CHAFFEE RALLIES TO REACH FINAL

SENATH, Mo. -- The Chaffee Medicap Pharmacy American Legion baseball team has won 31 consecutive games -- and none of those victories was tougher to achieve than Friday night's thriller against rival Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons.

Playing in the crucial winner's bracket final of the District 14 Tournament, Chaffee rallied for a heart-stopping 8-7 triumph that puts it just one victory away from its first-ever district championship.

"We had our hands full. It was a great game," said a relieved Chaffee manager Jeff Graviett, whose top-seeded squad improved to 43-8.

Cape manager Tom Reinagel was certainly not relieved -- but still proud of his underdog outfit, the third seed in the eight-team, double-elimination tourney.

"I thought we played great," said Reinagel, whose club fell to 27-21. "We came here with the intention of winning. We fought all the way. We just fell a little bit short."

Chaffee advances to today's 6 p.m. championship contest with an unblemished tournament record, meaning Medicap Pharmacy will clinch the title with a win.

Ford & Sons, meanwhile, has a much tougher road to navigate if it is to claim its first district title since 1995. Cape will play at 1 p.m. today in the loser's bracket final, facing either fourth-seeded Sikeston or fifth-seeded Poplar Bluff, who squared off in an elimination game late Friday night that was still going on as the Southeast Missourian went to press.

The winner of today's 1 p.m. contest must not only beat Chaffee tonight, but also come back and prevail in Sunday's if-necessary final that will only be played if Chaffee loses.

"We're in good shape, but we still have to get one more," Graviett said.

Friday night's game was relatively well played by both sides, but three crucial Cape mistakes helped Chaffee get over the hump in the late going.

Chaffee, after leading 5-1 early, trailed 7-5 entering the top of the seventh inning. Medicap Pharmacy took advantage of an error to score an unearned run and pull within 7-6.

Then in the eighth, Chaffee tied things on a wacky play. With Todd Friend on third, two outs and an 0-2 count on Garrett Cook, Graviett decided to have Friend try and steal home. Cape reliever Jason Chavez fired an outside pitch that was headed right for catcher Dusty Barrows and it looked like Friend would be out by 20 feet.

But Barrows, apparently taking a quick look at the runner, had the ball glance off his mitt and roll to the backstop as Friend scored.

"I felt like we had to do something at that point," said Graviett. "We wanted to put pressure on them and sometimes you need a little luck."

In the ninth, Adam Friga led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by G.P. Glueck. Perry Rice then hit a routine grounder, but third baseman John Snider booted it, leaving runners at first and third with one out. After John O'Rourke walked, Andrew DePeder lofted a sacrifice fly to right as Friga scored easily with an unearned run that stood up as the game-winner.

"If we make the plays at the end, we win," Reinagel said.

Cape starting pitcher Justin Welker struggled early but settled down, allowing six runs (five earned) and nine hits in six-plus innings.

Welker also had Cape's biggest hit of the game, a fifth-inning grand slam that put Ford & Sons ahead 6-5.

Chaffee starter Justin Simpher gave up seven runs and 11 hits in six innings.

The aces of both squads -- who had each worked complete games in Wednesday's semifinals -- came on in relief and figured into the decision.

Chavez was the tough-luck loser, allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits in three innings.

Matt Stroup got the win with three strong shutout innings, allowing two hits. He struck out five.

Stroup, DePeder and Friga all had two of Chaffee's 12 hits.

Zac Fidler and Seth Hudson both had three of Cape's 13 hits while Welker added two. Fidler had the game's other homer, a solo shot.