CBC SPORTS: Spring Sports in Full Swing

Women’s Golf

• Alton, Ill., April 15 — Entering the final round three shots behind the fifth-place team, CBC looked to jump up a spot in the final 18 holes at Spencer Olin Golf Course, the site of the Missouri Baptist Spring Invitational. CBC closed with a 385 and placed sixth, just two shots off fifth place. Individually, Laney Crutchfield had the best final round, closing with a 90 for a total score of 187. Abby Kirby was next with a 91 for a total score of 176, while Thaylia Ramirez finished with a 94 for a total of 190, and Daniela Alastre shot a 110 for a total score of 229.

• Melbourne, April 28 — Teeing off for the first 18 holes of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Championship at Cooper’s Hawk Golf Club, CBC was on the course for the penultimate time this season. CBC shot an opening round 345 and is 32 shots off the lead in third place. Individually, Abby Kirby fired an opening round 78 that included a pair of birdies to put her in a tie for third, just three shots off the lead. Laney Crutchfield shot an opening round 82 and is tied for eighth. Thaylia Ramirez shot her lowest round of the season with an 85 that included two birdies and Daniela Alastre shot a 100.

Men’s Golf

• Alton, Ill., April 15 — Sitting in fourth place after one round of the Missouri Baptist Spring Invitational, CBC played the final 18 holes at the Spencer Olin Golf Course. CBC closed with a 329 and finished sixth, five shots off fifth place. Individually, Jack Higginbotham had the lowest final round for CBC, closing with a 79 for an overall score of 168. Jakub Slapal was next with an 81 after shooting a 76 on the first day for a total of 157 for the tournament, while Preston Nestorenko shot an 85 for a total of 164 followed by Paul Gomez, who shot an identical 85 and finished one shot behind Nestorenko while Cooper Hermann shot an 84 for a total score of 167.

Baseball

• Walnut Ridge, April 17 — Opening their final AMC series of the season this afternoon, CBC was at Shell Field to take on the Williams Baptist (WBU) Eagles in a doubleheader. CBC (26-21, 22-12 AMC) split the doubleheader against WBU (22-21, 13-17 AMC), taking game one 6-1 before dropping game two 2-0.

• Walnut Ridge, April 18 — Looking to end the regular season on a high note, CBC took on the WBU Eagles in a doubleheader at Shell Field. CBC (27-22, 23-13 AMC) split with the Eagles (23-22, 14-18 AMC) again, winning game three 12-4 before dropping the finale 14-8.

• St. Louis, Mo., April 28 — The AMC held their baseball awards ceremony and CBC earned four selections with two on each team and had a gold glove winner for the third straight season. Josh Albat earned first-team honors at pitcher. He finished with three wins, an ERA of 2.98 and a 1.05 WHIP in 48.2 innings with 44 strikeouts. George Astacio also earned first-team honors at designated hitter. He batted .338 with 38 runs scored, 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 38 RBIs, six stolen bases and an .871 OPS. Brayden Mayencourt earned second-team honors at catcher. Mayencourt batted .378 with 18 runs scored with 12 doubles, five home runs, a team-leading 44 RBIs and an OPS of 1.025. Garrett Fitts earned second-team honors in the outfield. Fitts batted .340 and led the team in runs scored with 40 and stolen bases with 34, which also led the AMC. Additionally, he had nine doubles, a triple, 25 RBIs and an OPS of .818. Fitts also won a gold glove, handling 61 chances without an error while throwing four runners out on the basepaths.

Softball

• Conway, April 18 — Returning home for the final time on a weekend, CBC hosted the Cottey Comets in an AMC doubleheader at City of Colleges Park. CBC (24-20, 13-5 AMC) won both games over Cottey (19-21, 9-9 AMC) in walk-off fashion, taking game one 2-1 before winning game two 3-2 in eight innings.

• Conway, April 19 — Playing for the final time at home on a Saturday this season, CBC hosted the Owls of William Woods University in an AMC doubleheader on Senior Day at City of Colleges Park. Nine seniors — Caroline Byers, Corina Garcia, Anna Marie Sternisha, Abi West, Olivia Pickard, Baylie Ainsworth, Allie McWhorter, Madalyn Tubbs and Alex Jeter — were recognized before CBC (24-22, 13-7 AMC) got swept 4-2 in both games by WWU (26-15, 16-4 AMC).

• Ozark, Mo., April 22 — Playing their final road doubleheader of the season, CBC took on new American Midwest Conference (AMC) rival Mission University at the Ozark Sports Complex. CBC (26-22, 15-7 AMC) finished their road schedule with a sweep of MU (14-34, 4-16 AMC), winning game one 7-3 before shutting out the Patriots 5-0 in game two.

• Conway, April 24 — Playing for the final time during the regular season, CBC hosted the Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions in a doubleheader at City of Colleges Park. CBC (27-23) split the doubleheader with FHU (19-14), taking game one 3-1 before falling 8-2 in game two.

• Conway, April 28—The AMC held its softball awards ceremony at Burgess Auditorium on the campus of CBC. CBC had five players earn all-conference recognition, two of whom earned gold gloves, and a third player earned a gold glove as well. Alex Jeter, Kinley Johnson and Abi West were the first team selections. Jeter, who earned a second-team nod last year, led the squad in wins, complete games, innings, tied for the strikeout lead and ERA. Johnson, who earned a second-team selection last season, paced the squad in home runs, runs batted in, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. West was also a second-team selection last year and led the team in batting average this season and ranked second in both home runs and RBIs. Taviah Bradley earned second-team honors. She bounced back big this year after missing most of last year due to injury. She batted .314 with 23 runs scored, 13 doubles and 20 RBIs this season. Kori Truelove earned third-team honors. Two seasons ago, she was the Freshman of the Year and also earned third-team honors last year. This year, she scored 28 runs, had 15 doubles, 23 RBIs and a .314 batting average. West, Bradley and Elizabeth Stoufer all earned Gold Gloves from the AMC. West becomes the first two-time Gold Glove winner in program history as she was a utility infielder last season. This season at second base, she posted a .967 fielding percentage and helped turn seven double plays. Bradley also had a .967 fielding percentage at third base this season, committing only five miscues and turning four double plays. Stoufer was a co-Gold Glover in center field. She was tied for the best fielding percentage at .980 and made runners fear her, pegging two with assists from her outfield position.

Track

• Magnolia, April 19 — Competing for the final time this spring before the AMC Championship, CBC was on course at the Don Veach Invitational, hosted by Southern Arkansas University. Solomon Barnes finished fifth in both the long and triple jumps, posting a distance of 6.22 meters in the long jump and 13.48 meters in the triple jump, setting a new program record. Josh Brown and Kortney Embry ran both hurdling events. Brown ran a 16.04 in the 110 while Embry ran a 17.72. Brown then posted a time of 1:03.11 in the 400 while Embry posted a 1:03.34.