AIM FOR THE ROOF! WIFFLEBALL WORLD SERIES' THIS WEEKEND

He waggles the bat in shallow circles while waiting for the pitch; A chorus of cicadas and crickets replace the murmur of the crowd. The ball leaves the pitcher's hand in a slow, erratic dance toward the plate and -- pop! it shoots into the air off the bat with a fury.

Arcing skyward it dissipates its energy into the spring breeze within about forty feet. But it's enough, the ball settles onto the roof of Jeff Augustine's house like a deflated balloon.

The batter, Keith Heuring, is already on his way to second base in the easy jog of a home run hitter. By the time the ball rolls back off the roof and into Augustine's waiting hands, Heuring is past the cellar door and on his way to the screened-in porch.

It's not the World Series, it's only a practice game two days before game one of the first "Wiffleball World Series".

Augustine and his friends weren't satisfied with going out to the ballpark so they've brought it home. Eight years ago, Augustine's father, Mike, turned their backyard into a miniature baseball field, complete with a backstop behind home plate, real bases, a pitcher's mound and boundary posts 70 yards out from home plate.

"If you hit it on the roof that's a home run," Augustine said, explaining the rules. "Generally, if you get it over the electric wires in right, that's also a home run."

Augustine and his friends, all from Cape Girardeau and all in their early 20s, have been playing wiffleball together for years.

He is looking for two more 5-person teams to complete the roster for his "Wiffleball World Series." Hosted behind the Augustine house at 2130 Sherwood Drive, the Series begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and runs through Sunday. He has six teams already lined up.

Ty Spaeth said Fridays are the big wiffleball days at the Augustine house. The field was constructed when Spaeth, Augustine, Heuring and the other players were freshmen at Notre Dame High School.

Spaeth said there are some rules. Just like in baseball, the equipment has to meet specifications. Players cannot "cork" bats with foam, "we were sending the ball over the house every time, so we had to outlaw foam," Spaeth said.

In three-on-three, there's no stealing and a player can be tagged out if he is hit with the ball. Hits can be played off the house and if it goes down the steps to the cellar door it's a ground-rule double, "we're going to try to get a piece of plywood to cover that up," Augustine said.

This weekend, the teams will be full strength, five-on-five. That means base runners can steal, there will be a catcher and Heuring's father, Gene, will be the umpire.

Heuring said the teams will have signals, "the squeeze bunt is a fun one," line ups and players in specific positions. The third baseman doubles as left fielder. Second-base is also center field.

Heuring spent most of his time Thursday on the mound, which is barely 30 feet from home. The pitches are slow speed but deceptive. "We do try to strike people out," he said.

Shawn Huston said a pitcher has to be canny. "We don't throw fast," he said. "But we do throw a lot of junk, a lot of curve balls."

It's no accident that Augustine and his friends chose this time of year, when Major League Baseball is immersed in its playoffs, for the "Wiffleball World Series."

"We don't play for money, we play for pride," Huston said

"We just wanted to see if anybody was interested and who the best wiffleball players were in Cape," Augustine said.