Boys soccer

Mexico ramp up offense in second half, defeat Boonville 6-0

The first half was too slow for Mexico on Thursday.

After the Bulldogs led Boonville 1-0 at halftime at Chris Hotop Field in Mexico, they scored five times in the second half for a 6-0 victory. Mexico (3-1) extended its winning streak against the Pirates (0-3) to five games and scored the most against them since six goals in 2012.

Head coach Bill Gleeson said the halftime talk was focused on the pace. Boonville plays at a much slower pace, which doesn't match Mexico's style.

"The first half, we were playing toward their style," Gleeson said. "We can ramp it up and take control of this game."

Gage Walker and Alex Rodriguez each scored two goals, and Jesus Garcia and Oscar Alvarez each had a goal. 

"We got our passes off a little bit quicker so we can move up and down the field a little bit quicker," Gleeson said. "They like to take it and play with it for a while and stall."

Grant Walker limited Boonville to a shutout in goal. The Pirates haven't scored in three games this season.

Gleeson liked how the reserves had a chance for more playing time to prepare the Bulldogs for the future. He also liked how it was good to bounce back from Tuesday's 7-1 loss at North Central Missouri Conference foe Marshall (4-0, 1-0 NCMC), who had achieved the mercy rule eight-goal margin in four of the previous five meetings with the Bulldogs. Mexico plays Chillicothe (2-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

"They're really good," Gleeson said. "We had some people who were sick. We didn't get mercy-ruled, and that was our thing to not get mercy-ruled.

Softball

Paris wins fourth straight, defeats district foe Knox County 14-0

It was another important win for Paris on Thursday.

The Lady Coyotes defeated Lewis and Clark Conference foe Knox County 14-0 in five innings at home. Knox County (1-6, 0-1 L&C) is the third opponent in four games Paris (6-1, 1-0 L&C) has taken down.

Paris finished with 15 hits and scored seven of its runs in the second inning. Five Lady Coyotes hit a double, and Kennedy Ashenfelter was the only one with a double and a triple. Ashenfelter was 2-for-4 with four RBI and three strikeouts and two hits allowed in three innings pitched.

Emma Ashenfelter finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, Rees Sutton went 2-for-3 with two RBI, Knightlee Mitten was 2-for-3 with one RBI and Gretchen Crusha was 2-for-3 with a RBI.

Paris plays in a triangular on Saturday at Community R-6.

North Callaway wins 23-0 in three innings at Wellsville-Middletown

North Callaway didn't take too long on Thursday.

The Ladybirds won 23-0 in three innings at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wellsville-Middletown (0-6, 0-3 EMO), finishing with 11 hits. Wellsville had several players out with injuries.

Liv Knoepflein pitched a perfect game by retiring all nine batters she faces. She struck out seven of them.

Maddy Gordon was 2-for-2 with three runs scored, two stolen bases, a RBI and a walk, and Faith Cash was 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored.

North Callaway (7-2, 3-0 EMO) plays in the Take the Lake Softball Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Macks Creek. The Ladybirds start the tournament at 5 p.m. Friday against Lee's Summit (2-2) and against Father Tolton (7-3) right after that at 6:45 p.m.

Van-Far loses 10-0 in five innings at Louisiana

Van-Far is still winless after losing another Eastern Missouri Conference game on Thursday.

The Lady Indians lost 10-0 in five innings at Louisiana (4-1, 3-1 EMO), mustering two hits against Georgia Powell. Powell struck out nine and didn't walk anybody.

Mariah Maggard and Elliott Utterback each had a hit for Van-Far (0-6, 0-2 EMO).

Van-Far plays at Monroe City (6-4) at 5 p.m. Monday.

Junior high softball

Community R-6 defeats Monroe City 11-1

In five innings, Community R-6 did enough to defeat Monroe City.

At home on Thursday, the Lady Trojans won 11-1 on nine hits. Alexis Schafer struck out 12 and allowed an earned run on four hits in five innings.

Schafer also had a RBI but was supported by various girls in the lineup. Natali Sommer was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI, Kaytlynn Arens finished 2-for-4 with a RBI and a triple, Maci Pointdexter went 2-for-4 with a RBI and a double, and Emma Morgan finished with two RBI.

Community's record is 3-2.

Volleyball

Mexico defeated Marshall (1-5, 0-3 NCMC) in three sets at home, moving to a 4-1 overall record and 3-0 North Central Missouri Conference record. The Lady Bulldogs play at California (2-2) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Centralia lost to Father Tolton (6-4-1) in three sets at home, losing 25-17, 25-7 and 25-20). The Lady Panthers are 0-5 and play in Saturday's Melissa Hoerber Invitational in Fulton.

Girls tennis

Mexico  won 6-3 at Kirksville, improving its overall record to 4-7 and North Central Missouri Conference record to 2-1 NCMC. The Lady Bulldogs play in the Troy Varsity Girls Tennis Tournament on Saturday.