Cape, Jackson settle for a split

It was a tale of two games Tuesday night as the Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth baseball team battled Jackson in a doubleheader at Jackson Legion Field.

Cape came out with a strong offensive effort in the opener, winning 8-4. It was Jackson's offense which came to play in the nightcap, capitalizing on several Cape errors to win 10-2.

"It seemed as though they had a lot of things fall in the first game, and we had a lot of things fall in the second game," Jackson coach Paul Sander said.

In the opener, Josh Mayberry pitched Cape (6-4) to victory, throwing all seven innings. Mayberry allowed nine hits and struck out nine.

Logan Haines and Mayberry had two hits apiece to lead a balanced offensive attack. Josh Beussink had a big blow with a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

Cape's four-hit, three-run first set the tone. Tyler Bruce and Mayberry each drove in runs.

Jackson (13-4) narrowed the gap to 3-1 with an RBI double by Tommy Wood in the bottom of the first. Cape picked up two runs in the fourth on a two-out, two-run single by catcher Joey Williams.

In the fifth, Trey Glaus reached on an error, and one out later Beussink homered off Jackson starter Ryan Watkins. Haines drove in another run to give Cape an 8-2 lead.

Jackson put together a rally in the seventh -- the tying run reached the plate with two outs -- but mustered just two runs.

Sam Lincoln finished with three hits for Jackson and Wood had two.

In the second game, Jackson starter Brandon Stearns held Cape to three hits in six innings. Stearns struck out 10 and added two hits.

"We had a very strong pitching performance from Brandon Stearns when we really needed it," Sander said. "He kept us in the game the whole time."

Jackson led 4-2 in the bottom of the third, when Cape's defense started to unravel. With Jackson already having scored a run, two errors led to five two-out runs and a 10-2 lead.

Trevor Thompson had three hits to lead Jackson. The win in the nightcap improved Jackson's district record to 6-2 with eight district games remaining on the schedule.

"I was very proud of the kids, they answered the bell in the second game when they needed to," Sander said.