Capahas baseball among the best bargains around

The Plaza Tire Capahas suffered a rare doubleheader home sweep Sunday, making them just 2-2 through their first four games of the season.

You can bet that .500 record won't last for long because the tradition-rich Capahas always field stellar teams.

This year's edition appears to be no exception as the Capahas shoot for their 27th consecutive berth in the prestigious National Baseball Congress World Series.

That's an amazing accomplishment, as is the 1,309-341 record manager Jess Bolen carried into this season, his 42nd in charge of a squad that has been around since 1894.

Bolen and his family -- including wife Mary -- have put countless hours of blood, sweat and tears into bringing the local community top-flight amateur baseball to enjoy each summer.

I'm not sure people appreciate all that Jess and Mary have done for summer baseball in Cape Girardeau. I doubt the Capahas would still be around without their efforts.

The Bolens do it because they love it, which anybody who enjoys area sports should be grateful for.

Even if the Capahas were only semi-successful, they would still be a nice product for the community to have. There is no admission charge to games, so the deal is hard to beat.

That the Capahas are always so good simply adds icing to the cake.

The team usually is made up of either former or current collegiate standouts.

Last year was one of the Capahas' better seasons in a while as they went 32-8 and finished seventh at the NBC World Series.

Success in Wichita, Kan., is always hard to predict, but on paper the 2008 Capahas look every bit as strong as the 2007 version, especially once several of their key players who have not yet suited up join the squad.

Just how good the Capahas will wind up this season remains to be seen.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the action.

And appreciate the Bolens.

One more Capahas note:

I think it's great that, for the second straight season, all Capahas home games -- along with any games at the NBC World Series -- will be broadcast live on ESPN 1220.

Kudos to the Capahas' sponsor, Plaza Tire Service, for making the broadcasts possible.

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Promising center Will Bogan being declared academically ineligible for next season's first semester was another blow for Southeast Missouri State men's basketball.

Bogan can regain his eligibility for next year's second semester if he performs well enough in the classroom over the next several months.

I have my doubts whether Bogan ever plays in another Southeast game, which would be a shame because he showed potential as a freshman to make me think he might become a dominant Ohio Valley Conference center.

Bogan, a 6-foot-10, 300-pounder, averaged seven points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 2007-08 while hitting a team-high 56.6 percent of his field-goal attempts.

One more thing: Nobody can blame Southeast's coaches for Bogan's situation. You can only baby-sit somebody so much before they have to take responsibility for their own actions.

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Lisa Pace will not be the next women's basketball coach at Eastern Kentucky.

Pace, a former Southeast assistant who played at EKU, had been reported as a leading candidate to succeed the retiring Larry Joe Inman.

Instead, another former EKU player got the job as East Carolina assistant Chrissy Roberts was hired last week to lead the Colonels.

Pace spent seven seasons as a Southeast assistant before joining Inman's staff last year. I haven't heard whether Pace will remain with the Colonels as an assistant.

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Congratulations to the Scott City High School baseball team for winning the Class 2 state championship, which is the Rams' first state title in any sport.

The Rams were outstanding this year from start to finish, losing just one game. They dominated at the final four, winning both games by the 10-run mercy rule.

Ryan Modglin, who signed with Missouri State, has all the makings of becoming a big-time collegiate player.

If he ever winds up in college, that is. Modglin appears to have a solid chance of being selected high in this week's amateur draft. Then he would have to decide whether to sign a professional contract or head off to Missouri State.

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Good luck to Rich Payne as he takes over the Central High School football program.

I've known Payne since he was an assistant football coach at Southeast in the mid-1980s.

I don't know how long Payne plans to lead the Tigers, but my guess is he'll do a great job for however long he's there.

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Also good luck and best wishes to Jerry Dement, who recently retired after a long and successful run as Sikeston High School's track coach.

Dement has always been one of the real class acts in area coaching circles.

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OVC baseball tournament champion Eastern Illinois, despite having a losing record on the season, did not embarrass itself during the NCAA regional in Lincoln, Neb.

The Panthers played top-seeded Nebraska tough before falling 13-10, then dropped an 8-7, 10-inning decision to Oral Roberts.

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One interesting item came out of the OVC's annual spring meetings last week.

The conference approved adding the University of Texas-Pan American as an associate member for men's outdoor track and field beginning in the 2008-09 season.

UTPA, currently a Division I independent, will participate in the OVC outdoor meet starting next year.

The OVC said the move was made to bring the number of men's outdoor track teams to six in order to keep the league's NCAA automatic bids in the sport.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.