CAPAHAS REMAIN PERFECT, ADVANCE TO TITLE CONTEST

It has been extremely smooth sailing so far for the Cape Girardeau Craftsman Union Capahas in the 2001 National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional.

The host Capahas posted their second straight tournament rout Saturday night, rolling past the Southern Illinois Merchants 11-1 in the winner's bracket final at Capaha Field. The game was stopped in the bottom of the seventh inning by the 10-run mercy rule.

Craftsman Union, which also run-ruled the Sauget (Ill.) Wizards Friday, raised its record to 24-7. The Capahas, the only undefeated tourney squad remaining, have advanced to the championship game.

"We're playing pretty good baseball right now," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen. "We're clicking pretty well in all areas."

In games earlier Saturday, Southern Illinois beat the Cape Riverdogs 3-0 in a winner's bracket semifinal; the Riverdogs downed the Fulton (Mo.) Bandits 8-7 in an elimination game; and Sauget routed the Pine Bluff (Ark.) Braves 10-0 in six innings in another elimination contest.

So the original six-team field is now down to four squads. Today's action will begin at 10 a.m. as the Riverdogs play Sauget in an elimination game.

At 1 p.m., either the Riverdogs or Sauget will face the Merchants in another elimination game, after which the field will be trimmed to two teams.

The championship game is tentatively scheduled for around 4 p.m. but would not be played if one of the surviving squads has already played twice today. In that case, the title contest would likely be played some time during the week.

Bolen's squad left little doubt as to who would be in that title matchup. As was the case Friday against Sauget, the Capahas began relatively slowly but then picked up steam and turned things into a blowout.

Brad Purcell turned in an impressive pitching performance, going all seven innings. He allowed four hits, with 10 strikeouts and no walks. The only Southern Illinois run was unearned.

"I thought Brad pitched outstanding," Bolen said. "The last three times out he's really looked good."

Lance Johnston, the hurler for the Merchants (17-12), fanned 11 in 6 1/3 innings. But the Capahas eventually got to him late as they scored six runs in the seventh to end things. The Capahas wound up with 12 hits.

"I was very impressed with the way we hit the ball against a pretty good young pitcher," said Bolen.

Tristen McDonald led the Capahas offensively with three hits and he drove in three runs.

"Tristen is really getting his stroke down to right-center field," Bolen said. "He's really popping the ball good."

Kevin Meyer doubled twice while Shawn Yarbrough added two hits for the Capahas.

The Capahas scored three third-inning runs to break a scoreless tie, then added two in the fifth to go up 5-0.

Southern Illinois got its lone run in the sixth, but the Capahas' big seventh put the run rule into effect. Meyer had a two-run double in the frame while Josh Eftink came off the bench to deliver a two-run, pinch-hit single.

Cape Riverdogs

One of the best stories of the tournament so far is the performance of the Riverdogs, who went 0-2 last year during their first regional appearance.

After picking up their first-ever tourney victory Friday by beating Pine Bluff, the Riverdogs (8-13) remained alive Saturday by splitting a pair of games.

"I'm real proud of the guys," said Robin Minner, one of the Riverdogs' coaches. "For only our second year in the tournament, I think we're doing real well. It's been a good tournament for us so far."

The Riverdogs' Steve Fowler and the Merchants' Adam Hook squared off in a dandy pitcher's duel in the winner's bracket semifinal, which took only two hours to complete.

Hook, working all nine innings, hurled a four-hit shutout. He struck out 10 and walked one.

Fowler, who also went the distance, gave up eight hits in eight innings, with six strikeouts and two walks. All three Southern Illinois runs came in the third inning.

"It was a really good game and both pitchers threw great," Minner said.

Travis Hood had three hits for the Merchants, including a two-run single in the third. David Samples added an RBI double in that frame.

The Riverdogs got a second straight impressive pitching performance against Fulton as Chris Reeves allowed five hits while fanning 11 and walking two in eight innings. He gave up five runs, but only two were earned.

Shane Gibson had three of the Riverdogs' 11 hits and he drove in two runs. Jon Carenza and Josh West each had two hits. Mark Silverthorn had three RBIs and Chris Bradshaw added two RBIs. West is now 8-for-14 in three tourney games.

Trailing 8-5 in the ninth, Fulton (18-8) scored twice off reliever Phil Seyer but the rally fell short.

Today, the Riverdogs will take on a Sauget squad that is 19-10.

"It's going to be tough for us, but we're just glad to still be playing," said Minner.