CAPAHAS TO MAKE PITCH FOR NBC TITLE

If pitching is indeed the biggest key to a successful baseball team -- as many people believe -- then the Craftsman Union Capahas should be well armed for a strong showing at the National Baseball Congress World Series.

The Capahas left for Wichita, Kan., this morning in anticipation of their first-round game Saturday in the 67th edition of the prestigious 48-team tournament that features only wood bats. The Capahas will face a Mexican team -- Piedras Negras -- at 10 p.m.

If the Capahas win their opener, they'll play defending tourney runner-up Hays, Kan., at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. If they lose their opener, they won't play again until the following weekend.

"A lot of things factor in when you go out there, like getting breaks, and you have to play good baseball," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen. "But pitching is always so important, especially with wood bats. We've talked all year about our pitching. That's been the strength of our team. I feel really good about our pitching staff and that's why I think we can go out there and do well."

Bolen's squad is certainly riding quite a hot streak, having won 12 straight games to push its record to 30-7.

"Any time you're winning that many in a row, you have to be doing something right," said Bolen, whose club went 2-2 in last year's NBC World Series to tie for 17th place.

The Capahas have a team earned-run average of 2.44, which is impressive under any circumstances but even more so in this case because many of the teams the Caps faced during the regular season used aluminum bats.

"I don't care what kind of bats you're using, 2.44 is pretty good," Bolen said.

Veteran hurlers Lanson Debrock and Richie Phillips, along with rookies Brad Purcell and Kyle Perry, all have 5-2 records and glitzy earned-run averages to head up the pitching staff. Phillips has the top ERA at 1.62, followed by Debrock at 1.75, Perry at 1.89 and Purcell at 2.10.

Also impressive have been Jake Alley (4-0, 3.39), Aaron Gurley (3-0, 3.15) and Brent Self (2-0, 3.27).

"We've talked about it all year, but pitching is the key for us," said Bolen. "With wood bats, I think we have the pitchers on this team that can compete with anybody out there. Of course, you have to field the ball and hit some."

Bolen said Debrock will start Saturday night. If the Capahas win and play again Sunday, then Phillips will get the nod.

"One of the reasons I'm starting these two guys is they've been out there so many times and you can't beat that experience," Bolen said. "Lanson pitched great out there last year and Richie (who was injured last season) has done well out there so many times."

While not overpowering offensively, the Capahas have put up respectable numbers at the plate, particularly considering they used wood bats most of the season. The Caps carry a .301 team batting average.

"With wood, that's not bad," said Bolen.

Josh Eftink, despite not even being a starter all season, has put together a monster rookie campaign for the Capahas as he leads them in batting average at .389 and in home runs with seven. He is also tied for third in runs batted in with 19.

Five other Capahas are batting better than .300, including Shawn Yarbrough and Dave Lawson, two more rookies who are at .345 and .330, respectively. The others are Dan Berry (.316), Kevin Meyer (.308) and Denver Stuckey (.304).

Lawson, Stuckey, Tristen McDonald and Tom Bolen all have three homers to tie for second on the squad. McDonald has a team-high 23 RBIs to go with a .298 average while Bolen, another .298 hitter, has 22 RBIs. Stuckey has added 19 RBIs.

Bolen said he knows nothing about the team from Mexico -- which went 0-2 in the tournament last year -- that the Capahas open with. But if they win, he knows what kind of challenge they'll face.

"We'd have a hell of a draw then," he said with a laugh, referring to the Hays Larks. "They not only finished second last year, but they're a Kansas team so you know they'd have the crowd behind them. But you never know what could happen."