~ Cape Girardeau opens the tournament at 5 p.m. today

What a difference a year has made for the Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons Post 63 American Legion baseball team.

The tradition-rich program that has won five state championships and numerous district titles suffered through one of its worst seasons in 2008, posting a 9-22 record.

Things got so bad at the end of the campaign that Cape couldn't field enough players for its final District 14 tournament game and had to forfeit, ending its season.

"It wasn't one of our better years, that's for sure," said Doc Yallaly, who spent 40 years as Post 63's coach and has served as the program's general manager since his retirement in 1996. "We've had a few down years lately."

But Cape bounced back in a big way this season, winning its first District 14 tournament title since 2003.

Ford & Sons will carry a 30-13 record into the five-team, double-elimination Zone 4 tournament that begins today at Perryville City Park.

Cape will play either Perryville or Herbert Hoover from St. Louis at 5 p.m. Perryville and Herbert Hoover square off in the 11 a.m. tournament opener.

A win sends Post 63 into Friday's 1 p.m. winners bracket final against either Eureka or tournament favorite Festus -- who meet at 2 p.m. today -- while a loss sends Cape into a 4 p.m. elimination game Friday.

The championship round is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, with the winner earning a berth in the state tournament that begins July 30 in Blue Springs.

"I'm proud of them, but in the same sense I knew they could do it so I'm not surprised," said Todd Pennington, a former Southeast Missouri State All-American pitcher and minor league hurler who is in his first season as Cape's coach.

Ford & Sons has turned things around behind a blend of returning players and newcomers, including a few who played for Cape's 2008 district champion Junior Legion team that was coached by Pennington and Steve Williams.

Williams, also an ex-Southeast All-American and minor league player, now is one of Pennington's assistants on the Senior squad. Williams joined holdover assistants Bill Bohnert and Kevin Crawford.

"We do a good job as a coaching staff and we've got a bunch of good kids," Pennington said. "We've got a bunch of guys who like to play."

Ryan Grigaitis, a returning player who leads Post 63 with a .398 batting average, said this year's success has been welcomed but not surprising.

"The new players really want to win. Last year people didn't care," Grigaitis said. "We've got a great coaching staff and everybody has a really good attitude.

"I knew we'd be good. We've got a lot of talent. But I didn't figure we'd win this many games."

Cape's 18-man roster is a blend of players from six area high schools, including Central's Grigaitis, Josh Compas, Josh Meyer, Jamie Pickel, Shawn Prince and Andrew Williams.

Kelly provides the second-most players in Dustin Crowden, Levi Felter, Billy Fender and Ethan Lee. Fender actually played at Kennett this year before moving to the Kelly district about two month ago.

Players from Notre Dame (Austin Greer, Jimmy Obermark), Scott City (Skylar Cobb, Josh Henson), Shawnee, Ill. (Tyler Brant, Tyler Glidewell) and Anna-Jonesboro, Ill. (Brady James, Adam Kelley) round out the roster.

"It took us a while to get to know each other, but we all get along really good," said Crowden, who played last summer for Scott County, which did not field a team this year.

In addition to Grigaitis, other players batting better than .300 are Greer (.389), Crowden (.373), Cobb (.370), Henson (.357) and Prince (.354).

Crowden is Cape's top power hitter with six of the team's 20 home runs. He also leads the way with 41 RBIs.

Greer is next with four homers, followed by James with three. Behind Crowden in RBIs are Grigaitis (29) and Greer (26).

In the pitching department, Pickel leads the way with a 9-0 record, two saves and a 2.96 ERA.

Felter is 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA and Williams is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Kelley is 3-1, Meyer 4-4 and Henson 3-3.

Cobb has been Cape's relief ace with a 1-1 record, two saves and a 1.03 ERA. Glidewell is 1-0 with two saves and a 2.75 ERA.

Cape has a .308 team batting average and a 3.72 ERA.

"I think we've been solid in all areas -- offense, defense and pitching," said Pennington, who said he still was deciding on his starting pitcher for the zone opener. "Every guy we put out there can do the job."

Cape's players are confident entering the zone after sweeping through the District 14 tournament in three games and knocking off two-time defending champion Dunklin County twice on its home field.

"I'm not really surprised with what we've done. Todd said he'd put a good team together," said Pickel, among the pitching aces for last year's Junior Legion team. "I think it's going to come down to us and Festus in the finals but I think we've got a good chance."