Baseball

Mexico goes 1-3 in Wood Bat tournament to begin season

Mexico had been practicing with wood bats to prepare for this weekend.

The Bulldogs played four games over Friday and Saturday in a Wood Bat tournament hosted in Mountain View. They lost 1-0 and 9-4 to Houston and Portageville on Friday and then lost 4-3 to Ellington and defeated East Carter 9-4 on Saturday.

The Mexico bats were silent in the first game against Houston's Wyatt Hughes, who went seven innings with 11 strikeouts and one hit, for the reigning 20-game winning Tigers. Brady Fox was the tough-luck losing pitcher with six innings of one-run ball with 11 strikeouts, five hits and one walk.

The Bulldogs (1-3) had a chance late against two-time reigning Final Four team Portageville after Jaydon Eldridge hit two-RBI double to tie the game at 4 heading into the seventh inning. Portageville benefitted from three walks and a hit by pitch that began the next inning. Drew DeMint also finished with a RBI for Mexico, and Sam Ryan pitched five innings with six strikeouts, five hits, five walks and three runs.

On Saturday, Mexico once again scored runs late only for its opponent Ellington to respond the next half inning. Eldridge picked up another RBI hit and then DeMint drove him home for the 3-0 lead. Ellington didn't need a hit to win the game as its batters walked five times, hit twice and reached via an error in the seventh. Austin Maxwell posted a great start for Mexico with 6 1/3 innings of two runs (one earned) on one hit, six walks and nine strikeouts, and DeMint, Tyson Carr and Chance McCarty each picked up two hits at the plate.

The Bulldogs kept adding on to ensure victory over East Carter, scoring in every inning of the five-inning game except the third. Fox, McCarty and DeMint each finished with two RBI, and Maxwell and Landon Hilderman each went 3-for-4 with a RBI. Hilderman and DeMint combined for two hits, six walks and three earned runs in five innings.

Mexico plays at Macon (1-1) at 5 p.m. Monday in a rematch from last season's district championship game that the Bulldogs lost 2-1.

North Callaway unable to match opponents' offense in two losses

North Callaway wanted that big hit on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds didn't get it in a losing start to the season with 7-5 and 7-2 defeats to South Callaway and Kirksville, respectively. 

North Callaway (0-2) tallied nine hits to outnumber South Callaway's six but didn't have some "50/50 calls" go its way, according to head coach Kirt Kleindienst. Still, South Callaway shot ahead 6-3 after two innings early as Sam Pezold finished with six runs allowed on five hits in 1 2/3 innings pitched. Coltyn O'Neal had three singles and a stolen base and scored on Kyle Pennell's RBI hit.

Against Kirksville, the Thunderbirds had three hits and could only score via a sacrifice fly by Sam Pezold and an error. Pennell and Tucker Sheets each had a double while Keaton Bell recorded two innings with four strikeouts, two hits and two unearned runs.

North Callaway is scheduled to play at Fulton (1-1) at 5:30 p.m. Monday in a Military Appreciation Night game.

Centralia splits opening day after waves of offense

Centralia benefitted and was hurt by runs in bulk on Saturday in Harrisburg.

After Harrisburg tied the game at nine, Centralia scored five runs in the final two innings to win 14-9 before being defeated 13-2 by Father Tolton.

Centralia (1-1) put together a five run fifth inning thanks partially to two errors and a wild pitch, but Harrisburg responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning after the inning began with the first four batters reaching and ended with an error that allowed the tying runs to cross. Micah Danielson, who finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, started the Centralia rally in the sixth inning with a RBI double, and the Panthers maintained their lead after Elliott McCoy retired six of the final seven batters.

McCoy finished with four strikeouts in those two innings, Anthony Ford had six strikeouts and two hits over three innings of one-run ball while having a RBI at the plate, and Tuckyr Pollock had two RBI.

Centralia had eight hits against Harrisburg but only managed one by Ford against Father Tolton, clinging to 4-2 deficit until an eight-run fourth inning for Tolton. The Panthers gave up 12 hits, including four doubles and a home run, to Tolton.

Centralia hosts South Callaway (1-1) at 5 p.m. Monday.

Boys tennis

Missouri Military Academy defeated Hickman 7-2 to open the season Friday in Columbia.