DISTRICT BASEBALL TOURNEYS LIVE UP TO BILLINGS (PREP NOTES)

The area district baseball tournaments lived up to their hype this past week.

There was no "team to beat" in the Class 4A district, while the No. 2 seeds in Class 1A and 2A were ironically favored to win, and did win, their respective districts.

In the wide-open, albeit weak, Class 4A district tournament, Jackson, the fifth seed, came out of nowhere to reach the finals and they did it in impressive fashion. First, Josh Hopkins threw a no-hitter against No. 6 Poplar Bluff, then the Indians upset No. 1 Sikeston 9-4. Farmington, though, ended Jackson's run with a 6-1 win.

In Class 2A action, the championship, as expected, came down to Notre Dame and Kelly. And, as expected, it was a wild game. Kelly -- which has made a name for itself in recent history by coming up big in big games (i.e. its win over Scott City in the district basketball championship) -- pushed the state's top-ranked team to the brink of elimination, but Bulldog hurler Brian Obermann shut off Kelly's rally in the seventh.

In Class 1A, Oran avenged a loss to Advance earlier this month, with a 2-1 squeaker over the Hornets in the District 2 finals. Oran won its third straight district crown and its fifth in the past six years. Oran took second in state last year and will play Bernie, the District 1 winner next Thursday.

Advance player can't

be `Brosh'ed aside

Advance's Garrett Broshuis did everything he could to try to win a district championship.

To get the Hornets to the Class 1A, District 1 title game, Broshuis hit a homer in the seventh inning to tie the game, then a two-run blast in the eighth to help win it.

Then, in the district final, Broshuis fanned eight Oran batters, but lost 2-1.

In addition to his stellar performances during district action, Broshuis put his team in the best position possible to claim a title before districts. Broshuis, who throws in the mid-80s, struck out 13 batters on May 10 in a 5-0 shutout to hurl his team into the district's top seed.

No. 1 cause of lung cancer:

district title games

This couldn't be an opportune time of the year to try to quit smoking if you're a fan of a Class 2A high school baseball team in Southeast Missouri that was a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

While Notre Dame and Kelly fans were treated to an exciting and well-played game in the District 2 championship game (Notre Dame won 5-4, stranding the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first), the District 1 title game down in Steele must have been even more nerve racking.

Second-seeded South Pemiscot -- the fifth-ranked team in the state according to a Missouri coach's poll -- slipped past No. 1 seed and second-ranked Senath 2-1 in eight innings. South Pemiscot's Eric Wright pitched a two-hitter in going the distance.

Notre Dame will play at South Pemiscot in next Thursday's sectional game. The Bulldogs defeated South Pemiscot 7-4 at home earlier this season.

Quite Frankly, McGinty

is an all-star QB

Frank McGinty, Cape Central's standout quarterback last season, has been selected to play in the Lions Club All-Star Game at Lincoln College in Jefferson City.

McGinty will play quarterback for the East.

"It's quite an honor to be selected for that," said Jerry Dement, last year's head football coach at Central. "Frank was fun to coach. He was like having a coach on the field."

McGinty (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) was a two-year starter for the Tigers and earned the Carr Award as the best football player in southeast Missouri. McGinty was also named to the all-conference and all-district first teams.

McGinty completed 57 percent of his passes (151-for-263) for 2,099 yards and 17 touchdowns last year.

Close, but no soccer

title for Lady Indians

Of Jackson's eight soccer losses this season, three of them have come to Cape Central, including the last heart-breaker, a 2-0 defeat to the Lady Tigers in the district final.

Central (24-1-2) beat Jackson (15-8-2) 2-0, 2-1 and 2-0 this season and in another game, the two teams played to a scoreless tie.