Marshall senior Matt Hockaday (above) and his partner, sophomore Mark Fry, won three of four matches to place third at No. 3 doubles in the NCMC Tournament. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

HANNIBAL -- It wasn't hard to predict, but it was still a deep fall for the Marshall boys' tennis team to place fourth Saturday at the NCMC Tournament in Hannibal.

The Owls (30 points) had lost head-to-head dual matches to champion Hannibal (48), Kirksville (45) and Fulton (30) -- the three teams which finished higher than them in the meet. A year ago, the Tigers had broken Marshall's two-year hold in the league crown by a single point, and the Birds had to replace four of their top six players from that club.

The Owls' only finalist was junior Mac Evans at No. 3 singles. He had to avenge an earlier loss to Fulton's Mack Means at the Marshall Tournament, but the 10-6 semifinal victory propelled him into the title match against Hannibal's Chris Hassien, who notched a 10-5 decision.

Senior No. 5 Ross Crawford and sophomore No. 6 Ethan Murphy each won three matches to finish in third place. Winning three of four matches also secured bronze medals for the No. 2 doubles team of sophomores Trey Clemens and Brett Clause and the No. 3 duo of senior Matt Hockaday and sophomore Mark Fry.

A back-side win for sophomore John Van brought him fourth place at No. 4 singles, while junior No. 1 Max Bildstein and senior No. 2 Taylor Scarff were fifth. Sophomores Brandon Mullins and Jason Hadley also wound up fifth.

The fourth place showing for Marshall was the lowest since 2003, when Rock Bridge and Helias -- no longer in the conference -- were among the three teams finish higher.

The Owls bounced back Monday with an 8-1 non-conference victory at Smith-Cotton (6-6). Marshall swept the singles matches, while also winning at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles with the teams of Bildstein-Crawford and Van-Murphy to end an eight-match skid.

The regular season finale for the Owls (8-8) will be Thursday's Senior Night home match against NCMC foe Mexico. That will also be when the annual fundraising barbecue will be held, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Girls' Soccer

Marshall 1, Fulton 0

FULTON -- The Marshall girls' soccer team was in familiar territory Monday during its NCMC contest at Fulton.

Scoreless after regulation play and two overtime periods, the Lady Owls found themselves in a penalty kick shoot-out for the fifth time this season -- and won for the fifth time, making three shots in six attempts for a 1-0 decision.

The match was about as even as possible, with both teams taking eight shots on goal. Marshall went ahead after the first penalty kick, by freshman Kelsey Griffin. Junior Britney Jones made it 2-1 going into the fifth attempts, which the Lady Hornets (4-11-1, 1-7 NCMC) made and senior Xochitl Ruiz missed.

However, Ruiz -- who posted her ninth shutout of the season -- made a stop of the first extra shot and junior Vicky Renderos drove home the match-winner for Marshall (12-6-2, 7-3), securing second place in the league standings.

"I'm extremely proud of the girls in their second-place finish," declared MHS head coach Josh Posegate, whose team had gone 44 matches without a win -- not all on his watch -- heading into the campaign. "It's quite a turnaround for them since last year."

The Lady Owls will close out the regular season at home Thursday against Smith-Cotton.

Boys' Golf

Marshall fourth in NCMC tourney

KIRKSVILLE -- The Marshall boys' golf team closed its season Monday by tying for fourth place in the NCMC Tournament at Kirksville Country Club.

Senior Cody Dusenberry and sophomore Brandon Hall both finished in the top 10 for all-conference honors. Although he was six strokes off his previous score on the course,

Dusenberry shot an 89 to share seventh place. Hall knocked 13 strokes off his April 21 performance for a 90, tying for ninth place.

Sophomore Tylere Dowell shot 93 and senior Brandon Thiel came in at 94 to give the Owls a team score of 366, 17 points better than they had performed in the Kirksville Tournament. Although Kirksville sophomore Barrett Morehead won the NCMC meet by five strokes with a six-over-par 77, Fulton (343 points) put four players in the top eight to win the team title by 20 points.

Freshman Christian Castle tied for second place in the junior varsity competition with a 95. Marshall (418) came in second to the host Tigers (382).

"This has been a very tough year weather-wise for young golfers to practice and compete," remarked MHS coach Erek Dusenberry. "Hopefully, our players have a solid foundation of fundamentals that will give them the blueprint for the type of summer work needed to improve."

Baseball

Mexico 8, Marshall 3

MEXICO -- Mexico used the long ball to build a big lead over the Marshall baseball team Monday, claiming an 8-3 NCMC home win.

Senior Andrew Jurgesmeyer hit a solo homer in the first inning and senior Ryan Hollenberger -- who victimized the Owls with two taters in their earlier meeting -- smashed a three-run shot in the fourth as the Bulldogs (8-9, 4-5 NCMC) opened up an 8-1 cushion. In between, sophomore Dennis Hobbs hit a two-run double and Marshall yielded a pair of unearned runs.

Senior Mike Sartor's double drove in the Owls' first run, in the top of the fourth. Senior Andrew Bridges doubled and scored on an error in the fifth and knocked in a run in the sixth after senior Ethan Williams singled and swiped second base.

Marshall (6-13, 3-7) closed out its regular season. It will open play Saturday in the Class 3, District 13 Tournament at Boonville with a first-round contest against league champion Kirksville.