OLD RIVALS MEET TONIGHT WHEN NBC REGIONAL TOURNEY RESUMES

The National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional resumes tonight with the matchup everybody was expecting all along.

There figures to be plenty of excitement and anticipation for the 8 p.m. winner's bracket final at Capaha Field pitting a pair of fierce rivals -- the host McDowell Capahas and St. Louis O.B. Clark, who have combined to dominate the regional over the past several years.

"These are two big rivals that have always had some great games against each other," said Capahas manager Jess Bolen. "They expected to see us in this spot and we expected to see them in this spot. That's not to take anything away from anybody else, but until one of us gets beat early in the tournament, that's what's going to happen."

The Capahas have won the past two regional titles, but Bolen is certainly not automatically chalking up No. 3 in a row.

"O.B. Clark has a very good ballclub," Bolen said. "They still have some of their standout veteran hitters and they've got some good younger players. They've changed their pitching staff around. They've brought in some good young pitchers.

"They're solid, no doubt about it. It's going to be tough to beat them."

Big crowds have turned out in the past for games between the two teams, who also usually seem to wind up meeting in the finals. Bolen figures fans won't be disappointed by what they see tonight.

"It's going to be a good ballgame," he said. "If people want to see a couple of good, talented baseball teams using wood bats, a bunch of ex-pros, a bunch of Division I college players, they should come out."

Tonight's contest will kick off the final weekend of play in the eight-team tournament that began last weekend, when four teams were eliminated.

Remaining alive, along with the Capahas and O.B. Clark, are Fulton and the Southern Illinois Diamondbacks from Goreville. Fulton and the Diamondbacks each have one tourney loss while the Capahas and O.B. Clark are undefeated.

Saturday's action will begin with a 1 p.m. elimination game between Fulton and the Diamondbacks. That winner will advance to a 4:30 p.m. elimination game against the loser of tonight's contest, after which the tournament field will be sliced to just two squads.

The finals are set for 8 p.m. Saturday, unless either Fulton or the Diamondbacks are involved, which would mean they had already played two games that day and would force the finals to be pushed back to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

And even if the finals are played Saturday night, there is still a chance the tournament could need one final game at 4:30 p.m. Sunday if no squad ends Saturday's action undefeated.

While the Capahas and O.B. Clark are in the spotlight for the final weekend of action -- and either of the two will be heavily favored to capture the regional title -- Bolen said the other two teams cannot be overlooked, particularly the Diamondback.

"I'll tell you, they're a team that is not far off," he said. "They have really improved their ballclub over the last few years. They're really coming on."

The regional champion earns an automatic bid to next month's NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan.