ND's BLANKENSHIP THROWS NO-HITTER AGAINST SIKESTON

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Notre Dame's Ramona Blankenship was almost perfect as she hurled a no-hitter to lead the Lady Bulldogs softball team past Sikeston 11-0 Monday.

Blankenship faced one over the minimum in the five-inning game. Only two Sikeston hitters reached base, one by a walk and the other was hit by a pitch. The hit batsman was erased on a steal attempt. Blankenship struck out two.

At the plate, Mika Williamson was perfect with a 4-for-4 day including a home run. She accounted for two runs batted in. Teammates Blankenship and Kaitlin Kelly chipped in with two hits each.

The Lady Bulldogs defense was perfect, with no miscues in the field.

Notre Dame improved its record to 8-4.

The JV team posted an 8-3 win over Sikeston and raised its record to 7-4.

Cape Central 7, Oakville 6

ST. LOUIS -- Cape Central (10-3) jumped out to an early lead and held on for the victory.

The Lady Tigers, aided by a couple of critical errors by Oakville sandwiched around two big doubles by Jessica McDonald and Holly Schnurbusch, cruised to a 7-0 first-inning lead.

Cassie Gross pitched the first four innings to pick up the victory. She allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one.

Schnurbusch relieved Gross in the fifth, shutting down Oakville on no hits the rest of the way to save the win.

Alex Wieser ripped two of Cape Central's five hits.

"We were shaky at times during the game," said coach Amy Blattel of her team's uncharacteristic defensive lapses. "But I was very pleased with the way we hung in and didn't fold."

Perryville 17, Crystal City 0

CRYSTAL CITY, Mo. -- The Lady Pirates staged a hitfest in a romp over Crystal City.

Perryville (9-3) slugged a season-high 19 hits in the six-inning game.

Leading the attack were Stacy Baer (four hits, two RBIs) and Jenna Schuessler (three hits, three RBIs). Stephanie Schumer, Amy Steffens, Jamie Martin and Megan Narrow had two hits each.

Narrow picked up the win, allowing five hits, issuing one walk and striking out two.

VOLLEYBALL

Notre Dame 15-14-15

Scott City 7-16-6

Notre Dame improved to 6-3-3 by disposing of visiting Scott City (5-4-3) in three sets.

Katie Canfield had 23 assists for the Lady Bulldogs. Jennifer VanGennip led the way in kills with eight while Ali Tyson, Ashley Millham and Courtney Vickery all had seven. Tyson served for 13 points while Vickery recorded 12 points.

The Lady Rams received 14 service points from Lindsey Baker and 13 from Rachel Spinks. Baker, Ashley Wiggins and Mindy Miller recorded five, four and three kills, respectively.

Notre Dame's JV is now 8-0 after winning 11-15, 15-11, 15-10. Notre Dame's freshmen won 15-6, 15-5 to improve to 2-0.

Sikeston 15-15

Cape Central 10-10

Cape Central (1-6) dropped its match to visiting Sikeston in straight sets.

However, the two games were contested much closer than the final scores may have indicated. The Lady Tigers were in contention late in each game before the Lady Bulldogs were able to pull away.

"We played well today," said Central coach Heidi Knaak. "We're improving every game."

Leading the Lady Tigers were Sarah Brown with eight service points and two kills and Amy Marchbanks with five service points. Mandy Blattner and Emily McElreath had three kills each.

Cape Central's JV squad lost10-15, 15-13, 12-15.

Woodland 15-15

Bell City 11-13

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Woodland evened its record at 5-5-3 with a hard-earned victory over Bell City.

The Lady Cardinals were led by Amanda Jordan and Kelly Reed with five kills each and Danyel Farrell with ten assists. Leah Dowd and Ashley Allmon scooped four digs apiece.

Woodland JV's lost 15-7, 14-16, 10-15.

Leopold 15-15

Marquand 4-8

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- The Lady Wildcats (6-2-3) rolled to an easy two-set win over Marquand.

Leopold's Holly Jansen recorded five kills and Jessica Bollinger had three. Kyla Horrell had two kills and four service aces, Jodi VanGennip and Wendy Vandeven were credited with five assists each.

The Leopold JV squad lost 15-6,16-14.

GIRLS TENNIS

Cape Central 6, Kennett 3

KENNETT, Mo. -- Cape Central weathered a heavy rainstorm leaving town en route to the blue skies of Kennett and victory.

The Lady Tigers raised their record to 2-6.

The Central JV squad swept Kennett 15-0.

Singles

1. Lauren Sulser (CC) def. Kristen Rainey 8-3

2. Brittney Burcham (K) def. Allison Campbell 8-4

3. Jill Robertson (K) def. Carrie Eller 8-2

4. Hannah Weir (CC) def. Shawn Wheeler 8-3

5. Megan Ladd (CC) def. Angela Treadway 8-0

6. Sara Burns (CC) def. Brea Rose 8-1

Doubles

1. Rainey-Burcham (K) def. Sulser-Eller 8-1

2. Campbell-Ladd (CC) def. Robertson-Wheeler 8-3

3. Weir-Burns (CC) def. Treadway-Rose 8-0

Central JV Winners: (singles) Lindsey Landgraf, Lauren Parrent, Allie McGinty, Katie Maginel, Erika Foley, Michaelyn Burns, Lacey Landgraf, Merrit Gerlach, Sonia Tikoo and Heidi Pilsner (doubles) Lindsey Landgraf-McGinty, Parrent-Maginel, Foley-M. Burns, Lacey Landgraf-Gerlach and Erin Hildebrand-Kelly Zinn.