A big thanks!

This blog has been a blast to put together and see turn into what I hope was a useful resource for Blue Springs area high school athletics, but it looks as though I will have to cut short my updates as the season winds down.

This was not my intention - I obviously wanted to go into the postseason for all sports - but it also wasn't my intention that my first son would be born 3 1/2 weeks early, but that's what happened!

I told myself I would do this blog until he arrived - which was supposed to be early June - but since he's here now, I'm turning my full attention to him.

So thanks to everyone who read. Thanks to everyone who gave feedback.

And as I stated in the 'About' tab, I hope this is a precursor for a more in-depth site starting with the next school year. There's no guarantee, but I would love to hear any feedback from people, what they liked about the blog, didn't like and would like to see. This was just a part of what the eventual site would be, but it was something to give people a taste.

Thanks again for the support!

Blue Springs-Blue Springs South soccer photos

More photos are now posted from Thursday night's Suburban Big Six Conference girls soccer game between Blue Springs and Blue Springs South. Please follow the link below to see them all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77979516@N02/

As always, if you would like to order any photos, please contact me at stephen.bubalo@yahoo.com. Listed below are the prices.

5x7 - $7

8x10 - $10

11x14 - $15

Value package: 1 5x7 and 1 8x10 - $15

Daily Scores

Aside from tonight's Blue Springs-Blue Springs South soccer game, the Blue Springs baseball team was the only other team in action. Check the Wildcats' tab for full details on their win over Raytown.

Scholl, Blue Springs girls soccer team outlasts South in epic game

Blue Springs' Gabi Severns hugs teammate Alyssa Scholl after the Wildcats won a shootout to defeat Blue Springs
South 2-1 Thursday night. 

This is what a rivalry is all about.

Two teams giving every ounce of energy they have, putting their bodies on the line every play and leaving fans on the edge of their seats.

Sure, it all sounds pretty cliché, but that’s what happened Thursday night when the Blue Springs and Blue Springs South girls soccer teams staged an epic battle in the two teams’ regular season finale – a game that included a cancer fundraiser for the Jennifer Ireland Foundation in honor of the former Blue Springs student and soccer player – and the Wildcats held of their cross-town rivals in penalty kicks for a 2-1 win.

“It’s your cross-town rival, so you want to go in and win,” Wildcat goalkeeper Alyssa Scholl said. “We wanted this victory. We wanted bragging rights.”

Added South head coach Todd Findley, who lost its sixth conference game by one goal, “Both teams gave remarkable effort. It was a great crowd and a fun atmosphere. Both teams gave 100 great minutes of effort. That’s what a rivalry is.”

With all the extra things surround the game, it seemed destined for more than just 80 minutes of play.

The two teams went into the half knotted at 1-all, as South got on the board first with a goal by Emily Griffin and an assist to Brooke Howe in the 17th minute. With 10 minutes to go until halftime the Wildcats knotted the score when Gabi Severns scored off a nice cross from Lindsey Davis.

From that point on, it was a battle. South controlled a little more of the play and had a handful of good looks, including three that went off the crossbar.

“I love my crossbar,” Scholl said with a smile. “It was my friend for the night.”

Blue Springs South's Natalie Mandina, left, tries
to keep possession with Blue Springs' Brittany
AuBuchon draped on her during Thursday's
game.

And by the time the game got to a shootout, even those five kicks weren’t enough, thanks in large part to the play of Scholl.

“I used to hate them as a kid. I never won,” Scholl said of shootouts. “I always worked as hard as I could on them. I told the girls to get it to a shootout and I had confidence in them.”

With both teams having made three of the first four kicks, Scholl, in a move not seen often, came out from goal and had the fifth and final kick, which she sailed high.

Scholl then had to turn right around, go back into goal and try and save the game by stopping the shot of South’s Alexis Shuker.

And she did just that.

“You guess,” Scholl said with a laugh of her shootout strategy in goal. “You look for little signs as to which way they might go, any kind of ticks they show.

“The odds are against me. I’m not supposed to get those saves.”

Wildcats head coach Doug McLagan said that save showed a lot about Scholl.

“She misses and now you’re asking her to come back and make a save when she’s mentally distorted,” he said. “One of two things can happen: she gives up the goal and feels like she lost the game or she makes the save and avenges her miss. She came back and made the save and that shows a lot about her character.”

That set the table for Katelyn Wakefield to make the eventual game-winning kick. It became official when South’s Sierra Bray sailed her game-tying attempt high.

“I don’t know if she wanted to (kick),” McLagan said of Wakefield. “She was originally the No. 5 before Alyssa stepped in. We came back to her and she took care of business.”

The loss was a devastating one for South – now 6-15 – a team that has failed to win close games all year. Add in those three shots off the crossbar and it was even tougher to swallow.

“It was one of those games,” Findley said. “We have to fight and scrap for every chance. We did that tonight and we still didn’t get those goals. … When you hit the framing three times chances are one has to go in. I’m really proud of the girls and the energy and passion they showed.”

The win for Blue Springs (7-10-1) came on a night when it was its third game of the week, they were without standout Bailey Hensley and there was the emotion of the fundraising event, which has been dubbed the Cancer Battler Cup.

“She was an awesome kid. You mention her and I can see her face,” McLagan said of Ireland. “It was an exciting game. There was a big crowd and it was a great event.”

It won’t be long before the two teams see each other again, as they square off in the first round of the Class 3, District 14 tournament at Raytown High School Monday at 4:30 p.m.

“Monday is the one that counts,” McLagan said.

But there’s no doubt Thursday is the one no one will forget. 

Daily Scores

It was a light night of action in the area. To go along with the Blue Springs South boys tennis team winning the district title (story below), both area baseball teams picked up wins. Check out each tab for full results and stats.

Blue Springs South boys tennis team captures second straight district title

Blue Springs South's Paul Province hits a backhand during his doubles match with
partner Alec Barber against Truman during Wednesday's Class 2, District 14 final. The
Jaguars won 5-3. 

The Blue Springs South boys tennis team had Truman in a familiar position during Wednesday’s Class 2, District 14 title match, but it wasn’t a spot the Patriots weren’t used to or couldn’t overcome.

The Jaguars had taken a 4-2 lead in singles, meaning they needed just one doubles win for their second straight district championship.

It was a familiar spot for Truman because they had rallied from a 4-2 deficit the night before against Lee’s Summit North by winning all three doubles matches to advance. And while they notched the first doubles win to make it 4-3, South’s Paul Province and Alec Barber fought back from a set down to win the clinching match.

“We were kind of witnessing the drama on the court next to us,” Barber said of seeing teammates Alex and Jared Martin losing a tough three set match. “We thought the team might be in trouble, but we had come this far and weren’t going to let anything stop us. We kicked it into gear.”

The duo came out a little lackadaisical in the first set, losing 3-6 despite the fact that they had just beaten the two players they were playing in singles just moments ago.

“We were tentative at first and a little nervous,” Province said. “We both beat those guys in our singles matches so there was no reason we couldn’t do it in doubles.”

Province simply said they each “started to hit our shots,” and the momentum of the match clearly turned after a 7-5 win in the second set.

“After the second set we knew we had it,” Barber said.

Added Province, “We went from the lowest low to our best performance in a while.”

Blue Springs South senior Alex Martin hits a backhand during his
doubles match with brother Jared in Wednesday's district final match
against Truman.

Province and Barber didn’t start the season as the teams No. 1 doubles team but since they’ve taken over that role they have been getting better each time out.

“About a quarter of the way through the season we had to move them up to No. 1. It’s been great for them. They’ve had to play better teams,” South head coach Sheri Rehmer said. “They are emotional. They feed off each other. Paul turns it into another gear. They work really well together.”

While Province and Barber combined for three points, the district title, as always, was a team effort, with plenty of help coming from the bottom of the lineup.

Brent Henderson and John Duffey, No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, both picked up crucial singles wins, with Duffey’s coming in three sets.

South's No. 6 singles player John Duffey hits
an overhead smash in his three-set singles win.

Duffey has been playing doubles only for most of the season after Henderson beat him out for the No. 6 spot, but with No. 1 player Chris Hammond out with an illness again, Duffey stepped in and got the job done for the third time in the last two weeks.

“Talk about an experienced guy stepping in. I’m thrilled for John to step back in and make an impact as a senior,” Rehmer said. “He is very solid. He lost to Brent (for the sixth spot) but he took it, didn’t sulk and he stepped in and he was ready.

“And Brent’s been on fire. He just keeps winning. A lot of credit goes to the bottom of the lineup.”

Henderson hasn’t been the only one to show progress down the stretch, as Rehmer has seen a different team as of late.

“The last three weeks we’ve really started to realize our potential more,” she said. “The three seniors have stepped up and the younger guys, they’re just setting the plate for next year. They’re extremely competitive and that’s what you want as a coach.”

While Rehmer admits last year’s district title was “a shock” as she put it, this one was different with the entire team returning.

But with an experience group comes expectations, and the Jaguars did their best to live up to those.

“This year we had more of a target on our backs and a team like Truman, they had five seniors,” Rehmer said. “We still had to go out there and prove it. No one was going to roll over and die for us. I’m really proud of them going out every night. We hope to go as far as we can. Right now, they can say they’re in the top 16 in the state.”

Added Barber, unable to contain his excitement, “It’s so special. This is great. This is as good as it’s ever been.”

Daily Scores

To go along with the cross-town rivals facing off in district tennis and the Blue Springs girls soccer team playing Liberty, both area baseball teams were also in action but struggled with their conference opponents. Meanwhile, the Blue Springs South girls soccer team picked up another easy win over Ruskin. Check out full results in the tab for each school.

Also, stories and photos of tonight's district tennis showdown and Blue Springs girls soccer match are now posted below.

Blue Springs soccer standout Hensley injured in loss to Liberty

Blue Springs sophomore Gabi Severns, right, battles for possession with a
Liberty player during Tuesday's home game. The Blue Jays won 5-0.

Bailey Hensley is one of the most important players to a team in not just the Suburban Big Six Conference, but possibly the entire Kansas City area.

So when the Blue Springs senior left Tuesday’s home game against Liberty with an ankle injury early in the first half after a collision with the Blue Jay goalkeeper, the Wildcats weren’t quite the same team.

And leave it to a team like Liberty, ranked No. 7 in the state, to take advantage, as they wound up with a 5-0 win.

           

“Unfortunately, it completely changes (the game),” Wildcats head coach Doug McLagan said of Hensley’s injury. “The game plan was to stay in as long as we could. In the second half we were going to open up and let her get into the offense but obviously, we didn’t get that far.”

Added freshman Shilah Rainey, “We’re going to have to learn because next year we won’t have her. We pushed ourselves but not as much as I guess you would if she were out there. She’s a big part of the team.”

Against a team like Liberty, McLagan said Hensley’s absence hurt not just because of her skill level, but maybe even more important is the experience she brings.

And that showed when the Blue Jays turned a 1-0 game late in the first half into a 3-0 lead at halftime with two goals in the final two minutes.

“Tonight what we lacked is we had three minutes left, it’s 1-0, and our soccer IQ and lack of experience led us to come into halftime down 3-0,” McLagan said. “We made a silly mistake at the top of our box and when that second goal goes in our heads go down and then the third one goes in a minute later.

“If Bailey is back there she’s smart enough to knock it 60 yards off the field, give them a throw-in and let the clock roll down. That’s the experience they’re picking up all year and is something they’ll get better at. It’s just unfortunate that Liberty made us pay for it.”

Blue Springs junior Lindsey Davis, middle, tries to gain possession while
being surrounded by a pair of Liberty players during Tuesday's game.

To go along with Liberty’s slew of skill players, they’re also one of the quickest teams in the area and its style of offense poses a unique challenge.

The Blue Jays players are frequently moving to different positions, which McLagan said is tough on a young team.

“We sort out who we’ve got and we have our formation, we know the players we’re picking up, but the problem with Liberty is they don’t stay in their positions,” he said. “Their forward comes back deep into the midfield, the midfield goes deep up front, the full back goes past the midfield, the midfield comes inside, so now my girls are wondering which way to go. And some of our players weren’t getting back so they’re covering two players.

“The problem is their mobility all over the field causes us to think more than we need to and you have to think fast. As young as you are it takes experience to pick that up quickly, so you lose half a yard, and with their speed, half a yard becomes five yards.”

The Blue Jays would go on to score the fourth goal of the game two minutes into the second half before Blue Springs started playing better. It wasn’t until a penalty kick in the 77th minute allowed Liberty to put the finishing touches on its win.

“We came out hard in the second half and stood with them,” Rainey said.

The Wildcats fell to 6-10-1 on the season and will finish the regular season Thursday at Blue Springs South, before then opening with the Jaguars again in district play Monday.

It’s unknown how long Hensley could be sidelined, but what McLagan does know is his team must stand up to the challenge.

“Can they fight back and show they can play without Bailey?” he said. “I think they came back tonight with the character to show they can fight. Now, can they do that Thursday and Monday against South? We’ll find out. That’s the big thing, the challenge – can you step up?”

Blue Springs South boys tennis too much for Wildcats in district semis

Blue Springs South's John Duffey hits a backhand volley during Tuesday's 5-1 win over Blue Springs in the Class 2,
District 14 semifinal match.

All eyes were on Blue Springs South’s Alec Barber during Tuesday’s Class 2, District 14 semifinal match with cross-town rival Blue Springs - him and Dan Noud were the only singles match left - and he wasn’t about to have a repeat of last week’s match with the Wildcats.

Barber was forced to retire due to an injury in his match with Dan Noud in South's 6-3 win last week and he couldn’t help but think about that Tuesday.

“Before I played every point I thought about how devastated I was that I had to opt out of that match last time,” Barber said. “I wanted to show everyone that I can win and that I have the ability.”

Barber didn’t disappoint, winning 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) as the Jaguars advanced to the district final with a 5-1 win, doing it once again without No. 1 player Chris Hammond, who was sick for the second time against Blue Springs.

“Tonight they proved themselves that if you put them out there they’ll compete,” South head coach Sheri Rehmer said. “Luckily, we’re deep enough. I have faith in our top nine guys.”

Blue Springs' No. 2 singles player Max Martell hits a forehand volley
during his singles Tuesday.

The second set of Barber’s match with Noud had plenty of ebbs and flows. He seemed in control and on his way to a win, taking a 4-1 lead.

But Noud clawed his way back, winning four straight games to take a 5-4 lead. Noud even had a chance to serve for the match but Barber won the game and managed to get the set to a tiebreaker, which was back and forth until he finally gained the edge.

“Honestly, I think last time (against Blue Springs) was bittersweet. I was happy for the team, but I felt like it was my fault that I wasn’t in the proper physical shape to endure a third set,” Barber said. “I wanted to take the last match and prove myself.

“I wasn’t going to let it go to a third set. I was going to play an offensive game (in the tiebreaker). I don’t like to drag matches out. I wanted to use what I had left for one last push.”

Blue Springs No. 6 singles player Andy Anderson hits a forehand in his
match against South's John Duffey. 

Rehmer said Barber’s mental game was key not just tonight, but she’s seen it steadily improve as of late.

"You have to have mental resolve to come back. There are so many different momentums in tennis,” she said. “He really wanted this match. And to do it with everyone watching was cool. The last few weeks he’s been more confident and mentally strong.”

Also earning wins for South were Paul Province (7-5, 6-0), Jared Martin (6-1, 4-6, 6-1), Brent Henderson (6-4, 6-3) and John Duffey (7-6 (9-7), 6-4).

Blue Springs’ lone win went to Max Martell (7-6 (7-4), 6-1).

“We had our chances,” Blue Springs head coach Jody McClain said. “We always have great points against South. It just didn’t go our way tonight.

“Dan’s match could have gone either way. I know he was tired but he played well.”

Blue Springs South's No. 5 singles player Brent
Henderson hits a forehand in his singles win
Tuesday.

McClain was also impressed with the way Andy Anderson played at No. 6, putting together a much better effort this time around against Duffey.

“That was some of the best I’ve seen Andy play,” McClain said. “Last time against (Duffey) he lost 1-6, 1-6 and tonight he went to a tiebreak in the first set and it was 4-6 in the other.”

The Wildcats finished their team season with a 6-8 record and will now prepare for individual and doubles districts Saturday.

“I’m proud of the guys, “McClain said. “Three guys stepped up to varsity for the first time this year. We had a good run. These kids were the best to work with.”

South (14-4) now sets its sights on another district title against Truman tomorrow at 4 p.m., and most likely will have to do it without Hammond.

“I honestly think, with Chris or not, we’ve proved ourselves,” Barber said. “No matter who we play we have a good shot. We’re all even in skills and mental toughness.”

Daily Scores

Both of today's baseball games were rained out, so all the other scores are in from tonight. Both area soccer teams picked up big wins and the Blue Springs boys tennis team advanced in district play. For full results and quotes check the tab for each school.

Conference track and field pictures

Photos are now posted from Friday night's Suburban Big Six Conference meet. Please follow the link below to see them all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77979516@N02/

As always, if you would like to order any photos, please contact me at stephen.bubalo@yahoo.com. Listed below are the prices.

5x7 - $7

8x10 - $10

11x14 - $15

Value package: 1 5x7 and 1 8x10 - $15

Seniors provide spark for Blue Springs boys track and field team in race to conference title

Members of the Blue Springs boys track and field team pour Gatorade on head
coach Joe Cusack in celebration of the teams conference title Friday night.

All season long Blue Springs boys track and field head coach Joe Cusack has heaped praise upon his seniors, and with his most prolific senior on the sidelines for all but one event during Friday’s Suburban Big Six Conference meet at Blue Springs South, they all needed to step up in a big way.

Mission accomplished.

The Wildcats needed every point they could get, edging Lee’s Summit North 171-163 for the conference title.

“Any time there was a set back someone else stepped up. We had some big-time second place finishes,” Cusack said. “All the seniors were great.”

Erron Holley was the leader of the seniors on this night with Deiondre Hall only doing the high jump, and Holley stepped up to the plate, winning both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. He earned a personal best time in the 200 at 22.04 seconds.

“Erron has been a leader all season,” Cusack said. “He didn’t win in the prelims but he wanted to make a statement in the finals.”

Added Holley, “I was scared more in the 200 since it’s a longer race and the guys with long strides pick back up on you. The Lee’s Summit North guy was picking up on me but I held him off.”

Holley was also part of the 400-meter relay team that took first with a time of 43.49. It also included senior contributor Cole Jones who helped fill in with Hall out.

“Cole Jones stepped up in the 4x100. He’s had a football injury linger this season but he’s been a class act dealing with it,” Cusack said.

Other senior standouts were Jacob Belke running in two relays, earning a point in the 400 and then running the 800 for the first time and taking third. Tyler Ray and David Johnson combined to score nine points in the discus, and even though Hall only did one event, he was still able to take second in the high jump for eight points.

Then, there were the distance runners.

Simon Belete, Stephen Mugeche and James Barnett were solid in the mile, taking third, fourth and sixth, respectively.

But it was the two-mile that put the Wildcats over the top in the second-to-last event, as the trio took first, second and third, in the same finishing order as the mile.

“It turned the meet. We were waiting for it,” Cusack said. “We knew those three guys were going to go to work on them. I’m proud of them. And they did a great job in the mile, too. They got 39 points in two events. They let me know all along they’d take care of it for us.”

It was truly a team win, as the Wildcats scored in every event and had seven events with multiple people finishing in the top 8.

“Everywhere you looked points kept coming in,” Cusack said.  

The other gold medal for Blue Springs went to junior Chris Clark in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.04.

More key finishes went to Donte Watkins in the long jump (second), Carlos Davis in the shot put (second) with a 5 foot personal best, Eli Leavell (second) and Jacob Peister (third) in the triple jump and Danny Thompson (third) in the pole vault.

As Cusack looked back on the season to this point, he couldn’t help but be impressed with the team title and just not just due to the fact they did it with Hall’s absence in two field events, but because of how far the entire team has come since the beginning of the season.

“I saw a lot of potential but this team has far exceeded what I expected at the beginning of the season. This is a special group,” he said.

The Blue Springs South boys turned in a fourth-place performance with 83.50 points. They also had to deal with a major injury, as senior Ben Harvel hurt his hamstring during the prelims of the long jump and sat out two relays and the 300 hurdles.

“Our effort was fantastic,” South head coach Troy Harding said. “We had some things go wrong with Ben getting hurt. That was a crippling blow, but the guys responded like they needed to.”

Tyler Blair had one of two firsts for the Jaguars, winning the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.57.

“Last year my best was a 16.2 and this year I’m at a 15.2. I’m improving every meet. My hard work and patience is starting to pay off,” Blair said. “I was always nervous last year and I fell a lot. But this year I came in with so much confidence. Honestly, I credit a lot of that to Ben (Harvel). He provides so much motivation and he’s so helpful. Him and Hunter (Stoll) are great.”

Blair also took third in the 300 hurdles, which is what opened Harding’s eyes.

“It’s hard to say this but he’s been doing so well lately that I almost expected it,” Harding said of Blair’s win in the 110’s. “I was maybe more impressed with his 300. He hasn’t shown that in the 300. That was a big jump knocking almost two full seconds off.”

Sophomore Josh Watson won the other gold in the discus by throwing 151-4.

“That was huge. He’s made a lot of strides,” Harding said. “That’s the first time he’s won a big meet and it was a great time to do it.”

The 400- and 800-meter relays weren’t quite the same without Harvel, as they took second and fourth, respectively, although they still almost won the 400 in coming fifteen-hundredths of a second behind Blue Springs.

Stoll had a nice meet in the hurdles, taking second in the 300’s and third in the 110’s. Syrell Fuel took third in the high jump and Steven Sullivan was fifth in the 100 and 200. 

Balance helps Blue Springs girls track and field team to narrow conference title

Members of the Blue Springs girls track and field team celebrate upon hearing they won the Suburban Big Six Conference title Friday night at Blue Springs South High School.

The conference track and field meet is probably the most strategic meet of the season.

With each athlete allowed to participate in up to four events and teams able to qualify up to three per event, team depth is crucial, and it’s not unusual to see someone in an event they haven’t done all season just in an attempt to get some extra points.

That’s what the Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit North girls teams were doing Friday night in the Suburban Big Six Conference meet at Blue Springs South, with the Wildcats gaining a slight edge to take home the title, 197-185.50.

“It took every event today,” Wildcats head coach Jennifer Reeder said. “We showed a true team spirit today, and when some events didn’t go as planned other girls stepped up. We had multiple girls doing four events.”

The Wildcats finished with eight events in which they had three girls score in the top 8.

“We knew that in track and field that’s the game plan. We had to stick to it,” Reeder said. “To beat Lee’s Summit North you have to have three in every event because you know that’s what they’re going to have.”

Blue Springs finished the meet with eight firsts, led by freshman Gabby Hall with three, as she won the 100-meter dash, 200 and 400. The three gold medals earned her the Golden Spike Award for most points on the girls side of the meet.

“It’s hard to ask a freshman to win three events,” Reeder said. “She’s much older than a freshman when the gun goes off.”

The other Wildcat to earn multiple firsts was thrower Tyra Bickham who won the Rusty Hodge Award, which goes to the top thrower, by winning the shot put (41 feet, 8 inches) and the discus (126-10) with two personal best throws.

“I’m doing much better compared to last year,” Bickham said. “I was excited to come and compete again at conference. I’ve been peaking and I was waiting on that one to finally pop and it did today.”

Bickham has turned into the leader in both throwing events, taking over for standout Monet Jackson from a season ago.

“It’s cool that she got the Rusty Hodge Award after Monet got it last year. Monet was a great example for her on what it takes to be successful,” Reeder said. “It’s astounding the gains she makes each week. The sky is the limit for her. She’s one of the big dogs now.”

Tyonna Snow (long jump, 18-2 3/4) and Bri Starr (triple jump, 36-2) were the other two individual firsts, giving Blue Springs wins in four of the six field events.

“We come together and talk about how we need to get our points for the team,” Bickham said of the field event girls.

The 800-meter relay team also brought home gold for the Wildcats.

Other key top three finishes were Megan Wright taking second in the pole vault, Starr finishing second in the long jump, Snow coming in third in the 200, Shannon Danaher running to third in the 800 and Leelin Smith placing third in the discus.

The number of contributors was indicative of a conference champ, and a team that Reeder said has come together in recent weeks.

“This is the best team atmosphere since I’ve been coaching. This is a special team and they’ve come together when we’ve needed it,” she said. “It’s been building. Last week going to Kirkwood is a great trip as a team, and we were able to beat 18 other St. Louis schools.”

Blue Springs South had several solid finishes and took fourth with 84 points.

“We showed a total team effort. Everybody did better than their seed,” South head coach Ryan Unruh said. “This was a good builder for our program and our future. We’ve taken last place the last few years.”

Distance runner Samantha Nightingale was stellar as usual, setting meet records in the mile (5:02.07) and two-mile (11:06.99) to win both events. She even ran the 800 to add to the teams point total and took second.

“I told her the rest of the year should could run for herself but tonight was for the team,” Unruh said. “She knows the 800 isn’t her event and that she was going to suffer through the two-mile (afterward). It was selfless of her.”

The other individual standout for the Jaguars was Savanna Hoyle taking four seconds off her 300 hurdle time for third place and another second off her 100 hurdle time to finish in sixth.

“Hoyle wasn’t supposed to make the finals in either event. She had a great meet,” Unruh said.

In the relays, South edged Blue Springs by less than a second in the 1,600 and 400 events for second in both. The time of 49.96 in the 400 relay especially stood out to Unruh.

“We’ve been close to Blue Springs all year and we’ve been knocking on the door of breaking 50 seconds, so to take second and break 50 seconds was great. The kids were excited to race. Our exchanges were great,” he said.

Carlie Allen had the next-best individual finish for South, taking second in the discus with a throw of 102-8. Other top 5 finishes went to Makayla Moore finishing fifth in the 100, as did Brooke Stetzler in the 300 hurdles. 

Fast start lifts Blue Springs South baseball past Wildcats

Blue Springs South's Austin Holland makes contact with a pitch during Friday's game against Blue Springs. Holland
had a three-run homer and an RBI double in a 12-5 win.

The Blue Springs South baseball team exacted a little bit of revenge against cross-town rival Blue Springs Friday afternoon, earning a 12-5 win and improving to 17-5 on the season.

The Jaguars jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings.

“We hit the ball well,” South head coach Ben Baier said. “I told the hitters, ‘welcome back. It’s nice to see you again.’ Their pitcher threw a lot of off speed stuff and we stayed back on the ball and had some good swings.”

South scored four runs in the first thanks in part to RBI doubles from Colton Pogue and Austin Holland.

Holland struck again in the second with a three-run homer.

“He’s been hurt. Today was only his fourth game,” Baier said of Holland. “He’s a guy we’ve been wanting to see all year.”

Blue Springs had been getting good outings from its starting pitchers as of late, but Friday was a struggle for starter Jay Corwin.

“It was a tough first two innings. It’s hard to come back against a good ball club like them,” Wildcats head coach Marc Hines said. “They hit the ball well, and when they hit it, they hit it hard.”

The Wildcats did leave some runners on base throughout the game, including leaving the bases loaded twice.

But each time they were able to score some runs in an inning, South always came back with runs of its own.

“As the game went on we had runners in scoring position but couldn’t get the big hit,” Hines said. “At one point in the game we had five strikeouts looking, and we can’t do that.”

The Wildcats dropped to 12-8 on the year and 6-3 in conference, now tied with Liberty for first. South is one game back. 

Daily Scores

The lone score in so far tonight is the Blue Springs South soccer team, which ran into a determined Liberty squad. Read more details in the South's tab.

As more scores from tonight become available they will be posted accordingly.

Daily Scores

The Blue Springs South baseball team picked up a dramatic win to get its 15th win of the season, while the Jaguar boys tennis team had just enough left in the tank for some good results in the Park Hill Doubles Tournament. Check out the school's tab for more details.

Nine-run outburst propels Blue Springs baseball to upset of top-ranked Liberty

Blue Springs' Nick Gulotta hits an RBI double in the nine-run bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday against Liberty.
The Wildcats pulled an upset of the top-ranked Blue Jays, winning 9-5.

Sometimes in baseball one big inning is all it takes.

For Blue Springs Wednesday afternoon, a nine-run fourth inning was all they needed to knock off top-ranked Liberty at home, 9-5, moving them into sole possession of first place in the Suburban Big Six Conference.

“That was the game,” Wildcats head coach Marc Hines said of the big inning. “We got a couple of key hits, some wild pitches and we moved runners. I’m pleased with the way the kids got key hits in key situations.”

That fourth inning did have a little bit of everything, as the Wildcats broke open a game they were trailing 3-0.

“This is a great Liberty team,” Hines said. “I told them in practice that we’ll respect everybody but we won’t fear anyone or back down.”

Not only did Blue Springs not back down, but they kept throwing punches once they got the lead.

Kyle Reed started the inning with a double, followed by Nick Gulotta taking a walk. After a pop up, Corban Hare drove in the first run with a single. Nick Dorman followed with a single, Jordan Bardwell took the inning’s second walk and then Gulotta came home on a wild pitch to make it 3-2.

With runners on second and third, Matt Morrison came to the plate and gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a two-run single to right field. A throwing error on the play brought home a third run for a 5-3 lead.

“Whenever there was a runner on third base I just wanted to get the ball to the outfield and score a run,” Morrison said. “The pitch was there and I took it.”

Blue Springs second baseman Jeremy Lufft throws to first base for an out
during Wednesday's 9-5 win over Liberty.

All of a sudden, the floodgates were open and Blue Springs kept pouring it on, and they got some help from the Blue Jays.

An error and a wild pitch scored the next two runs to make it 7-3 before Gulotta ripped an RBI double and James McKinley drove in the final run with a single.

In the inning, the Wildcats had 13 hitters come to bat, collected seven hits and scored nine runs.

“Hitting is contagious,” Hare said. “It got us pumped up when we scored a run and it rolled from there. The whole team was confident.”

The entire Wildcat team seems to be hitting with more confidence, and not just Wednesday. Ever since the week of the River City Festival, they have gone 7-2 and each night someone new seems to get the clutch hit.

“Our mentality has changed,” Hare said. “We’ve been looking away, not looking to do too much. We’ve been unselfish. We’ve been laying down sacrifice bunts, hitting sacrifice flies, anything to get the run in.”

The pitching has improved as well, and while Hare gave up five runs in a complete game effort, Hines saw what he wanted.

“Corban pitched a great game. That’s the Corban we’ve been waiting for,” he said.

Hare said a big inning for him was the top of the fifth, as he retired Liberty in order after his team spotted him the six-run lead.

“I needed to come out and have a quick inning and get them one, two, three. It was very critical to get three quick outs,” he said. “ … When you have a six-run lead it’s a lot easier to pitch knowing you can give up a few hits and runs and still be fine.”

The win moved the Wildcats to 12-7 overall and 6-2 in conference. The Blue Jays dropped to 19-3 and 6-3, meaning Blue Springs can capture the conference title if they win out in its final two conference games against Blue Springs South and Lee’s Summit North.

Not surprisingly, Hines’ team credits its confidence with a big reason for the turnaround in the last nine games.

“That has a lot to do with it. We’ve beaten some big teams and that’s given us a lot of confidence,” Morrison said.

Hines hopes not too much heading into Friday’s rematch against South.

“They’re confident but they can’t let it go to their head,” he said.

Derksen, Sanders lead Blue Springs South boys golf team into state tournament

The Blue Springs South boys golf team looked more like the team it has all season Wednesday in the Class 4, Sectional 4 Tournament at Winter Stone Golf Course shooting a 307, good for second place and a spot in the state tournament.

The Jaguars shot a 323 last week at districts, so head coach Mike McGown was pleased to see his team return to form.

“It’s starting to come to life a little bit. Your golf game is always a work in progress,” he said. “There’s always some tinkering that has to be going on. We’re trying to continue to improve.”

J.P. Derksen and Blair Sanders picked up where they left off last week, each shooting a one-over 73 to lead the way.

Derksen has been one of the teams leaders all season – “they’ve learned to lean on him a little bit,” McGown said – while Sanders seems to be peaking at the right time.

“He’s turned it on. We’re not sure if it’s the burritos or the tacos, so we’ll keep feeding him both as long as he keeps shooting good numbers,” McGown said of the teams tradition of eating at the Mexican restaurant Pancho’s after tournaments.

Rounding out the scoring for the Jaguars was Blake Windsor with a 79 and Zack Kurth with an 82. Joe Hanes shot an 85 and will join the team at state.

The two-day state tournament begins May 14 at Shiloh Ridge Golf Course in Bolivar, and McGown said the preparation would be the same as it was for today’s tournament, which included a lot of work on the range to go along with lots of chipping and putting.

“The only actual practice (before sectionals) was the practice round at Winter Stone. We’ll do the same thing for state,” he said. “I’m not a huge believer in go play nine (holes), go play nine, go play nine. We constantly need to focus on what we need to do to improve our game.

“We’ll start building confidence in our swing and when we build confidence on the range it goes over to the course.”

Three Blue Springs golfers played Wednesday as well, but none were able to qualify for the state tournament.

Christian Balmer had the low score for the Wildcats, firing an 88. Josh Whitt shot a 99 and Taylor Schick came in with a 103.

“Christian played OK and had a couple of bad holes,” Wildcats head coach Tom Round said. “The other guys didn’t play real well but it was a good accomplishment for them to get there.”

This was the first time any of the three had played in the sectional tournament, which are 18 of the most pressure-packed holes of the season according to Round.

“There’s more pressure in this one then there is a week and a half from now in the state tournament,” he said.

Round said despite the team’s scores not dropping to the level he was hoping, he still saw improvement and knows those scores will eventually drop.

“ … Your skill set gets better but your scores don’t really improve, and then all of a sudden your skills stay the same but your scores improve because you understand what you’re doing,” he said. “It will seem like overnight one day and they’ll go from 88 to 81 or 82.” 

Daily Scores

It was a light day of action in area, as the Blue Springs girls soccer team had the only other game today. While they didn't put together their best effort, they still managed a 3-1 win over Pembroke Hill. Check the Blue Springs tab for more on the.

Also, pictures are now posted from tonight's Blue Springs South-Blue Springs tennis match with the story below.

Shorthanded Blue Springs South boys tennis team edges Blue Springs for conference title

Blue Springs South's Lake Kinzel hits a forehand during a doubles match
with partner John Duffey against Blue Springs Tuesday. The South duo
won the match, while the team won 6-3 to claim the conference title.

Sheri Rehmer had a smile on her face now, after the Blue Springs South boys tennis coach had watched her team win the Suburban Big Six Conference title outright with a 6-3 win over Blue Springs Tuesday.

But just a few hours earlier Rehmer was asking herself a simple question in which she hoped didn’t have an answer.

“What else could happen?” she said.

Rehmer was referring to the laundry list of things that seemed to be going wrong for her Jaguars prior and during the match against the cross-town rival Wildcats.

It started with No. 1 player Chris Hammond not coming to school and sitting out the match with an illness, forcing everyone to move up a spot and putting JV player John Duffey into the rotation.

Next was Alec Barber, also sick, who was gutting out his match with Blue Springs’ Dan Noud into a third set when cramps took over his leg. After a long delay, he tried to continue but eventually retired due to the pain. With singles tied at 3-all, Rehmer had to go to a pair of JV players in doubles – Jose Garchitorena and Lake Kinzel – with Garchitorena having to step in at No. 1 doubles with Paul Province.

“Everyone had to move up a spot. That was a little scary,” Province said. “ … Nothing was holding us back.”

Blue Springs South's Paul Province pumps his fist after
him and fill-in doubles partner Jose Garchitorena won
in the No. 1 spot against Blue Springs.

South senior Alex Martin slams home
a volley in his doubles match with
his brother Jared. The two had the
match-clinching win.

South stayed poised, calm and collected and finished the conference season undefeated at 5-0 by sweeping all three doubles matches.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team. The guys that pulled up to play were awesome,” Rehmer said. “To sweep them in doubles is a great feeling for the guys.”

Added Garchitorena, “I’m on top of the world right now.”

The first doubles win to give South a 4-3 lead came from Kinzel and Duffey, as they cruised, 6-4, 6-1, against Blue Springs’ Chad Stohlman and Ashton Rhodes, a team that has been solid all year.

The other two matches were both roller coaster rides.

South’s Alex and Jared Martin won the first set against Noud and Andy Anderson 6-3 but couldn’t keep it going in set two, falling 1-6. The opposite was true for Province and Garchitorena against Tyler Casey and Max Martell, as they dropped the first set 3-6 before scratching back into the match in set two, 6-4.

Blue Springs' Dan Noud hits a forehand in his singles match against
South's Alec Barber. Noud won when Barber had to retire in the third set.

“We were just saying that it was a new set, that anything can happen,” Jared Martin said of their match. “We had to take it one point at a time. Once we got a few points to get the lead there was no looking back. We had to push harder.”

And they didn’t look back, winning the set 6-2.

“It felt really great,” Jared said. “That was to win it, and especially to do it against Blue Springs makes it more sweet to clinch conference.”

“We had the momentum shift,” added Wildcats head coach Jody McClain. “We should have won in the third set because we had the momentum after the second set. We need to carry that over. When you’re up you have to close it out.”

Blue Springs' Andy Anderson hits a forehand in his
doubles match Tuesday.

Jared and Alex ended up with the match-clinching victory, but before that was over, Province and Garchitorena were fired up on their court, using the momentum they had just gained from set two to win the third set 6-4.

“I called it riding the shock wave,” Garchitorena said with a smile. “I just wanted to do whatever I could. I didn’t expect much out of myself, but I had to step up. Paul was there to help.”

As the match went on, it became clear the two were getting more comfortable together on the court.

“Jose just need a little confidence,” added Rehmer. “Paul was a great partner for him. Paul took over at the net. He was like the Terminator.”

Both coaches agreed that each doubles match was won or lost at the net, something McClain has been harping on her team all season.

“It was a big difference. You have to make shots at the net,” McClain said. “They’re there but you have to execute.”

Blue Springs No. 2 singles player Max
Martell hits an overhead smash in his
doubles match with partner Tyler
Casey.

“Alex and Jared got in a groove. They’ve improved their net play a lot over last year,” Rehmer said. “Sometimes angles are more important than power. Net play is crucial.”

Martell (6-1, 7-5), Noud (3-6, 7-6 (7-4) 2-1 – retire) and Rhodes (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) all won singles matches for the Wildcats, who fell to 2-3 in conference play in what was their final match before districts begin Monday.

“In singles we fought. We did make it competitive,” McClain said. “We just need to pull more doubles matches out.”

As for the Jaguars, while they returned their entire team from a season ago, this title had a little different feel with the way it was won.

“There are no guarantees. Liberty has kids that play year-round and they were deep last year,” Rehmer said of the conference season. “I always talk about how it’s not just about your Nos. 1-3. It takes everybody. It’s nice to see all the guys pick that up.”