Softball

Knoepflein, North Callaway emerge victorious out of Clopton pitcher's duel

North Callaway realized mistakes couldn't be tolerated on Tuesday at home.

The Ladybirds kept their Eastern Missouri Conference record a perfect 4-0 with a 2-1 victory over Clopton. The teams combined for five hits against North Callaway's Liv Knoepflein and Clopton's Skylar Parker. 

Knoepflein finished with a line of eight strikeouts, three walks, two hits and one earned run in seven innings. Clopton (6-5, 1-1 EMO) scored its lone run in the seventh inning and had the tying run at second base only for Knoepflein to strike out the No. 9 hitter for the final out.

Parker had three strikeouts, three hits and one hit by pitch in seven inning. She ran into trouble against North Callaway (9-5) in the third inning when Maddy Gordon's single turned into a double via an error, Megan Schmidt reached on an error and then Kymorie Myers brought both home with a double.

Head coach Mariah McKee said a "classic pitcher's duel" is usually won or lost due to defensive mistakes. The Ladybirds didn't have any errors to give them the edge. 

North Callaway plays at Elsberry (13-4, 4-0) at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Community R-6 big second inning, season-high leads to 14-8 win at Slater

Community R-6 didn't let its first conference loss the previous day against Cairo affect them.

That was evident during an eight-run second inning and a season-high 19 hits on the way to a 14-8 win at Central Activities Conference foe Slater (3-5, 1-3 CAC). Amy McCurdy's hitting streak extended to 13 games and multi-hit streak grew to seven games after going 2-for-4 with four RBI.

Community (9-3, 3-1 CAC) had several standout hitting performances, including a 4-or-5 with three doubles and a RBI by Braelyn Kuda, a 3-for-6 with a triple, single and RBI by Rylee Rafferty, a 3-for-5 with two RBI and a double by Jocelyn Curtis, a 2-for-5 with two RBI by Chloe Johnson and three RBI by Peyton Schafer. 

Curtis and Myla Carroll combined to allow five Slater hits and 11 walks.

Community hosts district foe Paris (8-3) at 5 p.m. today.

Paris losing streak Salisbury grows after 2-1 loss

The losing streak Paris has against Salisbury extended to 14 games on Tuesday.

However, the Lady Coyotes came the closest to victory over their Lewis and Clark Conference foe in 11 years, losing 2-1 at Salisbury (6-2, 1-0 L&C). Previously, the smallest margin was an 8-0 loss two years ago. 

The game was a pitcher's duel with seven combined hits. Salisbury scored runs in the first and second inning that reached via a leadoff error and a walk. The Lady Coyotes (8-3, 1-1 L&C) finished with two errors, and Kennedy Ashenfelter had only that one walk in her six-inning line that also included six strikeouts, three hits and one earned run.

Knightlee Mitten had the lone Paris RBI in the fourth inning after she was hit by a pitch from Grace Gebhardt, who struck out eight and allowed four hits and one walk in seven innings. 

Paris plays at district foe Community R-6 (9-3) at 5 p.m. today.

Van-Far errors result in 8-2 loss at Elsberry

Van-Far only gave up one more hit on Tuesday but lost at Elsberry.

The Lady Indians were defeated 8-2 in the Eastern Missouri Conference game after committing eight errors to allow six unearned runs score. Elsberry (13-4, 4-0) scored five runs with two outs in the fourth inning when four errors by Van-Far (0-8, 0-3 EMO) opened the door.

Dalana Gay allowed six walks, four hits and two earned runs along with tallying four strikeouts in six innings. Ashlynn Grammer had one RBI, and Reeve Woodall had a double.

Van-Far hosts conference foe Mark Twain (5-6, 0-3 EMO) at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Volleyball

Centralia wins back-to-back matches

After a nine-match losing streak to begin the season, Centralia has back-to-back wins.

The Lady Panthers won 18-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-23 on Monday night at North Callaway and then 25-15, 25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 15-9 at home Tuesday against Wright City.

Centralia (2-9) play at New Bloomfield (0-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Girls golf

Centralia ties for fifth at Westran Invitational

In a field full of 18 schools, the Centralia girls were in the top half of the standings.

The Lady Panthers tied Rock Bridge's JV squad for fifth in the Westran Invitational on Tuesday with a score of 429.

Kyla Spickert had Centralia's best score of 100 in the 18-hole tournament. Cami Moser was next with a 106, Madie Shelton had a 111 and Emerson Eckler had a 112.

Highland took first place with a team score of 352 and were led by medalist Morgan Crist's 75. 

Girls tennis

Mexico sustains back-to-back losses

The Lady Bulldogs' record fell to 4-9 after a 9-0 loss at Palmyra (5-3) on Tuesday night. It is their second straight loss following a 5-4 defeat at School of the Osage (2-3) on Monday night.

In the tighter contest against Osage, the singles victories from Mexico included 8-3 by Claire Hudson, 8-0 by Yolitza Rodriguez-Rios and 8-0 by Lea Hernandez-Sanchez. Hudson and Lucy Gleeson won in doubles 8-2. 

"With Jyllian (Whitworth)'s injury, everyone is moving up and adjusting to their new position," head coach Kim Costley said. "We have made several changes to our lineup and doubles partners and will probably continue to do so until we find our most competitive lineup."

Mexico hosts North Central Missouri Conference foe Moberly (3-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday.