Cape remains alive on dramatic home run

~ Blake Gaddis hit a walk-off home run in an elimination contest.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth baseball team ended Charleston's hopes of winning a state title on its home field in dramatic fashion Friday afternoon, as third baseman Blake Gaddis sent Cape to a 4-3 victory with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning .

Gaddis' one-out blast cleared the fence in right field to break a 3-3 tie.

"It was a legitimate shot," said Cape coach Alan Wengert. "He got all of it."

Cape advanced to today's 11 a.m. elimination game against either Portageville and Central Missouri.

The home run rewarded the pitching effort of Brett Heischmidt, who allowed only two hits in going all seven innings. He did not allow a hit over the final five innings.

"Heischmidt pitched a great game," said Wengert. "This was an elimination game, and we had some guys make some big plays."

With Cape trailing 2-0 after two innings, the game was delayed for approximately an hour due to rain. When play resumed, Cape loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third and pushed across two runs. A run was forced in when Heishmidt was hit by a pitch, and Gaddis tied the score with a one-out sacrifice fly.

After Charleston stranded a runner at third base with one out in the fourth, Cape moved ahead in the bottom of the inning. Abe Dirnberger scored after leading off the inning with a single. He went to second on a Garrett Stevens single, and came around on a pair of fielder's choices.

A walk and an error led to a Charleston run in the sixth that tied the game 3-3.

Heischmidt set the top of Charleston's lineup down in order in the seventh on three consecutive ground balls to second baseman Jacob Wengert, setting the stage for Gaddis' winning blast.