Patrick Wheeler
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Joplin Lady Eagles Softball Story
Joplin Lady Eagles Soar to Victory Over Neosho
Joplin’s offense exploded as they put up 10 runs on 10 hits Wednesday night to beat Neosho 10-1. The offensive attack was lead by Adrienne Myers who finished the night two-forfour with a home run, double, and two RBI’s, as well as Makenzie Goswick, who also went two- for-four with a triple and two RBI’s.
Mikaela Cox of the Lady Eagles got the start and get the victory. Cox started the game retiring the side in order along with striking out Tori Fraizer and Maddie Rea, the first two batters she faced.
Joplin did not waste any time in their half of the first inning, as they smacked three hits including a double from Myers. She then scored off an RBI single from second baseman Courtney Krolman.
Cox would go on to throw a gem against Neosho, striking out 11 of the 26 batters that she faced. It would take Neosho six innings to get their first hit and run against Cox and the Lady Eagles. Fraizer of Neosho would break up the no-no with a single and advancing to second on an error. Emily Mojica would then drive in Fraizer on an RBI single, plating the Lady Wildcat’s only run of the night.
“We feel really good any time she’s (Cox) out there,” said Joplin head coach Kirk Harryman. “She stepped up and got the job done. We know when she’s out there we have the chance to win.”
“Everything was working for me tonight except my changeup,” said pitcher Mkaela Cox. “I was able to get my outs on riseballs and curveballs.”
After scoring two more runs in the third Joplin knocked out Neosho’s starting pitcher Cloe Neece. The Lady Eagles would tack on two more runs in the fourth inning, one in the fifth, and four more in the sixth.
Aydan Perrin started things off in the sixth for Joplin with a bloop single to right field. Goswick followed suit tripling home Perrin. Courtney Shryock would quickly bat home Goswick with a deep sacrifice fly. After Kinsley Stewart kept the inning alive with a two out single, Myers came through with a deep home run over the left field fence. Goswick, Shyrock, Myers, and Krolman all finished with two RBI’s a piece.
“We’re capable of swinging the bats,” said Harryman. “I can’t complain a whole lot. I thought we adjusted real well.”
Cox would strike out two of the last three batters she faced in the seventh inning. She finished the complete game giving Joplin the victory.
Neosho 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1
Joplin 0 1 2 2 1 4 x - 10
Neosho Pitchers : Cloe Neece - 5 runs, 6 hits 2 K’s, 1 BB’s
Logan Bates - 5 runs, 4 hits, 0 K’s, 1 BB’s
Joplin Pitchers: Mikaela Cox 1 run, 3 hits, 11 K’s, 0 BB’s
2B: Joplin: Adrienne Myers, Courtney Shryock
3B: Joplin: Makenzie Goswick
HR: Joplin: Adrienne Myers
Aurora Houn' Dawgs Football Story
Football, possibly more than any other sport, comes down to a game of inches. This theory was definitely in play Friday night August 21 in Cassville as the Wildcats hosted the Aurora Houn' Dawgs in the Big 8 Conference season opener. The final play of inches resulted in a go-ahead 2-point conversion for the Wildcats, as they took a 21-20 lead which would be just enough for the victory.
The star of the game was first year quarterback Leigh Cox, who ended with a hat trick of three scores on the night. Cox, a senior, spent three years at wide receiver catching passes from standout quarterback Gabe Kirk. As the night progressed, Cox continued to shuck tacklers of the likes of D-1 recruit Mason Husmann from Aurora and make something out of nothing.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 13-0 lead mid-way through the first half. Cassville had their way on the ground early running all over Aurora with junior running backs River Phelps and Kyle Ruark. Phelps provided more of the lightning speed busting runs outside, while Ruark continuously thundered up the middle. Both backs combined for a total of 182 yards on 36 carries. Cox added 66 yards of his own on 12 carries, finding pay dirt with his feet three times.
With less than a minute left on the clock before halftime Aurora refused to lay down, capping off a drive with one of 10 catches on the night from wide receiver Billy Meredith. Quarterback Payton Evans would hook up with Meredith for seven yards in the end zone, resulting in the only passing touchdown of the night for either team.
Cassville started the second half with the ball but would get nowhere, as the Aurora defense stood strong. The momentum quickly shifted to the Houn' Dawgs as Evans found the end zone from two yards out on a quarterback keeper to tie the game 13-13. Aurora’s 2-point conversion attempt then failed.
“I made a mistake,” said Aurora first year coach Kale Kilgo after the game. “I thought we could get around the end with our speed, but it just didn’t work.”
Aurora would bounce back, however, with a total of 20 points in a row, adding a 9 yard touchdown dash up the middle from senior running back Caelum Friggle. The highlight of the quarter however would come from senior defensive lineman Tyler Moore as he perfectly executed the lineman tip and catch drill to force a turnover by Cassville and come away with the interception.
“He (Moore) did that perfectly,” said Kilgo. “He wanted to get up and run it into the end zone for us.”
Down in the game 20-13 in the final quarter did not shy Cassville away. Cox would find the end zone once more at the 3:16 mark from one yard out, making the score 21-20. The Wildcats sent out their kicking unit out for the extra point but coach Lance Parnell had a last minute change of heart and called a quick timeout. Asked why Parnell went for the 2 point conversion instead he credited his defensive mindset.
“I’m a defensive minded coach,” said Parnell “That’s all I know and I thought we would be able to keep them out of the end zone in the last 3 minutes. Aurora almost proved me wrong.”
Parnell’s risk paid off as senior defensive back Devin Messbarger intercepted Evans’ deep pass down the left sideline to senior wideout Skylar Cahill in the final minute. The pass was only one of four incompletions on the night for Evans, as he completed 22 of 26 passes for 247 yards and a score.
“These guys did all the right things to win,” said Kilgo. “I told them after 24 hours we will flip the switch and start focusing on McDonald County.”
Cassville finished the evening with 271 total yards in the victory. 255 of those yards came from a mind-blowing 54 rushing attempts. The Wildcats ended with a measly 16 yards passing from Cox as he completed 3 of his 6 passes.
For Aurora their total yards came out to 358. Evans added 38 rushing yards and a score to his 247 yards and a score through the air. Meredith caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. Wide receivers Cahill and Lindi Osmani totaled 155 yards on 12 catches in the loss.
Aurora - 0 7 13 0 - 20
Cassville - 7 6 0 8 - 21
Autobiography - Patrick Wheeler
My name is Patrick Wheeler. I am a freshman here at Missouri Southern State University. Ever since I can remember in my educational years I had always made it a plan to go to college. My ultimate decision to come to college is to further my education. Once a more stable education is gained within myself it will provide a foundation for my other reasons to attend college. With education will come job opportunities. The more education I receive will lead to more jobs. This will ultimately lead to more income and money making opportunities. I always believed that going to college can play a big part in the rest of your life. Most of what you end up doing will always go back to your college education and what you achieved there. These are some reasons why I decided to pursue my education past high school.
As for why I chose Missouri Southern State University for my college experience there are a couple reasons. First of all my grandparents and my mother both went to MSSU. It is a pretty cool feeling to be the third generation at this university. My grandparents both made it as very successful teachers and principals. My mother also became a teacher. This turned me on to MSSU as I watched their success unfold. This told me that MSSU provided quality education. My second reason why I chose MSSU is their communications department. I plan to major in Mass Communications and broadcasting. When I learned that MSSU has its own radio and television station the deal was almost sealed right there. How many colleges around here can say they have that? I knew that there would be many chances for me to take advantage of these stations and tie them into my studies. Most of all I think this school will provide me with exceptional experiences that I did not want to miss out on. MSSU has a great reputation and so far it has lived up to the hype.
I think one of the challenges I will face in college will be managing my time so that I can complete all of my schoolwork and also make time for a social life. I know that eventually the work will pile up so I need to make set times strictly for homework and studying. After all being a student comes first. That is what I am paying for. Coming into college I thought that making friends may be a challenge but I soon squashed that notion. I ended up making friends one night into school and it has been great. Hopefully these will remain lifelong friends. Other than the work I do not see too many challenges in front of me. I like to attack everything head on and make a challenge become less of one if I can. I believe I know to properly study so setting time aside for it will be something I definitely will start doing. I think one last possible challenge will be to just get into the flow of everything. In high school it was pretty simple because you could get your routine down pretty fast. In college it is a bit more difficult but I know it will come with time just like everything else.
The most exciting part of my college experience I think will be seeing what jobs I will ultimately obtain as well as a mix of having fun with new friends and making memories. In college you get a fresh start in a way, at least in terms of leaving high school. For the most part you do not know anyone so you can make new friends and start new with people. I enjoyed that aspect so far. With jobs I am pretty excited about what my schooling will lead to as previously mentioned in the afore paragraphs. In my mind there is no limit for me. I want to become a famous broadcaster simple as that. Who says my journey does not start here at MSSU? I believe it does. This is a great place to start. Potentially I excited for the future. At the same time however I do not want the ride to be too fast so that I can enjoy every minute. It has been great so far and I believe it will only get better. The whole college experience is just exciting in itself. I am finally out on my own and making my own decisions and it definitely feels good. I cannot wait to see what else MSSU holds for me.
My family always told me that the college experience is an eye opening one. They always told me to study and do my homework on time. Another piece of advice I continued to receive was always got to class and do not skip days because you could miss a lot of information. My parents told me to make sure and make education come first. I absolutely agreed with this. My dad also told me to make sure and have fun though too which is a great piece of advice. There is room for school and fun. That is what college is all about. Most of my friends that are in college told me that the experience is great. They all love it and give the same advice as my family about working hard. I will definitely take that one to heart. The college experience is like no other and I am so beyond excited to go through it now myself.
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The Timeline That Broke Sports
Wednesday March 11th, should have been like any other Wednesday in my life. Why would I ever remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on the evening of March 11th? It would prove to be the biggest disruption of sports I have ever experienced. I was sitting in my living room with my dad. We were watching North Carolina get their ass whipped by Syracuse in the ACC tournament, so the mood was already in the negative. Side note- North Carolina getting their ass whipped had become the new norm for us in the 2o2o season. I should have known something crazy would arise in the sports world when Carolina could not get above .5oo. The universe was clearly out of alignment, and it proved it when the ticker on the bottom of our television screen informed us that the Jazz/Thunder game has been postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances”. My father and I, like I’m sure many others, were not fooled by this wording. Without a doubt, the coronavirus was at fault. What would follow became the most volatile snowball in the history of time. An hour later, sports’ patient zero Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for Covid-19, and that would indeed be that as the NBA proceeded to suspend the season. Video would surface of Gobert jokingly touching mics and recording equipment to show he did not take the virus seriously, this coming before his positive test. Gobert has not received proper repercussions for those actions, and most likely never will. My father had already forecasted that sports would be canceled on that doomed Wednesday. I refused to believe that, and was immediately put in my place as the dominos began to fall. MLS, NCAA, NHL, MLB, bang, bang, bang. They all drop like flies in the matter of hours the following day. It became so consistent, you were just waiting for the next notification of cancelations and postponements. Surreal, bizarre, unprecedented, all of the above. I literally felt like I was punched in the face, and the coronavirus laughed after it committed the assault. Never again, will I take a Thursday night baseball game for granted. Never again, will I complain about the Blues losing a hockey game. Because hey, at least it happened. At least it EVEN HAPPENED. I am completely aware that sports take a backseat to the larger scope of the coronavirus pandemic. But sports are the ultimate uniter. They don't discriminate, or care about fairness. They produce an organic product time after time that provides a 3 hour escape for many of us in a world that requires entrapment to survive. They will be back, and relatively soon. Life will retain normalcy at some point in time. These are both facts. And hey, at least Carolina can keep their streak alive of not missing the NCAA tournament. (I’m searching for diamonds in piles of crap here, and its not as easy as it sounds.( We will prevail. We always have. We are effectively kicking the coronavirus in the ass. But please, do not mention March 11th, 2o2o in discussion. It is no holiday. It remains the day that sports broke. But what is broken, can always be fixed.