally trusting her swing. She’s not over-swinging and she’s staying within herself,” says Girard head coach Jim Vinze, “When she gets a little too aggressive and tries to crush the ball, she kind of pulls out a little bit. If she stays within herself, she doesn’t have to generate any extra power because she’s so strong and has such a smooth swing that it takes care of itself.”

“I just feel like I’m seeing the ball pretty well,” Senecaut adds, “We practice hitting every single day. We’ve just been hitting the ball really well as a team right now.”

“She bats in the 3rd spot because she not only hits for power, but she hits for a high average,” Vinze adds, “I think she has the second best average on the team.”

Senecaut is protected in the lineup with catcher Lea McGown batting behind her.

McGown is second on the team in home runs (4) and RBI (22) this season.

“Lea also has power,” Vinze says, “If they try to get too cautious with Emmaline, we have Lea, who will hopefully come in and take up the slack if they try to pitch around her.”

“When I get on base, I know there’s someone behind me to bring me in,” Senecaut says.

“Having her up there gets pitchers nervous,” McGown says of Senecaut, “She’s hitting it well and making all of us better. When she goes out and hits a home run, she gets pitchers down and it gives me a little break when she gets them shaken up.”

Senecaut, McGown and the Trojans are the #3 seed in their 3A regional bracket. They will face Cherrvyale in the first round of the tournament on Monday at approximately 1:45 PM.

Their bracket includes CNC champion Columbus, who is the #1 seed in the region – and another CNC rival in Frontenac that is the #2 seed with a 17-3 overall record.

“This league in the past and in the present is very competitive,” Vinze says, “We have three teams in this regional that I look at…and if one of them go to state, they have a chance to do a ton of damage up there and maybe bring home a state title.”

“It’s going to be a tough regional,” Senecaut says, “It will be fun, and I’m hoping we come out hot.”

Smith, Ratzlaff sign at Pittsburg High School

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Pittsburg High School student-athletes Matt Smith and Caleigh Ratzlaff signed on Wednesday afternoon to continue their careers in college.

Ratzlaff signs to play softball at Neosho CC in Chanute, Kansas. Smith signs to wrestle at Labette CC.

“It’s pretty close to home and the coach is pretty chill and seems like he will get me right for what I need to do,” Smith says of choosing Labette, “They seem genuine and they’re good guys. They never lied and they told the truth and they know what they’re doing. My goal for my first year will be to start for sure. Once I do that, I want to place at nationals and then go to a four-year college to wrestle.”

“Neosho County was so much different from the other schools that I visited, just because of how their players and coaches approached me,” Ratzlaff says, “I felt like it was a very open-hearted approach. What I was looking for in coaching is basically what I had in my travel team coaches, which is lovingness and encouragement. I really found that with Neosho. I’ve been playing softball since I was four,” Ratzlaff adds, “I was going to be really sad if it just ended this year. I’m so glad that I got reached out to and I made the connections and I got another chance.”