Schmauch medals for North Callaway in Fulton

Pressley Schmauch’s senior season is still young and she is making an impact for the North Callaway girls.

Schmauch finished sixth to medal in the Fulton Invitational with a time of 22:20.38. Grace Rasmussen had the next best girls finish in 60th place, and Tristan Young had the best for the boys in 98th place.

Ladybirds fall short of Cairo consolation, goes 1-2 with tight losses

Saturday for North Callaway softball could've been much different.

The Ladybirds finished sixth in the Cairo tournament after losing 9-7 to Cairo in five innings, defeating South Callaway 9-3 in six innings and losing 9-7 to Community R-6 in eight innings. North Callaway tied the games with Cairo and Community late only to allow the winning runs soon after, but Kymorie Myers led with five RBI in the three games.

Head coach Mariah McKee said North Callaway (10-5) just couldn’t come up with the hits when they were really needed but was glad to have some girls with less experience play well. Against Community, Maddy Gordon finished 4-for-4 with a run scored and two solid outfield plays.

Corynne Miller came through with a RBI triple in the fourth inning against Cairo before Ella Slater’s groundout tied the game at 7. The runner from third base didn’t score and then Cairo had back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning. 

The Ladybirds trailed South Callaway 3-2 after five innings but rallied with seven runs in the sixth inning. Brianna Prosser reached on an error after bunting and then Myers, Abigail Schmidt, Olivia Knoepflein, and Prosser in her second time up each had a RBI. Schmidt, Knoepflein and Prosser each finished with two RBI, and Knoepflein pitched six innings with eight hits, four walks, three strikeouts and three runs.

Trailing 7-5 in the seventh inning against Community, Myers singled and a run scored via an error and then Faith Cash grounded out to tie the score. A runner was stranded on second base after the final two outs were recorded, the Lady Trojans’ Jocelyn Curtis came through with the game-winning hit in the eighth inning and a double play ended the game for North Callaway. Myers finished 3-for-4, and Megan Schmidt was 3-for-4 with three runs, a double and a RBI while striking out seven in 3⅓ innings pitched — three hits, two walks and one run.

North Callaway (4-0 EMO) played at Class 3 No. 2 Hallsville (10-1) on Monday before playing at California (6-6) on Tuesday and then at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Montgomery County (9-3, 3-2 EMO) at 5 p.m. Thursday.

North Callaway misses assignments in 31-14 loss at Louisiana

North Callaway isn’t sustaining drives like it should.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal and the Thunderbirds feel that way after a 31-14 loss on Friday at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Louisiana. Quarterback Ethen Harrison ran for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.

O’Neal said Harrison had a great game, but North Callaway’s offense didn’t have what it took to keep up on Friday as the Thunderbirds (1-3, 0-2 EMO) trailed 18-0 at halftime. The North Callaway offense had some turnovers that hurt them early like a lost fumble and interception in the first half, but that is only part of the problem.

“We have trouble sustaining and finishing drives right now offensively,” O’Neal said. “We have to make sure all 11 players are doing their job. We have one player here and there missing their assignments and getting behind the chains.”

O’Neal said mistakes like penalties and fumbled snaps hurt them, which comes down to “mental focus.” He said he doesn’t doubt his players’ effort, but the results can be better on the field.

Riley Humphrey ran for a short touchdown to put North Callaway on the scoreboard early in the second half as he led the offense with 105 yards on 21 carries. The Thunderbirds scored again early in the fourth quarter on a short run by quarterback Lane Kimbley, who finished with 48 yards and two interceptions on 7-for-14 passing.

Harrison and Louisiana (2-2, 1-1 EMO) only had to attempt four passes as he proved to be hard to tackle.

“He’s tough to bring down, and shifty so we overran tackles quite a bit defensively,” O’Neal said. “We weren’t consistent on our assignments and had some breakdowns.”

North Callaway hosts conference foe Mark Twain (0-4, 0-2 EMO) at 7 p.m. Friday.