Dunklin wins pair on road vs. Cape

~ Ford & Sons fell below .500 with 6-2 and 16-10 losses.

An error in the top of the seventh inning Monday sent Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion team's pitching into a tailspin, as Cape dropped a pair of games to Dunklin County at Capaha Field.

Ford & Sons led 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh in the opener, with Jeremy Brinkmeyer and Kory Kitchen working on a one-hitter. Chris Brotherton sailed a throw from third base over Blake Slattery's head to put a runner on second with no outs, and the Dunklin County offensive onslaught ensued.

Dunklin County went on to score six runs in the seventh and won 6-2 in the opener, then came back and smacked Cape's pitching for a 16-10 win in the nightcap.

"It went good for six innings, then that seventh inning they opened the gates," Cape coach Dave Meyr said. "I thought we had them 1-0."

Brinkmeyer pitched the first three innings of the opener, leaving with a runner on second and no outs in the fourth after injuring himself. Kitchen retired the next three batters to get out of the jam and allowed just one base runner over the next three innings.

Four hits, two errors and a walk in the seventh resulted in six Dunklin County runs. Dunklin County starter Craig Lansford held Cape to just two hits in six innings, and Heath Storey allowed a run in the seventh for the save.

In the second game, Dunklin County used five hits and two walks in the top of the first to jump out to a 7-0 lead off Cape starter Tyler Propst. Dunklin County sent 12 batters to the plate.

Ford & Sons scored two runs in the bottom of the first and cut the lead to 8-7 with five runs in the second. Both teams changed pitchers in the third, as the score escalated to 11-10.

"We hadn't been hitting the ball well at all," Meyr said. "We came out that second game and hit the ball well. That was one good thing to take out."

Zach Plott pitched 4 2/3 innings of relief for Cape, allowing five runs. On the other side, Chip Smith pitched the final 4 1/3 innings in relief to pick up the win.

Craft had four hits on the day to lead Cape, including three in the second game. Lance Young and Slattery had two apiece in the second game.

Cape, playing for the fifth straight day, fell to 13-15. This is the first time Ford & Sons had been below .500 this season. Up next for Cape is a home game Wednesday against Festus.

"We'll bounce back," Meyr said.