ND softball hands a second loss to Kelly

BENTON, Mo. -- After not having beaten Kelly on the softball field in quite a few years, the Notre Dame High School Lady Bulldogs now have two victories over the Lady Hawks in less than a week.

In a battle of area powers, Notre Dame slipped past host Kelly 3-2 Monday afternoon. Last Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs upended the Lady Hawks 2-0 in Cape Girardeau.

Notre Dame improved to 17-2 while Kelly fell to 12-4. Barring a major upset, the teams will meet again in the finals of next week's Class 2A, District 2 Tournament in Crystal City. The Lady Hawks have won an amazing 15 straight district titles.

"It feels good to beat a team like Kelly twice in one season," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet. "But we know if we do play them again in the district they'll be extremely tough to beat again."

Each team scored just one earned run Monday as both defenses faltered a bit.

"We both helped each other out and it wasn't a real well played game, but it was another close, exciting game," Janet said.

Kelly broke on top with an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning but Notre Dame took the lead for good with a three-run fifth.

Laura Weissmueller led off the fifth with a walk and moved to second on a groundout. Sarah Gosche's single put runners on first and third. Katlyn Kelley then bunted for a hit to score Weissmueller and Gosche scored on a throwing error. Kelley later came home on another error.

The Lady Hawks got an earned run in the seventh but their rally fell short.

Mika Williamson pitched a complete game for Notre Dame, allowing four hits while striking out six and walking one.

Bridgett Riley went all the way for Kelly, giving up five hits and two walks, with four strikeouts.

"Both pitchers did a good job," said Kelly coach Melanie Heuring. "We'll probably end up playing them again."

PERRYVILLE 7, ST. PIUS 4

FESTUS -- In a game that had been suspended after six innings with a 2-2 tie several weeks ago, Perryville scored five runs in the top of the seventh to clinch at least a tie for the Jefferson County Conference title.

The Lady Pirates (12-12, 6-2 Jeffco) got two triples and four RBIs from Amy Steffens. Amanda Nuyt added two hits and two RBIs.

Amanda Roth pitched six innings for the win, allowing six hits and two runs. He fanned three and walked one.

ST. VINCENT 8, FESTUS 2

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- St. Vincent banged out 14 hits as it evened its record.

The Squaws (8-8) got three hits from Caitlin Hoeh, Kara Carroll and Nicole Hadler. Jean Brown added two hits.

Julie Hager hurled a seven-hitter, with three strikeouts and two walks.

BOYS SOCCER

NOTRE DAME 2, MARION (ILL.) 0.

The Bulldogs got first-half goals from Adam Prasanphanich and Andy Arnzen as they eased past an improved Marion squad.

Notre Dame (9-2-2), ranked third in the latest Class 1A-3A coaches poll (see Scoreboard on 2B), received assists from Timmy Wencewicz and Dustin Haupt while Travis Siebert recorded the shutout.

Notre Dame's JV won 3-0. Wade Cramer had two goals and one assist. Blake Urhahn scored the other goal while Chris Meyer added an assist. Brendan McMeel recorded the shutout.

JACKSON 2, POPLAR BLUFF 0

JACKSON, Mo. -- Patrick Kohm and Matt Gordon scored first-half goals to lead Jackson.

The Indians (7-5) received an assist from Jeffrey Beck while Austin McDowell got the shutout.

Jackson's JV won 1-0 behind a goal from Scott Lang.

VOLLEYBALL

LEOPOLD 15-15

MEADOW HEIGHTS 8-12

PATTON, Mo. -- In a battle of area powers, Leopold handed Meadow Heights just its third loss of the season.

The Lady Wildcats (10-2-1) were led by Holly Jansen and Courtney Wesbecher with 11 kills apiece. Kyla Horrell added nine kills and nine digs while Wendy Vandeven recorded 23 assists.

"We were ready to play tonight," said Leopold coach Leanne Huffman. "We played as a team and finally showed people what we could do."

The Lady Panthers fell to 16-3.

Meadow Heights won the JV match 15-11, 15-8.

BELL CITY 15-15

CAPE CENTRAL 0-3

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Bell City allowed just three points in the match as the Lady Cubs cruised to a two-set victory.

Katie Niemczyk led the way for Bell City (11-4-1) with 11 service points, five digs and three kills. Katie Spears had five kills while Whitney Abner finished with 14 assists.

Bell City won the JV contest 15-10, 15-1.

FARMINGTON 15-9-15

JACKSON 9-15-9

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson dropped a three-setter to Farmington.

The Lady Indians (12-4-1) were led in kills by Jenna Leet with 11. Jennifer Mesey added seven and Jessie Koeper had six. Erin Hartman recorded 14 assists and Denae Nagel came up with 10 digs.

Jackson's JV lost 15-7, 15-1 while the freshmen prevailed 4-15, 15-7, 15-12.

SCOTT CITY 15-15

SIKESTON 8-11

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Scott City reached the .500 mark by easing past Sikeston.

The Lady Rams (8-8-1) got four kills from Sidney Baer and three from Shana Wadlington.

Scott City won the JV match 15-10, 15-2.

OAK RIDGE 14-15-15

CHARLESTON 16-2-11

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- Oak Ridge picked up its second win of the season by rallying past Charleston.

The Lady Blue Jays (2-10) got nine kills from Laura Glueck and eight service points from Candice Schaper.

Oak Ridge's JV won 15-6, 10-15, 15-0.

VALLE 15-11-15

ST. VINCENT 7-15-6

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- St. Vincent (3-8-1) got seven kills from Beth Hennemann and five from Megan Moll but lost a three-setter.

St. Vincent also dropped the JV match 15-2, 9-15, 15-10.

FREDERICKTOWN 15-15

PERRYVILLE 4-7

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- The Lady Blackcats overpowered visiting Perryville in two sets.

Katie Kutz had four kills, eight digs and six blocks for Perryville (6-8-1), while Kaci Schremp added three kills and seven blocks.

Fredericktown swept the JV match 15-11, 15-12.

DEXTER 15-15

ADVANCE 7-4

DEXTER, Mo. -- Advance fell to Dexter in two sets.

The Lady Hornets (6-10-1) got six digs and three kills from Kaci Cooper.

Advance also lost the JV match 15-1, 15-3.

PERRYVILLE FRESHMEN WIN

JACKSON, Mo. -- Perryville knocked off Leopold, Cape Central and Jackson twice to claim the championship of the Jackson Freshmen Volleyball Tournament Saturday.

The Lady Pirates (6-0) downed Leopold 15-2, 16-14, Jackson 15-7, 15-10 and Cape Central 15-2, 15-2. Perryville then slipped past Jackson in the championship match 7-15, 15-1, 15-5.

--From staff reports