Central softball falls short vs. Mules, bows out of district

The Central softball team missed an opportunity to take the lead in the fourth inning, fell behind and never recovered Thursday in the Class 4 District 1 semifinal against Poplar Bluff.

The host Mules, the No. 1 seed, escaped a bases-loaded jam and pulled away for a 10-4 victory to advance to the district final.

Central (8-19) scored three times in the final two innings and ended the game with the bases loaded.

The Tigers had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning but Poplar Bluff senior Kristen Ploetze struck out two batters.

For Central, Lindsey Greene drove in a run in the fourth and added another in the seventh.

Poplar Bluff 10, Central 4

Central 000 102 1 -- 4 10 2

Poplar Bluff 001 441 x -- 10 15 3

WP -- Kristen Ploetze. LP -- Amanda Nichols. 2B -- Susie Edwards (C), Bethany Sweet (C), Ploetze (PB) 2, Sheehy (PB), Rainbolt (PB). Multiple hits -- Central, Jami Dement 2-4, Courtney Schuessler 2-3; PB, Ferguson 2-5, Ploetze 3-4, Rainbolt 2-6, Glidewell 2-3, Mattingly 2-4. Records -- Poplar Bluff 23-2; Central 8-19.

Class 2 District 5

Kelly routed fifth-seeded Neelyville 15-0 in three innings in the semifinal at Three Rivers Community College.

The top-seeded Hawks (18-10) will play third-seeded East Prairie at 3 p.m. today in the final.

Casey Kern pitched a one-hitter.

Mindy Robert had two triples and two RBIs for Kelly. Kern doubled twice, while Brittany Ponder had two hits and three RBIs.

Neelyville 000 -- 0 1 2

Kelly 492 -- 15 10 1

WP -- Casey Kern. 3B -- Mindy Robert (K) 2. 2B --Kern (K) 2, Summer Proctor (K). Multiple hits -- Kelly, Robert 2-2, Kern 2-3, Brittany Ponder 2-3. Records --Kelly 18-10.

Class 1 District 1

Delta (6-11) nipped Naylor 9-8 in the semifinal of the Class 1 District 1 tournament at Naylor.

Kaci Menz allowed three hits over 6 1/3 innings for the win.

Menz also had two hits.

Delta plays at top-seeded Chaffee in today's final.

Naylor 010 412 0 -- 8 3 5

Delta 100 143 X -- 9 5 0

WP -- Kaci Menz, 2-1. LP -- Haley Deckard. Multiple hits -- Menz (D) 2-4. Records -- Delta 6-11.

BOYS SOCCER Notre Dame 2, Jackson 1

Frankie Ellis and Jack Wedemeier scored first-half goals for the host Bulldogs (13-2-2), with assists from Andrew Buelow and Kirk Boeller.

Cameron Keller scored for the Indians (6-6-2) with an assist from Josh LaForest.

JV -- Jackson won 1-0

VOLLEYBALL Meadow Hts. 25 26 Saxony 14 24

Meadow Heights won in straight games.

Nicole Petzoldt had six digs, three kills and three blocks for Saxony (0-16). Tiffany Haertling had five assists and four digs, and Stacey Manche added six digs.

JV -- Meadow Heights won 25-13, 25-14

Jackson 22 25 25 Leopold 25 14 15

Natalie Koeper had 24 digs to help Jackson to a home victory. Jodie Gipson had 24 assists, Amanda Peiffer had 13 kills and Caitlen Denny added four kills for the Indians (17-10).

JV -- Jackson won 25-19, 25-19

Sikeston 25 25 Chaffee 11 5

Sikeston swept at home.

Crystal City 25 13 25 St. Vincent 13 25 20

St. Vincent lost at home. The Squaws (19-9-2) were led by Lacey Siegmund with 12 assists and eight digs. Kelsey Kutz added six kills. Brooke Hayden and Kelsey Cissell had four kills apiece.

JV -- St. Vincent won 25-19, 25-19

Perryville 25 25 Windsor 22 17

Perryville won on the road.

Elizabeth Martin had eight assists and three kills for the Pirates (11-12-4). Jennifer Ponder served eight aces, Jocelyn Moll had four kills and Sarah Roth added three kills.

JV -- Windsor won 22-25, 25-19, 25-23

Bell City 25 25 Oran 7 12

Bell City (21-3-1) won at home. Rachel Spears had seven kills for the Cubs, Andreia Wondel had four kills and Codie Lancaster had 22 assists.

JV -- Bell City won 25-5, 25-14

New Salem 25 25 Eagle Ridge 12 13

New Salem Baptist Academy of Marble Hill, Mo., won at home. Sarah Green had nine kills for New Salem (10-2), while Mary Beth Poole had six kills and Martha Poole added five kills. Laura Poole recorded 18 assists.

JV -- Eagle Ridge won 25-6, 25-22

Advance 20 25 25 Zalma 25 15 19

Advance won on the road. Stephania Jordan had 16 digs for the Hornets (12-10-2), Angela Broshuis had five kills and Alicia Reaves added seven assists.

JV -- Advance won 25-13, 25-20

OTHER EVENTS

The Central freshman football team (3-2-1) beat Ste. Genevieve 28-26 in overtime on Wednesday.

-- From staff reports