Catfish baseball has made for fun summer nights at Capaha Field

It's been an exciting summer at Capaha Field as the Cape Catfish competed in their inaugural season.

I took in a few games throughout the summer and each one made for an entertaining evening. For some, it was about the baseball. For many, it was a night enjoying friends and food with baseball happening in the background. Wednesday evening, I witnessed plenty of young families with kids enjoying a beautiful night at the ballpark. That's good to see. Fewer eyes on phones and more on a baseball game.

The Catfish, after Thursday's double header win over Hannibal, were 40-15 on the season. They will finish their regular season at home on Saturday and Sunday before starting post-season play.

The two wins on Thursday clinched a home playoff game, which will take place at 6:35 p.m. Thursday at Capaha Field. With a win they advance to a three-game series that would be played against the winner of the one-game eastern division playoff. Home field advantage of the series would be determined by the team with the best winning percentage in the entire league. Information on tickets for the playoffs will be released via the Catfish website or you can visit the team store.

Team president Jim Limbaugh told me Friday morning that the Catfish have fallen under the halo effect of the Cardinals and benefited from a loyal baseball audience over the years whether it be the Redhawks, Capahas or American Legion teams.

"I've decided that Cape Girardeau's a really nice baseball town," Limbaugh said.

"We were all hopeful, but we really didn't know what to expect and how much the community would [get behind it.] There's just unknowns."

That might be the story of the season. How a brand new Prospect League team connected with the community. Limbaugh said there have been about 20 host families this season who provided housing for players. In fact, they have a waiting list to become a host family.

One of my favorite stories this season was about Catfish player Dalton Doyle who was hosted by Cory and Kristen Daniel. The Daniels have a 4-year-old son, Caden, who has been one of Doyle's biggest fans. If you missed the story, you can read it online with this column.

Attendance, Limbaugh said, has averaged 400 to 500 for weekday games and about 1,000 on the weekends.

Of course, having a good product on the field has been a tremendous asset.

"When you have success, it sets the bar for a level of expectation," he said. "Not only that the players and coaches have, but the community has. But that's a good thing. That challenges all of us."

Hats off to Mark Hogan (general manager) and Cindy Gannon (assistant general manager) for their leadership. Hogan's process to recruit players began a year ago. He spent the 2018 summer watching players and talking with coaches. His former Division I coaching experience has helped build relationships with college coaches.

Limbaugh said these coaches want their players to get repetitions during the summer and to be in a safe environment. Hogan's ability to sell Southeast Missouri certainly was to the team's benefit.

Gannon has taken the lead on much of the organizational duties. If you've been to a game this summer you can imagine how many details there are to producing a live event.

Hats off to Andy and Anissa Patel who believed in the team and became the principal owners. Their investment has been a tremendous asset to the city, particularly with all the renovations to Capaha Field.

The Southeast Missourian and semoball.com have been there every step of the way. It's been fun to follow. Special thanks to the Patterson family and River Eagle Distributing for their sponsorship of our coverage.

Here's hoping the Catfish finish the season strong and win it all. That would be a memorable way to end this inaugural season.

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.