CENTRAL, JHS TO MEET FOR 4A DISTRICT SOCCER TITLE

As expected, rivals Cape Girardeau Central and Jackson will square off for the championship of the Class 4A, District 1 girls soccer tournament.

Both squads posted first-round victories Monday at the Southeast Missouri State University Intramural Field as the four-team event got under way.

Host and top-seeded Cape Central shut out fourth-seeded Farmington 4-0 while second-seeded Jackson blanked third-seeded Poplar Bluff 3-0.

The title contest will be played at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Houck Stadium.

Cape Central improved to 14-5-6 as Trisha Klipfel, Ashlie Voerg, Sarah Brown and Katie Hawkins all scored goals.

Cameron Bennett and Julie Underwood contributed assists while goalkeeper Heather Hey earned the shutout.

"We didn't play real well, but we're looking forward to the championship game," said Cape Central coach Tom Doyle. "We've always had some great games with Jackson and it should be another good one."

Jackson, which is 13-7-4, led Poplar Bluff just 1-0 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

Lacie Hodo scored two goals for the Lady Indians while Katie Domian added one. Amanda Beussink had two assists, Erin Mayfield contributed one and keeper Whitney Werner recorded the shutout.

"I thought we played real well," said Jackson coach Zack Walton.

Cape Central and Jackson have played twice already, the Lady Tigers winning 3-1 and the squads tying 2-2. Last year in the district finals, the Lady Tigers edged the Lady Indians 3-2 in three overtimes.

BASEBALL

Class 1A, District 2

ORAN, Mo. -- The top three seeds all posted five-inning, run-rule routs while the No. 4 seed suffered a mild upset during the tournament's opening round.

Top-seeded and host Oran destroyed No. 8 Scott County Central 28-0, No. 2 Bell City ripped No. 7 Delta 17-2, No. 3 St. Vincent pounded No. 6 Richland 23-1 and No. 5 Oak Ridge slipped past No. 4 Ste. Genevieve Valle 6-3.

Today's semifinals will feature Oran vs. Oak Ridge at 2:30 p.m. and Bell City vs. St. Vincent at 4:30 p.m.

Oran (19-5) received a combined no-hitter from Ryne Wood and Matt Seyer as only one Scott Central player reached base, that on a fifth-inning walk. Wood struck out four in two innings while Seyer fanned five in three innings.

Trey Graviett went 4-for-4 with two doubles and two runs batted in to pace Oran's 17-hit attack. Adam Friga tripled twice, doubled and had five RBIs. Garrett Cook, Tyler Cookson and Matt Bucher all added two hits.

Bell City (17-3) had 14 hits, led by Brian Phillips with three. Ben Duncan was the winning pitcher.

Defending 1A state champion St. Vincent (23-1) had just 10 hits but took advantage of numerous Richland errors and walks. Winning hurler Adam Bockman worked three hitless innings. Bockman, Brandon Carroll and Kurt Sutterer all had three RBIs.

For Oak Ridge (12-6), winning pitcher Beau Morrison had a solo home run, as did teammate Ben Fadler. Morrison went the distance, allowing eight hits, with four strikeouts and three walks.

Ahead 2-1 entering the fifth, Oak Ridge scored three times for a 5-1 lead. The victory avenged a 5-0 loss to Valle earlier this season.

Class 1A, District 3

SOUTH IRON, Mo. -- Top-seeded Advance rolled past No. 8 Marquand 9-2 while second-seeded Leopold avoided a first-round upset by No. 7 South Iron, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 2-1 victory.

Both Advance and Leopold move into today's semifinals.

Advance (9-2) got a complete-game pitching performance from Aaron Cantrell, who allowed six hits while fanning 11 and walking two.

Chase Robbins went 3-for-3 to lead the Hornets' nine-hit attack. Adam Rainey and Blaine Tidwell both had two hits, with Rainey homering and Tidwell adding two RBIs.

"We were a little flat but I expected that since we hadn't played in a while," said Advance coach Jim Below.

Freshman A.J. Seiler picked up the win for Leopold (9-7), allowing three hits, walking two and striking out five.

Daniel Schaab went 3-for-3 and Ashton James was 2-for-2 in the Wildcats' 10-hit attack.

Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Leopold received two clutch RBI hits with two outs. Paul Hutchings tied the game with an RBI single and Clayton Jansen followed with a game-winning double.

Class 3A, District 1

DEXTER, Mo. -- Top-seeded Sikeston and No. 2 Kennett posted impressive semifinal victories to move into Wednesday's championship game.

Sikeston rolled past No. 5 New Madrid County Central 11-3 while Kennett disposed of No. 6 Perryville 10-4.

Sikeston (18-4) banged out 17 hits. Adam Garrett went 4-for-4, Kent Chappell homered, doubled twice and drove in six runs and Bobby Landers homered while also pitching all seven innings.