MHS Round-up: Lamberson, Ehrhardt headed to state

Senior Morgan Lamberson (left) and sophomore Payton Ehrhardt show off the medals they won as the Lady Owls' qualifiers to the MSHSAA Class 1 Championships. (Photo contributed) [Click to enlarge]

For Marshall senior Morgan Lamberson, a trip to the MSHSAA Class 1 Girls' Golf Championships may be old hat, but not for sophomore teammate Payton Ehrhardt.

Lamberson and Ehrhardt were the Lady Owls who qualified for the state meet, Oct. 18-19 at Sedalia Country Club, during Tuesday's District 4 Tournament at Marshall.

Lamberson fired a four-over-par 76 on Indian Foothills Golf Course to take the title by four strokes over Southern Boone junior Payton Schooler. The Lady Eagles, though, defended their team championship with 391 points to beat Marshall Invitational champion California (398) and the third-place Lady Owls (429).

With a pair of bogies, Lamberson didn't get off to a good start, but would par out the rest of the front nine holes. She had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 and three more pars coming in. Ehrhardt was only one stroke above her home meet score, a 114 putting her in a three-way tie for 14th place -- the cut-off point for state qualifying.

Other than Lamberson, none of the Lady Owls matched their scores from last week's home meet -- although all wound up in the top half of the 52-player field. Freshman Emily Harvey shot 117 for 20th place and freshman Abrea Mizer (122) and junior Lexie McDanel (124) were 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

Lamberson has gone to the state tourney her three previous years, medaling the last two -- tying for seventh place in 2008 at Fremont Hills in Nixa. This will be her first time state has been held at a course as familiar to her as the one in Sedalia, where earlier this season she won the Smith-Cotton Classic.

Marshall will play in once more as a team in the NCMC Tournament, Oct. 13 at Kirksville.

Boys' Soccer: Marshall 7, Mexico 0

Three players had a pair of goals for the Marshall boys' soccer team during a 7-0 home win over NCMC rival Mexico.

Seniors Mauricio Hernandez and Alex Tapia each connected during the first half as the Owls jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Junior Santiago Alarcon also found the mark during a 12-minute stretch in which the Owls tallied five times, three straight assisted by junior Jon Najera.

Najera had the final two goals for Marshall, which out-shot the Bulldogs (2-11, 0-7 NCMC), 13-1. The one save by junior Jacob Phillips ensured his fifth shutout of the season.

The Owls (12-2, 6-1), who head to Fulton on Thursday, also got three assists from junior Omar Farfan.

Girls' Tennis: Jefferson City 7, Marshall 2

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Marshall girls' tennis team suffered only their second dual loss of the season Tuesday at Jefferson City, 7-2.

The Lady Owls won in the top two singles positions behind senior Virginia Hutcherson (6-2, 6-1) and sophomore Haley Evans (6-4, 6-0). However, the next four singles matches all went to the Lady Jays (10-8). Marshall was missing sophomore Allea Summers, the usual starter at No. 5.

Hutcherson and Evans had a close 8-6 loss at No. 1 doubles to juniors Kassandra Price and Brooke Smith.

"They were a very strong team," said MHS head coach Susan Carney of Jeff City. "I thought we played very well overall."

The Lady Owls (15-2) will be at home today for a make-up match against Class 2 power Rock Bridge.

Volleyball: Fulton 2, Marshall 0

The flu bug picked a bad time to hit the Marshall volleyball team.

Two starters were out and two more didn't begin the match on the floor Tuesday during the Lady Owls' 25-15, 25-19 home loss to two-time defending NCMC champion Fulton (17-5-1, 7-0 NCMC).

Senior Morgan Ryther led Marshall with five kills, five service points and two blocks, while senior Whitney Kelly tried to take up the slack with four spikes and three digs.

"We played hard with a new line-up, but just weren't able to close the deal," said MHS head coach Gentry Lark. "I'm praying for a healthy line-up come district time."

Sophomore Taylor Ervin helped out with four saves and senior Aubrie Plummer and sophomore Haley Witcher combined for 13 assists for the Lady Owls (10-9-1, 3-4), who Thursday host undefeated Helias, ranked fourth in this week's Class 4 poll.

Softball: Kirksville 9-12, Marshall 0-0

KIRKSVILLE -- Defending NCMC softball champion Kirksville completed its run of the league table Tuesday with a pair of dominating home wins over Marshall, 9-0 and 12-0.

Senior Jackie Bishop started both games, not allowing a hit in either and striking out 17 of the 20 batters she faced. The Lady Tigers' two relievers, junior Alyssa Laudwig and sophomore Macy Rogers, gave up only one hit and fanned five each.

Junior Megan Becker doubled in two runs and scored on sophomore Kelsey Jacques two-bagger as Kirksville built a 7-0 lead through two innings. Senior Danielle Lewellen tacked on a solo homer in the seventh.

The Lady Tigers (21-1, 12-0 NCMC) rallied for 10 runs in the second inning of the nightcap, juniors Carrie Hudson and Erin Waddle both stroking two-run doubles.

The Lady Owls staved off no-hitters during their final at-bat in both games, getting singles from junior Emily Aldredge and senior KaeLeigh Brown.

Marshall (3-16, 3-9) will head to Clinton today for the Class 3, District 13 Tournament. The Lady Owls are seeded sixth and will face Odessa in the first round.