Sunday's briefs

Riverdogs open season with a split on the road

The Cape Girardeau Riverdogs' amateur baseball team opened its season on the road Saturday with a double-header split against the Southern Illinois Merchants.

The Riverdogs lost the opener 9-1, but won the second game 11-4.

Steve Fowler (0-1) suffered the loss in the opener as he went five innings, allowed six hits and gave up four earned runs. Matt Davis went 2-for-3 to lead the Riverdogs' offense.

Chris Reeves (1-0) got the win in the second game. Reeves went six innings, gave up seven hits and two earned runs. Danny Ivie had three hits and Billy Puckett had two, including a three-run homer for the Riverdogs.

Sikeston wins 6-0, goes to 3A final four

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The No. 4-ranked Sikeston baseball team defeated No. 3 Pacific 6-0 Saturday and earned a spot in Friday's semifinals of the state high school baseball tournament.

Sikeston (21-2) scored twice in the first inning and twice more in the second for an early lead, then scored a pair of runs in the fifth. Chris Cota pitched five innings with four hits and two walks. Blake Dewitt went 3-for-4 for Sikeston, which won its 16th game in a row.

Pacific, rankedNo. 3, finished its season 20-2.

Jackson slips to 1-1 in round-robin tournament

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Jackson junior American Legion baseball team lost 5-1 Saturday to Brentwood in its own round-robin tournament. Brentwood broke open a 1-1 game with a grand-slam home run in the fifth inning. Jackson was held to four hits.

Jackson, 1-1 in the event after it defeated Perryville on Wednesday, will play Kirkwood at 11:30 a.m. today. Earlier Saturday, Perryville (1-1) defeated Kirkwood 4-2.

-- From staff reports